The Freefall Trilogy (Complete Collection) (23 page)

Lucy managed a smile. 

She folded her arms around her stomach, taking a deep breath; blinking around the car as if coming out of a stupor.  Crazy was right.  Skydiving was one thing, she could just about get her head around that.  It was his job, he was good at it.  But BASE jumping?  They'd only really talked about it in abstract.  She hadn't signed up for any of this.  

Any which way you look at it, the attitude of a BASE jumper towards death is considered by most to be somewhat blasé.  They don't stop, not unless something makes them.  They just keep pushing their luck over and over - no matter about the people around them.

Lucy glanced down at the paper bag of potions sliding across the black leather. 

What if the chemist was right?

'This isn't it!  We're too far away!'

Lucy's brow crumpled as the cab lurched to a halt.  They were close; so frustratingly close.  She yanked back the sleeve of her cardigan.  Barely three minutes left.

'Mademoiselle, you see '
zis piece of grass over here?' said the driver, jabbing his finger.  'I have seen 'zem before.  Zis is where zey
always
land.'

Her hands shook as she rummaged in her purse.  She thrust the note into his palm, unclipping her safety belt; grabbing the medicine.

'One moment, please.  Your change—'

'Keep it!' she said, flinging the door open.

Froggy was renowned for his ruthless punctuality.  Lucy was already running.

She streaked towards the rectangle of grass, her trainers skidding across the beige gravel.  Arms flailing as she manoeuvred around the tourists, her Italian leather handbag swinging from one hand, the package of potions clutched in the other. 

'
Postcarten, Mademoiselle?  Speicher?'

'No thank you!' she shouted, only just managing to dodge the hawker; narrowly avoiding slipping on her arse.  Fleetingly wondering quite why it was that foreigners always presumed she was German until she opened her mouth.

Her foot touched down on grass.  Lucy froze.  She could hear sirens: the gendarmerie.  She looked up at the tower, breathing in sharply, eyes flaring.  Lucy's stomach turned over.

It all seemed to go in slow motion.  Lucy sank to her knees, dropping her bags on the grass.  Clasping her hands together; biting her index finger as saw the little black speck fall from the top of the tower.

He threw the parachute out behind him immediately.  He was all the way down to the second stage before it opened up.  She heard the flap of the canopy; the flurry of excitement around her.  She blinked up at the black Flik 266. 

That wasn't Joshua's
rig. 

The sirens were getting louder.  Was it the gendarmerie? 

Her stomach turned in an icy knot. 

Was it something else?

Lucy clenched her hair in her hands, almost tearing it from her scalp, staggering up to her feet.

'No!'

A hundred heads turned in unison.  Suddenly, they were all staring at her. 

A little blonde boy stood holding a red balloon.  He couldn't have been more than four.  He stared up at her, big green eyes full of concern.  She watched him thrust out his chubby little hand, holding his balloon out to her.

A simple act of kindness from a child who wanted to make it all better.  She smiled down at him, tears searing her eyes.  Lucy let go of her hair, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

'There you are!'

Her gaze bounced up.

'I've been looking for you everywhere.  Where have you been?'

'What's the matter?' Josh frowned. 

Her face was ashen. 

'What's happened?' 

She just stared at him. 

He grasped her shoulders; she finally blinked. 

'Lucy?'

She snorted, bursting into a blinding white grin.  She jumped up, hugging him. 

Josh gripped her behind so she wouldn't slip as she kissed his bemused face again and again.

What the hell's got into her?

'Woohoo!' came a shriek from the sky.

Lucy's heart surged as she saw
Froggy swooping towards them.  Her feet slid back to the ground, her arms slinking around Joshua's waist. 

The boy with the balloon had his back to her now, staring up like everyone else.  Lucy's eyes glittered as she grinned up at
Froggy.  She broke out in goosebumps all over.  A tingle ran down her spine.

'I can't believe he's cut his dreadlocks off,' she murmured as they watched Froggy touchdown, up on tiptoe, nimble as a ballerina. 

'Yeah, he had to tart himself up a bit,' said Josh, eyes rooted on the little Scotsman.  'He'd have stuck out like a sore thumb with security otherwise.'

Josh glanced down at her, grinning mischievously. 

'He said you seemed quite surprised.'

'Oh he did, did he?' nodded Lucy.

'Ow!'

Josh rubbed his side as she released the pinch.

'
Yippeekiyay!' Froggy screamed, sinking to his knees and punching the air.  'I did it!  I did it!  Woohoo!' 

The crowds started clapping and cheering. 

Lucy peered up at Josh. 

'He's going to get arrested, isn't he?'

The sirens were getting louder.

