Page 94 of Savage Warrior

“Where are we?” She sits up, looking dazed.

“Poland,” I reply. “We have a helicopter waiting for us.”

“Oh.” She settles down again. “That’s good. I’ve never been in a helicopter.”

Magda has the chopper ready to take off as soon as we’re all aboard. Ethan is on the phone to Marius for an update on Yuryl as well as to brief him on the events in Minsk. He’s as baffled as we are about the mystery assassin.

Casey has no intelligence on him either but begins an internet search. Someone with those skills must have honed them somewhere.

“What about the money?” Ethan asks her. “Did you manage to retrieve it?”

“The whole two and half million is safely back in our coffers,” Casey assures him. “Do you want me to empty the rest of his account?”

“I don’t see why not. Transfer it to a women’s charity or something.” Ethan settles back in his seat to enjoy the ride home.

Now that she’s finally become convinced that her ordeal is over, Natalija is fairly chatty. She tells me of their lives in Lida, of Arina working to provide for them all, of being forced to move from one apartment to another, each home worse than the one before. Of being hungry and cold, and scared.

“I will get a job, too,” she tells me. “I can clean and do laundry.”

“What about school?” I ask.

She shrugs. “Maybe. Sometimes.”

Aaron interrupts the conversation by offering her a piece of his chocolate bar. She guzzles it as though she hasn’t eaten for days. Maybe she hasn’t. I make a mental note to get her some sandwiches or whatever when we stop in Brussels to refuel.

CHAPTER 22

Arina

I’ve stopped asking for news. No one is telling me anything anyway. But everyone here seems perfectly calm, going about what I assume is their normal business, and surely there would be more fuss if something had gone wrong.

Marius left after a few hours. Yuryl and I waved him off, then we all retreated to Faith’s cottage where we are both to stay for now. I could have gone back to Megan’s clinic but I prefer to be with my brother. He needs me, and Megan agreed she could look after me just as well at the cottage as in her sickbay.

I still struggle to walk, and I tire easily, but Yuryl is keen to explore his new surroundings, so we pull on borrowed sweaters and waterproofs and venture out onto the shingle beach. Buffeted by the brisk wind that I am beginning to realise is pretty much constant here, we pick our way down the cliff path to the water’s edge.

For both of us, this is thew first time we’ve encountered an ocean close up. I’m as fascinated at Yuryl. Seabirds swoop and screech, and in the distance, grey seals lounge on the craggy rocks. Despite the inhospitable weather, this place is haunting in its majestic beauty.

I’m exhausted by the effort of getting down here, so I settle on a large rock to get my breath back and watch the seals while Yuryl collects shells.

“Is this where we live now?” he asks me, depositing his latest finds at my feet.

“I do not know,” I answer him honestly. “Would you like to live here?”

“Yes!” He beams at me. “There’s a swimming pool, and I don’t have go to school.”

“Hmm. We’ll see.” I’m not at all sure what our future holds, though I’m determined we won’t be going back to Belarus if I can help it. I can think of worse things than staying on this rugged, windswept island, but I’m not sure if that will be permitted or if I can make a life here for all of us.

And would that life include ?tefan?

He never said anything to make me think it might. Most of the time we were together, I wasn’t even sure he liked me. Except for when we were in bed. Then, he did. Definitely. But good sex isn’t enough. Is it?

Maybe brilliant, mind-blowing sex would be something to build on, though. We had that, or at least I thought so. But it was all so rushed, so hectic. There was danger, mistrust. We were running, hiding. I wish we’d had more time, a chance to just be together, to get to know each other.

Maybe if I’d told him how I felt…

Maybe if I’d even known myself how I felt…

“Faith said you might be down here.”

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