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Thewords rolled so easily offJenny’stongue, turningFrancesca’sblood to ice.Jennymust have been using her dad as a threat all her life.Somebodypushed her over in the playground?WaittilItell daddy.Boyfriendbroke up with her by text?WaittilItell daddy.Videographerlost all her wedding footage?
WaittilItell daddy.
Abead of sweat dripped downFrancesca’sforehead, and she wiped at it with her sleeve.Ina soothing tone, she said, ‘Okay, well, let’s not do anything—’
‘Youbetter watch your back, bitch.’Jennyhung up.
Fora moment,Francescajust stared at her phone, her heart thumping erratically and her imagination running wild.Shecould see the scene now:
FADEIN:
INT.AMASCULINEHOMELIBRARY-DAY.
Hardlines of dusty sunlight enter through slatted blinds.AVictorianmahogany executive desk dominates the room.Aman known asCHUCKLES(65) sits behind the desk in a leather armchair, smoking a cigar.JENNY(25), his daughter, runs into the room, crying.Hestands and she falls into his arms.
JENNY
Daddy, my videographer lost all the footage from my wedding.Willyou kill her for me?
CHUCKLES
Noproblem, sugar.She’llrue the day she crossed theBonnefaceFamily.Anyoneseen my shovel?
Perhapsthey could use a better scriptwriter, but the gist was there.
WouldJenny’sdad really do something to her over a wedding video?Removea finger?Breakan arm or even a leg?Worse…
Thenightmare played out in her mind: the soft, repetitive footfall of an assassin, a red laser appearing on her chest, theJames-Bondesquechase over the rooftops ofLondon, ending with her body falling to the paving stones below as a crowd gathers and some tourist fromNewYorkmutters, ‘Andthey sayourcity’s dangerous!’
Shesqueezed her eyes shut and shook her head vehemently.Noway.Chuckleswouldn’t risk going back to jail over awedding video.Theidea was ludicrous.
…Wasn’tit?
Krish’sface cut across her thoughts.Shouldshe call him?Justto let him know what had happened?Gethis advice…?
Francesca’sfinger navigated toDONOTCALLand hovered a millimetre over the keypad.
No.Shewas just using this as an excuse because she craved his voice.She’dpromised him space to think, and she couldn’t break that promise over this.Besides, even if she were in real danger,Chucklesdidn’t know where she lived.Shecould just hide out here untilSunday, when she could seeKrishagain.
Thealarm on her phone went off, making her jump.Shealmost forgot that she had to go to the office to meet the builder in fifteen minutes.
Howfast could someone order a hit?Surely, it wasn’t an on-demand service, likeDeliveroo.She’dhave time to sneak out to the office, do what she needed to do, and sneak back, long before any assassin had time to do the necessary groundwork and formulate a plan of attack.She’dseenLeontheProfessional; she knew how it worked.
Francescalaughed at herself.Ofcourse, the old man who’d tried to hug her at the end of the wedding wouldn’t kill her.Wouldhe?
Hereyes slashed towards the abandoned cricket bat leaning in the corner.Nota bad idea to bring it along, just in case.
‘Sayhello to my little friend,’ she said in a really badCubanaccent.
Stellasaton the floor ofGrace’sroom, folding laundry.Sheloved the smell of freshly washed clothes, and she still got a tremor of joy when she sawGrace’sminiature outfits.Littleshirts, little dresses, little socks.Itwas hard to believe thatGracewould one day be too big for them.
Herdaughter gurgled where she was gnawing on wooden rings near the door, chin and chest wet with drool.Thewhite bud of another new tooth had popped through her gums that morning, so it wasCalpoland chew toy time.
Stellafolded another dress.Astrappy number printed with pineapples.Socute.
Onthe dresser, her eye caught on a photo she had framed from their trip: her,Connor, andGracestanding together in front of the blossoming cherry trees inJapan.Itreminded her of that timeConnorphotographed her in the orchard at theFrenchchateau, surrounded by pink flowers.Shesmiled.Thatwas four and a half years ago.Alot had happened since.
Thatmorning, he’d left for his meeting with the picture editor at 11:30.Theywere meeting for lunch at theConnaught.Sheglanced at her watch.Twohours ago, in fact.Hehad projected his usual confidence, but she knew him better than that.Inside, he’d be nervous.Shegave him an extra big kiss and wished him good luck.
