by Lucy Rains
Alex shoved a forkful of cake into his mouth and chewed for several seconds before answering. “I eat cake because it is somebody’s birthday somewhere.”
“How can you even have an appetite right now?” I asked, “Doesn’t stress affect you?”
Alex moved his head side to side, “Mm...sure. Just not my stomach.”
Gavin and Pierce walked up to our sitting area as I was about to ask where they were. Kyson picked me up and set me in his lap so that the other guys had room to sit.
“I’m pretty sure this is against the rules,” I said. I settled my back against the window and burrowed into Kyson’s body warmth.
“Pretty sure we can get away with it,” Kyson responded.
“How?”
He smiled, “We have a Gavin.”
My eyes went to Gavin, his face hard, his eyes cold. His eyes were locked with Pierce and they shared a secret conversation I was not apart of. Pierce’s jaw clenched and his eyes became as cold as Gavin’s. Whatever they were mentally discussing, it was riling both of them up into an anxious tizzy.
“What is it?” I asked, my eyes going between them.
They held eye contact with each other, not acknowledging my question.
After several seconds of silence even Alex was tired of being left out, “You ladies finished?”
Pierce’s upper lip curled up and he released a low hiss through clenched teeth.
“It has to be considered,” Gavin said in response.
“I’m going to lose my temper in a second,” I said. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Gavin has some reservations with what we’re about to do,” Pierce said, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms.
I raised an eyebrow, “I’m not staying behind.”
“It’s not that,” Gavin cut me off, pushing a rolled up straw wrapper around the table.
“What’s your problem then?” Alex asked in annoyance.
Gavin’s eyes raised to mine, and he sighed. “What if it’s a lie? What if,” he paused, “this is all a set up?”
A humourless laugh escaped my mouth. “It’s not,” I said automatically.
“How the hell would you know that?” He challenged me.
No. I didn’t want to even consider it. This was my one shred of hope to feel alive again. A shiver of fear ran down my spine at the idea that this would end badly. Were we running into danger?
“We are acting purely on this ‘Nara’s’ and Matteo’s direction,” he continued.
“Charles,” I said quickly. “Charles wouldn’t betray me.”
“He’s lied to you before,” Pierce reminded me.
My eyebrows came down, “And then he saved us! Shot my mother before she could kill Kyson!”
“To get us to this point?” Gavin asked, but only to make me consider the possibility of something else. He broke eye contact with me to look at the other guys. “Think about it, we are going into this situation with Jade at her weakest.”
“What would Nara and Matteo have to gain, though?” Pierce asked.
Gavin shook his head, “We don’t know everything about ourselves. About the world we came from, about the energy that runs through Jade’s body.”
I groaned in frustration and wiped a hand over my forehead.
“Jade is powerful,” he whispered. “The Empress.”
“Stop,” I said. “What reason do you have for not trusting Nara or Matteo?”
Gavin leaned back, “I’ve never had a reason to trust them in the first place.”
“The only thing I trust about people is their dogs,” Alex said.
“Shut up, Alex!” I turned back to Gavin. “Why are you just now saying this? Why bring this up when we’re in the middle of Russia on a moving train?”
“Because I didn’t have a chance to before.”
“Bull shit!” I barked. “You could have brought this up yesterday before we left!”
“We have nothing else,” Kyson spoke up. “We have nothing else to do for Jade, this was our only option. Our only hope.”
“It’s not too late,” Gavin said. “We don’t have to go through with it.”
My mind flashed through the pictures of Roman, the man we were risking our lives to get to. I needed him. He needed us. “We have to,” I whispered.
“I agree,” Kyson said.
Pierce nodded, “We have to see if it will help Jade before we abandon the mission. Matteo has been right about things so far. Jade can’t go on much longer like this. We need to try to bring Roman into our group for her sake.’
“What if we’re being led into a trap?” Gavin asked.
I shook my head wordlessly, not wanting to even consider the possibility.
“Then we kill them.” Alex spoke in a low tone. “We kill them all.”
Chapter 30
Kyson held onto one of my arms as I stepped down the stairs and onto the brick platform that looked like it was created in World War II. The surface that had once been flat, was now full of cracked, fading and chipped maroon bricks. The uneven surface forced me to walk even slower than I already was. I shivered and instantly retreated into Kyson’s side. The air in our new location was much thinner, and much cooler than Paris.
Pierce and Gavin walked in front of us, carrying my bag for me as we slowly walked through the remote train station.
“Where’s the guy we’re looking for?” I asked.
Gavin and Pierce stopped walking suddenly, their backs straightened as if they were called to attention. I peered around them cautiously, to see what had put them in a cautious state. When I saw the person standing before them, my own muscles locked up in preparation to fight or flight.
The man whom I assumed was Harold, stood in the front of the train station holding a sign with name ‘Matteo’ scribbled crudely in black ink. He was tall, slim, well over 6 feet, completely bald with tattoos running up his neck from under his black sweatshirt and also along his wrists. The scars lining his cheek were enough to make me think twice about talking to him. A cigarette dangled lazily on one side of his mouth.
