Promises After Dark (After Dark Book 3) (33 page)

‘Okay. I’ll get some lunch ready for us. And maybe this afternoon we can go out and look for something for you to wear to the New Year ball.’

Maybe. But if we haven’t heard from Dominic by then, there’s no way I’m going to be able to think about shopping.

I put on a jacket and go out into the cold wintery day outside. The sky is low and a marbled grey colour, with little in the way of sunshine. It seems to reflect my own mood and I walk along the blocks of brownstone houses, staring at my feet and my mind miles away. I can’t help wondering what’s happening this very minute between Dominic and Andrei. Are they facing each other down? Yelling? Grappling? Or are they giving one another frosty stares across a desk, keeping their emotions in check as they play the ice-cool businessmen?

This waiting is killing me!

For the hundredth time I take out my phone but there’s nothing there. I wish I knew how long I was going to have to wait. Then at least I could think about something else.

I walk for a long time and I suddenly realise that I’ve made my way almost to Central Park. I decide to go in and find a place where I can have a coffee. I’ll message Georgie too, and tell her I won’t be back for a while.

I find a café in a small clearing and sit down at one of the outside tables. There aren’t many people about; perhaps it’s too cold for families or perhaps they’ve gone away for Christmas like so many Londoners do. A waitress comes up and I order a latte. It arrives a few minutes later in a takeaway paper cup, which I wrap my fingers around, grateful for the warmth. When they’ve defrosted a little, I’ll text Georgie where I am and explain I’ll be a little late for lunch.

‘Do you mind if I join you?’ The voice is harsh, gravelly and unmistakable. I look up and find myself staring into the pale blue eyes of Andrei Dubrovski.

I gasp and half stand up in surprise. ‘What?! What are you doing here?’

He sits down on an iron chair, his coat incongruously smart against the worn surface of the seat. ‘I want to talk to you.’

I’m astonished, breathless. I can hardly believe my eyes. ‘But you’re supposed to be with Dominic! Where is he?’ I look wildly about, as though I’m going to see Dominic struggling in the bushes, kept a prisoner by Andrei’s henchmen.

‘Don’t worry about him,’ Andrei says calmly. ‘He’s at my office as we arranged.’

‘But he’s been there hours. Aren’t you having your meeting?’

‘My lawyers are keeping him very busy while I have this little rendezvous with you. I know that Dominic has something to tell me and I have an instinct what that might be. But I want to hear it from you first. I want to hear it from your mouth.’

I gape at him as I sink back into my seat, not knowing what to say. This isn’t something I’m ready for. How do I tell a man like Andrei that I know he’s busted, a criminal whose activities are about to be exposed?

Andrei is looking at me, his eyes scanning my face, and I realise that there’s something like pity in their chilly depths. ‘I heard about Mark,’ he says. ‘I’m very sorry.’

‘Really?’ I spit back. ‘Because I got your charming Christmas card. The one with the press release explaining how you were going to hang Mark out to dry and make sure he was completely ruined in the process. Are you sorry he’s dead, or are you just sorry that you’re not going to be able to make him suffer the way you’d hoped?’

His face goes flinty. ‘Of course I’m sorry. I was fond of Mark. Do you think I’m pleased that he’s dead? Do you think I’m a monster?’

‘You know what? I really don’t know! I don’t want to think that, but you’ve done your best to show me that you’re cold and ruthless so I’m beginning to believe that’s what you are!’

‘I know what I want and I try to get it. I don’t wish people to be hurt in the process but it sometimes happens,’ he snaps back.

‘Maybe it would happen less if you didn’t involve innocent people in your money laundering!’ I retort.

There’s an awful pause while this hangs in the air between us. Andrei’s face is rock hard. Then he speaks.

‘So that is what Dominic intends to accuse me of.’

‘He knows. I know. You used Mark as a conduit. You took advantage of his trusting nature and then you were prepared to destroy him.’ I shake my head in disbelief. ‘I think it’s time you dropped your man of compassion act. You’re a nothing but a selfish crook.’

