The House Guest - Mark Edwards Page 0,86

distant drone of a helicopter. I tried to grasp hold of the rail as Gabriel shoved me up against it, and made the mistake of turning my head for a second to look down, only to imagine myself falling, down, down, to smash on the pavement below.

‘How many other people know about us?’ Gabriel demanded, spittle landing on my face. ‘Who have you talked to?’

‘None.’

‘Liar! I know about Wanda Brooks. Who else? Ruth’s understudy? What did you say to her?’

‘Nothing.’ The word came out strangled and he loosened his grip on my throat a little.

‘How many people do I need to kill?’ he spat.

I didn’t speak. I really didn’t believe he would push me. This wasn’t the middle of nowhere. A body hitting the ground would draw the police, TV news crews, crowds of onlookers. Maybe Gabriel saw this realisation enter my eyes, as he suddenly dragged me back into the room and threw me to the floor.

‘Want me to kill him?’ the security guy said.

Gabriel paced around me. I could see and feel the anger coming off him. Maybe I shouldn’t push him further, I thought, but I couldn’t help myself.

‘Callum and I figured out how to find you,’ I said from my position on the floor. ‘Other people will too. You’re nowhere near as smart as you think you are, Gabriel. You’re not special. You’re a narcissist. A megalomaniac. A small man with a god complex. And one day the law is going to catch up with you and take all this away. I’d like to see how special you think you are when you’re rotting in a cell.’

‘I want you to understand something,’ he said, jabbing a finger at me as he walked around me. The angrier he got, the faster he paced. Behind him, I saw the eyes of the security guy widen, like he was shocked by Gabriel’s behaviour.

‘Even if one day someone betrays us, if I have an accident, if this building burns to the ground with me inside, it won’t matter. When I die, I will live on in the hearts and the heads of the people who follow me. I’ll live forever, in them. I am immortal.’ His voice had reached a hysterical pitch. ‘We’re everywhere, Adam. Everywhere.’

His eyes were almost popping out of his head with rage. I could tell there was a lot more he wanted to say. But he caught himself, took a deep breath. The vein still throbbed on his forehead, but apart from that he appeared calm.

He turned to the security guy. ‘I’m going to send Brittany in. Get Wanda Brooks’s address out of him. Do whatever you have to do.’

I don’t like to think about the thirty minutes that followed.

Brittany came into the room, and she and the security guy – whose name, I soon learned, was Nick – dragged me into a bathroom and filled the tub with cold water. Then they pushed my face beneath the surface, holding me under until my lungs burned and I was convinced this was it. It’s hard to describe the feeling of panic, of desperation – the need for it not to happen again.

They demanded Wanda’s address. Everything I knew about her. They yelled at me, they screamed threats. They pushed my face into the water. They spoke kindly, soothingly, said this would all stop if I just told them everything. Then they yelled at me again. Held my face beneath the water for so long I was sure I would die.

I tried to hold out. I really did. But in the end, when I couldn’t take it anymore, I gave up everything I knew. I had to persuade them that I didn’t know her actual address; was only able to describe the route to her cabin and what it looked like. I told them about the diner where we’d met.

Then they dumped me on the bed, shivering and ashamed, and left me alone in the room.

I lay there, wet and cold, wondering how long it would be before they found Wanda’s cabin. Wondering if Callum was already dead; and where Ruth was and what was happening to her. Gabriel had mentioned getting ready for something. Did that involve Ruth?

And how long would it be before they killed me?

Chapter 39

Eden picked out a short white dress for Ruth.

‘Put this on,’ she said.

They were still in the penthouse. People kept coming and going; Eden’s phone beeped every few minutes. They kept talking about preparations, but no one would tell