Page 364 of The Black Trilogy

I left out most of the detail, but explained to Hiro that we’d come across our extra passenger in Colombia. Then I emailed him her photo, and I knew the instant he saw it because his voice cracked.

“It’s her. I’m sure of it. Is this a joke? Please, tell me the truth.”

“No joke. Do you want to speak to her?”

It took a few seconds before he replied in the affirmative, his voice wobbly.

I unfolded myself from my cramped quarters and walked back through to the bedroom, not forgetting the coffee. Akari was still curled up on Black’s lap, sobbing softly as he stroked her hair.

I held the phone out. “Hiro wants to speak to you.”

Her expression changed from shock to amazement to happiness. She reached out and took the phone, gripping it as if she was afraid it might vanish.

“Moshi moshi?” Hello? Her smile grew so wide I feared for her jawbone.

We’d both had reunions today. I only wished I could feel the same joy I saw in Akari as she greeted her brother. My own feelings were bittersweet, my elation at having Black back tinged with worry that our relationship was irreparable.

No, I didn’t want to think about it.

Nursing my fractured heart, I left Akari and my husband to themselves and retreated to the safety of the crowd, where I sat to the side and typed out a message to Hiro so I wouldn’t interrupt his conversation with his sister.

Emmy: We’re on our way to Richmond, Virginia. I can make arrangements for you to travel over to meet us, and your parents too. Let me know?

Then I called Sloane to give her a heads-up. She squealed with delight when I told her we were all on our way home, mostly in one piece. She’d already heard about Dan’s injury, but I reassured her it wasn’t too bad. I also asked her to keep Black’s return to herself. Reintroducing him would take a bit of thought.

As we sped over the ocean, fluffy clouds drifted past below. Evan snored, and I threw a packet of peanuts at him, then several bread rolls until he turned over and shut up. I settled back into my seat and stared out the window at nothing. Time and space flew past, ten minutes, then twenty. The world looked so tranquil from up there, a far cry from the storm brewing in my head.

When I could take it no more, I crept back to look in on Black. He’d taken off his borrowed shoes and fallen asleep with his feet hanging off the edge of the bed. His face twitched as he dreamed, and I hoped he was thinking of the good things in life. Akari was still awake, smiling to herself. I motioned to her and she quietly shuffled off his lap, still clutching the phone, then curled up beside him.

With one last backwards glance, I left them to their peace and went to land the plane.

CHAPTER 24

SLOANE HAD CLEARLY been busy, because when we landed at Silver Springs, a local private airfield, there was a convoy of SUVs waiting to pick us up. We took the weapons and any sensitive equipment off the plane with us and left the rest. Everything else could wait until tomorrow.

Akari rode in the back of one of the vehicles with Black again, but this time I didn’t mind. I was just pleased she didn’t look as miserable as she had on the first leg of the journey. I hopped into the second car beside Jed, practising my anti-interrogation technique once more. It was a good plan until I remembered he snored worse than Evan, although a well-placed elbow to his ribs soon solved that problem.

The grandfather clock in the hallway was striking midnight when we got back to Riverley Hall. I’d only had a couple of hours’ sleep in the last two days, and I was dead on my feet. Looking around, it seemed I wasn’t alone.

“Do you want to find Akari a bed, or shall I?” I asked Black. What I really meant was, “Is she sleeping in the same room as you?”

I forced myself to breathe while I waited for his answer. Each tick of the clock felt like a pin being pushed into my heart.

“The lavender room’s small but it’s got the nicest view, as long as nobody’s in it already.” Yes, his house was posh enough that the rooms were named.

Relief washed through me. “It’s empty. You get some rest, and I’ll make sure she’s settled.”

Black started to yawn then snapped his mouth shut. “Thanks. I’ll see you in the morning.”

The adrenaline of our Colombian adventure had worn off, and around us, the rest of the team stumbled like zombies as they headed for their beds. I motioned for Akari to follow me up to her room and rummaged through the wardrobe for sleepwear. “Use what you want from the bathroom and press speed-dial one on the phone to get through to the night-time security team if you need anything.”

She nodded, and I half walked, half crawled through to my own bed and passed out.

For once I slept without dreaming—a blessed gift. Had my subconscious, which had replayed Black’s death for me so many times, finally understood he was alive and decided to shut up? I sincerely hoped so.

In the morning, I woke feeling refreshed, but it was only seconds before a wave of panic crashed over me. What if the whole Colombian episode had been a figment of my overactive night-time imagination?

I crept along the corridor to Black’s room and snuck inside, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw him laid out on the bed in front of me. His top half was naked. I didn’t know whether he was wearing anything on the bottom half because a sheet covered it, but the dirty part of my mind wanted to imagine not.

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