The Passenger by Daniel Hurst (great book club books TXT) 📕

‘This is not a prank, Amanda,’ he states firmly, and I freeze.

He knows my name.

I told him a lot of things about myself during the course of this journey, but I didn’t tell him that.

I look around again at my fellow passengers and wonder if calling to them for help might get me out of this scary situation.

‘Don’t even think about it,’ he says as if reading my mind, and I return my gaze to his annoyingly smug face.

‘Look, I don’t know what you think you know about me, but you’re wrong. There’s no safe, and there’s no money. You’ve got me mixed up with somebody else.’ I go to get up out of my seat, and for a second I think I might just be able to leave. That is until the man speaks again.

‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Trust me. You do not want to test me.’

I pause in position by my seat. Do I believe him and sit back down? Or do I grab my things and get as far away down the train as I can from this guy?

‘Just sit down and listen to me,’ he says. ‘It’s in your best interests to hear me out.’

I sincerely doubt that, but how else am I going to know what this is all about?

I slump back down into my seat but keep a grip on my laptop bag and coat in case I need to make a dash for it. Trying to think rationally, I console myself with the fact that this is a very public place, so this man can’t do anything to harm me here in front of all these witnesses. There is also the fact that we are on a train that is going to pass through several stations before it reaches Brighton, so I will have the opportunity to potentially escape at any one of those stops if I need to.

Whatever this is, it’s going to be all right. I just need to stay calm. Maybe it’s not as bad as I think it is. So what if he knows about my safe? As he says, he doesn’t know how to access it. That’s because I’m the only one who does. Even Louise doesn’t know the code, and based on what I am learning now, that is a good thing because it sounds like she has been sharing plenty of information with somebody else about my private life.

‘I know who you are, and I know how much money you have in that safe. I know those things because your daughter has told her boyfriend all about you and your savings.’

‘Her boyfriend?’ I reply. Is it that serious with this guy?

‘Don’t feel bad because she didn’t tell you. He’s a few years older than Louise, so maybe that’s why she didn’t mention him. But trust me, you’re not the only one who has been kept in the dark about things.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘The man your daughter has been seeing for the last few weeks is not who he says he is. He’s actually a convicted criminal, and between you and me, he is very dangerous.’

‘Dangerous?’ I say, feeling as if everything is starting to spin. ‘What the hell have you got my daughter into?’

‘She is the one who has got herself into this. She is the reason all of this is happening.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Your daughter has told her boyfriend all about you and your dreams. But what was most interesting was the bit where she mentioned that you have £20,000 locked away in the safe in your bedroom.’

I continue to grip the table with my hands, trying my best not to freak out.

This is a bad dream.

Please tell me this is a bad dream.

‘He passed on this information to me a couple of weeks ago, and since then, we have come up with a plan to get that money out of your safe. Tonight is the night when we make it happen.’

I can’t believe this. I guess I’m not the only one who has been making grand plans. But whereas mine is only slightly unrealistic, this guy’s is downright crazy.

‘You must be mad if you think I’m going to give you the code to that safe,’ I tell him, doing my best to stop my voice from cracking as I speak. I’ve decided that there’s no point in me trying to deny the existence of the money now. He obviously knows too much. But I can still put up a fight, or at least make it sound like I can.

‘I think it would be best for Louise if you did as you were told,’ he replies condescendingly, but he doesn’t understand the situation. I love my daughter, and I will do anything to protect her, but opening that safe may not be the best way of doing that. In fact, I’m confident it will only make things worse for her, and for me.

With his words ringing in my ears, I reach into my bag for my mobile phone in an attempt to call my daughter.

‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you. My partner is with Louise right now, and he will know immediately if you phone her to warn her about him.’

I hold off on making the call after his warning but keep my phone in my hand just in case. A quick glance outside the window at the row of houses passing us by tells me that we are coming towards the next station. It wouldn’t do me much good to try to run now considering I’m stuck on a moving train. But maybe if I can get off this train when it stops, then I could get help, and all of this might be all right. But we’re not at the next station yet.

‘Who are you?’ I ask the man, trying to keep calm and stall for time.

But the reply I get chills me to the bone.

‘Me?’ he says with a devilish grin. ‘I’m your worst nightmare.’

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