'If he doesn't get his arse into gear,' sighed Joshua, 'almost certainly... 
Froggy!'

Josh raised his fingers to his mouth, letting out a whistle so loud it made Lucy's ears rattle. 

Froggy looked up. 

'Do you hear what I hear?' yelled Josh, cupping his hand to his ear theatrically.  The little Scotsman's face fell.  He nodded, quickly gathering his parachute together.  In a blink, he was streaking towards them. 

Lucy heard a horn blare.  Her eyes widened as she saw Froggy's beat up blue golf parked up on the gravel.

'
Y'alroight!'

The elegant blonde Lucy had seen earlier grinned from the driver's window, waving frantically.  Only she wasn't French at all.  She had a thick Birmingham accent.

'What made you change your mind?' Lucy asked Joshua as
Froggy's car sped off into the distance, leaving a plume of white dust in its wake. 

Josh blinked down at her.

'Change my mind about what?'

'I saw your parachute rig,' Lucy told him. 

Joshua frowned.

'You've been poking around in my stuff?'

'Well, yes...' she shrugged, unexpectedly on the back foot.

'Hang on a sec...'

He stepped back, planting his hands on his hips.

'You thought I was going to jump... off of
that
?'

Josh held a finger out to the great iron beast.  Lucy nodded slowly.

'Oh!' he breathed, eyes flaring with realisation.  'Is that why you smashed Philippe's plates?'

Lucy bit her lip.

'Sorry.'

She felt terrible about it now - he'd never done anything like that in her life.  Oh, but it did feel good at the time.

Josh pulled her into his arms. 

'I suppose you gave me fair warning in the cab,' he grumbled, 'but I really did think you'd gone mad for a little while there.'

'You said you wanted to come with me...' Lucy submitted.

Joshua laughed.

'Yeah, good job on that.  I don't think I've been as mad as that in a very long time.'

He flashed her one of his killer smiles.  Lucy's heart fluttered as he leant in and kissed her.

'Come on.  Let's get out of here,' he said, breaking the kiss as it got a little too hot for polite society.  He stooped down, grabbing Lucy's bags.

'...What's all this?  Been shopping?'

'No!' she blurted, snatching the paper bag from his prying eyes. 

'I... I mean, yes!' 

He frowned at her. 

'You're being weird,' she heard him say as she tried to stuff the bag of potions into her handbag.  It wasn't big enough; the press stud kept popping open.

'Well that'll make two of us then,' she said glancing up.  'You've been
being weird
for days.'

Josh took her hand, walking her across the gravel.  She saw his lips twitch.

'I'll give you that one,' he said quietly.

'How come you brought the car?' Lucy asked as he helped her in. 

'Can't tell you,' he said through the dappy grin.  Lucy stared at him.

'Where are we going?' she asked.

'It's a secret,' he told her, tapping his nose; slamming the door shut.  She frowned, watching him run around to the driver's side.

What's he up to now?

So much for popping out to get a jar of coffee.  Lucy was quite taken aback - he really could be rather sly.  So much for her being a member of Neighbourhood Watch.  She hadn
't even noticed that the car was missing when she slipped out to the chemist.

'So let me get this straight,' Josh said distractedly as they wove through the traffic.  'You thought I'd brought you to Paris to watch me do a BASE jump?' 

They were headed out of town.  He seemed in a hurry.  He was biting his fingers again.  He glanced at her; she just shrugged.

'That would be kind of selfish, don't you think, Lucy?' 

Her eyes flickered.  The word tacked onto the end of his sentence made her uneasy.  Whenever Josh called her "Lucy", she knew she was in trouble. 

'Do you really think so little of me?' he said quietly.

'No!' she squeaked, frantically shaking her head. 

He gave her a
the jig is up
look.  Lucy's head stilled. 

'Yes...  No!  Oh God, I don't know!  ...I don't seem to know anything anymore.'

Joshua's brow twitched, his gaze staying with the road.

'You don't know about me?' he asked her gently. 

Lucy raked her hair from her steadily reddening face.

'I know I love you,' she offered, reaching across and squeezing his jean-clad thigh.  'I know that.  I know I want to be with you.  It's just things have been... I don't know,
weird
recently...'

His eyebrows shot up then down.

'What do you mean?  Weird how?'

'I feel like you're hiding things from me,' Lucy admitted, fiddling with her nails. 

She wouldn't look up at him. 

'You come home from work and you're straight on the computer... minimising the screen as soon as I walk in.  I've seen it, Josh - I know I'm not imagining that...  And if this afternoon's little stunt has proven anything, it's that you don't have a problem with lying to me—'.

'Lucy, stop,' he snapped.  'That's enough.'