“There is nothing on earth as precious as a mother’s love for her child.” Raketa read her grandmother’s words. “It is boundless and limitless.”
When she read her mother’s response, she saw that not only had she agreed, but she had gone on and on about how she’d never realized such love existed.
Raketa set the letter aside, rested her head on her folded arms, and let herself cry.
Makar Petrov had not only taken her mother from her, he’d taken love that she didn’t remember having away from her too.
She felt Gunner’s hand on her back and was grateful he’d come to her without her having to ask. She heard him pull a chair closer to her, and went willingly when he picked her up and held her on his lap.
“Thank you,” she murmured and felt him nod.
* * *
He held her that way long after the sun had gone down. He stroked her back, kissed her forehead softly, and kept his arms around her.
There was no way for her to describe the way she was feeling, and she was glad he hadn’t asked. The closest she could get was to liken it to someone waking up from amnesia and seeing proof of the life they were just beginning to recall.
She knew from the brief Monk had shared with her that Petrov had ghosted and had taken her mother, along with everyone else that had been at the compound, with him.
There was no reason for her to believe Petrov would kill her mother now after keeping her alive for so many years. She also didn’t doubt he’d get word to her before she, Gunner, or anyone else from K19, MI6, or the CIA found him. He knew that he held the ultimate weapon to get Raketa to do his bidding, and he was right. She’d kill anyone who got in the way of her mother being safe, or she’d die trying.
“He wants his daughters,” she murmured. “That’s what he told me he wanted in exchange for my life.”
“You’re his daughter too,” Gunner whispered.
“Am I?” Raketa wasn’t so certain after seeing the photographs. In the few he was in, he seemed to intentionally stand apart from her and her mother. There wasn’t a single photo of him holding her. She hadn’t read through all of the letters, but she hoped they would provide some clue as to whether her suspicions were correct.
“If you want to know for sure, the answer is readily available, sweetheart.”
“I know.” A simple DNA comparison, which had likely already been performed, would confirm whether Petrov was her biological father or not. “Do you know?”
Gunner shook his head.
“Thank you.”
Gunner pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed his thumb against the button to unlock it. “Here. Call Shiv.”
Raketa didn’t take the phone from him.
“Do you want me to do it?”
She rested her head against his chest and nodded.
“Before I do, I want to tell you about Doc and Quinn.”
She remembered that the man he referred to as Doc, Kade Butler, and his daughter, Quinn, hadn’t known whether he was her father. Ultimately, they found out he was, but the circumstances were so different than Raketa’s. Granted, if Kade hadn’t been confirmed as Quinn’s father, it would’ve meant that her mother’s rapist was.
For Raketa, the proof would simply tell her that she was the spawn of a man she considered the devil, or of a man who’d abandoned her mother once he knew she was pregnant. What good would knowing do her?
“I already know about them,” she told him when she realized he was waiting for her to say something.
“It’s your decision.”
Raketa took the phone from his hand and set it on the table. “It doesn’t matter.”
She looked back at the box longingly, wanting to know more about the life she could hardly remember.
Gunner must’ve sensed what she was feeling, and shifted her off of his lap.
“I’ll give you your privacy back,” he said, turning to leave the kitchen.
Raketa rested her hand on his arm. “I’d like it if you stayed.”
He nodded, and she could swear she caught a glimpse of a grin.
—:—
Gunner watched as the expressions on her face morphed from happiness to sadness and back again. A feeling he could only describe as pride settled in his chest. Shiv had found the box, but he had brought it to her. It was the greatest gift he’d ever given anyone.
When she put the last of the letters back in its envelope, she turned to him.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“You were right to tell me not to say I hated you again until after I saw all of this.”
“I’m generous that way. I didn’t want you to feel guilty.”
—:—
She smiled. The man sitting beside her was everything she’d dreamed he’d be. Gunner Godet was honorable. He didn’t betray her trust; he’d honestly believed he was keeping her safe. What they had to discuss was how the next step would play out. Would he insist she stay on the island while he and his team tried to find Petrov, or would he willingly let her participate in the search? She’d only accept the latter no matter what he wanted.
“Doc and Eighty-eight met with Shiv. As soon as they have any kind of lead, we’ll join them.”
“We’ll join them?”
“Yes, Rocket Girl. Both of us.”
“Why the change of heart?”
“Let’s just say it was Razor’s doing.”
She raised an eyebrow, but didn’t really care what that meant. As long as Gunner intended to let her find her mother, she wouldn’t question why.
“I have information that may assist them.”
“Talk to me, Raketa.”
—:—
“Raketa believes that Petrov may have fled to Iran,” Gunner told Doc.
“Based on what information?”
“Something she heard about a deal as she was being escorted into Petrov’s office.”
“Would he be that sloppy?”
“It was the tail end of a conversation and only one word mattered—Azarpassillo.”
As soon as she’d said it, Gunner understood where she was headed. The Iranian construction company was controlled by the country’s Revolutionary Guard, notorious for greasing the hands of Azerbaijan’s wealthiest and most powerful oligarchs.
He knew from the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, Azerbaijan was among the most corrupt nations in the world. A perfect place for the likes of Petrov to operate. However, if he needed to ghost, the Iranians were the most likely to offer him a place to land.
“What about United Russia?” asked Doc.
“I’m not so certain they want him dead.”
“We’ll work this angle and report back.”
Gunner disconnected the call and looked into Raketa’s hopeful eyes. “I think we’re on the right track,” he told her.
She stood and paced the living room. He could almost see the thoughts as she processed them. Raketa wasn’t just an assassin, she’d been trained as an operative, and he trusted her instincts.
“I need access to a computer.”
Gunner stood, walked over to a locked cabinet, opened it, and handed her a laptop.
“Is it secure?” she asked.
Gunner pulled out a card, inserted it into a slot on the front of the machine, and logged on.
“You’re trusting me?” she asked when he turned the computer toward her.
“You’re trusting me?” he asked in response.
He watched as she made several attempts at hacking into encrypted Azerbaijani sites. In less than a half hour, she was successful. Most of what she was looking at was in Azeri, although some of the documents were written in Iranian and Russian.
“I’ve compiled the information you need to send,” she told him after more than two hours.
The entire time, Gunner had sat doing nothing but watch her. She was equally impressive in her espionage skills, ability to quickly decipher what she was reading and de
termine what was worth passing on, and hotter than shit.
Gunner shouldn’t have been turned on watching a woman sitting in front of a computer, but he was.
“What?” she said, looking at his expression.
“Nothing,” he answered, willing his body to settle the hell down.
“Gunner?”
He’d stand, but if he did, it would be impossible for her not to know what he was thinking. He looked into her imploring eyes.
“Watching you…”
She folded her arms.
He leaned forward and released them, getting right into her face. “Your spy skills make me hot, Rocket Girl.”
Her face went from questioning to smiling as she stood and pulled him up with her. “Let’s get you cooled off.”
“That wasn’t at all what I had in mind.”
“I think you know what I meant.”
That was another thing about her that never failed to make certain parts of his body twitch. Her accent was sexy as hell too, and even though her English was practically flawless, he could tell when he had her flustered by the way her mastery of the language’s nuances slipped.
He couldn’t fault her though; it would make him a hypocrite. When she heated his blood, he could barely speak his native language.
“Where are we going?” he asked when she led him out the front door.
“To the waterfall.”
“Hang on,” he said, dropping her hand and heading into the bedroom. No way would he forget the condoms this time.
14
Gunner loved the feel of Raketa’s naked body asleep next to his. That he could stroke her skin, kiss her, even penetrate her body whenever he wanted left him perpetually aroused.
When they came back to the house after their escapades under the waterfall, he couldn’t wait to get her back into bed.
“I’m hungry,” she’d pouted, making him relent long enough for them to have dinner. The dirty dishes, however, sat in his kitchen.
“Clean up can wait,” he’d said, pulling her into the bedroom.
When she shifted and turned her back to him, Gunner rolled to his side, nestled his front to her back, and wrapped his arm around her waist.
She muttered something indecipherable and appeared to go back to sleep.
In the morning, he’d talk to her about the conversation he and Razor had had on the flight back to the States.
“I don’t want to be put in the position of having to lie to Ava,” he’d told Gunner. “In fact, I won’t do it.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to,” he’d responded.
“They’re half-sisters.”
Gunner knew what Razor was talking about and could even guess what he’d say next. Only moments later, he was proven right.
“They should meet.”
“It’s up to Raketa.”
Razor knew that Petrov had asked her to bring Ava and her twin, Aine, to him in Azerbaijan.
He couldn’t predict how she would feel about meeting the two women her father considered his daughters when he didn’t seem to feel the same way about her.
“Fair enough,” Razor had conceded after making Gunner promise to at least bring it up. “I won’t say anything to my wife until you’ve talked to Raketa.”
Was it Gunner’s imagination, or had Razor emphasized the word “wife,” as though what she might want was more important than what Raketa wanted?
“What are you thinking about?” she asked.
“I thought you were asleep.”
She laughed. “You’re holding me very tight, Gunner.”
He relaxed his arm. “Sorry.”
“Tell me why.”
“Feeling possessive, I guess.”
Raketa turned to face him. “Why?”
Gunner cupped her cheek with his hand. “Because you matter to me, Rocket Girl.”
“You matter to me too,” she said, bringing her soft lips to his. “Now tell me why your arm turned to iron.”
“Razor and I talked about you on the flight back.”
“That’s hardly news.”
“He wants to arrange a meeting between you, Ava, and Aine.”
