Falling For You (60 page)

‘No charges?’ I breathe.

‘As we thought, no charges. Julia was right. Illusion’s brother Diego did it. An opportunistic crime. The police maintain Illusion wasn’t involved with my nephew’s abduction: Diego passed Hadyn off to her as his nephew so he could keep him hidden. Then he died in an accident before he could take it any further.  The police believe Illusion poses no threat to anyone.’ My brother looks at me apologetically.

‘You really think she knew nothing? Suspected
nothing
?’ I give him a disbelieving look and he shrugs.

 ‘We know the type of people she comes from. But what
we
believe is irrelevant. I thought you might prefer to take the chance to get your family out beforehand.’

‘Damn right I would,’ I mutter. ‘If Illusion’s coming out, we’ll be splashed all over the locals again.’

‘You will.’

And that isn’t the only potential problem.

I see from his face that Rob is there ahead of me. ‘I imagine you’d rather Julia didn’t get wind of her release?’ My brother puts it to me tactfully. ‘I know she’s been ... curious about Illusion, always asking
questions
of the family about this woman.’ He pulls a face and I know he is of a mind with me on the subject of Illusion; that the less contact or reference any of us in the family make to that woman, the better.

‘I need my family to move forward, Rob,’ I mutter, pained. ‘I want to leave Illusion behind, and everything to do with this sorry episode.’

‘I’m totally behind you.’ He nods in rapid agreement. ‘But what if Julia decides she wants to see this woman? Even worse—what if Illusion tries to make contact with
her
? There is nothing to stop her, you know. Nothing. Women can be so ... unpredictable about these things.’ He pulls a bemused face. ‘They can make things so
complicated
.’       

I stop and stare at my brother for a moment, seeing where he’s going with this. ‘You think I shouldn’t say anything to Julia?’

Rob does a softly-softly movement with his hands. ‘Sometimes, we men have to know things and not say them, Carlos. Julia doesn’t need to be upset any more. She has your son to concern herself with now and once she returns to the UK, Illusion will be history; she will never need to think about any of this again. Your only job is to get your family home, get on with your life. You agree?’

My brother’s right. ‘What’ll I tell Julia?’ I say to him.

‘Tell her anything. Make up some excuse; just get your family out.’  

I nod, slowly. ‘We’ll leave here Sunday, then.’

‘
Venga
!’ he says in agreement, holding out his hand for a high five. ‘You don’t have to say anything to Julia. What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, eh?’

The swell lifts us up high, then lets us down again. When I peer over the side of the boat, the water looks very green, almost glassy on the top. It is so clear, I could let myself imagine there is nothing lurking beneath the cold bright water, nothing at all. No snarled-up fishing line or broken bottles or jellyfish, only the clear green water of the Mediterranean. Only miles and miles of soft and silent sand.
What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her
.

But I know that this is not always true.

What you don’t know is sometimes the thing that can hurt you most of all.