The Pleasures of Spring by Evie Hunter Read Free Book Online Page A

sight.
    Pedestrians nudged each other and pointed at her. She waved back as if she were supposed to be up there, butmade up her mind. She had to get off. She was attracting too much attention.
    When the bus stopped at the lights, she jumped onto the top of a parked four-wheel drive, and nipped into the nearest McDonald’s. She was too stressed to eat, but ordered a large soda and tried to calm her breathing.
    What was she going to do now? She didn’t dare go back to her flat. She had no idea how Hall had caught up with her, or if there was a chance he knew where she lived. She wasn’t walking into a trap.
    Roz sipped her drink and considered what she could do. London was too hot. She’d been on the news after the robbery in Lewisham and now Hall had turned up at the food bank. She had a couple of cash-in-hand part time jobs, but spent most of her time helping at the food bank. She was going to have to leave.
    Her passport was back in the flat, so getting on a plane was out of the question. She supposed she could get to Dover and smuggle her way onto the ferry to Calais. She knew France pretty well and had friends there, even if it was a part of her life that she had left behind. But Hall knew that too.
    Where could she go?
    There had been a time she would have asked her dad for advice in this sort of situation, but no longer. Even if he weren’t locked up in Pentonville, she had stopped trusting his judgment. They wanted different things, and always would.
    But there was one person who had always been there for her.
    She pulled out her phone and called her godfather. Thephone rang and rang, and she was afraid it would ring out. Finally he picked up.
    ‘Fletcher here.’
    Hearing his cheerful voice made her feel better.
    ‘Frankie, I’m in trouble.’
    ‘What’s the situation?’ Straight to the point. Frankie, bless him, didn’t mess around with small talk.
    ‘I need to get out of London ASAP and hide up somewhere.’ Even as she spoke, she watched the crowd around her. She kept her voice quiet so that no one could overhear.
    There was silence for a moment, then Frankie came through for her again. ‘I’m in Ireland right now. Get your ass over here. I have a nice little job for you, somewhere I can keep my eye on you.’
    Ireland! She had never considered that. It was too close to her relatives, the ones she had spent a lifetime hating. They hated her too. But right now the choice was between the O’Sullivans and Hall.
    ‘What part of Ireland?’ She was good in cities. Ireland had cities big enough to disappear in.
    ‘Tullamore.’
    She had never heard of the place. ‘Where is that?’
    ‘In the midlands. Head to Tullamore and ask for Charleville Castle.’
    Roz blinked. ‘Why are you in a castle?’
    ‘Jack Winter is making a film about the Battle of Clontarf and I’m training the extras for the fight scenes. One of the stunt women has broken her arm. Think you could take over?’
    Oh yeah, she could do that. The prospect of seeingFrankie again cheered her. There were a few practicalities to sort out first. ‘Do I need a passport for Ireland? I can’t get at mine right now – any of them.’
    Frankie laughed. ‘Only if you fly. Take the ferry from Pembroke or Holyhead and you can walk on. Just bring a driver’s licence or something like that as ID.’
    That would be so much easier than trying to stow away on the ferry to Calais. ‘I’m on my way.’
    Roz finished her soda, ordered a burger to go, and headed to the garage where she kept her bike and gear.
    Ireland, here I come
.
    An hour later, she was on the M4 heading for Pembroke, while keeping an eye out for pursuit. She rode at precisely five miles per hour above the speed limit, carefully calculated to be inconspicuous while getting her there in time for the ferry to Rosslare. There were only two sailings a day and she couldn’t afford to waste time.
    Roz did a mental tally of her assets – one Kawasaki Ninja motorbike, in good condition,