Defy the Stars (8 page)

‘I don’t know, I really don’t.’ My stomach clenched. Cody had tricked me and now I was trapped in a room with him.

Cody tilted his head to one side. ‘How did you know Flynn worked here?’

I gulped. ‘I didn’t. I mean, I wasn’t sure.’

Cody grabbed my shoulders. I gasped. He shook me. Hard. My legs banged against the desk behind me.

‘You’re lying,’ he snapped. ‘I know how he feels about you. He’s talked about his mysterious ex ever since I met him. He never gave me your name but I guessed it
began with R from that stupid thing he wears round his neck. It was obvious you had, like, a major hold over him. He’d say things like how great you were. How cool, how smart, how
beautiful.’ Cody shook his head. ‘So don’t expect me to believe you don’t know where he is now when you were the last person to see him.’

‘But I don’t.’ I tried to move away, but Cody held me fast. ‘Let me go,’ I insisted.

‘Not until you tell—’

‘I don’t
know
where he is.’ I struggled, desperate to get away.

Cody slapped my cheek.

I gasped, my hand flying to my smarting skin. Cody made a fist. He pressed me back against the desk, then raised his arm.

I shrank back as he loomed over me, his breath hot and stale in my ear.

‘Tell me where he is,’ he hissed, ‘or I will mess up that pretty face until no one wants to look at you, not even Flynn.’

I stared at Cody’s fist, inches from my face. Instinct took over. With a snarl I brought my knee up between his legs. He yelled out in pain, doubling over. I shoved him
away from me and ran. Across the office, I flung open the door and raced away, along the corridor. The fire door was open, the two men still visible outside, their cigarettes bright spots in the
gloom.

I swerved to the left, hoping to find my way back to the toilets and the bar. Another fire door. I opened it. Pushed. It clanged against the wall behind. I ran outside. Even in the dim light I
could see this was just a yard, surrounded by other backyards. I could hear Cody’s footsteps pounding along the corridor behind me. There was no time. I turned and raced up the fire escape.
My flat sandals slapped noisily on the iron steps. I reached the first floor. The door here was open, the office beyond empty. I darted inside and stood, panting.

Silence below. I peered around the door. Cody was in the yard beneath me, looking around. I ducked back, praying he wouldn’t think to come up here. My heart beat fast and loud in my ears.
Music drifted up from the bar downstairs. I peered around the door again as Cody drew a gun from inside his jacket.

I gasped. I had never seen a gun in real life. Cody raised it, holding it in both hands to examine it carefully, then lowered it to his side as another man – older and balding –
appeared from the building. I couldn’t see his face but I was sure it was Lance Bentham. His voice was a low murmur.

‘Any sign of Flynn?’ Bentham asked.

‘No.’ Cody looked around again. ‘I asked his girlfriend, but she didn’t know either. She was here a minute ago, but she’s gone.’

‘It doesn’t matter. Flynn’s left. It’s done. I don’t want to spend any more manpower trying to find him.’ Bentham sighed. ‘And this is a solo job
anyway.’ He lowered his voice further. I could only just hear him over the steady thump of music from the bar inside. ‘Got your new piece?’

Cody held up the gun and nodded.

Bentham drew a thick stack of notes from his pocket. ‘Here’s half the money. You get the rest when Elmore’s dead.’

Dead?
My breath caught in my throat. Was Cody being paid to
kill
someone? Cody gave a sharp nod.

‘When do I do it?’ he asked.

‘Don’t know yet. Elmore changes his schedule all the time. But soon.’

I stared, my eyes popping out of my head as Cody nodded again, then followed the other man inside. I realised I was still holding my breath and sucked in a lungful of air.

What the hell had just happened? I sagged against the fire door. Was Cody going to carry out a hit for money? My head spun, every cell in my body revolting at the possibility. I had to get away
but I didn’t dare go outside and back down the fire escape in case Cody was still nearby. Instead, I tiptoed across the room I was hiding in, past the desk and chairs and out into a dimly lit
corridor. I crept along, past closed doors. Voices drifted towards me. Cigarette smoke writhed up from under one of the doors.

I sped up, my breath coming fast and hard. I reached a small staircase and raced down the steps. I stopped at the bottom, trying to get my bearings. There was a door ahead of me. I stood on the
other side and pressed my ear to the wood. The music was louder here – and the sound of glass clinking and people talking. It was the bar.

