Chapters (56)
‘Oh, please,’ Marie interrupted scornfully. ‘Why don’t you ever say what you really think, Jo? You’re so bloody patronizing, it’s sickening. I know damn well none of your lot can stand me, but I never cared as long as me and Evan were all right. But we’re finished now, so you can drop the act.’
‘You want me to drop the act, do you?’ Jo replied sharply. ‘Fine, I’ll tell you what I really think of you. You’re one of the rudest, most miserable people I’ve ever met, and I wish my brother had never met you, because he can do way better. I’d even prefer him to be with Irena – and that’s saying something, considering the lies she told about him after they kissed!’
Marie’s mouth had fallen open, and her heart was pounding so hard she felt light-headed. It hadn’t even crossed her mind that Frank’s girlfriend might be the one Evan had been cheating with, but it all made sense now. He’d called the woman a dog, when in reality, as loath as Marie was to admit it, she was extremely attractive – and exactly his type, with her blond hair, big blue eyes, and slim figure. And he and Frank had fallen out when he’d stayed there that week, so his dad had probably caught them at it. That was why he’d come home that night. Not because he loved her and wanted to be with her, as he’d claimed, but because Frank had kicked him out and he’d had nowhere else to go.
Marie didn’t realize Jo had hung up until the dial tone filtered into her thoughts. Still reeling, she replaced the receiver in its cradle and glanced at the clock on the bedside table. All she wanted to do was jump in the car and drive round to all of Evan’s mates’ houses until one of them told her where he was. But it was gone 2 a.m., and they all had children, so she resigned herself to the fact that she wasn’t going to get any information tonight.
Unable to face sleeping alone, she undressed and climbed into bed, calling the dog up to lie beside her. Then pouring herself a large drink from the bottle of vodka that was standing on the bedside table, she set her alarm for 6 a.m., determined to drive over to Evan’s workplace and catch his mates before they went in. They had all denied seeing him, but one of them had to know where the cheating bastard was hiding. And when she got her hands on him, he was going to wonder what had hit him.
35
Viktorya couldn’t sleep. She’d been restless ever since the boss man had rushed out of her room earlier, and time seemed to have come to a standstill as she waited for him to come back.