Page 107 of Shadow Blind

The RPG blast had left her in a dire predicament. Sure, she’d expected Grigory to die. But not so soon. She’d planned to embrace and inject her former partner just before she stepped off the aircraft. She’d be gone by the time the poison took effect. If she couldn’t get close to him, at least she’d be well hidden and out of danger by the time Grigory implicated her in their business venture.

She’d been lucky her former partner hadn’t admitted she was the brains of the operation during his drugged rambling. But now that he was out of the picture, the soldiers surrounding her had no one to interrogate—except her. As the brown-haired soldier had stressed.

So, no, they wouldn’t let her go. Not now.

Once they interrogated her and discovered she was the brains behind the testing and deaths in Karaveht, and the meltdown of their special forces team… She shuddered. Her being a woman wouldn’t save her, that was for sure. If they allowed her to live, she’d do so in some dank prison, never again to see the light of day.

Her heart rate escalated. So did her breathing. She suppressed another shudder. She had to escape this aircraft. That’s all there was to it.

They’d been in the air for at least two hours when the chopper suddenly slowed and dropped. It continued dropping. Eloise tensed, recognizing the subtle rocking as the craft settled on the ground.

Had they arrived at the soldiers’ base? The vibrations and roar of the engine subsided. Muffy stirred in her pup pack. Several men rose to their feet as their leader pulled back the cargo door. Eloise stared out the open door. Snow fell in a soft, lazy veil, illuminating the night. No artificial lights surrounded them. No shouts or hails. They must not be at the soldiers’ base.

She relaxed. There was still time to escape then. This stop might even give her the opportunity she was looking for. Distantly, a truck engine roared to life. Since her motto had always been to carry on as she meant to go on, she hauled her satchel up and rose to her feet. Muffy sat up, poking her fluffy head through the opening in the top of the pup pack.

Several of the broad-shouldered soldiers surrounding her turned to stare, including the one who called the shots. He turned from his position next to the open cargo door. Two strides across the cargo bay, and he stopped in front of her.

“We stop to fuel,” he told her without preamble, ignoring the flash of Muffy’s bared teeth. “You will not be released here.”

The roar of a diesel engine and the grit of gravel against tires came from the dark.

“But…but…why? I’ve told you everything I know.” She forced a lip tremble and let the tears well. The news didn’t surprise her, but she couldn’t afford to change her tactics now. A sudden absence of whinging would bring scrutiny. He turned away. She touched his forearm and raised her voice to stop him. “I need to use the loo. Do you have one on board this…thing?”

She was almost certain the answer would be no. She’d never seen a chopper with a bathroom. And the interior of this bloody craft was close enough to a chopper layout to make a loo unlikely.

He turned back to her with a flat face. “You’ll have to wait.”

“For how long?” she asked, fidgeting.

He studied her and then said with great reluctance. “Three hours.”

The roar of the truck and the scraping of tires against gravel were much closer. This was her opportunity to escape. But she couldn’t use that opportunity unless she was on the ground.

“I can’t wait that long.” She turned the comment into a whine and squeezed her thighs together like she was barely holding the piss in. “I really need to wee. Like now.” When a frown touched his face, she doubled down. “Look, if there isn’t a loo around here, just let me out so I can do my business behind a shed or something. Trust me, I won’t last half an hour, let alone three, and I really don’t want to piss my pants.” She forced a visible recoil. “That’s just…disgusting. Plus, Muffy will need to go soon too. The last time I took her out was before we went to bed last night.”

The fucker studied her face for way too long. She tried to look like someone in the midst of a bladder emergency. A few more tears and fidgeting seemed to do the trick. A sigh shook his big frame. With an eye roll and a “why me” shake of his head, he turned to the open cargo door and hopped out.

He disappeared into the falling snow without saying a word. She scratched Muffin behind her fluffy ears and considered following him, but the dozen eyes watching her kept her feet still. It was imperative she act cowed and harmless. Following him out that door was not the act of an intimidated woman.

Hoping he was off finding her a bathroom, Eloise remained standing and tried to think of a good excuse to bring her tote with her. Nothing came to mind. The lead bastard had watched her pack the damn thing. He knew what was in it, knew she didn’t need it for a quick trip to wee. She’d have to leave it behind.

At least she’d transferred several stacks of cash from the tote to her coat pocket while everyone was so focused on their dying mate. She had what she needed. A deep, slow breath settled her nerves.

When he returned to the aircraft, his long, dark hair sparkled with melting snow. He beckoned to the soldier who’d escorted her out of the house in Russia and tossed her into the chopper. “Take her to the metal building behind us. It has a bathroom.”

Eloise’s fingers tightened around the tube in her pocket. The syringe was in play after all, although not on the asshole who deserved it. She forced a shaky “thank you” and allowed her guard to help her off the aircraft. Her little angel didn’t like the soldier being so close and warned him off with a combination of barks, growls, and snarls. All of which her young guard ignored.

“Look at you being all guard doggie,” Eloise cooed, with another gentle scratch behind the floppy ears.

Muffy had great instincts. It wasn’t a surprise her princess hated these assholes. Of course, Muffin hated most men, which just illustrated her good sense. Men were nothing but lying, cheating, bullying harbingers of misfortune.

The night was warmer and gentler than two hours earlier in Petropavlovsk. The snow fell in thick, fluffy flakes that melted as soon as they landed. Without the wind, the temperature was downright pleasant. The snow hitting her face was even refreshing.

As they crossed the compound toward the building with the toilet, she studied the landscape. Visibility was good as the snow’s radiance illuminated everything. There were no vehicles around or soldiers other than those tending to the petrol needs of their daft chopper. The property appeared deserted. There wasn’t even a fence protecting it, which seemed odd. At the very least, wouldn’t they want to protect their petrol?

Escape, as of now, was impossible. Too many of the soldiers were watching her. They’d overtake her before she got away. She’d have to enter the building and hope there was a door or window in the back. She sent a quick plea to the universe to help her escape.

Through the falling snow, she saw the blurry impression of trees. The forest would allow her to elude anyone pursuing her. Her gaze fell on the mounds of snow around the shed. Slogging through all that white stuff was going to be a problem, and she’d leave tracks. But the fuckers chasing her would have to wade through it, too, which evened the playing field.

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