Red After Dark (Blackwood Security #13) - Elise Noble Page 0,111
played, Black. Well played.
On the plus side, at least if I was away I’d be able to avoid the ever-increasing number of questions about why Black and I were no longer sharing a bedroom. First, I’d blamed it on my nightmares, and then I’d complained that he kept snoring.
Why didn’t I come clean? Why didn’t I tell people we’d had an argument? Because then they’d want to know what the argument was about, and if I didn’t tell them, or they didn’t believe whatever fake explanation I came up with, the rumours would start to fly. And I wasn’t going to turn Black in. I’d almost lost him once, and even though I was really hacked off at him, I didn’t want it to happen again. Not permanently. I’d had a week to consider things now. Blackwood employed too many people to risk it all by casting shadows on Black’s reputation.
Two wrongs didn’t make a right.
And do you know the crazy thing? The sick, sick part of me, the rotten little kernel in my brain that mapped out the paths to men’s destruction, had to admire the elegance of Black’s on-the-fly act. The simplicity. The sheer fucking balls of it.
The whole situation made my head want to explode.
So there we were, getting ready to travel to a dinky town near Chesapeake. Penngrove had a population of two thousand and change plus a pair of pot-bellied pigs who seemed to be the town mascots. In another masterful piece of planning, it turned out Penngrove only had one hotel. No penthouse, no suites. Of course, since we were a married couple on vacation, according to our cover story, Black had booked us one room with a king-sized bed. But I’d soon wiped the smile off his face when I informed him he’d be sleeping on the floor.
I’d toyed with the idea of taking a separate car, but again, that would be weird. Grrr. I shoved my last bag into Black’s Porsche Cayenne. Couldn’t put it off any longer, could I?
Oh, saved by the bell. I walked away from Black to take the call from Alaric, although that was probably pointless. Black no doubt had my phone bugged anyway.
“How’s it going?”
I hadn’t spoken to Alaric since he left. I’d been working on the “no news is good news” premise.
“We might need to borrow that spare stable.”
We? “You told her?”
“No, I just thought I might take up horseback riding.”
“I’m so happy it worked out.” And I really was. After everything that had happened, Alaric deserved happiness. “I knew it would, though. You’re a real catch. When are you coming back? Still Sunday?”
“We fly at ten a.m. UK time. Can we have a think about our trip to Penngrove? I know it’s been eight years, but I don’t want to leave it too much longer.”
“Yeah, about that. We’re planning to head there in an hour or so.”
“Who? You and Dan?”
“Me and Black.”
The long pause told me Alaric was as bemused as I thought he’d be. Probably a bit suspicious too, although thankfully, I had a plausible explanation.
“When it came to the choice of him coming with me or me going with you, he picked the lesser of the two evils.”
“I guess I can understand that. Maybe he’ll lighten up now that I’m with Beth?”
“Here’s hoping.”
“Emmy, I also want you to meet Rune.”
I was looking forward to it, although I’d admit to being a teensy bit apprehensive. What if Rune didn’t like me?
“Perhaps I could come over for dinner?”
“Yes, perhaps.”
“On my own.”
“Good idea.” The relief in Alaric’s voice was evident. He didn’t want to inflict my darling husband on his daughter if Black was still being a prick, and I couldn’t blame him.
“I should get her a gift. What does she like?”
“Science. She wants to get a PhD in molecular biology and help to find a cure for diabetes.”
“Wow.”
“Told you she was smart.”
“I’d better not mention this to Bradley or he’ll buy her a whole lab.”
“Just a book or two will be fine.”
“Do you need anything else? I’ll get Bradley to stock the kitchen at Hillside House with groceries. And drop off a car.” Was a little guilt kicking in? No, a lot of guilt. “The place comes with a gardener, and I’ll check the pool’s been cleaned. Does Bethany want to go horse riding? If she’s feeling brave, she’s welcome to borrow Stan. Or Majesty—Tia won’t mind. But Majesty’s out of the same mould as Stan, just not quite so nutty.”