“I’m sorry, Agent Benson. That’s impossible. We extracted you early from your previous mission in Lebatu specifically for this operation. Your cover is set, and I am unable to insert another agent at this late date. You’re the only operative I have with proper training to fulfill this role.”

“I thought MI6 allowed for family emergencies?” Harry wasn’t about to give up so easily. His dad might not make it.

“We do when it doesn’t derail an undercover operation. You know more than anyone that Lebatu is a hot spot and getting worse. No more weapons can reach insurgent hands. Someone in our military is supplying Nheshal’s regime with UK weapons. It’s critical that we identify who is siphoning our armament. Too many civilian lives have already been lost.”

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. He loved the UK and was more than happy to serve, but he had already sacrificed his marriage in the name of his country. It now appeared his parents and Sammy had fallen on the chopping block of duty as well.

“I understand.” He rang off, more conflicted than ever.

He paced to the corner of the building and pivoted, returning to where he started, his forehead wrinkled in concentration. In twenty-four hours, he needed to hire a nanny or childminder for Sammy—rather difficult to sort on the weekend.

This mission mandated regular shifts on base, which gave him more off time than he was accustomed to. He rubbed his chin and continued to pace. Elise’s family lived only a handful of miles from Glenkinnon Base. Perhaps he could network her contacts and hire a childminder before his first shift on Monday morning.

It was a long shot, but he was fresh out of ideas. If he found someone, Sammy could accompany him to Scotland and leave Mum to focus on Dad. Good thing it was term holiday, or he’d have to get school sorted for the boy as well.

Before Harry lost his nerve, he rang Elise. Thankfully, she was still part of the agency, and he could broach the subject with her.

He’d never been much good at begging, but desperate needs had a way of humbling a man. Harry sent a plea heavenward. What he was about to ask bordered on sheer lunacy. Elise was the most non-domestic person he knew. How could she possibly help?

Morning sunlight streamed through the diamond-paned windows as Elise ran a tea towel over a bowl. Gillian stood beside her at the sink, her arms up to her elbows in suds. Cartoons blared in the adjoining room where Thierry and Jack had congregated after breakfast.

Elise picked up a breakfast platter from the drainboard.

“Thierry, turn that down, please. We can’t hear ourselves think in here,” Gillian called.