“How many IDs does she have?”
“A half dozen or so,” she replied. She tipped her head against his neck.
“Is that how you got into Jawahir? Using a fake ID?”
“No, I waited until customs finished with the jet and snuck out. It's easier with private jets than commercial airlines. If I have to go commercial, facial recognition makes things a bit harder. I would need more than just an ID, but Junebug is good about wiping the systems.”
He shook his head. “No wonder there is nothing about you. You really do live in the shadows.”
“We try,” she said. "I can’t believe she would just… leave like this!”
He turned her to face him and touched his forehead to hers. She breathed out slowly, and he breathed in. He kissed her cheek softly. She tilted her head, and he moved to let their lips align. Their kiss was just a brush of soft lips at first, and then a soft brush of tongues.
Soon they were breathless. A rueful smile curved his lips when he pulled away.
“One good thing came of this,” he chuckled.
“What?” she asked, looking at him with a skeptical expression.
“I got your sister’s permission to kidnap you,” he said with a mischievous look.
She looked at him as if he had lost his mind. He smiled into her eyes, cupped her cheeks, and trailed his hands through her hair and down her back. She nipped his bottom lip, and then melted in his arms as they kissed again.
Last night had not been enough. He wanted a lifetime of showing her that everything would be alright.
The buzz of her phone forced them apart. She groped for it, almost dropping it in her hurry to answer. He watched as she answered it with a breathless voice.
“Are you crazy? Do you have any idea of how dangerous the world is?” she demanded.
She paced back and forth, clenching her fists and unclenching them. Finally, she stopped, closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and nodded.
“Just promise me you’ll get in touch with Jam-man, tell him where and when to meet you, and... andbe careful. I love you, Junie-bug,” she said. “Yes… yes… I won’t, I promise. Love you more.”
She breathed deeply before she opened her eyes and looked back at him.
“What did she say?” he asked.
“That she's fine. That she's not a kid anymore and I have to trust her to know what to do. She needs to live her own life,” she replied.
“Ah,” he said.
A rueful smile curved her lips. “She also said that she would see me in Jawahir.”
Relief washed through him. “I am really going to like your sister,” he commented.
She laughed. “I promised that I wouldn't kill you for kidnapping me. Don’t make me regret it,” she replied in a gruff tone, meeting his eyes.
He kissed her hand. “You never will. I swear it.”
Fourteen
Kaunas, Lithuania:
Colin Coldhouse strode through the lower section of the safe house. The four-bedroom house wasn’t large, but it provided him with anonymity. Located at the end of a cul-de-sac in a private residential neighborhood, the two acres of land bordered the forest of Kleboniškis, which gave him privacy as well as a way out.
Currently, the grounds were being patrolled by what remained of his team. Bronislav had retreated to his mansion in Moscow. At the moment, it made more sense to split up because he was ready to kill the bastard.
Only fifteen of his team had escaped the attack on his compound. The other one hundred and thirty had been either killed or captured. The group that escaped had been in the vehicles or had covered him with air support. Four of his team stayed with him full-time now: Brett Rainer, Todd Miller, Jurgis Karolis, and the only woman of the group, Daina Aras.