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“I’m really confused,” I said slowly, “but I’m glad you’re all okay.”
“We’re gladyouare okay,” Archer said, cupping my cheek and pressing his forehead against mine. “We never intended to put you or Kaylee in danger.”
“We weren’t in danger,” Kaylee said. “Harrison said that the man who came here was just playing pretend.”
“That’s right, he was,” Jordy said emphatically. “This was all just pretend. Are you all packed and ready to go?”
“Iwaspacked, but then we stayed longer!” she replied. “I unpacked my laptop so I could play Minecraft.”
“Well, go get your things. We leave for the airport in ten minutes.”
She ran off to her room.
Harrison stepped up to me. “I owe you an apology, Trish.”
I gave a start. “What for?”
“I was blaming you for being here. I called you a distraction.” He rubbed at his jaw, as if he missed his beard. “It turns out, your presence helped us. You were the warning that something was wrong. If I had not hung back to check on you, I would have been at the extraction zone. Where Kadyrovic had men waiting to capture me.”
“You were our canary in the coal mine, so to speak,” Archer agreed.
Harrison hugged me, and I felt myself relax in his arms. His embrace was strong, yet tender. Gentle for someone like him. He even threaded his fingers into my hair.
“Thank you,” I whispered into his broad chest.
“Things could have ended really badly,” Jordy said. “We got lucky.”
“Quite lucky indeed,” Archer agreed. “I believe this is the wake-up call we needed. It might be time to end our line of work.”
“Really?” I asked.
“We’ll discuss it when we get home,” Harrison interrupted. “We shouldn’t make any rash decisions.”
“Harrison Gray,” Jordy said wistfully. “Cautioning against making rash decisions. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’ve grown since we left Wilmington.”
Harrison glanced at me, then shrugged awkwardly.
“But the important thing is that we’re going home.” Jordy sighed happily. “It will be good to sleep in my own bed.”
“I’m looking forward to Sal’s pizza,” Harrison said.
“Nearly two months away from home, and pizza is what you miss the most?” Archer asked.
“Not pizza.Sal’spizza.” He licked his lips. “Fuck, now I’m hungry.”
“I do miss Cookout’s milkshakes,” Jordy added. “We’ve had good food on this trip, but sometimes a guy just wants good old American fast food.”
“This is why you’re all obese,” Archer said dryly.
“Hey! I’m not obese.” Jordy flexed an arm. “All of my calories go toward these guns.”
“I meantyouas in Americans.”
“You Brits aren’t much better,” Harrison shot back.
Their jokes and laughter didn’t have any effect on me. There was a pit of emptiness in my stomach, and it was growing larger by the second. Before I knew it, I was wiping away tears.
“Kettlebells,” Jordy said, putting an arm around me. “What’s wrong?”
