Nights of Roshan (2 page)

The second night…

Neiri knew the apartment building better than anyone. Having a photographic memory helped enormously, but it was her home. More than the house in Islington ever had been. She’d bought the flat before she’d married, and with the sort of open trust she now kicked herself about regularly, she’d added her husband’s name to the title. Stupid. Really stupid. “Live and learn, child,” she told herself. With her knowledge of the building, she watched the updated security system Roshan had installed. Really, he’d been scammed. Anyone who watched Jack Bauer in action knew security systems should change their visible routines, or people as sneaky as she was would be able to take advantage. If she wanted to get to the basement without any of Roshan’s people seeing, she could do it in a matter of minutes. That was her evening sorted.

Her phone rang and she screened the call before answering. Mother. Again. “Hello, Mother,” she said, tone droll.

“A little more enthusiasm, please.”

“Hi, Mummy!”

“Roll it back.”

“All right, Mum?”

“Perfect! Your grandmother wants to know if you’ll be here in time.”

Neiri sighed heavily. Fascinating how her mother completely blanked out that Neiri had a job and might have been at work around other professionals. “She’s not senile. She knows I can’t leave in the middle of court hearings.”

“You’re not in the middle.”

“I can’t afford the flight.”

“Of course you can!”

“I’ve got an allowance with the freezing order, which won’t even begin to cover a flight over the Christmas holidays with what, three days’ notice? It’s not going to happen.”

Her mother sounded disappointed. “Well. I’ll tell her you tried.”

“No, don’t tell her that. Just say I can’t. Mum, don’t make me feel guilty about something that’s out of my control.” Her mother had suggested the family fly to London. A suggestion refused by her brothers, who wanted to spend the holiday in the sunshine. She’d been sharply reminded that her mother wasn’t supposed to be within spitting distance of a plane because of her heart condition. Neiri would have to just make do for the good of the family.

“I’ll pay for your flight.”

“You’ve got two grand to hand?”

“Yes, I have!”

“Not tied up in property?”

Her mother paused. “Well darling, Daddy curbed my card after I spent a bit of money on your present. But it was just something to cheer you up. There’s no point in buying a bracelet unless there are proper, weighty diamonds in it. Diamonds you can smuggle back to London and sell.”

Rolling her eyes, Neiri struggled to control her irritation with her parent’s fantasies. “Freezing order. I don’t want any of Adil’s soulless lawyers saying that I’m trying to dissipate assets by flying to Egypt. They’ll want to involve forensic accountants and all sorts to prove I’ve got money hidden in Africa, and I want this over with. I’m not risking it.”

“Daddy suggested we talk to someone. Who’ll then talk to Adil…”

“Tell Daddy he can’t kill him. It’d be nice, but I’d get the blame. I’m the idiot who married him.”

“Listen, this time next year, you won’t even remember any of this. It’ll be like a bad dream.”

Still living it
, she thought. “Thanks. Mum, I’m getting another call in, so I’ll call you tomorrow, all right?”

“Okay, then. Well, Happy Christmas.”

Her mother sounded so low, it forced tears to Neiri’s eyes. “And to you.”

Do something useful
, she thought.
Don’t dwell. You dwell, you cry. No with the crying.
She decided on an outfit for finding what the present occupier of the penthouse mansion was doing to her pool. She didn’t care what he said, it was her fracking pool. Her phone rang again and she glanced at the screen. Oh, she really did have another call coming in.

“Neiri? It’s Janine.”

Her solicitor only rang if it was important. Until now, Neiri hadn’t thought her case ranked above an email marked as important. “Hello. Is there something wrong?”

“Not at all. Adil caved. He’s giving up the flat and reimbursing you for the money invested in Dubai.”

Neiri blinked. “What?” Janine repeated what she’d said word for word. “What?” Neiri said again. “That can’t be right. What do I have to do?”

“Just sign the consent order I’m emailing to you now and send it back to me. If the judge approves it today then I can get the banks to unfreeze your assets tomorrow.”

Then she could still go to be with her family. “Do it. Hold on. What’s the catch?”

“No catch, but I think he’s going to call you. Something about a family member. Okay, but sign it and send it back to me. This is great! It means you start the New Year fresh.”

“Okay, thank you. Thanks, Janine.” Her phone vibrated with the receipt of the email. She read through it and, true enough, not a single catch revealed itself in the order. Adil had cracked. Finally. At last. No, there had to be some kind of backhanded deal going on. She wouldn’t be beholden to that man ever again. She called him, anger blazing through her.

“What do you want?” she said as soon as he answered.

“Neiri?”

“Yes, what do you want from me?”

“Hello. I didn’t expect to hear from you so–”

She cut him off. “What do you want?”

“I don’t want anything. I just… I didn’t realise you had friends in high places.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Just… Be careful.”

Neiri pulled the phone from her ear and stared at it in disgust. “Why would you care? I thought you were trying to head off bankruptcy?”

“I don’t need to. But you know, with people like that, there’s always a price. I’ll always care about you.” She snorted loudly at that. “Neiri, I do care, and that’s why I say watch yourself.”

