Air Bound

by Christine Feehan

  Patterns were everywhere. In the clouds. In the waves. In the shadows thrown onto the deck by the sun. There was no escaping from them. She took another long drink as he applied more antibiotic cream and a new wrap.

  “You’re sighing.”

  “Because I thought we were going to get off easy, but we aren’t.” She watched the clouds moving above them, spinning and drifting as if they hadn’t a care in the world, but inside those clouds, her fluffy animals were gone.

  “No, Evan was bound to figure out who had you. He’s got money, Airiana, and he’s willing to use it to get what he wants. He buys people, and anyone willing to aid Sorbacov would be just as willing to help Evan. Theodotus had a plane waiting in Colombia. The pilot knew the plan was to take you from Mexico up the South American coast to rendezvous with the plane. If Evan offered him money, why wouldn’t he give him that information?”

  “How would Evan know who to go to for information?” Curiosity nearly took her attention from the patterns forming above her.

  “The underworld is all connected,” he said, starting on her other foot. “It isn’t that hard to know who the major players are. Each of them is fed information through their pipelines. Some are extensive, some aren’t.” He gave a small shrug. “Once you’re in that world and you’ve acquired a reputation, everyone knows what you will or won’t do for money.”

  “Like you.”

  “Like me.”

  “So we’re going to make a run for it.”

  He nodded. “The yacht is. We’re going to bail.”

  She scowled at him over the water bottle. “You said no swimming. We’re done with swimming. We are done, aren’t we?”

  “Circumstances have changed.”

  “I’m switching sides. Suddenly I feel a bout of loyalty coming on to dear old Dad. Just how bad could it be living in Russia?”

  “Russia is beautiful,” Maxim said. “They would welcome you with open arms.”

  The laughter faded as she studied his face. “But not you. Not after all you’ve done for your country. They’ll kill you.”

  “Eventually. But it isn’t my country killing me. It’s one very powerful man.”

  Her heart turned over. “Maxim, you can’t just accept death like you do. You have to fight this man. You’re willing to fight for me. You have to be willing to fight for yourself.”

  He ran his fingers down the side of her face in a little caress. “Who says I’m not willing? I’m just not willing to put others in jeopardy with me.”

  Maxim took the cold pack from her to inspect the damage done to her face. “You’re developing a wonderful shiner. When your family sees you, they’re going to think I’m the kind of man who beats his woman.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. He probably hadn’t even noticed he’d referred to her as “his woman,” but right then, when they were alone and the world was quiet and peaceful, she wanted to be his.

  Airiana smiled up at him. “They know what a tough girl I am. If you hit me, I would hit you back.”

  He picked up her hand and placed it palm to palm with his, studying the difference in their sizes. She laughed. Her hand was dwarfed by his. His fingers closed slowly around hers, one by one, almost as if he was waiting for her to pull free.

  “I love the sound of your laughter,” he said. “You make life a fun adventure rather than a daily job.” He brought her hand to his mouth and nibbled at the pads of her fingers. “I’ve never done this before, you know.”

  Her breath caught in her lungs. Maxim wasn’t given to revelations about himself. She stayed very quiet. Waiting. Hoping for more.

  “Men like me have to stay alone. We can’t trust anyone. Anyone could be the assassin sent to end us. We form relationships only for information. No one ever is close to us. I don’t sleep when I’m near others.” His mouth curved in a humorless smile. “I’m like a mole, I crawl into a hole and close it over my head if I need rest. There isn’t a moment when I don’t have a weapon on me and a contingency plan to escape a situation.”

  Airiana didn’t know what to do or say, so she stayed silent, willing him to keep talking. She was hearing things he’d never told anyone else. Personal things. Reasons, of course, why he could never be with her. He didn’t realize that in revealing details of his life to her, he was acknowledging she meant more to him than he was willing to admit aloud to her.

  Maxim opened her fingers and pressed his mouth into the center of her palm. She nearly jumped and jerked her hand away, but managed to remain still. Deep inside, in her most feminine core, she’d felt the intimacy of his tongue stroke. Her gaze jumped to his in a kind of dazed wonder. Did he even know what he’d just done? Probably.

  “I want to lie down with you and fall asleep. Just once.”

  As a declaration of love, it didn’t seem like much on the surface, yet she felt elated, almost giddy inside with joy. She knew he wanted her physically. There was no doubt in her mind that given the opportunity, he’d make love to her. Somehow, admitting that he wanted to sleep with her seemed so much more of an intimacy.

  His teeth teased at the pads of her fingers. “Someday, Airiana, if I live through all this, I’m going to do that. You’ll have to leave your window open for me and I’ll just slip in. You won’t even know I’m there.”

  She would know. They both knew if he came into her bedroom, he would make love to her. And she would welcome him.

  “That sounds good to me. I prefer my window open.”

  He frowned. “What kind of security system do you have?”

  She rolled her eyes at him. The revelations were over, and he was back to being Maxim Prakenskii, all about living in a fortress. “You sound just like Levi and Thomas,” she said. “If they had their way, we’d have a fourteen-foot fence with barbed wire on top and machine guns every few feet.”

