Page 42 of Nanny for the Mercenaries

We had another vehicle waiting at the airport. The five of us piled inside and I drove out to the home we were renting in Maslak, a suburb on the northern outskirts of Istanbul itself.

“I couldn’t help but notice there weren’t crates ofequipmentwaiting in the vehicle, like in Oslo,” Trish said.

“We don’t need any for this mission,” I replied.

“Oh, good! That means it’s less dangerous, right?”

Jordy and Harrison rumbled with laughter. Trish frowned at them.

“What am I missing?” she asked.

I glanced in the mirror to make sure Kaylee was wearing her headphones before answering. “Istanbul is our base of operations, because we have a fake contract here to use as an alibi. Our contract involves flying from here to… another country. And then assisting in training the local armed forces there on how to use modern NATO weaponry. The equipment we’ll be training them on is already in place.”

“Way to be vague about it,” Trish said. “Where could you go from here? Across the Black Sea into Russia?”

“Absolutely not,” I immediately replied. “We arenotworking with Russia.”

“Kind of the opposite, actually,” Jordy added.

Trish was quiet for a few moments. “So it’s Ukraine, then?”

Neither of us replied. The only sound was Kaylee’s fingers tapping on her iPad.

“Yup,” Harrison finally said.

“Oh,” she said. “That does sound dangerous.”

“Eh, it shouldn’t be too bad,” Jordy said. “I really like these kinds of missions. Helping other people protect themselves. Like being a teacher. It’s fulfilling, you know?”

“As long as you don’t get attacked!” Trish said.

“We will not be anywhere near the front lines,” I explained. “We cannot tell you more than that, but you do not have anything to worry about.”

Our accommodations were at a private residence at the top of a hill overlooking Maslak, with a hint of Istanbul itself visible to the south. There was an electric gate with a keycode to get onto the property. Kaylee went running inside as soon as we had parked.

“It’s so big!” she shouted from one of the distant rooms. “We all have our own bedrooms to sleep in!”

Trish and Jordy shared a private smile.

As before, the fridge and freezer were stocked with enough food to last a full month. Our contract should only last three weeks, but it was good to be prepared depending on how our contract went.

Tired from the travel, everyone went to bed early. I fell asleep quickly, and when I woke the next morning, I realized I had dreamed about Trish all night. I couldn’t remember any specifics, aside from the fact that they weren’t sexual dreams, but I was certain she was there in every single one of my dreams.

“Morning!” she said happily when I ran into her in the kitchen.

“Good morning,” I replied while searching for the tea cupboard. She had such a bright, genuine smile, that it was impossible not to feel my spirits lifted.

After our morning routine, the three of us prepared to leave for the airfield. “I don’t really like helicopters,” Trish said while we said our goodbyes. “I’ve heard horror stories about crashes…”

“Don’t worry; Archer is a pro,” Jordy said.

“Indeed I am.”

“Just text me when you arrive safely?” she insisted. “So I know nothing bad happened?”

“Something bad might happen?” Kaylee said as she came around the corner from her room.

“Of course not, half-pint,” Harrison said while sweeping her up into his arms. “We’ll be back for dinner.” He began smothering her with kisses, and she squealed and laughed and complained that his beard was scratchy.

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