‘We need your help,’ said Benton, staring at her. ‘And you’re going to give it. You’re going to tell us what we want to know.’
Donna looked up and saw the steward coming up the aisle.
Could she alert him to her danger?
Should
she?
Ryker saw him too and nodded towards him.
Benton glanced over his shoulder and saw the man.
‘Don’t even think about it,’ he said, his eyes blazing. ‘I’ll kill him, too.’
The steward smiled as he passed, glancing at the two men sitting close to Donna.
Benton watched him go.
‘Well done, Mrs Ward,’ he said, smiling.
‘Don’t patronize me, you bastard,’ she snarled. ‘And how do you know my name?’
‘We’ve been following you since you left your hotel yesterday,’ Ryker told her. ‘The library, everywhere.’
‘Was the book in the library?’ Benton said.
‘There’s lots of books in libraries, you half-wit. You should try looking some time,’ Donna said with gleeful malice.
‘You fucking cunt ...’ Benton snapped, lunging forward.
Donna sat back in her seat, her heart thudding hard against her ribs. But it was Ryker who sat forward to restrain his companion.
‘We can’t hurt her,’ he said quickly, hoping Donna hadn’t heard. ‘Farrell said not to hurt her yet.’
‘Bitch,’ hissed Benton. ‘Fucking rich bitch.’ He nodded slowly. ‘Mouthy, just like your old man.’
‘You knew my husband?’ she asked.
‘I saw him a couple of times. Flash cunt. Thought he owned the place. Too much mouth.’
‘Did you kill him?’ she wanted to know.
‘No,’ said Benton, ‘but I wish I had. Perhaps I’ll have to make do with killing his missus. Now, tell us where the book is. Are you going to pick it up now?’
‘I don’t know what book you’re talking about,’ she said.
The steward passed by again and Donna even managed to smile at him. She felt suddenly more secure despite the fact that she was flanked by men with knives. The train wasn’t stopping until it got to London; there were other people in the carriage and surely these men wouldn’t dare try anything here, now. If they harmed her there was no way they could get off the train other than jumping and, with it travelling at over ninety-five miles an hour, that didn’t seem a very good idea. If she could call their bluff she might just be able to slip away.
Play for time.
She knew she had to keep her nerve.
Easier said than done.
‘Do I take it that you work for the same man as the two who broke into my house?’ she asked.
Benton looked at his companion, who merely wrinkled his brow.
‘I mean, they seemed to be incompetent morons like you. It’s an understandable supposition. Don’t you agree? Or would you prefer me to stick to words of one syllable?’
Benton leaned forward again, his face contorted with anger.
‘I’m going to enjoy doing you,’ he said angrily. ‘I might even slip you one before I do.’ He rubbed one hand across his groin. ‘Right up your tight, rich twat.’
‘And what do you think the other passengers are going to do? Just look the other way?’
‘You think anyone’s going to help you? Do you think anyone gives a fuck what happens to you? Nobody cares. They’ll be too busy looking after themselves,’ Benton hissed.
He and Donna locked stares for long moments.
‘Where’s the book?’ Ryker said, jabbing her in the ribs with his elbow.
‘Get off me,’ Donna hissed.
‘Where is it?’ he asked, jabbing her again.
She tried to move away from him.
‘Come on, bitch. Tell us.’
‘Fuck you,’ said Donna and kicked out hard under the table.
Her foot connected hard with Benton’s right shin and he yelped in pain, reaching down to massage the throbbing limb.
Ryker jabbed her again with his elbow.
‘Where is it?’ he persisted.
‘I’m going to fucking cut you,’ Benton said, wincing in pain. ‘I don’t care what Farrell says.’ He leaned closer. ‘Get on your fucking feet, we’re going for a walk.’
‘I’m not moving from here,’ Donna told him, meeting his steely gaze and holding it.
‘Get up,’ Benton repeated. ‘I’ll kill you, I swear I will.’
‘You can’t kill her,’ Ryker reminded him. ‘Farrell.
‘Fuck Farrell,’ he grunted. ‘We’ll tell him she made a run for it, we had no choice.’
‘He wanted her alive,’ Ryker persisted.
Benton pulled the knife free of his belt, leant forward and touched the blade to Donna’s left knee.
She felt the point against her stockinged leg.
‘If you’re not on your feet in five seconds I’ll open your leg to the bone. You got that?’
Donna regarded him blankly for a moment, then nodded.
She stood up and squeezed past Ryker, picking up her handbag in the process. Throwing it over her shoulder, she set off down the aisle, the two men close behind her. As she passed the steward she nodded. He returned the gesture, looking at her two new companions.
Donna swallowed hard.
As long as she was on the train she was safe. Well, reasonably safe, anyway. There were other passengers around. What could they do to her?
The lights flickered briefly as the train entered a tunnel.