We studied him while he talked to a man several inches shorter than him. An elderly man in a black trench coat, holding a small duffle bag.
Charles.
I eyed him, wanting to get him alone and interrogate him. Could we trust him?
“Do we just walk up to him?” Kyson asked.
“You go first,” Alex whispered.
Harold let out a jovial laugh and Charles took a step back. Pierce took this as his cue to approach Harold.
“Welcome,” Harold said, offering a head nod towards Pierce. His friendly smile that he had shown Charles disappeared. “Follow me.” He turned and began walking away from us with the expectation that we would follow.
Alex and Pierce exchanged glances while Gavin moved along without hesitation.
We followed him to his well used gray SUV and piled inside. Charles was given the front seat without question. Harold and Charles exchanged a few words here and there, obviously on familiar terms with each other.
“Where are we going?” Pierce asked, leaning forward to make sure he was heard.
“To weapons,” Harold answered gruffly.
******************
The landscape of Russia was far more rural than any place I had ever been. Buildings were far and few in between. Land stretched all around as far as the eye could see. To the east were mountainous peaks that were covered in white snow. I stared at those mountains, my eyes tracing every ridge I could see.
“Is he in there?” I asked breathlessly. I turned to face the front, “Roman? Is he in those mountains?”
“Da, miss, he is. Stuck in the Chersky mountain range, in a place where only plane or helicopter can get to.”
So there would be no possibility of Roman surviving should he try to escape.
I leaned over Gavin’s lap to get closer to the window, ignoring the nervous tension running through the vehicle. The guys were realizing how close we
were to acting and some held apprehension.
“When do we go?” I asked.
“Tomorrow morning,” Harold answered with a roll to his r’s. “We leave at 9am. Tonight, I show you more pictures to help you prepare.”
A hand slipped around my waist and pulled me into the chest that l had leaned across to look out the window. Gavin held me tightly, my shoulder pressing into his chest that warmed my body with its vibrations. His fear rose higher with each second we drove, taking us further into our mission.
The drive to wherever the weapons were kept wasn’t far, but far enough that I dozed on Gavin’s shoulder. My shivering was a constant reflex I couldn’t control. The idea of eating was becoming revolting. My body was deteriorating even more than I had anticipated.
Kyson helped me out of the car when we arrived at an old abandoned two-story building that looked like it would fall over with a strong breeze. I felt how the building looked. Frail, beaten, decaying. I wanted to put on a strong face and pretend that I was strong enough to walk on my own, but that wasn’t even an option. Kyson seemed to sense this and kept his arm around my waist at all times.
All of us, including Charles, followed Harold in through the rickety front door that held a series of padlocks, all of which Harold had a key for.
“Is this your house?” I asked.
“Nyet,” he stepped over the threshold. “I would never keep product where I sleep. Do not mix business with personal. Bad idea.”
The inside of the building was surprisingly clean and well maintained. There was little to no furniture within, but it was in better condition than the exterior. Rather than heading upstairs, we went down a dark flight of stairs to a drafty basement that sent me into a whole new level of shivering. My teeth chattered, my shoulders shook. My fingers were beginning to lose feeling and I tucked them into my flannel sleeves.
Charles stepped in front of me, worry pulling at the aging lines around his eyes. I felt his concern, his fear. He set his bag down and pulled off his trench coat. I didn’t have the strength, nor the desire to protest as he draped it over my shoulders and I pulled it tightly.
Meanwhile, Harold was pulling large blankets and tarps off of the unfinished basement wall to expose brown leather chests that were locked by padlocks as big as my fist. He pulled out a set of keys and began walking down the line of cases to click open each lock, lifting the lids to show what was inside.
The amount of knives he carried was extraordinary. They gleamed in the low lit room, their tips pointed, their edges paper thin. I stepped forward as the guys began examining the other cases of weapons, and lightly traced a finger along a black leather handle. It’s blade was a mixture of black and silver with a serrated, stainless steel edge. It was intimidating just to look at.
“You do not want that one, Miss Jade.”
I turned to see Charles standing behind me with a humoured smile on his face. “W-why?” I stuttered through my shivers.
He stepped forward and looked down, “A long bladed bowie knife is not the best thing for you to maneuver around with.” He paused to scan over the knives in the large chest, humming as he did so.
With all of the guys occupied in gathering their guns of choice, I had a quiet moment with Charles.
“Charles?”
“Yes?” He glanced up at me.
“Do you trust Matteo?”
His face went blank for a moment, “Of course, Miss Jade. I have trusted him with my life many times.” I felt his firm assurance in the words he spoke, but laced with a hint of surprise. “Why do you ask?”
I shifted my feet, fingered the edges of the trench coat. My eyes glanced to Gavin for a quick second. “We just want to make sure we can trust everyone. We want to make sure this mission isn’t… a way to hurt us.”
Charles scoffed, “I would never allow for such deception Miss Jade. Both Nara and Matteo have done everything in their power to ensure your safety for the last several years.” Charles tipped his head towards Harold, “He is being paid very well to accommodate us. Matteo ordered him to have the most modern weaponry available for the guys to use on this mission.”
