Page 51 of Wild Card (The Trident Trilogy 3)

Mason, Rome, Italy, 2020

Amar finished his story a few minutes ago, but Millie still hasn’t said anything. She’s just staring at him. The blank look on her face is breaking my heart into a million pieces.

“Millie, let’s get out of here,” I say, trying to turn her toward the door again. She’s leaning with her back against my chest. Her body’s limp. I’m not even sure she can move right now. “Baby, come on.”

“You have to forgive me, Millie,” Amar says so quietly I can barely hear him. If he didn’t look so pathetic right now, I would tear him apart.

“Mason,” Millie says quietly. She takes a deep breath as her body comes to life again. “Let me go. I’m fine.”

As I reluctantly loosen my grip on her, she walks back over to Amar and stands over him. I follow her and stand inches from her. I’m not sure if she’s going to hit him again or faint, but I’m pretty sure something’s going to happen.

“No, I don’t have to forgive you, Amar, but I will because I don’t want this hanging over me for one second longer. I want you gone. I want you to leave me and my dad alone. You’re not a part of my life. You never were. Take me out of your will. Take me out of your mind. If you ever contact me again, I swear to God, I’ll kill you.”

I put my hand lightly on her shoulder. She knocks it off as she turns toward the door. Amar’s still crying.

“Millie, please,” he begs. “She would have been happy with me. I had to make a choice.”

Millie whips back around and starts charging at him again. I step in front of her.

“It was her choice, not yours,” she says, pointing at Amar as she tries unsuccessfully to get around me. “You took that choice away from her.”

“I know that now,” he whispers. “It haunts me.”

She shakes her head and takes another deep breath. “Bottom line, it’s been twenty-five years. It’s over. All of this is over. Move on with your life. I have. My dad has. If you want to do anything to make it up to me, get beyond it. We’re done. Just because you were a part of her life, doesn’t mean you’re part of mine. You got me to my dad when I was a baby. I know she’s happy about that. It’s over now. Accept that and I will be content.”

He nods his head slowly. “I will accept that. I will leave you alone now.”

Millie shakes her head and walks out of the room without saying anything more to him. I follow her down the stairs and to the guest house where the agency has set up shop.

“I guess that’s that,” Brad says as we walk into the room. “Good work, Millie. Hopefully, that’s it for this network. We’re still going through the files, but we have enough to arrest Amina. The police are on their way to pick her up now. The Italian government won’t let us take her until they’ve interviewed her, but we’ve got her. Excellent work. The director’s happy.”

Millie smiles at him and nods her head. I can tell she’s trying not to break down. After Amar told her he burned the letter her mom tried to send to Mack, Millie’s entire posture changed. She did a good job hiding her distress from Amar, but I can tell she’s just holding on right now.

Hawk walks in. “The cops just took Amar.”

“You know, the five of us make a good team,” Butch says, leaning against the wall and smiling. “Maybe we could do our own version of Hawaii Five-O when Hawk and I retire.”

“Five-O stands for Hawaii being the fiftieth state in the union, not the number of people,” Raine says, laughing.

“I’m going for a walk,” Millie says abruptly. “I need some fresh air.”

Her voice is shrill and stressed. When I put my hand on her back, she recoils like a snake just bit her.

“You okay, Mills?” Butch looks at her, frowning.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she says, getting her voice back almost to normal. “I’m just need to walk. Mason, you stay with them. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Everyone starts quietly laughing and shaking their heads. “There’s a better chance of the world exploding right now than Mason letting you take a walk by yourself,” Hawk says. “Mase, you good? Or you need backup?”

“I’ve got her,” I say, watching Millie out of the corner of my eye as she walks toward the door. “Stay here and make sure these two are safe. We’ll catch up with you later.”

I turn on my heel and follow Millie. She’s leaning against the front fence with her hands covering her face. I try to move her hands away gently.

“Don’t,” she says, shaking her head.

“Mills.” I try to pull her hands down again.

She keeps her hands pressed to her eyes. Her body starts to shake again. “I just need some alone time,” she says, her voice quivering.

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