What the hell did you do wrong?

You stare up at the moon, enormous and pale in the sky. ‘The fuck?’ you whisper softly, feeling blood trickle down your arms and your neck. ‘What the hell did I do wrong here?’

Maybe you didn’t save the universe in a previous life, you think dully.

Maybe you fucking destroyed it, and this is cosmic payback. Give you everything you ever wanted – and then rip it away again, in a way so horrible and ingenious you’ll never be able to get it back.

Even if Emma believed you… even if she wanted to stay with you, you’ll never have sex with her again.

It’s like Justin reached into your head and saw the one thing that would hurt you most.

Of course he did, you think furiously. He’s a twisted little cunt. He’s a fucking sociopath.

Up ahead, the lights and music are fading down.

Then there’s a rustle in the bushes.

You turn around slowly. If this is Justin, or another hired knifeman, or that fucking rat pissed off about having its dinner stolen, you’re just going to give up and take it. You’ve never been more exhausted. You’ve probably lost a pint of blood already from all your wounds combined.

But it’s not Justin who steps tentatively through the bushes.