Shadow Page 2

  They pulled into the private airport. The jet wasn’t more than a small cargo jet. The exterior was a light gray with a yellow-and-red stripe while the inside was a big empty hull. Shadow drove his bike straight inside, followed by Venus. Both shut their machines off, then proceed to lash them down.

  “We depart in ten minutes,” a big man yelled from the front. “You’re both under orders not to get killed.”

  “Yeah?” Shadow said. “That’s one order we both intend on followin’.”

  Venus said nothing, just secured her bike, then went to the black crates that were already loaded. “Looks like Cain armed you well.”

  Shadow grinned at Venus. “I told you he’d come through for us.”

  Millie watched the interaction, hoping they’d leave her be for a while. Her face still stung where her sister had slapped her. There might have been a couple of small scratches where those wicked nails of hers had dug into Millie’s cheek.

  “There should be any weapon we need, and some computer equipment, though, I’ll admit, I’m not the best at that kinda shit. We’ll have to find little Katya the old-fashioned way.”

  “Nyet,” Venus said, looking straight at Millie. “That’s why I insisted on finding her.”

  Shadow glanced at her, then back to Venus. “How’s she helpin’?”

  “She knows layout and, apparently, something regarding how they keep track of Katya.”

  Shadow raised an eyebrow at her. “Well? You gonna spill it?”

  “It’s complicated,” Millie said with a shrug.

  “Well, we got about twelve hours. Surely in that time you can help us pussies understand whatever it is we need to know.” There was a look of amusement on Shadow’s face, but she got the feeling it was as much a reprimand as anything else.

  “Everyone in their seats,” a voice from the overhead speaker commanded. “We’re taking off.”

  Shadow grabbed Millie’s arm and dragged her to some seats lining the front bulkhead facing the back of the plane. “Fasten your seat belt,” he commanded as he sat and did the same. Venus sat on the other side of him and fastened her own seat belt.

  Millie was a fighter. A killer. She’d routinely stared death in the face and smiled. But she was fucking terrified of flying. Gripping the edges of the seat as the plane started to move, Millie closed her eyes tight, sweat starting to bead her upper lip and forehead and drip into her eyes. They must be taxiing down the runway to get in position to take off. Her breath came in shallow gasps. Then the plane turned before stopping. The engines began a steady acceleration, whining as the pilot prepared for takeoff.

  She must have let out a whimper because Shadow patted her arm. “Don’t worry. Deke can fly anything with wings.” He grinned. “Ain’t bad with the landin’ either.” He had a soft, Southern drawl that Millie was sure could melt panties all over Florida. Hell, she’d drop hers if she weren’t in the beginnings of a panic attack.

  “Blyad,” she swore softly. “Eto pizdets.”

  “Ain’t nothin fucked up about it, sugar. Just a plane.”

  “She doesn’t like flying,” Venus supplied, looking rather bored. She smirked at Millie. “Now who’s pussy?” Yeah. Millie deserved that.

  “Suka.”

  Venus just snorted before turning away. She didn’t like flying any more than Millie did. Their mad dash out of Belarus four years earlier had seen to that.

  “What did you mean when you said Victor would keep tabs on Katya?” Shadow spoke, but Millie barely registered his words. “Millie? Come on, honey. You gotta breathe.”

  “Blyad… Blyad!” She chanted the word over and over. Sweat dripped steadily down her face, and she shivered uncontrollably. A quick glance at her sister told her she wasn’t in much better shape, but Venus held herself together much better than Millie. Still, her jaw was clenched and her eyes tightly closed.

  “You gals got some serious issues with flying, huh?” Shadow muttered. “Here, Millie. Hold my hand.” He pried the fingers of her right hand loose and took it in his big one. He laced their fingers together, and Millie clung to him. “Easy, sugar,” he said, wincing a little. She tried to look at him, but her vision wouldn’t focus. Besides, moving her head meant chancing a glance out one of the few windows where everything was starting to whizz by. The plane was taking off, streaking down the runway at a million miles an hour, plastering her against her shoulder harness since the seats faced the rear of the plane. It took all Millie had to bite her lip and keep from crying out. Or worse, being sick. When she didn’t let up on his hand -- she honestly couldn’t -- Shadow said nothing, just held her clenched hand in his bigger one.

