Page 104 of The Taskmaster
‘Daddy loves Mummy,’ we wrote. “Let’s draw a heart around the words to make it perfect,” I said, and Enzo flapped his arms in excitement, then rubbed his little fingers together, feeling sand for the first time.
“You’re both so romantic,” Abigail said with a sigh. “Does that mean you’re doing the night feed tonight?”
I shrugged. Sleepless nights didn’t faze me. I’d do anything for my wife and son. “If that’s what I have to do to prove my love, I’ll do the night feed every night.”
I knew, the moment I’d laid eyes on Abigail, that I couldn’t live without her. If she hadn’t agreed to marry me, I’d havekidnapped a vicar to do the job for us and tied her to a chair, only releasing her when she said the vows.
Lucky for me, I didn’t have to do that.
She agreed to marry me after I proposed one night in bed, holding her in my arms. We were able to acquire a birth certificate in my name so the ceremony could go ahead. It’s amazing what you can find on the dark web.
Her dad wasn’t keen on the idea. Abigail was three months pregnant when we got married, and he spent most of the time before the big day trying to convince her that she didn’t need to marry me. He told her she’d make a fantastic single mum, and they’d be there to help her, too. She was a fantastic mum. But I would never let her walk away. I wanted to be the father to Enzo that I never had. Her dad had no say in the matter. He wasn’t happy about anything I did, anyway. What was one more reason? But since Enzo came along, he was starting to come around, slowly.
Having my son was the best thing that’d ever happened to me. That, and meeting Abigail. I had people in the world who loved me unconditionally. Family I would give my life to protect. Family I never thought I’d have, but I was so fucking grateful that I did.
“It’s so hot today,” Abigail remarked, wiping her brow. She started to rifle through her bag. “Did I put the suncream in here? Enzo will need more. I don’t want him to burn.” She looked up. “Or you.”
“Maybe we left it in the car,” I remarked. “He’ll be okay for a while though. I put some on before we left.”
But Abigail was mithering, and I knew she wouldn’t be happy until she’d located the suncream.
“I’ll go back to the car,” I said, but she shook her head.
“No. You stay here with Enzo. I could do with stretching my legs, anyway,” she replied, and then leaned forward to kiss the top of Enzo’s head, before kissing me.
I would never grow tired of the ease and comfort I felt with her. How natural it was to kiss her, be with her, share my life with the one person who knew everything about me. And she still loved me, despite it. Most days, she told me she loved me because of it.
I watched her walk away and then turned to face the sea, and that’s when I saw him, and the irritation I worked so hard to keep under control sparked to life.
He was standing alone at the edge of the water, but I knew his friends wouldn’t be far away. I didn’t care. I wanted him to know I was here. I wanted to show him I’d never hide in the shadows. I’d stand toe-to-toe with him any day.
I stood up, holding Enzo in my arms, and padded across the sand towards him.
When he saw me, his eyes went wide for just a second, before he scoffed, “You were the last person I expected to see here.” Adam Noble whipped his head around, checking the beach before adding, “If the others see you, there’ll be a fucking massacre today.”
I grinned and tilted my head. “I’d hate to embarrass them again. But we both know who would suffer in that massacre.”
“Still cocky as ever,” he sneered.
Adam Noble was obviously still salty about the fact that he was arrested and questioned in regard to my crimes. Even more pissed off that I used a few of his friends, the soldiers of Brinton Manor, to help me with some of my kills. They needed to get over themselves.
“Is that your son or are you stealing random kids from the beach now?”
He knew better than to speak to me like that. He also knew I had a code, just like him.
“This is my son, not that I owe you an explanation.”
Adam’s nostrils flared as he regarded me, then he shook his head, like he was having some sort of inner turmoil.
“I don’t even know why I’m considering this. I must need my head looking at,” he remarked.
“Why?” I narrowed my eyes at him, waiting for him to elaborate.
He sighed and took his phone out of his pocket.
“I had an email a few days ago. I thought it might be something you’d be interested in.”
“And why would that be?”
