Page 138 of The Black Trilogy

He’d once been convinced that violence never fixed anything, that right and wrong were black and white. But when Tia had been rescued, Luke suspected the methods used slipped into shades of grey. Once, he’d have had a problem with that, but now? His only regret was that Ash had inflicted the damage on Howard instead of Luke doing it himself.

He thought of his own online exploits. He’d never minded skirting the boundaries of legality with hacking by telling himself the only people he hurt were up to no good. Was what Ash did to Simon Howard any different? He couldn’t deny the satisfaction he’d felt when he saw the man holding his nuts.

No, Luke wanted to throw the man under a train for what he’d done to his family. What would have happened if Howard hadn’t come on the scene? Would Ash have stayed? He’d never know.

“I miss her,” Tia sobbed from behind him.

Luke reached up and squeezed her hand. “I miss her too.”

The question was what, if anything, could he do about it?

CHAPTER 39

AS THE LIGHTS of London faded beneath me, the flutters didn’t leave, no matter how much I willed them away. I’d tried to kid myself the feeling was due to my lack of flying practice, but now we were airborne, I had to admit to the possibility of another cause.

“Do you want your salad?” Bradley asked.

I shook my head. My appetite had deserted me, left behind somewhere in the vicinity of Lower Foxford.

Along with a small piece of heart and a lightness I hadn’t felt in years. Maybe ever. Had I made the right decision to leave? Had I really? When I thought of Luke and Tia, I almost turned the plane around once, twice, three times, but head overruled heart, and I continued on my course. They were better off without me. What did I have to offer apart from hassle and heartache?

Not a lot on current form.

I let out a thin breath. No, I needed to go home. That chapter of my life was closed, my one attempt at normality, and it was time for a new book to begin. The tatters of my life awaited me, scattered in the wind. I could spend a lifetime gathering the pieces together, but the biggest one would always be missing.

My husband. What would my future hold without my husband?

I gripped the control yoke as another mile zipped past, England dark below us apart from the glowing lines of streetlights. It wouldn’t be long before I found out…

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