Brad is well oiled. He signals for me to come to him and sit on his lap. Nervously, I make my way over and perch on his knee.
“You’ve done well tonight,” he slurs. “I think I might let you meet with that agent I know after all.”
“Let me?” I hiss.
He ignores my tone.
“But only if you’re a good girl.”
Chapter forty
Lance
Shrapnel bits. The explosions shred my eardrums. Innocent people scatter like marbles. Sweat runs down my face, mixed with red, the fallen soldier I carry wails again. Then Dog appears, running to another victim. I open my mouth to scream but…
A flash blinds me, and I sit up, surprised to be in my bedroom. My sheets soaked again—I’ve been having this nightmare for days. The constant buzzing from my dream continues; my cell dances on the side table.
It goes silent, then restarts immediately, frantically screaming to be answered.
“Hello.” I screw my eyes together, then reopen them, trying to bring everything into focus. “Who is it?”
A woman screams through the phone, panicked. The words hit me so fast I can’t understand anything she’s saying. Recognizing her is impossible.
“Slow down,” I say, trying to calm her. “Who is it? And what’s happened that you’re calling me in the middle of the night?”
“It’s Katie!”
“Katie? It doesn’t sound like you.”
“No, you idiot,” she growls. “It’s Amy here. Katie’s in a hospital in New York. Bloody listen to me.”
“Hospital?” Panic swells in my throat, terrified my nightly premonitions are coming true. “What happened?”
“You need to go to her. She’s in a bad way. She’s been hit by a car. I spoke to the doctor. She’s critical. They’ve put her in an induced coma. Lance, you need to…”
“What about Brad?” I snap. My world bending, already torn about running halfway across the globe or staying put. She left. She chose him.
“She’s left him, Lance. She was in the middle of coming home when the accident happened last night.” Amy tries to catch her breath as she tells me what happened. “They called me because I was the emergency contact on her phone. When I called him, he told me he hoped she went straight to hell. She walked out on him in the middle of their Christmas Day celebrations.”
Katie was coming home. Everything spins again. The automatic reaction I had to say no, gone. If she was on her way back, perhaps there was a chance for us. Perhaps I could’ve been part of the reason.
“I can’t leave here, Lance,” Amys says. “I need you to go and bring her home when she’s well enough. There’s a flight from Edinburgh Airport this afternoon. I’ll send you the link.”
“But,” I stammer, “what about if she doesn’t want me? What about my kids?”
“Work it out, fast,” she snaps. “This is your chance. I’ll email you.” She hangs up, and I’m left staring at the blank phone in my hand.This is your chance. If Amy thinks Katie would want me there, her best friend, then this is my opportunity.
The clock tells me it is five in the morning. What time is that in New York? 1 a.m. Do I take the risk and go to America to reconcile with the woman I love? What if I lose her before the plane lands?
She’s critical, that’s what Amy said. But if these are her final days or even hours, I want her to know she’s not alone. I want her to know I love her. And if she pulls through, I want to be the first person she sees. She needs to know I’m with her, no matter what.
YOU HAVE 1 NEW MAIL
The message pops up on my screen, and I click it open.
Hi Lance,
I’m sorry I was so sharp on the phone. I’m worried.