Page 22 of Capturing Victory

“Haty,” she said, her voice rough from swallowing too much water. “You’re going to have to swim once this thing goes down. J-just promise if you see I-Ivan…” Her teeth chattered so hard, from either fear or cold, maybe both, she could barely speak. The helicopter sank steadily until only the tiny portion Jaya clung to was above the surface still. “P-promise you’ll bite his nose off if you can. J-just wait until he’s asleep then you get him good. Okay, baby kitty? Revenge for mama?”

Jaya cried out in despair as the helicopter sank below the surface completely. “Oh god!” she yelled as she kicked and thrashed in an attempt not to get dragged under with the sinking machine. “Go, Haty!”

Chapter Fourteen

Jaya was just lifting off from the helicopter pad when his men managed to get Ivan through the first door. It took two minutes to get him the rest of the way through the security wing, which she’d locked down tight. Keane was bellowing into his radio, sending men to the docks and the airstrip.

“Where do you want to go, boss?” Keane asked. “Boat or plane.”

“Dock,” Ivan snapped grimly without further explanation. He stalked through the building toward the nearest boat dock. Given the sloppy way she’d taken off in the helicopter he didn’t think she was going to make it far. Nothing in his background checks on her or his experience with her told him she was a pilot. He highly doubted her ability to make it to the mainland in one piece. He just prayed she wasn’t badly injured if she did crash.

When he arrived at the dock, it was to find one of his fastest boats prepped and ready to leave. Ivan leaped onto the craft, Keane right behind him. Something crackled over Keane’s radio that made them all freeze.

“She’s down. Bird’s in the water and sinking fast.”

“Move out!” Keane shouted.

The boat shot forward, the man piloting it smart enough to use full throttle without being told. Keane took up post by the captain and gave him instructions while Ivan scanned the water for wreckage. The boat flew, skimming the salty waves of the Java Sea as the men frantically sped toward Ivan’s sinking captive.

“There.” Keane was the first to spot her. He pointed toward the horizon. Ivan whipped his head to the side, shading his eyes. He saw the black of the helicopter as it struggled against the battering of waves. “We’re not going to make it in time, she’s going under.”

“We better,” Ivan said grimly, gripping the edge of the boat in both hands. He kicked off his shoes and waited, tension thrumming through his muscles. “Get close, but not close enough to overwhelm the thing with fresh waves. We’ll only sink it faster.”

“Too late,” Keane pointed out. “It just went under. Can see your girl though, she’s waving her arms around like a damn fish on dry land. What’s wrong with her? That’s not how you swim.”

“I don’t think she can swim,” Ivan growled. He’d never in his life felt more helpless than he did in that moment when he watched a wave hit Jaya. Her flailing arms disappeared beneath the choppy white-capped waves. “Cut the engine,” he snarled.

The second the engine stopped he was in the water and swimming toward her in powerful strides. Relief shot through him when he saw her head break the surface again and her arms wave weakly. She turned and looked at him, her dark eyes, which had been dull and hopeless, lit up with a relief to match his. “Ivan!” she cried and tried reaching for him. Unfortunately, her lack of flailing sent her back under.

“Jaya!” he shouted, forcing his body to cut through the waves faster. He could hear someone in the water behind him. He reached her just as her hand breached the water in one last desperate flail. He took hold of her wrist and yanked, pulling her right out of the water and into his arms.

Ivan decided that he’d never seen anything as beautiful as Jaya spitting water out of her mouth, coughing, her eyes and nose streaming. She flung her arms around him and sobbed as though she were dying. He wrapped an arm around her waist and tread water with the other.

“H-h-haty,” she cried brokenly. “I lost her!”

“Got ‘er,” Keane grumbled from beside them and held a limp bedraggled kitten up by the scruff of her neck.

Jaya reached out and snatched her cat, pulling her in between hers and Ivan’s bodies and hugging her tight. She lay limp against Ivan as though she had no more energy left to either fight or swim. She was simply allowing him to hold her up while his men pulled the boat closer. He was stunned that she was trusting him to keep her alive, though she’d been in danger in the first place because she’d tried to escape him. He couldn’t understand what was going through her mind.

The boat was now close enough to finish the rescue. His men reached for her, but Ivan refused to give her up. They’d just have to pull his heavy ass out of the water with his bedraggled burden. This was why he paid them the big bucks. When he tried to tug Haty from Jaya’s arms, the kitty lifted her head and hissed at him, which woke Jaya from her half stupor.

“No!” Jaya protested, squeezing Haty tighter against her neck.

Ivan growled and looked toward Keane who was keeping pace with them. “I guess we’re all going up together. You can help lift from the bottom if you can get a good grip while the others pull from above.”

Keane grinned, showing his teeth and said, “Okay boss, but if I touch something of yours I shouldn’t, don’t shoot me later.”

Ivan grunted in response and wrapped his arms firmly around Jaya. Two of his men gripped him beneath his arms and lifted, bracing themselves against the edge of the boat. He could feel the whole thing rocking under their combined weight but could only concentrate on the woman in his arms. He had one arm wrapped around her waist while she snuggled against him, protecting her kitty. He shifted his hand to protect her head just in case she fell as they were lifted over the side.

As soon as he was on his feet in the boat he shrugged his men off and knelt with Jaya in his arms. The cat crawled weakly up her neck and snuggled into her hair. Jaya kept her arms around Ivan’s throat as though she were still in danger of drowning if she let him go. Her legs were bent back beneath her. Her delicate feet were bare, the toes curled against the cold. Her shoes must have fallen off and sunk into the ocean depths while she fought desperately for her life.

“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” he murmured, smoothing the hair back on her forehead.

She nodded and leaned her head against his chest. Once again, he was amazed at the way she seemed to trust him. For now, at least. “Let’s move,” he snapped, not looking up. He needed to get her home and start warming her up. Shivers were wracking her body and though he was certain it wasn’t entirely from the warm waters of the Java sea, he knew she would feel better once she was dried off and the terror of nearly drowning was behind her.

She tilted her head back and looked at him, her eyes dull with exhaustion. He expected accusation and anger but saw none of that. She licked her lips and then made a face when she tasted saltiness. The edge of his lip quirked up. She looked adorable, even half drowned. He covered her head with a protective hand and pulled her against his chest. She didn’t resist. In fact, she seemed to wholeheartedly accept the comfort he was offering. She gripped the edge of his shirt in one hand and held on tight while they raced back toward the island.

If he could have held on to that moment he probably would have, only he would have had to somehow shut his men out of the picture. He loved the way Jaya clung to him, helpless and seeking comfort, grateful to be alive. He wanted her dependence. He wanted her life in his hands and he wanted it willing. He was beginning to realize in the short time that he’d spent with her that his icy heart, dead since the age of fourteen, was beginning to beat again and it was beating solely for the woman shivering against him. Now he wanted her locked down tighter than ever. Hidden from all danger, including any she could cause herself. And he wasn’t willing to compromise. He was a man used to getting what he wanted. His single-minded pursuit of profit had taught him exactly how to attain the things he wanted, and he would succeed with Jaya. Whether she liked it or not.

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