I’d been right about one thing. He was a healthy animal. I could feel it in every line of the big body pressed against mine as I lay looking up at him.

I couldn’t see him so well now. There was a bright moon in the sky but his head came in between and his face was dark. I could only make out the glitter of his eyes and hear the sound of his breathing.

He was panting after his exertions, and I understood that, because so was I. Every part of me was suddenly warm and tingling, as though the struggle had got me really worked up. I could hear my heart thumping.

‘Get off me,’ I snapped.

‘Good grief!’ he said, peering at me more closely. ‘What the devil-?’

‘I said, get off me!’

He drew back and rose to his feet, pulling me up with him and keeping hold of my wrists.

‘Who the hell do you think you are to jump on me?’ I demanded, trying to kick him again but not managing it this time.

‘I’m a man who doesn’t like being stolen from, even if it is just petty cash.’

‘I haven’t stolen from you,’ I raged.

‘But you were trying to. Why else were you hiding in the bushes? I’ve been crept up on before. I know the signs.’

‘Oh, really?’ I seethed. ‘You’re so clever, aren’t you? But you’ve got it wrong this time.’

‘Why are you soaking wet?’ he asked suddenly.

‘I’ve been swimming,’ I flashed. ‘I thought it would be good for my health. Ow!’

I’d actually managed to free one hand by then, but in the same moment I trod on something sharp.

I yelled and hopped about, and then found myself actually clutching him again to steady myself. That really annoyed me.

He was looking down at me with interest.

‘You’re not wearing very much,’ he remarked.

‘Ten out of ten for observation.’

‘Well, I’m funny like that. When a girl’s wet and half naked I tend to notice, especially up close.’

I abandoned politeness. ‘Bully for you! And I am not a thief.’

‘Well, you sure looked like one, skulking in the bushes until a victim came past. You think anyone who walks out of the casino must be a millionaire-’

It was madness to get into an argument with him, but I couldn’t stop myself.

‘Well, that’s all you know,’ I snapped. ‘I’ve been in enough casinos to know that people walk out poorer than they go in. If they didn’t, all the casinos would close down.’

‘You really know the subject, don’t you? I’ll bet you have been in casinos! I expect your accomplice is still in there-’

‘What accomplice?’

‘The one who signalled you that I’d had a big win-’

‘So you say! Every loser says he’s a winner.’

‘What do you think all that is on the ground?’ he demanded, pointing down.

For the first time I realised that the ground was covered with notes.

‘Those are my winnings, which just happened to fall out of my pocket while we were struggling,’ he said.

‘Don’t try to make that sound like my fault,’ I said. ‘You pounced on me, not the other way around. I was not lurking to steal from you.’

‘OK, we’ve exchanged pleasantries long enough. Why don’t you tell me what you’re doing and why?’

‘I am looking for the British Consul,’ I asserted, with what I hoped was dignity.

‘Dressed like that?’

‘It’s because I’m dressed like this that I need the Consul,’ I said through gritted teeth.

‘You need help, don’t you?’

‘You guessed!’

‘I’m clever that way,’ he said, not letting himself be offended by the edge in my voice, which I suppose was lucky for me.

‘I’m running away,’ I told him, ‘but I’ve got nowhere to run to.’

‘Where are you running from?’

‘A yacht. It’s called The Silverado and it’s moored down there. Look.’

From here we could just about make out Vanner’s yacht, far below us in the harbour.

‘That one,’ I said, ‘right next to the big vulgar one.’

‘You mean The Hawk?’ he said.

‘You know it?’

For a moment I thought he seemed uneasy.

‘Why do you say it like that?’ he asked.

‘Like what?’

‘As though knowing The Hawk is a crime. Are you acquainted with the owner?’

‘I know of him. He’s a creep called Jack Bullen, and Hugh Vanner has been trying to crawl to him ever since he berthed.’

‘That makes this Vanner character a creep, but why Bullen?’

‘Because Vanner would only crawl to an even bigger creep than himself.’

‘I suppose that’s logical,’ he admitted.

‘He even sent him gold and diamond cufflinks. I ask you!’

‘That’s really disgusting. And who needs gold and diamonds? Look at these-’

He flashed his own cufflinks at me and I was startled. They were really rubbish, and I mean really. My family is expert in appraising jewellery and I absorbed it with my mother’s milk.

Not that I needed expertise with these. They looked as if they’d come off a market stall, and the mother-of-pearl was peeling.

‘You do know The Hawk, don’t you?’ I challenged him.

‘In a sort of way,’ he said vaguely.

I wondered if he was one of the ship’s stewards, enjoying a night out. Despite his fancy shirt and bow tie this man was short of cash. His winnings probably represented a fortune to him.

‘You’d better pick up your money,’ I said.

‘Can I risk letting you go?’

‘I’ve got nowhere to run.’

He released my wrist and bent to grasp some of the notes.

‘How about helping me?’ he asked, looking up.

‘I’d rather not touch your cash.’

‘OK, OK, you’re not a thief and I’m sorry I said it. Now, will you help me before a wind gets up and it blows away?’

I picked some up, deciding that my first thoughts had been right. Clearly this man needed every penny.

‘So now tell me what you’re doing here? Or can I guess? You’re running from Vanner the creep?’

‘Right! And from the other creeps that he wanted me to “be nice” to. This is his dress.’

His lips twitched.

‘I’ll bet he doesn’t look as good in it as you.’

‘Very funny. I jumped overboard to escape him, and now I don’t know what to do or where to go. I need the Consul, but Monaco is so tiny it probably doesn’t have one.’

‘Yes, it does-well, a Vice-Consul anyway. If you like I’ll take you to find him.’

I nearly collapsed with relief.