  It was several minutes before the machine leveled out and the ride became smoother. The immediate terror passed. Millie still gasped for breath. Shadow undid his harness, then knelt in front of her. “Look at me, sugar,” he said. That soft, deep voice commanded her attention. “Come on. Eyes up.”

  Somehow, Millie managed. He gave her a gentle smile. “There’s my girl. Let me see your pretty blue eyes.” She took a deep breath, closing her eyes briefly before opening them again to an even bigger smile. “Yeah,” he said with a satisfied nod. “You’re back with me. Good. I’ll get you a bottle of water. Be right back.”

  That was it. No condemnation. No making fun of her. Just… whatever that was. It wasn’t long before he was back with a cold bottle of water. He handed one to Venus, then knelt in front of Millie again, watching while she took a healthy pull.

  “You good?” Shadow met her gaze steadily. She sighed, wiping a shaking hand over her face.

  “Fine.”

  He raised an eyebrow at that, but let it go. Shadow stood and went to Venus. “We’ve got just over eleven hours to plan this. You ready?”

  “Da,” she said, standing and retrieving a laptop from an overhead bin. “Millie, I need to know what you know. If we’re to do this right, you have to tell us everything.”

  This was the most embarrassing situation she’d ever been in. She’d nearly had a fucking panic attack in front of a stranger. A stranger she had to work with, who already judged her on her size and not her capabilities. It made her want to punch something. Preferably her fucking sister.

  She shot Venus a look. “If you’d bothered to see beyond relationship I was pretending to build with Mikhail, maybe you’d know same shit I do. Which, I’d like to point out, cost him his position in palace when you berated me for fucking a common soldier. I wasn’t fucking him. He was trying to help get all of us out of Belarus together. Besides, had he still been in fucking palace, I’d have known Katya was in danger and could have gotten her out before whatever contact in fuckin’ FSB informed you! So fuck you!”

  Venus didn’t rise to the bait, simply looked at Millie. She’d always thought herself superior to her little sister. When she’d been a scared teenager, knowing she’d eventually have to leave, she’d followed Venus willingly because the other woman was a trained FSB member. Once they got to America, months later, Millie had been on a constant crash course on how to take care of herself and had realized that all Venus’s training hadn’t prepared her for the real world any more than Millie had been. They both had had to learn street sense, but Venus had never admitted to not knowing everything. Likely the doctrine of her training. If she’d doubted herself, she’d make more costly mistakes than being wrong. As part of an armed unit that was all well and good. As two women alone on the streets in various foreign countries? Not so much. Studying Venus, Millie knew she’d hit a nerve. The slight tic in her sister’s right eye was a clear indication. Yeah. She wanted this fight.

  To Millie’s everlasting irritation, Shadow just had to step in instead of letting Millie stir some more in the hornet’s nest. “We need to know what you know, Millie,” he said gently. “You’re probably right, but the past is done. We have to deal with the here and now.”

  If the man hadn’t been so fucking patient and single-minded she might have found him attractive. He was certainly worthy of some masturbation material when she was alone, but the mere fact he didn’t recognize she needed this fight with her sister took him out of the running for mutual gratification later. Well, that and he was in her sister’s MC. She’d never cross that line. Not out of respect for Venus. Quite the opposite. If they put up with her sister, she had no time for them. All that aside, she knew she needed to tell them what they were up against. Because Millie knew there was no way she could do this without all the resources these two had available.

  She sighed, blowing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. “Fine. Victor has her microchipped. Like fucking dog. Mikhail says he knows of two chips in her. Second one is safeguard in case first fails. He says tech guy told Victor they would last a minimum of twenty years, but Victor insisted she have two.”

  “Do you know where on her body they are?”

  “One is in her back at her hip. I’m not sure which side. Second, I have no idea. You’ll need to find scanner he uses or chips’ frequency to find either without simply cutting her open.”