Donna kept on walking, aware that her two unwanted attendants were no more than a foot or so behind her.
The buffet car was up ahead; there was a young woman buying a drink and some sandwiches. Donna passed her, squeezing by. Ryker and Benton followed.
As they reached the area between two carriages Benton told her to stop. He pushed her towards the door, then reached into his coat pocket and took out a packet of cigarettes. He lit one, standing beside Donna, blowing smoke out of the window. Cold night air rushed in, ruffling her hair and making her eyes water.
What to do?
Ryker was standing by the door to the compartment, watching both ways for anyone approaching.
‘Now, we’ll start again,’ Benton said, gripping Donna’s wrist in one powerful hand. ‘Where’s the book?’
‘I don’t know,’ she told him, trying to shake loose.
Benton leaned closer so that his face was only inches from hers.
‘Have you ever seen anyone stabbed?’ he said, spittle flying into her face. ‘Do you know how much knife wounds can bleed?’
Donna pressed herself against the wall in a bid to move away both from his presence and his foul-smelling breath.
‘I have to go to the toilet,’ she said.
‘What, so you can get in there and pull the emergency cord? Fuck off.’
‘Then I’ll have to piss all over your shoes, won’t I?’ Donna said defiantly.
Benton moved back slightly, then his lips curled into a crooked smile.
‘You can go,’ he told her. ‘I’ll stand in there with you. To make sure you don’t come to any harm.’ He chuckled and pushed open the lavatory door for her. ‘Keep an eye open,’ he told Ryker, pushing Donna into the small cubicle in front of him and pulling the door shut behind.
‘Benton,’ said his companion, grabbing the other man’s arm. ‘Don’t kill her. I mean it.’
‘I’ll handle this.’
‘Well then, you’ll have to handle Farrell if you kill her. He said he didn’t want her harmed until we find out what she knows about the book. Just go fucking steady, will you?’
Benton shook loose.
‘And you just keep your eyes peeled. Right?’
There was scarcely room for one inside the cubicle, let alone two. Donna found the big man pressed close to her.
‘What are you going to do? Stand there and watch me?’ she demanded.
‘I’m not going to turn my back on you, if that’s what you were hoping. Go on, get on with it. Or do you want a hand?’ He chuckled. ‘I’ll close my eyes, how’s that?’
He did.
It was only a split second but it was all Donna needed.
She lashed out with her right foot, driving it into Benton’s groin with all the power she could muster. She actually felt the bottom of his pelvic bone thump against her foot as she slammed his testicles up against the bone.
He howled in pain, the sound lost as the train hurtled into a tunnel.
Donna lunged at him, aware that his face was unprotected as he clutched at his genitals with both hands.
She raked his face with her nails, digging at his eyes, making him scream in renewed agony as she sheared a portion from his lower eyelid. Blood ran down his face. He tried to fight back, clutching at her throat and digging his thumbs into her Adam’s apple, but she bit into his thumb until she drew blood, kicking again at the big man. She drove three kicks into his shins and smashed her handbag into the side of his head. Possessed of a strength born of fear and rage, she rained blows onto him, pushing him against the lavatory door, which flew open.
His face scratched and bleeding, contorted in a grimace of pain and anger, Benton toppled backwards, one hand reaching for the knife.
The train was still inside the tunnel, the wind howling like a mad banshee through the open windows. The lights flickered on and off.
Donna threw herself clear of Benton’s groping hands.
She spun round and brought one heel down with tremendous force onto his outstretched hand.
The point of the heel crushed the tip of his index finger, splitting the nail as far as the cuticle. Blood burst from the shattered digit and Benton screamed again.
Donna turned as Ryker came at her, avoiding his clumsy attempts to grab her.
She was not so lucky with Benton, who sprang up and crashed into her, his arms locking around her waist, their combined momentum slamming them against the door.
The impact caused it to fly open. For what seemed like an eternity both of them were suspended in mid-air, filthy fumes pouring into the carriage from inside the tunnel.
Then the second passed.
Ryker tried to grab them but was too late.
They toppled out.
Fifty-Seven
She knew she was going to die.
In that split second, as she and Benton fell from the train, Donna
knew
.
The stench of the tunnel filled her nostrils; the roar of the train drummed in her ears. She felt weightless as they pitched into empty air.
Benton, in his terror, released his grip on her waist. His scream echoed madly inside the tunnel as he fell was slammed against the brickwork then bounced back against the speeding train, his body pulped by the impact.
Something inside Donna’s mind, some shred of self-preservation, made her shoot out a hand.
She managed to grip the frame of the window on the door which was flying open now, banging against the side of the train.
Hold on, her mind screamed.
Hold on.
She used all her strength to grip the frame, her body buffetted by the high-speed wind that swept against the train as it roared along. Her hair whipped around her face; she felt the icy chill filling her. Her fingers were beginning to go numb.