‘Would you really? Thank you, thank you-could we go now, please?’

‘All right. Just let me-’

‘That’s her!’

The voice came from the darkness, but it was followed at once by Vanner scurrying across the lawn like a black beetle.

‘Get her!’ he shrieked. ‘Arrest her.’

He was followed by two gendarmes who headed for me.

‘Hold on a minute, there!’

The man from the casino spoke in a lazy voice, but there was something about him that stopped everyone in their tracks.

Vanner recovered first.

‘This woman is a thief,’ he shrieked. ‘She stole money from me before leaving my boat. Look, she’s holding it. That’s mine. I demand that you arrest her.’

The gendarmes started to move again, but the man placed himself between them and me, and I realised again just how big he was. He could have dealt with two of them easily.

‘The money’s mine,’ he said. ‘This lady was helping me to pick it up. We hadn’t finished, as you can see.’

He indicated the grass, where some stray notes still lingered.

‘You’re lying!’ Vanner shrieked. ‘The money’s mine. She’s a thief.’

‘I suppose you’re Hugh Vanner,’ the man said, eyeing him with open contempt.

A new look, part caution, part suspicion, came over Vanner’s face.

‘How do you know who I am?’

‘I recognise you from the description.’

This was kind of a private joke, since only he and I knew what that description had been.

Vanner shot a look at me.

‘What have you been saying about me?’

‘That you’re a low-life who tried to force me to sleep with your business buddies,’ I said. ‘That’s why I had to jump overboard-’

‘With my money!’

‘Don’t say that,’ the man said quietly. ‘I’m warning you, don’t say it.’

You’re warning me? Who are you to tell me what to do?’

The man looked surprised. ‘I’m Jack Bullen.’

It was worth anything to see Vanner’s face at that moment. Even in the garden lights I could see him go green. This was the man he’d been trying to reach, to impress, and he’d met him like this.

Of course I knew there wasn’t a word of truth in it. I’d given him the clue to dealing with Vanner and he’d taken it up brilliantly. And who was to know he wasn’t really Jack Bullen, just as long so nobody saw his cufflinks?

‘You’re Jack Bullen?’ Vanner said in a strangled voice that did me the world of good to hear.

‘The one you sent the gold cufflinks to. Remember?’

Vanner gulped and began frantically back-pedalling with the gendarmes, assuring them that it was all a misunderstanding. They scowled at him, but finally departed.

‘That’s better,’ Vanner said, trying to sound in command of the situation. ‘Mr Bullen, you and me need to do some serious talking-’

‘When you’ve returned this lady’s property,’ he said coolly.

‘When I-?’

‘Her clothes, her passport, and whatever you owe her in wages.’

‘I suppose I’m well rid of her at that.’

‘Deliver everything to The Hawk. That’s where I’m going now.’

‘Fine, fine. We can share a cab to the harbour-’

‘No, we can’t. Send those things over and don’t keep me waiting.’

I couldn’t see him well as he said this, but I had a good view of Vanner, and I saw the startling change that came over his face-a kind of withering. He’d seen something in this man’s face that made him fall silent and take a step back.

The man took my arm and began to walk away.

‘Wait a minute,’ I whispered. ‘You were going to take me to the Vice-Consul.’

‘I’ve changed my mind. We’re going to The Hawk.’

‘Oh, no! Not another yacht. I’ve had enough of them to last a lifetime.’

I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t release my arm. He wasn’t holding me all that tightly but there was no way I could escape.

He hailed a passing cab and almost tossed me into it. ‘Now, look here-’ I began.

‘No, you look here. You can go with Vanner, with the gendarmes, or with me.’

‘Or I can go to the Vice-Consul.’

‘If you know where to find him. And just how long do you want to wander around dressed-or rather undressed-like that?’

‘Are you daring to take advantage of my condition?’

‘That’s exactly what I’m doing.’

‘That’s blackmail.’

‘It’s what I’m good at. Now, shut up or I’ll toss you back into the water.’

I opened my mouth to tell him what he could do, but then shut it again. Not because I was afraid of his threats, or of him. I wasn’t.

But I’d seen a gleam in his eyes that undermined his words. He was laughing, challenging me not to laugh with him, and despite everything I found myself doing so.

That was the moment when it all began.

CHAPTER TWO

Jack’s Story

MOONLIGHT and roses. Trees waving gently in the Mediterranean breeze. Romantic music playing in the distance.

It was twenty-three-hundred hours and I was standing outside Monte Carlo Casino, ten grand richer than when I’d gone in.

Yes, that was the state I’d reached. Moonlight. Twenty-three-hundred hours. Ten grand.

But what else did you expect? I’m Jack Bullen. King Midas. Whatever I touch turns to ten grand. Or, if we’re talking real money, ten million.

But tonight was only gambling, so I made do with pocket money.

I blame my grandfather, Nick, and his cufflinks. When he gave them to me he said they were lucky and they would help me win. And, dammit, he was right.

I don’t win every single time. It’s not quite as bad as that. But I win often enough to come out richer. And it’s all his fault.

I blame him for a lot more than that. Starting with my father. Nick was a happy-go-lucky fellow, who loved his family, earned enough from his little grocery business to get by, and enjoyed a laugh. So, according to Sod’s Law, he was bound to have a son who thought he was feckless and worked night and day to ‘better himself’.

I don’t know if my father got better, but he certainly got richer. He started work in Grandpa’s grocery and gradually took over, shunting his father aside. When he finally inherited the shop he built it into a chain, and raised me in the belief that my mission in life was to climb ever onward and upward to the glorious heights of tycoonery.

I’d rather have been a vet, and if Dad had lived longer I might have fought it out with him, but he died when I was fifteen and you can’t argue with a dead man. Especially if he’s left you everything.