  He frowned at her. “What’s wrong with that?” His strong teeth bit down on the pads of her fingers. “I think that’s a very good plan.”

  “You would.”

  “And dogs. You need a pack of very large dogs patrolling your property.”

  “I’d like that. We’ve been talking about it for a while now, but so far, no one’s figured out the breed we want.”

  “My brother Gavriil loves dogs. I hope when he finds a safe place to settle down, he’ll have several,” Maxim said.

  “What about you? Do you like animals?”

  He shrugged, his features totally expressionless once again. “I wouldn’t know one way or the other. I don’t have pets, if that’s what you mean. I never have had one.” He let go of her hand and was up, slipping into the shadows easily, as if he belonged there.

  She knew Gorya was on his way up the stairs with their lunch.

  13

  NIGHT appeared to fall quickly out at sea. The sun vanished, pouring liquid gold into the waters, turning the horizon orange and red in a spectacular display, and then that fast it was gone. Airiana gripped the railing hard and looked down at the dark waters. Just minutes before the ocean was bright and jeweled, sparkling even, and now it held a sinister quality, as if below the surface all kinds of predators lurked waiting for an opportunity to pull the yacht beneath the waves.

  She shivered. More than anything, she wanted to go home. Sea Haven was magical and peaceful and she needed her family. She wasn’t the adventurous type, no matter what Maxim might think. She lived much more in her head than others thought. Right now, Maxim had driven out the numbers and patterns and mostly she just fantasized about him.

  She found it rather humiliating that she couldn’t get him out of her head, although now she knew for certain that she was in his and that made it all much more bearable. If she had to suffer—he could as well.

  A wave leapt up, splashing along the railing, surprisingly high, the sound like a loud slap. Across the water, in the distance, she could see lights and th
at was somewhat comforting. Knowing they were close to a shore—and to people—left her feeling as if there was hope that she would get home soon.

  Theodotus had been just as cooperative as Maxim predicted, insisting to the captain that they turn the boat around, that he had arranged for a plane much closer than their first destination. He’d been very persuasive, and as far as she could see, the captain and crew seemed to take everything Theodotus said as gospel.

  The wind tugged at her hair and brought with it news. She could feel the air stretching around her like a map, showing her the location of anyone out on the decks. She lifted one hand to tuck strands of flyaway hair behind her ear as she turned to face the two men dressed in white coming toward her.

  She recognized Gorya immediately, and the man with him was the first mate, Boris something, she remembered. She sent them a small smile. “It suddenly turned very dark out there,” she gestured toward the open sea. “You’re probably used to it, but it’s a little scary for me.”

  The men kept walking straight toward her and she felt her heart accelerate with each purposeful step they took.

  “What is it? Is something wrong?”

  “You need to come with us now,” Gorya said. “For your own safety. The captain wants you off the deck.”

  Maxim. Where are you? They’re taking me off the deck.

  She stepped away from the railing, very cooperative. “Has something happened?”

  “It’s just a precaution, nothing more,” Boris assured. His fingers settled around her arm, and she knew it wasn’t just a precaution.

  They were taking her prisoner. Had the security force somehow woken up and escaped? Had Theodotus?

  Where are you?

  Don’t panic. These men work for Sorbacov, this is his yacht, not your father’s, and his men reported to him. He’s countered Theodotus’s orders. Of course the first thing they’ll do is try to secure you.

  She noticed he used the word try. She pulled back, stubbornly refusing to move. “Please don’t grab me. I don’t like people putting their hands on me.”

  The two stared at each another, Boris obviously unimpressed with her haughtily delivered order. He didn’t relinquish his hold on her.

  “Gorya?” She raised her eyebrow, turning to the steward for help. “I don’t mind going with the two of you, but I won’t be dragged around like a rag doll.”

  “I don’t much care what you like,” Boris snapped, dropping all pretense of civility. He tightened his hold on her arm and dragged her several steps across the deck.

  Airiana took three stumbling steps and let out a cry of pain as her foot came down hard. Boris paused, and she shot him in the side of the neck with her dart gun. He grunted, his mouth still forming a curse, his eyes wide with shock. For a moment he teetered back and forth and then he toppled like a giant tree, his hand still clamped around her arm.

  She went down with him and lay for a moment fighting for breath. Gorya hurried to her side, still unaware that she’d darted Boris. The moment he got close, he realized something was wrong and let out a shout for help. He leapt back just as she brought up the dart gun. Rolling over to come to her hands and knees, she started to rise.

  Gorya kicked her hard in the ribs, sending her sprawling across Boris’s body. Pain exploded through her, but she held on to the dart gun as if it were her lifeline—and maybe it was. She kept rolling, trying to stay away from Gorya’s feet. He seemed to be everywhere, dancing close and whirling away in some strange form of martial arts she’d never seen before.

  He was faster than she would have believed him to be, but she should have known that everyone working on the yacht was probably highly trained in combat skills as well as their daily jobs.

  Gorya kicked her repeatedly, strike after strike, always dancing out of reach, so fast she couldn’t aim the dart gun. She kept moving away from him but she was running out of deck. It was only a matter of time before he landed a blow hard enough to break something.

  This man is making me angry.

