the gate in the garden fence and made their way down
the sweeping driveway toward the road. Waiting behind his father’s silver-gray Lexus was a long
black car with tinted windows. A uniformed driver sat in the front seat smoking a cigarette with the
doors wide open.
What was on Eddie’s computer that a rich man from Uganda wanted so much that he was willing
to pay for it with a briefcase full of cash? And who the hell was that doctor?
Chapter Five
Despondent, disgruntled, dejected. Any of those adjectives could describe Edward’s mood as he
opened his front door and stopped to check for letters. The post was always left sitting in a mess on
top of the hall radiator. Sorting through it, he thought of the evening ahead. Maybe he should take
Friday off after all and drive to Mitton early. What was the point in hanging around the flat alone?
Only yesterday he had texted Nik to tell her he had seen the young man again, and perhaps it was
actually a relationship after all, as opposed to just a one-nighter. Now it was all in shreds.
Two envelopes that looked like birthday cards rested precariously on the radiator, and another
had fallen down the back. Edward fished it out and shook off the dust before trudging upstairs.
Birthday cards and a family birthday dinner to remind him that at thirty years old he had never had a
relationship, never been sent a valentine card, and never been loved by another adult who was not
related to him. Add depressing to the list of adjectives describing his life.
“Sorry, mate.”
At the top of the stairs he stopped and stared. Sitting on the floor outside his door with Edward’s
laptop on the bare wood floor beside him was Fox.
“I shouldn’t have taken it, Eddie. I’m really sorry.”
The strangest flip-flop sensation clutched Edward in the gut. He couldn’t decide if it was the
return of his laptop that did it or the sight of Fox sitting cross-legged, dressed in black as always, his
eyes heavily rimmed with dark eyeliner. Edward had fancied many a bloke in the past, but he had
never before got an erection at the sight of one as he did now. “How did you get in?”
“That woman downstairs was leaving just as I got here. You know, the one in the hijab. She let
me in. She must have thought I didn’t look like a lying thief. Which I am.”
Rising quickly to his feet, Fox slipped his arms around Edward’s neck. Without hesitation
Edward wrapped his long arms around Fox in return and held him tightly, pressing the young man
close to his chest. A door along the landing opened, and without thinking, Edward released Fox to
thrust his key in the lock. He shoved Fox in ahead of him and grabbed his hardware from the floor. A
moment ago the thought of his relatively clean but very untidy, empty flat was horrible. Now he
couldn’t stop smiling.
But Fox had still stolen his computer.
“Why did you do it? You left without your money, and then you took my computer. Why?”
A soft pink suffused Fox’s pale cheeks, and his gaze dropped to his feet. “I was going to sell it. I
wiped the hard drive. I’m sorry. I needed the money.”
“You didn’t even take what I owe you,” Edward pointed out. “What did you need the money
for?”
Looking up at him from under his darkly made-up lashes, Fox smiled. “Tofu.”
As joyful as he felt, Edward didn’t want to let off him so easily, at least not just yet. “So you
didn’t access any of the information?” he asked cautiously. Everything was encrypted, but for all he
knew Fox was some computer whiz kid. “You took two memory sticks as well. Where are they?”
“I just wanted the money I thought I could get for it. I tossed the sticks down a grid. They’ll be
rotting in the sewer somewhere. I didn’t really know what to do with them.”
Edward put his laptop on his desk with his birthday cards. He’d look at them later. He wanted to
be annoyed, but he was deliriously happy. In an attempt at sounding
the sweeping driveway toward the road. Waiting behind his father’s silver-gray Lexus was a long
black car with tinted windows. A uniformed driver sat in the front seat smoking a cigarette with the
doors wide open.
What was on Eddie’s computer that a rich man from Uganda wanted so much that he was willing
to pay for it with a briefcase full of cash? And who the hell was that doctor?
Chapter Five
Despondent, disgruntled, dejected. Any of those adjectives could describe Edward’s mood as he
opened his front door and stopped to check for letters. The post was always left sitting in a mess on
top of the hall radiator. Sorting through it, he thought of the evening ahead. Maybe he should take
Friday off after all and drive to Mitton early. What was the point in hanging around the flat alone?
Only yesterday he had texted Nik to tell her he had seen the young man again, and perhaps it was
actually a relationship after all, as opposed to just a one-nighter. Now it was all in shreds.
Two envelopes that looked like birthday cards rested precariously on the radiator, and another
had fallen down the back. Edward fished it out and shook off the dust before trudging upstairs.
Birthday cards and a family birthday dinner to remind him that at thirty years old he had never had a
relationship, never been sent a valentine card, and never been loved by another adult who was not
related to him. Add depressing to the list of adjectives describing his life.
“Sorry, mate.”
At the top of the stairs he stopped and stared. Sitting on the floor outside his door with Edward’s
laptop on the bare wood floor beside him was Fox.
“I shouldn’t have taken it, Eddie. I’m really sorry.”
The strangest flip-flop sensation clutched Edward in the gut. He couldn’t decide if it was the
return of his laptop that did it or the sight of Fox sitting cross-legged, dressed in black as always, his
eyes heavily rimmed with dark eyeliner. Edward had fancied many a bloke in the past, but he had
never before got an erection at the sight of one as he did now. “How did you get in?”
“That woman downstairs was leaving just as I got here. You know, the one in the hijab. She let
me in. She must have thought I didn’t look like a lying thief. Which I am.”
Rising quickly to his feet, Fox slipped his arms around Edward’s neck. Without hesitation
Edward wrapped his long arms around Fox in return and held him tightly, pressing the young man
close to his chest. A door along the landing opened, and without thinking, Edward released Fox to
thrust his key in the lock. He shoved Fox in ahead of him and grabbed his hardware from the floor. A
moment ago the thought of his relatively clean but very untidy, empty flat was horrible. Now he
couldn’t stop smiling.
But Fox had still stolen his computer.
“Why did you do it? You left without your money, and then you took my computer. Why?”
A soft pink suffused Fox’s pale cheeks, and his gaze dropped to his feet. “I was going to sell it. I
wiped the hard drive. I’m sorry. I needed the money.”
“You didn’t even take what I owe you,” Edward pointed out. “What did you need the money
for?”
Looking up at him from under his darkly made-up lashes, Fox smiled. “Tofu.”
As joyful as he felt, Edward didn’t want to let off him so easily, at least not just yet. “So you
didn’t access any of the information?” he asked cautiously. Everything was encrypted, but for all he
knew Fox was some computer whiz kid. “You took two memory sticks as well. Where are they?”
“I just wanted the money I thought I could get for it. I tossed the sticks down a grid. They’ll be
rotting in the sewer somewhere. I didn’t really know what to do with them.”
Edward put his laptop on his desk with his birthday cards. He’d look at them later. He wanted to
be annoyed, but he was deliriously happy. In an attempt at sounding
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