Chapter 29
Lev shook the water from his face and swam to the back of the boat. He’d spent the last hour removing the old numbers and replacing them with the new ones. It wouldn’t keep the Saints off their trail completely, but it would make life difficult for them, that was for sure.
He climbed up the ladder and got out of the water. His gaze scanned the back of the boat as he dried off. Lev had left Reyna sleeping. As she had been for the six hours prior. The fact that they were relatively safe allowed her to get the rest her body so desperately needed.
When she woke, he would take a look at the wound. He’d wanted to inspect it before she went to sleep, but he hadn’t had the heart to wake her when he found her curled up on the bed.
Lev checked the map and the compass to make sure he was headed southwest. They had decided to skip stopping in Scotland or Ireland. Iceland was on the way, but Lev would prefer not to stop there either.
He started the engine and throttled the boat forward, headed toward Dover, Maryland. No doubt the Saints were waiting for him, which is exactly what he wanted.
For the third time, he turned on the cell phone and checked the clock. Barely one minute had passed before the phone vibrated with a text.
All clear.
He smiled when he read it. Right after, the device rang. He didn’t hesitate to answer. “Hello?”
“I’m sorry it took so long,” Callie said.
Lev chuckled and sat back in the chair as he kept the boat on course. “No need to apologize. I knew you’d figure it out one way or another.”
“I don’t like that it took me so much time. The Saints began attacking us virtually, which is what slowed me down.”
His smile disappeared. “Should I be worried that they’re tracking this.”
“Oh, please. You know I would never have called if that was a possibility.”
He did, but he couldn’t help but worry. “How did you stop them?”
“I haven’t yet. At least, not completely. I focused on separating this line from everything else, which will allow you to check in when you need to.”
“You mean they’re still attacking you?”
Callie laughed. “They sure are. I set up several layers of firewalls and malware because I knew they’d come at us this way. It’s keeping them busy, but I’m having to add more and more layers so they can’t get through.”
Lev knew the Saints had a team, while Callie was working on her own. “Is there anything we can do?”
“Stay alive,” Callie stated. “I’m hoping you’ll come around the States and come into port at Galveston, but I suspect you’re about to tell me you’re headed somewhere else.”
“You’d be right.”
“I figured. Just thought I’d put my hope out there.”
“I don’t want any of you there when we come in. All of you need to stay at the ranch.”
Callie barked with laughter. “Wow. You’ve totally forgotten who we are. As if we’d leave you and Reyna hanging.”
“Callie, I’m serious. They’ll be waiting for me.”
“And we’ll be waiting for them. Cullen and Mia are going to stay in Dover.”
Lev shook his head, twisting his lips. “That’s a bad idea.”
“Hmm. Maybe you should have told Orrin and Yuri that, as well. They left this morning.”
“Please tell me the rest of you are staying in Texas.”
There was a beat of silence. “If I’m perfectly honest, I’ll say that we’re still debating that.”
In other words, Wyatt and Owen wanted Callie and Natalie to stay behind while the girls wanted to go. Lev knew who was going to win that fight—the men. Wyatt had already locked Callie in the bunker once to keep her safe. He wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. But Lev didn’t tell her that.
“Lev,” Callie said, her voice deepening in seriousness. “Cullen said that some of Sergei’s men think you’re the one who killed Sergei.”
“Because I wasn’t there,” he said. “Yeah, I figured as much.”
“You won’t be able to trust any of them.”
“I trained those men, Callie. I know them.”
She made an unintelligible sound. “I’ve learned that when it comes to the Saints, you can’t trust anyone.”
“That’s the truth. I’ll know when I look into their eyes which I can and can’t trust.”
“They might turn on you, as well.”
“Let them try.”
“Damn, but I want to be there to see that,” she said, a smile in her voice.
He grinned. “Do what you can to keep Wyatt and Owen in Texas. I don’t guess you’ve heard from Maks?”
“Actually, Cullen sent him a message about you and Reyna.”
“I didn’t see him. Then again, if he was there, he wouldn’t have made himself known.” Lev thought about the shot he’d heard when he was swimming.
Callie sighed loudly. “We won’t see or hear from Maks until he’s ready for us to. But if he was able to help y’all, he would have.”
“I know.”
“You can keep the phone on. I’ve got it so highly encrypted that the Saints couldn’t even find it.”
He chuckled. “Good luck with the cyber-attack.”
“Oh, they don’t even know what I’m about to unleash. They chose wrong coming at us this way. I’ve stayed away from their computers, but that’s about to change.”
Lev suddenly had an idea. “You might want to get in without them knowing and have a look around.”
“Why wouldn’t I take them down if I could?”
“Because it’ll be better if we hit them simultaneously via their computers and their personnel.”
“Oohhh,” Callie replied. “That’s good. We’ve been on the defensive since we began this. I’m ready to be offensive.”
