‘Believe me, Caroline, every container pays for itself many times over every year. This is a very lucrative business. Maybe if things work out for us with the illegals, we could move some other merchandise?’

‘I don’t think so,’ she said firmly. ‘I don’t get involved in drugs. It’s too dodgy. Too many stupid people thinking it’s easy money. You have to deal with such shitty, unreliable toerags. People you wouldn’t want in your town, never mind in your house. Besides, the police pay far too much attention to drugs.’

He shrugged. ‘It’s up to you. Me, I let Darko deal with the scum. I only talk to the people at the top of the tree. What about guns? How do you feel about them?’

‘I don’t use them and I don’t like them.’

Tadeusz laughed in pure delight. ‘I feel the same about drugs. But it’s just business, Caroline. You can’t afford to be sentimental in business.’

‘I’m not sentimental. I’ve got a very good and very profitable business and I don’t want to have to deal with gangsters.’

‘Everybody needs a second profit centre.’

That’s why I bought the airbase. That’s why ‘I’m here now. You supply the workforce, that’s all I need.’

He pulled her closer to him. ‘You shall have them.’ He turned and kissed her lips. ‘Sealed with a kiss.’

Carol allowed herself to lean into him, aware she mustn’t reveal the repugnance his revelations had engendered in her. ‘We’ll make good partners,’ she said softly.

‘I’m looking forward to it,’ he said, his voice heavy with secondary meaning.

She chuckled as she pulled free of his embrace. ‘Me too. But remember, I don’t mix business with pleasure. First, we do the business. Then … who knows?’ She skipped away from him and ran back down the path towards the car.

He caught up with her halfway along the river bank, grabbing her round the waist and pulling her close. ‘OK, business before pleasure,’ he said. ‘Let’s go back to Berlin and make some plans. I’ll call Darko and get him to meet us. We’ve got a quiet little office in Kreuzberg where we can sit down and make some firm plans and talk money. Then tonight we can relax.’

Oh shit, Carol thought. This was all moving faster than she really wanted. How was she going to get out of this in one piece?

Chapter 31

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