The Defender

by Donna Grant

  “You’d be right.”

  “I figured. Just thought I’d put my hope out there.”

  “I don’t want any of you there when we come in. All of you need to stay at the ranch.”

  Callie barked with laughter. “Wow. You’ve totally forgotten who we are. As if we’d leave you and Reyna hanging.”

  “Callie, I’m serious. They’ll be waiting for me.”

  “And we’ll be waiting for them. Cullen and Mia are going to stay in Dover.”

  Lev shook his head, twisting his lips. “That’s a bad idea.”

  “Hmm. Maybe you should have told Orrin and Yuri that, as well. They left this morning.”

  “Please tell me the rest of you are staying in Texas.”

  There was a beat of silence. “If I’m perfectly honest, I’ll say that we’re still debating that.”

  In other words, Wyatt and Owen wanted Callie and Natalie to stay behind while the girls wanted to go. Lev knew who was going to win that fight—the men. Wyatt had already locked Callie in the bunker once to keep her safe. He wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. But Lev didn’t tell her that.

  “Lev,” Callie said, her voice deepening in seriousness. “Cullen said that some of Sergei’s men think you’re the one who killed Sergei.”

  “Because I wasn’t there,” he said. “Yeah, I figured as much.”

  “You won’t be able to trust any of them.”

  “I trained those men, Callie. I know them.”

  She made an unintelligible sound. “I’ve learned that when it comes to the Saints, you can’t trust anyone.”

  “That’s the truth. I’ll know when I look into their eyes which I can and can’t trust.”

  “They might turn on you, as well.”

  “Let them try.”

  “Damn, but I want to be there to see that,” she said, a smile in her voice.

  He grinned. “Do what you can to keep Wyatt and Owen in Texas. I don’t guess you’ve heard from Maks?”

  “Actually, Cullen sent him a message about you and Reyna.”

  “I didn’t see him. Then again, if he was there, he wouldn’t have made himself known.” Lev thought about the shot he’d heard when he was swimming.

  Callie sighed loudly. “We won’t see or hear from Maks until he’s ready for us to. But if he was able to help y’all, he would have.”

  “I know.”

  “You can keep the phone on. I’ve got it so highly encrypted that the Saints couldn’t even find it.”

  He chuckled. “Good luck with the cyber-attack.”

  “Oh, they don’t even know what I’m about to unleash. They chose wrong coming at us this way. I’ve stayed away from their computers, but that’s about to change.”

  Lev suddenly had an idea. “You might want to get in without them knowing and have a look around.”

  “Why wouldn’t I take them down if I could?”

  “Because it’ll be better if we hit them simultaneously via their computers and their personnel.”

  “Oohhh,” Callie replied. “That’s good. We’ve been on the defensive since we began this. I’m ready to be offensive.”

  Lev was, too.

  They ended the call. Lev yawned as he realized that his stomach was grumbling. He input the coordinates for Dover into the GPS to keep the boat on course and then set the autopilot. He then took his hands off the wheel for a few minutes to see how it did. When the vessel stayed on course, he rose and went to empty his bladder, check on Reyna, and grab some food.

  He was gone less than ten minutes. Still, he returned to the helm and ate the cheese and crackers instead of staying below. He wasn’t worried about running into anything. No, Lev was more concerned about other boats coming his way. He wanted to be able to spot them first and prepare. The great thing about being out on the water was that you could see a potential enemy from miles away.

  Happily, the seasickness had been kept at bay. Maybe because his gaze remained on the horizon as much as he could, but he wouldn’t chance getting sick. Reyna needed him. And he needed to be ready for an attack.

  The rest of the day remained quiet with nothing to see but water and sky. Lev checked the weather every few hours to see if they would encounter a storm. Everything seemed to be staying to the north of them for the moment, thankfully.

  By the time night fell, he needed more substantial food. He slowed the boat and let it drift as he went below to check on Reyna. He felt her head, but there was no fever. She slept deeply, so he left her alone.

  Lev went to the galley and sautéed some spinach and then cooked the two chicken breasts Reyna had found at the residence. He left one on the stove for her while he plated the other for himself.

  He remained below to eat and look at something other than water for a little while. The food did wonders to revive him. He grabbed a soda and a bottle of water from the fridge after washing his plate and then went back up top.

  A part of him wanted to anchor the boat and climb into bed with Reyna. But he decided against it because she needed to be left undisturbed, and because they had to cover as much ground as they could.

  He went another forty miles or so when the rain started. The lights from the boat directed on the water showed that the waves were still pretty calm. He knew little to nothing about ships. If the storm got too bad, he’d have to wake Reyna.

  After about ninety minutes, the rain tapered off, and the clouds cleared. He found himself gazing at the stars. They were so clear and bright out there that they were mesmerizing. Even the moon was hypnotic.

  He was beginning to understand people’s love of the water. If he didn’t have the Saints chasing him, he’d really be enjoying himself. Especially on a boat like this with Reyna.

  Sergei would laugh at him. At the thought of his friend and mentor, Lev got choked up with emotion. He hadn’t gotten to speak to Sergei since he’d left for Kiev. Nor was he at the funeral.

