She ran back up the path, the gun heavy in her hand. She peered down at it as she hurried forward and wrapped her hand around the metal handle. Her finger curled naturally on the trigger.

He was stood before her now, cradling his damaged hand. Time stilled, there was no sound in this world where she stood, armed and facing a man whose only aim was to hurt her. The thundering in her chest and the sound of her breathing was all there was in this pivotal moment. She had killed already to protect herself; didn’t they always say the second time was easier?

Chapter 42

With both arms stretched straight in front brandishing the weapon Pauline stepped forward. The thug hadn’t moved. His eyes were unsure but his stance was confrontational. He wasn’t going to run, but for now just sized up the situation. Measuring the threat and weighing his options.

She moved again, another two steps. He held his injured limb across his chest but raised the other hand palm towards her. “Come on love. You don’t want to be waving that about. Just put it down. You know you don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Go back, just go back. Down the garden. You have to let us go.”

“Look love, you’ve got yourself mixed up in some nasty stuff here but we know you didn’t mean to. We know you got drawn in. We won’t hurt you. Give us the memory stick and whatever else you still have and that’ll be that. Don’t worry about Pete, that’s another issue and nothing to do with you.”

“I don’t have it. I never had any of it.”

“Yeah, so you say. Well sorry love but that won’t wash. You just need to hand it over and you can be on your way. We don’t need to have any more trouble. If you decide to be difficult, well...” He shrugged. Pauline jerked the hand holding the little gun and in response he waved his arm. “Steady now, take care with that.” She was very frightened but her instinct to run was hampered by the knowledge that Pete was at the bottom of the garden and if she left him surely he would come to harm.

She didn’t know how to help him, not really. The only thing now was to go to where he was and to take him the weapon. To do the other thing, to turn and run, leaving him to his fate was unthinkable. First though there was this other person to deal with.

She strode forward now with greater purpose. “Move down the garden.” He frowned and shook his head but took a small step backwards.

The crack of a firearm discharging fractured the drowsy quiet of the suburban street.

“Christ!” The thug turned towards the source of the sound behind him, down the garden beside the shed. As he swivelled Pauline hurled herself the last few steps and barrelled into him knocking him sideways.

Injured as he was he tried to reach out but she scuttled past and ran to where she had last seen Pete. He was heading towards her across the grass, waving his arm, gesturing to her to turn and make for the gate but the way was barred by the other man.

Pete was beside her now and together they ran towards the gate. He reached across and grabbed the pistol, pushing her backwards so that he was between her and the gateway. Moments later the sound of a second shot rang out. The thug at the gate ducked and dived back inside the open door of the kitchen. They pushed forward, down the path and into the car. In moments they were speeding through the narrow street as the sound of police sirens grew in the distance.

“Shit, shit! Well that’s it; we are now well and truly buggered!” Terror had stolen her voice and all Pauline could do was stare at him as he thumped a hand in fury against the steering wheel.

“Right. What the hell do I do now?” Surely he didn’t expect any answer. She was shocked and confused, her world spinning out of control. Nothing made sense, her brain was refusing to process the information it was receiving. One hand hung on to the door handle and the other braced against the seat to steady herself as Pete threw the car around the corners, heading back to the motorway.

“Is he dead?”

“What?”

“The man at the end of the garden. Did you kill him?”

“No, no. We fought and I fired at him but I didn’t hit him. Just scared him shitless.”

“I’m glad.”

“Yeah, so am I. You have no idea the bother it causes.” He gave a short laugh.

“So, where are we going?”

“Any idea would be welcome at this point.” She drew in a sharp breath and Pete glanced across the narrow space. “No, no don’t worry. I’m kidding. It’s fine. We need to go to another place I know. It’s fine, just keep calm. Hey, you did really well back there. I don’t think I would have got away if you hadn’t had the gun and kept Skip busy.”

“Skip?”

“Yeah, that big gorilla. Can you believe it? Skip.”

By this time they had reached the slip road for the motorway and joined the stream of traffic. It felt safer to be here travelling to anywhere away from that ill-fated house and as the tumultuous day wound towards its close she found herself once again swept by the tide of fate with no option but to go with the flow.

Chapter 43

They headed north. Pauline recognised names on the road signs and the scenery became more familiar. Most of the time she sat silently, her mind reeling, thoughts scuttering back and forth. When she mentally relived the past day it was hard to convince herself it had really happened. There had been gun fire, hulking thugs and a desperate escape. More drama heaped on the turmoil since her flight from the Dales. It was as if she had passed through a curtain into another reality yet here she was, real and whole, sitting in a warm car hurtling along the motorway.

Pete spent the first part of the drive flipping his gaze frequently to the rear view mirror. Now and then he would change lanes and tuck in between the many great trucks and then after a while they would speed up again. At first this all seemed random and edgy until she realised that he was watching the traffic and allowing suspect cars from behind them to pull in front and roar away. It scared her, it quietened the obvious questions that she wanted to ask. She didn’t want to draw his attention to herself and break his concentration.

Now though, nearing the Midlands, he had visibly relaxed. His shoulders drooped a little and the flick of his eyes to the mirror became more natural.

“Are we okay now?”

“Yeah. I think so. If there is anyone following us they are being very discreet and the crowd that we are dealing with don’t do discreet.”

“Do you know where we’re going? Well, what I mean is do you have a destination in mind?”

“Yes. I’ll tell you what, there’s a service area up ahead. Shall we go and have a cup of coffee, a bite to eat and I’ll bring you up to scratch. God, you must be so confused. I’m sorry if I’ve scared you. You have been amazing you know. Most people would have fallen apart or caused a fuss. I’m very impressed.”

His words wrapped her in a warm glow. She was glad of the need for him to concentrate on the road because, try as she might to quell it, a grin spread across her face. It had been so long since anyone had paid her a compliment and she had forgotten how wonderful it felt to earn approval.

“Well, I haven’t had a lot of choice have I.” She attempted to cover her pleasure with flippancy and was rewarded by a chuckle from the other side of the car.

“I guess not. Anyway, here we are, just about half a mile to go and then we can have a chat.”

The services were huge and busy. As they pushed through the rotating door they were assaulted by the smell of burgers, chips and coffee and the noise of hundreds of travellers milling and pushing about in the brightly lit space.