It turned out he had a spine after all. Never mind. She’d have to do this the old-fashioned way.

She reached into her day pack and took out her hammer. She had no idea how she’d explain this, but she’d come up with something.

And then he lifted the table and slammed it into her. Her chair tipped over backwards and she fell, her legs up at a weird angle and her head against the stone terrace. He leaned on the table, his weight pinning her to the ground.

‘It’s over,’ he said. ‘It’s finished. Where’s Tom?’

She shook her head. It was hard to breathe and the words came slowly. ‘Not saying.’

‘I know,’ he said.’ You’re not who you say you are. Right, Brenda?’

‘Andrea,’ she gasped. ‘For what it’s worth.’

‘Andrea?’

‘Yeah. I can tell you because I’m going to kill you.’

‘No,’ he said. ‘You’re not. The police know about you too. They’ll be here soon enough. And I’ll lie like this until they do.’

Idiot, she thought. He shouldn’t be telling her all this.

Because it changed everything again.

She felt her clarity of thought return. The police were on their way. So she had only one option.

Tom would get what he wanted after all. She would have to disappear, and start again somewhere else.

She shifted so that her hips were against the ground and her knees were on the tabletop.

‘Don’t try anything,’ he said. ‘It won’t work.’

What was he? Five ten and skinny? She’d leg pressed much more.

‘I’m not trying—’ she began, and then twisted so her feet were against the lip of the table and shoved as hard as she could. It wasn’t the perfect position, but it was enough to spin the table and put him off balance so the pressure lessened for a moment and she was able to wriggle free.

She jumped to her feet. She had to get out of here. There was time, but not much. Every second counted now. She had to get in her car and get out of here.

But he would follow her.

Shit.

She could kill him with the hammer. But he would fight, so there was no guarantee it would work, and then she would have used her time, and he would still follow her. It could make the situation worse.

But there was a way to stop him from following her. An easy way.

Roland

She held the hammer raised and ready to strike. She was tense, coiled like an animal, and he could see she was weighing up what to do, cold and calculating.

He glanced at the second syringe she had left on the table. The taste he had had was nowhere near enough. God, he wanted to grab it and shove it in his arm, vanish into the abyss.