Page 61 of Take the Wheel

‘I’m not the artful dodger, Ari. It was one car, years ago. I don’t even know if I can do anything with this padlock. But I’m gonnatry.’ Nancy mulled. ‘Maybe we could pry it open with…’ She turned, scanning the dimly lit hall for anything remotely useful. A letter opener, a screwdriver, a battering ram.

Nancy had a thought. ‘That bunch of keys we lifted,’ she said. ‘Any chance it had a…’

‘They took it from me,’ Ari told her quickly.

Nancy tutted. ‘Damn. Well, what if we…’

Someone at the end of the hall spoke. ‘Nancy?’

Nancy’s stomach dropped.

The voice was unmistakable, sharp with familiarity and just enough disdain to make Nancy’s shoulders stiffen. She turned slowly to find Helen standing at the mouth of the corridor, arms crossed, eyes cold with recognition.

‘Well,’ Helen said, tilting her head. ‘Ithoughtthat was you.’

Fifty

Ari pressed her ear against the door, straining to catch the words filtering through the thick wood. Nancy was talking to someone.

The voices were muffled, but she could still make out Nancy’s low, sharp tone. And the other voice… Ari wasn’t certain but if she had to guess? She’d heard a voice like it before, during the speeches.

Helen.

She bit the inside of her cheek. If she was right, this wasn’t good. She didn’t know much about Helen, only what Nancy had let slip in passing. Former boss. Complicated history. The kind of woman who knew exactly where to press to make someone squirm.

Judging by the way Nancy’s voice had dropped even lower, Ari would bet Helen was pressing now.

Ari flattened her palm against the door, willing herself to hear more. The occasional mumbled syllable cut through but not enough to piece anything together.

Her pulse picked up, her mind racing through the worst possible outcomes. Was Helen threatening Nancy? Had she called security? Were they physically fighting? Did Helen have her in a headlock? Was Nancy bleeding out from a knife wound?

Ari had to tell herself to calm down.

She swallowed hard, clenching her jaw. She hated this. Being stuck here, locked away like an afterthought while Nancy was out there dealing withwhatever the hell this was.

A sharp burst of laughter rang out, but there was no humour in it.

Ari’s stomach twisted. Nancy was in trouble. And Ari had no way to get to her. This day had started terribly and was doing its best to plumb new depths.

Fifty-One

Nancy’s stomach churned as she stood frozen in place, her heart pounding in her chest as she stood looking at Helen.

‘What are you doing here?’ Nancy finally forced the words out. She hated how small it sounded.

Helen’s eyes, cold and calculating, flicked over Nancy with an almost clinical detachment.

‘You think you can just walk back into my family’s home? You’ve got a lot of nerve,’ Helen said.

Nancy’s chest tightened. It shouldn’t have. It had been years since that job, and she’d been young when she’d worked for Helen. She wasn’t young now. She was confident and capable. She was determined to put that into her words. But they tumbled out in a rush.

‘I came back for Ari.’

Helen’s brow arched, a glimmer of amusement flashing across her face. ‘The thief?’ she said softly, stepping closer, invading Nancy’s space. Her voice dropped lower, a sneer creeping into her tone. ‘She doesn’t belong here either. New money. I always told Paris she was a waste of time. You can’t train them atall.’

Nancy clenched her fists at her sides, fighting to keep her voice steady. ‘Wow. I forgot that you talked like this.’

Helen stepped even closer, her gaze like ice, chilling Nancy to the bone. ‘What you fail to understand, Nancy,’ she began, her voice almost a whisper, ‘is that my world is for the strong. Which is why you ran like a child over a simple spat.’

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