CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

OLI FRANTICALLY PAYS THE WAITER AND RACES BACK TOWARD THE office, heart galloping. She reads Dean’s message again, feeling an increasing sense of dread. It’s so blunt, so unlike Dean. He rarely shows anger—‘optics above emotion’ is his mantra at work, and it’s a philosophy he extends to his personal life. Hot chocolate sloshes in her stomach. You can just pretend you were asleep, she thinks, that you didn’t get the message until the morning. No need to do anything right now.

The moon hangs low over the city, white and bright. Feeling horribly alone, Oli falls into step behind a group of women waiting to cross Spencer Street. Dean no longer feels like her safety net. She thinks of the twins, and an icy fear clutches her heart. Surely they’re fine. Dean is their father; he adores them.

Oli triggers the sensors as she darts across the basement car park. Lights slam on in sequence, boom, boom, boom. Fumbling in her bag for her security pass, she takes the lift straight to level five again. It’s pitch-black, silent. Breathing hard, she reaches the studio and flicks the light on. Blinks. Scans the room. Were those papers there before? She’s not sure, but she thinks so.

Cooper never came back. What the hell is he up to?

She turns on the radio to break the silence and tries to steady her breathing. She needs to calm down and call Dean. Sort all this out. He’ll be her husband soon. If she can reassure him, she can buy some time to work out what the hell to do. To work out how she feels. A hopeful thought niggles: maybe it’s all a big misunderstanding. She turns down the radio volume and calls before she loses her nerve.

‘Hi.’ Dean’s voice is clipped.

‘Hi. Guess what? I got dragged back into work. I was literally in bed when I got the call but I did manage to get some sleep. I just drove back here. I feel terrible.’ She knows she is babbling but can’t seem to stop. ‘I took some Cold & Flu, which helped a bit.’

‘Are you at work now?’ Dean says slowly, as if he has to think about each word.

‘Yep, yep, I’m in the office.’

‘At this hour?’ His tone is unmistakable—he doesn’t believe her.

‘Developments on a story.’ She coughs several times. ‘I need to file something tonight. Dawn’s in a state about it.’

‘Really?

She laughs lightly. ‘Yes, of course.’

He makes a soft grunt.

‘Anyway, how are you? I was worried after you sent that message. How are the girls?’