  “Blyad,” Venus swore, turning away and pacing several feet before focusing on her laptop.

  “It’s not that bad,” Shadow said, hooking a finger over his chin and rubbing as he thought. “Cain can talk to Giovanni about it. I’m sure he can come up with a solution in eleven hours.”

  “Who’s Giovanni?”

  “Giovanni Romano. From Argent Tech.”

  Millie raised her eyebrows. “That’s serious tech guy. But kind of out there for MC to be asking favors.”

  Shadow grinned. “Yeah. We ain’t no ordinary MCs, babe. And our friends are more than a little connected.”

  Millie scowled. “I’m not your babe. You wanted my help? Here I am. But don’t make mistake of thinking I’m your friend. Once we have Katya safely out of Victor’s reach, I’m gone.”

  “Yeah?” Shadow raised his eyebrows. “Keep your options open. We might have a place for you either at Bones or Salvation’s Bane. Hell, Cain might offer you a position in ExFil. Most of the patched members work for him.”

  “Who says I’m interested? I’ve heard of ExFil. Word has it they are best of best. Elite soldiers. I work alone. Not with team.”

  “Yet, here you are.” The infuriating bastard had the audacity to chuckle. “You do realize we’ll be doing this as a team. Right?”

  She stood abruptly. Instead of standing with her, as most men would have, he just continued to squat in front of her. The bastard was nearly as tall squatting as she was standing up. He just looked up at her in amusement. Which infuriated her.

  “There’s something wrong with you,” she muttered. “Big bastard.” Then she turned and marched over to her bag. “I need to wash blood and sweat off. Change clothes. Where’s fucking bathroom?”

  Shadow pointed to a narrow door. “It ain’t too big. You’re just a little thing. You can probably close the door when you’re inside. Might still need to back in. There’s a sink, though.”

  “Blyad,” she swore. “Can you not do anything easy way, Ulyana? I mean, is it too much to ask to shit in private?”

  “I didn’t choose plane,” Venus said with a dismissive wave of her hand as she continued to study her laptop screen. “Quit whining and do your business. Or you can hold it until we land.”

  Millie grabbed a towel from her bag and stomped off to the bathroom. It was, indeed, just as tiny as Shadow had predicted. And, no, she couldn’t shut the door and sit on the toilet without spreading her knees wide. The door opened outward but left no room for anything other than the toilet.

  Leaving the door open, she stripped down to her underwear and sports bra. The water was cold -- no hot water, naturally -- but at least there was some. With hurried movements, she washed the sweat and blood off her body. Her hands were a little beat up, but nothing a little acetaminophen and ibuprofen wouldn’t help. She rinsed the towel before going back to her bag.

  Millie wasn’t a prude or anything, but she didn’t generally go around changing clothes to the skin in public. In this case, though, she didn’t have a choice. If Shadow got offended, fuck him.

  She glanced behind her once before stripping off her bra and wiping her breasts with the wet towel, then donned a clean bra before doing the same with her underwear. She gave herself a cursory wash front and back before slipping into more boxer briefs. Not sexy, but she wasn’t trying to impress anyone, and they were decidedly more comfortable than a fucking thong.

  “I coulda found you a more private place if you’d just given me a minute.” Shadow was standing behind her. Millie whipped her head around to find him a couple feet away, his arms crossed over his wide, muscular chest. The T-shirt he wore looked like it was a couple sizes too small, but he was so big, she wondered if they even made shirts closer to his size. His forearms and biceps bulged with every movement of his arms, and she could only imagine what that freakishly large chest looked like, to say nothing of his abdomen. Hell, he probably had a fucking eight-pack. A quick glance showed that, yes, he was hard.

  She scowled at him. “Not here for your viewing pleasure.” Though, yeah. It gave her a thrill that a man as powerful and strong and good-looking at Shadow found her attractive. Then again, it was her and Venus on this plane with him. He had very little to choose from. Given that he and Venus were at least affiliated with the same club, he probably considered her off-limits. Which made Millie his only choice.

