Katie Oliver - Love And Liability

Copyright

Prologue

The girl stepped down from the bus, clutching the strap of her rucksack tightly. The doors closed behind her with a gassy wheeze, and the N38 rumbled off towards Charing Cross Road, leaving her alone on the pavement.

She eyed the deserted street uncertainly. What now? It was nearly dawn, and she had fifty quid to her name. That wouldn’t go far in London. At least she’d managed to sleep on the bus.

Too bad her sleep had been plagued by nightmares…

No one knew she was gone. Not mum, nor dad. Not Erik. She shuddered. Especially not him. So it was okay. She was in London, and she was safe. She had a bit of money. And — she slid her hand into her jeans pocket just to reassure herself — she had her mobile phone.

Her stomach rumbled. She re-shouldered the rucksack and trudged down Shaftesbury Avenue, intent on finding breakfast somewhere.

It’ll all work out , she reassured herself. Once she had a nice greasy fry-up of bacon, eggs and grilled tomatoes in front of her, she’d figure out what to do next.

There was a restaurant on the corner. It stayed open all night to accommodate hungry theatre-goers from the West End and time-pressed employees from the office towers nearby.

She went inside and slid onto one of the sticky red pleather banquettes and ordered fried eggs, bacon, and coffee.

Twenty-five minutes later, except for a bit of congealed egg yolk, her plate was clean. She pushed it aside and withdrew her mobile, and the black screen sprang to life.

She glanced down at the screen and frowned. The icons looked…different. And the background wasn’t the usual photo of a Himalayan sunrise; it was a snapshot of a blonde woman.

A woman she’d never seen before.

Puzzled, she pressed the “Contacts” icon. She didn’t recognize any of the listed names or numbers.

She scrolled through the list, her frown deepening, pausing on the entry named “My Phone”. She pressed it.

Erik’s picture popped up.

She gasped and dropped the phone with badly trembling fingers, and it landed with a clatter on the plate.

“You all right, love?” the waitress enquired as she paused to refill her coffee cup. “You’ve gone white as a sheet.”

“Fine,” she mumbled, and cleared her throat. “I’m fine.”

As the waitress left she retrieved the phone and found the “Settings” icon. Her finger shook so badly she could barely touch it. A glance confirmed her worst fears.

The mobile was Erik’s. She must’ve grabbed it by mistake on her way out of the door. And he’d enabled the satellite navigation…which meant that if he tracked this phone from another device — which he most certainly would — he’d know exactly where she’d landed.

She disabled the sat nav, but she knew it was too late.

Erik already knew she was in central London. And he wouldn’t stop looking until he found her.

She found a Superdrug and went inside. She needed to change her appearance, and fast. She handed over ten quid — money she really couldn’t spare — for a box of cheap hair colour and a tube of hair gel. On her way out she nicked a pair of scissors someone had left on the counter. Ten minutes later she locked herself inside a petrol station lav and set to work.

She stood in front of the dirt-clouded mirror and held out a length of her long, honey-brown hair. After a moment’s hesitation, she whacked it off with the scissors. Grimly she cut off the rest. When she’d finished, her hair lay all over the tiled floor and the sink was stained with black dye. Someone pounded on the door.

“’Ere, what you doin’ in there?” the woman demanded.

The girl paid no mind as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Staring back at her was a fierce creature with a menacing scowl. Her hair, now as dark as boot black, stuck up on top where she’d gelled it into a sort of mohawk; the sides and the nape of her neck were as close-cropped as a boy’s.

Her hair. Her beautiful, long hair…

She unlocked the door and brushed past the woman waiting outside to use the toilet. After exchanging glares, the woman went inside and slammed the door.

Well, she’d done it. Erik would never recognize her now.

How could he, when she barely recognized herself?

Chapter 1

“What do we have for the Christmas issue?”

Sasha Davis stood at the head of the conference table and eyed her editorial team expectantly. “Well? Ideas? Anyone?”

Holly James raised a cautious hand.

Sasha pressed her lips together and nodded at the assistant features editor. “Yes, Holly?”

“What about a round-up of the staff’s worst Christmases ever? You know — missed flights, Christmas dinner disasters…”

“Derivative—” Sasha sniffed “—and predictable. What else?”

“Top five most-wanted Christmas gifts for teenaged girls?” Kate Ashby offered.

“Boring.”

“What about a celebrity round-up of favourite Christmas memories?” Mark suggested.

“It’s been done.”

“Favourite celebrity Christmas songs?” he persisted.

“No.”

“Favourite celebrity Christmases spent in rehab?”

“Look, people,” Sasha snapped, “I know it’s barely July and Christmas is the furthest thing from our minds at the moment, but I. Need. Content.”

Several more suggestions were put forward, only one of which — ten stocking-stuffer items suitable for teenage girls for under £10 — met with Sasha’s approval.

“I want fresh ideas,” she announced as she prowled around the conference table, “not a rehash of the same old tired round-ups and lists. I’m thinking seasonal, but with a girly edge. I’m thinking fiction — perhaps a rollicking good ghost story? I’m thinking—”

Her mobile rang. She glanced at the screen and said, “Excuse me, I have to take this. Five-minute break.” She strode out of the conference room, murmuring into the phone as she shut the door after her.

Kate Ashby, Holly’s assistant and cubicle mate, leaned over and whispered, “Who’s on the other end of Sasha’s phone, I wonder? I bet it’s a new man.”

“Ugh — who’d be crazy enough to date a nightmare like Sasha?” Holly whispered back.

“Someone who’s into BDSM,” Kate murmured. “Think about it — Sasha would be a perfect dominatrix. Black leather bustier, a Swarovski-studded whip, her trademark black stiletto booties—”

They fell silent as the door opened and Sasha, the features editor of BritTEEN magazine, returned.

“As I was saying,” she began, launching back into her editorial vision for the Christmas issue, “I want a harder, less-girly edge in our articles going forward, and I want a fresh slant—”

Holly affixed an absorbed expression on her face and zoned out to study Sasha. In her severe black dress and leopard-print shoes, Sasha Davis looked like a predator…

…a very glamorous, expensively scented predator, to be sure, Holly reflected; but one vicious enough to rip your throat out with her perfectly manicured, blush-pink nails.

“—so I’m assigning Holly to handle the interview.”

Holly blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I apologize for interfering with your customary wool gathering this morning, Holly,” Sasha said as she crossed her arms against her concave chest, “but I’ve just assigned you to interview Henry Barrington.”

“Henry…Barrington?” Holly echoed. She knew the canned bio and name of every pop musician, every actor, and every aristo and quasi-celebrity in London. Yet she’d never heard of Henry Barrington, and she had no idea who he was or what he did.

“He’s a well-regarded financial solicitor in the City. It’s rumoured he might stand for MP during the next election.”