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“With her sister. When she returns, I’ll tell her everything.”
“She’s going to hate me.”
“No.” Rupert shook his head firmly. “She’s going to hate me. Until I tell her I’m not even a Thorn. Then, she’s going to hate the entire institution she just married into.”
He gave me one last persistent kiss then stood, his gaze roaming me like he was pained. Then he strode out of Minty’s flat having secured my heart, my soul and the rest of my life in the palm of his hand.
Vivian
As soon as she stepped through the door of her flat, Minty stormed into the living room and flung her arms around me, pinning me to the sofa. “You’re staying,” she squealed. “Rupert said you’re staying! What happened?”
“Um,” I gently unravelled her hands and waited until she was sitting down like a normal person. “Rupert happened.”
Her eyes swivelled. “Doesn’t he always though? What did he do this time?”
I arched a brow at her. “Do you really want to know?
She glanced at me, then fluttered her lashes away. “Actually no, I can imagine… Actually, no I can’t, I won’t. Argh!” She buried her face in her hands. “I can’t get the picture out of my head now. You two, doing…”
I burst into laughter, enjoying her discomfort. “What picture?”
She looked up suddenly, her eyes full of mischief, and stared ahead as though she was watching a movie play out on the opposite wall. “Ooh, that’s hot. Shit, girl…”
“Stop it!” I playfully smacked her arm.
“What?” she asked. “Normally I have to pay for porn. Now I can just imagine it.”
“Minty!” I squealed, cringing.
“I’m kidding. I’m just glad you two made up, or whatever it was you did.” Her expression turned serious. “I’m glad you’re staying.”
I squeezed her hand. “Me too.”
She smiled at me before heading back to the door and returning with some leftovers she’d brought home from Caspian House. “Have you spoken to Pegs since you arrived?” she asked.
I sighed heavily. “Yes,” I replied. “Did you know about the opioids?”
Minty dropped the food onto a table and stared at me, horrified. “No… Not Peggy.”
I nodded.
“Shit. How do you know?”
“She didn’t sound like herself, for a start. At all. She sounded restless and erratic. And all she’s concerned about is getting more Bas. Her behaviour over the phone was just plain odd, and when I told Rupert about it, that’s when he told me about the opioids.”
“You’re definitely sure she got the new version?”
“There’s no other explanation. She didn’t sound like the Peggy I know.” I stared down at my hands curled together in my lap. “I can’t believe this has happened. She’s been through so much, and now this. It could ruin her life, and it’s all my fault.”
Minty swallowed her mouthful loudly and gripped my shoulders. “Viv, it is not your fault. You did everything you promised – you came to this island, got her the drugs, and went through a tunnel of shit on route. You couldn’t have done any more. And if the drugs have been tampered with, as Rupert says, you weren’t to know. That’s all on Ossian.”
I spooned a small amount of rice onto a plate and avoided her watchful eyes. “It’s just so hard to hear her desperation when there’s nothing I can do about it. I don’t even know what Rupert is planning to do.” Then I remembered Minty was also a part of the Rebellion. My gaze flicked upwards and my eyes searched hers. “Do you know?”
“I’ve heard snippets here and there but things are happening so quickly and I can’t keep calling it in at work; I have to be seen, otherwise people will get suspicious.”
Then a thought occurred to me. “Don’t the other islanders know about the Rebellion?”
Minty shrugged. “Some do, some don’t. They tend to find out about us when they start asking questions. But because the Consortium families have given us privileges like bars, cable TV, jobs, most people don’t question their lot.”
