Jealous Storm, Jack Stroke [best sci fi novels of all time .txt] 📗

stood outside the owner’s cottage. Joan was watching them. Amber could feel it even if she couldn’t see Joan spying. She was confident the older woman couldn’t hear them though. Still, they kept their voices low.

“That went okay,” Ben said.

“You could have warned me it was coming.”

“I didn’t know it was coming.”

“Fair enough.”

The pleasant night air settled around them. Would Amber ever be able to return to a climate where a jumper and a coat were necessities at night? It was hard to see how.

“God, your Mum and that phone at the moment.”

Ben chuckled.

“Any idea who’s messaging her so much?”

He shook his head.

“Don’t know, don’t care?”

“Something like that. What do you reckon Joan’s thinking?”

“About what?”

“Me. The job.”

“I don’t know.”

“Should we… talk to her about it?”

“Why?”

“Oh, you know. After what happened with Ted and all that.”

Amber shook her head. “Ted was a drug smuggler. I don’t think she has made any connection between that and what I do for a living.”

“She’s not stupid.”

“No. And I’m not suggesting she is. It’s something we can address down the line if we need to.”

Ben nodded, kicking at the grass with his bare toe. “When do you —”

“I don’t know, Ben. I still don’t have any idea. Just like the last time you asked me and the time before that.”

“Will it be more training? Or —”

“I don’t know. It will be whatever Mother decides.”

“On that last job you did, she didn’t say anything?”

Amber shook her head.

“Could you, you know, like, ring her or something?”

“That’s not how it works. It’s not how she works.”

“But surely this is different.”

“How?”

“Well, I mean, it’s not like a new mission or something. It’s…”

Amber put a hand on his arm. “Ben, there’s nothing we can do. This is Mother. She works at her own pace. Think of this as training because if you ever end up working for Diamond Logistics you will get plenty of practice waiting for Mother, believe me.”

“If I end up?”

This brought a smile to Amber’s face. “That’s not what I meant or how I meant it. Those days you stayed at the Diamond Logistics facility, you did extremely well. Mother was most impressed. That’s about the best you can hope for at this point. I know it’s hard. You just have to be patient.”

“Do you think I’ll have to stay there again sometime? The facility?”

Amber couldn’t help but smile once more. A certain amount of tenacity was required when working for Diamond Logistics, but the kid was relentless. Maybe Amber would have to call Mother and ask just to give herself a few moments of peace.

11

“You should have come.”

“I’m not family.”

“Neither am I.”

Vaughan’s boat swayed ever so slightly beneath Amber. Very pleasant. Calming. The more time she spent on the boat, the more she liked it, a little like Vaughan himself.

“You’re virtually family. A lot closer than I am.”

“Joan would have loved to have you there. Plus an extra person would have been good to distract from all of Megan’s moaning.”

“What was she moaning about?”

“I don’t know. Whatever. Everything is an inconvenience. Everything is worth moaning about.”

“Not like Chill Amber,’ eh, kid?”

Vaughan had latched onto the whole Chill Amber thing with a little too much enthusiasm. He loved it, bringing it up at every opportunity.

“Chill Amber did fine, thank you very much.”

They settled into the deck chairs, comfortable in the quiet, no need to say anything. This degree of comfort concerned Amber on some level. It was too much. She couldn’t imagine what Mother would say. Too much comfort made one vulnerable.

If anyone had asked Amber a few months ago, she would have believed she could have lived without all of this - other people, closeness, love. And yet now she was becoming aware how much she had missed in her years as an assassin. She made a conscious choice to let the fear go. This was just how life was right now. Concern it was making her soft helped nothing.

“I’m thinking of getting a dog,” Vaughan said.

“Oh, yeah? Do dogs like living on boats?”

“Why not?”

Would she be okay with the dog? There was barely enough room for the two of them on Vaughan’s boat. She couldn’t imagine bringing a third living creature into the mix. And it was Vaughan. There was no chance he’d end up with some small dog. He’d want an animal the size of a small horse. Did any of that matter? She still stayed in her cabin at Paradise by the Bay more than she stayed on the boat.

“What do you think?”

“Can’t imagine Lion would like it very much.”

“He doesn’t get a say.”

“If you want a dog, you should go for it,” Chill Amber said.

Around them the days slowly disappeared. In time Vaughan reached into the cooler for another beer. It was the most either of them moved.

“Did Ben enjoy it?”

“His big dinner? I think so.”

“He’s getting pretty muscular. Strong.”

“You can’t beat him at basketball anymore?”

“I never could beat him at basketball.”

“I think he enjoyed tonight. He wouldn’t have been too happy dressing up either, but he didn’t whinge about it endlessly like Megan. She just seemed disinterested in the whole thing. On her phone more than anything else.”

“Makes sense.”

Amber didn’t pick up on it at first. Makes sense. Odd phrase to use.

“Why’s that?”

“Why’s what?”

“Why does it make sense she was on her phone?”

“The new man and all.”

“What new man?”

“Didn’t you say she had a new man?”

“No.”

“Yes, you did. A while back. You might think I don’t listen, but I remember. You were worried about it.”

“Why?”

“Because you weren’t Chill Amber yet. That’s the sort of thing you worry about.”

Amber played the events back in her mind. Something didn’t sit right. When Megan had started getting all these texts and acting funny, yes, Amber had suspected maybe it was a new man. Had she said anything to Vaughan?

She leaned forward and stared at him.

“What?”

“I never said anything about Megan and a new man.”

“Okay.”

“So spill it.”

“What?”

“You know something.”

“No, I don’t.”

“You’re not a great liar, Vaughan.”

“Maybe you could give me lessons sometime.”

“Tell me what