‘Perhaps I can ask around,’ Taylor said heavily. His shoulders were slumped. ‘Get a bit of money from someone else. Borrow from Peter to pay Paul, so to speak.’

Normally I’d counsel against creating debt to pay off debt but this situation felt very dangerous. I was pretty certain that neither Brochan, Lexie nor Speck would be keen to help. As much as they professed loyalty and had agreed to delay their own payment for last night’s failed heist, Taylor would burn every bridge he had if he borrowed money from them. He couldn’t afford to alienate them, not if he wanted a chance of turning a profit in the future; the fastest way to lose friends or colleagues is to mess things up financially.

Discarding them as potential lenders, I considered. ‘Who could you ask?’

‘There’s Boon.’

I sucked in a breath. Boon was a distinctly sinister moneylender. Much like everyone else in my little underworld, he was Clan-less. That didn’t mean he wasn’t scary. I’d heard stories about what happened to borrowers who defaulted on his loans and, unless Taylor was keen to have a section of his soul cut away, it wasn’t much of an option. ‘I don’t think…’ I began.

‘Who else is there?’ Taylor asked. ‘As long as I keep up the repayments, Boon won’t create problems.’ His face shadowed. ‘I’ve taken money from him before.’

I stiffened. ‘When?’

‘Before you.’

I studied his expression. How had he gone from being so bright and confident the day before the bank job to so desperate now? ‘There must be another way.’

‘Can you think of anything?’

My gaze fell on the sheet of paper on top of the letter opener. There was always Bob. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. Was it merely a coincidence that I’d come across the genie now – when desperation might lead to me using him? I nibbled my lip and decided his appearance was too far-fetched to be anything more than serendipity. Serendipity that I’d be a fool to make use of. Going down the wishing road could cause more problems than it solved.

I held off making a decision for now. It wasn’t like the genie was going anywhere. ‘It won’t do any harm to ask Boon for terms,’ I said finally. ‘Don’t commit yourself to anything. Just see what he says.’

Relieved to have something to do, Taylor nodded. I passed him my phone, then gave him some privacy to speak. In the bathroom I splashed cold water on my face, then leaned against the sink and pressed my forehead against the cool mirror. If only the damn Lia Saifir had been where it was supposed to be, we wouldn’t be in this mess. So much for my big move to Oban. I couldn’t leave until things were straight with Taylor. I owed him too much.