  Lev could almost hear Sergei telling him that funerals meant nothing to the dead. They were for the living, and that Lev shouldn’t feel bad about anything.

  But he did.

  He wanted to honor Sergei and the life the old man had given him. Lev could well imagine the sendoff Sergei got. He had been feared, yes, but more than that, he’d been respected. He was known for being fair—though not forgiving.

  Even if Lev had been at the funeral, he wouldn’t have said anything. It wasn’t his way. He’d have told Sergei privately.

  Lev cleared his throat and tried to put his thoughts into words, but they were all jumbled. His pain was too fresh, he supposed. He needed time to get it all straight in his head before he went to Sergei’s grave and spoke to him.

  “I miss you, old man,” he murmured to the stars, wondering which one was Sergei’s.

  Lev shut off that train of thought and began planning for when he and Reyna reached Dover. They had about a week of traveling, and he had to have everything sorted out by then. Callie was right, there was a chance that Sergei’s men would come at him. There was also a chance they wouldn’t.

  He knew the port at Dover better than anyone else. There were ways of getting in that no one knew about. He’d used it a few times to smuggle Sergei’s friends in and out of the States. Never had he thought to need it himself.

  By the time the sun came up, Lev had figured out where the Saints would station themselves at the port to locate him. Then, all he had to do was take each of them out.

  The problem with that was that there were always Saints you didn’t know about. All it would take was one of them seeing him and sounding the alarm. Yet the fewer bodies he had to fight, the better.

  He stared in wonder at the beauty of the sunrise. It turned the water almost gold, and the sky scarlet and orange. After staring at the marvel for a few minutes, Lev grabbed the binoculars and checked behind him, on either side of him, and in front of him for vessels.

  When he lowered the binoculars, Reyna was standing there. He smiled at her mussed hair and sleepy eyes.r />
  “You should’ve woken me,” she told him sternly, then ruined it with a yawn.

  Lev bit back his laugh. “You needed the rest.”

  “We needed to cover the distance. If things had gotten bad, I would’ve stopped for the night.”

  She rubbed her eyes. “You seem to be taking to the water much better.”

  “I’m coming to understand the love of it.”

  “Are you?” she asked with a grin.

  He nodded. “How’s the wound?”

  “Sore still, but better.”

  “I need to check it. And then how about some breakfast?”

  “You sit. I’ll do that.”

  Lev gave her a dry look. “Sit and steer, if you must. I’ll cook.”

  She saluted him, but she wore a smile. “Yes, sir.”

  “Hmmm,” he replied with a wink. “I could get used to that.”

  30

  She was healing, but not as fast as she’d like. Reyna and Lev might be in a fight for their lives, but at the moment, it seemed as if they were the only two people on Earth. And she quite liked it.

  The solitude out on the water gave them a false sense of security. It could be shattered at any time. Hell, for all she knew, they were being tracked under the water. It wasn’t as if a plethora of vessels made the trip from Norway to the States daily. In fact, they had only glimpsed one, a cargo ship that had been miles away.

  Lev seemed to really enjoy driving the boat. They took turns, but he was always eager to take the helm. In the three days they’d been out on the water, he hadn’t exhibited any signs of seasickness.

  They kept the engine opened up, eating up miles of water in a day. But it was taking a toll on their gas stores. They had already used one of the cans stored on the boat, and they were on the second and last. They had no choice but to make a detour to Greenland.

  Reyna glanced over her shoulder as Lev appeared from below with both gasoline cans in hand. Two hours ago, she had altered their course toward Greenland. Lev had taken that time to check the guns and get everything ready for when they reached land.

  “If we fill up these cans as well as the tanks, will that get us to Maryland?” Lev asked as he set down the cans.

  She shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. We could always stop in Canada if we have to.”

  “That’s just it. I don’t want to stop.”

  “Neither do I, but that’s the choice we made when we decided to run the boat at eleven knots an hour.”

  He glanced out the front of the boat. “Is there anything else we need since we’re stopping?”

  “We could restock the food.”

  “Only if there’s a store near.”

  She nodded in agreement. “You get the gas, and I’ll get the food.”

  “I’ll take care of all of it.”

  Reyna shot him a hard look. “Just because I’m injured doesn’t mean I can’t pull my weight.”

  “I know that.”

  “Do you? Because you’re not acting like it.”

  Lev ran a hand down his face. “I just...there will be Saints everywhere.”

  “I’m aware.”

  “You could get hurt again.”

  She held out her hand, waiting for him to take it. When he did, she wrapped her fingers around his. “So could you.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Don’t,” she told him. “The minute you begin putting my life above yours, you hurt us. We’ve survived this long because we’ve worked together, pulling our own weight.”

  Lev’s lips thinned. “You haven’t healed.”

  “And I won’t for weeks. I can do this, and you need to let me.”

  He looked away once more, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “I don’t have a choice, do I?”

  “None.”

  Lev issued a slight laugh and swung his gaze to her. “All right. Which do you want? To stay with the boat? Or get supplies?”

  She might have won a small victory, but she wasn’t blind to why Lev had wanted her out of harm’s way. “Which would you rather I take?”

