And she was making excuses, she realized. Caleb had asked a favor and she’d made a promise. She didn’t know why she’d been impatient enough to break that promise today. It was immature, not like her, and yet that impatience had been growing steadily for the last week she’d been here.

Forget it. She’d just be sure that it wouldn’t happen again. Though she knew that she’d have to confess to him that she’d broken her word. Honesty was essential in their relationship. There were already too many hazards to overcome without risking another one.

Hazard. She felt a chill. Why had that word occurred to her? There had been no real threat to her today. She had felt perfectly safe. And certainly, she had not been worried about Caleb. The entire world knew what a badass he was.

But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be touched. That might be why she had woken this morning with that sense of panic.

Steady. Only imagination. She started up the steps. She’d go upstairs to her room and finish her sketch. Then she’d go down for lunch and talk with MacDuff and perhaps Fergus. By that time, she’d be calm, and this foolish case of nerves would have vanished.

And maybe in a day or two she’d hear from Caleb, and he’d tell her when he’d be coming back…

*  *  *

Savgard Airport
Congo

Caleb’s phone was ringing.

Gavin Jennings.

He’d better take it. “You got my message about Zeller? Just get the hell out of there. I can’t talk now. I’m going to check out the airport. I’ll get back to you when I reach Rome.”

“If you reach Rome,” Jennings said sourly. “If you even get out of that hellhole before they cut your bloody head off like they did Zeller’s. We all have to get the hell out of here. And you can’t use the airport. I’ve heard it’s been compromised. They have to know about you, dammit.”

“I figured that out,” Caleb said dryly. “I found Zeller’s body and it wasn’t pretty. They had a good time with him before they beheaded him. He would have told them anything they wanted to know.” He paused. “But I was hoping that you’d just get out when I notified you. There was a chance that Zeller wouldn’t have told Hugh Bohdan about anyone but me. You and Pasternak were part of his basic MI6 team. You were like brothers. He would have tried to save you.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jennings said roughly. “All three of us had our orders to keep you alive until you took down General Rozkor. After you accomplished your mission naturally Zeller would have wanted to protect you.”