Chapter 15
Reyna didn’t think anything could fell Lev Ivanski. But one look at the greenish tint of his skin said otherwise.
“You didn’t tell me you got seasick,” she admonished.
He shrugged. “It wouldn’t have done any good.”
“We’ll only be on the water for about six hours. Better than weeks at sea.” She winced when he groaned and clutched his stomach. “Keep your eyes on the horizon.”
“I can do that.”
She hurriedly went for the stash of ginger she always kept with her. “Chew this,” she ordered as she handed him two tablets.
“Gum?” he asked with a frown. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s ginger, which is a natural herb for calming nausea and motion sickness.”
He took them and began to chew.
“I know we need to keep hidden, but fresh air does wonders. Open the window there and keep your face beside it,” Reyna told Lev as she once more took the wheel to navigate.
Ten minutes later, she glanced Lev’s way to find his color returning.
“This gum is amazing,” he said.
She chuckled. “I always keep some with me. You never know when you might get an upset stomach. Always calms mine when it happens.”
“I just might survive the sea.”
They shared a grin.
At least she could smile now. For a bit, she’d been worried that she wouldn’t find Lev. Since she hadn’t known how long it would take him to hide the car and find a phone, she had driven slower than she wanted. But she was glad that she had. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have seen him.
“I think I can make that call now that my stomach is settled.” He bent to grab the phone from his pack and dialed.
Reyna kept her attention on the water, but she was already thinking about how they could get to the States if Mia couldn’t fly down to get them. To have anyone leave the US put their lives in danger.
“Hang up,” she told him.
His dark brows snapped together as his blue eyes fastened on her. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“The Saints are already going after your friends. We shouldn’t separate them. Besides, we’re pretty resilient. We’ll find our way home.”
“Reyna,” he began. But his attention shifted, and he said into the phone, “Callie, it’s Lev.”
Reyna could hear a voice, but she couldn’t make out the words. Lev’s gaze lowered to the floor, and she looked back out the window. The sunrise was spectacular. Yellow, orange, and red streaked the sky in a magnificent display.
“Hey,” Lev said as he came up beside her. “Say hello to Callie.”
Reyna looked down to see that he had put the cell phone on speaker. With no other choice, Reyna said, “Hi, Callie.”
“Hey. It’s nice to get to talk to you,” Callie said.
Reyna smiled when she heard the Texas twang.
“Callie is the one who deep dives on others,” Lev explained.
In other words, Lev was telling her that Callie had given her background a thorough search. Probably as thorough as the Saints had.
Reyna nodded at Lev to let him know that she’d expected it.
“You have an impressive history,” Callie said.
“Thanks,” Reyna replied. “I know none of you have any reason to trust me, b—”
“Lev trusts you,” Callie interrupted. “That means we will, as well. Until you give us a reason not to.”
The warning was loud and clear. “Understood.”
“Great. Let’s move on,” Callie stated. “Where are y’all?”
“In the Baltic,” Reyna explained.
Then Lev said, “As soon as Reyna told me there was only one way out, I knew the Saints would be waiting for us.”
“Yep. They sure will be,” Callie agreed.
“I came up with a plan, and Reyna agreed. We’re headed to Sweden, where we’ll cross into Norway.”
Callie said, “Ahhh. I see. And you’re going to get another boat then?”
Reyna met Lev’s gaze and nodded. It was the easiest thing to do. It wouldn’t be simple to steal a boat, but it would keep Lev’s friends away from the Saints for at least that much longer.
“That’s one option,” Lev said. “I wondered if Mia would be up for making a trip, though.”
“You know she would,” Callie replied.
“There’s just the matter of a plane.”
Callie snorted. “Yep. That small matter.”
“Sergei can help with that. I’ll call him. I should check in with him anyway.”
Reyna closed her eyes as she recalled the things she had done to those who had stood against the Saints. She didn’t want that happening to Lev or any of his friends, and if anyone came for them, that’s exactly what would happen.
“We’ll find a boat in Norway,” Reyna said as she opened her eyes and looked at the sea. She ignored the penetrating look Lev leveled at her.
Callie hesitated before she said, “Umm, it’s going to be dangerous either way.”
“Sending Mia here is the most dangerous,” Reyna said.
Lev quickly added, “And letting the Saints catch up to us isn’t?”
Reyna sighed and looked at Lev. “I know what the Saints do to people like Mia. I don’t care how tough a person is, everyone has a breaking point. They’ll do unspeakably horrible things to Mia and anyone who comes with her.”
“You make it sound as if she’ll get caught,” Lev said.
Reyna shrugged. “There’s a good chance she will. They’ll be on the lookout for any private planes leaving the States and headed this way. Even if she doesn’t call in her flight plan, they’ll pick her up on radar and track her. When she lands, they’ll grab her and us.”
“She’s right, Lev,” Callie said. “But even so, I know Mia would come for you. She and Cullen both owe you.”
