Phyllie patted her hand. ‘No need to do that. I’m happy to help you out.’
‘That’s very kind of you, but I’ll definitely pay you back.’ There was no way Nat was going to let Phyllie help fund her poker career without paying her back. The sick feeling in her stomach expanded to a feeling of unease that settled over her. She wasn’t someone who usually lied as she’d just done. But then, it was a one-off. She’d win the money back quickly and repay Phyllie. She’d probably be able to pay her back with interest.
Chapter Thirteen
Hannah had hardly seen Damien since he’d returned from taking Nat and Phyllie home from Amy’s party. He’d been on call on Sunday and had ended up working from lunchtime until close to ten o’clock. And with him on afternoon shifts Monday and Tuesday, they’d been like ships in the night, rolling over briefly in the morning to discover they were both in the same bed, then Hannah crept out, leaving him to sleep before his next shift while she got Amy ready for school and herself for work.
Not seeing Damien had been a blessing. Zane Fox’s message had left her on edge. She hadn’t called him or replied to his text but knew that any day now he was likely to contact her again. Her stomach lurched at the thought of him. So much for signing a contract saying he wouldn’t contact her again. What could he want, other than more money? She couldn’t pay him any more, that much she knew.
‘Mum.’ Amy came bounding into the kitchen with Bear beside her. Hannah couldn’t help but smile. The two of them had become inseparable. Seeing them, she now wondered why she’d ever objected to having a pet. For an only child, it had been like providing a sibling. ‘Have you seen my school diary?’
Hannah nodded towards the kitchen bench where Amy’s lunch sat, along with her diary and music book. ‘You left them on the kitchen table last night.’
Amy grinned and scooped them up, ready to pack her school bag. ‘And you’re not changing your mind about today?’
Hannah gave a wry smile. As much as she would like to change her mind, she knew that she couldn’t. She and Damien had agreed to give Amy a trial run of letting herself into the house after school on her own. Hannah would be home by five thirty, but it did mean Amy would be home alone for at least two hours. ‘No, I’m not changing my mind, but you have to promise to ring me if there are any problems. It doesn’t matter how big or small.’
Amy smiled. ‘You need to relax. Bear and I will be fine.’
Hannah’s phone pinged with a text message, and she slid the phone across the counter and looked at the screen. Her heartbeat quickened.
Ring me if you know what’s good for you. ZF.
She’d known ignoring him wasn’t going to achieve anything. She’d even contemplated changing her phone number, but as he knew where she worked and lived, it seemed futile.
Amy was staring at her. ‘Your hand’s trembling. Are you okay?’
Hannah shoved the phone into her pocket and smiled. ‘Of course I am. Now, go and finish getting ready. We need to leave in ten minutes.’
Amy frowned. ‘Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve gone very pale.’
‘Just a difficult client. Nothing for you to worry about, but it does mean I’m going to have a more challenging day than I’d thought.’
Amy seemed to accept this explanation and hurried off, Bear at her heels, to clean her teeth and find her shoes.
Hannah sank on to a stool at the counter. She would have to face Zane Fox. She slipped her phone from her pocket and typed a message.
Will call you from work this morning.
She hit send and sighed. How on earth had she got herself into this situation?
Hannah pulled into her driveway a little after five that afternoon. She’d managed to get away early, which was a relief. She’d spoken to Amy briefly on the phone, and while it sounded like everything was fine, she found it difficult to concentrate on her work while worrying about all the potential dangers Amy could be facing. She was being ridiculous. She knew that. Well, part of her knew that, and the other part, the part that couldn’t help but assess risk, knew otherwise. She opened her car door and was greeted by the sound of Selena Gomez blasting from the top floor of the house.
She grinned. She remembered doing precisely this when she was twelve and she and Nat would let themselves in after school and look after each other until their parents arrived home from work. Except it was the Backstreet Boys blaring from the speakers.
She pushed open the front door and walked through to the kitchen. She wasn’t going to let Amy know she was home. She was interested to see whether the music would stay on until just before five thirty, when Amy was expecting her home, or whether she would just leave it blaring.
Hannah stopped as she entered the kitchen and found Damien sitting on one of the stools sipping a glass of mineral water. He put his finger to his lips signalling for her to be quiet.
‘I want to see what she does,’ he said. ‘She’s certainly having a good time.’
They exchanged a conspiratorial smile.
Hannah kept her voice low. ‘What are you doing home? Aren’t you in the middle of a shift?’
He nodded. ‘This is my break. We were in the area, so I had Pam drop me off. She’s gone to pick something up in Doncaster and will be back to get me in about twenty minutes.’
‘So you thought you’d spy on Amy? I thought you said we should trust her and that she’d be fine?’
Damien smiled sheepishly. ‘Doesn’t mean I can’t worry about her.’
Hannah nodded, glad it wasn’t just her being overprotective. ‘She’d kill us if she knew we were both down here.’
‘I doubt she’ll have any idea with that racket going on. Although when I opened the front door Bear came straight down to see who it was. That was good at least. He went back up to Amy after sniffing around me for a couple of minutes.’ He slid from the seat. ‘Now, can I pour you a glass of wine? I assume your day has left you feeling the need for a nice Pinot Gris?’
Her workday had been relatively straightforward, but yes, the added stress of worrying about Zane Fox meant a glass of wine was in order. She nodded. ‘Thanks, that would be lovely.’
She’d called Zane when she’d arrived at work. She’d reminded him about their contract and his verbal promise not to contact her, but he’d just laughed, sending chills down her spine when she realised how worthless the contract was. He wouldn’t tell her what he wanted over the phone. Instead he insisted they meet. ‘I have a proposition for you, Hannah. Nothing to be concerned about, just something that I believe could be mutually beneficial.’
She’d reluctantly agreed to meet him at a cafe in Doncaster on Friday afternoon, figuring if she did it last thing before returning home, it would have less impact on her working day. Dread filled her every time she thought of him.
She watched as Damien poured her glass and handed it across the counter.
‘Thank you.’
He smiled, but she noticed that his smile didn’t reach his eyes. He’d been like this for the past few days. ‘Is everything okay?’
He looked surprised at the question. ‘Of course, why?’
‘You just look a bit down, that’s all. Are you thinking about your biological parents?’