Chapter 27 Cian
CIAN
“I’m dying!” Egyptian heat is unlike anything I’ve felt before.
It’s like being smothered in a blanket and standing over an open fire with the heat blazing directly onto your face and there’s no reprieve. No amount of fanning or gasping is enough to break the sweltering warmth and even standing still at the port is enough to drench me in sweat.
“You’re really not built for warmth, are you?” Faina squints at me over the top of her sunglasses.
“This isn’t warmth,” I gasp, flapping a paper flyer in my face to try and get cool. “This is like being inside a fucking furnace with the door closed.”
“Poor baby,” Faina mocks softly. “You’ll be a burnt little crisp by the time we track down Hawk.”
“Oh, don’t. Thinking about him makes my blood boil and then I’m set to melt even more.”
“Here.” Faina takes my hand and guides me under the shade offered by an overhang near the port entrance. “You stay here and I’ll go get what we need.”
“You think they’ll talk to you?” We arrived in Egypt last night and after some rest, we immediately started tracking down the Serenity. A quick search revealed it’s not docked anywhere nearby, but Egypt is a massive country so hopefully, port records will be able to help us.
“I can make anyone talk to me.” Her hips cocks slightly, causing her skirt to shimmy around her legs. She presses a sweet kiss to my burning cheek and heads inside. I keep most of my attention on her while the rest is split to the other people milling around the port.
There are your typical tourists with their phones glued to their hands taking a hundred pictures or using a selfie-stick to vlog their trip.
Then there are the tourists who have an entourage running after them while displaying their arrogance and wealth through how they treat people.
Some camels are stationed nearby looking rather out of place next to the string of cars taking people away from the port.
They’re very clearly just there for the tourists and one woman in particular gets extremely excited to see them.
Then there are the locals who wear a tired look, one born from understanding the tourist season and hating it all at the same time. I understand that look. Despite my heritage, I feel like anyone back home in Ireland looks at me the same way.
Just a tourist.
Faina weaves her way through the grounds with her head held high and her body swaying back and forth with enough allure to make my mouth water—well, if I had any moisture left in my body.
Her long pink skirt wafts about her legs as she walks, but as she gets closer to the port booth, she scoops up one side of her skirt and tucks the fabric into her waistband, exposing one long, tanned leg.
That coupled with her short halter top makes her look hot enough to take my breath away.
Suddenly, I’m not okay with this plan. She wants to flirt her way into the information. I bet I could get the same results by threatening him. Sadly, there are too many people around for my plan.
The warmth stifles my breathing while I watch Faina and focus on the music rising from nearby stalls and restaurants.
It’s catchy enough that I end up tapping my foot and bobbing my head while I glance around, scanning to see if anyone else is as interested in Faina as I am.
If Hawk has left anyone here, then I need to make sure I get them before they get her.
Faina reaches the booth and immediately tosses her head so all her hair drapes over one shoulder.
Then she leans against the counter and rests on one elbow.
I’m too far away to make out anything she’s saying but the guy behind the counter is immediately enthralled by her.
His dark brows lift slightly and dark crimson spreads across his tawny skin.
Faina slowly takes off her sunglasses and lets them dangle from one finger, then she cocks her hips far to one side and stretches out her bare, exposed leg.
I can hear her laughter from here. It’s sweet and sultry all at the same time.
Jealousy rises inside me like the roar of a lion.
We talked for hours on the yacht about everything to do with Interpol and eventually, I apologized because my gut reaction to the cops overruled everything else.
I came to understand why she never told me about that part of her past and a lingering foolishness sits in my chest as I mull over our conversation.
I told her she was giving me a new lease on life while shaming her in the same breath.
Not the best action as her partner.
One thing’s for sure, though. If we’re to find Hawk, we need to do it together. Everything else can be sorted out later.
Faina reaches out and touches the arm of the port attendant while tension snaps down my spine and I fight the urge to go over there.
I trust her, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting the entire world to know that she’s mine.
Casting my eye back to the crowd, no one stands out.
There’s no one shady enough to catch my attention and no one seems to be watching either one of us.
Still, it’s not wise to linger here for too long.
Just as I get restless, pulling at my shirt to try and prevent the fabric from clinging to my sweaty back, Faina finally stands up and blows a kiss to the port attendant.
Then she puts her sunglasses back on and wanders away from him.
He stares after her like a lovesick puppy until the next person steps up to talk to him, but even then he peers past them to watch Faina until she ducks out of his sight and joins me outside.
“Still alive?” she smirks at me and my heart jumps.
“Barely. I’m a charred version of my former self.”
“Aw.” Faina pouts. “I almost feel bad for you.”
“Thanks.” Stepping deeper into the shade, Faina steps closer to me as a crowd suddenly exits the port and pours toward the taxi. “Bad news, I’m afraid.”
“Hit me with it,” I say, fanning myself harder. “I’m ready.”
“The Serenity was docked here but it left over three weeks ago heading for Australia. He’s long gone.”
“What?” A knot forms in my stomach. Catching Hawk here was a long shot in itself but after countless setbacks, I was hoping this was finally our shot.