“Whatever, just sign the order and let’s move on with our lives.”

She pressed the end call so hard, the screen changed colour beneath her thumb. Bastard. She wondered if her mother had finally convinced her father into paying Adil off just so she could be free. No, her father would happily have the man killed rather than give him a penny more. Friends in high places. It was a silly thing for Adil to say. The only rich person she knew lived two floors above her, and she had nothing of value to offer him. Him or any other man. Unconsciously, her hand drifted over her stomach before she snatched it back and printed off the order. Within minutes, she’d emailed her solicitor with the signed copy. There was no point in worrying her family until the freezing order was lifted.

Funny, she’d been on edge from the moment she left the house she’d shared with Adil and now, with everything all over, she couldn’t switch it off. Her gaze fell on her enormous Christmas tree, the fairy lights timed to switch on the moment she returned home. She’d bought it to thumb her nose at Adil, who didn’t celebrate Christmas. Not even to give her a gift or accept one from her. They’d spend the day at home without any lights or decorations, just watching the TV and having something non festive to eat. She’d so hoped this year she’d be with her parents and the food they’d eat. God, for even a sip of her mother’s special soup…

Do something, anything, just don’t damn well dwell.
She brushed the pine needles from beneath her tree. Food seemed like a good idea, until she lost interest in the halloumi she’d grilled. She read a few academic articles, mindlessly flicked through her TV and then thought about a swim. “Ah! Sneaking outfit.”

What was suitable attire for the Mystery of the Cat Hair in the Pool? Rollneck. Leggings. All black and over a swimming costume just to cover the practicality of catching her hair assailant in the pool. Roshan had exclusive use of the pool between the hours of ten p.m. and six a.m. Neiri tucked her mobile phone inside the left cup of her costume and tugged her jumper down over it. Damn, she could still feel the hair on her tongue.

Quarter to ten on the dot, Neiri opened her flat door and waited for the security camera to swing right. She had thirty seconds before the camera turned back to scan the corridor. Keeping to the walls, she moved quickly and slipped into the stairwell. Hovering beneath the cameras ensured she stayed out of view all the way to the basement floor. She quickly shed the rollneck and the leggings, tucking them and her trainers behind one of the huge potted palm trees that decorated the pool. Skimming along the walls, she made her way to the sauna, which offered a perfect view of the pool.

Neiri removed her phone and glanced at the time. Five to. Well, she could be stuck down in the sauna for hours. She turned the sound down and played a few games instead. “Fuck, someone send me a goddamn life!” she whispered angrily at the screen. The lights outside the sauna switched off and she gasped.
Show time!

Crouching by the circular window, Neiri saw Roshan stride past to the far end of the pool. With a black robe wrapped around his lithe frame and the blue glow from the water, he looked unworldly. “Where’s the cat?” she murmured. He halted and his gaze went straight towards the sauna. Clapping a hand over her mouth, she sank to the floor and tugged her legs out of the way. Her heart beat rapidly, pounding in her ears. She hadn’t thought about what would happen if he caught her spying on him. What would he do to her?
That’s unnecessary
, she told her nipples, tightened at the idea of being at Roshan’s mercy.

A splash of water thankfully disturbed her thoughts so she could focus on the task at hand. Where was this cat? She raised herself up to the window and examined the scene. Roshan’s robe lay discarded at the side but she couldn’t see his toned limbs moving through the water. Instead, she could see a tail. An unnaturally large tail swishing the surface.
Time to go
.

It was something of a running joke. Extravagant Arabs who could buy anything and kept tigers and lions as pets. People with too much money and not enough sense. Well, she could just add Roshan to that list. There was still a cat in the pool. A bigger cat than she’d actually anticipated but a cat all the same. She wasn’t made for this life. No siree. Tucking her phone back inside her costume, Neiri made a dash for it.

“Neiriouri.”

She turned her head. Foolishly. She turned on her heel and caught a dash of water under her sole. The floor abandoned her and she landed in the swimming pool, flat on her back. The air slammed from her lungs, and she panicked, struggling to stay afloat when there was little to no oxygen in her body. She gasped for breath, flailing her limbs in panic, and all her natural instincts to swim like a logical human being left her. In a whoosh, she felt the nip of teeth at the back of her neck and, in the blink of an eye, she was spluttering at the side of the pool. When she could finally focus, the gas-blue eyes of a white tiger met hers. It rested on paws tucked underneath its gigantic body, looking even tempered and… Was that amusement?

“Well, Dr. Halabi,” the tiger spoke in a deep, measured voice, “if you wanted my attention, you could have simply knocked on my door.” It glanced around the pool before splashing the water with a black-padded paw. “This was a rather dramatic diversion.”

“Roshan?” she coughed. Blinking didn’t make the enormous, sinewy-muscled creature disappear. Beside the lights of the pool, the tiger’s white fur looked luminous. She’d bumped her head. She must have done.

“Yes, Dr. Halabi?”

“You left your fur in the pool.”

The tiger bent its head, ears twitching. “It’s supposed to be thoroughly cleaned after I enjoy my nightly swim. I’ll have to fire the company.”