Air Bound

by Christine Feehan

  He gave the kid a glare and waved them all inside before closing the hatch. “Airiana, this is Lucia, Siena and Benito. Kids, this is Airiana.”

  The children nodded at her shyly. She gave them a smile of reassurance.

  Ricco killed their parents and posed as their uncle, their only living relative, to acquire them. He sent Airiana the information privately.

  You mean they really have no other family? She had no trouble using their telepathic connection to communicate. It was simply another form of sound and air.

  No, they would have been thoroughly investigated before they took them. It was easy enough to orphan them and then step forward to claim them. Who would question papers that appeared to be legitimate?

  Bastards. Airiana poured loathing into the word.

  Maxim turned to the children. “This is your new home until the rescue boat comes. I don’t want any of you to leave this room for any reason. You have a bathroom and water. There’s a small cooler with food. You’ll be safe here.”

  Lucia and Siena had rushed to Nicia, gathering her in their arms and hugging her tight. At Maxim’s order the children all turned to him, shaking heads and protesting.

  Siena looked around the room. “Where’s Sofia? Why isn’t she here?” Her trusting eyes jumped to Maxim’s face.

  Maxim slowly stepped away from Airiana, feeling helpless. He didn’t much care for the feeling, he’d experienced it too many times as a child and he’d vowed never to be that way again. All the training in the world didn’t prepare him for this situation. He killed people and was comfortable in his role. He didn’t tell little girls with big eyes that he hadn’t saved their sister.

  Lucia held out her hand to her younger sister. “Sofia is Nicia’s twin.”

  Maxim went still inside, hating the position he was in with these children. He couldn’t fix it, couldn’t take away the trauma and hurt. He wanted to kill Ricco all over again. And after he killed him, he would like another chance at Saeed, this time a long, slow death. He’d change his position on torture just for that deviant.

  Maxim sank down on the bed. Airiana moved up behind him, laying her hands on his shoulder, connecting them, trying to comfort him.

  Siena stood in front of Maxim, ignoring her sister’s outstretched hand as if she knew only Maxim had the answers. “Where is she?”

  Maxim took her hands in his. “I’m so sorry, little one. I didn’t board the ship in time to save her. There was a very bad man on board, and he killed her.” Did one tell a child the truth when it was so ugly? He didn’t know any other way. He couldn’t soft-soap it. Hell, children weren’t his forte and never would be.

  Tears welled up. Siena turned to Lucia, who gathered her close and rocked her gently. Nicia burst into tears all over again. She was every bit as traumatized as Benito. Maxim thought about punching a wall, but doubted if that would help comfort the children. He needed to get out of there.

  “I’m sorry,” he repeated lamely, floundering.

  Airiana circled his neck with her hands. “Maxim tried, Siena, but we found her that way. As soon as he could, Maxim went to save Nicia, Benito and then you and Lucia. We’re so sorry about Sofia.”

  “Mommy died too,” Siena said. “And Daddy. Now Sofia. Where are we going to go? I don’t want any more uncles.”

  “We’re not going to any uncles,” Benito said, his eyes catching fire. “We’re staying with Maxim.”

  Nicia broke out into a smile, nodding her head vigorously.

  Maxim hoped the horror didn’t show on his face. He was trained to stay expressionless, but what the hell? He could just see himself going across countries, assassinating criminals with four children in tow. He had the good sense not to shake his head. The next thing he knew he’d have a house with a white picket fence and a dog.

  “We’ll see,” he said.

  “That means we’ll never see you again,” Lucia said. “We’ve heard it a hundred times. Come on,” she gathered the younger ones to her. She looked so old, so motherly—and a little lost—struggling against tears.

  He grit his teeth together. “It doesn’t mean that at all. It means we’ll see. I have to make certain there’s no one on board who can find you children and harm you. I can’t give guarantees. I’m not going to lie to you.”

  “But you will come back for us,” Benito said.

  “I’ve got business with Airiana, making certain she’s safe. I gave her my word.”

  “But then you’ll come back for us,” the boy insisted.

  Maxim could barely stand looking at their hopeful faces. They had no one and he represented hope to them. Survival. He was the hero, and they needed something to hold on to while they waited on a ship of horrors all alone.

  He was no hero, and if there was anyone on the planet who knew less than he did about kids, he wasn’t aware of them. They were waiting for his answer. He could actually feel Airiana willing him to answer in the affirmative.

  He resisted the urge to swear at her. At them. At all of them. He cleared his throat. “Look. I’m not exactly a nice man. I know I seem like it in comparison to men like Galati and Saeed, but you don’t want to rely on me.”

  Nicia slipped her hand in his. His heart stuttered when she turned her dark, Italian eyes on him with a child’s trust. “I feel safe with you.”

  The others nodded. He closed his eyes. This is your fault. You look at me all trusting and these poor traumatized children get the idea that I’m trustworthy.

  You are. And they need to know you’ll see them through this. Can you imagine them sitting here waiting for someone to come and being scared out of their minds? They need to know you’re coming back, that you’ll check on them. They have to believe in something, Maxim, and they believe in you. That’s not a bad thing.

  You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. He stared down into the child’s eyes and then looked at Benito. The boy was trying hard to keep it together.

  He yanked open his war bag and took out ointment, tossing it to Benito. “Yeah. Fine. I’ll ask some people to keep you close until I can come back for you. They’ll have to take you off this ship, but we’ll find a place . . .”

  The farm. Have them sent to my farm, Airiana said. My sisters will look after them and they’ll be safe. Try to arrange that. At the same time you can get word to them that I’m safe and I’ll be coming home as soon as possible. They’ll be worried sick.

  He didn’t want to think about taking Airiana back to her home.

  Airiana, these children are never going to be normal. They’ll need special care. The trauma they’ve been through . . .

  Everyone on that farm will understand. Trust me, Maxim, I know what I’m talking about. Can you find a way to get them transported there when they’re taken off the ship? My brothers-in-law are very good at arranging papers if there’s need, she reminded. He would know that Lev and Stefan Prakenskii would be every bit as adept as he was at creating new identities.

  Maxim sighed, feeling as if his life was spinning out of control when he was all about control.

  Lucia’s gaze had jumped to Maxim’s face. “There are four of us and we want to stay together.” Siena began to cry, and Lucia put her arms around the younger child.

  No one at the farm would try to break them up. I have plenty of room at my house and if necessary, we can figure out legal papers to keep them in the country if they want to stay. The point is, I know a wonderful counselor and she can help them.

  “Airiana has a farm,” Maxim said aloud. “It may be a temporary solution, just until I can figure something else out.”

  “It’s a little isolated. No big city close, but it’s near the ocean and the redwoods and is absolutely beautiful,” Airiana offered. “You might hate it, but you’d be safe. My sisters live there as well, and each of us has our own home. I have a fairly big house, enough bedrooms if
the two younger girls can share.”

  “And he’ll come?” Benito asked, indicating Maxim with his chin.

  This was too much. Airiana was already arranging a future for the children, ignoring all the laws and trapping him into something he didn’t want. He wasn’t that man. “I’ll come. Now all of you settle down. It’s going to be a long wait. At some point the ship will stop. You’ll hear the engines stop. Stay in this room. I’ll let the rescue crew know which cabin you’re in.”

  “But you’ll be gone,” Lucia guessed shrewdly. “That’s why you’re stopping the ship. You’re getting off.”

  He nodded. “I have to protect Airiana. Some very bad men are after her as well.”

  “Why can’t we go with you?” Benito asked.

  “I can’t take all of you with me while I clear this ship, it would be too dangerous,” Maxim explained. “And then I have to get Airiana to someplace else fast. That’s dangerous as well, and there’s no way you children could make the journey. But I keep my word, and I said I’d come back for you, to make certain you’re safe and in a good place. I have a couple of men I trust who will come for you. They’ll say ‘nutmeg grows in odd places.’ If they don’t say that, Benito is going to shoot them.”

  Are you crazy?

  They need that, it helps to make them believe they’re safe.

  But giving Benito a gun? He’s a child.

  Not anymore. Galanti made certain of that.

  Lucia clutched the blanket on the bed so hard her knuckles turned white. “There is no safe place.” Tears welled up in her eyes.

  Nicia and Siena crying was one thing, but Lucia had been struggling so hard to be grown up and take care of her siblings. Seeing the tears spilling down her face was too much. He took both of her hands, gently prying open her fingers.

  “You have no reason to trust anyone, least of all me, Lucia, but we don’t have too many choices left. I’m running out of time. If I want to clear the ship for you, I have to do it now. I’m on a time schedule. Airiana’s farm is the best we can think of. Otherwise, the authorities will ship you back to Italy. I’ll look for you, but I have far less control over what happens to all of you once you’re there.”

  “You’ll be safe,” Airiana added. “Everyone on the farm has been through . . .” She trailed off, searching for the right word. “Horrific circumstances. They’ll help you with the younger ones.”

  Maxim looked at his watch. Time was slipping away. He had to get to the engine room. “We have to go now, Airiana.”

  Lucia straightened her shoulders, her gaze clinging to Airiana’s. “You’ll come back? Both of you?”

  Airiana nodded. “If we’re alive after all of this, we’ll meet you on the farm. If not, you’ll be in good hands. Lexi, my youngest sister, will be particularly understanding. She’ll help all of you. We’ll come back as soon as possible.”

  Maxim stood, reaching for Airiana’s hand. “We have to go now, honey, we’re running out of time.” He tugged until she went with him across the room.

  Airiana looked back at the four children huddled together. “Be patient. Stay strong. And don’t leave this room.”

  She tightened her fingers around Maxim’s, just as reluctant to leave the children as he was. He opened the hatch and resolutely stepped through into the passageway. Airiana glanced back, but she didn’t say a word.

  Maxim’s eyes met Benito. The boy was holding himself very still, but his body vibrated with fear. “I’m coming back for you, kid,” Maxim promised again before he could stop himself. “I know everything in your life has been turned upside down and you haven’t been able to count on anyone else but one another. I’ll find you. Do you understand me? Tell me the password.”

  “Nutmeg grows in odd places.”

  Maxim nodded. “Shoot anyone else who tries to come in. You keep your sisters safe and together.”

  Benito nodded, his gaze still clinging to Maxim. Maxim swore and slammed the hatch closed.

  “I want to kill those bastards all over again,” he admitted to Airiana, pushing down the rage threatening to take over.

  “I wish you could too,” Airiana said. “We have to do something for those kids. I know you think I was being impetuous, but I really thought it through. All of them are traumatized. They’ll need special help to see them through this. Just the murder of their parents would be enough to traumatize them, but their sister as well? At the hands of a sexual predator. And then Benito and Nicia, the things she told me Saeed did to her . . .”

  “She talked to you about it?” Maxim asked. He led the way to the stairs. The engine room was his next target.

  “I think she had to. She was so scared and so grateful that you found her. Benito looked as if he worships you.”

  “Lucia and Benito knew they were going to be killed probably the moment they were brought aboard the ship,” Maxim said.

  “Nicia said Lucia and Benito told her to do whatever the man said so he wouldn’t hurt her. She did it, but he hurt her anyway.”

  Maxim heard the anger in Airiana’s voice. Anger and despair. He stopped just at the top of the stairs and put his arm around her, pulling her into the shelter of his body. “We can’t save them all, but we saved these four. For now, that has to be enough, honey, or you’ll end up going crazy.”

  “When we moved to the farm,” Airiana told him, “I thought we were done with violence. We live pretty simply and it’s beautiful there, and so peaceful. It sickens me to know that this is still going on right under our noses.”

  Airiana had used the word still. He didn’t question her, but he knew she was referring to her youngest sister, Lexi. Of course, the moment he knew Lev and Stefan were involved with two of the women living there, he’d investigated all of them.

  “We’ll take care of those kids. I don’t know how, Airiana, but we’ll get it done. Right now, I need you to put everything else aside and give me a hundred percent right here and now. What we’re doing is dangerous. We have to disable the ship, but there are going to be men down in the engine room. If possible, we’ll round them up and put them in the cargo container they put the kids in. If not, we’ll have no choice but to kill them.”

  “Do we know they’re a part of this?”

  “They know what’s going on aboard this ship. They’re paid to keep quiet, and they have in spite of the fact that women, boys and children are brought here, used and murdered. They aren’t innocent. In any case, once we’re gone, those children will have no protection. If I don’t get to everyone, they’ll be in danger.”

  Airiana nodded her head several times. “Okay. I understand. I just wanted to be certain.”

  “I’m sorry about all this. It was supposed to be simple—snatch you out from under the noses of Evan’s men and get you off ship to a waiting sub and to your father where you would be safe. The children complicated things.”

  “I would much rather have been here where you could help those kids,” Airiana said firmly.

  Her blue eyes were a little cloudy, but steady. His heart did some sort of curious melt, leaving him wondering at the power of women—especially the one he found himself drawn to. She was small, and seemingly fragile, but her looks were definitely deceiving. She could roar like a lion, and no matter how afraid she was, she moved forward, willing to help him.

  He wanted to kiss her again. The urge was strong, but he resisted. This wasn’t the time or place and they had work to do. “Stay behind me,” he ordered, his voice once again all business.

  She flashed a small, secretive smile that made his insides tighten, but she obediently dropped back to do as he said. She had the assault rifle and the webbing over her shoulder while he carried his war bag over his.

  They moved down the stairs in silence. He muffled the sound, but realized she was automatically doing so as well. She learned fast and he appreciated that. Once more, he shif
ted into stealth mode. He couldn’t afford his mind to be anywhere but on his mission. The flight of stairs led to the engine room, and below that was the cargo hold.

  Airiana walked in his footsteps, directly behind him, so quietly he wouldn’t have known she was there other than the fact that her scent was so alluring to him. Everything about her was and he damned well wasn’t going to lose her.

  Voices drifted to him.

  “Damn that Swede. He was supposed to be right back here. I’m not taking his bullshit anymore. Go find him, Lance, and get him back here.”

  “He’s probably in the galley. He spends more time there than in here. I swear he puts on twenty pounds every time we go to sea.” Lance laughed. “Really, Cahill, you need to see the humor in the situation.”

  “I don’t find it so funny,” Cahill groused. “Not when we have to do his work.”

  “We have to do his work when he’s here,” Lance said. “He doesn’t belong in the engine room. He doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing. I think he’s a hired gun. Half the crew doesn’t know what they’re doing. But the pay’s good, and we occasionally get a woman for a while. What more do you want?”

  “Someone to help out with the work,” Cahill snapped.

  “It’s never going to be the Swede.” Lance laughed. “If you want to find him, go yourself. Maybe you’ll come back in a better mood.”

  Maxim held his fist up, a signal for Airiana to stop moving. He slid his war bag from his shoulder to the floor. Stalking Lance was easy, he’d begun whistling, giving his position away. Cahill had fallen silent after his outburst, but air told Maxim he was moving through the machinery, heading straight for him.

  Crouching in the shadows, he sent Airiana reassurance. Just stay very still.

  I’m out in the open.

  I know. He’s going to spot you, but he won’t believe what he’s seeing.