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The bubbles told me she was typing. The message never came. From ahead, a car horn blared, and my driver slammed on the brakes. We shuddered to a halt inches from Alex’s bumper.
“What the fuck?” I snapped.
The driver craned his neck. “Road’s blocked. That red Fiesta’s facing the wrong way.”
Shite. I popped the door and climbed out without registering my actions, my heart thumping and adrenaline flooding my system. A roadblock was a tactic I’d been trained in by Ben, though wasn’t a common one we saw in action.
Down the street, Will had also left his car. He called something to the other driver who I could barely make out behind the windscreen.
Riss’s voice came over our comms. “Will, report in.”
“Just a doddering old gent who’s made a wrong turn.”
He approached the other vehicle. My level of alarm didn’t lower. Not as Will spoke through the window, and not as he went to clear a space in the junction so the gentleman could go the right way.
Alex was just sitting there. Anyone could make a run at her car.
I performed checks in a standard pattern. The nearby buildings, a car coming the other way, rubbernecking but not presenting an obvious danger.
Johnnie should have been out and doing the same, but Riss hadn’t ordered it, and the man worked only as much as he needed to.
It was on the tip of my tongue to make the suggestion myself, but just like that, the Fiesta reversed carefully and the road was cleared.
Our lead car cruised on.
For a beat, I stared. I’d expected more. My muscles were loose and ready to throw down, but it wasn’t needed.
“Sir?” the driver called.
I dove back inside and fought to calm the adrenaline rush as we caught up with the procession.
Fucking hell. I’d overreacted. Not badly, and probably without anyone else noticing, but I knew the signs that something was off with me. Later, I’d take the time to work up a solution.
If I was at home, I’d head out on a flight. That was my go-to method for stabilising my brain chemistry. I’d never gotthe chance as I’d jumped straight back into service, but a local airstrip with helis for hire was exactly what I needed.
A little voice in my head told me sex would be better, but that wasn’t happening.
I couldn’t imagine it. Not on the job.
Definitely not when I was already confusing my motivations in my head.
Thirty minutes on, we arrived at the stadium, our convoy passing crowds in long queues and in bright shirts that announced which team they supported. At a covered entrance, we disembarked and whisked Alex into a lift and up to a busy corridor, the duo of the stadium’s coordinator and the director of a charity walking with her.
A conference room with views across the green pitch and tall stands packed with sports fans hosted a welcome party, and we saw Alex inside then took positions in the hall while Riss held a quiet conversation with the coordinator.
When she’d finished, our boss called us in. “Penny Allen was offered the choice of seating between the royal box and another which has been bought for the occasion by the Kensington Hospital Trust.”
That was one of the beneficiaries of the match, I’d noticed. I grimaced at the continued use of the same codename Alex had used for years. My suggestion to change it had gone unheeded.
“Which did she pick?” Johnnie asked.
“The charity box. There are some public appearances she said she needs to discuss. I’ve suggested that she make her first appearance in the royal box, however, for the sake of pictures and the TV crew finding her. We’ll cover both.”
Riss split our resources, allocating Will and Johnnie to the hospital’s box while she checked out the royal one. There was security everywhere, but we had protocol to follow and checks to make.
Protocol which meant Alex needed a bodyguard nearby at all times, and that was assigned to me. Which was perfect as I didn’t want to let her out of my sight.
During our team briefing, we’d kept eyes on her through the glass doors to the entertainment suite. I entered the room and prowled the edge. There were maybe fifty well-heeled people in here, with staff circulating with drinks and food.