Page 80 of North (The Moral Compass 2)

I smile and agree. I’ll let them break that news to Kara.

It’s nearly lunchtime before Kara appears. She looks beautiful in her tight white jeans and a bright-red top. Her lipstick matched perfectly. She looks like the Kara I met that very first day. All full of mischief and fire.

Even now, when she places her hand on my back as she passes me, it sends tiny shocks through my body.

“Morning, Princess.” I kiss her gently on her forehead. “You’ve slept well for a change.”

“I must have needed it. It’s been a really busy few weeks. I want to ask for a bit of respite, but I don’t want to tempt fate.” She laughs.

I know what she means. Every time I think things should start to go smooth, it all blows up. Like in about ten minutes when she finds out she is being kept out of the debrief. I’m hoping Sutton distracts her before Zed arrives.

Lucky for me, Sutton appears and takes Kara off for a girly afternoon by the pool with the other ladies and the babies. I can’t tell you what a relief that was. I just hope Sutton or East don’t slip up before it’s over. Or Daisy, for that matter. She looks like she could cause a bit of trouble if she wanted to.

When I think of Daisy, I get the same feeling as South. Something familiar. She looks like someone I know, but I know I have never met her before. Then, it hits me like a wrecking ball. I wonder if South has connected the dots yet. I give a little chuckle.

Things are about to get a little bit more interesting around here.

Zed arrives with a couple of his guys, and we all go into the secure room and complete the debrief. There are no surprises. Everything is as it should be. All the children have been checked and are medically sound. A few have made it back home, and the others have been enrolled in our boarding school in Mexico. They will have a good start and be given the tools to have great lives.

The meeting takes less than an hour, but before Zed leaves, he asks to see Sutton and Kara. I think he’s developed a soft spot for them, though he would never admit it. So, I take him through to the pool.

Kara and Sutton are really pleased to see him. He gives them a quick hug and says goodbye. East, however, just stares, her face stonelike. What the hell is wrong with her?

Fucking women.

Chapter 54

Kara

“It’sniceofyouto drop in and see us. We are truly honoured,” I jest at Zed, and he just rolls his eyes.

“I couldn’t come by and not say hello to my two favourite ladies. But, I’m sorry, I have to go now. I have a flight back to the States to catch. I’ll be around again soon. I’m sure of it.” Zed releases Sutton from a hug.

“No offence, but the longer it is until I see you, the better it will be.” Sutton laughs.

I join in. “Agreed.”

East looks like she has swallowed a fly. Her face is strange. She is staring at Zed like she wants to rip his head off. Zed, however, doesn’t notice or even speak to East or Daisy. And then, he’s gone.

“What’s gotten into you?”

“Was… Was that…?”

“Yeah, it was. He just called in to see West and North. You look like you want to either kill him or jump his bones,” Sutton jokes.

“Been there, done that,” she spits. “And he didn’t even have the fucking graciousness to acknowledge me sitting here.”

“Jesus Christ, East. Do your brothers know?”

“No, and they never will. Now, let’s change the subject. So, hen party planning…”

We discuss the options and different venues all afternoon. It’s a tough one for Sutton. The babies are only a few weeks old, so we decide it will be best to have the hen party really close to the wedding which is six months away. Liz has already said she will stay behind and look after them with the nurses, and Liz’s friends have also been offering all their services.

East looks really heartbroken. At times, she looks like she is on the verge of tears, but every time I ask, she just shuts me down and changes the subject. I’m one hundred percent sure it’s something to do with Zed, but I can’t even ask North without telling him East’s secret, and that is not mine to tell.

So, Ibiza it is. It’s a two-and-a-half-hour flight, and the villa is big enough to bring the babies and the nurses.

North returns a while later, and I can tell he is up to no good. He has that cheesy grin which means one of two things. Either he is really horny, or he has something he needs to share.

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