Page 271 of The Black Trilogy

“Mack, are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

A picture feed from the control room at Albany House popped up. Normally, Mack got the most stressed out of all of us, and after seeing how rough Nate looked, I’d been a bit worried about her. Thankfully, she didn’t look as bad as I’d feared, although I did note the plateful of pastries beside her. She’d been using sugar as a crutch again.

“I’m going to send some photos over. The ones of the weapons need to go to the CIA, and they can clean those up themselves. Just make sure they know about the Stinger right away. I got photos of the serial number, and someone needs to find out where that missile was supposed to be because I’m fairly certain that place was not on a Syrian military base.”

“I’ll get right on it.”

“The photos of Philip aren’t for general consumption. Believe me when I say they’re nasty. There’s a tattoo you can blow up for identification, and if that’s not enough, I’ll bring back a DNA sample.” On my knife blade, which I’d managed to keep dry on my trek.

“Thanks for the warning.”

“Mack, are you okay?” She’d squirmed in her seat again, the second time I’d seen her do it.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? Look, if it’s about the photos of Philip, I’m sure Nate could deal with them instead.”

“No, really, it’s okay. I just need a bathroom break.”

Come to think of it, I could do with one myself. “Right, I’ll leave you alone then.” I switched back to Richmond. “What does my schedule look like for the next few days?”

Sloane hesitated for several awkward seconds. “Uh, I cleared it, so it’s empty.”

“For Pete’s sake, not another person who thought I was dead?”

Okay, so I’d come close enough to touch the reaper, but that wasn’t the point. I’d been used to Black’s unwavering belief that I could do anything, and it hurt when others doubted me. It had been Black’s confidence that gave me confidence in myself, and if people started thinking I’d fail, I’d need to be very careful that negativity didn’t transfer to me.

“We were just worried, Emmy. I’m sorry.”

“Forget it. Anyway, if I don’t need to rush back, I’ll stay out here for a bit. It’s been months since I did any diving.”

“Shall I schedule a flight to Virginia for you in a few days? A week?

“Let’s go for five days. Is Bradley back yet?”

Before I left, I’d told him he might as well take a break while I was away. He’d borrowed my plane and flown to Italy. Miles, his boyfriend, was on another archaeological dig out there, but Bradley had convinced him to take a week off and spend some time at my Italian villa.

“No, and we didn’t tell him you were missing, either. We didn’t want to worry him.”

“Good. He’d probably end up on medication if your optimistic attitude rubbed off on him. Can you let him know when my flight is?”

“Will do. See you soon.”

Now, what should I do with myself? A few days without meetings or missions or Alex hounding me promised bliss. Although I’d had plenty of downtime with Luke, that hadn’t been a holiday. In England… Well, if I hadn’t lost my marbles, there was certainly a hole in the bag. I hadn’t been able to relax.

Today, I’d start with a long, hot shower, and by the time I’d got dressed, the hotel would be serving breakfast. The thought of waffles with maple syrup made my mouth water. After that, the sun lounger on my terrace seemed like a good place to rest my aching limbs. My muscles needed a couple of days to repair themselves after what I’d put them through, or I’d risk further injury. Maybe afterwards, I’d go diving. Or wakeboarding. Or windsurfing.

Or maybe I’d simply sleep.

CHAPTER 45

LUKE WATCHED MACK’S fingers fly across the keyboard as she came up with another permutation to add to the mission simulation program. With two teams on the way to the Middle East, they couldn’t afford to miss even the smallest issue. Her shoulders were rigid with tension, and she muttered under her breath as she stared at the screen. Luke didn’t understand enough about the logistics of the operation to be of much assistance, but he waited on hand, just in case.

“Anything I can do?” he asked.

She shook her head then changed her mind. “Maybe a cup of coffee?”

---