Jealous Storm, Jack Stroke [best sci fi novels of all time .txt] 📗

in her bedroom. That would be different nervous though. Was he supposed to kiss Nicole? Despite the desire, he couldn’t bring himself to. It felt wrong somehow. She was so pretty. Would it help if she was ugly? Made things easier?

Ben took a selfie with the burner phone. She looked good. They both did.

Nicole put her head on Ben’s shoulder and giggled. “I can hear your heart…”

“Okay.”

“In your shoulder.” She giggled again.

Probably right. He had just spotted her water bottle, and it wasn’t making him feel much better.

“How do I do this?” Ben had asked Shake earlier.

“Put this in her drink.” Shake held up the vial.

“And?”

“And nothing.”

“Will she taste it?”

“Tasteless.”

“Are you sure?”

“You want to test and see?”

Ben scowled at Shake, not in the mood. “How does it work?”

“You put it in her drink, she drinks it.”

“The poison.”

“You sure you want to know?”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.”

“That’s not necessarily true… It replicates a seizure. At some point in the next forty-eight hours she will —”

“Won’t that be obvious?”

“How so?”

“If she has never had a seizure before.”

“No one has ever had a seizure until their first one. That’s the way seizures are diagnosed.”

Ben breathed deeply.

“It’s a job, Benny. Think of it like that. Get in, do what you’ve gotta do and get out. Of course, that’s easy for me to say, but it’s almost impossible to do, especially on your first assignment.”

“Thanks. You’re a great help.”

“That’s all this is. A job. The rest is in your head.”

It felt real enough, back there in the crappy motel room, but here, now, right on the precipice… Ben gulped.

“Thanks for coming over,” Nicole said. “I would have been, like, so bored.”

She leaned in and kissed him. He kissed back. Except he couldn’t feel his lips. Oh, God… If he did this, could he kiss her after? Did he run the risk of poisoning himself? Why hadn’t he thought to ask Shake that? Although if he had, he could imagine Shake’s response.

“Nikki?” The voice came from the hall and struck Ben like lightning.

“Yeah, Daddy?” She grinned at Ben. “It’s fine. Relax.”

Nicole got up and let herself out.

The water bottle was right there. Now was his chance. Ben pulled the vial from his pocket. He was liable to spill the whole damn lot, his arm was shaking so much.

“Come on. Calm down,” he said aloud. It didn’t help.

What did Amber do in these situations? Had she ever poisoned someone like this? Someone so… alive? So…

‘Come on. Don’t think about it. It’s just a job,’ he told himself, mimicking Shake.

He had the water bottle in his other hand, both the bottle and the vial now shaking violently. He could hear them talking outside the door.

Wait a minute… Was this the right move? What if Nicole didn’t drink from the bottle? This could be yesterday’s water. She might tip it down the sink. Even if she didn’t, how was he supposed to make sure she drank it? Or was that overthinking everything?

Outside the door, the conversation was wrapping up. It was now or never.

Was Ben doing this or not?

57

Amber sat outside cabin six in the morning sun. Paradise by the Bay was the same. The buildings hadn’t rearranged themselves. Across the road the tide marched in and out as always. The sun shifted slowly in the sky. That was the only noticeable difference, and yet somehow everything had changed. A weight had been lifted from Amber’s shoulders. So heavy. How had she not realised she had been carrying it all these years?

Around her the air was cleaner. The warmth of the sun on her skin so much more vivid. Crazy. A whole world of possibilities opened up. They weren’t there before, were they? Amber could do anything, be anything.

Joan’s little hatchback pulled up. If she had to guess, Amber would have said Megan and Ellis were arguing. If they weren’t, their conversation was certainly animated.

The car came to a stop outside cabin three. Amber wandered over, in no hurry. She didn’t knock on the window or anything. She just waited. They would get out eventually.

The trees swayed gently in the breeze. Such a simple thing. The movement of the shadows dancing on the grass. The sun poking its way in and out between the leaves. Not the sort of thing Amber would usually notice. How could she not? It was so beautiful.

“See what I mean?” Megan said, opening her door. “She’s like stepping in gum. There’s no getting rid of her.”

Amber smiled.

“What, couldn’t you find the café? Or did you just beat us back here?”

“That’s pretty much the same joke you made earlier, Megan,” Amber said.

“Still funny.”

Judging from his smirk, Ellis agreed.

“Why are you standing there? What do you want, Beetroot?”

“I just need a quick word with Ellis.”

“First Mum, now Ellis? What are you trying to do? Turn the world against me?”

“It’s not actually about you, Megan. Not everything is.”

“Anything you’ve got to say to Ellis, you can say to me.”

“Actually, you’re right. This should probably be to both of you. I just wanted to apologise.”

The couple exchanged a glance.

“About what?”

“Everything. Look, Ellis, I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but that should be the keyword, shouldn’t it? Past. Twenty years later and I’m still going with this nonsense? It’s ridiculous. Childish. I can’t believe how I’ve been behaving, so I’m sorry.” She turned to Megan. “Megan, all I want is for you to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Whatever. Leave it out.”

“It’s true.”

“You try and hug me, I’m gonna punch you.”

“Fair enough. Look, if you two are happy together, that’s great and I’m sorry for not realising that earlier.”

For a few awkward moments everyone stood, no idea what to say.

“What’s wrong with you?” Megan asked eventually. “Have you got cancer or something?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

Ellis watched Amber. He may have been silent, but she could see his mind working overtime, calculating behind his eyes.

Was there anything else to say? Not that Amber could think of. “Anyway, hope you had a good