Weeks go by. They are halfway through the European races. Claymore are doing solid business. Deniz is scoring championship points on a regular basis. Tom could have been satisfied, but he is restless.

  From the outside, Faith and he must seem like a perfect match. On the inside, it is all empty and cold. He is managing the daily business while she wants to be informed about every detail. She is having the last say in all financial decisions, but she always follows his suggestions. It is absurd.

  He has not been able to withhold the question how her visit to Mori had been. She had answered in a very casual manner, making it clear that she does not wish to discuss her personal life with him. “He has got a nice house”, she had said.

  Tom has to rely on what he sees. This does make him uneasy. Mori and Faith are conversing easily these days. Faith seems relaxed on these occasions, Mori is his usual distanced self. Sometimes, though, and this is what worries Tom, he looks at her with a fierceness he has not displayed before. It seems like pride, pride which comes from ownership, and this is scary. Tom knows that he needs to talk to Faith about it, but he keeps putting it off. The schedule in Monaco is too busy; there is not going to be an opportunity any time soon.

  He is sitting in the trailer, cradling his coffee, going over the list of supplies they need to order. Faith wants to sign it. She arrives in a hurry and sits down across from him, reaching for the papers when his phone vibrates. He looks at the display. It is a message from Liv.

  He must have looked surprised, because Faith says, “Anything important?”

  “Yes. No. Hard to say.” He shakes his head. “An acquaintance. She has not been in touch in a while.”

  “Oh.” She leans back, eyebrows raised.

  “It is not what you may be thinking. But I’d like to get back to her, if you don’t mind.”

  Faith lifts her hands, signalling infinite patience. Tom reads, “Hello, Prince. I’m in Monaco. Can we meet up?”

  He knows that Faith is watching him when he glances at his watch and writes back, “Sevent thirty, Grover Monument.” He is still typing a follow-up, telling her that he is pleased to meet her again, when Liv’s answer comes in. “Okay.”

  He puts the phone down. “Shall we?”

  “Are you in a hurry?”

  “I might be.”

  She makes a face. “Okay. What do we need?”

  Tom explains his list to her. The last items are spare parts they need to get from Mori Motors. Faith takes notes and says, “I’ll see to that. We’re going to a concert tonight, Mori and I.”

  Now Tom raises his eyebrows. He is sure that she is going to leave the list with Nicholas, but she has let him know that she is going out.

  “Is that all? Good. I’m off. Have a nice evening.”

  Liv is already waiting for him when he arrives at the bronze statue of the racing driver. Nobody could fit less into wealthy, fashionable Monte Carlo than her. She looks rough in her oversized hoodie and with her scratched backpack. When she sees him, she smiles, though she refuses to be hugged. He invites her to dinner, and soon they are sitting outside a small brasserie, having a coke and a salad. She does not touch her food at all. His questions she leaves unanswered.

  “Is there anything I can do?”, he asks eventually. “Do you need money?”

  “That would be helpful”, she says, and he is again amazed by her voice. “But I wanted to talk about Kenny. He is here, and you could help me see him.”

  “Kenny? You’re still looking for him?”

  She shrugs. “I’ve found him. I need to talk to him. He is performing for you tomorrow.”

  “For me?”

  “At that party. At the Hotel de Paris.”

  “Ah. Okay.” He has forgotten about that; he does not care for it. The Prince and his wife have invited the circus to a gala event. Nobody really wants to go, it is the evening before the qualifying session, they have other things on their minds, but they cannot very well give it a miss. “But I don’t see what I can do.”

  “Can you get me in?”

  He hates how hopefully she is looking at him. “Liv, this is a maximum security event. We’ve had to pass on our details for security checks weeks ago.”

  “It is really important, Tom.” She sounds desperate.

  He shakes his head. “I can’t help you, I’m afraid. I’m really sorry. I’m just the guest of a guest, if you know what I mean.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “I’m just accompanying my boss. This is a business event, really. I have no say in the matter.”

  She does not reply. When Tom wants to apologise again, she pushes back her chair. “Okay. If you say so. See you around, then.”

  Tom throws some money on the table and runs after her. “Wait, Liv. Hold on. Can I not help you at all? What about money?”

  She stops but does not speak, looking at the ground.

  Tom pulls all the cash he has on him out of his wallet and hands the notes to her. It is two hundred and fifty euros, no more. She takes it and pushes it into the pouch of her hoodie.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Thanks”, she murmurs.

  “Any time. Please call me if you need help.”

  She nods, turns around and walks away. Tom looks after her, helplessly. Women are a mystery.

  Tom is waiting for Faith in the lobby of their hotel, and when she walks out of the elevator, he forgets to breathe for a second. She is wearing a tight-fitting, elegant dress in soft lilac, with a very fluffy, oversized white shawl around her shoulders. She looks like a film star. Or a princess. Everyone is staring at her as she leaves the lobby on his arm.

  “You look amazing”, he says. “You should wear this always.”

