A Fragile Heart (BBW Billionaire Light Romance) (12 page)

It was approaching eleven, and Elena was beginning to think that she must leave: she had to get up for work in the morning and didn't want to be too late getting home. She folded the paper and bent down to tuck it into her bag, but as she straightened up she saw a familiar shape at the bar.
 

It looked like Pete the drummer from the band. She remembered his long, fair hair and black leather jacket. She got up from her table band moved nearer, trying to get a close view.

“Excuse me,” she began. “Are you Pete from The Moon Dogs?”

“Yes,” he replied, turned eagerly towards her, obviously expecting to see a teenage fan. But when he saw Elena, something crossed his face – a shadow, a look of concern – and he finished his drink quickly and turned away.

“Sorry, gotta go.”

He began making hurriedly for the door, but Elena was right behind him as he walked out onto the street.

“Wait!” she called after him. “Don't go. I just want to ask you something. I'm Josh's sister. You've been to the flat. I recognise you ...”

He was moving further away from her, increasing his speed to put distance between them. But Elena was not going to be shrugged off like this after all the trouble she’d taken to find him, so she ran and caught up with him, tugging at the sleeve of his jacket.

“I just want to know where Josh is,” she persisted. “Why hasn't he contacted me?”

 
The young man looked furtively around him, then gestured for Elena to follow him down a dark alley between two buildings. Normally she would have worried about stepping into such an isolated place at night, especially with someone she hardly knew, but her adrenalin was still pumping after the chase and she followed him.

“He's lying low at the moment,” Pete said quietly. “I can't tell you where exactly because he asked me not to tell anyone.”

“But I'm his sister,” she replied. “Are you in touch with him? Can you tell him I'm worried about him, at least? Whatever it is, I’ll try and help him. Tell him he can't just hide away like this, whatever has happened.”

Pete appeared to consider the situation for a few moments, then spoke again. “Give us your phone number. I'll ask Josh if it is ok to tell you what's going on and if he says yes, I’ll ring you back on my phone. He's not using his. It's safer that way.”

Elena felt a chill run through her. This was more than just dropping out of uni. Whatever it was, it must be serious. She told Pete her mobile number and he keyed into his phone.

“It might be late before I call,” he said. “So wait up.”

Elena returned to the flat and locked the door. She realised she was trembling with emotion. What is happening to my life, she wondered. Everything was spiralling out of control and it felt like she had no one to turn to. She sat slumped on the old sofa, her phone resting on her lap, waiting.
   

It was after one when it finally rang, and Elena snatched it up eagerly.

“Hi, Pete here, just listen.”

“Okay,” Elena replied, relieved to have some contact at least. She restrained herself from asking questions.

“Josh said I can tell you this, so listen carefully. He’s staying away for a while, keeping his head down. Don't bother trying to ring as he has switched his mobile off. He’s got out of his depth. He’s been playing the fruit machines and thought he had found a way of beating the system. But he lost quite a bit of money and took out a loan which has gone now, too. And he owes money to people that he can't repay.”

Elena remained silent for a moment as she took in all this new information. But then the questions began tumbling through her mind.

“How could he get a loan? Why is he afraid?”

“Wait, wait,” Pete interrupted. “He went to some loan sharks. Dangerous people. And they want their money back, plus interest. He hasn't a chance in hell of paying it back.”

“So, he’s hiding?”
 

The awful truth was beginning to dawn on Elena; it was just like Josh to think he could invent a system to beat a gambling machine, and what a fool he was to borrow money that he could never repay!
When would he learn
, she thought.
When would he grow up?

“How much does he owe exactly?”

There was a lengthy silence, and Elena thought for a moment that Pete had rung off.

“Over eight thousand quid, and the interest is building every week he doesn't pay.”

“Eight thousand! Is he really in danger?”

“Oh yes. These people want their money alright.” Pete replied. “Can't tell you any more at the moment.”

“Please, give me just a moment,” Elena pleaded. “Please tell Josh I’ll try and help him if I can think of a way. Tell him not to do anything silly, and just stay where he is.
 
Pete, give me a day to think things over and see if there’s anything I can do? Please, will you ring me again tomorrow night so I can get a further message to Josh?”

 
Pete agreed that he would ring the next night, around ten.

Elena went to the fridge and poured herself a large glass of wine. Her hands were trembling and she sat down at the kitchen table with the glass in front of her, wondering what life was possibly going to throw at her next.
 

Josh was a fool, an irresponsible idiot, but he was her brother and, if possible, she had to try and help him one more time.

She considered the possibilities: she didn't have any savings herself as paying the rent, buying food and covering all the bills used up most of her salary. Her parents probably had a little put away in the bank for their retirement, but how could she approach them without telling them the rest of the story, too – that Josh had dropped out of uni some time ago, had no proper job and had borrowed beyond his means in order to gamble!
 

Her father would have a fit and her mother would catch the next train down to London, then probably have a breakdown on Elena's doorstep. No, it was impossible.

The best way would be to try and get a loan herself from the bank, but that couldn't be arranged immediately, and all the time the debt would be mounting, and until it was paid off Josh would remain in danger.

There was only one person she could appeal to for help, one person who had enough money to settle this debt straight away, one person who would know how to deal with the threat and take care of this whole sorry mess.
 

But could she bring herself contact him?

For some time Elena sat at the table sipping her wine, then she searched her handbag for the card that Guy had first given, back her when they’d discussed meeting on a Sunday morning. The card had his private mobile number, which he only gave out to a limited number of people. There it was, creased from being at the bottom of the bag, but could she really do this, even for Josh?

