She caught the sound of a door opening and then closing with a quiet click into its housing. Her heart skipped a beat as she lay there, listening to Adrastos’s quiet tread. The whole suite was shrouded in darkness because she’d switched off all the lights before she’d climbed into bed, so she lay listening to the rustle of clothing, then picked up the scent of brandy as he lifted the covers and slid next to her.“I know you’re awake,” he said slowly.          Turning over, Electa peered at him through the darkness. He was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling, the covers riding low across his chest. And he looked so very somber Electa wanted to reach out and stroke her fingers along his unsmiling lips.“Listen, I’ve been thinking,” he declared quietly. “We don’t communicate about the right things. This must cha

          Electa uncurled from her huddle and made herself sit up in the bed. She was already beginning to feel a bit better now the sickening shock had started to wear off.“Can I get some water?” she asked, pushing back the tumbled tangle of hair from her face.          Adrastos stretched out a hand to pick up the flask standing on the bedside table and poured some chilled water into a glass.“Thanks,” she mumbled but she kept her eyes lowered as she sipped.          She couldn’t look at him. She wished he would just go and… and get dressed, or something. Because she needed to be on her own so she could think.          ‘Maribel…’ was playing over and over inside her head, alongside old lurid headlines like ‘The G

           And the line went dead… Adrastos bit out a string of filthy curses.          ‘Lost in the hills…’          He turned full circle, a set of long fingers scoring through his already disheveled hair, then grabbed hold of the back of his neck. She’d been gone for hours, so she could be anywhere.          Adrastos tried to connect to her phone again, hoping to hear her voice again. But she wasn’t answering… He had no idea that Electa was simply ignoring his calls willing to try and save herself from that ugly situation.          She kept touching the display and the buttons until she finally brought the satellite navigation screen to life, then she sat staring at the screen. It showed h