“They’re staying. This place is hell and gone from civilization.” He didn’t look happy about it.
“Thanks for the hospitality,” Madsen said sardonically. “Considering it’s me who arranged to have this pla
ce ready for you. And you need some ice for that eye.”
“So you do. Up your arse.”
Madsen smiled, a blazingly charming smile. “Piss off.”
“You still haven’t told me why you came here.”
“Why, to discuss the terms of your future employment. I suppose you’re going to want back pay for those three years. I was thinking we might call it vacation time.”
“How about paid sabbatical, you big stupid git?”
“We can work out the details. Are you coming back to work with us?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“I don’t suppose you have anything decent to drink here?” Madsen asked.
“You’re in charge of the place – you should know.”
“I just wondered if you’d already managed to drink everything in sight, you Irish sot.”
“Fuck you.” This was said in the most genial of tones. “There’s Guinness in the refrigerator.”
“There would be,” he said gloomily, getting to his feet. He walked over to MacGowan and held out a hand. Finn just looked up at him for a long, thoughtful moment before taking it, letting him pull him to his feet.
“Sorry, mate,” Madsen said in an undertone.
As far as Beth was concerned it was a pretty mild apology for three years of hell, but it seemed to satisfy MacGowan. “All right, then.”
She never would have thought it possible that she would find herself sitting at a table a few hours later, surrounded by men and boys, a bottle of wine passing between the grown-ups and missing the petulant boys entirely. The chicken and leek dish had ended up respectably, and there was a curious camaraderie around the table, as if two of the them hadn’t been determined to kill each other a short while ago. They’d retired to their respective corners and taken the ice packs she’d made up, all the while Dylan and Mahmoud circled each other. If she carried the dog analogy farther she would have said they were sniffing each others’ butts. Or if they were grown males she would have suggested they pull out a tape measure to compare.
They went off to their own corner, and she could hear the occasional term drifting back to her in the kitchen as she cooked.
“Pussy,” said Dylan.
“Wanker,” said Mahmoud.
Beth smiled.
The dinner was long gone, every spare speck of food scraped from the plates. At least there had been Ben and Jerry’s in the freezer, a fact that astonished her but kept the four bottomless pits busy as the night wore on. She would have left them to wash up, but MacGowan had reached out a lazy hand and pulled her back down, moving her chair closer to his as he did so. She could feel Peter’s curious eyes on them, but he said nothing, and slowly, gradually Beth began to relax. The candles were burning down, the boys were off in a corner arguing, the fire was putting out heat, and she knew in a little while MacGowan would take her hand and lead her back upstairs to his bed. And she knew she’d follow him, to hell and back.
It was after midnight. He turned to her and smiled, and then, to her astonishment, he leaned down and kissed her hand. There was a sudden crack as the window behind his head shattered, and then Madsen jumped him, slamming him against the floor.
She sat still, looking down at them in amazement, thinking, “not again,” when MacGowan reached up and hauled her down beside him, as Madsen crawled across the floor to where Dylan and Mahmoud were sitting, shoving them down as well.
“Sniper,” Madsen said.
“Ya think?” MacGowan’s voice was laconic.
“Guiding Light or CIA?”
“I’m guessing CIA. La Luz is falling apart, and by now they would have given up on us and looked for something a little easier. The CIA keeps sending people.”
“Word has it they thought Isobel would come out of hiding to intervene to keep you from killing me and she’d bring Killian with her. As if you could,” he added with a snort. “I can’t figure out why they’d change their minds and decide to kill you. Apart from the fact that anyone who knows you would want to kill you,” he added.