Free Matt Drake 14 - The Treasures of Saint Germain by David Leadbeater Page B

“—or wilfully.”
    Drake allowed his eyes to widen. “Bollocks. And here’s me thinking you’re a good guy.”
    “No, my friend. Are there any left?”
    “I’d like to think so.”
    Beau settled back. “I see none. You think Crouch is all good? You ask him one day how he influenced my help.”
    Drake found it hard to gauge just how upset Beau was over Alicia. Common sense told him the two had been merely passing time; but intuition said more. How did it all become so complicated? Everyone happy on the outside, or at least accepting, but what are they all really thinking?
    Mai put it out there. “Sleep, I think, is probably best for now.”
    Avoid it. Ignore it. Let it heal before you touch it. Drake could think of nothing better.
    Hayden and Kinimaka sat at the back of the plane, rows and rows of empty seats between them and the others, ostensibly to plan out their movements in Barcelona.
    In truth, mountains were moving.
    Hayden twisted her blond hair into a short bob, wrapped herself in an overlarge jacket, and drew her knees up. Kinimaka was droning on about Webb and his clear mortality, and his inability now to stalk them for pleasure.
    “It’s over, Mano.” The words were out before she measured them fully. “We need a break.”
    The Hawaiian stopped in mid-flow, his face so full of surprise that she hung her head.
    “Don’t tell me you didn’t know it was coming.”
    “I thought we were concentrating on the mission.”
    “Then I guess you were wrong.”
    Kinimaka coughed. “You sat all the way back here just to tell me we’re taking a break?”
    “Well, maybe, I didn’t want the entire team part of our intimate discussions.”
    Kinimaka let out a long breath.
    Alicia grunted. “You should lower your voice then.”
    Hayden gripped the sides of her seat. “What do you want from me, Mano? We’ve been over it a dozen times. It’s too hard to be together so we should both see how we fare apart.”
    “This all started when I wouldn’t let you torture Ramses, right?”
    “Stop dramatizing it.”
    “Or was it before that?”
    “A few times,” Hayden admitted. “I thought you could have stepped up a bit quicker.”
    “I’ve always been at your side. Through everything.”
    “I know. That’s not what I mean.”
    “Yeah, yeah,” Kinimaka agreed and shifted in his seat. “Y’know, there’s no ‘taking a break’, Hay. No month-long breathers or time-outs. You bail now, you bail for good. We’re done.”
    It wasn’t him, Hayden knew, but the man was hurting. She’d carved a wound and exposed it, dug deeper and analyzed it. The future held . . . what? More fighting, more hardship.
    “Maybe it’s better that way,” she said, not even sure if she believed it. “Maybe.”
    He used the seat in front to hang onto as he maneuvered himself out of the seat next to her and walked down the length of the plane. Silence followed their conversation, broken only by the buzz of the plane.
    Smyth watched Kinimaka take a new seat and then turned to Lauren. “You wanna end up like those two?”
    Lauren spread her hands. “Do you even know what we are now? Right this minute?”
    “We fight enough battles,” Smyth said. “Without fighting them between us too.”
    “Ya got that right. So why try?”
    “You know why. Look at your new boyfriend.”
    Lauren pinched the bridge of her nose, exasperated. “Is the child in you your leader, Smyth?”
    “I see Nicholas Bell as a terrorist trying to save his ass. You see him as someone trying to turn his life around whilst helping out the good guys. I remember you meeting him in that room, dressed as Nightshade. Who’s right?”
    Lauren gestured, the New York swagger clear. “Well, I am. Obvious.”
    Smyth stayed quiet, the annoyance clear on his face.
    Kenzie leaned into Dahl, no doubt trying to make him feel uncomfortable. “All these problems, eh? Bet you’re so glad to be married.”
    The Swede tried not to wince, then stared at Kenzie to see if