Page 346 of The Black Trilogy

I raised an eyebrow at Black, and he shrugged. “We’d better go with her.”

She elbowed through the damp foliage of a barely visible trail until we reached a tumbledown hut. The door hung off at an angle, but she pushed it open without hesitation and emerged a minute later clutching a small padded envelope to her chest.

“Any ideas?” I mouthed at Black.

His shake of the head said he didn’t know any more than I did.

“We can go now,” Jane informed me.

“Gee, thanks.”

The makeshift garage contained two vehicles: a new-looking pickup and something that might once have been a truck in a previous life, but only its cracked tyres had stopped it from rusting into the ground. I found the key to the pickup tucked securely behind the sun visor. At least I wouldn’t need to test my hot-wiring skills today.

Before we got in, Jane stopped and scanned the trees, squinting at the greenery.

“Come on. What are you waiting for?”

“Did you see a cat anywhere?”

What, another delay? “No, no cat.”

“Can we look for him?”

“He can find mice or something. He’ll survive.”

“But he doesn’t know how to live in the wild. He relies on me to give him food. He was supposed to be Diego’s pet, but Diego’s mean to him, so Kitty doesn’t like him very much.”

Kitty? Very original. Much as I loved animals, I didn’t want to stay here any longer.

“Please?” Jane begged.

Black shrugged again. Wow, wasn’t he Mr. Talkative today? I blew a thin stream of air between my lips, trying to hold on to my weakening patience, and even though I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, I guessed we both owed Jane for taking me to the cellar.

“What colour is Kitty?”

“He’s big and black, and he has a red collar on.”

“I’ll have a quick look, but then we’ve got to go.”

Black stayed with Jane while I made a fast circuit of the compound. Apart from the trees rustling in the wind and the burning buildings, I didn’t see any movement. It was a lost cause. Kitty was either barbecued or hiding. When I returned to the vehicle shaking my head, Jane looked as if she was about to cry, but Black reached out and tenderly cupped her cheek.

“Animals are more resilient than we think.”

He gave her the smile that always made my heart melt, and thankfully she climbed in without further protest.

I went to get in the driver’s seat, but Black pointed me over to the passenger side.

“I’ll drive, you shoot.”

Fair enough. Shooting was a skill that quickly went rusty if you didn’t practise, and if Black had got his hands on a gun during his time in Colombia, he wouldn’t have been locked in a cell when I found him.

At the main gate, I hopped out and hauled the barrier open. Good thing it was manually operated because there wasn’t a whole lot left of the guard hut after Nate’s team had finished with it. It looked even worse than the one at Little Riverley.

“That was for you, Mick and Seth,” I muttered to myself as I took my place at Black’s side again.

The road, if it deserved to be called that, was covered in a six-inch layer of mud, which went some way towards disguising the potholes. Every time we hit one, the truck lurched and groaned together with its occupants. We could only crawl along. If we drove any faster, the truck would have left a trail of parts in its wake as they all shook loose. How had Diego ever made it through here in a sports car?

I watched in the rearview mirror as Jane shifted uncomfortably behind me, hands cradling her swollen belly. How many months pregnant was she? She certainly looked like she was ready to pop. And who was the baby’s father? One of Hector’s guards, maybe? If so, Blackwood would be mighty unpopular because we’d killed all the ones we saw at the compound.

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