Any verbal contact, however innocent, could be construed by the watchers as a breach of the rules. But with no way of knowing that, Jeff and Tuesday were taken aback by Ben’s request. Jeff was staring at him through narrowed eyes. ‘Enough messing around, mate. Level with us. You’ve been acting odd since you got back.’

‘I asked you not to ask,’ Ben said. ‘I don’t know how else to say it.’

Jeff said, ‘Come on, Ben. You can’t leave us in the dark like this.’

‘I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say.’

‘At least tell us where you’re going.’

‘I’m going to London. All right? I have to go now.’

Ben clapped their shoulders, nodded his goodbye and left before they could see the emotions welling up inside him. The lump in his throat was one of gratitude for their trust and comradeship, and guilt for not being open with them. What had he ever done to deserve friends like these? And just when he needed their help the most, he was forbidden from accepting it. That thought only made him despise Saunders even more.

And it formed a new resolve in Ben’s mind. Jaden Wolf wasn’t the only marked man out there. Once that situation was dealt with, Saunders would be next. Nobody would threaten to hurt Grace and get away unpunished. Nobody.

He closed the farmhouse door behind him. Outside in the darkness of the yard, he gave Storm a parting hug. He slipped a Gauloise from a fresh pack, lit it with his Zippo, then clanged the lighter shut and got back in the car. The three-litre, straight-six, triple-turbo engine was still warm from the drive from Paris. It roared into life and Ben stamped on the gas and slewed hard around in the yard and took off again.

One lone wolf going after another. As the hunt began, Ben thought about the man he was being commanded to kill.

Chapter 6

Saunders had said that few people knew Jaden Wolf as well as Ben had. He’d been right. Because there weren’t many experiences in life that could form bonds between people like the shared adversity of extreme danger and war. That was the nature of Ben’s past history with the man who was now his target.