It was well after midnight and he could be anywhere in the world, but, at last, Elena wrote a simple message:

   
Need your help. Please. x

Chapter Nineteen

There was no response, although Elena waited up for the next hour. And at last she washed her wine glass, brushed her teeth and got into bed. For a while she read a paperback, the mobile resting on the pillow next to her, but eventually tiredness took over and she drifted off to sleep.

The noise of the phone woke her a few hours later. She reached for the mobile, clutching it to her as she answered the call.

“What is it that you need?”

Relief engulfed her as she sat up in bed, but Guy’s low, sonorous voice remained stern and business-like, with no hint of warmth or understanding. She could have been a complete stranger, the way he sounded.

“I'm so sorry to ask you,” Elena began, “but I didn't know where else to turn ...”
 

Guy cut off the preliminary talk. “Just tell me why you want help,” he stated coldly.

Taking a deep shivery breath, Elena tried to relay the story of Josh as briefly and calmly as she could. She knew there should be no dramatics or weeping; Guy obviously wanted just the facts, and nothing more.
 

He listened quietly as she ran through the series of events, finishing up with the fact that Pete would be ringing her back the next evening.

“And can you trust him, this Pete?” he asked.

“I have to,” Elena replied. “He's all I've got.”

There was a period of silence, and she began to think that Guy was reluctant to get involved. And honestly who could blame him? He’d never met Josh, and at their last meeting she’d said everything was over between them.

“Listen,” he replied. “This is what will happen. When Pete rings, tell him to come to your flat tomorrow, around midnight. In the meantime pack some things for your brother. Just the minimum of clothes, but no phone, passport, cards, money or anything that could identify him. Put the things in a supermarket bag, not a case or rucksack. Have you got all that?”

“Yes, but...”
 

Guy cut her off. “Just after midnight a mini cab will arrive at the flat, and Pete is to get in with the bag and direct the driver to wherever Josh is staying. Then they’ll pick up Josh, and Pete must go home and keep quiet about this whole thing.”

Another short pause. Elena could feel her heart drumming hard in her chest as she waited for Guy to continue.
 

“Josh will be taken somewhere where I can talk to him and get all the details direct from him,” he said. “I’ll expect him to be totally honest with me. After that I’ll arrange for him to go away for a while until I sort everything out.”

“I'll pay you back,” she cut in. “I'll try to get a loan from the bank.”

“Just leave it to me,” he replied. “And it will be sorted.”

There was so much more that Elena wanted to say: to thank him for helping, to apologise for running away from Sorrento, to tell him that she missed him, but he had already rung off, and so all she could do now was follow his instructions.

§

It all went smoothly the next night. Pete waited by the window for the mini cab to arrive, the shopping bag of clothes clutched tightly in his hand. As soon as he spotted the taxi, he was off down the stairs and Elena watched as he got into the cab, which immediately drove away.
 

It was out of her hands. There was nothing more she could do but wait for Josh to come back, and that could be a few weeks.
 

She agonised about whether she should send a thank you text to Guy, but decided to leave it. He was already using his time to sort out her family problems and she didn't want to bother him any further.

Once again Elena tried to get back into a routine. She cleaned the flat from top to bottom, got up early so that she was first in the office, and tried to pick up some sort of social life with her friends from work.
 

From time to time she wondered if Guy would contact her, to let her know if all was well with Josh, or even if Josh might be allowed to telephone her.
 

But there was nothing. She would just have to be patient and wait.
 

Elena knew that the strain of the past weeks was beginning to show. She was comfort eating on chocolate and cream cakes, and had begun to replace those pounds she’d lost with all the swimming when she was on the boat.
 

She bought more wine, too, and got through a whole bottle by herself most evenings. And her golden tan was fading; she looked tired and pasty.
 

In her heart, Elena knew that she was letting herself go, but she didn't look at herself critically in the mirror.
Who was there to care anyway
, she thought.

§

It was at the end of the second week, as Elena let herself into the flat after work, that she knew the waiting was finally over. Josh's guitar was propped against the end of the sofa once more and she could hear him singing in the bathroom.

“Hello!” she shouted. “I'm here.”

Josh came out of the bathroom, smelling of her best shower gel. He looked tidy and well-cared for, and Elena threw her arms around him and gave him a tight hug.

“I know I've been an idiot, but can we start again?” he asked apprehensively.

Elena nodded. She was just pleased to have him here. She didn't want to start nagging him about his behaviour. But even so, she was curious to know where he’d been living and, more immediately, she wanted to hear about Guy and what he’d done to solve the problem.

“Just tell me how things worked out,” she said.

Josh settled himself on the sofa and she sat next to him, listening intently.

“You know that I was picked up from the squat by a mini cab? Well, I was taken to a small house somewhere south of the river. Your Guy was there and he put me through the third degree. He’s really scary. He wanted all the details, nothing left out, where I gambled, how I got the loan, how much for –
everything.
He said he’d only help if I absolutely came clean with him and he wanted to know even more, too. Was I on dope? Did I have any other debts? Had anyone else been threatening me? I told him everything.”

Elena nodded. She could imagine Guy's intense questioning: he would dig right down to the truth, and if he was going to help he wouldn't want any problems emerging in the future.
 

She recalled the incident in that restaurant near Covent Garden. Guy knew how to handle difficult situations, and had hinted then that he also knew some dangerous characters in the city and how they operated.
 

“Then he arranged for me to be taken to Exeter!”

“Why there?”

“Because of the university. I had a room on campus. I don't know how he arranged it, but I was given a bit of cash and an identity card with another name, and told to stay there on the campus. I could go to the student bar, the library, anywhere as long as I behaved like a student. Apparently it’s the best way to hide anyone; put them where they don't stand out. I even went to some gigs, ate in the cafeteria ... It was like a holiday. Your friend certainly knows how to fix things.”

“He isn't my friend anymore,” Elena replied.