Finn
God was still firmly on Blaine’s side, because nothing was going right. Coyle was not only still upright, but on patrol and deliberately idling outside Dalziell’s door. I should have guessed; he was meant to be checking that all was well with Blaine’s precious guests, but he was far more likely to be looking for an opportunity to catch a glimpse of some action.
There was no doubt that he’d been helping himself to the drink; Nat’s magic potion was kicking in, and by the look of vague panic on his ugly mug, it didn’t look like it was going to be the best of trips for the big fella. Still, even a half-stoned Coyle was not a good thing to meet down a darkened corridor and until the very second that bastard was flat on his back and snoring, he was a real threat. I turned to Gabriel. ‘Kiss me,’ I ordered.
‘What?’
‘Just fuckin’ kiss me, will you?’
‘Fuck off, no way! I’m not…’
I grabbed him by his collar. ‘Look, you stupid twat – that fella right there is capable of rippin’ the lot of us a new arsehole without breaking a sweat if he thinks there’s something the least bit dodgy going on. So, you’ve just paid thirty grand for a bit of cock, and that’s what he needs to see going on. Now!’
To give the lad his due, he cracked on with it. By the time Coyle clocked us, Gabriel was snogging me like his life depended on it – which wasn’t too far from the truth – as Nat stood and watched us with as much interest as he could possibly muster. ‘They fancied somewhere a bit more public,’ he explained to a clearly disgusted Coyle.
‘Fuckin’ pervs,’ he muttered, but didn’t stop in his shambling trajectory away from the door. He looked like he was about to topple at any second, but I waited until he was well out of sight before I shoved Gabriel away. He staggered backwards and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth.
‘Dear God. Well, that was a first.’
He looked so shell-shocked that I nearly smiled at him. ‘Ach, not bad for a beginner.’ Then I pushed the fire in my knee to one side and ran the rest of the way to Dalziell’s room. With each step I prayed that he hadn’t hurt her, but I knew all too well what the man was capable of.
I was the first inside with Gabriel and Nat just a stride behind me, and my immediate thought was that I was too late because Lilith was already naked and handcuffed to the bed. Then I saw Dalziell, spark out on the floor.
‘Oh thank fuck.’ I lurched to Lilith’s side and grabbed the key on the bedside table. As soon as the cuffs clicked open she flung herself into my arms. ‘You stupid cow! He could have killed you! I’m not letting you out of my bloody sight again until we’re off this fucking island, you hear me?’ I pulled a sheet around her shoulders and held her close and I could feel her trembling against me. ‘What the hell were you thinking, Lili?’
‘They would have killed you, Finn. For definite,’ she said. ‘And I just need you to not say anything else and hold me very close right now, if that’s all right with you.’
Gabriel gave a polite cough. ‘Um, is it okay to turn around yet?’
Both he and Nat had been standing with their backs to Lilith since we came into the room, and there was something unexpectedly touching about their courtesy. ‘Yeah, she’s decent now. Thank you.’ I looked down at Dalziell, sprawled across the floorboards. ‘The stuff worked, then?’
Lilith shook her head. ‘He didn’t want to play. He only started drinking ten minutes ago, so he was just starting to get groggy.’
‘So how come he’s down there?’
‘I had to improvise.’ She wrapped the sheet around herself and fashioned a makeshift toga.
‘What, you did this?’ I pointed at the prone form at the foot of the bed .
‘Got my feet free. But I think he’s stunned rather than finished, if you get my drift.’
As she said the words, Dalziell dragged himself to his feet. ‘You fucking little slag,’ he hissed, and lumbered towards us. ‘I’ll…’
He never finished the sentence. Gabriel threw himself in his path to land a perfect right into Dalziell’s jaw and the ugly ginger twat hit the floor again.
‘Jesus Christ!’ Gabriel cradled his fist. ‘If I’ve broken a finger, I’m killing him.’
I looked down at Dalziell. He didn’t look like a man who was planning on waking up anytime soon. ‘Nicely done, posh lad.’
‘Hey, any time, yeah?’ Gabriel said, shell-shocked all to hell as he inspected his hand for damage. I guessed this was the first time he’d hit anything except a school gym punchbag.
‘Right, gentlemen. Shall we return to the party?’ Lilith stood and smoothed down her makeshift dress, then linked her arm through mine. I took a step with her and my knee went from under me. Just for a second I thought I was going to throw up right there on my shoes.
‘What happened, Finn?’ Lilith asked, and gave me one of those looks that suggested she already knew anything, so there was no need for me to even open my gob.
I was about to try a ‘Nothing,’ but Nat got there first. ‘Coyle went all postal on his ass,’ he said. ‘Booted him in the knee, the nutter. I think it’s cartilage.’
‘Grass,’ I muttered. ‘It’s fine, Lili. Well, not fine exactly, but I’ll survive. I promise, you can poke it around as much as you want, once we’ve got this sorted.’
I’d expected a bit of an argument, but to my surprise she just took held my arm a little more firmly, and nodded. ‘Okay. Just take it easy on the stairs. And you’re not allowed to break anything else for at least a year, do you hear me?’