LITMIR.BIZ

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Kate was dimly aware that his gentle examination had stopped.

      ‘Your favourite place. Mine’s at the top of Summer Hill. Do you know it?’

      ‘Yes, I know it.’ It was beautiful there, the hillside stretching gently down to woodlands and fields, small villages in the distance. It was a lovely spot, but not Kate’s favourite. Despite the fact that London had chewed her up and spat her out, she still loved the place.

      ‘Sitting by the river, in London. At dusk, watching the lights come on along the Embankment.’

      ‘What part of the Embankment?’

      ‘I like... You know the part by the statue of Boudicca?’ Kate could almost hear the buzz of the traffic and the quiet sound of the water. She felt calmer now, just imagining it.

      ‘Yes, I know it. I’ve always rather liked the cast-iron lamp stands they have there. The ones with dolphins at the base.’

      ‘Yes, they’re great. You know London?’

      ‘I studied down there. Deep breath.’

      Kate obeyed him without thinking. She was leaning against him now, his hands splayed around her back and sides. Relaxed, almost in an embrace...

      She sat up abruptly, the picture of home that had been so real in her head suddenly dissolving. Ethan smiled slowly.

      ‘Gotcha.’

      ‘So you did. You’re satisfied now?’

      He nodded. ‘Yes. I don’t feel any sign of broken ribs. You may well hurt in the morning, though. May I see your face?’

      He was going to do this face to face now? Kate fixed her gaze on the far corner of the room, so as not to meet his. She felt Ethan’s thumb on her brow, smoothing back her hair. She must look such a mess...

      ‘Just a graze. You might have a bruise there tomorrow.’

      When he spoke, her concentration broke, and she looked at him. His face was a model of propriety, but his eyes... Those eyes would be wicked in any setting.

      It was all in her own mind. A blue-eyed prince in shining armour. Someone who could chase away dragons and then gently inspect for any damage. It was beguiling.

      ‘Okay...thanks.’ Kate pulled the scrunchie out of her hair and coiled the mass of red curls back into a neat knot at the base of her neck. The everyday movement seemed to calm her a little.

      ‘Anything else?’

      ‘No. Thanks, there’s nothing else.’ Her arm hurt like crazy, but she needed this to end. Needed to get on to the next thing on her mental list of things to do after a mugging. ‘We should call the police.’

      ‘I’ll go and call them now.’ He stood up, pulling his phone from his pocket, easy and unhurried, as if there was nothing to worry about. Clearly he was planning to do it out of earshot.

      ‘Thanks. I’ll...drink my tea.’

      Kate waited until he’d gone and stood, stretching her limbs, trying to shake off the feeling of numb dread that suddenly accompanied being alone. Jeff raised his head, his tail thumping on the floor, and Kate walked over to sit beside him and stroke his head.

      ‘All right. Everything’s all right, Jeff.’

      But everything wasn’t all right. She needed to stop being a victim and get back to doing her job.

      * * *

      ‘Kate... Run...’ Mark had shouted the words and then taken off, running away from her down the deserted street.

      One o’clock in the morning and she’d only had eyes for him, not noticing the two men lounging at the entrance to her local underground station.

      But she hadn’t been able to run. Her bag had been slung across her body and she’d felt it being pulled, the strap tightening around her. Someone had dragged at her arm, pulling her watch from her wrist.

      She’d tried to scream then, but there had been a hand over her mouth. So frightened. She’d been so frightened.

      ‘Be quiet.’

      One of the men had held her from behind and the other had searched her, feeling her neck and hands for jewellery. Then he’d cut the strap of her bag and taken that.

      That might have been the end of it. Kate had been praying they’d just take what they wanted and go. But they hadn’t. She’d felt someone push her backwards, and in a moment of helpless terror she had known there was no way she could avert what was going to happen next.

      She’d felt herself crash down the metal-edged stairs. Lying at the bottom, against the closed gates that led into the station, she’d sobbed for Mark—but he had already gone.

      * * *

      The sound of the door opening brought Kate back to the here and now, her heart thumping to the beat of memories that suddenly seemed new and raw again. Whatever had made her think that moving away would allow her to leave all that behind?

      ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you jump.’

      She wasn’t aware that she had jumped. Just that the familiar feeling of dread was back again, threatening all she’d done to chase it away. Kate couldn’t let it back in.

      ‘I’m okay. Really. I just have to get back to normal.’ She wasn’t even sure what normal was at that moment. Her nerves were jangling with alarm, and she was acutely aware of every sound outside the window—even the cars, passing in the road outside, which normally went unnoticed.

      ‘Sometimes normal doesn’t quite hack it.’ He spoke quietly and Kate realised that she must have snapped at him. She took a deep breath.

      ‘I’m sorry. It’s just a shock. I thought I’d be safe here...’ Kate pressed her lips together. Something about Ethan made it all too easy to talk.

      ‘Safe?’

      ‘I moved up to Yorkshire from London a couple of years ago. I reckoned it couldn’t happen...’ Kate shrugged. Of course street crime happened here. It just hadn’t happened to her, and that had given her a false sense of security.

      ‘Something like this happened to you in London? Were you hurt?’ Not only did he make her want to talk, he listened as well, reading between the lines. It was a lethal combination.

      ‘I... Look, I appreciate your concern, but I’m all right.’ Kate hung her head, squeezing her eyes shut. Maybe he wouldn’t see that she was crying. ‘I know what to do next and I really need to just get past this. I don’t want to talk about it any more.’

      She felt the brush of something on her cheek. When she opened her eyes, Ethan was wiping a tear away with a tissue.

      ‘Okay.’ He gave her a smile. ‘But I should warn you that closing your eyes builds up the pressure.’

      Despite everything, Kate choked with laughter. ‘That’s your considered medical opinion, is it? That if I close my eyes my head will explode?’

      ‘Risk averted.’ He gave her cheek another dab with the tissue and handed her a fresh one.

      * * *

      She was trying so hard to get on top of this. And she wasn’t giving herself any time to be hurt or frightened—just swallowing it all down, to a place where it could do the most harm. Her free spirit seemed crushed under the weight of it all.

      But she clearly wanted him to back off, and she was probably right. Ethan had no qualms about tending to her injuries, but anything else... That was wandering into the realms of emotional support, and Kate would be better off looking for that elsewhere.

      ‘When did the police say they’d be coming?’ She’d dried her eyes and seemed more composed now.

      ‘About another half hour. I’ll wait with you.’ He held up his hand to quiet her protests.

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