Page 28 of The B-Team

“No, but it is rather urgent. Please tell him I’m here with my husband concerning a personal matter.”

The man’s face didn’t even twitch, making her wonder if she was talking to one of those AI life forms Elle was always going on about. “Do you have some ID on you?”

Rachel and Harvard handed theirs over, and the man passed them to a nearby security guard to check while he rang up to the minister’s office.

After speaking softly into the phone for a moment, he addressed Rachel: “The minister will see you now. Please give your details to the officer with your IDs. He’ll provide you with security passes.” He gestured down the counter.

“Unbelievable,” Harvard muttered as they did as instructed.

“You owe me money,” she reminded him with a smug smile.

Poor dear; he still had so much to learn when it came to the inner workings of the British upper class.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The room was closing in on Julia. There were too many people, and everything was in disarray. There was no order. No organization. And worse—no Joe.

She’d been working so hard to hold it together, to stop from panicking, but she was losing the grip on her control. As soon as she’d stopped focusing on research and the room filled with people, it became harder to see the big picture. Now, all she could think about was that there was a memory locked inside her brain that could help, but she couldn’t access it. What if it never came out, and it was a crucial piece of evidence for the defense? What if she was the reason Joe was taken from her for good? He’d miss the birthandmiss out on seeing their baby grow up.

She couldn’t breathe.

The windows were open, the sun streaming through them, but still, there wasn’t enough air. She needed to be somewhere… else. Somewhere safe. She needed to think, and she couldn’t do it in here surrounded by everyone, listening to all the noise, watching everyone move around in random patterns that didn’t make any sense.

But she also couldn’t get out of bed unless it was to use the bathroom. The doctor had been very clear about that. She slidher hands under the covers and cradled their child, safe and secure within her. How she envied the baby. If Julia could’ve curled up into a nice, quiet little cocoon, she would have. Her eyes frantically scanned the room as she grew more distressed by the second. The plates were randomly placed. The numbers were wrong. It was all too much.

“Danger! Danger!”a robotic inner voice screeched.“Mission abort! Mission abort!”

Her eyes caught Sarah’s and stayed there, clutching onto her like a lifeline. Sarah would understand, wouldn’t she? Julia wanted to tell her that everything had become too much, but the words wouldn’t come out of her mouth. All she could do was stare at her, panicked and afraid, while her brain screamed Joe’s name on repeat.

Sarah’s face softened with understanding, and she cleared her throat. “Belinda, could you go to the kitchen and get Julia a sealed bottle of water?”

Belinda spun toward Julia and gave her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, honey. I should have been paying more attention.” Then she hurried from the room.

“Ryan, can you get everything else sorted?” Sarah said as she made her way toward Julia. “Let’s get this place cleaned up and back into some order. Sets of three and five, please.” She climbed onto the bed beside her friend and pulled the blanket over their heads. “Blanket fort.” Sarah smiled. “Just until things are under control out there.”

“You heard her,” Ryan called. “Operation Julia is now in effect. Get a move on.”

Sarah’s hand curled around Julia’s, and she gripped it tight.

“I’m such an idiot,” was all she managed to get out.

“No.” Sarah was vehement. “You’re just you. Like I’m me. We all need different things to help us cope with this big, bad life, and today is way more difficult to deal with than most.”

Julia could hear people moving around in the room, but they were quiet. Nobody complained that their host was acting weird again.

A hand holding a bottle of water appeared under the covers, and then Belinda crawled in beside them. She cracked the bottle open before handing it to Julia.

“Sip it,” she ordered gently.

Julia did as she was told. The snug blanket cave helped ease her jangled nerves, and the icy water cooled her throat. Slowly, the panic subsided, but she still couldn’t voice her fears. Especially when she’d just been crying about Joe a few hours earlier. How much reassurance did one woman need? She was pathetic.

Her sister patted Julia’s leg, a sympathetic look on her face. “It’s Joe, isn’t it?”

So much for keeping it to herself. She nodded once.

“You heard the lawyer,” Belinda said. “There’s a good chance he’ll be home before dark. Plus, he’s American, which means he can ask the embassy to intervene. With his unblemished military record, they’ll have to help. Try not to worry; everything will be okay.”

But there was no way her sister could know that for sure.