One Night (22 page)

Eve waited in the darkness under the Sky Drop not knowing how long she would stay there. An hour? Two? Until dawn? Forever? When the park reopened in the spring would they find her emaciated corpse there like a low rent Miss Havisham?

She looked out at the cold nothingness around her and wondered if she should even bother. She’d only known Joel for a few hours, had no idea what he re
ally thought of her. All she had was the memory of their time together. The taste of his mouth, the smell of him, the feeling of him inside her. He had probably run, forgotten her and left forever but she couldn’t take the chance. If there was the slightest hope of them being together she wanted to grasp it. So she was waiting beneath the Sky Drop. Maybe not forever but for a while.

The light from the sign washed the ground around her with a sickly yellow glow that made the park look like a photograph that had been on the wall for too long.

She wondered if the light would attract Harry’s men. If it did, it did, she decided. It was the only way she could think of to signal to Joel so she pushed her doubts to one side, sent them into the corner of her mind like naughty children.

She sat on the ground and leaned back against one of the legs of the tower. It wasn’t comfortable but it was better than standing. It was three in the morning and she was exhausted. Dog tired and heartsick. She pulled her arms in around herself and let her head rest on them. Sitting there like that, with the cold hard ground beneath her and the metal behind her back she fell asleep.

Joel made it through the door into the park, his eyes locked on that glowing sign. It wasn’t far away, in the opposite direction to the one from which he’d approached the park entrance earlier. He didn’t know what Harry’s guys were doing but assuming they were still where he’d left them they wouldn’t get in his way.

He heard the voices as he started running towards the sign and picked up his pace. The men had obviously decided to leave the park and were heading towards the gate. At least he hoped that was what they were doing. That they were leaving rather than investigating the light.
What would they make of the van? His insistence on locking the door of the booth at the mine cart ride seemed ridiculous now that he’d left a hotwired van in the middle of the street with the door open. Maybe they’d just assume it was kids, there must be enough of those in this town.

He left the voices behind him and kept heading towards the light. He didn’t know how he knew it wasn’t a trap but he did. It just felt so right, like Eve had somehow cried out to his heart when she lit the sign up.

He reached the base of the ride and didn’t see her. His eyes had been so fixed on the light that his night vision was wiped away. He closed his eyelids for a second, clenched them tight enough that they squeezed his eyeballs. When he opened them again he saw her.

Eve awoke to the feel of his hand on her cheek. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was his face, leaning in close to hers.  

“You came back,” she said
.
“Of course I came back.”
“I didn’t know if you would.”

He brushed the hair off her face and kissed her gently on the lips. “You make it sound like I had a choice.”

“Didn’t you?”

“I’m not sure I did. My body just reacted when I saw the light. It was out of my control. Like when something flies at your face and you blink.”

“I’m something flying at your face?”

He smiled and she loved the way it made his face move. “Something like that. Something surprising and slightly startling. For the record though, if I had been in control I would have come anyway.”

She laughed. “You weren’t doing so well there but you pulled it around again right at the end.”

“We’re talking too much,” he said and then he kissed her. It felt like it had before, which is to say that it was the most incredible thing ever. She drifted away for a while. The world around her gradually disappeared until all that was left was the feeling of his lips on hers and the smell of him and the sound of his breath whispering through his nose. The universe collapsed until it was no bigger than the space their mouths made as they locked together.

She didn’t know how long they kissed for but eventually he broke away from her. Eventually but too soon.

“We need to go,” he said, his gaze was fixed on hers and for a moment she couldn’t see anything else, just his beautiful eyes and her face reflected back at her in them. “Harry’s men are still here,” he said. Then he kissed her again.

She broke off this time, her heart dropping at the sound of her uncle’s name.

“He tricked me,” she said. “That’s what he’s good at. He made me think they were torturing you so I’d tell him where the bag was.”

“The bag doesn’t matter. All that matters is you. I thought I’d lost you, Eve.”

“Not even close.”

