Chapter 76
76
When I reached the airport, I saw the same blue Toyota pickup truck from earlier. I parked the BMW a few spots away.
I considered taking the Glock with me in case they were planning on double-crossing me, then decided I was being paranoid. If they wanted to kill me, they would have sent me to a remote location, not the airport.
As soon as I got out, the dead-eyed man hopped out of the pickup. “Keys p>
I handed them over.
“Anything I need to know?” he asked.
“The spent shells are under the floor mats. Everything else is in the bags p>
“Okay p>
He got into the BMW without so much as a goodbye, and I carried my duffel bag across the icy parking lot to the airport.
My flight out of Kirkenes was completely uneventful.
I arrived in Oslo at 3:25. After a four-hour layover, I caught the 7:30 flight back to London and arrived at Heathrow just before 9.
I wanted to call Rachel but knew I couldn’t do it from the burner – so I waited until I got back to my hotel room. I arrived just after 10 o’clock and called her as soon as I walked in the door.
“Lars p>
I could hear the fear in her voice.
“Everything’s fine,” I reassured her. “I just got back early p>
“Okay p>
Something was still slightly off in her tone.
“Is everything alright p>
There was a slight pause. “It’s just… it’s a lot. I’m worried about you p>
“I know,” I said gently. “Why don’t you come over p>
After a slight hesitation, she answered, “Okay. I’ll be there in 20 minutes p>
“I’ll have the champagne waiting p>
“So… it was a successful trip p>
She sounded almost wary.
“It was fine, but the champagne’s for you. We never quite got around to it that first night I moved here p>
She chuckled. “I’ll see you in 20 p>
After she hung up, I called room service and had them deliver a chilled bottle with two champagne flutes.
When Rachel walked in the door, I swept her up into my arms and kissed her.
She seemed a little stiff at first, but she eventually melted into the kiss.
I pulled back to smile at her. “It’s good to see you p>
“It’s good to see you, too,” she said – but her face looked more worried than happy.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as I pushed back a strand of hair from her face.
She took several seconds to answer.
“If you were in trouble… you’d tell me, right p>
I frowned. “Yes, of course p>
“And this new job of yours… you wouldn’t ever let it affect our future together, right p>
Now I felt uneasy.
It was like she knew something – or at least suspected.
Not that it took that big a leap of deduction. I’d been in Special Forces. Then I’d told her I’d taken a job with an organization that worked with the Swedish government. Now I was jetting off for days at a time, unable to be reached by phone.
The obvious conclusion was either ‘mercenary’ or ‘spy p>
Though hopefully not ‘assassin p>
I wanted to tell her where I’d been and what I’d done – but it would destroy her career if I did. Alistair had warned me of that numerous times.
And Rachel had made it clear that her career was incredibly important to her. In some ways, it was more important to her than I was. After all, she still didn’t trust me enough to tell me where she lived or what her real last name was.
I was trying to keep her job safe and make it so we could be together –
And yet she couldn’t give me the fucking benefit of the doubt.
And this new job of yours… you wouldn’t ever let it affect our future together, right?
“Of course not,” I said. I tried to conceal it, but my irritation seeped into my voice.
Rachel looked up at me with tearful eyes. “I don’t want to fight. I’m just really worried p>
I smiled down at her, all my irritation gone. “I love you. I promise you, this new job will never come between us p>
A sigh escaped her lips like she’d been holding in tension for days and could finally exhale.
“…okay,” she said with a smile.
We kissed again, and this time it felt back to normal.
I popped the bottle of champagne. She gulped down the first glass and only began to truly relax as she sipped at the second.
We began to kiss, which eventually led to sex.
As I was making love to her – as I was inside her and listening to her moans of pleasure – I thought, This is why I took the job.
SHE’S why I did it.
And she’s completely worth it, no matter what.