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

consolation, and if anything, the colour only makes me think of bad things.

Danger.

Warning.

Blood.

36

LOUISE

I’m sitting with my back to the wall in the corner of my mum’s bedroom, as far away as I can from the dangerous man who I thought was going to kill me a moment ago. James went into a wild rage after the code Mum gave him over the phone failed to work, and as he grabbed me by the hair and dragged me away from the safe, I was convinced that it was over and I was certain to die. The look in his eyes told me that he had lost all control, and I prepared myself for the worst.

It was strange after all the fighting I have done today, but as he loomed over me with that crazed expression on his face, I felt a sense of calm at what was about to happen. I guess they call it giving up. Maybe if Mum and I had given up sooner, then things might have worked out better. But we are both as stubborn as each other, and now it seems that the two of us fought to the bitter end.

But James didn’t kill me. Instead, he allowed me to crawl into this corner while he turned back to the safe and kicked it several times. He’s angry because the code he told me to input was incorrect, so after three attempts, it ended up deactivating the safe for ten minutes until he could try again. He’s been waiting for that time to pass so he can have another go, but I’m not sure what he’s hoping to achieve. It’s impossible to guess that code. I should know because I have tried to guess it enough times myself ever since I found out the safe existed.

I hoped to break into it and see how much money Mum really had stashed away in there and maybe even take a chunk of it myself. After all, she couldn’t stop me going travelling if she came home to find out I’d already gone, could she? But it was no good. I tried as many different combinations as I could while she was at work, and none of them opened it. Birthdays. Anniversaries. Common sequences I found online. None of the eight digits I pressed released the lock and gave me access. But good luck to James. He’s experiencing that same feeling of failure right now.

I hear the two beeps that signal when the ten-minute auto lock has expired and watch James as he types in another code only to be unsuccessful again. While I don’t feel bad for him, I know what it feels like to be frustrated. He obviously had a plan for how his life was going to work out, and it’s gone wrong. Welcome to the club. At least I’m not alone in being utterly miserable.

‘Fuck this!’ James cries, standing up and giving the safe one last kick before checking the time and shaking his head.

He looks at me sitting in the corner, and I wonder what he is going to do now, but in the end, he just walks out of the room.

Is he leaving?

I daren’t move just in case he comes back, but maybe this is finally over. Then I hear the sound of the front door opening, and I guess this is it. He’s given up. He’s walking out of the flat.

I’m safe!

The door slams shut, and I slowly exhale, but I can’t relax for too long. I need to find my phone and call the police. Maybe they can catch James before he gets too far. After what that psycho has put me through, he deserves to be punished.

I get to my feet and head for the bedroom door, praying that James hasn’t taken my phone and that it will be lying somewhere in the flat. But as I reach the doorway, I freeze.

James is walking back into the room.

‘What are you doing?’ I ask him, immediately stepping back and retreating to the corner again. But James ignores me and instead returns to the safe, where he consults his mobile phone before entering yet another combination of digits.

I expect his latest attempt to be just as futile as his previous ones.

But I’m wrong. I hear the lock releasing, and the safe door pops open.

He’s in.

‘Yes!’ James cries, and he turns to me with a smile on his face that I know is supposed to tell me that he has won.

I guess my mum finally gave up the code. Did she do it to save me? Or did she do it to save herself? I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter. The safe is open now, and everything in there is going to be gone in a minute’s time.

‘Holy shit!’ James cries, and at first, I’m not sure why, until he starts pulling out all the money.

Why is there so much of it?

‘Your mum has been saving hard!’ he says to me, shaking his head. ‘There must be over fifty grand here. Maybe more!’

I watch as he stuffs the money into his rucksack, and I’m just as shocked as he is at the amount of money in there.

Is this why Mum took so long to give up the code? Is this why she was risking my life?

Where the hell did she get all this money?

James takes out a watch from the safe and examines it before tossing it into his bag as well. I don’t recognise that item of jewellery, nor do I recognise what seems to be a gold ring that comes out after it. James shrugs and stuffs the ring into his pocket before double-checking the safe is empty, then stands up and slings his bulky rucksack over his shoulder.

‘Well, I have to say this has been worth it,’ James says, smiling as he feels the weight in his bag. ‘Your mother is a bit of a badass. But she’s not the only one.’

He winks at me, and I