Chapters (45)
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- Prologue
- 2046
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- About the Author
As tough as Safa is, she is still a beautiful woman who knows all too well the way men react to her physical appearance and she saw a hint of that reaction in Ben that night. Only for a split second and she knew it was in surprise at her marching into his room in her underwear and not once did she feel threatened or sense anything predatory in him, but seeing that reaction in him planted a seed. The proper Ben was still there. The man was there.
It was not a decision taken lightly, but his decline was worsening. He was so withdrawn it was painful to watch. Like he was dying ever so slowly and they had to just stand by and let it happen. Something had to give. It was desperate. She could sense Harry’s frustration growing. Harry was ready to go, she was too. Enough time had been given. The seed grew into a plan.
That night, she waited for the hours of darkness to come. She fretted and worried and panicked at the thought but was determined to see it through. Besides, if she was completely honest she knew that, deep down, it was not entirely selfless. Ben had to come back. It was this or nothing. She had no more ideas. No more hope.
With Harry’s snoring rattling the bunker, she slipped into the bathroom and stared at her own reflection properly for the first time in months. She looked at the shape of her eyes and pulled her hair out to let it hang down to her shoulders. Her hands trembled as she got ready. Nerves mostly, but with the tiniest, almost unseen hint of excitement. She was doing this for Ben. He had to come back. He was going to die. His life would end either here by his own hand or by going back to perish on the tracks at Holborn. He just needed to remember what it was like to feel alive.
She swallowed, took a deep breath, sniffed her armpits, nodded and tugged her bra down a touch to show a bit more of the tops of her breasts.
‘You up?’
Ben snapped awake. His eyes instantly going to the door at the strange tone of voice. Like she was worried.
‘Ben? You up?’
‘Yeah,’ he croaked. He’d started to doze off and the traces from the nightmare were still evident in the panic and fear he felt.
The door opened. She turned the dimmer switch of his light just enough to bring the tiniest glimmer of light into his room. She closed the door and with her heart thundering in her chest she walked towards his bed.
‘What’s up?’ he asked, his voice low.
She didn’t know what to say, so said nothing. She stopped next to his bed. Her arms at her sides and her eyes searching his face.