Chapter 13
He desired her.
Lev didn’t want to feel anything toward Reyna Harris, and yet, he couldn’t seem to help himself. First, there had been respect, and somewhere along the way, he’d discovered that he actually liked being around her.
She had a strength of will and character he rarely found in others. She was tenacious as well as rational, a combination that had kept her alive. But she was perceptive, shrewd, and bright.
Not to mention, she was stunningly beautiful.
It was a combination that few men could withstand. And he was one of them.
Lev had liked that she slept. Not because he wanted her refreshed, but because she trusted him enough to fall so fully into slumber that she didn’t even know when he pulled over to refuel the first time, an hour after they’d stolen the car.
She would never tell him she trusted him, but it was in her actions. And actions, as he well knew, spoke louder and clearer than any words.
They traveled in silence, their hands linked together as if it were the most normal thing in the world to do. The more Lev learned about Reyna, the more he was attracted to her. He was just a man, after all.
A man with needs.
When they were forty minutes outside of Gdynia, he asked her, “Tell me about the marina. How many entrances, the layout, and where your boat is.”
He listened as she told him every detail he would need. They spoke about where to leave the car, how to approach the boat, and what to do if any Saints were waiting for them.
“We’ll be timing our departure to sea at dawn,” Reyna said.
“Along with so many others. That could be in our favor.”
She blew out a breath. “Or it could work against us.”
“What route did you intend to take once you got out to sea?” he asked.
“There’s only one route. We have to sail through Kattegat. It’s a strait that forms part of a connection between the Baltic and North seas. It’s a hundred and thirty-seven miles long.”
Lev shook his head as he pressed his lips together in frustration. “There will be Saints waiting for us there.”
“I know. It was a chance I took, but I assumed I’d get away before they knew I was missing. And I didn’t expect to have someone with me.”
“If we go that route, we’re as sure as caught.”
She shrugged. “It’s not like we can go anywhere else.”
“Really?” he asked as he looked her way.
Her brows snapped together. “What are you thinking?”
“They’ll assume we’ll want to get out to sea. The odds are that they’ll post dozens of Saints at the strait to find us.”
“True,” she said with a nod. “It’s what I would do since I’d assume—rightly so—that there is no other way.”
Lev grinned. “We do have another escape. The Baltic Sea reaches several countries.”
“While that’s true, we’d still need to cross them, if you’re referring to Sweden and Norway. Going any other direction takes us right back toward the Saints. Which only a crazy person would do.”
His smile widened.
Her eyes followed suit. “You can’t be serious. What are we going to do? Wander from town to town until someone notices us?”
“Nope. We need to find another cell phone.”
“For?” she prodded.
“Mia is the best pilot I know. She might have lost her plane, but Sergei can find her another.”
“Mia?”
Was it Lev’s imagination, or was there a hint of censure in Reyna’s voice? “Mia is with Cullen Loughman, the middle brother. Sergei has a soft spot for her since she reminds him of his dead daughter.”
“Then it’s time we hide this vehicle, find you a phone, and make our way to the marina.”
“Agreed.”
“The perfect place to hide the car is at one of the warehouses at the port, but it’s a forty-minute walk to the marina from there. That’s a long time to be out in the open where anyone can spot us.”
Lev couldn’t disagree with her. “We can’t chance leaving the vehicle at the marina. No doubt it’s been reported missing by now, or it will be soon. I’d rather not take a chance of bringing it straight to the docks.”
“There is a section between the marina and port that might work. We’d still be walking a bit.”
“I say we split up.”
She wrinkled her nose, showing her distaste for the idea. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“It may be the only one. I’ll drop you close to the marina. It’s still dark, so you should be able to make your way to the boat. The Saints are looking for a couple, not just one person. Do you have a cap?”
“I have a beanie.”
“Hide your hair beneath it.”
She put her now-cold coffee in the cupholder. “Okay. And what will you be doing?”
“I’m going to drive east to ditch the car. I’ll also get a cell phone. And you’ll pick me up.”
Reyna sat there for a second before she tilted her head toward her shoulder briefly. “It sounds like a good plan. But there’s just one tiny problem.”
“How are you going to know where I’m at?”
“Precisely.”
Lev followed the signs to the Gdynia marina. “Follow the coastline. You’ll find me. I won’t go farther than ten miles before I hide the car.”
“It’s risky.”
“It’s riskier not to do this. If we take the boat out to the North Sea, we’re all but handing ourselves over to the Saints. If you want to do that, then I say we just pull over right now and wait for them to find us.”
She sighed loudly and gave a frustrated shake of her head. “All right, but if I can’t find you, I’m leaving your ass.”
