The sex was hot and frantic, over in a matter of minutes, but no less satisfying for that. Porter had worried briefly about someone coming in, but the door was bolted. When they finished, they lay wrapped in each other’s arms, and for a second Porter found himself wondering about the security cameras he felt certain they had installed in the room. Sod it, he thought with a wry smile. They can watch if they want to. I might even buy a copy of the tape from them.

Danni lay on the side of the bed, her body still vibrating with pleasure. She looked up into his eyes, then planted another kiss on the side of his cheek. ‘They don’t think you’re coming back, you know,’ she said.

‘What?’

He could feel her hands tickling his chest, and couldn’t help himself from smiling. It was so long since he’d been with a woman – there had been one brief girlfriend when he managed to hold down a job for three whole months quite soon after Diana threw him out of the house but since then nothing – that he’d forgotten how good it felt to have someone’s arms around you. It made him feel alive again, pushing away the demons that raged inside his mind: already he was wondering about when he might see her again.

‘They were talking about it, I heard them,’ said Danni. ‘Layla and some of the other case officers.’

‘What did they say exactly?’

‘They reckon there isn’t much you can do,’ said Danni. ‘This Hassad guy, they reckon he’s a ruthless bastard, and whatever you offer him, he won’t accept it. He’ll kill Katie Dartmouth just like he said he would, and then … well, it’s not going to leave you in much of a position, is it?’

Her eyes flickered up tenderly towards Porter’s.

Porter remained impassive. ‘I’ll do what I can,’ he said firmly. ‘Whether I can get her out or not …’ He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Hell, I don’t know. It’s worth trying, that’s all I know.’

‘Aren’t you scared?’

‘Of a few ragheads? Fuck, no. They run around screaming to Allah and all that bollocks, but you put in a bullet into them and they fall over pretty quick.’

‘But … of dying?’ asked Danni.

Porter paused. He’d thought about that sometimes over the last few years. When you lived out on the streets, you got used to the idea you weren’t going to reach a ripe old age. ‘Dying isn’t so bad,’ he said. ‘There are worse things that can happen to man. Trust me, I’ve been there.’

Slowly, Danni climbed on top of him, grinding her crotch into his groin. There was a wicked, lustful smile playing across her smudged red lipstick. ‘I want to fuck you one more time before you go,’ she said.

THIRTEEN

The BMW 520 pulled smoothly away from the kerb, and turned sharp right onto Vauxhall Bridge. Porter sat back, listening to the low hum of the engine. Don’t get used to it, he warned himself. They’ll take you to the airport in style because it suits them. But once you get off that plane, they’ll toss you straight back into hell.