Read Online 2041 Sanctuary (Dark Descent) by Robert Storey - Free Book Online Page A

passion Evan returned towards her matched that of her own, she sensed his tension throughout and after they had uncoupled he left the room without a word to go into the en-suite. Normally they settled into a fulfilled cuddle after sex so she was acutely aware of his unusual behaviour. Sliding out of bed she padded naked and bare of foot into the bathroom after him. He stood, head bowed, in front of the sink unit.
    She approached from behind and wrapped her arms around his waist. ‘What’s the matter?’
    ‘I lost my job last week,’ he said without turning round, his voice taut with stress.
    Her eyes widened in disbelief. ‘What? How? You’ve worked there for years; you’re a damn partner in the company for god’s sake. They can’t just sack you!’
    He turned round and her grip on him fell away. ‘They didn’t, the firm folded, our business dried up overnight. One minute we had corporate clients lining up out the door and the next, nothing, apart from the odd small case.
    ‘Do you know why?’ she asked, already knowing the answer.
    ‘Why do you think? The GMRC apparently don’t take kindly to public airing of their business and they like to spread the pain to anyone involved, or just involved by association.’
    ‘Why didn’t you tell me before?’ Jessica’s mind was reeling in despair as she enclosed his clasped hands within her own.
    He grunted something unintelligible. She drew him to her and he encircled her with his arms. Leaning his head on her small shoulder, he heaved a deep sigh. ‘I suppose we should have seen this coming.’
    Jessica didn’t reply as her guilt had already set in for ruining his career. Now they were likely to both be out of work by the end of the week. Her disciplinary hearing with her bosses at the BBC was scheduled for two days’ time and, all things considered, its final outcome was almost a forgone conclusion.
    Her hand stroked his hair. ‘I’ll make this right,’ she told him but her words, while said with heartfelt conviction, rang hollow in her ears.
     
    ♦
     
    Jessica, in a crisp blue suit, made her way into work as she always did. Catching the London Underground from West Kensington, she changed at Green Park onto the Victoria line and got off after one stop at Oxford Circus. Making her way through the station and past the ticket gates, the usual press of bodies accompanying the commute, she emerged out into the street. Overhead floodlights installed for daytime simulation glared down as she made her way along the crowded pavement towards her destination, passing cars creating miniature tsunamis as their tyres cut through the pooling rain. Saving her from a drenching, newly erected awnings lined the roads of London town, protecting commuters and shoppers alike from the ferocious weather that had been battering Europe for the last few months. Mirroring the sunless brooding sky above, grim-faced armed police officers stalked the roads, adding a sinister air to the UK’s capital city.
    Jessica crossed a narrow road and walked past a stationary armoured military patrol vehicle, then on into the familiar building of BBC Broadcasting House, leaving the noisy bustle of the city behind. Usually she would have taken another entrance, but as an enquiry into her actions on air was pending, she had to report to the main desk. Leaning atop the counter, with its illuminated white signage bearing the famous BBC logo, Jessica waited for one of the receptionists to finish helping someone else. The man was soon with her and handing her a temporary security pass. He gave her an understanding smile before she turned and left to enter the building proper.
    As she strode along the functional carpeted corridors, her anger at her treatment and at Evan’s forced redundancy, which had been simmering for the last two days, rose to the surface. Jessica’s presence moved before her like a wave and people parted at her passing like the red sea preceding Moses. People called out greetings