Death's Ink Black Shadow by John Wiltshire Read Free Book Online Page B

his shoulder and began to walk downstairs. “Don’t forget Radulf needs to be fed every evening and a light breakfast, and walk him twice a day.”
    “You’re going to Aeroe? Today? How long are you going to be gone?”
    Ben repressed a snigger. “Long enough for you to remember that Radulf needs to be fed and be…”
    “Yes, I got it. But—”
    Ben put his bag by the front door. “Well, I think that’s everything. Do you want me to call you, or will you still be on holiday?”
    Something flickered in Nikolas’s eyes, some awareness perhaps that he was being played. He nodded slowly. “Call. I’m sure I will find time to answer.”
    Ben smirked a little and jiggled his keys. “Bye then.”
    Nikolas seemed torn. Ben waited, observing him carefully.
    The doorbell rang.
    This would be the interesting part. Ben stepped up his Nikolas-observation as he opened the door.
    Steven was on the doorstep, also with a bag. He smiled. “Ready?”
    “Follow me. We have to park in an under—”
    A hand landed on his arm. “What is this?”
    Ben turned. “I thought Steven would like to see Aeroe. Where you and Aleksey grew up? Where Nina lived? Squeezy said we could have the cabin. Don’t forget the dog. I’ll call then—when we get there.”
    He nudged Steven with his shoulder to get him moving, and they went down the steps and into the cobbled street.
    Nikolas’s feet were bare. Ben knew he wouldn’t follow. It was beneath his dignity. He couldn’t order him back either. That would be unthinkable, because he probably realised Ben would ignore him. Nikolas didn’t risk ordering him in front of someone else unless he felt confident Ben would obey.
    They were driving out of London heading for Harwich before Ben could fully take in what he’d done. He glanced across and had a moment of utterly surreal wonder. Steven was twisted away from him, watching the passing suburbs, and from the back, he could have been Nikolas.
    § § §
    “I’m really grateful for you doing this, by the way.”
    They hadn’t spoken other than trivialities about stopping for coffee and what radio station they preferred for the first half hour of the trip.
    Ben dipped his head to the gratitude and made a non-committal reply about wanting to see friends in Denmark anyway.
    Steven straightened in his seat a little, facing Ben. “You know the country then? Aeroe?”
    Ben flicked his gaze over for a moment. “I lived there for a while.”
    “Ah. Is that how you met my uncle?”
    “No. I’d met him long before.”
    “Oh. So you…know him well?”
    Here it was. Ben took a small breath. “I know him very well. I live with him. He’s my boyfriend.” Was there a better term? Should he have said partner? That might be misconstrued and imply they owned a company together. Lover? Ben shuddered. Would he still be a boy friend when he was in his eighties? Maybe by then there’d be a better word invented. And wasn’t it amazing how suddenly the conversation had stopped?
    Ben let the silence in the car play out for a while until he asked, “Does that bother you?”
    Steven held his gaze until Ben had to return his concentration to the road. Eventually, Steven replied neutrally, “I don’t know. It’s kinda weird. Unexpected.”
    “Why?”
    “I don’t know. It just is. I need to think about it.”
    “Okay.”
    “Sorry.”
    It was quiet for another few minutes until Steven asked, “Has my uncle told you much about my father?”
    Ben kept his eyes on the traffic this time and gripped the wheel tighter. “No. Nothing other than he had a brother and that they were twins.” He suddenly had a moment of doubt about his plan and the level of deception it would entail. This was Nikolas’s area of expertise, not his. He added lamely, hoping it would forestall this unfortunate train of thought, “They weren’t close.”
    Steven didn’t comment.
    Ben changed tack. “Tell me about this biography you’re writing. Is there enough known about Nina