Page 21 of The B-Team

“What about the terrorism investigation?” Ms. Patel asked. “With that on the table, you can hold Rachel and her husband for up to fourteen days.” She glanced toward the open door. “How serious are you about that aspect of the investigation?”

“The commander isveryserious about all aspects of this investigation. But as he hasn’t instructed me to detain Ms. Ford-Talbot on terrorism charges, she’s free to go. And I’d be quick about it if I were you.” With that, DI Singh gathered her things and left the room.

“So, she does realize her boss has crossed the line into fairyland?” Rachel said as they followed the DI out into the corridor.

“It would be hard to miss,” Patel agreed.

But Rachel had already moved on from DI Singh to much more important matters. “Can I please get my phone back now?”

“Yes.” Ms. Patel sighed. “Tell me, honestly, are you really having contractions?”

“Would I lie about something like that?” Rachel stalked past the lawyer as best she could with a belly her size.

Behind her, she heard Ms. Patel mutter, “In a heartbeat.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

On her way to Julia’s house, Sarah stopped at a bakery and stocked up on sandwiches, pies, cookies, and cake. Then, to make herself feel better about feeding people that many refined carbs, she called into a fruit shop and loaded up there too. It wasn’t perfect, but considering it was almost lunchtime, she figured Ryan would have already eaten his way through the Barone fridge—and probably most of their pantry too. So, arriving with supplies was the least she could do.

After parking outside the house, she texted her husband, and he came out to help her unload, along with a guy he introduced as Beast. Sarah had heard about the famous Belinda and her husband, but as they were always traveling and working, this was the first time she’d met him. He was sort of scary, all muscle and tattoos, but his eyes were kind.

Ryan appeared overjoyed to see her, and she suspected it wasn’t only because she’d come bearing food. “I wondered what was taking you so long,” he said as he unpacked platters of sandwiches from the boot of her car. “Now I see your genius was being practical again.” He gave her a sweet kiss on the lips. “I was about to call out for pizza.”

“Yeah.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s been a whole three hours since your second breakfast, so I figured you’d be starving by now.”

It was one of life’s eternal mysteries that Ryan could eat continually and still have washboard abs, whereas she just had to think about cake and she’d gain two pounds.

Leaving the men to unpack, she made her way to Julia’s bedroom. Sarah was familiar with the layout of their house, having become close friends with Julia over the past few months. She often popped in to see how she was doing on bed rest and keep her company. Of all the women connected with Benson Security, Julia was the one she understood the most. Neither of them was in their natural habitat, surrounded by action men and women.

“Sarah.” Julia beamed at her as she entered the busy room. There was a touch of relief in her expression. “I’m so glad you came. I really need the help.”

“Hey!” Isobel said. “What am I? Chopped liver?”

“Yeah.” Claire sounded affronted too. “We’ve been helping. Loads.”

Isobel and Claire did a complicated fist-bump thing before glaring at Sarah—presumably because glaring at a woman on bed rest wouldn’t look good for either of them.

Thankfully, Sarah didn’t have to respond because one of the most recognizable women in the world suddenly hugged her. “I’m so glad to meet you. Julia talks about you all the time. I’m Belinda, her sister.”

Like an introduction was necessary. “She talks about you too,” Sarah said, trying not to blush. It wasn’t every day you met a famous movie star. “I loved your last movie. You’re so talented. I can only imagine how much work you put into your craft. I read somewhere that only two percent of actors make a living from it, and you’ve made it right to the top in your field. You don’t getthere without hard work and dedication.” Yep, she was babbling. Her cheeks heated anyway.

To her surprise, Belinda hugged her again. “Thank you. You are too kind.”

Sarah unwound her long, multicolored scarf and placed it on the dressing table. Her dark green coat followed as she scanned the whiteboards set up at the bottom of the bed. There was a photo of the police commander causing all the issues and neat lists of notes around him detailing his career, contacts, and history. It didn’t look good because Sarah couldn’t see anything on the board that would make his superiors worry about his behavior.

“No skeletons in the commander’s closet?” Sarah asked as she perched on the end of the bed.

“None that we can find,” Julia said.

“Am I reading this right?” Sarah pointed at a name on the board. “This guy’s uncle is the minister of state for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention?”

“We just found that out,” Isobel said. “According to Julia, that means he overseesallUK police. Talk about family in high places. The little weasel is a nepo baby.” She scowled at the photo on the board. “Anybody mind if I stick pins in his eyes?”

“Knock yourself out,” Claire said.

While Isobel went all voodoo witch on the image of Commander Fitzwater, Sarah turned to Julia. She looked like she was waning. Her honey-blonde hair was tied in a ponytail, and she wore pale pink pajamas. There were dark circles under her eyes and tight little worry lines at the corners of her mouth.

“How about I get you one of those fruit-flavored vitamin drinks, and we go over everything?” Sarah stood, but Belinda stopped her by holding up her hand.