Page 61 of Deacon

Baz rattled off the numbers, and I scrawled them onto a yellow sticky note pad.

‘Hang tight,’ I told them. ‘I’m going to pull a few massive favors. I’ll call you back as soon as I have a plan.’

I hung up and turned around to find Raff standing by the dining table.

‘Is Mom OK?’ he asked, his voice small, concern clouding his eyes.

Ana and I always swore we’d tell the kid the truth, always.

I knelt, gripping his shoulders.

‘Your mother hurt her leg in Ethiopia. She needs an evacuation to fly her to a good hospital.’

Raff stared at me, his jaw tightening just like mine did under pressure.

‘Why don’t you go rescue her? You’re SAS-trained. You can do it.’

The words jolted through me.

My son was right.

I wasn’t going to sit pretty in a luxury Spanish villa while my woman needed me.

‘You’re a genius, you know that?’ I told him.

He grinned, and I sank into a dining chair, holding him close as I started a group chat on my phone and looped in Jude, Angel, and Levi.

The guys joined the call soon.

‘Talk to us, Deke,’ Jude drawled. ‘How’s the weather in Spain? Does it rain mainly on the -?’

‘No time for jest, brother; we’ve got a crisis,’ I interrupted. ‘I’m bringing you all in for your collective advice, and Raff is joining in because he’s my wise Obi-Wan Kenobi.’

I laid out the situation as fast as possible.

‘Ana is trapped in Kibish due to the volcanic explosion and ash cloud over Ethiopia. Grounded transport is impossible. Airspace is restricted. I have to exfil her out to Nairobi.’

‘Say less,’ Angel said. ‘We’re with you.’

‘Let’s get Mason on the line right now,’ Levi muttered. ‘He can pull strings with the label execs.’

I added our manager, Mason, to the call, and he picked up on the third ring.

I went straight into it.

‘Mason, Ana’s injured in Ethiopia, and there’s a volcanic eruption that’s restricting access to get her to the hospital. I need your help, please, in roping in the directors at Knight Inc. If they can please OK a private jet prepped for East Africa within the couple of hours, that’ll be ace. Out of Málaga, please, and possibly into Nairobi. I’ll also have to find the best rescue team possible.’

‘Consider it done,’ Mason replied without hesitation. ‘I’ll handle the big boys and wrangle clearance for an emergency medical flight permit. I’ve friends in the US and Australian embassies in Nairobi. A couple of VIP tickets to your next tour ought to grease the way.’

‘Listen,’ Levi said. ‘You’ll need eyes on the ground, clinical expertise, and a kickass pilot led by someone you can trust.’

I grunted in approval.

‘Have anyone in mind?’

‘Luka King,’ Levi murmured. ‘One of the King-Knight brothers.’

The King & Knight empire was a conglomerate of companies owned by the King clan, who ran the umbrella company that included Knight Music, our label.