Page 55 of Beautiful Vengeance

A bittersweet pang hit her, part nostalgia, part grief. She’d grown so fond of this place, and now she had to leave it and its owner behind forever.

Inside, she found the hall and entry full of bags and boxes. Zack was the only one waiting there for them, as Chloe and Heath had moved into their new flat near Coventry the previous night.

Zack pulled Eden into a big hug, kissed her, then looped an arm around her waist as he spoke to the rest of them. “We got everything packed up except your bedrooms. Didn’t want to invade your privacy.”

Even though she’d known this was coming, Kiyomi’s heart twisted. Seeing everything packed up made the finality of imminent departure hit home, leaving her more torn than ever.

A sharp pain knifed her chest as she met Marcus’s gaze across the foyer, followed by a lick of panic. She wanted to stay. Didn’t want to leave Marcus.

But they’d never made any promises to each other and she couldn’t make one right now anyway—not with the future so uncertain. More importantly, she didn’t want to place him in further jeopardy, and he’d gone so far above and beyond for her and the others already.

He deserved peace and security after all he’d been through, and she could never give him that. She would only bring him more chaos, danger and pain.

Just as she turned for the stairs to go pack the few things in her bedroom, Trinity walked out of the kitchen, talking on her cell phone. She spoke to whoever it was, then motioned for the others to gather around her. “Briar, hang on. I’m putting you on speaker so everyone can hear. Go ahead.”

“Hey,” Briar said. “Georgia and I are at the target house in Atlanta. It’s empty. And I mean, empty. No furnishings, no artwork, nothing in the drawers or closets. As far as we can tell, everything’s been wiped down professionally. Couldn’t get a single print off anything—light switches, drawer handles, fridge, nada. Whoever was here is trained and incredibly efficient because she left no trace behind. The only thing we could dig up on the house is that it’s owned by some corporation you’ll need to look into. I’ve sent Amber the details.”

Kiyomi released a frustrated sigh. Great. So even with the new intel, they’d hit yet another brick wall. “Did the prisoner give us anything else we can use?” she asked Megan.

“Nothing that helps us at the moment,” Trinity replied, then thanked Briar and ended the call before speaking to the rest of them again. “Rycroft’s got his Stateside analysts working on a couple leads, trying to find out who the woman on the last call to Rahman was, and if she’s connected to the address in Atlanta. He’s in the air right now, should be touching down soon. I’ll know more once he gets here, but we’d all better finish packing and be ready to move.”

With that Trinity turned to Marcus, smiled and held out a hand. “Marcus. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for us.”

“It’s been my pleasure.” He shook it, paused to look at Kiyomi, then turned and headed into his study, Karas limping at his heels.

An acute sense of loneliness hit her. She fought it back, glancing around at the others. Everything was happening too fast now. She wanted to slow time down, make these final few hours last forever.

Eden and Zack were already heading upstairs, with Megan and Ty right behind them. “Are you guys leaving tonight as well?” Kiyomi asked Amber, who was next to Jesse.

“Yeah, but we’re not going to Coventry yet.”

“No?”

She shook her head. “That second cousin I told you about is a total busybody and found someone that could be our aunt. She’s apparently in London on business, and heading for a work conference in Birmingham in the morning. She contacted me via email, asking to meet up early, before it starts. I’ve only replied to her the once via the encrypted email account, for obvious reasons, but everything about her checks out on my end.”

“So are you going to meet her?”

Amber shrugged. “Trin says she doesn’t need us until tomorrow afternoon, so Meg and I’ve agreed to a quick meeting before we head to the next safehouse.”

“Did she say anything about why she gave you both up? Or why she never tried to contact you?”

Amber’s eyes were flat. “She says she was told Meg and I both died soon after entering foster care, and that’s why she never tried to find or contact us after we were taken away. A fire or something.” She shrugged. “Whatever, I just want to see if it’s really her. If it is, I want some answers. Well, what I really want is to yell at her for abandoning two scared little girls when we needed her most. After that, we’re done, and we’ll go to our place in Coventry.”

Kiyomi nodded. “I hope you get your closure.”

Amber’s smile was weary. “Closure would be nice.”

Yes. They all deserved the closure they were looking for.

Amber and Jesse headed upstairs to finish packing, leaving just her and Trinity at the bottom of the staircase. Kiyomi wished her friend wasn’t still angry with her. An uneasy tension filled the space between them, then Trinity walked up to her.

After a moment of silence, Trinity’s set expression melted into one of fondness and she sighed, reaching for her. “Come here, you.”

Kiyomi’s throat closed up as her friend’s arms came around her. She returned the embrace, a staggering sense of relief hitting her to know she was forgiven. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry/not sorry,” Trinity accused, and Kiyomi couldn’t help but smile. Then Trin pulled back and took her by the upper arms. “I’m leaving to get Rycroft soon. After our meeting, you and I will need to go soon.” She nodded at Marcus’s study door. “Go and say goodbye while you can.”

Kiyomi covered a flinch, not wanting to accept that she was down to her last few hours with Marcus.

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