by Lauren Smith
So this was what wealth from smuggling and human trafficking bought? Kenzie swallowed down the bile that rose in her throat.
One of the men shoved her and Elena into the nearest seats, but there was no sign of Royce. She heard sounds of someone being pummeled and the grunts of pain coming from the back of the plane.
“Royce!” Kenzie jerked to her feet, but one of the men slapped her down hard. She saw stars as pain exploded through her face.
“Kenzie!” Elena grabbed her shoulders to steady her.
Kenzie choked back a cry. “I’m okay.”
“Quiet!” the Russian snapped, and both women froze. He left them and walked to the back of the plane, where he opened the door. Kenzie leaned around the edge of the seat, trying to get a look. Royce was being held up by two men, and Vadym was standing in front of him, brass knuckles on his hand as he punched Royce over and over in the ribs and in the stomach, but not his face.
“Royce,” Kenzie whispered to herself.
Royce’s head was held high. He was smiling, but it was a jackal’s smile, one of pain and death. He couldn’t stand a beating like that forever. Kenzie tensed, trying to get out of her seat.
“No!” Elena hissed, dragging her back down. “He won’t be killed. If what you said is true, you’re the one who’s expendable, so you have to keep yourself safe.”
“But—”
“Trust me. I’ve suffered under Vadym for months. He’d kill you without a second thought if you’re more trouble than you’re worth. But if he has a use for Royce, then he’ll hurt him, but he won’t kill him.”
It took every ounce of Kenzie’s self-control not to scream Royce’s name and run to him. She would have fought the devil himself to save him, but Elena was right. She’d only get killed, because she was expendable.
After another two blows, Vadym stepped back and slipped the bloody brass knuckles off his fingers, handing them to one of his men before he left the room. He smiled and wiped a speck of blood off his chin before he approached the women and took a seat across from them.
“It is a long flight. Ten hours to the private airport in Kyakhta. I suggest you find a way to amuse me.” Vadym looked right at Kenzie. She was screwed if she couldn’t find a way to distract him.
“What’s the fossil in Mongolia that you’re trying to transport?”
Vadym’s gaze narrowed. “What do you know of fossils?”
“A lot,” Kenzie said. She could feel Elena in the seat beside her, unmoving, terrified. “You didn’t think I was sleeping with Dr. Devereaux, did you? He’s a professor of paleontology, and I’m his teaching assistant. In five months, I’ll be a professor of paleontology as well.”
Her announcement caught Vadym by surprise. “You? You will be a doctor like him?” He looked back at the room where Royce lay on the floor, two goons hovering over him.
“Yes. I can assist Dr. Devereaux with his inspections of the fossils. There’s more to it than signing a page of authenticity. He’ll need to verify the time period the fossils came from, among other things. I can help him with that.”
Vadym sat back, a smug smile on his face. “You will take Elena’s place after the fossils are sold. I will make good use of you—in many ways.”
Kenzie didn’t rise to the bait. It was obvious that he liked a woman who would fight, and she wouldn’t fight, not yet, not until it was her last option.
Vadym’s phone rang. He rose with a scowl and walked to the other end of the plane to answer, speaking in a low tone. The engines began to whir, and Kenzie kept her gaze focused on the back door.
“You’re paleontologist too?” Elena asked.
“Yeah.”
“That’s good. He’ll keep you alive longer. You’re lucky.” There was a desperation in Elena’s voice that tore Kenzie’s focus away from the back of the plane. She gripped Elena’s hands.
“It’s going to be okay. I promise. We’re going to get through this.”
Elena smiled sadly. “I’m not the first girl he’s had. He’s taken, used, and disposed of dozens after keeping them only a few weeks. I lost hope a long time ago that I would survive this.” Elena laid her head back in her seat and closed her eyes. “You should try to sleep while he’s distracted.”
Kenzie closed her eyes, trying to will herself to sleep. A short time later, she jerked awake as she sensed movement nearby. She saw Royce sliding into the seat across from her, one arm cradled against his chest. He winced.
“Hey, Little Mac,” he groaned before he collapsed into his chair.
She leaned forward a little. “Oh my God, are you okay?”
She looked around the plane and found Vadym at the back with his slender laptop open and the phone still against his ear.
“He just used me as a personal punching bag. But I’ve been through worse.”
“Worse? What could be worse?”
“This isn’t my first rodeo. It’s just my first Russian with brass knuckles.” Royce’s painful chuckle didn’t reassure her.
“You’ve been through this before?” Kenzie was stunned. Royce had never mentioned anything like this.
“I’ve seen and done quite a bit of crazy shit in my day. These aren’t the first fossil smugglers I’ve encountered, either. Usually they sneak up on a dig site and hold you up at gunpoint. Then you tussle a bit and render them harmless and call the authorities.”
“These guys are anything but harmless,” Kenzie muttered.
“You’re right,” Royce agreed more seriously. He reached across the small space between their seats and touched her bound hands. “You okay? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
“No,” she replied.
He reached up to touch her chin and tilted her head to the side to get a better look. “Your face, it’s red.”
“One of those assholes slapped me, but I’m okay. I promise.”
Royce frowned, a cloud of rage building in his eyes.
“We’ll get through this, I promise. And they will pay for hurting you.”
She nodded. Yeah, they would pay. She’d made a promise to herself never to be a victim. That meant getting payback on the jerk who’d hit her.
“Do you think Hans will be able to find us?” she asked.
Royce nodded. “I trust few things in this world, but one of them is that Hans always pulls through. I’m sure he has a plan to find us.”
Kenzie couldn’t ignore the knot in her stomach. Even assuming that Hans could figure out where they were headed, Vadym had a ten-hour head start.
“Come over here and rest. I need to hold you in my arms.” Royce jerked his head to the seat next to him. Kenzie hesitated, not because she didn’t want to feel his arms around her, but because she didn’t want Elena to feel alone. Royce seemed to pick up on that, looking toward Elena, who was fast asleep. “She’ll be fine. I’ll watch over her too.”
Kenzie slipped into the seat beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. He winced as he put his arm around her shoulders, and she settled into him again. She wondered how much pain he was still in.
“Just sleep, Little Mac.” Royce’s lips pressed into the crown of her hair. For a moment, she pretended everything was okay, that they weren’t facing death.
“Where do you think he’ll take us after Kyakhta?” she asked, closing her eyes.
“My guess is we’ll take a train to Ulaanbaatar from there.”
“The Mongolian capital? Not the Gobi Desert or the Flaming Cliffs?” Royce’s natural scent made her feel safe. If they just kept talking and she didn’t open her eyes, she could lie there and pretend it was a dream, a nightmare she would wake up from.
“If he needs me, he’s already had the fossils stashed somewhere. My guess is he’s got some connections at the museum in Ulaanbaatar. He’s probably got the fossils stored there, and for the right price he can have them conveniently go ‘missing.’ Most Mongolians want to preserve and protect their fossils and keep them in the rightful country, but there are always people who can
be bought.”
“But why fossils? There has to be easier ways to make money. Illegally, I mean.”
“Fossils play to his pride. If he steals them from another country and some museum in the West buys them, not knowing they are helping his illegal operations, he enjoys knowing that sense of power and control it gives him. Men like him want nothing less than to be untouchable, and the deeper you work yourself into the legitimate world, the harder it is to weed you out. Take him down, and you risk ruining innocent lives with him. Even if he’s exposed, it would be hard to find anyone willing to prosecute him. Human trafficking is another matter, though. That’s his weak spot.”
Kenzie yawned and burrowed deeper into his chest. She was relaxing, at least enough to sleep, but she didn’t want to hear about human trafficking.
“Tell me about the Flaming Cliffs,” she begged.
He chuckled, and she could feel his cheek pressing down on her head as she rested. “Sure, babe.” He covered her hands with one of his as he began to speak in a low and hypnotic voice.
“Bayanzag means ‘rich in shrubs,’ but its nickname is the Flaming Cliffs, which Roy Chapman Andrews came up with during his expedition in 1922. Picture the land around the cliffs as a classic desert of rocks, red sand, scrub,” Royce said in a reverent whisper. “You don’t know what it’s like. The emptiness is the most beautiful and peaceful thing you’ve ever seen. Every worry, every fear, every thought that clouds your mind just vanishes out there. There’s only beautiful open emptiness.”
Kenzie could picture it, almost like she was there. The quiet winds whistling on the sand, the open cloudless skies. It could drown her in its endless blue depths.
“If—when we get through this, I’ll take you there. I’ll show you how beautiful it is.”
“I would like that.” She sighed, and sleep soon welcomed her, her heart filled with hope. He sees a future with me. A future she wanted but had been so afraid to even dream about. Now she knew how much he really mattered to her. Seeing him get hurt and fearing for both their lives had made everything startlingly clear to her.
I want Royce—I want more than what we had. I want a future with him.
It wouldn’t be easy, but where there was a will, there was a way. And she wasn’t going to let fear take her, not anymore. And that meant she wasn’t going to let Vadym have his way with them. Kenzie opened her palm so she could cradle Royce’s hand between hers, and she gave him a squeeze.
“Hang in there, kid,” he said.
“I will if you will.”
16
Royce was watching out the window as the private jet landed on the airstrip outside of Kyakhta. Kenzie and Elena were still close to him. For some reason Vadym had left them alone after he’d given Royce one hell of a beating. Perhaps it was some kind of mind game, allowing him to sit and think about what he had to lose if he didn’t cooperate.
But now that the plane had landed, Vadym would want his fossils. It went against everything Royce believed in to use his professional reputation to lie, but Royce wanted to live. More importantly, he wanted to protect Kenzie and Elena. The best way to do that was to play along with Vadym until a chance to fight presented itself or the cavalry showed up.
Vadym came up to Royce, a cold smile on his lips. “Now, Dr. Devereaux, this way.” He jerked his head toward the plane door, indicating it was time to go.
Royce gritted his teeth but followed Vadym out of the plane. A truck of Russian officials was waiting for them.
“Royce?” Kenzie stuck close to him, worried as she watched Vadym’s men speak to the guards.
“It’s okay. Kyakhta isn’t a city that allows foreigners to visit. I’m guessing Vadym will be bribing the officials to get us cleared. This is one situation where we don’t want government officials to take us into custody. Trust me.”
One of Vadym’s men waved at them, and Royce and Kenzie and Elena were herded toward a pair of black SUVs.
“Where are we going?” Royce asked Vadym.
The Russian climbed in the front passenger seat before he looked back at Royce.
“I think you know. We will take the Trans-Siberian Railway to Ulaanbaatar. The fossils are being held in the city.”
Royce buckled himself in. “The Central Museum of Mongolian Dinosaurs?”
Vadym’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, but I would suggest keeping your questions to a minimum. Remember, I only need you to authenticate the items.”
Elena sat quietly to his left looking out the window, by all appearances tuning everything out. To his right, Kenzie sat still but her eyes were trained on Vadym. A shiver ran through him.
Despite the warning, Royce continued to act the part of being slightly clueless. “I just thought you might have kept them stored elsewhere, a warehouse or bank vault.”
Vadym looked smug, as if he had overestimated Royce’s intelligence. “What safer place is there than a museum? I have a contact there who will help to ensure that the find stays in good shape and will be ready for transport to Moscow.”
Royce studied Vadym carefully, wondering what else he could get away with asking. The man had brutally beaten him on the plane, yet now Vadym seemed more relaxed, likely because his plans were going well.
“Any chance we could stop for food in Kyakhta before we board the train? It’s been nearly twelve hours since we’ve eaten.”
“Dr. Devereaux, you are my guest. As you seem to be willing to cooperate, there is no need to continue with such rough treatment. I’ll have my men stop at Letree Kafé, and you will eat on the train.”