I opened the door and slipped out, shutting the door swiftly behind me. Keeping my head down, I pushed my way through the crowds, past the long glass bar. The air outside was suddenly cool on my
face. I turned left on to the pavement and ran. I raced on for several minutes, intent only on putting as much distance as I could between me and the bar.

At last I stopped. I was on Long Acre, close to Covent Garden tube. A taxi passed, its light on. Another was approaching. I thrust my hand out. The taxi stopped.

‘Where to, love?’

My legs felt trembly. My hands were shaking. I was supposed to be going to Grace’s house, but I was suddenly overwhelmed with a desire to be at home. Except Dad and Gemma weren’t
at
home. Which left only one option. I opened my mouth and the next moment heard myself giving Mum’s address in North London. I hadn’t lived there for over a year but it was
still the safest place I could imagine being right now. And Mum, for all her faults, was still my mother. I got in the cab. My hands still shook as I sent Mum a text saying I was coming, then
another to Grace saying that I wasn’t going back to hers after all.

I sat back, feeling Flynn’s wallet in my pocket. At least I had the money to pay for the cab. Well, it was Flynn’s money but I couldn’t believe he’d begrudge me spending
it, not after what I’d seen.

I closed my eyes, but the image of Cody holding his gun stayed in my head. I should call the police. I didn’t want to give my name but I could still make an anonymous call. The cab drove
past a row of phone boxes.

‘Could you pull over for a second, please?’

The driver halted the cab. I darted out, grabbed the receiver and punched 999 on the pad.

‘Emergency services, which service do you require?’

I took a deep breath. ‘I just saw a man out the back of the Blue Parrot bar in Soho ordering another man to kill someone called Elmore. I don’t know where or when, but he said to do
it soon.’

The operator hesitated. Before she could speak I carried on.

‘I didn’t see the first man’s face so I can’t be one hundred per cent sure who he is, but the guy he ordered to do the killing is definitely called Cody.’

‘What is—?’ the operator began.

I hung up. A second later I was back in the cab. By the time I reached Mum’s I was slightly calmer. After all, I’d done the right thing in calling the police. Surely they would be
able to stop Cody.

I let myself in hoping Mum would be asleep. Of course she wasn’t. She was waiting in the hall for me in her dressing gown, a deep frown creasing her forehead.

‘What’s wrong, River?’ she said.

Despite the fact that I’d
wanted
to come here, irritation rose up inside me.

‘Why does something have to be wrong?’ I snapped. ‘I just thought it would be nice to stay here instead of going back to Grace’s.’

Mum stared at me. ‘It’s something to do with Flynn, isn’t it?’

‘No,’ I said. And then I burst into tears.

Mum was across the hall in a shot. She put her arms around me and I wept against her shoulder. After a moment she led me into the kitchen and we sat down at the table.

I stopped crying and blew my nose.

‘What’s the matter?’ Mum said, leaning forward in her chair. ‘Did something happen while you were out?’

I sniffed. I felt better for crying: less scared, more myself. I was upset from the shock of seeing and hearing Cody with that gun. Part of me wanted to tell Mum what I’d witnessed but I
held back.

By calling the police I’d done everything I could to alert the authorities. And no one had seen me. Cody must have assumed I’d gone back to the public bar. Hopefully he had already
forgotten I was ever there.

‘I saw two men in . . . in a fight,’ I said, choosing my words carefully. ‘It . . . it was upsetting. That’s all.’

Mum took my hand. ‘Did it bring back memories of Flynn getting into fights?’ she said, her voice oozing righteous sympathy.

I took my hand away, irritation rising again. ‘Why do you always have to bring everything back to Flynn?’ I demanded.

Mum looked down at the table. ‘I know you still think about him, River.’ Her voice was soft and low, very unlike the way she normally spoke.

I glanced away, across the kitchen. The cupboard above the sink was open. Inside I could see the coloured bowls we used for eating cereal every morning when I was little. It was weird to think I
had grown up in this house. I still visited regularly, but never for very long. Mum and I just didn’t get on. She had always hated Flynn – and my relationship with him.

‘How do you know what I think about?’ I asked.

