“I’d love to do that.” Once this was over, hopefully the rest of her trips would be for pleasure only.
He turned right up Digbeth Street, a narrow road that curved between more shops, none of them open yet. When it opened up into the town square at the top of the hill, he headed left past the stone market cross, and across the empty square to the row of stone buildings marking the south side of it.
Huffkins was near the end of the first row of shops. Behind it, the square tower of St. Edward’s Church was visible above the gray slate rooflines, where generations of Marcus’s ancestors had been buried. The sign on Huffkins’ door read closed, but the lights were on inside and Trinity could see people behind the counter in the bakery section.
Marcus parked right outside the door and she went in with him. Their order was already waiting in a pile of neatly-stacked white boxes. Trinity’s eyes widened when she saw how many there were. “You ordered all of this?”
His hard face broke into a grin. “Didn’t want anyone going hungry on the big day.”
Not a concern, based on the amount of boxes they carried out to the vehicle. “Did you get scones for Chloe?”
He snorted. “Of course.”
Driving back down into the valley below was even more gorgeous than the trip into town had been. Stretching out in every direction for miles around, the rolling countryside was a patchwork of fields in every shade of green imaginable and bordered by dark green hedgerows, forest, and low, dry-stone walls. Flocks of sheep dotted the landscape, their heads bent low as they grazed on the sweet summer grass.
She definitely wanted to come back here for a holiday with Brody and their son. Couldn’t wait to start the next phase of her life without any further danger hanging over her or her family’s heads.
Everyone was ready and waiting for them when they arrived back at the Hall. Chloe’s eyes widened, a gasp coming from her when she saw the familiar boxes. “Are there scones?”
“Aye,” Marcus said dryly, carrying his load into the breakfast room at the back of the house.
“With clotted cream, and jam?”
“It’s the only proper way to eat them.”
“Thanks.” Grinning, she snatched the box he offered and scurried out of the room to hoard them all to herself.
“We should eat outside,” Megan said, coming out of the kitchen with a big platter of freshly cut fruit. “It’s such a gorgeous morning.”
And probably the last one they would spend together in peace for a while.
Trinity followed the others out through the back doors to the flagstone patio beside the formal garden and dug into the offerings. This was so different from any previous op day. It was heaven to sit outside in the sun and enjoy some time with everyone while birdsong surrounded them.
Her phone rang when she was halfway through her maple éclair. Brody. “Hi. Was just thinking about you.”
“Glad to hear that. I just got off a call.”
She hurriedly swallowed the mouthful, her whole body tensing. “Caroline? Is she in labor?”
“She’s having contractions every fifteen minutes or so. They’re taking her to the hospital now to get checked out.”
Shit, what was she going to do? She couldn’t leave until the mission was over. But she’d so wanted to be there when their son was born… “Are you going?”
“No, it’s still early. Might not be the real deal yet. I’m waiting to hear from them first.”
She nodded, fighting off the wave of sadness and helplessness. Her son might be about to be born, and she was trapped here across the ocean from him. “Yeah.”
“Heads up,” Heath said, standing in the middle of the patio to address the group. “Equipment check as soon as you’ve all finished chow. I’ll be waiting on the south lawn.”
Trinity bit back a frustrated sigh. “I have to go. Let me know what’s going on?”
“You know I will. What uh… What time are you available until?”
“Another hour, no more.”
“All right. Don’t worry. It’ll all be okay.”
She nodded, feeling torn. The others would have understood if she had flown home, but she had insisted on staying. She couldn’t let them do this without helping. “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Breakfast ended in a hurry, and after that it was a flurry of activity as the group broke into teams to do equipment, weapons, and comms checks. Firearm laws were strict in the UK, so none of them could get caught with one. Everyone but Briar would be using non-lethal rounds or tranq guns to keep the body count down and minimize the risk of collateral damage if any innocents got caught in the crossfire.
When everything was ready, the entire group assembled for one last briefing in the library, then everyone dispersed. Amber and Jesse left in their own vehicle that would serve as a mobile command center for the warehouse op. Kiyomi left with Marcus and Chloe. Briar drove with Georgia, Bautista and Heath.
Leaving Trinity all alone in the manor house.
Karas plodded over to her as she set up in an interior office for the duration of the mission. It had no windows, giving her complete privacy and quiet. She stroked the top of the dog’s head, and Karas settled onto her side at Trinity’s feet with a groan.
“You can stay, but no interrupting me,” she told Karas, giving her another pat before opening her laptop and pulling up the programs she needed to access the video feeds Amber had hacked for their specific window.
The weight of responsibility settled heavy on her shoulders. As the eldest and most experienced of them, she felt like an honorary mother to her Valkyrie sisters. It was her job to look after them. She wished she was out there with them right now instead of here, but she knew she’d made the right call in sitting this one out.
It wasn’t just her and Brody anymore. There was a little guy about to come into the world, and he needed them to both stay safe—
She pushed out a breath, her heart aching. What if he was on his way right now? It would be another few days yet before she was able to fly home and see him. Being a mom was something she’d wanted for so long.
She shook herself, pushing it from her mind. She couldn’t think about that now, or the baby. Her teammates were depending on her to help protect them and keep them informed.
Putting on her headset, she began monitoring the live feeds in Manchester near the yoga studio, and another in north London at Tarasov’s place. Then she contacted Eden.
“All set up?” The yoga class started in fifteen minutes. Eden would take part, then walk the same route “home” that she’d taken when Tarasov’s guys had scouted her before, with Zack nearby and ready to assist. Given her and Zack’s skill sets, Tarasov’s three guys stood no chance whatsoever.
“Roger.”
They did another comms check, then Trinity activated the micro camera hidden on the zipper of Eden’s yoga jacket. “Crystal clear,” she confirmed as the inside of the rented flat appeared on her screen. Both she and Zack would be able to see everything happening in front of Eden during this part of the op.
“Perfect. I’m ready.”
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She muted her mic to check the screen. Brody.
She knew it was about Caroline, and her stomach knotted. “What’s happened?” she said to him.