Page 38 of The Flame

It didn’t go unnoticed, of course.

At one point, my mother dragged me into the kitchen on the pretense of helping her serve dessert.

She folded her arms and pierced me with a worried look. “What is going on, Georga? You look utterly miserable.”

I couldn’t tell her the truth. Her loyalties were already conflicted, and she’d be losing me in the process. What if she decided that betraying my confidence was the only way to save me?

I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Sorry, I’ve just had a long day.”

“Is itthatplace?” Her mouth pursed. “I know you want to do your part, darling, but honestly, does it have to be at the rehab center? No wonder you’re depressed.”

I jumped at the excuse. “You’re right, it’s affecting me worse than I thought it would. But it’s not a permanent position. Another week or so, at the most. Rose has asked me to join her team and I’m thinking about it.”

Cautious relief relaxed Mom’s features and she unfolded her arms to hug me. “I love you.”

I hugged her back fiercely, blinking back tears. “Love you, too.”

When Roman and I climbed into his truck a little later, I asked him if we could stop at Jessie.

“Do you mind if I drop you off?” He started the truck, sliding a look my way. “I planned to take a drive to the rehab center and scope the area. About an hour? Is that good?”

I’d walked the perimeter of the building many times over the last few days, mapped the emergency exits for each ward and road access and surveillance cameras. But Roman insisted on seeing it for himself.

“I don’t know if she’ll want to see me,” I said as he pulled away from the curb. “She’s probably still pretty mad at me.”

We completed the short drive to Jessie’s street in silence. He cut the engine and leaned across to brush a kiss over my mouth. “Should I wait to see if you’re received?”

I shook my head. I wouldn’t allow Jessie to turn me away. “I have my iComm. I’ll send you a message if I need you to pick me up sooner.”

His hand rested on my thigh, his eyes on me. “Are you okay?”

“Just a lot on my mind.” I smiled for his benefit. “This is hard.”

“You don’t have to go through with it, you know.” Moonlight bathed the interior of the cab, casting shadows on his face and contemplative expression. “There’s always Plan B.”

I laughed. “The one where I slip a fast-acting sedative into the coffee supply and hide behind the couch in the staff lounge, waiting for the unsuspecting night nurses to come in, one by one, to get their coffee fix? Then, when they collapse, I stack their bodies behind the couch, steal their security cards to gain access to the wards and hope no one notices anything is amiss. What could possibly go wrong?”

Especially since we weren’t taking out the guard stationed at reception. His absence would be far too noticeable, especially since the on-call doctor could arrive at any time and sound the alarm.

“I mean the other Plan B,” Roman growled, unamused at my sarcasm. “I blow out the emergency exit with explosive putty and you don’t need to be involved at all.”

We’d already discarded Plan C. “You’d need to take out the reception guard for that to work. It’s too risky. If someone comes along, or he doesn’t answer his iComm, it’ll raise the alarm.”

There was no way to blow the door out quietly. Then Roman would still need to sweep the wards and get everyone out of their rooms. The timing just didn’t work.

“We’re going with Plan A.” I planted a kiss on his cheek and climbed out of the truck. “I love you.”

“Love you,” he said, his jaw softening, and he didn’t pull away, watching, waiting as I walked up to the front door of Jessie’s white-washed terrace.

I knocked and turned to blow Roman a kiss, then made a shooing gesture to give him permission to go.

Jessie’s husband answered the door. His green eyes lit on me with surprise, quickly followed by a warm welcome. “Georga, lady of the hour.”

“What?”

“Oh, you know…” Harry smiled sheepishly and pulled me into a hug. He must have seen Roman’s truck over my shoulder. “Is Roman coming in?”

“Not tonight,” I said. “He has to be somewhere. But he’ll be back to fetch me in a while, if that’s okay?”

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