Mum bit her lip. ‘Fair enough,’ she said with a sigh. ‘But I do understand. More than you think. I . . .’ She hesitated. ‘I once . . . before I met your dad. There
was someone for me like Flynn.’

I stared at her. She had to be kidding. ‘You went out with someone
like Flynn
?’

Mum shrugged. In a way. Adam was older than me, twenty-two. I was your age now, not quite eighteen. He was what we used to call a drop-out . . . had a lot of dodgy friends, lived in a squat,
took drugs . . .’

‘That’s not like Flynn at all,’ I said.

‘Okay.’ Mum sighed again. ‘I’m not saying
he
was like Flynn. Just that my parents hated him and hated me being with him.’

‘Dad doesn’t hate Flynn,’ I said quickly. Dad had always had more time for Flynn than Mum. He’d let him come and live with us at the commune, after all.

‘Doesn’t he?’ Mum tilted her head to one side. ‘Maybe he didn’t at first. Your dad has always been more trusting than me. But now?’ She paused. ‘After
seeing you, the way you were last year, after Flynn left . . . so devastated you couldn’t even speak . . . after all that, I can assure you that your Dad is every bit as angry at Flynn as I
am. More, probably, because he knows he should never have agreed to have Flynn come and live at the commune in the first place.’

We sat in silence. I had never seen Mum talk about Flynn like this before – all calm and reflective. Normally the mention of his name spun her into a fury in seconds.

‘I’m sorry if I’ve upset you, River,’ Mum said, gently parting my hand. ‘I know I pushed you away last year, before you moved out. I didn’t mean to.
It’s just . . . I can’t bear to see you make the same mistakes I once made.’

‘But you found Dad in the end, didn’t you? I mean, you and Dad loved each other once.’

‘Of course.’ Mum smiled. ‘Your father and I loved each other very much. But it was never intense like it was with Adam.’ She looked away, clearly lost in her memories.
‘The thing is, I thought Adam and I were meant to be.
Forever.
But we weren’t. That passed, just like your dad and I passed and you being a child passed. That’s the
thing, River. Nothing lasts. Things you think are written in the stars can change in a heartbeat. All you can do is make the best of the time that you’re given.’

It was good to get back to the commune the next morning. The fresh coat of paint we had given the main building earlier that spring gleamed bright white against the blue sky
and the air smelled fresh and clear after London. Leo’s dad and Ros were back from Devon, full of excitement about the cottage they wanted to buy. Dad brought Gemma home from the hospital
that afternoon. Lily was out of intensive care and doing much better than before and Gemma seemed more her old self, charting with everyone in the kitchen. She said she missed the baby desperately,
but knew she was in the best place to fully recover. I agreed to go into the hospital with her the next morning for a visit on my way to sixth form college.

Mum’s words echoed in my head from time to time. I also thought about Cody taking money to kill someone. Everything I’d seen and heard in the Blue Parrot seemed now to belong to some
long-ago dream.

Where was Flynn? In all the drama of last night I hadn’t really processed what Cody had told me – that he hadn’t seen Flynn since the party. I wondered what he was doing for
money. His wallet was still stuffed in my pocket. Returning it seemed impossible now.

I mused over things Flynn had said to Cody about me – how cool, how smart, how beautiful I was. And how he hadn’t lied about leaving his work, even though it was clear he was in
massive trouble with his boss – Bentham – for running away.

It took me ages to fall asleep that night. The image of Cody examining his gun kept flashing in front my eyes. But at last I did drift into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Hours passed. And then a creaking noise woke me. My eyes snapped open. It was still dark. I listened out. Had I dreamed the creaking sound? I turned my head.

A male figure was silhouetted in the doorway. I gasped, horror-struck. For a split second I stared at the man’s outline, my eyes straining to focus properly.

And then he sped towards me.

I opened my mouth to scream. But before I could make a sound, the dark figure reached me, a shadowy blur in the dim light. His hand clamped over my mouth.

‘Sssh, River.’ His voice was low and as familiar as breathing.

‘Flynn?’ My squeak came out muffled – half relief that he wasn’t a burglar who’d just broken into the commune, half shock that it was him, here, after all this
time.

Flynn took his hand away. My still-sleep-filled eyes took him in. His face was pale in the dim light. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked.