Chaos

by Iris Johansen

  “And it is.” She could feel his breath on her belly, then faint prickly stubble as he moved lower, rubbing his cheek back and forth against her. “Honest and clear and everything that I want…”

  Chapter

  15

  6:40 A.M.

  Her phone was ringing…

  Novak!

  Alisa jerked up in bed, wide awake, as she picked it up. “How close are you, Novak?”

  “I’ll be there in another forty-five minutes. I just received a message from Korgan sending me coordinates for the helicopter landing pad and telling me that he’ll meet me and then we’ll join you later. Is that the way you want it?”

  Typical Korgan. Taking charge and confronting Novak on his own without even consulting her. But wasn’t that the best way to handle it? For her to step out of the way and let them size each other up and talk and see if they could work together. They were both brilliant and experienced, and she trusted both of them to get the job done. If there was a stumbling block, she could try to step in later to repair any damage. “That’s the way I want it. Tell Korgan to bring you back to Cazvar’s house and I’ll give you a cup of tea. I’ll see you soon, Novak.” She cut the connection.

  She drew a deep breath and swung her legs to the floor. Nothing like being tossed headlong into dealing with real life and all its problems before she was fully awake.

  Where was Korgan?

  She must have been sound asleep not to wake when he’d gotten out of bed and left the house. More likely unconscious, she thought ruefully. She didn’t know how many times they had come together, but it had been wild and more erotic than anything she had ever experienced. Even now her breasts felt heavy, ripe, her skin…glowing. And just thinking about it was making her tingle, ready…

  So she mustn’t think about it. She got to her feet and slipped out of bed. Go wash, find something to wear, and get ready to meet with Novak. She had seized that brief moment and she would not be sorry for it. But it was time to put it aside and get to work.

  Not so easy, she found immediately.

  Before he’d left, Korgan had put that pot of water for her bath on the fire to warm.

  And he’d washed the teapot and set it on the cabinet with her cup and the canister of tea beside it.

  Right now I just want to take care of you. I find I like the idea of that very much.

  Small things to make her feel so treasured, but impossible to ignore…

  * * *

  She heard nothing from either Novak or Korgan for another four hours, and she had to stifle her impatience and the impulse to call them. Look on the delay as a good sign, she told herself. Let them work it out.

  But she was still outside the house impatiently waiting when she saw them come down the cobbled street toward her. Neither of them was smiling, but they were talking very fast and intently. Her gaze went from one to the other. “You took long enough. Is it yes or no, Novak?”

  Novak grinned. “You’re more patient than I remember you being, Alisa. The woman I knew would have been hunting me down and firing arguments at me.” He glanced slyly at Korgan. “Instead of sending an underling like him to do your dirty work. You’re lucky I have a tolerant nature where arrogant billionaires are concerned.”

  “I’m sure your tolerance grows in leaps and bounds with the amount of cash I’m willing to invest in the project,” Korgan said dryly. “And whether you can talk me into relinquishing command. Stop trying, Novak. It won’t happen.”

  “Answer me,” Alisa said. That interaction between them had almost convinced her, but she had to be sure. “Yes or no.”

  Novak shrugged. “It was a tentative yes even before I got off the helicopter this morning. Getting rid of Masenak and Reardon is a project definitely worth doing. The only question mark was Korgan. I had an in-depth report on the rescue of those girls at Szarnar sent to me while I was on the helicopter last night.” His lips turned up at the corners as he glanced at Korgan. “It’s no wonder Lakewood’s nose was out of joint. You were quite…” He seemed to be searching for a word. “Acceptable.”

  “Enough of that puckish humor. I know you’re enjoying it, but he got them out, didn’t he?” Alisa asked. “Why tentative?”

  “I had to meet him and see if that rescue was a lucky fluke. And if it wasn’t, if he had a plan in mind to make this attack come together fast. From what you told me, there’s an urgency.”

  “Yes, there is,” she said. “You were satisfied?”

  “About Korgan?” He nodded solemnly. “I believe he’ll do in a pinch.” He added quickly when Alisa frowned, “And I like the idea of using this village as a secondary base to launch troops and drones. From the map it appears to be the right distance from Masenak, and safe until the actual attack. Plus Korgan appears to have the council tucked into his pocket. That’s why we were running so late. I had Korgan take me to that council house and introduce me to the members.”

  “Drones?” She had caught that word and whirled on Korgan. “You didn’t mention using drones again?”

  “I wasn’t sure I would. But they can be precise and deadly weapons if used correctly. Precision is even more important for an attack on Jubaldar than it was on Masenak’s camp. Sasha, Gilroy, all those innocent workers…”

  “Will you be using the same experimental drones you used at the camp?”

  He shook his head. “Not necessary. That jungle was a nightmare. I can set up the usual overhead drone to navigate these mountains and program it to zero in and go down at exactly the right moment.”

  “You’ll be here doing it yourself?”

  “No way.” His voice was adamant. “Not again. I’m going to be at Jubaldar. I was trapped by my own technology at that base camp. No one else could do it.” He nodded at Novak. “But Novak’s experienced with drones and these aren’t anything innovative. He’ll be able to set them up and launch after I give him the figures.”

  “Lucky me,” Novak said wryly. “So, I’m to make an armed camp of Samlir, maintain a crew on standby ready to launch, and be your techno specialist. Not exactly what I’m accustomed to be doing.”

  “I imagine we’ll be able to add to those duties…if you prove acceptable.”

  “Bastard.” But Novak was grinning. “You’re damn right we will. I’m going to be putting my career on the line manipulating Lakewood, and I’d better come out of this looking like no one else would have been able to do it.”

  “You will,” Alisa said.

  “And how much time do I have to do it?”

  “Not long,” Korgan said. “I want to target the attack on Jubaldar for three days from today.” He counted it off on his fingers. “Today and tomorrow the guests will be flooding into the castle, the next day is the race, and the following day Reardon is scheduled to go home. If we want Reardon, the last possible day I can launch an attack is right before he gets on that helicopter and waves goodbye to Jubaldar.”

  “Three days is going to be damn close. Reardon is absolutely necessary?”

  “Absolutely,” Korgan said flatly. “He could be more of a war criminal than Masenak.”

  Novak shrugged. “Then we’ll get it done. I’ll manage somehow.”

  “You always do,” Alisa said. “Now do you want to come in for that cup of tea I promised you and relax?”

  He shook his head. “Too tame for me right now. I’m charged. I want to take a look around the village and see what I need to do with it. Then I want Korgan to introduce me to Cazvar and let him know he’s under my orders from now on. After that, I should be back on my helicopter and heading back to Maldara to gather personnel and equipment to bring back here.”

  “Is that all?” Alisa asked ironically.

  “It has to be. Because all my time on the helicopter is going to be spent talking to Lakewood. It’s going to take that long to persuade him that this is all his own idea, that I’m not trying to upstage him, and there’s no way he would even consider using Walt Edwards.” He lifted his hand. “I’ll be in
touch.”

  “Thanks, Novak,” she called after him.

  “Like I said, it’s worth doing.” He was striding quickly away. “I’ll meet you back at the council house, Korgan.”

  “Right.” He turned back to Alisa. “Good man. Extraordinary. But he could be difficult.”

  “So can you,” she said. “But it will be good for you having to deal with someone who won’t kowtow to you.” She smiled. “Just being around him makes me remember just how good he is, and why his team thinks he can move mountains.”

  “Well, there are mountains to move here.”

  “He’ll do it.” She suddenly straightened as the energy flowed through her. “We’ll do it. I’m charged, too.”

  “I can see you are.” His gaze went to the door of the hut. “Charges are not to be wasted. Do you want to go inside and have…tea?”

  She quickly shook her head. If she thought about it, she was afraid she’d give him another answer. “I don’t want to do anything but get Sasha away from Jubaldar. When I called Margaret yesterday afternoon, she said that she’d found a cliff passage from Jubaldar to that pine forest where we park the Land Rover that we might be able to use to move the horses. I need to get back there right away to help her check it out. I can feel how close we’re getting. Can’t you?”

  “Yeah.” He pushed the hair away from her face, his fingers lingering in the strands at her temple. “I just tend to become distracted and confused these days about what’s important and what’s not at any given time. But I know Sasha is number one on that list.” He brushed his lips across the tip of her nose. “I’ll call Harris and tell him we’re going to want him to pick us up in the helicopter and leave for Jubaldar right after Novak takes off. Is that soon enough?”

  She nodded. “Things didn’t seem to be going that bad for Sasha, but you can never tell what’s happening from one minute to the next.”

  “No, you can never tell. So we’ll get you there so that you can feel closer to her.” He was striding up the street. “I’ve got to meet Novak. I’ll see you at the helicopter pad.”

  She lingered, wanting to call him back. She didn’t do it. She turned and went into the house to get her backpack.

  * * *

  Jubaldar

  3 P.M.

  50 Hours to Race Time

  Margaret was waiting when Korgan pulled into the forest and parked the Land Rover.

  Alisa’s tense gaze flew to Margaret’s face. Then she relaxed as Margaret smiled at her and started toward the car. Nothing must be wrong.

  She jumped out of the car. “I tried to hurry back. But then Novak showed up and he and Korgan had to—”

  “Stop apologizing, Alisa,” Margaret interrupted. “You told me all that when you called to tell me you were on your way.” She gave her a quick hug. “Nothing happened here that I couldn’t handle myself, and you accomplished a hell of a lot more by bringing Novak to the table.” She turned to Korgan. “But you’d better make sure those riders you’re appropriating from Samlir are damn good. That cliff passage I found is narrow and dangerous. It’s not much more than a ledge. The horses could end up going off it in at least two places if they get nervous or don’t trust their rider.”

  “They’re good. The council guaranteed them,” Korgan said. “And I hope we won’t have to use that passage if I can figure out what else I could do to nullify the threat.”

  “Sasha didn’t think that would be possible,” Alisa said sharply. “She asked me to do this.”

  “And we will. Don’t be defensive. I realize you gave Sasha your word. But I’ve told you before sometimes there’s more than one way. Go check out that cliff passage with Margaret and see what you think.”

  “I will.” She turned away. Then she whirled back to him. “What are you going to do?”

  He smiled. “Not anything that’s going to alter your promise to Sasha. Stop being so suspicious. I believe you’ve found that everything I do for you is only aimed at giving you pleasure. Isn’t that true?”

  His body moving above her, his hands…

  “Isn’t it?” he repeated softly.

  “There have been times you’ve made your own choices about what you think would make me happy,” she said dryly. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to go make a few phone calls and arrangements. With Novak on board, we’ll be moving forward at top speed. He said he was going to pick up personnel and equipment from his base in Maldara. I have to have Vogel mobilize our team and get them here.” He added, “And the equipment I’ll be bringing will be those drones I have to deliver to Samlir and also any other explosives that we left at the base camp. I’ll probably only have today to get it done because I’d bet Novak will be at Samlir tomorrow and he’ll want me there to help solidify his position with the council and citizens.” He paused. “Make sense? Satisfied?”

  She nodded. “Yes, I’m satisfied.”

  “Excellent.” His smile had a hint of recklessness. “I’m not at all satisfied at the moment, but I’ll get there eventually. It’s clear I’ll just have to be patient.” He started moving down the path. “I’ll see you both later.”

  Margaret stared after him and murmured, “He doesn’t appear to be as pleased with the progress as you are. Did he do something wrong at Samlir?”

  “What are you talking about? It’s Korgan. He seldom makes mistakes. And he did everything right while we were there.”

