I take it and down it in one long swallow.
‘Her mother and sister will be here in eight hours. If you want, I can go on my own to pick them up from the airport,’ he offers.
All your sins come back to haunt you. ‘No,’ I say. ‘I’ll go with you.’
We drink together in complete silence. Not one word is exchanged. When the bottle is empty Noah opens another. I can feel myself going down and it is a relief. It is a relief to let go and sink somewhere where there is no me and no Dahlia. There is just nothing. It’s a good place.
‘You’ll wake me when it’s time?’ I ask blearily.
Noah seems totally unaffected by the amount of alcohol he has consumed. ‘Yeah, boss. Sleep now. I’ll wake you.’
With a sigh I give in to blessed sleep.
Daisy is nothing like Dahlia. She is dark blonde with freckles, a boyish figure and sky blue eyes. I can imagine her smiling. She has that type of face. At the moment though she is not smiling. She is holding on to her mother protectively and looking around anxiously. Dahlia’s mother on the other hand looks completely lost and frightened.
I smooth down my freshly showered hair and walk up to them.
‘Mrs. Fury,’ I say.
She turns to me with searching, wide eyes. ‘Yes,’ she whispers.
‘I’m Zane.’
‘Oh,’ she gasps. ‘You’re the one who’s taking care of my daughter.’
I wince inwardly. ‘She’s still in hospital. If you come with me I’ll take you there after you’ve had a little rest at the hotel.’
‘Yes, that would be good,’ she says, her eyes confused and uncertain. Now I know why Dahlia is so protective of her mother and treats her as if she is a little kid.
‘No, I want to see Dahlia straightaway,’ Daisy says. She turns to her mother. ‘It’ll only take a little while to see her, Mom. Let’s go see Dahlia first.’
Her mother nods vigorously. ‘Yes, yes, that’s a much better idea.’
I turn towards her sister. ‘Good to finally meet you, Daisy.’
She nods slowly. ‘Yeah. Thanks for taking care of my sister.’
‘Right, let’s go,’ I say, picking up the suitcase. Daisy is carrying a backpack. ‘Would you like me to help you with that?’
‘No, it’s not heavy,’ she replies.
We get outside and Noah takes the suitcase off me and the backpack off Daisy. While Noah is putting their luggage into the boot, I open the door, and first Daisy, then her mother slip into the car. I close the door and get into the front passenger seat. We drive in silence. The only sound comes from the stereo system.
We get to the hospital and I wait outside in the corridor while they go into Dahlia’s room. They are with her for about fifteen minutes. When they come out both are in tears.
‘I can’t believe it,’ her mother cries.
‘I’m very sorry, Mrs. Fury,’ I say automatically. ‘My driver will take you to your hotel,’ I tell them.
‘Can I talk to you alone for a minute?’ Daisy asks.
‘Yeah, sure. If you step this way.’ I show her to the door of the stairwell.
‘Why is there a security guard outside my sister’s room? Is she still in danger?’
‘No. No. It’s just a precaution.’
Her brow knits and she looks at me suspiciously. ‘A precaution against what?’
‘Nothing. I’m just paranoid.’
She hugs herself and shivers. ‘The bomb was meant for you, wasn’t it?’
For a moment the world goes very black. If she only knew how the guilt is eating me alive. I nod.
‘Why?’ she asks curiously. ‘You’re not just a businessman?’
‘No. I’m a criminal,’ I admit flatly. I guess that is what I am.
Her eyes pop open. ‘What?’
‘Organized crime. That’s my game. I run a large and successful criminal enterprise.’
She takes a deep breath. ‘What is it that you do?’ she asks.
‘It’s not important. Your sister knew what I did.’
‘And she was OK with what you do?’ she asks incredulously.
‘No,’ I choke.
‘So why are you still doing it?’
‘Because I’m good at this.’ In fact, I’m fucking brilliant at it. I’m so good I make it look easy. Lenny couldn’t help himself. He thought he could take over my show if he got rid of me.
Daisy stares hard at me. ‘Can’t you see that you have only reaped what you have sown. You’ve hurt others and now you are being hurt. You have to stop or this cycle of pain will never end. You have to tell her that you have stopped. You sent her away. You have to bring her back.’
I don’t say anything. I just freeze.
‘Do you or don’t you love my sister?’
‘I do.’
‘Then go and make it better. Stop what you’re doing.’
She takes a step towards me and I have to suppress the urge to step back. I am holding on to my sanity by a thin thread. Her innocence and naivety threatens it.