  Losing your temper won’t help. Just take aim and shoot the bastard.

  She wanted to curse, but she didn’t have time. Gorya nailed her in her arm, deadening it, so that the dart gun slipped from nerveless fingers.

  I need to be able to bring him down.

  You really need to pay more attention in your self-defense class, Maxim said.

  Really? I don’t think so.

  She had a few defenses of her own, and Gorya’s weird monkey-like dancing was making her feel a little seasick. She was tired of everyone suddenly turning from nice to enemy. She felt surrounded on all sides, and she just wanted to go home.

  Airiana called to the wind to defend her. It came pouring over the yacht, fast, furious, slamming into Gorya as he rolled close to her, lashed out with his foot and retreated. The wind howled, an entity without mercy, as it struck, hitting him square in the chest, uncaring how fast he was. Uncaring how trained he was.

  Gorya hit the railing hard, so hard she heard a terrible crack and a scream. The wind was relentless, sliding beneath his legs and lifting them into the air so that he teetered on the railing.

  “Enough,” she whispered to the wind. “That’s enough.”

  Scooping up the dart gun, she tried to push herself to her feet. There didn’t seem to be a place on her body that didn’t hurt. The wind lessened its fury, but hadn’t died down that much, still tugging and pushing at the steward’s body, trying to get him away from Airiana.

  Gorya screamed, galvanizing her into action. She forced herself to her feet. Her legs felt like rubber and she went down to one knee just as Gorya slipped off the railing into the dark water below.

  She closed her eyes for a moment and knelt there, trying to catch her breath. Tears burned. She’d just killed a man, using her gifts. It was so wrong. She was supposed to use them for good, never evil. This life was madness. She couldn’t imagine how Maxim had survived it and stayed sane all those long years.

  She not only felt the vibration of running footsteps, but heard them as well. Maxim wouldn’t make any noise. If he came to her, it would be in silence. He knew she was in trouble, so he’d be there if he could.

  Tell me you’re still alive, she whispered and pressed her palm hard to her thigh. She needed him. Not to save her life again, but just to hold her. Just for a minute.

  She sank back onto the deck and shoved the few extra darts Maxim had given her back into the gun. Crawling, she made it to Boris’s body. Dragging his dead weight was much harder than she’d anticipated and whoever was coming was close. In the end, she sank down, using Boris for a shield, trying to blend into the shadows as Maxim did.

  I’m alive, Maxim assured her. I’ve got a couple of them stalking me. I’ve already taken out two.

  I’ve done the same, but someone’s coming.

  Can you hide?

  I’m trying your blurring technique. It seemed very useful. She used the air around her to build a little cocoon, wrapping herself up tight in the hopes that it would make it more difficult to spot her.

  Maxim’s gift of fading into the background wasn’t just because he was bound to air, it was more than that, but still, she knew part of what he did was wrapping air around himself to “muddy” his image.

  The captain skidded to a halt, an assault rifle in his hands. He looked furious, and ready to shoot anything that moved. She held herself very still, even holding her breath, afraid that anything at all might give her away. She wasn’t certain why she found the captain so much more intimidating—maybe it was the assault rifle and the businesslike look on his face.

  He spotted Boris’s body and took his time, scanning the deck for trouble before he crossed to the body and reached down to feel for a pulse. He looked right at her and her heart stuttered and then began to pound. He touched Boris’s neck and found the dart. He cursed as he pulled it out,
once more looking around.

  He hadn’t seen her. Wrapping herself in layers of air had blurred her image enough that the shadows successfully kept her hidden. Reluctant to move and possibly draw attention to herself, Airiana debated whether or not to try to use the dart gun on him. Her hand already was shaking, but a small warning alarm kept going off in her head. Earlier, in the patterns she’d seen in the clouds, there had been violence, the deck riddled with bullets.

  There was no sound at all to warn her, but she was suddenly aware she was not alone with the captain. Maxim had joined them. She strained her eyes looking for him, searching the darkest parts of the deck, but she still couldn’t discover where he was. The captain must have his own radar because he suddenly crouched low, not more than four feet from her, the rifle ready, scrutinizing every inch of the deck systematically.

  Above you. Don’t move. Don’t make a sound.

  She didn’t turn her head or tilt it, but just looked up with her eyes. Even then, with him telling her where he was, she failed to spot him immediately. When she did, the breath rushed from her lungs. He was on the ceiling of the overhang above the bar, like a spider, stretched out, using fingertips and toes to push himself like a giant spider to the very edge of the overhang.

  How do you do that? Because that wasn’t human. No one could hang upside down from a ceiling and not fall. That was completely defying gravity.

  Air. There are all kinds of uses for air. You’ve never had to use them so you haven’t considered them, but a large cushion of air can help hold me in position for a fairly long time. He was so matter-of-fact. He loomed over them, both her and the captain.

  The captain never once thought to look up. He was on the deck, most of which was open, and it just didn’t occur to him that Maxim could be overhead. She pressed her lips together tightly. She was terrified of giving Maxim away. It had been better when she hadn’t known where he was. Now, it took every ounce of discipline she had not to stare at him. She feared that intensity might just draw the captain’s attention.