‘But remember I’m unemployed!’ chuckled Rafi.
‘Yes, but thankfully you have a bank balance which should tide you over for a year or three.’ She yawned. ‘Sorry, I have been surviving on catnaps for the past few days. If I stay up much longer, I won’t be able to see straight, driving down to Cornwall tomorrow.’
There was a lull in the conversation which was soon broken by Rafi. ‘Would you mind if I went and showered?’ he asked.
‘Good idea. I’ll clear up. Would you like a cup of coffee?’
‘More orange juice would be nice, please.’
‘I’ve put a spare towel on the chair in the bathroom. It looks old but it should be OK, I hope.’
He saw what she meant. The towel had definitely seen better days. He picked it up and was surprised to find that its shabbiness belied its softness. Definitely fit for purpose, he thought.
Rafi shed his clothes and looked at himself in the mirror. His wrist still looked puffy and badly bruised. It was still an angry purply-blue colour. He’d got rid of the bandage as it had become the object of too much attention. From what he could see, his back boasted some seriously impressive bruises, but thankfully they all looked far worse than they now felt.
The shower cubicle was compact. At the third attempt he worked out how to get in and turn the water on without wetting the floor or getting dowsed in very hot or very cold water. He stood there, enjoying the warm water splashing over him. He looked around for some shampoo, washed his hair and picked up the bar of soap. It smelt of exotic eastern fragrances – very feminine. He gave himself a good scrub from head to foot, rinsed off the soap suds, turned off the shower and stepped out into a steam-filled room. He dried and walked out into a dark corridor with the towel around his waist.
He could see a small strip of light coming from under Kate’s bedroom door and headed for it. Slowly, he opened the door. Kate was sitting in front of her dressing table looking into the mirror. She turned and looked at him. Her tired, freckled face was devoid of make-up -; she still looked lovely.
He walked over to his side of the bed, shed his towel and climbed in.
‘I’ll be with you in a moment,’ she said and with that the light on the dressing table went off. The room was now only lit by the small light on her bedside table. She walked over to the door, unwrapped the towel from around her head, took off her dressing gown and hung them both on the back of the door.
Rafi lay in bed spellbound. The curves on her slim body were accentuated by the soft lighting. She turned her head and caught him ogling at her naked behind.
She slowly stepped backwards, then sideways. He felt his pulse race. She had a great body.
‘Do you like?’
He was captivated. ‘Yes, very much!’ he eventually added.
‘Flattery will get you everywhere.’
Rafi watched as she climbed into bed. She turned off the light, disappeared under the duvet and came up for air with her head on his chest. The curtains were drawn but small shafts of dappled light came in around the edges from the lights outside. She slowly moved up and kissed him. ‘I’m a very lucky girl…’ Her voice trailed off as she sat up, letting the duvet slide off her shoulders. She ran her finger tips across his exposed chest. His body twitched, as inch by sensual inch she drew imaginary patterns on his torso. He gazed at her lovely face framed by a mass of silky hair.
Kate lent forward and kisses followed the lines her fingers had taken, lingering along the way at his small dark nipples. Little electric shocks raced through his body. Her fingers, meanwhile, had moved on with their gentle caresses.
Rafi was in seventh heaven. He felt her kisses gradually move back up his chest to his neck and the hollow beneath his right ear.
‘When I first laid eyes on you a week ago, in my wildest dreams I’d never have guessed that you and I would get this close.’
Rafi awoke to the sound of light-hearted singing coming from the kitchen. Kate’s dressing gown was no longer on the back of the door. He sat up and looked around her bedroom.
The door opened quietly. Kate slowly put her head around it. ‘Oh, good, you’re awake. I wondered when you were going to come around. I’ve got a cup of black coffee for you. Thought you could do with a caffeine boost. Did you sleep well?’
Rafi smiled and nodded as she came to sit next to him.
‘I’ve finished packing. I didn’t know what I’d need so I’m travelling light; a good excuse for some shopping. And I’ve rung the Savoy and they said all our belongings are packed up and ready for collection. And some good news: MI5 have spoken to the hotel and asked for the bill to be sent to them. They left you a message: Thank you and sorry we roughed you up.’
Rafi grinned and sipped at his hot coffee. Kate leant over and gave him a kiss.
‘How long do you need to get ready?’
‘Would fifteen minutes be OK?’
‘Great. I thought that we could eat brunch on the way.’
Kate’s car was a small, old-looking, Volvo. She drove through the London traffic quickly and confidently. They arrived at the Savoy in what seemed like record time and stopped near the front door.
Rafi walked behind Kate into the crowded hotel foyer.
At the main desk they were greeted by the manager, who seemed pleased to see them.
‘I’m sorry you’re leaving us. I hope you had a pleasant stay.’
‘Every bit as good as I hoped,’ Rafi replied.
‘Your luggage is being collected as we speak and will be waiting for you at the front door. I hope you will visit us again soon; it was a pleasure to have you both here… I’m sorry, I nearly forgot – I have some messages for you.’
There were messages from Kate’s parents and from Emma and Saara sending their best wishes. None of these needed an immediate reply. The last one, though, was from Jeremy. Kate read it and passed it to Rafi.
As he read the message, Rafi felt the colour drain out of his face. Their nightmare had not ended. The terrorist from Heysham had escaped from hospital – heaven only knew what he was capable of doing, even with a broken arm and collar bone. ‘So now what?’ he said in a shocked tone.
‘Doesn’t look good, does it? We’ll speak to Jeremy in the car and take it from there.’
They said their goodbyes to the manager and put the luggage, which seemed far more than Rafi could remember, into the Volvo’s boot and across the back seat.
They turned into the traffic on the Strand and headed west towards the Hogath Roundabout and the M4.
As they drove along the raised section of the M4, Kate turned on her hands-free phone and called Jeremy. His phone went to voicemail, so she left a message. ‘Hi, Kate here. I’m on my mobile. Chat soon.’
The traffic on the motorway was surprisingly light and they made good progress out of London, past Heathrow and on towards Reading.
‘How about brunch?’ asked Kate.
‘Great idea,’ replied Rafi.
‘There’s a service station coming up shortly – is that alright with you?’
Rafi nodded. Baked beans and service station food, both in the space of twenty-four hours – how things were changing for him!
As Kate was pulling over towards the service station exit, her phone rang.
‘Hi, Kate,’ said Jeremy in a businesslike tone, ‘Sorry to break in on your well-earned holiday, but something has come up. Aslan Popovskaya, the terrorist we captured at Heysham, has escaped from hospital. We haven’t got a clue where he’s heading, but given all that has been going on recently he’s likely to be like a bear with a sore head. Where are you off to?’
Kate gave Jeremy the hotel details.
‘I’ll get a fax sent with his mugshot, just in case.’
Kate passed the service station, indicating to Rafi that they would stop at the next one.
There was a stony silence in the car.
‘Why would he come after us?’ Kate asked Jeremy.