Andrei leans back in the small iron chair and folds his gloved hands across his stomach. ‘You believe this then.’

‘Of course. We have a pretty unassailable witness and I’m sure the proof will all be there in Mark’s files.’

‘And the price, I assume, for silence on this matter is that you and Stone are left in peace.’

I nod. ‘It was going to be for Mark too – but it’s too late for him now.’

‘I have ways of ensuring your silence. And Dominic’s. And Anna’s – I assume she is the witness you spoke of.’

‘Yes, you could dispose of us, I assume that’s what you mean. But we’ve all made witnessed statements to be passed to the police in the event of our deaths.’ This is a bluff but I hope it sounds plausible.

He stares at me again, his expression unreadable. Then he says at last in tones of finality, ‘I see.’ He leans towards me, his eyes suddenly urgent. ‘It’s not too late, Beth. You can still leave him and come away with me. I promise you a life you will never have with Stone.’

‘I know.’ I smile coolly at him. ‘That’s what I’m afraid of.’

We hold one another’s gaze for a long time and then Andrei sighs.

‘I understand everything now. Dominic has it in his power to destroy me and I’m sure he’s enjoying it. I do not need him to tell me this to my face and it will give me just a little pleasure to deny him that. You may tell him that the field is clear. I will not stand in his way, in business or in personal matters. You’ve made your choice of your own free will and I will respect it. I will leave it up to you what you do with the power in your hands.’ He gets up. ‘I wish it could have been different.’

I can’t help feeling a strange tenderness for this man, despite everything. We have been through a lot together. ‘Perhaps it could have been, once,’ I say. ‘But in the end, you made sure that it could never be, as soon as you tried to force me to do what you wanted.’

He gives a light laugh. ‘The tyrant’s fatal flaw. I wish you well, Beth. Will you wish me the same?’

‘Of course. I wish you everything you truly want in life. I wish you love.’

He looks very sad suddenly, his blue eyes a well of grief. ‘And you have already found it. You’re lucky. I’ve spent over half a lifetime looking for it and never come near it yet.’

I stand up too and hold out my hand. ‘Goodbye, Andrei. Good luck.’

He looks at my outstretched hand for a moment and then takes it. He smiles. ‘Good luck to you. And goodbye, Beth. I don’t know if we will meet again. I suspect not.’

I say nothing more. We have said all we need to. I watch as he turns his back on me and strides away across the park. I wonder what he intends to do now. Then I realise that it’s not my problem any more. My heart is suddenly light. I pull out my phone. Still nothing from Dominic. No doubt the lawyers are enjoying wasting his time, making him prepare for a meeting that will never happen.

Call me as soon as you are out.

I send the message off and sit back in my chair, waiting for a reply as I gaze out over the wintery park.

‘So Andrei was intending to see you all the time?’

Dominic is striding about Georgie’s sitting room, his face both confused and furious. ‘I spent hours in his fucking boardroom being made to read papers and sign affidavits! And all the time, he wasn’t even in the goddamned building!’

Georgie gives me a sideways look, shrugs her shoulders and turns her eyes to heaven. I smile back. I like Georgie a lot.

Dominic stops pacing and turns to face me. ‘How the hell did he know where you are?’

‘He seems to be rather good at tracking me down,’ I say simply. ‘But having someone watching your sister’s house is probably not beyond him.’

Dominic shakes his head and then laughs. ‘I’ve got to hand it to him. He knows how to wrong-foot me. I was so looking forward to rubbing his nose in it. I should have guessed that he wouldn’t let that happen.’

He makes me go through every part of my interview with Andrei again and together we analyse it.

‘Well, at least he understands exactly what we have on him,’ says Dominic. ‘And good thinking about that signed witnessed statement. We should all do that, just to be on the safe side, though I don’t really believe we have anything to fear from Andrei now. He knows there’s too much evidence stacked up against him. If he gets taken down he’ll risk his criminal networks, and those are people he really won’t want to piss off, believe me.’

