Christina winced as she touched her side. That’s going to bruise. She shifted in her seat, hoping no one would notice. The cabin of their plane was crowded with other agents and she had chosen the seat in the farthest corner. At least the mission had been successful, and they were now on their way back to Lykos for their debrief.

“That guy got you good,” Kostas said as he sat down on the empty seat next to her. “You’re going to have a nasty bruise.”

“Thanks for letting me know, Sherlock,” she said sarcastically.

Kostas’ face turned serious. “Christina, what’s wrong with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your head’s not here. If you’re not staring into space, you’re moody and snappish,” he said. “And that guy clocking you? Rookie mistake. You were wide open and that’s not what we taught you.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted. “I’m just worried.”

“I know,” Kostas said. “We still have no lead on the bomb. Intelligence will be ready to break into Blackstone P.D.’s servers once they have their final report. We’ll find out whoever planted it. But, we’ve still got other cases.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” she snapped. Kostas shot her a look. Okay, so she was proving his point.

“It’s been a hard few days,” he said. “You’ve had almost no downtime since the wedding. I told you we didn’t need you here. It’s a standard infiltration op.”

“I wasn’t tired,” she said. “And I needed to get back to work.” She needed the distraction or else her emotions would have eaten her right up.

“Well, now you’re going to get some downtime until you get your head on straight.” She tried to protest but he held his hand up. “Don’t make me tell Papa or Xander. You know they can order you to get rest or even put you on desk duty.”

She huffed. Her father was just waiting for an excuse to get her out of the field. “Fine,” she relented. “I’ll head to London for a few days.” She hated London—the throngs of tourists, the noise, the pollution—but it would mean that she’d be close to Cordy. She could wait until the weekend then take her sister out of school. They could have a girls’ day in SoHo. “I’ll take the first flight I can after the debrief.”

“Good.”

Christina reclined her seat and struggled to find a comfortable position as she put her blanket over her head. Even though the cabin was quiet and she had her eye mask on, sleep eluded her, as it had for days.

Each time she closed her eyes, the memories of that night came flooding back. I’m sorry. I can’t. She thought that saying it over and over again would make it hurt less each time, but it was the opposite. The more she thought about it … well, she didn’t want to think about it anymore. She didn’t want to think about Jason. That’s why she’d left Blackstone as soon as she could, so she could forget. But her traitorous mind wouldn’t let her, and it kept playing the events in her head. Jason’s kisses. His hands. Making love. The most intense orgasm of her life. And then his words.

I’m sorry. I can’t.

No. She refused to cry over him. That bastard. He wanted one thing, and when he got it, he dropped her.

Never again. She was never going to open herself up to that kind of hurt again. She had forgotten her purpose while she was in Blackstone. From now on, she would only focus on fighting the cruelty and evil in the world. She tugged the blanket closer around her, willing her tired mind to sleep.

* * *

The flight to London was short and went by in a blur. She had left only a few hours after the debrief. Though she wanted to stay a bit longer, she couldn’t stand the suspicious looks her brothers had been giving her. They knew something was up, and trying to hide anything from them would be like trying to take a bone away from a hungry dog. And so she thought a few days away from them would help her recalibrate.

As the black cab drove through the streets of London, she stared blankly outside the window, watching the scenery pass by and the rain fall from the sky. This was the land of her birth, of her mother’s family, but she felt no connection here. It seemed strange and the memories of growing up in this city were faded in her mind. Lykos was her home and being in this dank, gloomy city only solidified that.

The cab stopped in front of the townhouse and she thanked the driver as she handed him a few bills. She stepped out, overnight bag in one hand, and made her way to the front steps. It hadn’t stopped raining since she landed, and she didn’t have an umbrella, but it was only a few feet to the front door. She fished for her keys in her purse, her mind so preoccupied that she didn’t notice the figure sitting on the steps until she was nearly on top of him. She blinked.

“Jason?”

The dark head looked up. His face was blank, almost like he couldn’t believe he was looking at her. Then, the silvery-gray eyes flashed and his expression turned to relief. He shot to his feet.

She should have slapped him. Railed at him. Told him to go to hell. But no. She stood there, doing and saying nothing as shock made its way through her system.

They stood there for a minute, looking at each other in the rain and cold. How long had he been waiting here? His hair was damp and his shirt was so soaked through that the fabric clung to his chest. Her mouth went dry, thinking of his hot, naked body.

“Christina,” he said, his voice raspy. “I’m sor—”

She cut him off. “Don’t you dare say those words to me.”

“I’ll never apologize for anything again, if it’ll make you happy.”

His words boggled her and she didn’t know what to say, so she sputtered out the first thought in her head. “How long have you been waiting here?”

“How long today?”

“Today?”

“I left Blackstone the day after you did, as soon as Catherine gave me the address,” he confessed. “I didn’t know when you’d get here, so I’ve been waiting every day. Christina, I just want to talk.”

“Right.” Talk. That was all he wanted to do. He came across the pond, waiting here for days, just to talk to her. “It’s raining out here.” She walked past him, jogged up the steps and slipped her key into the door. “We should go inside. To talk.”