Safe House Read Online Free Page A

people to know it. The muscles of his lower neck and shoulders stood out as if someone had braided thick rope beneath his skin.
    A photography book was open on the table before him. His head was bowed, hands covering his ears, his thick elbows propped on the tabletop. The page he was studying featured a black-and-white photograph of a pale, emaciated girl with a crescent-shaped collection of studs above her top lip.
    Mr Shades was tapping at a laptop. The laptop was placed alongside his phone. It seemed he wasn’t a complete idiot, because his sunglasses were now balanced on top of his head.
    Neither of the men paid me any attention. I stood awkwardly in my socks, shifting my weight between my feet.
    ‘Here is your tea.’
    The blonde handed me the mug and I nodded my thanks, then took a sip and gave her a goofy thumbs-up.
    ‘You like?’
    ‘It’s perfect.’
    She gave me the dazzling smile again. ‘You want if we go back to the garage?’
    ‘Fine by me.’ I gestured with my mug at the two men. ‘Wouldn’t want to interrupt anything.’
    I led the way, taking a moment to step back into my boots and glancing towards the rain-splattered concrete at the threshold of the garage. I set my mug down on top of the boiler, picked up my spanner and dropped to my knees on a square of foam I’d laid on the ground.
    ‘Can you fix it?’ she asked, closing the door behind Rocky.
    ‘Think so,’ I said, over my shoulder. ‘But I might have to get some parts. The stuff I have in my van probably won’t fit.’
    ‘How long will this take?’
    ‘I should be able to pick the parts up in the morning. I’ll be finished a few hours after that.’
    Her face sagged and her lips tangled into a pout. ‘So I will have another cold bath, I am thinking.’
    ‘And what, using the immersion goes against your religion?’
    She peered hard at me, through the glossy blonde strands that were hanging in front of her eyes.
    ‘The immersion heater,’ I explained. ‘Here.’ I straightened and reached my hand through some pipes and flipped a switch that was hidden down behind the boiler. An amber diode glowed brightly. The immersion tank hummed and burbled.
    ‘ No .’
    ‘You didn’t know?’
    ‘Three days, we have no hot water.’ She threw up her hands. ‘I keep telling them to call somebody. And here, you fix it already.’
    ‘Well, the main system’s still broken. And it’s expensive this way. So it’s better if I can get the boiler working again.’
    ‘I am so happy right now.’
    She did a pirouette to prove it. It got Rocky excited. He jumped up and placed his forepaws on her thighs, as if he planned to lead her in a waltz around the garage.
    ‘Rocky is so cute.’ She kissed the top of his head. ‘Are you always bringing him to your work?’
    ‘Unless a customer complains.’
    ‘But who would do such a thing?’ She lifted his dopey face and blew him kisses.
    ‘You’d be surprised. He’s not always so well behaved.’
    ‘I do not believe it.’ She eased Rocky down to the ground, then thrust her hand towards me. ‘My name is Lena.’
    We shook in a strangely formal way.
    ‘Rob. You here on holiday?’
    She shrugged and plunged her hands into the pockets of her trousers.
    ‘With friends?’ I asked, pointing with my spanner in the direction of the kitchen.
    ‘You can call them this, I suppose.’
    ‘You don’t sound too sure.’
    She smiled flatly.
    ‘They didn’t exactly strike me as fun-loving types,’ I suggested.
    ‘No? Then what types are they?’
    I weighed the spanner in my hand, as if I was mulling over the options. ‘Honestly? They looked to me like the bad guys who die early in a Bruce Willis movie.’
    She laughed hard, throwing her head and her hair right back. I liked the way it made me feel. A lot.
    ‘And you?’ she asked. ‘Are you a fun-loving type?’
    ‘I guess.’
    She nodded towards the rain out in the clearing. ‘And what is there to do here, on this Isle of Man, to have fun?’
    I