Lev was, too.
They ended the call. Lev yawned as he realized that his stomach was grumbling.
He input the coordinates for Dover into the GPS to keep the boat on course and then set the autopilot.
He then took his hands off the wheel for a few minutes to see how it did.
When the vessel stayed on course, he rose and went to empty his bladder, check on Reyna, and grab some food.
He was gone less than ten minutes. Still, he returned to the helm and ate the cheese and crackers instead of staying below.
He wasn’t worried about running into anything.
No, Lev was more concerned about other boats coming his way.
He wanted to be able to spot them first and prepare.
The great thing about being out on the water was that you could see a potential enemy from miles away.
Happily, the seasickness had been kept at bay. Maybe because his gaze remained on the horizon as much as he could, but he wouldn’t chance getting sick. Reyna needed him. And he needed to be ready for an attack.
The rest of the day remained quiet with nothing to see but water and sky. Lev checked the weather every few hours to see if they would encounter a storm. Everything seemed to be staying to the north of them for the moment, thankfully.
By the time night fell, he needed more substantial food. He slowed the boat and let it drift as he went below to check on Reyna. He felt her head, but there was no fever. She slept deeply, so he left her alone.
Lev went to the galley and sautéed some spinach and then cooked the two chicken breasts Reyna had found at the residence. He left one on the stove for her while he plated the other for himself.
He remained below to eat and look at something other than water for a little while. The food did wonders to revive him. He grabbed a soda and a bottle of water from the fridge after washing his plate and then went back up top.
A part of him wanted to anchor the boat and climb into bed with Reyna. But he decided against it because she needed to be left undisturbed, and because they had to cover as much ground as they could.
He went another forty miles or so when the rain started. The lights from the boat directed on the water showed that the waves were still pretty calm. He knew little to nothing about ships. If the storm got too bad, he’d have to wake Reyna.
After about ninety minutes, the rain tapered off, and the clouds cleared. He found himself gazing at the stars. They were so clear and bright out there that they were mesmerizing. Even the moon was hypnotic.
He was beginning to understand people’s love of the water. If he didn’t have the Saints chasing him, he’d really be enjoying himself. Especially on a boat like this with Reyna.
Sergei would laugh at him. At the thought of his friend and mentor, Lev got choked up with emotion. He hadn’t gotten to speak to Sergei since he’d left for Kiev. Nor was he at the funeral.
Lev could almost hear Sergei telling him that funerals meant nothing to the dead. They were for the living, and that Lev shouldn’t feel bad about anything.
But he did.
He wanted to honor Sergei and the life the old man had given him. Lev could well imagine the sendoff Sergei got. He had been feared, yes, but more than that, he’d been respected. He was known for being fair—though not forgiving.
Even if Lev had been at the funeral, he wouldn’t have said anything. It wasn’t his way. He’d have told Sergei privately.
Lev cleared his throat and tried to put his thoughts into words, but they were all jumbled. His pain was too fresh, he supposed. He needed time to get it all straight in his head before he went to Sergei’s grave and spoke to him.
“I miss you, old man,” he murmured to the stars, wondering which one was Sergei’s.
Lev shut off that train of thought and began planning for when he and Reyna reached Dover. They had about a week of traveling, and he had to have everything sorted out by then. Callie was right, there was a chance that Sergei’s men would come at him. There was also a chance they wouldn’t.
He knew the port at Dover better than anyone else. There were ways of getting in that no one knew about. He’d used it a few times to smuggle Sergei’s friends in and out of the States. Never had he thought to need it himself.
By the time the sun came up, Lev had figured out where the Saints would station themselves at the port to locate him. Then, all he had to do was take each of them out.
The problem with that was that there were always Saints you didn’t know about. All it would take was one of them seeing him and sounding the alarm. Yet the fewer bodies he had to fight, the better.
He stared in wonder at the beauty of the sunrise. It turned the water almost gold, and the sky scarlet and orange. After staring at the marvel for a few minutes, Lev grabbed the binoculars and checked behind him, on either side of him, and in front of him for vessels.
When he lowered the binoculars, Reyna was standing there. He smiled at her mussed hair and sleepy eyes.
“You should’ve woken me,” she told him sternly, then ruined it with a yawn.
Lev bit back his laugh. “You needed the rest.”
“We needed to cover the distance. If things had gotten bad, I would’ve stopped for the night.”
She rubbed her eyes. “You seem to be taking to the water much better.”
“I’m coming to understand the love of it.”
“Are you?” she asked with a grin.
He nodded. “How’s the wound?”
“Sore still, but better.”
“I need to check it. And then how about some breakfast?”
“You sit. I’ll do that.”
Lev gave her a dry look. “Sit and steer, if you must. I’ll cook.”
She saluted him, but she wore a smile. “Yes, sir.”
“Hmmm,” he replied with a wink. “I could get used to that.”