“I see,” she said, her eyes hooding.
“I told him it had to be your decision.”
She nodded. “Why does he want this?”
“The main reason is that he doesn’t want to have to lie to her.”
“What do you think?”
“I told you. It’s up to you. It isn’t something I would’ve suggested, but I did promise him that I’d at least bring it up.”
Raketa turned again so her back was to him. “I’ll think about it,” she murmured.
Gunner moved her hair so it draped over her shoulder, and kissed his way across her back.
“I can’t think when you do that.”
“You can think tomorrow,” he said, positioning himself so he could enter her from behind.
“Are you ready for me, Rocket Girl?” he asked before he pushed inside.
She kissed the hand that rested on her arm. “I’m always ready for you, lyubimaya moya.”
As he joined his body with hers, he hoped she meant the words she’d uttered. There was nothing he wanted more than to be her “love.”
—:—
As the man she knew she was destined to be with from the day their eyes first met moved inside her, Raketa was overcome by emotion. She’d called him her love because that’s what he was. He was the only man who ever would be.
Earlier, under the waterfall, their sex had been frantic, impassioned, hard, and fast. Now, he moved slowly, gently cupping her aching breasts with his hands, and scattering kisses wherever his lips could reach.
Each time they were together was better than the time before. He set every inch of her body on fire with his touch, whether hurried or slow, hard or soft, gentle or rough. She never imagined all the ways he could bring her to the brink of pleasure and then catch her as her body spiraled into a feeling she’d never known existed.
In moments like these, Raketa pushed every lingering doubt out of her head and trusted him.
The realization hit her like a lightning bolt. She trusted him. Not just when they were intimate, but always.
“Gunner?” she asked, as he separated his body from hers after they’d both reached the pinnacle of pleasure.
“Mmm hmm,” he hummed between the kisses he continued to rain on her.
“I need you to look at me.”
His eyes opened wide and stared into hers.
“I trust you.”
He covered her mouth with his and kissed her with a passion closer to that of earlier, under the waterfall, than of their last lovemaking.
He stopped suddenly, his gaze so intense that she almost closed her eyes. She held her breath, waiting, wondering what he was struggling to say.
“Gunner?” she said again.
He brought both hands to the side of her face. “I love you, Zaryana. I know you don’t like me to call you that, but I can’t help myself. With me, that’s who you are. You aren’t the Rocket. You’re the woman I love.”
“My mother used to call me Zary,” she whispered.
“Can I call you Zary?”
She nodded.
“I love you, Zary.”
“I love you, Gunner.”
—:—
She was quiet the next morning as she watched him make breakfast. Every so often he’d walk over and kiss her. Each time she’d smile, but soon she’d be lost in thought over something that made her frown. He wondered if it was Razor’s request for her to meet Ava. He wished he could reassure her again that whether she did or not was entirely up to her. If that wasn’t what was on her mind though, he didn’t want to pile another worry on.
He set a plate in front of her that he’d heaped with a vegetable omelet, roasted potatoes, and toast.
“I can’t eat all of this,” she told him, looking apologetic.
He leaned down, kissed her, and smiled. “Whatever yo
u don’t finish, I will.”
After breakfast he’d planned a vigorous workout—one they both needed not just for their bodies, but for their state of mind too.
“Who taught you to cook?” she asked between mouthfuls.
“My mother. She gave up on Odette, so I was her only hope.”
“Your sister doesn’t like to cook?”
“Remind you of anyone?” He winked.
When she stuck her tongue out at him, Gunner laughed out loud.
“I like your laugh,” she murmured.
“I like yours too.”
“I don’t laugh. I mean, I do, now, but not usually.”
Gunner nodded. “I’m the same way.”
“Do you ever wish we could just stay here forever?”
Her question stunned him. “All the time.”
“Me too. I can’t, though. Not until…”
“Does that mean you’ll want to come back?”
He couldn’t read the look in her eyes. Was she waiting for him to tell her she could, or that he wanted her to? “I’d love it if you’d stay here with me forever.”
“After.”
“I understand.”
* * *
Raketa didn’t bring up the conversation they’d had about meeting Ava at all that afternoon, so he didn’t either. When she was ready to talk about it, she would.
In the meantime, he was anxiously waiting for word from either Doc or Shiv. They needed to talk about what their plan of action would be once they did.
“We should get ready to leave the island.”
Raketa looked startled. “Have they found Petrov?”
“Not yet, but we should be ready to go at a moment’s notice. It’ll take time for us to arrange transport to Iran if your theory proves correct.”
“Do you want to leave now?”
“I don’t. I just want to make a plan.”
She bit her lower lip and looked away from him.
“Talk to me, Zary.”
She turned back and smiled at his use of the name. “Has Doc said anything about UR?”
Gunner shook his head. “Listen, you don’t have to go with me. I can have Monk come back, or…”
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