Keeping Thyme (Thyme Trilogy) (23 page)

The elevator doors
open to the agency reception. I blow out a long breath. I don’t know what to expect, but I know it’s not going to be good. I disobeyed a direct order not to shoot, and despite it being necessary, I still don’t know what my punishment is going to be.

The girl at the reception desk dips her head as we pass. I look up at Simon and frown.

The heavy mahogany door automatically swings open in front of us. A male agent in a dark suit stops, and then turns towards us as we walk in. I close my eyes. Great. This is going to be shit.

I hear the agent start clapping. My eyes spring open and two others stop what they are doing
at a white board, and start applauding me. As Simon and I walk through the agency hall, everyone stops and starts to applaud. I smile and look at Simon. He’s smiling too, and bows his head in a gesture of thanks. Okay, so maybe I’m not in so much trouble?

We get to the boss’s door and Simon gives me a quick wink before we go in. I chuckle. Simon reminds me again of Nick.

The boss is already making his way towards the door, probably to check the commotion in the hallway. His eyes catch mine as I enter, he smiles greets me with an outstretched hand to shake.
He never wants to shake hands.

“Congratulations, Agent
s Thyme and Thyme. You have managed to uncover The Principal’s operation within Russia and we have taken down the main players involved. There were twenty-four emaciated and very scared young girls who are now being fed, and prepared to go home to their families. The authorities in Russia have been notified of the discovery and they are tying up the loose ends on their end. Take a seat, please.”

I sit down as directed
.
I should feel elated that all I’ve worked for is complete, but I don’t. Instead, I feel so hollow inside. What do I even do with myself now? I thought the end to this operation would bring with it a feeling of freedom, but I all I feel is emptiness.

“You’ve done it, Mia.” Simon smiles.

“We’ve done it.” I turn my gaze to the boss. “I couldn’t have done it without Agent Donohue or my brother, Agent Thyme.” I shoot a glance at my brother. “What about the people I shot?”

“The critical incident board have gone over all the details. All persons shot were armed. You’re in the clear, Mia.”

Just like that. I’m cleared.

“Where to now?” the boss asks.

“Anywhere. I’ve lost too much in Sydney to stay here.”

“Very well.” The boss nods. He pulls out a large yellow envelope. “In here is everything you need to get on with your life. You have upheld your part of the agreement, and now I must too.”

I take the envelope and open it. There is a stack of passports, bankcards and driver’s licences for varying countries in different names. I look up at the commander of the OCT-U agency and smile.

“Thank you, sir.”

“It was a pleasure working with you, Thyme.”

The wind howls
past my ears up on the cliff top. I stand next to Simon on the fenced edge of The Gap, a tall cliff-face bluff at Watson’s Bay. The ocean violently crashes against the rocks below, but it looks majestic and peaceful. I look over at Simon and nod.

“Are you ready?” He smiles.

I nod again and open the urn with Flossy’s ashes. At the same time, Simon opens the one containing what’s left of our mother and he slowly tips it. The wispy grey dust inside is quickly picked up by a gust of wind and carried out into the endless sky over the rolling ocean. The particles of Flossy join the windswept dance and discolour the sky where she flies. The dust becomes harder to see as it spreads further and further apart over the ocean. And just like that, they’re gone forever.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“Are you sure
you won’t come with me now?” I say to a tearful Charlie as we stand at the gates to the international airport.

“I’ll come the moment you’ve decided where you’re settling in. Plus, I’ve got to organise a wedding.” He winks.

I beam brightly at Simon and Liz as they stand arm in arm.

“There’s not much to organise. We’re getting married on the Amalfi Coast with two people present.” Liz laughs.

“Oh, don’t burst my bubble, Liz. You don’t know Italy like I do. There’s plenty to organise,” Charlie teases.

I hold my brother tight. “I’m going to miss you so much.” The tears roll down my cheeks.

“We’ll see you in a few months at our wedding.” He sniffs.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” I look around at all three of them and pick my backpack up, swinging it over my shoulder.

“As if you fit all your couture in there. That barely covers your shoes.”

I shake my head. “I don’t need it anymore. Labels mean nothing where I’m going.”

The overhead sound system calls out for a Miss Sally Smythe to make her way to gate number eleven for immediate departure.

“That’s me. Better go.” I hug them all one more time. “I love you all so much.”

“Love you, sis.”

“
Love you, Mia.”

“Who you kidding? I’d turn for you, I love you that much.” Charlie adds the final giggle.

I race through the gates and wave frantically as I disappear from my family left behind.

I blow out
a breath of air as the plane lifts off the ground. I look down and Australia becomes a sea of tiny lights. I don’t know when I’ll see my country again, if ever.

“Can I get you something to drink, ma’am?” the stewardess asks.

“Pina colada?” I joke.

“I’ll see what I can organise.” She winks.

First class has its perks. I settle back into the huge armchair and open up
Great Expectations
. I read the first three sentences. I could close the book and continue reading it verbatim. There are parallels I can draw from the words, but the book is not about me anymore. I need to write my own story now, and live my own life.

I am free. I can be anyone, and go anywhere I want. Tench is gone, and I can move on from it all.

