Page 1 of The Grand Duel
PROLOGUE
Charlie
There’s little you can do for a man who doesn’t want to be helped. And there’s nothing you can do for a man who only wants to help.
A man who once made a promise to his best friend that he would be there—that he would show up and take care of the woman he loves.
“I’m not calling down again today, I’m sorry. It’s been over an hour, and I’ve called twice. It’s?—”
“One last time,” I say, my voice tight with agitation that’s not meant for nor aimed at the woman behind the desk.
She knows that though.
Jenny’s face has become a constant in the two years I’ve spent driving out to Thameside Prison to visit my best friend. From the first time her face fell with sadness at the fact Lance Sullivan refused to see me, to the pity she wore a year later, when I explained the little girl in my arms was his daughter and that he didn’t know she existed. And then today, visit one hundred andtwenty-four, as she looks up at me with a knowing, defeated look on her face.
“Please,” I add, my patience thinning by the second. “It’s his birthday.”
She relents and picks up the phone.
The flare of hope that sparks in my chest as she starts reeling off information is something I’ve learnt to ignore. Something I taught Scarlet to ignore.
Before Jenny can drop the phone in its cradle, I’m back in my seat in the waiting area, numbly scrolling through my messages.
Scarlet
I can’t come with you Charlie. I’m sorry.
I remember begging Scarlet to let me bring Ave to the prison with me. I huff out a humourless laugh as my knee begins bouncing under the table, my throat working on a swallow. I don’t know what I was thinking at the time, other than desperation to get through to Lance that she needs him. That we all need him.
I’m at a loss now like I was then.
And whilst I wouldn’t do something as reckless as bringing his child to the prison again, I’m probably a liar. Because I know he’s not okay. That Scarlet isn’t okay.
Nothing is quite okay anymore.
The recklessness simmers, making me want to break things. To barrel through doors and march to his cell and drag him up here and into the chair across from me. It makes me hate him on a level I’ve never known hate because I love the man to death.
Scarlet
He knows if anyone is celebrating him today, it’s us. It’s okay Charles.
I lift my head as my chest tightens to a pinch, my eyes burning. I lock gazes with Jenny, and she gives me a sad smile. It’s aYou need to get home now, sonsmile.
It’s not just that though—a smile. It’s a tether, frayed and stretched to the point I cannot keep the tattered pieces from breaking apart anymore.
Scarlet can give me the spiel about doing better and wear her brave face for the rest of the world to see, but I seeher. I see what it’s done and doing and will continue to do.
I clear my throat and stand, not having it in me to even thank Jenny for all she’s done to help today.
I pull out my phone and make the same call I make every week.
“Hey, Charles.”
“Scar.”
There’s silence for a moment. A void neither one of us needs to fill.
“The sun’s out today,” she says eventually, her voice a damn sight firmer than mine. “I hope you’re not spending the rest of the day stuck in that office of yours.”