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She watched, mute, as Alex began to pull the contents of the bag out onto the mattress. Money, a sweater. It felt like she was watching a show on television. Alex pulled the hoodie he was wearing over his head and replaced it with the jumper. He took the gun that had been tucked inside his belt and checked the clip before returning it.
He looked back at her. ‘How’re you doing?’ His voice was soft, concerned.
Sarah stared back at him.Is he kidding?
‘We gotta move again.’ He reached for her.
She shuffled back against the sofa. No, she wasn’t going anywhere with him.
‘Sarah, please. I know this is confusing but can you just trust me for now?’
‘Trust you? You can’t be serious?’
He crouched down in front of her, placing his hands on her knees. ‘We have to get out of the country.’
‘I am not leaving the country with you.’ She pushed his hands from her. ‘I have a job, and people relying on me.’ She scrambled to her feet. ‘I need to check on Heather.’
Alex bowed his head. ‘Heather is safe. The ambulance came, remember?’ He stood. ‘We need to get out of the country. I gotta figure out our next move.’
‘No—’
‘Sarah,’ his voice was edged with a hint of frustration. ‘The Devils found you once. They know where you live. I can guarantee they know where you work, who your friends are, the places you go.’
‘How?’ Her own annoyance flared.
‘I found you in less than an hour of landing in London.’
His statement took the wind from her sails.
‘And Brodie knows I was at your flat.’
She felt sick to her stomach. ‘Why were you at my flat?’ she whispered. ‘Did they follow you there?’
He shook his head. ‘I promise I will explain everything once we get out of England, when we’re safe.’
She searched her mind for a different answer. A way out of this nightmare. She couldn’t leave the country with Alex, but she couldn’t stay here. Wherever here was.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked.
‘We’ll head into the city and clean up. Then catch a train to Liverpool Street Station, to the ferry terminal. I have a guy in Rotterdam who can help us.’
Sarah turned the information over in her head. She knew the city reasonably well. If she went with Alex now, she could get back to familiar territory. There would be people who could help her. She swallowed her fear and nodded. ‘Okay.’
They leftthe car in the garage and rode back towards the city on the motorbike left behind by Alex’s contact. Houses and apartment blocks shrouded in dark gray light made up most of the landscape. The occasional cafe or shop appeared as they progressed. Intermittently, a car or van or truck passed them.
Alex pulled over and ditched the bike in some bushes. This was not the city. But it was closer. They began to walk. There were no other pedestrians, even once they’d reached what appeared to be the high street. He slowed his pace in front of a glazed glass door with the words ‘Queens Hotel’ emblazoned in deep green at eye height. Pushing the door open revealed a reception area decorated in neutral colors. Green faux leather sofas sat opposite each other. Matching side tables held lamps that gave the room a warm and intimate glow. It hardly looked like a place a biker would hide out. Sarah wondered why they were here.
Alex led the way to the reception desk where a young man appeared to be saving whatever he’d been thumping into his laptop. The pile of textbooks sat beside him, the top title ‘My Life on the Road’ by Gloria Steinem looked new next to ‘Damned Whores and God's Police’. Staples of any feminist curriculum.
‘Good evening, or should I say morning,’ the young receptionist chirped as they approached.
‘Hey man,’ Alex’s words came out oddly slurred. He grinned at the receptionist. ‘I hear you guys can give us a room for a few hours.’
Sarah hid her face behind his shoulder as her mind raced. She didn’t know the receptionist but she couldn’t stand the thought of him thinking she was hooking up with some random guy for drunken sex.
‘Of course, sir.’ The young man didn’t skip a beat. ‘The charge is forty-four pounds for three hours with an additional charge for every hour after.’
‘Yeah man, three hours is good. Can I pay cash?’
