Page 93 of Close Protection

Wait.

No.

‘Sir. Daphne’s mother’s alive.’

‘What?’

‘She just walked out of the house, it’s definitely her.’

‘Well, that explains a lot.’

‘What?’

‘We had a suspicion that she was a Daveeno agent and faked her own death, but didn’t have enough evidence to be sure of it. If she’s there, then Daveeno must be getting desperate. They need that formula more than we thought if they’re pulling out all the stops, bringing people back to life, just for the chance of getting the location.’

Wait. The formula.

The necklace is still inside Daphne’s perfume bottle, but did they find it?

My train of thought falters when the door opens again and the men walk out, one after another.

Three of them are carrying nothing.

One man is holding Daphne.

A very unconscious Daphne.

My vision blurs as my heart plummets and my palms sweat.

‘They have Daphne.’ My voice is unnaturally calm. So calm it’s scaring me.

The fourth man places her in the car, then rounds the back, slipping in the other side as the others also enter the car. Two engines roar to life instantaneously and set off.

‘I’ll start tracking them now,’ says Davis, as I rush back into the house. ‘As soon as the cars settle in a location I’ll mobilize a unit and we will breach. I want you with them. You know this family better than any of us.’

I rush into the living room only to find our bags practically torn apart, clothes strewn everywhere. A cold weight settles in my heart as I think of one of those grubby men rifling through her intimate things. Disgust burrows into my skin but I damp it down, forcing myself to think.

The perfume.

I need to find the perfume.

I tear through the chaos of mine and Daphne’s clothes,relief surging through me when I spot the perfume bottle still intact.

I stalk into the kitchen and take out a plastic bowl, placing it on the floor. With force I hurl the bottle hard into the bowl, where it cracks on impact. The scent of the perfume fills my nose as I bend down and fish out the necklace. I don’t know why Daphne loves this scent so much. Hers is much better.

This one is too much, it gets caught in your throat and it assaults your nose whereas Daphne’s wraps around you, the orange blossom and marshmallow mixture soothing your senses.

Grabbing a rag, I dry the necklace off and open it up. The worn picture of Daphne and her mother stares up at me as I remove it. Turning the picture around I see a tiny laminated sheet of paper, which has chemistry symbols scribbled over it.

‘Sir, I believe I have eyes on the antidote and toxin formulas.’

‘Good. Keep them safe and under no circumstances let them out of your sight. I don’t care if it’s between the girl’s life or the necklace. You will choose the necklace.’

Yeah, that won’t be happening, but I’m not gonna start arguing over hypotheticals now.

‘I’m going to send you the rendezvous point for the unit. Join them and wait for further instruction.’ He hangs up abruptly, and I’m enveloped in silence.

For all those Daveeno people to come and get her something must’ve gone wrong with the fake drop that should’ve happened this morning. I walk back into the living room before I leave, just to check if I missed anything, and my eyes settle on a small pink object on the floor.

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