Lev blew out a long breath, his face tight. “No. Don’t say anything to Mia. Reyna’s right. We’ll be fine.”
Callie issued a loud, sarcastic snort. “How about we stop with the bullshit. We all know the Saints are coming. It doesn’t matter if we’re together or on opposite sides of the world. We’re fighting. That’s what matters. And we have each other’s backs.”
Reyna couldn’t help but smile. Callie was right. It was easy to forget that Lev wasn’t on his own. And—for now, at least—neither was Reyna. She was so used to doing things for herself by herself that she had to stop and remind herself that she didn’t have to do it all anymore.
“I don’t keep secrets from the group.” Callie mumbled something incoherent.
“Okay, so I only keep small things from them. Like eating Owen’s lemon cake.
That thing was just too damn good. My point is that I’m going to fill the others in.
I won’t tell them that you thought about asking Mia to fly, but don’t be surprised if she comes up with it on her own. ”
The tension was gone from Lev’s face. He was calm once more. “Cullen won’t let her do it.”
“She’s a combat pilot. She doesn’t need Cullen’s permission to do anything,” Callie stated, a hard edge to her voice.
Reyna couldn’t wait to meet both Callie and Mia. They sounded amazing. But first, she and Lev had to get to Sweden, then across it into Norway.
“Also,” Callie said hesitantly. “There’s a little matter of Maks.”
“Maks?” Reyna asked Lev with a frown.
It was Callie who answered. “He’s ex-Delta Force. He served on Wyatt’s team but left to join the CIA. The Saints tried to recruit him, but he disappeared. Which was answer enough for them.”
Reyna nodded as she listened. “He’s exactly the type of person the Saints would want. I’m surprised he got away without them forcing him to make a decision.”
“You don’t know Maks,” Lev said dryly.
Callie laughed over the line. “Lev’s right. Maks is...well, let’s just say he told us he was going out. I put a tracker on him, and Wyatt put one in his pack, but Maks found both. The last I had him was in Turkey.”
“He’s a ghost,” Lev said.
Reyna whistled softly as she looked back at the water. “That’s an impressive skill.”
“He might be near y’all,” Callie said. “I could try to get ahold of him.”
Lev shook his head, even though Callie couldn’t see it. “If Maks left, it’s because he has something he needs to do. Let him see it through.”
“Lev,” Callie began.
“I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to this mission,” he cut her off. “I knew the risks. So did Reyna when she decided to infiltrate the Saints. We’ve gotten this far. We’ll figure something out. I’ll be in touch when I can.”
“Be safe,” Callie said before the line went dead.
Lev then called Sergei. The call was quick, only a few words exchanged between the two before Lev tossed the phone out the window into the water.
Minutes ticked by without Lev saying anything. Reyna finally couldn’t take it anymore. She said, “I’m sorry. I want to go home, too. I’m just worried the Saints would grab Mia.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. You were right. Cullen would’ve flown with Mia. It would be a big coup for the Saints to get a Loughman. That can’t happen. Besides, they’re better together.”
“You make it sound like you aren’t one of them.”
Lev shrugged. “In many ways, I’m not. I didn’t want to be a part of this, but I am now. And glad of it. But I’m not blood. That family is...tight.”
“We’ll make it back,” Reyna promised.
Finally, he turned his gaze to her. “I know.”
She didn’t mention that he no longer looked seasick. It was better that his mind was on other things than a nauseated stomach.
“Where are you headed exactly?” Lev asked as he looked down at a coastal map of Sweden.
“The closest port.” She pointed to the bottom tip of Sweden.
Lev twisted his lips. “I’m not keen on remaining out on the water any longer than I have to, but does that put us too close to the Kattegat strait?”
“Closer than I’d like. I figured we needed off the water quickly. Are you suggesting we go farther north?”
“I am,” he said. “What do you think?”
“I think any distance we put between us and them is a win. Only so much time will pass before they realize we aren’t coming. Then Lorraine will look at different locations we could go. She’ll come to Sweden.”
Lev smiled as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Unless she begins to second-guess herself and wonder if we continued over land instead of coming to the sea.”
“Now that would be nice. Most likely, Lorraine will split her team and send half in either direction. She is nothing if not persistent. She’s never failed. She hand-picks each member of her team.”
“So, you know how she thinks.”
Reyna shrugged. “She’s thorough. The fact that we got away will leave a rather nasty taste in her mouth. She’ll come at us with everything she has now. We’re going to have to be even more careful.”
“I’m not worried. Are you?”
Reyna flashed Lev a smile, surprised when the truth filled her. “Not at all.”
“We have each other. Like we told Callie, we’ve gotten this far. We’ll keep going until we can’t go anymore.”
“Sounds like my kind of plan.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled as he grinned. “I’m glad you didn’t shoot me at the theatre.”
“I thought about it.”
“I know. I saw your finger on the trigger. What stopped you?”
She couldn’t tell him the truth, that there was something in his eyes that had called to her. Instead, she said, “I followed my gut.”