I search through my Louis Vuitton make-up bag and find the letter I was given before I left. I was told to open it when I was ready, and right now I’m not ready. Next to it is the Shadow of Love necklace and matching ring. I know some investors in Europe who will pay a pretty dollar for the set. Along with the millions I have accumulated in bank accounts around the world, I will be set-up enough that I never have to worry about money ever again. I can taste my freedom now.

I change out
of my first-class pyjamas and wait anxiously for the plane to land. I had to visit Ibiza first. I’ve wanted to come here for a long time. Nick and I fictitiously met here as our cover with Charlie, so in some ways I feel closer to him by coming to the island. We land with a swift bump and I prepare to get off the plane. I have no baggage checked in so I swing the last of what I have over my shoulder and slide my Ray-Ban aviators over my eyes to shield them from the Mediterranean sun.

The moment I step off the plane, I know I was meant to be here. The warmth in the air feels welcoming, and I stand for a moment and tilt my head to the
light blue sky and thank the universe for allowing me to get through it all.

I close my eyes and listen to the tourists finding taxis, the kids laughing and the people screaming in delight at seeing one another again. This is what life is about.

“Do you need a lift, Miss?”

I can’t breathe. My heart wants to bounce out of my chest. I don’t want to open my eyes. I shake my head and shake his voice from my delusional mind …

I listen again. It’s gone. I peek out of one eye and snap it shut.

It looks like him. It can’t be. I saw him dead. I felt him. I kissed him. He was dead.

My eyes spring open. Nick leans against an old Porsche convertible from the sixties that looks like it’s seen better days. His skin looks darker and his hair looks lighter, but his eyes are just as piercing.

He holds his hand out to me. “Come on, kid, let’s go live our life now.”

I can’t breathe. All I see is the pavement rushing very quickly at my face as my legs give out underneath me. He’s alive!

EPILOGUE

Dear Agent Mia,

Thank you for sparing my life, although I sometimes wish you hadn’t. They have me here locked away where the sun doesn’t even shine. I only see the guards twice a day and they monitor me 24/7. That bastard Denza is better off dead after attempting to shoot me in the back, but he still lives in protective custody somewhere, too. He’s the one who murdered your friend. I thought you should know that. He told her everything about our trafficking operation then panicked and strangled her before I could find out what he had said. I saw it as an opportunity to send a warning to Stephanie. She wanted to take control of the operation, but I had to show her who was really running the show. I was always sorry that the girl was your friend.

Toni is recovering nicely, too. They only let us speak for five minutes a week while he’s in hospital. He laughs about you shooting him. He thinks you missed all his vitals on purpose because you actually like him, deep down.

It was in Russia that I knew the rumours about you being an agent were true. I found a bug in the bedroom. I put it in Dmitri’s car so that you would hear that it he wanted you dead. Luka warned me about Dima’s plans, so I put the bug with him. Despite knowing who you were, I still wanted to protect you. I wanted to see if we could get past it and have a life that we deserved together. I’m not a bad guy, Mia, I just don’t know any different. I hoped you would see that eventually.

To me, you will always be my gorgeous Miranda.

Joe Tench

I gently push the letter down into the ocean-water and watch the words slowly dissolve away. A wave rolls down and takes the final words from Tench out into its depths where it belongs.

I sit on our secluded beach for a bit longer and
draw the last of my Piña Colada through the straw, while the sun quickly slips down into the Mediterranean Ocean. We’re the only ones on this part of the island, and the beach is all ours.

I hold my nose into the air and catch a whiff of Nick’s cooking back at the house. I still can’t believe he’s alive.
Nic
k
tells me that they gave him a drug called tetrodotoxin. It lowered his vital organs to a point where a person appears dead. That along with the little blue pill from the medic, which Nick now tells me never trust medics from the agency. That was some strong hallucinogenic. But all I really care about is that he’s alive, and I’m back with my one true love. I never want to be anywhere else. I just want to be with Nick, for the rest of my days.

I look towards the rustling in the saltbush behind me, and hear a tiny meow. I creep closer and squint to try and see what it is. A matted little black kitten staggers out from the
shrub and shakes itself off.

“Hello, little one. Where have you come from?” I bend down and scoop it into my arms.

I look up and down the beach, but there’s nothing and no one around. The kitten’s bright blue eyes look up at me and he rubs himself against my chest. His purr is strong and I giggle.

“Dinner’s ready, beautiful.” Nick call
s out. “I’ve almost perfected this paella now.”

I look up and see him, shirtless and standing at the edge of our patio, and I can’t help but grin wildly.

“Nick! Look what I just found. We have a new friend.”

I race up to the house and look down at my little
baby within my arms. “What are we going to call you little one?”

THE END

COMING SOON

DEATH’S SHADOW

My name is Tatiana Pavlenko. I am the Russian Ballet’s Prima Ballerina. It’s been a tough journey to reach the pinnacle of my career, and it has come at a great cost … my soul.

I have been known by many names throughout my young life, but no one knows the true identity of who I really am.

War is about to break out around Russia, and it is the perfect opportunity for me to kill every man who has hurt; who has his way with me.

The evil that’s about to strike down on Russia’s powerful men isn’t from their neighbouring countries. It’s from me, the one they call
Ten' smerti
… Death’s Shadow.

Mark it to your TBR on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22367701-death-s-shadow