A man stares back at me. He’s wearing a balaclava.
My breath catches in my throat. My heart slams into my ribs. Then, the van door flies open.
Panic detonates inside me.He’s coming for me.There’s no mistaking it. I spin and run, my feet pounding the pavement, my lungs burning.I’m a runner. I should be faster. I need to be faster.
But he’s gaining on me. He’s too fast. A second later, he’s on me.
His arms lock around my body like a vice. I scream – a sharp, desperate wail – but his gloved hand crushes my mouth, silencing me. I stomp on his foot, a futile act of defiance. He drags me towards the van.
‘No, please… don’t hurt me,’ I gasp, my voice muffled against his hand.
‘Shut up, or I’ll kill you,’ he hisses into my ear. His voice is deep.
I try to thrash and fight, but to no effect. Something rough is thrown over my head, plunging me into suffocating darkness. My heart pounds, sounding a frantic drumbeat in my ears. He wrenches my arms behind my back, and binds them with something harsh and unyielding.
My skin burns beneath the restraints as terror sears through me. The world narrows to the sound of my ragged breathing and his cold, brutal grip.
When he says he will kill me, I believe him.
Chapter Two
Daniel
Icheck the time.Damn, I’m late. Jo will be annoyed, though she’ll pretend otherwise, like she always does. I text her to say I’m running late, then call the restaurant to ask them to hold our table. The manager is very accommodating. Considering I’ll be spending over four hundred quid at their overpriced establishment tonight, I should bloody hope so. It’s not like we’re dining at Pizza Hut.
I smile, remembering when Pizza Hut used to be our idea of a treat.
Then my mind drifts back to the first time I stepped into Mason’s.
It was the evening of my promotion. I was with Nic and high on adrenaline. Lockwood and Holland were one of the most prestigious accountants in London. We dealt with top-class clients from all over the world. Getting promoted from accounts manager to chief finance officer was a dream come true, and although I’d worked hard to achieve that recognition, it still came as a surprise.
***
Nic swung open the doors with a grin, mischief lighting up his eyes. The maître d’, immaculate in his black suit, greeted us with a refined nod. I’d passed Mason’s many times, noting its grand façade and gilded signage exuding exclusivity, but that was my first time inside.
Mason’s was elegance distilled. Everything about it whispered of wealth. Staff glided silently from table to table. The scent of expensive perfume hung in the air. The women sparkled with diamonds. It was a sanctuary for the rich; a world I had only glimpsed from the outside.
‘Mr Evans,’ the maître d’ said warmly, recognising Nic immediately. ‘Good to see you again. Please follow me.’
‘Thank you, Ramone,’ said Nic.
We were led through the plush dining room, our footsteps silenced by thick carpets. As we sat, Nic gave the maître d’ a showy nod.
‘Perfect, Ramone. We’ll start with a bottle of champagne.’
Nic relished moments like that. Revelled in them, in fact, like a child unwrapping a new toy.
As Ramone disappeared, I took in my surroundings. ‘This is going to wipe out my bank account,’ I murmured, only half joking.
Nic laughed. ‘It’s on me, you lucky bastard. It’s not every day you become CFO of a company like Lockwood and Holland. Soon, you’ll be a regular here.’
Floating somewhere between disbelief and pride, I raised my glass. I'd hoped for a promotion, but this? This was beyond anything I had imagined. The salary alone was enough to transform our lives. With that and Jo’s salary as a paediatric surgeon, we’d no longer have to scrimp or rely on her parents for help. We could even hire a nanny for Joel.
Mason’s shimmered like a symbol of everything we’d worked for. As we toasted, I silently thanked whatever twist of fate had landed me there.
‘You fucking lucky bastard,’ Nic said, grinning.
A regular, he waved across the room at familiar faces. Nic Evans, board member at Lance and Holland, bachelor, well-off, and seemingly always between girlfriends. He wasn’t exactly my kind of person, but he’d backed me for the job, and I was grateful.
