Jake pointed up the hill at his mother’s retreating back.

‘Trying too hard, always trying to be nice, trying to get into everything so you’ll have to do stuff with her. Fucking annoying, basically.’

‘She’s well clingy,’ Ethan added.

Jennifer turned and waved when she reached the gate. Daniel gave her a little wave back, but dropped his hand when he saw that neither of the bigger boys were acknowledging their mother.

As soon as she was out of sight, Jake stood up. ‘Come on,’ he said. He set off down the hill, his brother following him.

Daniel fell in behind them. ‘Where are we going?’

Jake turned and grinned over his shoulder. ‘Down to the woods, of course. You want that lighter, don’t you?’

Chapter 33

33

Sean

K suspects

Shit. What has she said to you?

She knows something is going on

Specifics?

Not yet. Need to see you

Yes but not today

When?

Will come back to you

I can’t stand lying to her. She knows something

You need to calm down. Remember what is at stake

I know what’s at stake. That’s why I can’t be calm

Meet tomorrow?

When?

Will message you

OK, sooner is better x

Remember to delete all messages as soon as you’ve read x

Chapter 34

34

Rowan

Rowan didn’t have long.

She locked the door behind her and looked quickly around an en suite bathroom that was bigger than her entire bedroom back home. Perched on the edge of a marble bathtub, she checked her messages in silence, scrolling quickly through her inbox. Deal with, delegate or delete. Rowan was the queen of the six-word email. She cleared what needed to be done urgently before switching to a couple of messaging apps and listening to a voicemail that had dropped in while they were unpacking. Sent a nine-word email in response. Done.

The way things had worked out, it was pretty awkward that the holiday had fallen in this week, of all weeks, considering everything that was going on in her life. It was fabulous to see the girls again – putting the gang back together, seeing Kate, Jennifer and Izzy, always reminded her of all the good times they’d shared, but the timing was rather . . . unfortunate.

Who was she kidding? She’d been looking forward to this for months. It wasn’t great timing, but – fuck it – that couldn’t be helped.