‘Then we’re free?’ I ask, hardly able to believe it.

‘Free.’ Dominic smiles at me.

‘Are we duty-bound to tell the police?’ I ask, frowning. ‘I mean, he’s laundering money. He’s helping gangs and supporting their activities. Aren’t we guilty as well if we let him carry on?’

Georgie says, ‘Beth’s right, Dom. You don’t really have a choice about this. Andrei’s been laundering money all over the place.’

Dominic fixes me with a serious look. ‘Of course that’s the right thing to do. But it means Mark’s name will certainly be dragged through the mud. And Anna and I – and even you – will have to stand up in court and bear witness against Andrei and his underworld friends. That could be dangerous. You need to think hard about that.’

‘I will,’ I say slowly. ‘I will think about it. I’ll think about what Mark would have wanted and what I think is best.’

‘Okay,’ Dominic says. He smiles at me. ‘But let’s take our time before we make any heavy decisions. The day after tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. We’ve got a party to go to. It’s time to see out the old year and welcome the new.’

I smile back. This year has been the most incredible of my life. And I have a feeling that the year to come will be even more amazing.

The scene before me is like something in a fairy story. In a huge marbled ballroom beneath a many-tiered chandelier, a mass of people is whirling, skirts flying, polished shoes glinting, as they dance to the orchestra that plays from the stage. It’s a beautiful spectacle and I’m entranced by it as I stand watching from the balcony. I’m also breathless, as a few moments ago it was me down there on the dance floor, my emerald silk dress floating round me as Dominic spun me around in his arms, humming along to the waltz as we went.

He comes up and hands me a glass of champagne. ‘Here you are,’ he says with a smile. ‘Your refreshment. Are you having a good time?’

‘Amazing,’ I say. ‘It’s so lovely to look at.’

‘The old-fashioned New Year’s Eve ball. You know what, it’s nearly midnight. Come with me.’ He leads me away from the balcony and opens a door to small terrace with a view over the city. We step out into the night air. ‘I thought you’d like one last look at the city before we go home tomorrow.’

‘It’s been incredible,’ I sigh. I can’t help feeling wistful. Next week is Mark’s funeral. He won’t see this new year arriving, or anything else. No matter how upsetting it would be to see his business brought down, I’m sure he’d rather have been alive.

Dominic takes off his tailcoat and slips it over my shoulders. He places a kiss on my lips. ‘I want you to live with me, Beth. I want us to be together all the time. When we get home, I want us to find a place we both love where we can build a life together.’

I thrill to everything he’s saying. ‘That’s what I want too,’ I say gently. ‘But not at the expense of my career and my work.’

‘I understand that,’ he says. ‘It might mean that we’re apart some of the time – but we’ll always know that we share a home, that we’re joined in our hearts.’

I nod. ‘Yes.’ I put my arms around him and pull him tight. ‘I’m so happy. It’s been a bumpy ride but we’ve made it.’

Dominic puts his arms around me and we stand like that together for a while, enjoying our closeness. Then he says, ‘Hey, they’re getting ready for the countdown inside. We’d better go back in. We don’t want to miss the New Year.’

We go back through the door into the ballroom. Below us the orchestra has stopped playing and the crowd are watching a clock on the wall as the hands inch round to midnight. As it reaches its last few seconds, everyone begins to chant: ‘Five, four, three, two . . .’

As they yell, ‘One!’ and cheer, Dominic kisses me. When he pulls away, his eyes are shining. ‘Happy New Year, Beth.’

‘Happy New Year!’

The orchestra bursts into ‘Auld Lang Syne’ but we don’t sing along. We’re too engrossed in our own private world, lost in the pleasure of our kiss.

Chapter Twenty

Mark’s funeral is very well attended. In the Chelsea church, the pews are full and the mourners are a particularly elegant crowd, the men very well turned out in dark suits and waistcoats, and the women in black, their jackets given a touch of richness with diamond brooches and pearl necklaces. Some are wearing hats, others a small spray of black feathers or soft wool berets in deference to the cold weather.