They stood up together, his strong hand holding hers.

“Where is it?” she said. “The bag.”

“Harry took it, him and three of his guys drove off with it about five minutes ago. I was following them when I saw the light. Your sign.”

“So it’s gone? Harry has all of it?”

He nodded. “He won’t have it for long, he’ll be giving it back to the people I stole it for, minus a finder’s fee.”

“Who are they?”
“I don’t even know. That’s not how it works, I’m just a hired hand. Wind me up, point me at the money and watch me steal it. Only this time I stole it one too many times.”

“Is it over then?”

He paused for a minute and then looked at her. “I doubt it. When I took the money I didn’t know what I was going to do but as long as I had it I had options. When you’ve got that much cash disappearing isn’t too hard. In theory anyway. Clearly I made a right fucking mess of it.”

“But they’ve got the money
back. Isn’t that all they want?”

“No. I’ve pissed off some serious people. As long as they think there’s a chance of finding me they’ll keep looking. It’s a matter of principle for them. Making an example of people who turn against them. There’s no-one quite so aggressively
self-righteous as a crook who’s been stolen from.”

“So you need to disappear b
ut you can’t do that without the money. Is that right?”

“Yes.”

She smiled, “It’s probably a good job I know Harry’s taken it then.”

Joel was about to ask her how, where
, but instead he just kissed her again, pulled her into his arms and pushed his lips against hers. I love this girl, he thought.

Neither of them broke away this time. Not intentionally anyway. Two pairs of hands grabbed Joel, gripping his upper arms and pulling him away from her. He watched helpless as her face grew smaller, struggling against the two men who were holding him.

Joel watched as a lanky young man walked up to Eve and slapped her across the face. Then his view was blocked by another of Harry’s men who stepped in front of him and swung a fist at his unprotected stomach.

Eve reeled back from Matty’s blow, her face stinging. In the edge of her vision she could see Joel thrashing about in the grip of the men who were holding him. 

“Hello, Eve,” Matty said. ”Harry’s gone now and your lover boy looks like he’s otherwise engaged. I think you and I have a little business to settle.”

The thugs on either side of him were gripping Joel’s arms tightly enough that he could feel their fingertips digging into his flesh through his jacket. They were holding him hard enough that his hands were starting to go numb as the blood flow was cut off. The guy in front of him was throwing punches at him with relish. Joel didn’t recognise the face but he guessed he was one of the masked thugs he’d taken on in the alleyway. So far the guy was working his body, slamming those big fists into Joel’s gut rather than aiming for his head. He guessed that meant they were intending to keep this up for a while. Make him suffer rather than just knock him out. That was good, because it would give him time to figure out how to get out of this.

Behind the guy who was pummelling Joel another was now holding Eve. The lanky guy was standing in front of her, he had his hand pulled pack for another slap but wasn’t delivering it. Mostly he seemed to be enjoying the look of fear on her face.

Joel knew he didn’t have much time to figure this problem out. He needed to get his arms free and take down the five men as quickly as he could. Incapacitate each one somehow. Five against two was long odds, especially when all of the five were more experienced fighters than him or Eve. His feet were still free though, and he had something else that might even things up a little if he could just reach it. He didn't see how it could possibly work, but he knew that it had to.

His arms were pinned at his sides but he could still move his hands, the only problem was that the feeling in them had almost completely gone. He flexed his fingers slowly, trying to get some
blood back into them. The guy in front took another swing at him, his heavy fist powering into Joel’s torso and forcing out what little air he’d had in his lungs. Now was the time, while the guy who was using him as a punching bag was limbering up for his next blow. Joel relaxed the muscles in his right arm and let it go limp. The guy holding him clenched it even tighter but it was where Joel wanted it now, closer to his jacket pocket. He wriggled his fingers into it, feeling the soft old leather of the pouch that held his set of picks. He managed to get his fingers inside it and pinch the cold metal of one of his picks between his thumb and index finger. The penknife was in his trousers and well out of reach, so the pick was the only weapon he had. Cold hard steel with a sharp point, it could be worse. He pulled it out and clasped it in his palm, getting a solid grip on it just as the next punch landed.

Now was the time.

The guy in front of him stepped forward to throw another punch and Joel did two things at once. He stamped down on the instep of the man to his left while stabbing outward with the sharp lock pick in his right hand. The motion was quick and hard, his arm pivoting at the elbow and driving the point of the pick into the meat of the guy’s upper thigh. He swore and let go of Joel immediately, both hands going to his leg to pull out the steel spike now sticking into it.

The man to Joel’s left had kept his grip but was swearing too. Joel lifted his foot again and stamped his boot heel down with all his might. He felt a crack as one of the
guy’s bones snapped. His arm was released as the man stepped backwards and sat down hard, grabbing at his damaged foot.  

In front of Joel the would-
be boxer changed his tactics, aiming for Joel’s head this time in an attempt to knock him out. Joel ducked just in time, the blow passing harmlessly over his head.  He moved inside the arc of the punch and threw himself forward, driving his left shoulder into the man’s chest and pushing him backwards. As he did it he reached into his jacket pocket again and pulled out another pick. Part of him wanted to drive it into his opponent’s eye or ear to take the guy out for good. He didn't though, he knew he couldn't live with that much blood on his hands.  Instead he swung his right arm around and stuck the sharp pick between two ribs. A trickle of blood ran down the metal and stained the outside of the guy’s coat as Joel pushed him back with his shoulder. The man fell back on his arse, fingers fumbling to pull the pick out of his side. Joel took a step forward and kicked him in the face. His foot connected solidly,
driving the man's nose back into his face.

Joel turned back to face the other two men. The first had pulled the pick out of his leg and thrown it aside, the second was back on his feet and limping towards Joel. He might have hurt them but they weren't out of the fight yet.

Eve watched as Joel fought back. Until that point she'd felt like it was hopeless but seeing him take on the men gave her strength. Matty was in front of her, facing away from Joel and the other men. The man behind her had his arms wrapped around her in a bear hug, squeezing her so tight it was hard to breathe. Matty was watching her, his eyes on her cheek as the blood rose in it from the hard slaps he'd delivered. He'd seemed almost okay when she'd been with him in the cafe earlier but she saw a viciousness in him now that frightened her. He wasn't hitting her for any reason other than the pleasure it brought him. She had no doubt that he'd suffered at Harry's hands for letting her get away, suffered physically and emotionally. She wondered how long he'd worked for her uncle. For all his size and tattoos he was only a kid and being around anyone as toxic as Harry would do him no good at all. Maybe he was growing up in Harry's image. Learning how to be a man from someone who was a failure at everything in life except making money off other people.

Matty turned at the sound of the fighting behind him and Eve took her chance. She snapped her head back. The man holding her was much taller but she still caught him on the chin. His
mouth had been slightly open, it now slammed shut and he bit into his lower lip. He spat blood into her hair but held on tight to her wriggling body. Eve brought her head back again and this time the man jerked his out of the way. The motion made him loosen his grip enough for Eve to move her right arm. She brought it forward and then jabbed her elbow back into his stomach. He sucked in a breath and his grip loosened further. She did it again and as she felt his head reflexively move forward she slammed the back of her skull into his jaw again. That worked. He released his grip on Eve, shoving her away angrily and raising his hands to his pulverised lips. 

Matty was in front of her, still staring over at Joel and the three men he was taking on. Eve wasn't sure if he was just enjoying the show or if he was trying to
decide whether or not to get involved. Eve fell into the back of him and knocked him forward. He turned angrily and backhanded her, the knuckles of his open hand bruising her cheek. She fell to the ground, the man she’d just escaped towering over her. Over to one side she could see Joel backing up as the two men he was fighting advanced on him. Her cheek was throbbing and she felt the flesh around her left eye beginning to swell.

She didn’t see how this could end any way but badly.