“And what about you?” I asked.
Charles looked down again into the chest full of knives. “What about me?”
“Are you being paid very well for accompanying us?”
Charles pulled out a smaller, darker blade and held it in front of his face. “I refuse to be paid for this job. Protecting you has been my life’s mission for many years, I was paid well enough for that, that I plan to retire after this operation.” He held the knife out in front of me, “This is a good one.”
“What is it?” I asked, taking the knife from his hand.
“An MTech fixed blade. The grip is designed for any weather condition and there is a mixture of carbon with the stainless steel which will help retain the blade’s edge.”
I gripped the handle, loving how it shaped to my fingers. It trembled slightly with my weak grip. As I was studying the blade, Charles pulled out the sheath it came with. I tucked the knife inside the nylon pocket and snapped it closed.
“Can we put full body armour on Jade?” Alex asked loudly, holding up a bulletproof vest.
“It will only weigh me down, which will end up slowing down my movements,” I pointed out.
“Well, if we keep Kyson in the back to carry you, that shouldn’t matter.”
My throat swelled as I swallowed.
Carry me. Through gunfire.
“I want as much protective gear on Charles as possible,” I said through barely restrained emotion. I lifted my chin in his direction, “He doesn’t heal like we do, he can’t risk even one bullet.”
Harold slapped Charles on the back and turned him around to face a chest that held vests, helmets, and other body gear.
Gavin stepped over and eyed my knife. “Where do you want to carry it?” He asked.
I looked down at myself. I wanted it hidden, out of eyesight. By my ankle was too low. I slowly opened my trench coat and glanced down at my waist. “Under my waistband.”
He nodded, producing a black elastic strap to wrap around my waist. He knelt down to secure the knife under the waistband of my leggings.
“I’m placing it on your right side,” he explained, looking up at me, “so that you can reach it when you need to act fast.”
I nodded.
“Also,” he looked back to the knife, angling the hilt towards my belly button. “I’m situating it so that it will be easier to grab. Don’t place it straight up and down, okay?”
His warm fingers brushed against the skin along my stomach and a warm flicker of pleasure rushed through me. Those hands that had touched me, explored me. My mind began wandering quickly out of control and the expression on Gavin’s face turned from serious to simmering.
He stood up, his eyes moving over my face. His hand stayed on my skin as his fingers slid down under the back waistband of my jeans. The chattering in the room quieted and I felt eyes from all of my victri on me. Their arousal so easily provoked simply through feeling my own.
I leaned up and kissed Gavin quickly, his face following after me as I broke the kiss. Knowing it was not the right time, he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. His hand disappeared from my skin and he took a step back.
Pierce walked up and held up a small 9mm gun tucked into a holster. “I believe you wanted one of these.”
I nodded enthusiastically, expecting someone to protest at me carrying a firearm, but everyone stayed quiet.
“We will strap it on you tomorrow, okay?”
A beeping noise sounded behind me and a small circular object flew over my head. Pierce grabbed it out of the air and studied it.
“GPS tracker,” Harold explained. “We will use precise coordinates for drop off and pick up.” He handed Charles a black rectangular box. “And a radio.”
As Harold showed Pierce how to use both devices, Kyson swooped me up and began carrying me upstairs.
“
Did you get enough guns?” I asked, leaning into his chest. I pressed my palm against his warm humming sensation and enjoyed the calm it brought to me.
He frowned, his mood much darker than normal. “Never enough guns in this situation.”
*********************
After an evening of going over maps, and strategies mixed with hot soup and rolls, the five of us were crammed into a room and spread out on sleeping bags and wool bedding. No one joked, no one made small talk, no one said what was on their minds.
It took a great amount of firm persuasion but Charles was sleeping downstairs on the couch. Harold didn’t have a guest bed, much less a guest bedroom, and Charles had been insistent that I take the couch. I told him I was tired enough I could sleep anywhere.
The tension was at an all new high and my head ached with every emotion. I sat cross legged on my bed, the four guys making a square around my sleeping position so that I was boxed in with their bodies, trying to provide as much of a heat source for me as possible.
Moving around was getting harder so one of the guys always had an arm around me when I walked. The cold that bit into my skin had moved deeper under my muscles and into my bones. I avoided mirrors to see the dark circles that had formed under my eyes.
I needed Roman.
Needed his presence in my life. Not just to help me become well again, but because I couldn’t imagine not having one of my guys with me. I knew they were apart of me. Apart of my body and soul.
Picking at a fiber on the hem of the gray blanket, I cleared my throat and gathered up enough confidence to ask the question that had followed me since learning about Roman. I knew there would be many hardships with bringing in another guy to our group, but one stood out above all the rest.
“I know that bringing Roman into our group is going to be...difficult...You will all be kind to him, right?” I tilted my head up to peer around me, studying the guys expressions and emotions. There was a blend of apprehension and distaste. “I know it’s a lot to ask,” I said softly. “But I couldn’t bare to see you fighting amongst each other.”