Page 69 of Carbon

The team filtered out of the room until only Nye, Emmy, and I were left.

“Do you need a lift home?” he asked. “Or do you have friends in London to stay with?”

I didn’t have friends at all, not proper ones. “I can call a taxi.”

“Don’t be silly,” Emmy said. “I’m going to Sandlebury anyway, so you can catch a ride with me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. It’ll be nice to have somebody to keep me awake. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Are you sure you’re safe to drive?”

“I’m fine. Just let me grab another coffee. You want one?”

“Maybe a cup of tea?”

We put little plastic lids on our cups so we could take them with us, and I followed Emmy back down to the parking garage.

“Nice Aston Martin,” I remarked, spotting one in the corner.

They’d always been my favourite car, but the idea of actually getting behind the wheel of one scared me a little.

“Isn’t it? Afraid my car isn’t that posh, though.”

She bleeped open the doors of a black Volkswagen Golf a few spaces up.

“I’ve got a Polo. VWs are ever so reliable, aren’t they?”

“Not too bad on fuel either.”

“Do you think we’ll make it back to Sandlebury in time? The garage shuts at five thirty prompt, and Ned Blakely never works overtime. He’s always in the pub by six.”

“As long as we don’t hit traffic, we should be okay.”

She fiddled around with the SatNav, and sure enough, it said we’d arrive with twenty minutes to spare.

Emmy knew the short cuts through London’s back streets, and by the time we got onto the A40, we’d only lost five minutes. With quiet classical music playing from the speakers, I almost managed to relax as we chugged up the motorway towards home. Then I thought of Mother waiting for me and tension seeped into my muscles again.

“Why were you at the meeting today?” Emmy asked, snapping me out of my misery. “I understand you have a personal connection, but clients don’t usually get so involved.”

“Because I want to know what’s going on. People always leave me in the dark, and I hate it.”

Ben included.

“Still, I’m surprised Nye agreed.”

“Uh, he accidentally called me a rude word, and I told him I’d only accept his apology if he let me come along.”

She chuckled softly. “He’s normally charming.”

“I know. I’ve met him at some of my mother’s parties, and when he got engaged, two of Angelica’s friends ended up on antidepressants.”

“There are more men out there.”

And the ones I’d met at Blackwood certainly seemed...eligible. Except for Black. He scared me. The thought of him leading the hunt for Beau made me more nervous with every passing second.

“What happens now? With looking for Beau, I mean?”

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