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Harry pursed his lips, making a whistling noise as he thought about Will’s request. “Take my car. And I’ll put yours undercover. Do you need anything else?”
“Yeah. Mind if I raid your pantry?”
“Help yourself, son.”
Lilah watched as Will crossed to a timber veneer door and creaked it open. “I’m Jalilah Mazroui,” she said as soon as Will’s head was tucked inside.
“Lilah,” he called from the darkness. “What the hell do you think …”
“He’s just paranoid because kidnapping me will probably get him thrown in prison for life …”
Harry laughed. “You’re the princess from Delani?”
“Yes.”
“Well, if you are in trouble then there’s no one better than Will to keep you safe.”
In the confines of Harry’s pantry, Will felt panic bead sweat across his forehead. Harry was being polite, and he was being kind. They both knew that Will had failed to keep the most special woman in the world alive.
He thrust the last few tins of beans into a bag, along with some chocolate, a bottle of wine and a couple of jars of preserved fruit then shouldered his way out.
“Now that our anonymity is completely blown, it’s time to go.” He shot an apologetic look at Harry. “You’re okay with the truck?”
“Yeah. I’ll do it now.”
“And Harry?”
“I know, I know.” He lifted his hands in front of him. “You were never here.”
“Right.”
“Thank you for the drink,” Lilah’s tone was regal once more, her expression shuttered. She placed the beer onto the counter and smiled at Harry.
“Listen,” he put a hand lightly on Lilah’s shoulder, surprising himself with the gesture. “Will is … a good man. There’s no one I’d want with me more in a crisis. Try to listen to him.”
She nodded politely. “I’ve heard this once today.”
“Then it must be true,” Will drawled, putting a hand on Lilah’s back to urge her to bid Harry farewell. “We have to go. Time, remember, is not on our side.”
“Of course.” She nodded and stepped out of the kitchen, moving confidently through the home. She didn’t appear to notice the faded carpet and peeling wall-paper. She stepped onto the porch and sighed at the sight of the full moon against the bleak, leaden sky.
“This way.” Will walked ahead of her, carrying two bags of groceries as though they weighed nothing.
“Can I help?”
His expression was condemnatory. “Yeah. You can help. You can help by staying in the damn car when I tell you to stay in the damn car.”
She bit down on her lip. A pin-prick of profound sadness ran beneath her flesh. She ignored it because she didn’t want to succumb to its weakening power, but his words had made her feel as though she’d done something terribly, terribly wrong. “You are a real stick in the mud.”
“That may be so, but I’m also responsible for keeping you alive so stop challenging me.”
She pulled on the handle to the car before he could, remembering his smart remark outside the hotel. To her chagrin the door didn’t open. She pulled on it again, frowning in confusion as she lifted her eyes to his face.
“It’s not unlocked, princess,” he drawled, flicking a button so that the headlights of the car glowed. “Try again.”
She pulled on it a third time and now the door groaned outwards. Lilah felt a nail snap but she didn’t mutter the curse that came to mind. Instead, she swished herself into the car and buckled up.
Lilah stared at the moon as he reversed the car. He swung it out of the drive and pointed it in the direction they’d come from only minutes earlier. Harry was already moving Will’s car and Will lifted a hand in farewell as they passed him.
