by Zoe Allison
A few seconds later, silence fell. Moonlight shone on the fir-lined clearing, devoid of any presence except a mound of ash sitting beside a cracked tree trunk.
* * * *
Amber leaned against the doorframe of Victoria’s bedroom, watching her partner pack her suitcase.
Victoria gestured toward her. “Pass me that wash bag, will you?”
Amber tossed it over, and Victoria caught it deftly in one hand before depositing it on top of the clothes in the suitcase.
Amber lifted her hands and started scraping her jet-black hair into a ponytail. “Got everything?”
Victoria stood back, surveying the room with her hands on her hips. “Yeah, I reckon so.” She glanced toward Amber. “Going on your run?”
Amber nodded before grabbing the doorframe with one hand to steady herself while she lifted her leg in a quads stretch. “I’m going to try to beat my personal best for twenty-six miles.”
Victoria zipped her bag. “Aiming for two hours then?”
Amber lifted her other leg. “Yep.”
Victoria smiled. “A snail’s pace.”
Amber laughed. “Yeah… Well, it’s fast for a human.”
Victoria went to the bedroom window and took in the view over the parks and the river from their elevated vantage point at the edge of downtown. “See ya, Calgary. It’s been a blast.”
She turned back toward Amber. “So, I’ll be gone when you get back.”
Amber nodded. “Where to now? Back to Australia?”
“Nope.” Victoria shook her head. “South America. What about you? Heard anything yet?”
“No,” Amber said. “I think they’ll call later today after I’ve finished my training. I’m going to the gym this afternoon then I’ve got a combat class, so I guess it’ll be evening before I hear.”
“Cool,” Victoria said. “Hope it’s somewhere awesome.”
Amber smiled at her. “Okay. Well… Have a safe trip.” She came toward Victoria and held out her hand.
Victoria took her hand in a shake. “Great working with you. Hopefully we’ll be paired again sometime.”
Amber let go of Victoria and turned to go. “Yeah, maybe. We’ll see what the boss says.” She gave a little wave as she left the room, heading for the front door where she would ride the elevator down to the apartment-block exit.
The cold air bit into her skin as she left the building, but she barely registered it. A brisk walk took her to the beginning of the periphery of green around downtown, and there she broke out into her run.
She moved her limbs effortlessly throughout her journey. The air temperature started to rise as the sun shone brightly in the sky. Beams of sunlight glinted off the surface of the river and reflected from the high rises, warming her skin.
Amber completed her two-hour run then dropped her pace slightly to jog back home for a shower. She barely registered the lack of Victoria’s presence in the apartment. Their bond had been professional and efficient. Each would have given their life for the other, but yet there wasn’t any real emotional attachment between them. They had been trained to not get involved in that way or else a mission could be compromised. In any case, personal ties didn’t suit Amber.
After the run, her schedule consisted of a meditation period and an organic lunch. She then went to a martial arts session in the afternoon. She had a training room rented at the local gym, where she practiced set moves for two hours, covering a mixture of karate katas, kickboxing, tai chi and also some gymnastics for good measure. Then she attended a combat class so that she could keep on top of her sparring. She pretty much had to hold back the whole time, so as not to draw attention to herself or land anyone in the hospital. Currently she was on downtime, so she didn’t need anything more challenging than that. The schedule’s purpose was purely to keep her active until she got the next call.
Once back at the apartment, just as Amber was finishing her evening yoga routine, her phone rang. She knew it would be her new partner, because everyone would know not to call until her training schedule was finished for the day.
She picked up the phone, feeling some anticipation at who it might be. “Hello?”
A familiar male voice answered, one she had not heard in a long time—and the only voice which could elicit an emotional response of any kind in Amber.
“Good evening, Amber Ridley.” His voice was flawlessly neutral, giving little clue as to his origins. “You are speaking with your new partner.”
Amber registered the unfamiliar sensation of her heart warming. Normally she maintained a very neutral and cool interior, as well as exterior. It wasn’t a romantic sort of warming, however, but the sort that came when speaking to a sibling after a long time apart, because Valentino was like a brother to her.
“It’s good to hear your voice,” she said. “How are you?”
“Oh, you know me, sorella. I am always good.”
Amber smiled at the sound of his pet name for her. It meant ‘sister’ in Italian and he had called her that for as long as she could remember. “So, where am I coming to meet you?” she asked.
“You will leave first thing in the morning for the UK.”
“The UK? I haven’t been back there since—”
“Since I found you. I know,” Vale replied. “But it is not London. It is Scotland this time. I do not think you have been there before.”
“No, I haven’t,” Amber said. “Whereabouts?”
“The mission itself is in Edinburgh, but we shall reside out of the city, in a more uninhabited area. Mr. X wishes us to stay incognito when we are not directly engaged in tracking or combat.”
“Okay. I’ll meet you at the airport when I land.”
“It has been too long, sorella, I am looking forward to us being together again. I will give you more details once we are in Edinburgh.”
After the call ended, Amber immediately packed her belongings, and it didn’t take long. When one led a frugal life with no intimate or emotional contacts, possessions didn’t really accumulate.
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About the Author
Zoe lives in Edinburgh, Scotland with her husband and two children. A medic by day, she started writing in her spare time as a means to counter burn out and found that this was a balm for the soul.
She is a fan of the romantic genre and it’s ‘happily ever after’ ethos. A sharp contrast to what she can, at times, see in her day job. Zoe is keen for the female lead in romantic fiction to disabuse stereotypes and walk on an equal footing with her male counterparts. She prefers male leads who do not display signs of toxic masculinity and believes and that positive masculinity is much more attractive to women and healthier for men.
Zoe loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website details and author profile page at https://www.totallybound.com