The colour drained from Alison’s face. ‘Was it Derek?’
‘No, he sent someone on his behalf. The bastard was wearing a balaclava.’
‘Was anything damaged?’
‘No. Steve was there to stop it, but he took a beating.’
She shot a hand to her mouth. ‘God, is he OK?’
‘He’ll be OK, but he gave as good as he got. Steve thinks he broke the guy’s ribs.’
She shook her head in dismay. ‘This has to stop.’
‘It will when we prove Derek killed Alex.’
‘No. I mean you. You have to stop. You can’t get yourself killed over Alex.’
I expected this. It was the reason why I hadn’t wanted to tell her. ‘I think it’s a little late for all that. People know what we’re doing. They’re going to keep coming after us now.’
‘You keep saying they. Are there others involved besides Derek?’
‘Derek has a lot of friends helping him. Look, I don’t want to tell you more because I don’t want to put you in danger. Let’s talk about something else.’
And we did. We slipped into an easy conversation covering topics from music to movies and everything in between. It put distance between me and my problems, but it didn’t make me feel any better for being with her. I was enjoying her company, but I felt I was not only taking over Alex’s ride, but his girl too. After a second round of drinks, we called it a night.
‘I can drive you home,’ I said when we were in the van. ‘It’s late and it’s going to take you forever to get home by train.’
She hesitated for a second before agreeing.
Again, we fell into a comfortable conversation. I made her laugh from time to time as she directed me to her flat. We were laughing so much that I overshot the turn for her street.
‘Stop here,’ she said. ‘I’ll walk back.’
I parked under a street light. It bathed her face in an orange glow.
‘Thanks for tonight. It seems like forever since I last laughed and didn’t feel guilty about it.’
‘I’m glad I could help.’
She turned away and her face disappeared in the shadows. ‘I miss him, you know. I can’t stop thinking about what we had and what we should have had.’
‘It’s only natural. You’ll always miss him, but it’ll get better.’
She smiled. ‘That’s what I like about you, Aidy. You’re honest.’
‘I just know better, I guess. My mum and dad died over ten years ago. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about them. They’re my parents and I love them to pieces, but I don’t miss them the way I did back then. I always wonder how life would have been different with them still around. Steve feels more like a dad to me than a grandfather now. He raised me for just as long as my parents had, and he’s been there through all the hard times. It doesn’t mean my parents mean less to me. It’s just that I’ve grown to love someone else. And you will too in time.’
She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. ‘You’re one of the good ones.’
She climbed down from the van and I climbed out too. ‘If I’m one of the good ones, I should walk you home.’
It was cold and she leaned into me as we walked up the steps to her flat.
‘You want to come in?’ she asked.
‘No, I have to get back to Steve. I can’t have him doing all the work.’
‘OK. Thanks for tonight. I had a lovely time.’
She made it sound like we were on a date. I wouldn’t have called it that, but I wasn’t about to disagree.
‘When’s the Festival?’
‘It begins next Friday, but I’m out in the car Wednesday.’
‘Can I come?’
Her request took me a little by surprise. I thought she’d seen enough of racetracks for one lifetime. ‘Sure.’
‘Good. I’ll see you Wednesday.’
I waited until she was safely inside, then headed back to the van with her on my mind. I was really getting to like her and wanted something to happen between us, but it was too soon. Alex hadn’t been dead two weeks. It was no time to think about dating his fiancée. If something were to develop between Alison and me, I’d let it happen in its own time. Alison was worth waiting for.
I didn’t get far before someone called my name. I didn’t know anyone in this part of town. With all that had happened, I should have been on my guard, but with my mind on Alison, my guard was down. Reflexively, I turned around.
It was only Alison’s dad. I needed to be smarter in future. I waited for him as he caught up to me.
‘Hello, Mr Baker.’
He nodded in the direction of Alison’s flat. ‘Seeing Alison home?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you have a nice night out?’ His sarcasm turned the question into something ugly.
‘It’s not like that. I just had some questions for her.’
‘Oh, I see. Just questions. Look, I don’t like the way you’re trying to ingratiate your way into Alison’s life.’
‘I’m not.’
‘Of course you aren’t. You’re doing all this for very selfless reasons. You’re raising money for Alex, a man you didn’t know. You want his car in order to give it a Viking funeral.’
‘You’ve got it all wrong, Mr Baker.’
‘I don’t think so.’ He stepped forward, invading my space and forcing me to step back. I stepped off the curb and fell against a parked car. ‘My daughter has just lost her fiancée in a tragic accident. You’re probably aware that she lost her sister to a similar tragedy. My daughter is in mourning. She doesn’t need some lowlife like you trying to take advantage of it.’
‘I’m not.’
He poked a hard, mean finger into my chest. ‘I told you once already to leave my daughter alone. I won’t tell you again. Do I make myself clear?’
His face was an angry shadow in the darkness. He waited for my answer.
He was wrong, but I knew how it looked. ‘You’ve got it.’
‘You make me sick,’ he snarled, grabbed my arm and jerked me to him. ‘Just stay away from my family. You’re not welcome.’
‘Dad, what are you doing?’ Alison said, rushing towards us.
Lap Eighteen
‘I don’t like this,’ Dylan said for the umpteenth time.
If he was hoping that repetition was going to change my mind, he was mistaken. It just served to turn me off, though I was inclined to agree with him. There was a lot not to like. The butterflies in my stomach told me I wasn’t a huge fan of my plan either but I needed to make something happen. I kept my eyes on the road ahead and kept driving.
‘You know what is really crazy about this?’ Dylan continued. ‘It breaks up the team. Here we are on our way to Bristol leaving Steve alone. Déjà vu, anyone? Anyone?’
I couldn’t dispute this point and it was the main cause of my butterflies. Derek’s team outnumbered us. Dividing in two left us vulnerable, especially Steve. I believed the arson attempt on Archway Saturday night had been bungled. Mr Balaclava hadn’t been expecting anyone to be at home. I doubted he’d make the same mistake again.
The fragility of our team made me wish we had more people on our side, but there was no one else I could trust. Everyone close to this had ties connecting them to Derek or Alex. I could have enlisted Alison’s help, but I wanted to keep her out of this for her own safety.
‘This isn’t the way I want to spend a Tuesday night, especially when we’re supposed to be on our way to Brands in the morning to test the car,’ Dylan said.
I stayed silent and Dylan gave up trying to persuade me. When we reached Bristol, I filled the tank. If we ended up on another long distance excursion, I didn’t want to run low on fuel again. I drove back to Morgan’s workshop where Derek had dropped off the cars and parked in the same spot I’d used Saturday. We were using the same Subaru. I would have liked to have changed the car for another, but Steve’s influence only went so far with his friends.