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Dylan threw a boisterous arm around Joseph’s shoulders, then he delicately draped his other arm around Sarah, and they walked in a line like that, making Sarah feel proud to be with these two lovely men. The Quinlan family had always been warm and welcoming – Sarah hadn’t felt like a member of a family for so long, yet suddenly, being with these two, she felt at home.
“So, Joseph,” Sarah said. “I hear you’re studying at the moment?”
“Yeah, I’m on summer vacation right now, but I’ll go into my final year in October, then after that, concentrate on the band.”
“You’ll be a full-time musician?”
“That’s what I want. Ivan always said I had the talent and the charisma. I’d like to give it a go. For his memory.”
Sarah smiled sadly. “I was sorry to hear about Ivan.”
Dylan squeezed them both tight. “Hey, you never know, Joey… Joseph… Maybe you’ll be reunited with him one day.”
Joseph shrugged. Sarah was surprised to hear Dylan say something so spiritual, but perhaps he’d changed since she’d known him at college. Losing a loved-one tended to make people more philosophical...
Sarah was pulled out of her thoughts by a commotion at the other side of the square. A woman was frantically screaming behind the statue of Shakespeare, and a crowd had gathered to help. Sarah’s muscles froze as she saw Natalia push through the crowd and speed towards Dylan. She was dressed in a cape with a hood, which fluttered behind her, and Sarah realised she must’ve wanted to remain incognito, but there was little chance of that now she’d given herself away by screaming and fleeing over here with such drama.
Natalia yelled in a bloodcurdling voice. “Dylan! Dylan! Help me, help me!”
On auto-pilot, Dylan rushed to meet her, and Sarah and Joseph followed. As they came together, Natalia stumbled, and Dylan caught her in his arms.
Then Sarah saw it.
Everything else faded into the background as Sarah’s mind glued itself to the terrifying sight of a bloody knife sticking out of Natalia’s back. Fear zoomed into Sarah’s brain as if she’d been injected with a hypodermic needle full of insanity. Her muscles tensed, and the boundaries of her personal space squashed up close, crushing her lungs and restricting her breath.
She watched through blurring eyes, as the bleeding Natalia locked her gaze with Dylan’s. She panted in his arms, clearly dying. Sarah wanted to reach out and comfort her, but reality was like molasses – like a nightmare where you can’t speak or even move…
With her last ounce of strength, Natalia pulled herself up to Dylan’s ear and spoke urgently, but the sound of the frantic crowd prevented Sarah from hearing a single word. It was clearly bad news – Dylan’s eyes widened in shock as she spoke.
Sarah realised with sadness how utterly alone Natalia was. Even though she was surrounded by hundreds of people in this pulsating crowd, no one could save her. Not even Dylan. She shivered and watched in slow motion as Dylan suddenly sprung to life and grabbed Natalia by the shoulders. “What do you mean?” he asked. “What are you saying?”
Natalia inhaled to speak, but it was too late. She gasped for air, desperate to answer, but her heavy head dropped forward like a cannonball, and her life drained away. She flopped against Dylan’s body. And she was gone.
Dylan stared frozen at the dead woman in his arms. Dizziness encompassed Sarah. She felt herself stumble as her knees gave way, but she managed to stay upright by colliding with the hordes of people who were now suffocating her, demanding answers; desperate to know what the hell had just happened.
Sarah’s body prickled with panic – what if the mob turned against them? What if someone accused Dylan of killing Natalia? She felt as if she was standing on the cusp of something terrible. A window ledge. It was like trying to control a slippery fish as it thrashed about, desperate to stay alive. She glanced into the sea of confusion, unsure what to do next… But thankfully two cops were already running over. They eased Natalia’s heavy lifeless body out of Dylan’s frozen arms and rested her on the ground.
Dylan came back to life and turned to Sarah, hugging her tight. She sank into his body, relieved to feel his strength all around her. She could feel him shaking. Or maybe it was her shaking. Dylan reached out and threw his other arm around Joseph, checking he was okay, then they stood there in the chaos – in the heat and the madness – until more police arrived to deal with the ever-growing crowd; to deal with this celebrity Russian socialite who was now dead on the dusty ground of the famous London landmark.
Sarah couldn’t drag her eyes away from the cold beautiful corpse. But then someone who Sarah never thought she’d be relieved to see shoved her way through to halt in front of their little group… Detective Edwards.
“You three need to come with me now,” she shouted, raising her voice against the noisy rabble. “And this time, Mr Quinlan, I suggest you do call your lawyer.”
Chapter Ten
Dylan scrubbed his shaking hands under the far-too-hot water in the grotty men’s room at the police station. He splashed his face, then inspected his weary reflection in the warped mirror. Jesus. His brief affair with Natalia had led him to places he’d never thought possible. Poor girl… he’d never wanted this to happen. Not in a million years. What sort of man arranged to have his wife stabbed in a public square like that? Dylan gazed into his own eyes and saw a generally decent man in there. Certainly not someone like Vladimir Orlov. He vowed that this was the last time he’d get mixed up with anything dangerous or dubious. Straight down the line from now on. His priorities had swerved now that Sarah was back in his life, and he needed to keep her out of trouble. Metallic pain pierced his heart as his mind switched Sarah for Natalia in today’s terrible scene. There was no way…
He prepared himself to face reality again by breathing deeply into his lungs, standing tall, and setting his face to confident, then – happy with what the mirror showed him – he strode back out to the featureless side-room where Sarah and Joseph were chatting quietly on a fraying couch, drinking tea from polystyrene cups. It smelled musty in here, like an ancient closet full of worn-out overcoats.
“Hey,” Dylan said, joining them. He reached down and rubbed Sarah on the cheek. She closed her eyes and relished his touch, like a cat nuzzling its owner’s hand. Sarah was a strong-minded woman, but he was worried he’d dragged her in above her head. And as for his little brother… Joseph had been through a lot recently what with losing Ivan. The last thing Dylan wanted was for him to have some sort of mental breakdown.
Dylan opened his mouth to ask if they were both okay – which was a silly question after what had just happened – but he closed it as his lawyer strode into the room.
“Dylan, hi,” he said. They shook hands.
“Jim, thanks for coming so quick.”
Jim was a tall wily middle-aged man who Dylan had appointed as Grafton Techs’ legal head as soon as he’d arrived in London. He was balding, slightly grubby, and always had a five o’clock shadow. But what he lacked in suave appearances, he made up for with ruthless legal prowess.