That we’d finally catch a break in this long investigation.
Instead, we’re faced with yet another wall.
“That fucker. He must have thought we’d come looking, or at least Interpol would, and he made it look like he was sitting pretty enjoying life here. ”
“Yeah,” Faina sighs, placing one hand on her hip while she deflates a little. “I’m sorry. Judging by the timing, he must have sailed from here back when we were first arrested by Interpol.”
“So he’s just in the middle of the ocean somewhere?”
Faina nods. “If he’s heading for Australia, then with a yacht as powerful as his and assuming he takes a direct route, he’ll be there in a few days.”
Australia. Basically the other side of the damn world.
I close my eyes and bite back a deep, bone-creaking sigh until Faina cups my face and runs her thumb over my stubbly jaw.
“Come on,” she says when I open my eyes. “Let’s get a drink.”
We find a local bar not far from the port. Faina orders a jug of fruit juice after seeing that it comes with crushed ice. I settle for a Scotch. We sit together on the decking overlooking the ocean, but what was once a beautiful sight now just feels like it’s mocking me with its vastness.
Hawk is out there in the middle of the fucking water and he’s too far away for me to do anything but curse his fucking existence.
I’m tired.
Maybe it’s because of the heat, but exhaustion hits me like a brick. It’s different from tiredness that rises from a lack of sleep. Every bone in my body feels like lead, every muscle is as weak as my left leg, and the desire to continue chasing Hawk across the world is slowly dying.
Months I’ve been doing this. Months I’ve been chasing him.
And what do I have to show for it?
“Talk to me,” Faina murmurs as she sips her iced drink. “You look furious. Let me help.”
“You can’t help,” I mutter, slightly harsher than I intend. After a sigh, I glance across the table at her. “I’m tired. Two more months and it’ll be a year since…” The words catch in my throat. I wash them down with a drink. “What are we doing? How did I think I could take down someone like Hawk?”
“Just because he has money and tech doesn’t mean he gets away with everything he’s done,” Faina replies gently.
“Doesn’t it? I miss when my biggest problem was a missing weapons shipment or someone was stiffed on a drugs payment. That world feels so small in comparison now, but I miss it. It was a simple life but it was better than this.”
“Don’t you like the travel?” Faina spoons some crushed ice into her mouth and hums while it melts. “This is my first time in Egypt.”
“The travel isn’t exactly enjoyable on top of everything else.”
“What about the yacht? That was fun.”
“Was it? All I could think about was Hawk.”
Faina murmurs softly and shakes her head.
“I’m trying to find some positives but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand.
Look… from everything we’ve seen, Hawk is exactly like us.
So he chose international cyber crime over drugs and guns and girls, but so what?
At its core, it’s all the same. He’s a Mafia boss and he’s driven by the same thing most of us are. Arrogance and cockiness.”
“I’m not arrogant.” I hold Faina’s gaze for a few seconds, then we both laugh.
“I’m impressed you said that with a straight face.
” She scoffs. “Look, we must be close. Four months ago, we knew nothing about this guy. Now we know how he travels the world, how he cares little about his people, that he deals in heavy weapons and prefers to sail rather than fly. At the rate we’re going, he’ll be dead soon and we’re going to make sure of it. ”
“Are we?” Draining my glass, I set it down and turn my attention back out to sea. “How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’m stubborn and I’m tired of that fucker affecting my life and the lives of those I care about. For all I know, everyone I care about is dead too and I’m not going to let him get away with it. So I’m going to hunt him down and you’re going to help me.”
“Am I?”
Faina stands and moves around the table until she’s standing in front of me. I gaze at her bare abdomen and the soft curves of muscle around her navel, then I look up at her face. She removes her sunglasses and sets them aside, then she slides into my lap and wraps one arm around my neck.
“Cian. Listen to me. This is a setback but you need to adjust your view, okay? Look at it this way. Why would Hawk go to so much trouble to make it look like he was still in Egypt?”
I shrug one shoulder even as an idea forms in my mind.
“Because he’s scared. He wouldn’t be running and leaving a false trail if he didn’t see us as a threat.
But he does, which means he knows we can get to him and he’s trying to throw us off the scent.
But we’re not giving up.” She cups my face with her other hand and rubs her thumb along my cheekbone while encouraging me to look her in the eyes.
I do, and a comforting warmth seeps through my soul. “It’s not that I want to give up,” I say gently, caressing her waist. “It’s that now I stand to lose something again.”
“Trust me,” Faina murmurs as her hand caresses down to my jaw. “You’re not going to lose me.”
“You can’t promise me that.”
“Sure I can.” She smiles widely and slides her thumb around the swell of my lower lip. “I know the future.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. And I know Hawk is going to Australia so we’re going to go there too, understand?”
“And if it’s another trick? What if he’s on his way to somewhere completely different?”
“Then we keep looking,” Faina replies honestly. “Because he’s running scared and that’s what’s important.” She leans in and lightly pecks my lips. “So? Are you with me?”
I can’t say no when she’s buttered me up so sweetly, so I kiss her back.
“Fine. Let’s go to Australia.”