“I didn’t have to,” Valzar said. “Our mutual friends took care of everything. All they want in return is some consideration down the line, which I was planning to give them anyway.”
Sean nodded, not wanting the details. The less he knew about CIA operations the better.
“How long will it take us to get out of U.S. airspace?” he asked. “Will that be a problem?”
“You’ve been in prison a long time, amigo,” Valzar said, flashing his playboy’s grin. “I guess you haven’t heard. I have diplomatic immunity now. This plane belongs to my government. If they try to stop us, they’ll create an international incident.”
Chapter Three
Sandra watched closely as the two men walked ahead of her, talking in what seemed like friendly enough tones. Del marched next to her, face sullen. Her eyes darted around, looking for ways to escape. The rain was falling harder now, and she wondered for a moment if it would be too dangerous for the plane to take off.
Of course not, she realized in disgust. These were men who weren’t afraid to commit murder and kidnapping. Why would they let the weather stop them?
Of course, the weather might serve her purpose. If she found just the right moment to break away, the darkness might provide enough cover to escape. She stole a look at Del, who seemed to be ignoring her.
Lightning flashed again, and a thunderclap hit so hard the very ground seemed to shake beneath their feet.
It was her shot.
She took off running as fast as she could, deliberately heading for the darkness along the side of the runway. There were no buildings there, only a few lonely-looking crop-dusters tethered with worn ropes.
Beyond them were trees and cover. If she could just make it that far she’d at least have a chance to escape.
She heard Del shouting behind her. It took him a couple seconds to register her escape, and then something made a cracking noise.
Shots.
Holy Mother, he was shooting his gun at her! She’d thought she was already going as fast she could run, but suddenly she found more speed. The noise cracked again, and then once more.
She heard more shouts from behind, and then a thudding sound. Holes appeared in one of the planes ahead of her and she gulped, terrified. She made it past the first of the planes, ducking behind it and pausing for a moment to catch her breath and clutch her side.
Big mistake.
Her captor, the one they called Sean, was right behind her, all but plowing her over when he came barreling around the plane. She lurched away from him and took off again, ignoring the terrible stitch in her side. Why hadn’t she signed up for that aerobics class? She’d been meaning to do it for weeks now.
Mom had been right, laziness really would be the death of her.
The pavement beneath her feet abruptly disappeared, and her feet sank into sandy gravel. It threw her off and she fell forward, hard, hands hitting the ground with enough force to tear off the skin. She heard him coming. She crawled forward, trying to push herself to her feet. Moving was hard, she’d knocked the breath right out of her lungs when she fell.
He hit her with the force of a train, slamming her into the ground as he came down. He was hard, wet, angry, and for one moment she wondered if he’d kill her right on the spot. Instead he just held her there, panting hard and muttering under his breath.
“That was stupid, girl,” he said roughly. “Very stupid. You made me look bad in front of my friends and they aren’t the kind of people to forget something like that. Neither am I, for that matter. You’ll be sorry you did this.”
She had no doubt he told the truth. She was sorry already. Her legs were already cramping, and she knew she’d ache in the morning. If she survived to see the morning.
“I’ll do what you say,” she muttered quickly. “Please don’t kill me. All I want is to live. Please.”
“Oh, you’ll live,” he said, his voice rough. “After the hassle you’ve given me, I’ll be damned if I’ll let you go this easy. You owe me now.”
She didn’t respond to the patently illogical statement, knowing that arguing with him was foolish. If he said she was the problem, she’d accept responsibility. Whatever it took to keep him happy was good enough for her. He pushed himself up slowly and reached one hand down to her. She took it with resignation; she was beat. Whatever chances she might have to get away were over for the moment.
Now she needed to conserve her strength.
He pulled her to her feet and marched her along next to him, one hand wrapped firmly around her upper arm. It hurt and she knew she’d have bruises there the next day. Then again, she’ probably have bruises all over.
They walked in silence back through the parked planes. Del sat on the tarmac near the jet, clutching his jaw and giving her a look of such hatred that she shivered. How had he gotten hurt?
The other man, Valzar, watched her with cool speculation in his eyes, as if she were some sort of strange and exotic bird he was considering eating.
She didn’t like that look at all.
Sean stayed silent, marching her past both of them toward the jet. She was freezing cold now, and covered in mud, but nobody seemed to notice or care. They reached the foot of a small flight of steps leading to the open hatch of the jet. Sean pushed her up ahead of him, and she stumbled. One of her shoes was gone, she realized. She was walking half barefoot through the rain and she hadn’t even noticed. Her toe throbbed, and she wondered if she were bleeding.
They entered the plane and he pushed her toward the back. Along each side were comfortable loungers.
Nobody was in them. He kept her moving until they reached the end of the hall where a narrow door awaited them.
“Through that door,” he said roughly. “We’ll be able to get cleaned up in there. I’m sure Valzar doesn’t want us getting mud all over his pretty airplane.”
She opened the door, finding herself in a surprisingly spacious room. A large bed stood against one wall, as well as several chairs and a closet. Another door, just past the bed, seemed to lead into a bathroom.
“We’ll shower in there later,” he said coolly, letting go of her arm for the first time. “We’ll be taking off in a couple minutes, and until we’re in the air, we shouldn’t be moving around the cabin. Take off your clothes.”
She stood frozen, unable to process his words.
“I said take off your clothes,” he said again, opening the buttons of his own shirt. His fingers revealed a well-muscled chest covered in springy black hair. It was broad and finely muscled. She gaped at him, hardly believing this was real. Was he going to rape her like this? It seemed so… sudden. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.