Page 60 of One Last Stand

“He will only compromise you.”

“I know what I’m doing?—”

“You won’t be happy until you are true to the person you were made to be.”

Oh.And who exactly was that? She had nothing to fill the silence.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Listen. I’ll check in when I have the bio card.” She pressed End before Ziggy could argue with her. Got up.

Her mother stood in the hallway.

London glanced across the hall at Shep’s closed door as her mother, all grins, pushed into her room. “Okay, we only have three days, but that’s enough. Let me take a look at you.”

London stepped back even as her mom caught her arms.

“You’re too skinny. And you need a haircut. And your eyes—” She stepped up. “It seems you’re not getting enough sleep.”

“Mother. I’m fine.” London walked over to the fire, turned down the heat.

“Okay then, I’m only going to ask once.” She took a breath. “Does he know?”

London rounded.

Madam Ambassador Sofia stood hands on hips, giving her a look that could throw a bomb into world peace.

“Know what?”

“Don’t give me that. I know about yourinternational translationjob.”

“My . . .”

“I know you were a Black Swan, darling.”

She blinked.

“Please. First, you disappear for three years, sending me random postcards from exotic places, working for that commerce company, and then you move to Nigeria and fly planes into the bush of Africa?”

“It was a great job.”

“There are terrorists in Nigeria! I read the news. And I get the action reports. Kidnappings all the time. Just two years ago, a doctor and two aid workers were kidnapped?—”

“I know. And they survived, by the way.”

Her mother blinked at her. “Were you involved in that?”

She folded her arms. “I was burned because of it.”

“Oh dear.”

“Yes. But that’s over.”

“Over?” Her mother braced her hands on the sofa. “Are you going to stand there and tell me that a member of the Orphans didn’t try tokillyou a month ago?”

Her mouth opened.

“I have a wide net, darling.”