He knew she wouldn’t since he was now her way home, but Lev didn’t tell her that. “Fair enough.”
When he reached the marina, the sky was just starting to turn a faint, pale blue far on the horizon. It was a nudge to remind them that they needed to get moving.
But he didn’t release her hand, and she didn’t let go of his. They sat staring out the windshield, neither saying what was on their mind. Lev knew there was a chance that she’d be caught getting to her boat. He didn’t like not being there to watch her back.
Reyna was aware something could happen while Lev was hiding the car or stealing the phone and she wouldn’t realize it until she went looking for him.
“Don’t go up and down the coast,” he warned her. “If you don’t find me, keep going. I’ll find a way to get to Norway.”
“If that’s the case, we need to pick a city.”
He waited until she unfolded her map and spread it open to Norway. Lev fisted the hand that had held hers to try and remember what it had felt like to feel her. He leaned over and looked at the map.
Lev spotted a little piece of land jutting out from Bergen called Fjell. “There,” he said. “We’ll meet at the airfield, there.”
Reyna folded up the map and handed it to him. “I have another on the boat. Keep this one.”
“I won’t need it,” he assured her.
Her brown eyes were steadfast as she held his. “I know. Be careful.”
“You, too.”
Then, to his surprise, she leaned over and pressed her lips against his briefly. It barely registered before she was out of the car, her pack looped over one shoulder, and the bag of food in her hand. Lev watched her through the passenger window as she walked away.
He didn’t know why he didn’t drive off. It would be the right thing to do, but he couldn’t. Reyna walked about twenty steps before she turned and looked back at him. She paused for a moment. He wished he could see her face, but he knew her gaze was on him.
Lev didn’t leave until she continued walking. He exited the marina, looking for signs of anyone. The problem was that several people milled about. Any of them could be a Saint.
“Stop,” he ordered himself.
If he continued thinking like that, he wouldn’t be able to complete his part of the plan. Lev cleared his throat and adjusted in his seat.
Once clear of the marina, he headed east, staying as close to the coast as he could. He went four miles and was about to pull over to hide the car when something told him to keep going. It was another six miles before he found the derelict building.
He pulled up to it and quickly looked around. That’s when he found the roll-up door in the back. He hastily returned to the car and drove it to the rear of the building. From there, he made his way inside and used the chains to roll up the door.
Lev strained against the rusted chain that obviously hadn’t been used in years. When he finally got it to move half a foot, the sound was so loud, he was surprised that someone didn’t come running to investigate.
If he thought moving it once would then make it easier, he was dead wrong. He wasted more time getting the door lifted inch by inch than he wanted. Finally, he had it raised enough that he could drive the car in.
Except when he did, he scraped the roof, but he didn’t stop. He pulled through and shut off the engine, grabbing his pack and the map. Then he shut the rolling door, which proved an easier feat than opening it.
From there, he slung on his backpack and began jogging to the coast. He found several vehicles in a parking lot. After a look around to see if anyone was near, he started peeking into windows to see if someone had forgotten their phone.
Just when he didn’t think he’d get lucky, he found one. The cell phone was on the floorboard. He’d nearly missed it, in fact. He found a good-sized rock and busted the window to unlock the door.
He wrapped his hand around the rose gold glitter case and stuffed it into his pack. Then he raised his gaze to the boats nearby. All he could do now was hope that he hadn’t taken too much time hiding the car so he’d missed Reyna.
There was a little money left, but not enough to buy himself a way across the sea to Norway. He found a pier that jutted out into the sea and walked to the end of it.
The sun was rising in the east, but his gaze was pointed west. He hadn’t asked Reyna what type of boat she had.
It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. He knew nothing about them.
It wasn’t as if he came in contact with many, even with working Sergei’s business on the docks.
The vessels they dealt with were cargo ships.
The minutes ticked by. Five. Ten. Twenty.
Thirty.
Lev was thinking about ways he could get across the sea when he spotted a boat with black detailing coming to a stop. His heart skipped a beat when he spotted Reyna’s caramel- colored locks flying in the wind as she came to the railing.
She smiled and waved. Lev lifted his hand and was about to jump into the water to swim to her when she ducked back inside. To his surprise, she pulled the boat up alongside the dock.
“Hurry,” she shouted over the engine.
He heard the boat scrape something as he jumped the three feet separating them. His hands gripped the railing as he got his footing and pulled himself over. All the while, Reyna reversed and then took them farther out to sea.
Once he was on the boat, he made his way into the helm and stood beside her until they were in open waters. Then she turned to him.
Lev dropped his pack and pulled her into his arms.