Page 134 of The Black Trilogy

Dan interrupted my thoughts. “What happened to the ransom?”

“It’s in the back of Nick’s car. Can you put my share back in the safe?”

“Sure.”

“And Jason’s gonna want to speak to you. There’ll be paperwork.”

She groaned. “Yeah, I know. Thanks for leaving me all that.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll call him—I need to have a word about Simon. He’s whacked.”

“I got that.”

“You don’t have the whole picture yet. In the van, he told me what he wanted to do once he removed my clothes. Jason needs to look into his history.”

“The sick freak. Did you check Tia?”

“He didn’t touch her. If he had, he wouldn’t be breathing now.”

“That kick in the nuts you gave him let him off easy.”

“I broke his trigger finger too. I heard it crack when I wrenched the gun out of his hand.”

“That was a nice trade off for Tia’s fingernail.”

“Exactly what I thought.” I gripped the steering wheel tighter. “He’s not getting out of prison. I’ll fix it. He’s never going to interfere in Luke or Tia’s life again.”

Dan reached over and squeezed my hand. “You obviously care about them. Are you sure you’re doing the right thing by leaving?”

“I don’t see another way. I’ve screwed up Luke’s life for quite long enough.”

“You should speak to him.”

Did she think I didn’t know that? “I can’t.”

Her answering shrug left me under no illusion that she thought I was doing the wrong thing. I glanced at the SatNav. Ten minutes to the airbase.

“Will you say goodbye to Luke and Tia for me?” I asked. “Tell them I’ll miss them.”

“I will, but you should do it yourself.”

My turn to shrug. Dealing with more emotion was beyond my current capabilities. “Let me know if they need anything.”

We lapsed into silence and soon pulled up at the gates of RAF Northolt, where my Learjet waited next to the taxiway. The stairs were already lowered, and as I approached, Bradley bounced down to meet me. Didn’t the guy ever run out of energy?

“I’ve loaded your bag with your laptop, clothes, a cashmere throw, and three kinds of moisturiser. And I’ve picked up a fresh bulgur wheat and rocket salad for you to eat on the flight.”

“Have you been talking to Toby again?”

“Yes, and he’s thrilled you’re on your way back. He’s so worried you’ve been neglecting your diet. Most of your groceries have arrived—it’s just the Wagyu beef that’s stuck on the tarmac in Japan, and the caviar’s on back order. He mentioned a detox.”

Great, that would mean living on spinach smoothies and lemon tea for a week, and I didn’t even like caviar. Was it too late to change my mind about going home? A little break in the Caribbean seemed like an excellent idea right now.

Dan read my thoughts and mouthed, “Don’t even think about it.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Stop being like that. You know how much you love nettle juice,” she said.

---