Royce settled back in the seat. Obviously Vadym assumed Royce wanted to stop at a restaurant in the hopes of an opportunity to escape. Kenzie leaned against him, and he kept his focus on her. His chest flooded with a cottony warmth, and he curled an arm around her shoulders.
By the time they arrived at the train, the central-Asian dishes in their to-go boxes they’d picked up between the airport and the train station were empty. Royce was relieved they’d had a chance to eat so he and Kenzie wouldn’t be weak with hunger. Vadym hadn’t allowed Elena to eat anything, and when Kenzie had tried to sneak her some food, one of the men had cuffed Kenzie hard on the temple.
“She doesn’t eat unless I allow it. Isn’t that right, Elena?” Vadym asked as he glanced at her from the front passenger seat.
“Yes.” Elena’s broken and complicit tone only stirred Royce’s rage further, but he had to hide his emotions. He had to keep up the appearance of being cooperative until an opportunity presented itself.
As the SUVs pulled up in front of the railway station, Royce discreetly checked every avenue for escape. He couldn’t see anything useful. For himself, perhaps. It would require a little gymnastics and a lot of luck. But what about Kenzie and Elena?
One of the Russian goons grabbed Elena by the back of the neck and dragged her toward the railway platforms.
“We can’t leave her,” Kenzie whispered as she followed them inside.
“I know,” he sighed.
“You’re fortunate, Dr. Devereaux. I had my men book you and Ms. Martin in a deluxe cabin right next to mine. You will travel in style and comfort.”
“What’s the catch?” Royce asked as he and Kenzie followed Vadym toward the waiting train.
“No catch. As I said, you are my guests. But guests must learn to behave, and you were very rude to me back at the club. You have learned your lesson, I hope, and from here we can start our relationship anew. Cooperate and things will go smoothly—you will eat well, travel well. But if you do not… Well…” Vadym didn’t finish. But one of his men who stood behind him leered and dragged a finger across his neck as though cutting his throat. A couple of the other men chuckled. Vadym shot them a glare.
“Silence.” He looked back to Royce. “The fact is, I may have further use for you, long after this task has ended. I could imagine more such adventures between the two of us. We could have you move to Moscow, set up in a pent
house befitting the lifestyle you are accustomed to. We could even move your job there. I understand there is an opening at Moscow State University.”
Royce said nothing, but inside he seethed. He didn’t know which fate would be worse, being killed after doing what Vadym asked or being kept on a short leash forever.
They boarded the beautiful blue car that belonged to the Golden Eagle, an upscale tourist train that ran along the Siberian railway. The attendant in the train car smiled as he took the tickets from Vadym.
“To the Imperial suites,” he said.
The attendant nodded and led them down the corridor. He stopped and waved at the door next to him. “This cabin.” He looked to Royce. “And the one farther down is yours.”
Royce felt the nudge of a gun against his lower back as he was shoved toward his cabin door. Once he and Kenzie were inside, Vadym stood there waiting, watching them from the doorway, one hand gripping Elena’s arm.
“Have a pleasant evening, Dr. Devereaux. My men will be outside if you require any assistance.” Vadym closed the door. Royce stared at the cabin door window and then pulled down the shade, no doubt to the irritation of the guard watching from the other side.
Kenzie sat back on the queen-size bed, still in shock. He came over and sat down beside her. She leaned into him, and he finally was able to free her bound wrists of the rope. He rubbed at the angry red welts on her skin, carefully massaging her wrists.
“Why don’t you take a shower? These are the best cabins—Vadym was right about that.” He wanted to keep her as calm as possible. The cabin was filled with an oddly muffled silence that cocooned them.
“Royce, I’m scared. I can barely breathe.”
He lifted her chin with his fingers. Fear, stark and vivid, glittered in her eyes.
This is all my fault. If she hadn’t worked late in my office that night, she never would’ve been pulled into any of this.