Frozen, she stares at me, her eyes bigger than I’ve ever seen them. So vulnerable. So childlike. And one step away from a murderer. If I’d waited one more second she would have pulled the trigger and the loveliest, purest human being I know would have been tainted with blood forever. In a daze she wipes her nose with the back of her hand.

‘I would have done it,’ she says in a strange whisper.

‘That sin is not for you,’ I say.

Her lips quiver. ‘But it shouldn’t be on you.’

I smile. ‘If I have to go to hell for anything let it be this.’

Fresh tears fill her eyes and start running down white cheeks. ‘If you’re going to hell then that’s where I’m going too,’ she sobs.

‘You won’t like it. It’s hot down there and the Devil lied when he said they have ice cream.’

Her eyes roam my body restlessly. She is still in shock. ‘I thought you were dead.’

‘I thought I’d stay around for a bit longer. See what setting up house with you will be like. Maybe move to Nice. Maybe have a couple of kids.’

She tries to smile, but the emotions pouring through her are too much and it comes out like a grimace. She sways as if she is about to faint, and I lunge to catch her. The movement makes my ribs fucking sing. Fuck. I feel sweat break out on my forehead as I hold her trembling body. Her hands grasp my jacket fearfully, and her eyes look at me anxiously.

‘Oh! My God! You’re hurt,’ she cries, pulling herself away. The panic in her voice echoes around the room.

‘It’s nothing,’ I brush off.

She reaches for the zip of my jacket and pulls it open. Her hands fly to her mouth. ‘Oh, God, you’re bleeding through the bandages,’ she exclaims, staring at the blood soaked mess of my bandages. I must have opened the wound in my rush to get here.

‘What the hell, Noah?’

‘Hey, it’s not as bad as it looks. I just need some fresh bandaging and I’ll be fine,’ I say in a calm voice.

As I watch, the delicate hot-house flower becomes that single scarlet rose growing wild amongst rock, daring men to brave her thorns and take her. I watch the transformation with awe. This woman never stops surprising me.

‘No, you’re not fine, Noah, you’re losing blood. No wonder you’re so pale. We need to get you to a hospital.’

‘I’m not going to a hospital. I have a doctor waiting to attend to me.’

‘How did you get here?’

‘I drove.’

She nods distractedly. Her mind figuring something out. She tilts her head back. ‘How did you find me?’

‘You gave the address to your grandmother. I called her.’

She nods again, frowning. ‘You’re not staying at your house, are you?’

‘No.’

‘Are you somewhere safe?’

‘Very. I’m staying with some Irish gypsies.’

‘Irish gypsies?’

‘It’s a long story. I’ll tell you all about it when we have the time.’

‘Fair enough. Will you be able to drive yourself back?’

‘Tasha. Stop right there. I’m not going anywhere without you. I’m staying right here. I’m calling some people. First thing we have to do is get rid of him, then get you back to the house with a credible story.’

She shakes her head. ‘No need. I’ve already made all the arrangements and I’ve got my story ready.’

‘You have?’ I stare at her with surprise.

‘You don’t rob a bank without a getaway plan,’ she says.

I smile, impressed and proud of her. ‘No you don’t. Tell me the plan.’

‘All right. First of all, I went to see Dimitri Semenov.’

I whistle with admiration. Dimitri Semenov. Her father’s most bitter enemy. He must have been cumming in his pants. When Tasha decides to do something she doesn’t do it in halves.

‘He gave me two of his men. They helped me bring Pa … him here and they are going to dispose of the car and body. All I have to do now is call them. I was going to get them to drop me off at a minicab company in town, but now that you are here you can do it.’

I frown. ‘Okay, so they get rid of the body and the car. What happens then?’

‘I wear a black wig. You drop me off at the first minicab company we come across. I then tell the taxi driver to drop me off two blocks away from my house. I jog to my house and call my grandma. She throws the rope ladder over the fence. I climb it and get into the house and pretend I’ve been in bed all night. Tomorrow morning, when the household discovers my father is missing, we’ll call the police.

I frown. ‘Didn’t your father install one of the best security systems with cameras all around the house and four guards day and night. How did you dodge the guards? And wouldn’t the cameras have caught you driving out in your father’s car?’

She explains exactly how Baba, Kiri and Vasluv did it.

To be honest, I’m impressed. Not bad at all for a little girl who never said boo to anyone in her life, but I still have to quiz her about the most important thing. ‘What will you tell the police tomorrow?’

‘I’ll tell them Papa went to bed after dinner and that was the last I saw of him. I sleep deeply and never heard a thing.’

‘You’re sure you’re not on any of the video?’

‘One hundred percent.’

I look closely at her then at the dead man on the plastic tarp. Can she really pull this off? ‘What if there are cameras in the streets that have recorded your journey here?’

‘I went to the garage and changed the plates earlier this evening.’

‘What about the phone calls you’ve been making tonight?’

‘Pay as you go mobile, and I’m dumping it later this morning in other peoples’ bins.’

I nod with approval.

‘Don’t worry, Noah. I have planned this very carefully.’

‘I can make it easier for you. I can arrange a fake kidnapping attempt. This way it won’t look like such an inside job.’

‘No,’ she says, and her voice is very sure and calm. ‘I don’t want anyone else to take the blame for this. In fact, I am very sad that I was too gutless to pull the trigger, and that you were the one who had to do it. I don’t want you to go to a different place than me. If you’re going to hell, I want to go there too, ice cream or no ice cream.’

‘Fine. Shall we get the ball rolling?’

She fishes her mobile from her pocket and hits a button. ‘It’s done,’ she says into it. Then she closes it and looks at me. ‘I’ve so many questions for you, but they can wait. However, there is something very important I have to say to you now.’ She stops to clear her throat.

‘Go on,’ I encourage.

‘If something goes wrong tonight and for some reason I don’t make it, I want you to know that I love you, Noah. I love you more than life itself.’

I hold her beautiful face between my palms. ‘Nothing will happen to you. I’m not trusting you to any minicab driver. I’ll call Sam and ask him to meet us somewhere. He will drive you to the end of your road and wait until he has seen you climb the ladder.’

A single tear flows from one of her eyes. I wipe it away. ‘And just in case anything happens to me and I don’t make it, I want you to know that I love you, Tasha. I love you like I’ve never loved anyone in my whole life. I’d die for you, girl.’