Free The Last Bazaar by David Leadbeater

he said a little ironically.
    Alicia shook her head. “Says a man who’s here now nursing bruises that haven’t healed from the last battle.”
    “Bruises?” Drake winced. “More like raw scrapes from sliding down that friggin’ cliff and onto the galleon. Dahl’s bloody fault.”
    “Maybe. But you can’t deny it was the best ride in North America.”
    “Steady on. You haven’t ridden everything in North America. Have you?”
    Alicia caught his eye. “Are we talking flumes, coasters, that sort of thing? Or things that wear Levis?” Her eyebrows rose suggestively.
    Drake looked up in despair. “Part of you will never change, Alicia.”
    “Thank God for that.”
    “In any case,” he went on. “Most of the bruises I have were inflicted by you.”
    Alicia smiled sweetly. “You’re very welcome.”
    Drake nodded as if he’d been expecting the reaction. “Once we end this maybe . . . we could take a break.” The pause and its significance was not lost on Alicia.
    Her eyes bored into his. “Are you asking me to go away with you?”
    “Well, Dahl keeps banging on about taking a family Caribbean vacation.”
    “And you want to go with him?”
    “No! I’m saying we also deserve a break. Stop busting my balls.”
    Alicia didn’t let up. “Let me get this straight. You, Drake, Matt Drake, want to take me—the Tasmanian Devil—on a short break.” She shook her head. “Fuuuck.”
    Drake frowned. “What’s wrong with that?”
    “It’s weird. That’s all. Just weird.”
    And despite himself Drake knew exactly what she meant. Their life was not the life of people that zipped off for short breaks to European hotels. Dahl could get away with it because he had a family and a totally separate life with them. But Drake? Alicia?
    “I do know what you mean,” he said. “What the hell would we do with four days in Paris?”
    “We wouldn’t go to Paris,” Alicia said. “Not us. If we went any-fucking-where it would involve a big room, a big bed and room service.”
    Drake understood of course, and looked down. His relationship with Mai was barely cool, but it was over. She had made that perfectly clear. And now, with Alicia turning over a new leaf she was also uncovering a new possibility.
    The jungle teemed around them. As a contrast to the more recent missions this was about as far as they could get. The next few days weren’t going to be easy. Drake took some time to acknowledge each member of the team, from those on watch to young Yorgi and Lauren Fox, the newest members who had earned their stripes. Dahl caught his gaze and smiled faintly as if accepting that the Yorkshireman was probably dreaming about being as good as the Swede, or maybe a step behind. Drake felt several moments of peace and happy acceptance. Even here, even tonight on the eve of what would surely be utter madness, his family were all around him, each man and woman content with their place in life. The watch changed and two more of the team headed into the darkness. A steady downpour then sent them all scurrying for manmade fabric cover, two to a tent and struggling to get comfortable. Rain drummed down for over an hour, drenching the forest and lending it life. Drake found it relatively easy to drift off, then woke himself up with a sudden feeling of satisfaction at that very thought. The years out of the service hadn’t turned him soft.
    With a smile on his face he fell asleep.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
     
    Karin Blake had been battling inner demons her whole life. At a young age she had watched her best friend die because no one had bothered to listen to a young girl’s screams. Upon leaving home and then gaining the very best grades she had rebelled against the system and her loving family, and hit some kind of rock-bottom. Later in life, still rebelling but in a more positive way, she had clawed her way back to where she really wanted to be—as a useful and productive part of a team that truly cared for her. She had learned to