Page 21 of Vipers & Roses

“We’ll see,” Josh mocks, raising his glass to take a sip.

“I’ve seen you at the pool,” Lu leans forward to address me.

I wave my hand dismissively. “I’m only a casual swimmer.”

She nods towards Cormac, “Cormac said you once on the Keele team.”

“That was a couple of years ago. I found the training hard,” I lie, glancing over at Lyons’ table again to find that he’s gone and the two other men are left talking to each other.

“You could always try out again,” Lu encourages.

I’m aware of how rude I am by looking all around the room while talking to her, but I need to find out where the dead man has gone. “No. I think those days are over for me, but maybe we could talk later about training techniques. You might be able to give me some advice?”

Cormac interjects, grunting, “I can do that. I can give you some advice on technique. Like, not trying to drown yourself would be a good place to start.”

I shoot him a fake scowl while smiling, and he graces me with a grin as his big hand finds my thigh and squeezes it, and I tense up a little. Okay, if that hand travels further up my leg, I’ll stab him with the table knife.

“Did you try to drown yourself?” Lucy cocks her head to the side to examine our body language.

“No,” I answer, chuckling to lighten the dark topic. “Ignore Cormac, he’s joking.”

“Oh, good.” This time, it’s a genuine smile, which means I’m gaining trust. Maybe she’ll open up to me if I ask her about Lyons.

I glance again at Lyons’ table to find that he has not returned, but a dark-haired woman catches my eye, sitting alone and ignored by the other people at that table. There’s an empty seat next to her where Lyons was, and I wonder if she is his wife. She seems of a similar age to him, but the sadness on her face slightly moves me.

This is starting to get real. My utter hatred for this man softens a little when I see who will suffer because of my objective. Thanks to me, she’ll receive a pretty payout if she has life insurance on him.

Cormac and Josh are talking about another swimmer, and I drag my eyes away from Lyons’ sad wife to Lucy, who is watching someone over my shoulder.

“Good evening, ladies and gents,” a man’s voice radiates over us, and a shiver runs down my spine. He’s standing directly behind me and greeting everyone at my table.

Cormac glances up at him and nods, “Sir,” while I drop my head down. My instincts run on high alert, sensing his body language. I cannot see him, but I can feel his body right behind my chair. If he touches me, I’ll bite his fucking hand off.

There’s an awkward conversation around me, and I glance up to meet Lucy's gaze, who’s watching me closely. Immediately, I sense that I’m giving myself away and straightening my back, but I can’t drop my guard and pretend to be nice when the man who ruined my life is right behind me. I might need to get better at acting.

I catch Lucy’s gaze again, and there’s an unspoken exchange between us as if she understands how uncomfortable I am with him right behind me. She would’ve put two and two together that if I once trained in elite swimming at Keele Uni two years ago, I’d not only know who Mr. Lyons is but may have trained under him.

Lyons finally moves away from the table, and I sigh in relief as I watch him return to the empty seat. Judging by the dutybound exchange between him and the dark-haired lady, I say that’s definitely his wife. Damn. The saddest woman in the world is the wife of the man I’m going to kill soon. This is not the encouragement I was hoping for.

Lucy’s voice rings, and I pull my eyes away from Lyons and his wife.

“I’m sorry?” I say to Lucy. “Were you talking to me?”

Lucy glances behind her, leaning forward and whispering, “We call him Octopus.”

“Why?” I ask, acting dumb.

She makes squishy movements with her hands as if squeezing her breasts. “That’s why.”

“Has he touched you?” I ask. This is the evidence I need to build a case against him.

“Not seriously, but he doesn’t keep his hands to himself,” she explains.

“Who?” Cormac chimes in. The chat he was having with Josh ends just as Lucy states, “hands to himself.”

“Never mind,” Lucy states and immediately shuts down.

Josh pipes up. “They’re talking about Lyons,” he informs Cormac, pointing his thumb behind him. “Randy ol’ Lyons.”

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