Page 118 of What Doesn't Kill You…

But he was right. Max faced each of the team in turn. "I don't have the words to express how grateful I am. Thank you."

Rochelle smiled. "You can thank us by talking up Benson Security in all those articles you're going to write."

"Absolutely." He nodded fervently.

"Now, to the matter of Violet's stalker," Rodrigo said.

"Stalker?" Samuel was out of his chair like a shot. He rounded on Violet. "You have a stalker, and you didn't tell us?"

"Violet," Rosey said, hand over her heart. "You're breaking us with your secrecy. First you don't invite us to your wedding, then you don't tell us you have a dangerous stalker."

Violet huffed out a breath. "First of all, the wedding was fake, which was why you weren't invited. Secondly, the stalker turned out to be a soldier who'd lost his way. His name was Alan Thomas, and he saved my life."

There was no doubting the former soldier had problems, and he'd done things that were wrong, but in the end, he'd given his life to protect Violet. And Max would always be grateful to him for the sacrifice.

"We need to make sure he gets a decent burial," he said to her team.

"I've already taken care of it," Rochelle said. "Lake has a friend who'll fly him home to Scotland. He'll ensure he's given a hero's burial, for his service on behalf of his country, and for saving Violet's life."

"The rest doesn't matter," Violet said, careful not to mention the men Alan had killed or the damage he’d done to her police career. There was no need for her family to know that part of his story. "Not now."

"No," Max agreed. "It doesn't matter now."

Rochelle took a deep breath. "We have one more problem to discuss."

“Oh, come on,” Harris said. “Haven’t we dealt with enough?”

That made everyone chuckle.

Except Rochelle. “I’m sorry, guys, but this is serious. Our visas were up for renewal when we left Houston, and the government has decided they don't want to reissue them."

There were shocked gasps.

She spread her hands wide. "The upshot is, when we left the country, our visas were revoked. We can't get back into America."

There was a flurry of outrage, as everyone spoke at once. Max was very aware that Violet hadn’t said a word. She hadn’t even flinched when Rochelle broke the news. It seemed she’d already been aware of the situation.

Rochelle carried on. "I’d hoped this job would convince the authorities that we're good at our job and an asset to Houston. But they cancelled the visas before Max could write his story."

"Can we appeal?" Abasi asked.

Rochelle shook her head. "I was going to tap into my contacts in the government, but unfortunately this morning’s news means that's no longer an option."

"Because we took down a senator," Rodrigo said knowingly. "While this mess is sorted out, nobody is going to stick their neck out for us."

"No," Rochelle said. "We've stumbled into a political nightmare."

"So, what now?" Harris asked. "We can’t go back to our old lives. The only reason my brothers and I aren’t in jail is because we made a deal with the authorities to work for Lake in the US office. If we return to Scotland before our agreed term is up, we go straight to prison."

"I can't go back to London," Abasi said calmly. "Half the city want me dead."

"Couldn't you come to Canada?" Max asked Violet, before turning to include her team. "Canada's part of the Commonwealth. Wouldn't that make it easier for you to get visas to work there? I have contacts who can help push them through, if needed, and I can help you guys get set up in Toronto."

Harris pointed at him. "I like his idea. Let's go with that. Canada sounds way better than jail."

Max glanced at Violet to see what she thought, but her dark eyes were unreadable. Once again, he felt the same nerves that’d assaulted him during their wedding ceremony. Would Violet choose to go with him? Or would she go her own way?

He honestly didn’t know.