‘I just wish I understood how we got here,’ she said, frustration in her voice. ‘How everything got this bad.’
Sylvain stayed silent for a long moment. ‘Things got bad one step at a time. The way they usually do.’
Allie wondered if they were talking about the same thing.
‘Sylvain,’ she said. ‘I am so sorry about everything.’
He closed his eyes, his lashes soft shadows against the planes of his cheeks.
‘Don’t, Allie. I don’t want to talk about that. It’s done.’
‘I know,’ she said. ‘But you and I both know that, whatever happens tonight, we don’t have much time left here.’ She gestured at the dark grounds around them. ‘We could all be split up. You’ll go home to your family. I’ll go wherever Isabelle goes. Our lives are going to change. Who knows when we’ll see each other again?’ She took a step towards him. ‘I know we broke up but… I don’t want to lose you from my life. I will always be your friend. If you let me.’
He let out a long breath and turned his eyes back to the moon.
‘Allie, I don’t…’ His voice trailed off.
She held out her hand to him. He dropped his gaze to it, hesitating for a long time before finally taking her hand in his strong, steady grip.
Allie fought back a sudden urge to cry for both of them. For Cimmeria. For Jo. For everything that had been lost in the last two years.
‘I am so, so sorry I hurt you,’ she said, her voice low. ‘Please be my friend.’
He pulled back. For a second she thought he would say nothing. That he’d just walk away. But then, as so often was the case, he did exactly what she hadn’t expected. He leaned close and brushed his lips against her cheek, light as feathers.
‘Toujours,’ he whispered in French.
And then he was gone.
She spun around just in time to see him disappear inside, his back straight, walking fast into the light.
At midnight, Allie followed Isabelle and Raj down the wide hallway to the front door.
Outside, a crowd of black-clad guards waited. Among the faces looking up at them, Allie spotted Zelazny and Eloise, and, in the back, Sylvain, Nicole and Lucas.
Allie was to stay with Isabelle in the control car – thanks to the stitches in her neck, she couldn’t go into the grounds with the others. Being nearby would have to be enough. Zoe had been forbidden to accompany them. She was upstairs in Dom’s office with Rachel – sulking.
As soon as their boss appeared in the doorway, the group snapped to attention.
Raj paused, surveying his team with cool assessment.
‘You’re trained. You’re ready.’ His gaze was predatory as he looked out at them. ‘Let’s roll.’
The low, ominous roar that came back from the group made the fine hairs on the back of Allie’s neck rise. It was a bloodthirsty sound.
With swift efficiency, the group divided into the cars. Seconds later, the rumble of powerful engines filled the air.
Allie and Isabelle climbed into the back of a black SUV. The driver nodded to acknowledge their presence but, after that, kept her gaze straight ahead.
Throughout the thirty-minute journey, Isabelle sat stiffly, arms crossed, eyes straight ahead. Both of them had earpieces, connected to the comms system. Dom fed through constant updates from the team already on the ground at St John’s Fields.
‘Nathaniel has not yet returned,’ Dom said, as they drove down a dark country road. ‘House and grounds are quiet. No activity. All appears normal.’
‘Copy that.’ Raj’s voice responded.
The roads were nearly empty and at half past midnight they turned into a tiny country lane, bookended on both sides by high hedgerows, and slowed to a crawl. After a short distance, they pulled off the road.
The driver cut the engine.
In the sudden quiet, Allie could hear the other two women breathing, and the ticking of the cooling car engine.
‘Where’s the target from here?’ Isabelle’s voice broke the silence.
The driver pointed across the dark, adjacent field to a cluster of lights a short distance away.
‘Those lights are the farmhouse,’ she said.
Allie stared at the light cluster, trying to guess how far away it was. It was hard to tell in the dark, but she figured she could probably get there in ten minutes, running fast.
Isabelle pressed her microphone button. ‘Control in position.’
Raj’s voice crackled through Allie’s headphones. ‘Alpha Group in position. Lima Group, state your status.’
Seconds later, an unfamiliar male voice spoke: ‘Lima Group in position.’
Raj responded. ‘Copy that. Romeo Group, state your status.’
A female voice responded. ‘Romeo Group is in position.’
‘Copy that,’ Raj said. And so on, through all the three groups assigned to enter the property and the three who would remain outside the fenceline.
When all had responded Raj said, ‘All groups remain in position until you receive further orders from me.’
Now, all they could do was wait.