  His lips turned up in a smile as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Stay with the boat.”

  “I can do that.”

  “Thank you,” he whispered as he leaned down and kissed her lips.

  Heat instantly filled Reyna. She and Lev hadn’t made love since Sweden. He’d kept his distance because of her wound, but at least they’d shared a bed for a few hours each night. She liked having his arms around her. Being held by him was the best way to end each day.

  They remained holding hands as she looked back out the window as Greenland drew closer.

  “You know, we might have enough to reach Newfoundland.”

  He quirked a brow. “You want to take that chance?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Why Newfoundland instead of Greenland?”

  She licked her lips. “We could head back over land again.”

  “That means crossing another border. I think I’d rather take my chances on the water, even if it means there are few places to hide.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

  They grew silent as they slowed in their approach to the southernmost point of Greenland. Prince Christian Sound was stunning with its mountains, glaciers, and deep blue water. A tourist destination that even cruise ships used, the beauty drew everyone.

  “Damn,” Lev murmured as his gaze moved over the glaciers. “It’s gorgeous.”

  “I love the fjords. We didn’t get to see much of them in Norway.”

  Lev nodded, his gaze never leaving the view.

  Reyna took her hand from Lev’s to maneuver the boat toward the small port village of Aappilattoq. The brightly colored Nordic-style houses were a pleasure to look at. She pulled her gaze from them and made her way to a dock. As soon as she got the boat close enough, Lev leapt out and tied it off.

  He looked around before coming back onto the boat to get the gas containers. “You sure?”

  “Yes,” she told him.

  Lev took the cans to the dock and helped her off the boat. They walked together to the petrol station, but Lev diverted toward the store as she smiled at the young man who greeted her.

  In no time, the boat tanks were being topped off, and the cans filled. She then bought a third one and had that filled as well, just to be safe. After she’d paid, she bent to pick up one of the cans and winced when her side pulled.

  “Let me,” a young man said with a Greenlandic accent.

  She let him take two of the cans to the boat as she waited with the third. When he returned, she walked with him. He made idle conversation, but his accent was so thick that she couldn’t understand much of what he said.

  Reyna stopped him when he started to get on the boat. A moment later, she heard her name and looked over her shoulder to find Lev making his way to her.

  The young man smiled and nodded before he walked away. He and Lev exchanged a pleasant greeting as they passed. Reyna eyed the bags in Lev’s hands as he approached.

  “Everything good?” he asked.

  She smiled. “Absolutely. You?”

  “I got us stocked. Why don’t you get in, and I’ll hand you the bags? Then I’ll get the cans.”

  Reyna eagerly climbed into the boat and reached for the bags. She brought them down to the galley and began unloading them. She smiled when she saw the bag of peanut M&Ms. They were one of her favorite candies. There was some vegetables, chicken, shrimp, and crab, as well as a baguette of bread. And to her delight, two individual sandwiches, and snack-sized bags of chips. But it was when she saw the two bottles of Coca Cola that she squealed.

  She heard the engine start up, and a moment later, they were moving.

  “How’d I do?” Lev asked as she came up with the sandwiches, Cokes, and chips.

  “Perfect.”

  “I was getting tired of water and coffee,” he said with a shrug as he took a bottle of soda from her.

  She sat opposite
him at the helm and unwrapped his sandwich before she handed it to him. Then she opened the bag of chips and placed it in between his legs so he could easily reach it. After he was settled, she got her food ready.

  The first drink of the soda was like Heaven. She sighed loudly, which caused Lev to chuckle.

  Reyna couldn’t hold back her smile. “What? I have a weakness for soda.”

  “You won’t hear me saying anything about it. How’s the sandwich? I didn’t know if you liked ham or turkey.”

  She looked down at hers before she glanced at the sandwich Lev held. “I’ll eat either. Do you want mine?”

  “I’ll eat either, as well. Just wanted to make sure you had a choice.”

  A man who looked out for her. Yeah, she could certainly get used to such treatment.

  They ate as they slowly made their way back out to sea. In just a few days, they would reach Maryland. The quiet solitude they’d enjoyed would be gone.

  Until then, she was going to enjoy every second she had with Lev. It might very well be their last. But she’d been saying that since they first ran from the Saints.

  “What are you thinking about?” Lev asked.

  She smiled. “You.”

  “Good things, I hope,” he said with a grin and a wink.

  “Very.”

  “We’re going to be fine.”

  She flashed him a bright smile because she knew his words for the lie they were. He was telling himself as much as he was telling her. Perhaps if they said it enough, it might come true.

  The Saints thought they had struck a damaging blow to Lev by murdering Sergei. They had no idea that it strengthened his resolve. Nor did they realize—yet—what it meant for them.

  Lev was the type of man who would evade death itself in order to carry out judgment against those who had taken his friend and mentor from him.

  Reyna hadn’t understood people like that before. But she did now. And she wondered what it would feel like to have someone like that love her. Then she remembered that he did. She stared at his profile, amazed that they had found each other out of the billions and billions of people on the planet, in a country that neither of them was from.