  She smiles and blushes, she really blushes. He puts his hand on hers and leads her to the waiting limousine.

  In front of the Hotel de Paris, she is taken from him. Daijiro Mori is waiting, helps her get out of the car and does not seem to mind the photographers. Tom follows them inside, where they join the queue to meet the Prince and his wife. He might have been amused by the way Faith tries to avoid being looked at, if it was not for Mori monopolising her. Of course, he is sitting at their table, too.

  The speeches are long, the food is excellent. Nobody can drink anything. After two hours, no surprise there, Mori takes his leave.

  “Is he tired?”, Tom asks.

  “I believe so. The season is taking its toll on him.” Faith looks worried. “I haven’t known him long, but this cannot be normal.”

  “No”, Tom agrees. “Has he seen a doctor?”

  “I believe so. But he’s determined.”

  “That does not sound so good.”

  “No. It’s impossible to talk to him, though.”

  “Even for you?”

  “Even for me.”

  “I would have thought you had some influence by now.”

  He makes a point of not looking at her.

  “Can`t say I do.”

  Then their conversation is interrupted by the entertainment. Kenny Payne is being announced. Tom has run another search on him. Payne has had a rough time since Dublin. He had to stop two concerts mid-show, and all events after that had been cancelled. It sounds as if his drug abuse had gotten out of control. This gig tonight seems to be the last he has scheduled; his management has kicked him out. Whatever Liv still sees in him.

  Payne performs five songs, and he does it quite well. The comparison with Robbie Williams is not exaggerated. He does have a good stage presence and acts the charming roguish boy in a very sexy and convincing way, even Tom must give him that. It is a good way to kick off the party. He is just about to say something to that effect to Faith when she says, “Excuse me for a minute. I need the loo. And then we can leave, if you like.”

  “Okay”, he says.

  “Oh, sorry.” She had collided into a man when she was rounding a corner in the corridor.

  The stranger holds both her arms to steady her, longer than necessary. “You can bump into me any time”, he says.

  Faith is not shy, but she has never learned to deal with compliments. She struggles to free herself, but she smiles. He does not let her go. It is Kenny Payne.

  “Hold it, hold it,” he says. “I’m not doing anything.”

  “You might actually let me go.”

  “I’d rather do something else entirely.” He purrs like a cat, but Faith also hears the threat. She is confused.

  “What would that be?”

  “Well, this.” He kisses her. Faith is too surprised to resist. His kiss is demanding, forceful, and seductive. She knows that this is a violation and that she ought to fight back, but her body reacts differently. His hands have moved around her body, they are on her ass, pressing her against him.

  When he releases her, she has lost her sense of time. He looks into her eyes. “Did you like that?”

  She is out of breath. “Maybe.”

  He pushes her against the wall, kissing her once more, running his hands across her body, squeezing her breasts. She sighs and gives in.

  “You like this so much”, he says, grinning.

  She does not reply. Yes, so much. She drowns in his brown eyes.

  “Then come away.” He pulls her along the corridor and into the garage, where they get into a sports car and drive away, out of the city and into the mountains. They do not speak, but he has placed her hand on his thigh. He stops the car on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, and then he directs her to the hood of the car, pushes up her dress and goes down on her until Faith almost cries and begs him to finally fuck her.

  When Faith has not returned to the ballroom after twenty minutes, Tom goes looking for her. There is dancing now; the room is becoming less and less easy to surveil. But there is no queue at the ladies’, and no trace of Faith. After half an hour he decides to leave the event. She is a grown woman, how could she have gotten lost? She can explain in the morning. He returns once more to pick up her shawl. He would have liked to dance with her, but he dismisses the thought at once. He is not going to waste his time while she has probably gone home already and is sleeping peacefully in her bed.

  When Faith arrives at the paddock the next day, she is late, looks as if she has not slept at all, but she glows in a way Tom does not like. She is also confused and unable to concentrate. She does not offer any explanation, and she disappears again when the session is finished before he finds the time to ask her.

  The same thing happens on the day of the race, the difference being that she tells him that she is going to be unavailable for the rest of the day, and practically orders him to take care of everything.

  On Monday morning, Nicholas knocks on Tom’s door and hands him a sheet of paper. The paper had been pushed under Nicholas’ door during the night. Faith grants Nicholas and Tom full power over her business, for the time of her absence, no hooks, no explanation, just that.

  “Her absence? Where did she go? Have you booked anything?”

  “No. I have no idea what this is about. Her phone is switched off.”

  They look at each other.

  “What is the matter with her? She has been weird since Saturday”, Nicholas asks.

  Tom shrugs. “She disappeared from the party. I’ve only seen her at the track since then.”

  “Has she met anyone? Anyone she knows?”

  “I have no idea.” Nicholas has just voiced Tom’s thoughts. “I cannot think of another explanation.”

  “And what do we do now?”

  Tom hands him the sheet of paper. “Dunno. She has to get back to us at some point.”

  “So we wait?”

  “I guess. And keep things calm.”