Page 116 of Butterfly

“All the way to the end.”

He didn’t argue, just did as he was told, until they were at the edge where the concrete stopped and the scaffolding started.

“Out.”

Ollie took a deep breath, then stepped through one of the wall-to-ceiling window slots onto the scaffolding. He knew it was safe; he’d seen men and women working on the building, but the wood beneath his feet shifted and the wind rushing by didn’t make it feel secure in the slightest. When he glanced down, all he saw was the ominous black between the planks. The whole structure creaked, and he instantly reached for the metal bar in front of him. It didn’t give him much comfort, though.

“Who are you?” Ollie asked.

Warm breath touched his ear again. “That’s not the question you should be asking.”

Ollie frowned, turning his head a fraction, but the scratch on his neck stopped him.

“You should be asking, who am I to Teddy?”

The hand on his shoulder squeezed, then let go to wrap around Ollie’s stomach again. He thought of Teddy, specifically of the moment when they’d sat side by side on the bed and Ollie had read out Teddy’s reasons for wanting him to appeal.

You slayed your demon, and that makes you stronger than I am.

Thisperson was someone bad to Teddy.

Heknewit.

“You’re Teddy’s demon,” Ollie whispered.

“I’ve never been described as that before.”

Ollie ignored the scratch on his neck and tilted his head down. The man who had him wore black leather gloves.

“Pichard…”

“Eight years of medical training, and you think you have a right to drop thedoctorfrom my name?”

“It’s a needle, isn’t it? In my neck?”

“Yes,” Pichard replied. “And trust me when I say you don’t want me pushing the contents into you.”

“Why are you—”

“Whycouldn’t you just leave Hollybrook and move on with your life? I mean…Teddy never sent you anything back; I made sure of it, but still, letter after letter, then you show up outside the gate? What were you planning on doing, breakingin?”

“What do you mean you stopped him from sending anything?”

“I told him not to. He listens to me. I thought you’d lose interest. I thought I wouldn’t need to intervene. It’s always messier when I have to.”

“Why is it any of your business if I write to Teddy?”

Pichard sighed. “I tried to relax on holiday. I tried to enjoy my time with my husband, but I kept thinking about you, your persistence. And I thought I could push it to the back of my mind, wait until I was home, but it kept niggling and scratching until I knew I had to do something. I had to leave early and deal with…this.”

“Deal with what?”

“You, Ollie, I have to deal with you. I’ve let this go on for too long.”

Ollie bit his lip. “I haven’t done anything—”

“You have. You’ve done something to Teddy.”

“How…how do you know him?”

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