Chapter 25

A Piece of This

 

 

11:02 p.m. (Local Time)

London, England

Heathrow Airport

 

 

The stairs of the Dassault Falcon 50—a French super mid-sized, long-range business jet—stopped a foot from the tarmac. Dahlia’s leather boots and jacket appeared in the fuselage opening, followed by their owner and Charity. Cruz and Hardy met the women at the base of the stairs.

Cruz hugged Dahlia, who grunted and dropped her smarting shoulder. “I’m so sorry,” said Cruz, “I forgot,” before bringing Charity closer for a triple embrace. “I’m so glad you’re both okay. We were worried sick.”

Dahlia spied Hardy, hanging back. She smiled and held out an arm. “Don’t we get a hug?” She stepped away from Cruz and extended both arms. “You know you want a piece of this.”

A thin grin materialized on his face.

She rolled her hands toward her torso. “Come on, tough guy. Bring it in.”

The grin turned into a toothy smile, and Hardy hugged her and Charity. A hand on each of their waists, he glanced back and forth at the new arrivals. “It’s good to have you back again.”

“Thanks to you,” Dahlia patted his chest, “and your spook buddies you sent.”

The group broke up, and headed for the Nissan he and Cruz had borrowed from Hamilton.

Charity pushed a strand of hair away from her face. “How is Parker doing? Do we know anything about his condition?”

“I spoke with Agent Franks a little while ago.” Hardy turned a thumb skyward. “He’s out of surgery and recuperating.” He pointed. “Thanks to you, Cherry, the blood loss was minimal. There’ll be no lasting damage to his leg.”

The four poured into the Rogue, and Hardy spun the vehicle around and made his way toward the highway.

Sitting behind the driver, Dahlia leaned forward, between the front seats. “I’m supposed to give you a message from Franks.”

Hardy spun the wheel back straight. “What is it?”

“He told me to tell you that the payment for this favor was Louise.”

He glimpsed Cruz in the passenger seat, a frown on his face.

“He said you’d know what it meant.”

A moment later, Hardy smiled and slowly nodded.

Cruz saw the recognition. “What’s it mean?”

He shook his head. “Franks has a younger sister, Louise. For years, he’s been wanting me to take her out on a date. I guess she has a crush on me…or had, I’m not sure anymore.” Hardy saw Cruz gazing at him. “Don’t worry. I’ll find some other way of paying him back.”

“I’m not worried.” She turned her attention back to the road. “You know what I do for a living,” she smiled, “and what I’m capable of.”

“Okay, Cruz,” said Dahlia, “before you two get into some phony spat, I need to ask Hardy a question. How well do you know Franks?”

Hardy bobbed his head. “We go back a ways, why?”

“What’s his middle name?”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“Nope…said it was worse than the other two.”

Hardy chuckled and waited a beat. “It’s Percy.”

“Oh my…” Dahlia sat back and rolled her head. “I can hear the name-calling already.” She laughed. “Boy, I wish I’d had that ammo when we were in Germany.”