  “Fully aware of that. Which is why I’d intended on hanging a tarp for you. There’s hooks to secure cargo on the walls, so it would have been an easy thing.” He shrugged. “You got in a hurry and started before I found a tarp.” He grinned. “But the view was very pleasurable.” So was the deep rumble voice of his. Not that she was going to point that out.

  “Well, say something next time,” she snapped.

  “Not if it gets me views like that. You have a beautiful body, Millie. Ain’t gonna pretend you don’t, or that I wasn’t lookin’.”

  Millie shrugged. “As long as you don’t touch, we’re good.”

  That must have been the exact wrong thing to say because Shadow shut down. Admittedly, she hadn’t known him long, but he seemed like the type to try to smooth things over. The mediator. He was always smiling and hadn’t taken offense to any barbs thrown his way by either Millie or Venus. Now, he looked hard. A man who’d been pushed past his limit and was walking away from a situation rather than confront it and possibly lose his temper. Millie found she didn’t like that at all.

  “Never touched a woman without her permission,” he snapped. “Ain’t startin’ with you.” Then he turned and marched to the overhead bin and snagged his own laptop. Moving to the far end of the plane, he sat and started working. Millie hadn’t meant to imply she thought he’d assault her. Of all the men she’d ever met, Shadow seemed like the least likely to hurt a woman like that. Or for any reason, though she had no doubt he’d do what he had to in combat.

  Fuck. She didn’t have time for this. She needed to know where Katya was being kept and the layout of the place. That was her part. She could do that. And keep Katya calm if needed. She could not pull something out of her ass to find and remove the trackers. So, she really hoped Shadow was working on that instead of licking whatever wounds she’d given him. Because if she’d hurt him that much with a flippant remark, then she was a bigger asshole than even she thought.

  Chapter Two

  Of all the fucking things for that girl to say to him, implying he might touch her without permission was the one thing that could set him off. He’d been accused of that once. Not in a sexual way as she’d implied, but physically. The woman Shadow’d been with back then had fought verbally. She’d accused him of getting physically abusive with her. The cops had taken one look at the tearful white woman without a mark on her and the huge tattooed, muscled Black man and assumed she’d been right. Shadow had fought it, but the police had made up their minds, and the reports had made it look pretty damning for him. Thankfully, they’d settled the dispute out of court, and the charges against him had been dropped, but it had changed the course of his life.

  He put all that out of his mind. Just something to think about before he got caught up in Lyudmila. She was a pistol, he’d give her that. She’d mopped up the ring with everyone they put her against. Mainly because she didn’t fight by the rules. She used every dirty trick in the book, taking down men more than twice her size. Shadow liked that. It made him smile even in his dark mood. Didn’t mean he’d make the mistake of seeing her as anything but the lethal, scrappy fighter he’d already seen. Because if he let himself think about her as the woman he’d glimpsed when she’d bared her body to wash and change clothes, he was fucked.

  Her body had been battle-scarred and honed in the fires of war. But there were still luscious, feminine curves to be savored. Her skin was milky white, if bruised in a few places after her fights. He’d had the insane urge to wrap his body around hers protectively when he knew she wouldn’t appreciate it.

  Which brought him back to reality. No. A woman that fierce wouldn’t want a man to protect her. She could do that on her own. And if he wrapped his naked body around hers, she’d just kick his ass for sexually assaulting her. Shadow didn’t know if it was a greater crime to beat a woman or try to rape her. But he was under no illusion that Millie couldn’t fight him off if he tried, even if he was hell-bent on hurting her. She might be tiny, but she was even fiercer than Venus, and the Salvation’s Bane enforcer considered Venus the most dangerous member of that MC.

  “Hey.” Millie came up behind him. She placed a tentative hand on his shoulder. Shadow looked up from his computer and looked back at her. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to imply you’d try to force yourself on me. I didn’t mean it like it sounded.”

  He nodded once. “Apology accepted.” He thought that would be the end of it. She didn’t seem to like him.