Page 69 of Never Tear Us Apart
It’s Nicco who approaches me, in a pristine white suit. I don’t suppose he took shelter with everyone else and still stayed so clean. He must have a private shelter somewhere.
‘Nicco.’ I smile, uneasy, confused as to where he’s sprung from. I wonder what he’s doing here in Mellieha, but I suppose his black-market exploits must take him all over the island.
My association with Nicco feels dirty and secret, and it is. Danny doesn’t know what I am trying to find out, and that feels wrong. I want him to know everything about me, even the things that he won’t be able to believe. So even being in the proximity of this duplicity makes me feel sordid and unworthy.
‘How fortuitous to see you.’ Nicco takes my hand and kisses it. ‘What brings you to Mellieha?’
I might ask him the same thing. I don’t reply. I look towards Danny and David, leaning on the bike, waiting, but Nicco completely ignores them.
‘As it happens, I wanted to ask you to come and see me at the palazzo in the morning, if you will. I have a favour to ask of you.’
‘Of course, if I can,’ I say.
‘I will send my car,’ Nicco tells me. His gaze passes over David to Danny.
‘I hear you caused quite a spectacle the other day, Flight Lieutenant,’ he says coolly.
‘Active duty will do that,’ Danny replies.
‘We all have our ways to serve.’ Nicco gives me a little bow. ‘Tomorrow, my dear,’ he says, vanishing into the crowd as quickly as he appeared.
‘I do not like him,’ Danny says. ‘Something is off about him. Look, I’m not going to tell you what to do, but I’d be real careful about doing favours for a guy like that.’
‘Don’t worry,’ I tell Danny. ‘I have the measure of him. I’ve met a hundred like him. He’s the kind of man who thinks he is the main character.’
Danny laughs, kisses me lightly on the cheek, the warmth in his eyes telling me he wishes we could be alone.
‘We need to go,’ he says. ‘I hate to say it, but we do.’
As I lift David onto the bike, Danny grabs my hand, pulling me close. His blue eyes search mine for a second. I feel the thrill of possibility bubble up from my stomach.
‘I’m in love with you, Maia,’ he says. ‘I know it’s fast and stupid, but I’m not gonna pretend it’s not true – not gonna not say it every chance I get. You came out of the blue and knocked me flying. And that’s just the way it is.’
‘Same,’ I say.
‘Same?’ He laughs in delight. ‘That’s all you’re going to say:same?’
‘I’m in love with you, too,’ I relent. ‘No one is more surprised than me.’
‘You are a real piece of work, Stitches,’ Danny tells me.
He releases my hand and gets on the bike, David sits between us, both of us winding our arms around Danny’s waist. My heart is racing, my skin is singing.
The drive back seems shorter, perhaps because all three of us are heading towards uncertainty. Danny doesn’t turn off the engine when we stop outside Sal’s half-house; he steadies the bike with his boot. I lift David off and hold his hand.
‘Stay alive,’ Danny says as he drops us off.
‘You too,’ I tell him. ‘I mean it.’
He’s turned the corner at the end of the street in a matter of seconds, clouds of dust flying up behind the bike’s wheels. I would like to stand here waiting until he comes back again, but David needs help.
‘Well.’ I look down at David, who looks up at me. ‘Let’s get you something to drink and see if we can find your mum, shall we?’
Sal is in the kitchen of the half-house, sitting at the table, his hair and jacket covered in a film of dust. There is a selection of open books spread out before him, and he is scribbling furiously in his notebook. The stump of his pencil is now barely more than the width of his fingernail.
‘There you are,’ he says without looking up. ‘I’m glad you weren’t in Valletta today – two British pilots lost. Our boys shot down three Italian fighters – the airmen went into the sea. The army has gone to pick them up. There’s more bad news, too . . .’ Sal stops when he sees David peering out from behind my skirt.
‘You remember David?’ I say brightly. ‘I found him all alone and lost on the other side of the island. We’re not sure where his mummy is, so I brought him back with me until I find her.’
