Tam drove, while Sly took the passenger seat and I sat in the back with Leo and Jodie. I watched out the window as we drove into the city.
Even though Tallinn was the capital city, it didn’t feel like much more than a town. It was as though it existed in a different, more old-world time than the tourist-filled, exhaust-fume-soaked streets of London. The architecture was like something from a fairy tale, with medieval stone turrets reaching into the blue skies. Red-tiled roofs and church spires were interspersed with glass towers.
It was warm, but a fresh breeze carried with it the salty tang of the Baltic Sea.
The five-star hotel Tam had reserved was located in the old town.
He checked us all in, and then we went up to our rooms. The place had high ceilings and dark wooden floors. A four-poster bed with cream silk sheets dominated the space, and floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view out onto the city. Across the street was a restaurant, its tables positioned on the pavement, locals eating in the early evening sun.
On a side table in the window sat a chilled bottle of champagne in a cooler and two crystal glasses.
Leo and Jodie had the room next to ours. Though the walls were thick, a squeal of pleasure came from inside the adjacent room. I imagined the two of them would waste no time in testing out the bed. I wished things were as simple in my own love life. Would Tam and I ever reach a point where we could be comfortable in one another’s presence?
Moans filtered through the walls, and I shot a look at Tam to see if he’d heard. From the way he was staring at the wall, his nostrils flared, I assumed he had. Heat rose to my face. Would he expect a repeat performance of earlier that day? The shame and embarrassment I’d felt at him leaving me kneeling on the floor washed through me afresh. I was stupid to have hoped that something physical happening between us changed anything. Tam was cold and heartless, and sex was just sex. But then why did the memory of my lips around his dick also cause that flutter of arousal between my thighs? I couldn’t pretend I hadn’t enjoyed the orgasm, but was it worth the humiliation afterwards?
The moans grew louder, and Tam scowled.
“He’d better be done soon. We’ve got work to do.”
I bit my lower lip and glanced away, not wanting to make eye contact with him.
“I bet you wish it was Leo, don’t you?”
His comment surprised me. “Wish what was Leo?”
“That you’d been engaged to. If he hadn’t already been with Jodie, you might have had him instead.”
I didn’t know how to answer that.
“It was Harvey I’d wanted,” I said instead.
Tam ignored me and opened his bag and took out the parts of a handgun, which he slotted back together. I wasn’t a gun person. Living in the UK, I imagined that if I hadn’t grown up with the family I had, I most likely would never have even seen one in real life. I understood why we couldn’t have taken a commercial flight, and not only because of the fake passport.
A flip of nerves turned a summersault in my belly. “You’ll be careful, won’t you?”
“Don’t make out like you’re worried about my safety. If I died, like Harvey, you’d be home free.”
“I never wanted Harvey to die, and I don’t want you to die either.”
He clicked the final part onto the gun and straightened. “Good thing I have no intention of dying then, isn’t it? Now get ready. We need to meet the others down in the bar in ten.”
Leo and Jodie had fallen quiet next door, so I guessed they were also preparing for the night ahead. I was glad I’d managed to sleep on the plane. I had the feeling it was going to be an eventful one.