Page 227 of The Black Trilogy

My sanity, balanced on a knife-edge for so long, was in serious danger of falling into the abyss below.

CHAPTER 29

AFTER A NIGHT of reflection and regret, I stumbled into the bathroom at Albany House early the following morning. I might as well not have bothered going to bed, for all the good it did me.

Yesterday evening at the Blackwood Foundation Ball had been a monumental screw-up. Why had Luke been there? I’d checked the guest list in the afternoon as I always did, and his name wasn’t on it, which meant he must have taken someone else’s seat.

I leaned forward, hands on the mirror above the basin, and stared at my puffy eyes. Good going, Emmy. Although in the cold light of day, the situation wasn’t the end of the world. No, the apocalypse had already happened, last year in the parking lot of the Green Mountain Hotel.

Yes, Luke knew who I was now, and yes, his dislike for me had been confirmed, but what impact would that truly have on my life?

Probably not much of one.

So his presence had made me uncomfortable? Compared to some of the situations I’d been in, on a scale of unpleasantness from zero to ten, being in a room with Luke came so low I’d have to limbo. If Black were alive, he’d have told me to man up, and I intended to do exactly that.

Things became easier when I left the country at noon. I had a jungle survival exercise scheduled in the Belize rainforest, and it only took a phone call to fly out there a few days early.

Just imagine, seven days of peace and quiet—me, a bunch of special forces guys, and nature. Okay, so there was a bit of crawling around in the undergrowth required, I got bitten all over, and I had to survive on things that certainly wouldn’t feature on your average menu. Chilli fried grub anyone? But there were no meetings, no paperwork, no awkward people to deal with, and no technology demanding my attention every five minutes.

Of course, Nate had given me a satellite version of my red phone, together with instructions to keep it with me and turned on at all times, but it fell out of my pocket and smashed on a rock when I was climbing a tree on day two. I heard the despair in his voice when I borrowed a phone to inform him he’d have to communicate with me via base camp from now on, but secretly I found it liberating.

A week later, I returned to the UK relaxed and rested. Sure, I had some bites and scratches, but my tan looked good and Bradley could fix my hair. I sauntered into the office, getting several odd looks when I smiled. Nobody had seen that from me in a long time. I’d even stopped off at Krispy Kreme and bought donuts. I hid them in the break room where hopefully Toby wouldn’t notice, then continued to my desk.

My mood soon dropped when I saw my email inbox and the pile of papers waiting for me.

Welcome back to reality.

It took me the rest of the morning to get through it all, and there were some real nasties in there. First up, a message from the Metropolitan Police asking if I’d testify as a witness in Tia’s kidnapping trial. My answer? Not voluntarily.

I hated court and never went unless I was subpoenaed. Even then, I’d do anything I could to get out of it. Two years ago, I’d even gone so far as to get one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to write me a note.

Dear Judge,

Emmy is away on very important and very classified government business so she won’t be able to attend the hearing today.

Sorry.

Of course, the language was more officious, but you get the gist of it. It cost me a super-expensive box of cigars, and I had to fly to Cuba to pick the stupid things up then smuggle them back into the country.

I sat back in my chair and folded my hands behind my head. How could I get out of court this time? A light bulb pinged, and I made a quick phone call.

Black’s Aunt Miriam was on the warpath too, demanding a copy of his will and a bunch of money. Well, she could get lost. I told my lawyer to tell her so, in those exact words if necessary. I knew—because Black had told me—that she had financial problems, so we could play a game of legal tennis all year. She’d run out of cash long before I did.

I’d built up a nice nest egg over the years, and I was still making money faster than I could spend it. I hadn’t done anything about the will yet because I didn’t need Black’s assets as well. There was no hurry.

When I got to the bottom of the pile, I found a message that had been forwarded around to several people before landing on my desk with a coffee stain and a post-it note saying Yours? stuck to it. I took a mouthful of my own Americano and started to read.

Subject: For the attention of E Black

Hi Emerson (I think),

Luke came home tonight and told me your name, but I’m not sure this is the right person? If it is, I want to say thank you for saving my life (again!)

I wish you’d stayed because I miss having you around, but Luke really hates your guts now so I guess I can’t blame you for leaving. If ever you are in Lower Foxford, and you feel like going out for lunch or something, it would be nice to see you. Luke told me not to contact you, but I could sneak out and he wouldn’t even know.

If not, then I understand, and I hope you are happy and that life goes OK for you.

Love from Tia xxx

---