Page 91 of Raul
“It would definitely spook al-Buya if I show up in a military aircraft. He might toss the eggs overboard.Hostia!” Raul raked his fingers through his hair, his face tight with fury. “Thatmaldito bastardois going to get away with our dragon.”
Erica took a deep breath. This meant so much to Raul. She couldn’t bear to let him down. “I’ll do it. I’ll fly you to the yacht.”
“No,mi amor,I won’t ask you to do something you’re not comfortable with.” Raul’s voice was gentle.
He’d called hermi amor. Now she was even more determined to help him rescue the dragon.
“I just had to wrap my mind around it.” She turned to Pascal. “I wasn’t allowed to bring my cell phone into the party. Can you call the airport and arrange for the Halcón Aviation helicopter to be prepped and ready? I’d rather fly a craft I’m familiar with.”
“Does it hold four people?” Pascal asked. “Dario and I have to come along.”
Dear God, she would be responsible for the lives of even more people now. She nodded. “It has four seats.”
As Pascal pulled out his cell, Raul took both her hands and looked down into her face, his eyes clouded with concern. “Are you sure? I trust you one hundred percent, but I do not want you to feel forced out of your comfort zone.”
She wanted to say she was way out of her comfort zone, but catching al-Buya was important to him. And her.
“I want to save that dragon as much as you do.” She squeezed his hands lightly before releasing them. “We should get going.”
If he gave her another chance to say no, she might lose her nerve.
Once again, Raul slid gracefully through the crowded room, his palm pressed against the small of her back. She caught a couple of envious glances thrown toward her by some young female guests. If she wasn’t so anxious, she would have enjoyed them. Instead, she was running through the helicopter flight checklist in her mind.
As they walked out a side door, Dario joined the three of them. She had a feeling that there were guns concealed under the well-cut black jackets of Raul’s bodyguards. Which made her consider her own clothes. “I can’t fly in heels,” she said, thinking of the helicopter’s antitorque pedals. “Any chance of finding a pair of sneakers real fast?”
“What size?” Dario asked.
She told him, and he peeled off, saying he’d meet them at the car.
Raul led the way through a maze of hallways until they arrived at another door, which opened into a large garage. A row of gleaming black SUVs was parked along one side. Dario stood beside one, a pair of black running shoes in one hand. “They belong to one of the servers, but they’re the right size,” he said, holding them out to Erica.
“I’m not going to be picky right now.” She took them, wadded up her beautiful skirt in one hand, and climbed into the back of the car as Pascal held the door open. She didn’t even attempt to be graceful about it.
Raul vaulted in behind her, his shoulder brushing hers as he settled on the seat. The fine wool of his tux felt like silk against her skin, and she wanted to rub against it.
“Okay, let’s go,” Raul said, obviously not affected by their brief contact.
Pascal finished the conversation he was having on his phone and swiveled around. “The helicopter is ready.”
A shiver of nerves ran through her, but she shook it off. She could do this.
She leaned forward to remove her sandals and put on the borrowed sneakers. She made sure to tie the laces securely, double-knotting the bows. Luckily, the shoes fit fine. Then she looked at the folds of her beautiful shimmery dress falling around her ankles. That was not going to work.
“I need a pair of scissors,” she said.
“Scissors?” Raul asked, baffled.
“I’m going to have to cut off my skirt to fly,” she said.
“I have a knife.” Pascal reached under his jacket and pulled out a black leather sheath with a black handle protruding from it. “Be careful. It’s very sharp.”
Raul took it and slid the knife partly out of the sheath. The blade was black but picked up a gleam of light from outside the car. “We will do this when we get out of the car. It’s too dangerous while we’re moving.”
“Agreed,” Erica said after a glance at the wicked serrations of the knife.
“Okay, now we need a story to get us on the yacht.” Raul thought for a moment. “Al-Buya loves to show off theAzzam. It’s his favorite, very expensive toy. We have to play on that.”
“You’ve already established that you want to see it, right?” Erica asked. “Maybe you noticed him leaving the party…and you’re bored, so you want to move up your visit.”
