Page 143 of Golden Atonement

“I do, which is why you have no reason to complain. So be quiet and let me read my damn book.”

Not even five minutes later, he asked, “Babe, can I ask you a question?”

“About what?” I muttered, flipping the page.

“Your time with Petrovitch.”

Frowning, I looked at the love of my life and slowly closed my book. “You’ve never asked before. Why now?”

Sitting next to me, Max shook his head. “There is a woman everyone’s looking for. You both have similar backgrounds. I just wanted to know if maybe you had met her.”

“I’ve met a lot of people over the years, Max. You know that.”

“I know. Her name is Thena Hartley. Like I said, everyone is looking for her.”

“Who is everyone?” I cautiously asked.

“Everyone. The Soulless Sinners, Crispin Sinclair, Fedorov.”

“Why?”

Shaking his head, he replied, “Don’t know.”

“What is your gut telling you?”

“That whoever this Thena Hartley is, she’s important. I just don’t know how.”

“Important to the Golden Skulls?”

“No,” Max said, leaning forward. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

Leaning back in my chair, I sighed. “You’ve got a lot on your plate already, Max. Do you really have the time to go on a wild-goose chase for a woman who apparently doesn’t want to be found?”

“No.”

“But you want to?” I asked.

He nodded, looking at me. “I asked Ghost to look for her.”

“And what will you do if he finds her?”

“That’s just it, babe, I don’t know.”

Sighing, I said, “Generally, if someone doesn’t want to be found, it’s for a reason, Max. So I would tread carefully. You may not like what you find.”

“American Airlines flight 1223 from LaGuardia to San Francisco is now boarding.” I heard over the loudspeaker.

Gathering my things, I stood and headed for the ticket counter when Max said, “Babe, you didn’t answer my question.”

Turning to look at my husband, I simply responded, “I know.”

The flight home was long, and by the time we pulled into the compound, I was fucking bone tired.

All I wanted was to take a hot shower, climb into bed, and sleep.

Max and the others took off and headed for church. I knew they would, and if I was right, they would be there for a while.

The entire flight home, I couldn’t stop thinking of what Max said to me. I knew he was suspicious when I didn’t answer him. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to tell him what I knew, I just couldn’t.

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