  “Oh, did he?” Her speculative glance shifted back to Alisa. Then she smiled. “That’s nice to know.”

  Oh, shit.

  Ignore it.

  She looked away from Margaret and grabbed her backpack from the car. “Just get me to that canyon. You’ve got me worried about that passage.”

  “Don’t worry.” Margaret was smiling. “I think I might have the problem solved even if those Berber riders aren’t absolutely perfect.”

  “How?”

  “Juno. Juno was with me whenever I visited you at St. Eldon’s, and all the horses are familiar with her. She was even with us when we were riding in the hills. It was a game to all of them. If I tell her to lead them down that ledge, they’ll follow her with absolutely no hesitation.”

  Alisa should have known Margaret would come up with something. She chuckled. “By George, I believe you’ve got it.”

  “Not yet,” Margaret said as she motioned to Juno to follow her. “First, we have to take Juno up to that ledge and let her run it a few times so that she’s letter-perfect when it comes time for her to lead the charge. She’s got to realize that it’s duty this time and not just fun…”

  * * *

  Jubaldar Racetrack

  4 P.M.

  49 Hours to Race Time

  “Sasha, get over here,” Masenak called. “Come and meet our guest! And bring that fiend from Hades so Reardon can see what a beauty he is.”

  She whirled and saw Masenak and Reardon strolling toward her from the stables. They were both smiling and appeared very satisfied with themselves. She braced herself, her hand tightening on Chaos’s lead. “Did you warn him that Chaos might decide to smash his head open if he gets too close?”

  Masenak’s smile disappeared. “I told him that you were having a few problems with him that you’ll resolve given time and effort. We discussed solutions in depth last night at dinner. Now get over here.”

  She walked slowly toward them.

  Chaos was holding back. You’re shaking. I don’t like it. Can I do something to them?

  No, don’t hurt them. That would make it worse for me. I’ll take care of it. I’ll be all right in a few minutes.

  Stupid. It would be so easy. Wouldn’t make it worse. We could each take one of them and then they would be the ones shaking.

  No, Chaos. Just wait.

  Because you’re too weak to help me? I don’t really need help. I only offered because I didn’t want to insult you again. I’ve decided that since I am king, I should show mercy.

  She tried to make the though
t more forceful. No, Chaos!

  She’d almost reached the two men and she was staring directly into Reardon’s face. So cold…She’d only seen him on Skype before, and it didn’t compare to the full impact of the man. He wasn’t like Masenak. Those features were sharp and intelligent, his intensity cruel rather than brutal. But his pale-hazel eyes were dead and without feeling.

  “Ah, there you are.” Reardon was smiling at her, but it didn’t reach those pale eyes. “I was telling Masenak I couldn’t wait to meet you. I could see all that strength and spirit and thought how unusual it was that such a young girl would possess it. I told him it was a shame to waste it on those horses.”

  “He wouldn’t agree with you. He believes that’s exactly where I should be. He’s told me that any number of times.” She glanced at Masenak. “Isn’t that right?”

  “I’d hate to argue with such an old friend,” Masenak said. “There might be room for two sets of thinking on the subject. We’ve been talking about combining our efforts on Chaos once you’ve got him under control. Reardon has some interesting ideas that might benefit both of us.”

  “But you don’t have to do that,” she said swiftly. “Once Chaos has won the race, you can do whatever you wish with him.”

  “You seem to be certain Nightshade won’t win,” Reardon said. “Chaos is obviously a phenomenal horse, but you’ve been telling Masenak that he’s too unstable to trust on the track. Have you been lying to him?”

  “He’s wild. Ask anyone if they can ride him.”

  “I don’t have to ask anyone. I have my jockey in you. If you can ride him once, you can ride him again.” He took a step closer, and then closer. “And again and again.”

  She forced herself not to take a step back. That’s what he wanted her to do. “It can’t happen that way. I’d rely on Nightshade, if I were you. She won’t embarrass you in front of your friends.”