Page 92 of Lethal Abduction

She really wasn’t planning to come back.

“Hang on.” Pete is staring at his wife. “That’s what she said? Those exact words, that she didn’t want to be godmother to a baby that shewouldn’t ever see?”

“Yes.”

He frowns. “But that means Abby was planning to stay here!”

Susan looks at him indignantly. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, Pete.”

“You didn’t bloody tell me that part!”

Her long-suffering eye roll is so like her daughter’s that it would make me laugh if I wasn’t so damned miserable. “You haven’t exactly been listening to me, love.”

Pete runs a bewildered hand through his hair, staring at his wife as he clearly grapples with himself. Finally he turns to me.

“The cops didn’t believe Suze when she told them Abby had disappeared. To be honest, I didn’t either. Not even whenthey found the car all burned up.” He glances shamefacedly at his wife. “I thought she’d done it on purpose. I thought—” He breaks off, his head lowering.

I finish the sentence for him. “You thought she did it to hurt you.”

His eyes settle on me, but this time they’re not hard. They’re full of something I recognize all too well: regret. “Yeah,” he says quietly. “That’s more or less what I thought.”

“Yeah.” My mouth tightens. “Me too. More or less.”

There’s a long silence, during which Pete never takes his eyes off me.

Then finally, he nods.

He walks over to stand behind his wife, and she reaches up her hand. He clasps it, putting his other hand on her shoulder. “So,” he says, his eyes moving between me and Luke. “What’s the plan?”

“Thailand,”I say in a low voice to Luke.

We’re outside on the pretext of getting something from the car, to give us a moment to talk in private. “That’s where she’s going to be. Turbo said the Colombians are dealing through Thailand. My guess is that Abby and this Nico fucker made contacts in Thailand that helped them move on to Colombia. The contract could have come from either of those places, but either way, Thailand is where we start.”

I glance uneasily back at the house. “And the last thing we need is Daddy Chalmers along for the ride.”

“Good luck keeping him away,” Luke mutters, pretending to rummage in the back of the vehicle. “He doesn’t strike me as the kind of bloke who gives up easily.”

“It’s not him I’m worried about.” I grimace. “He’s going toend up finding out a lot more about Abby than she’d want him to know. I’d rather spare him that.”

He shoots me a cynical look. “A lot more about you, too. Guessing you’re not too keen on that either.”

No shit.But I’m in no mood to have the obvious pointed out.

I frown at the house, where Pete is packing as we speak. “There’s another problem, too.”

One that’s been pounding through my brain ever since Turbo mentioned Thailand.

“What’s that?”

“Roman,” I say flatly. “He’s got bratva associates in Thailand,” I explain when Luke looks confused. “And there are protocols we follow in our world. Me rolling up in Thailand and asking for help without a formal connection is bad manners at least, and open provocation at worst. Especially if I’m going to start shit that might interfere with business.”

“Ah.” He gives me a sideways look. “I take it that calling Roman to make that connection isn’t an option?”

I shake my head curtly. “Mak’s out, too.”

I don’t elaborate, and to my relief, Luke doesn’t push it. Whatever my issues with Roman, I’m not discussing bratva business with an outsider. Not even Luke.

“I’ve got an old army mate who’s been living in Thailand since he got out,” he says. “Handy guy, ex-special forces, so he knows how to stay under the radar. I could give him a call, if you want?”

---