and it’s only when the bad bits outweigh them that you have to get out. Jas doesn’t suck me dry, she makes me laugh, and we have a lot of fun together. We have a lot of history too. She isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I love her – sometimes I think she knows me better than I know myself.’
‘Mmm, well, I hope you’ll be very happy together,’ he says, taking my phone off the arm of the sofa and placing it out of reach on the coffee table. ‘And now, no more work, no more Jas – just me and you.’ He runs his hands up and down my back. We start kissing, and lie down on my shabby sofa, and just as I’m about to pull off his jumper, my phone buzzes. I hesitate, for just a moment, but the look on his face tells me this will ruin a beautiful moment, so I ignore the call.
‘Bye Jas,’ he says in the direction of the phone, as I continue to take off his clothes, and we go into the bedroom, leaving everything else behind. And for a little while I forget Jas, forget that I couldn’t get hold of Chloe Thomson today, and even forget that Alex’s estranged wife has a desire to hurt me.
But later, when we’re in bed, Alex is fast asleep and I nip into the living room. I get my work phone from my bag to check it. Shit, Chloe Thomson’s called me three times. I thought she was avoiding me, but she must really need to speak to me if she’s called so many times – and this late. Thankfully, she’s left a message, so I listen.
‘Hannah, I need to tell you something… I don’t know what to do, don’t know who to trust. I can trust you, can’t I?’
I call her straight back, but it goes to answerphone, so I leave her a message saying I’m here, please call me as soon as she can, it doesn’t matter what time it is. Then I grab my personal phone from the coffee table. An unknown number’s called twice, and left a long, wordless message.
At first I think it’s a misdial, or a wrong number, and someone’s left it by mistake. But when I listen again, I can hear heavy breathing – and then I swear I hear whispered, distorted words.
‘Did the earth move, bitch?’
Chapter Twenty-Three
I immediately run back into the bedroom and wake Alex to get him to listen. He rolls over, half asleep, and not really in the mood, but I play the voicemail and thrust the phone at him.
‘Do you think it might be her?’ I ask, as he lies on his back, the phone at his ear.
He shrugs. ‘To be honest, I can barely hear it – and I’m not even sure what the voice is saying, Hannah.’
‘You must be able to hear that,’ I say, desperate for him to agree I heard correctly. ‘Did the earth move, bitch?’
I play it again. He looks at me doubtfully, and I play it again and again, but now I’m doubting myself and each time it sounds less like words.
Alex props himself up on the pillows, and listens again, but pulling the phone away from his ear, he shakes his head. ‘I honestly can’t hear it properly.’
‘Oh Alex,’ I say, snatching the phone off him. ‘I’m sure it’s her,’ I hiss, feeling a little foolish. Okay, the voice is distorted, and in theory it could be anyone, but who else would it be but Helen? Then again, how did she get my number?
‘Alex, when you met her, did you ever leave your phone on the table and go to the bar?’
‘I don’t remember.’ He sighs. ‘I wish I’d never told you. You’ve been on edge ever since.’
‘Of course I’m on edge – what do you expect? You’ve frightened me to death saying, “don’t engage with her” and “be careful”.’
‘I still don’t think it would be wise for you to engage with her. But what she said – I mean, it was said in anger.’
‘She made it clear to you that she wanted to hurt me – and now all this weirdness has started. That can’t be a coincidence, Alex,’ I say, aware I’m sounding paranoid, but feeling quite justified. ‘A woman scorned…’ I murmur.
‘I just think we need to be vigilant, and not take any risks. If you’re going somewhere, I’ll drive you and pick you up, and you just need to