Page 381 of The Black Trilogy

“I need some sun. That okay with you?”

I’d spend a week in a cave as long as Black was with me, but somewhere hot sounded perfect. “Bikinis it is.”

CHAPTER 31

IT ONLY TOOK me five minutes to grab the essentials. Bradley kept my bags packed for a variety of climates, everything from the Antarctic to the Sahara, so I just shoved a few extra bits in. Black tossed his dive computer and a pair of handcuffs into his duffle before disappearing onto the balcony with his phone. Now, where had I left my favourite flip-flops?

I was rummaging in the closet when Black smacked me on the bottom. “Ready?”

No problem, I’d go barefoot.

“Stingray?” I asked as we ran down the stairs.

“Why not?”

I’d only driven the thing a couple of times, so I took the driver’s seat and off we went. But where to?

“Which direction?”

“Silver Springs. We need the jet. They’re refuelling it at the moment.”

When we got to the airfield, the ground crew were milling around our Lear. The Bombardier we’d taken to Colombia stood next to it on the tarmac, the early morning sun reflecting off one wing. Had our trip to South America really only been two days ago? My whole life had changed since then.

Black went to file a flight plan while I carried the luggage on board and started the pre-flight checks. And finished them too. What was the hold-up?

Finally, he strolled up the stairs, and my heart skipped. Probably it would keep doing that for a while, but I wasn’t complaining.

“That took a while. They were somewhat alarmed to see me.”

“It’s not every day a dead man walks through the door. Are you flying or are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

“I’m flying, and it’s a surprise.”

Great. Another surprise. Because I hadn’t had enough of those this year.

Three and a half hours later, we began our descent, and I saw Killarney Lake below as we approached Lynden Pindling International Airport. We’d arrived in Nassau. Last time I visited the Bahamas, I’d almost got shot rescuing a kidnap victim, but it could have been worse. At least it wasn’t Colombia.

Black landed smoothly and parked the jet, then we each grabbed a bag and held hands in the middle. Such a small thing, but it meant so much. The warmth that spread through me was nothing to do with the sun. A black Mercedes waited by the plane, engine running, and Black tucked me against his side in the backseat for what turned out to be a short drive to the marina. Who knew Black would turn out to be a cuddler?

“We’re going sailing?”

He didn’t answer, just led me down the jetty until we reached one of the larger yachts. I read the name on the hull: Black Diamond.

“You bought a new boat!” I squealed, sounding like a complete girl.

Each of Black’s boats was named after a gemstone. There was the Black Emerald in Egypt, the Black Sapphire in the South of France, and the Black Ruby in Florida. This new Sunseeker was bigger than all of them, even the one in Nice.

“I haven’t been on board yet. It got delivered right before I… Before I left. The only person who knew was Oliver, but as I understand you never did anything with my estate, I guess he didn’t tell you.”

“No, I didn’t know. I didn’t want to know. Having to deal with all that would have made it even more real.”

“Bradley also mentioned problems with Miriam?”

“There were some issues, yes.”

“How bad?”

“Put it this way, if I had two bullets and ended up in a room with Hitler, Hector Ramos, and Miriam, I’d shoot Miriam twice.”

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