"You can't kill my father. I want to kick him for being such a sorry excuse for a human being, but I don't want you to kill him--maybe dunk him in the ocean, but you just can't kill him."
"I hadn't planned on it. Russia needs his mind, although in all honesty, when he returns without you, Uri may try to dispose of him."
She took a breath and leaned her forehead into his. "I figured as much, but that's his choice, returning to Russia and facing this despicable man, knowing Uri is ordering the deaths of men and women his own father took from their homes and trained to be agents. Most of those people defended their country, and for his own gain, Uri wants them eliminated. How can Theodotus work for a man like that?"
He had to smile at the fierce tone. She was a little warrior at heart. In the back of his mind he'd been a little worried about the four children making their home with Airiana. She had said she'd take them in, but they would have problems and she was such a little thing. Now he knew better. She would fight for them, give them rules and standards and make them stick to them. She would see to it that they got any help they needed, and she was capable of loving them.
He tipped her chin up and kissed her, just because he had to. He didn't let himself think about why he had to, he just kissed her. She melted into him, sliding her slender arms around his neck and turning her mouth up to his. Her lips were soft and firm, her mouth the same paradise he'd remembered. He could lose himself so easily in her, but one of the agents was stirring and they had work to do. Regretfully he pulled back. Her blue eyes had gone midnight dark. Just for that he kissed her again, tenderness creeping in, shocking him.
He lifted his head and sank back onto his heels. "Woman, you're driving me crazy."
"You mentioned that once before."
His smile was slow in coming. "I did, didn't I? Well, it's the truth."
He dug around in the war bag and came up with a pouch filled with small, hollow darts. He filled several of them with a clear fluid from one of two bottles.
Her eyes widened. "What in the world is that?"
"If I remembered which bottle contained the knockout serum, we're golden." A teasing note crept into his voice.
"And the other bottle contains?" she prompted.
"That is much more lethal. Ten steps and you're dead. It really wouldn't be a good idea to mix them up."
"You really have a wicked sense of humor," she accused, her eyes laughing.
He had never considered that he had a sense of humor at all, but with her along, this mission was turning out to be far more fun than he'd ever imagined.
He inserted the little darts into a small gun and added the extra ones to a wide leather wristband.
"That is seriously cool. Where do you get all these toys? You're kind of like those agents in the movies with all your gadgets."
"My brother Gavriil likes inventing things, particularly weapons for the field. I test them out for him occasionally."
"I thought you never saw one another."
Maxim darted each of the three agents before answering. "We don't. But we leave things for one another on occasion. My work and Gavriil's overlapped a bit. He's like you, quite a genius."
She laughed. "He's definitely not like me. I'm kind of a nutcase." She watched him dart her father. "How are we going to take over the yacht? The moment you go out of this room, someone is going to shoot you. I'm surprised no one has tried to come in."
"They're out there," he said. "I can feel them." He indicated the west wall. "Two there. Two on the other side and one by the door."
"Do you know how many others are on board?" Airiana asked.
"A chef and steward and the captain and his mate. I don't think any others. I didn't get much of a chance to look around. I knew when we were brought here directly that there was something--or someone--on board I wasn't supposed to see. Otherwise they would have taken you to your cabin to rest, and Theodotus would have asked me for an update as to your state of mind."
"Show me how to use those darts," Airiana said. "No one is going to shoot me, and I can get close to them."
"I'm not letting you go out there alone."
She raised her eyebrow. "Since when do you get to tell me what to do?"
"I kidnapped you, remember? That puts me in charge."
"That puts you in jail. I'm making sense, and you're going all macho weird on me. What happened to all that survival training? Aren't you supposed to use every resource available to you?"
He winced. She was right, but she wasn't a resource and he damn well wasn't using her. He detested that she'd walked on glass to give him the opportunity to get the upper hand just before the agents had come in. Granted, he was certain she hadn't planned on cutting herself so severely, but he didn't want a single injury to her body.
"I'm not going to argue with you."
Deliberately she misunderstood him. "Good. Teach me how to use the darts. I'll walk out the door and get close enough to the one standing right outside to dart him. You don't have near the chance I do, unless you're planning on killing them all. They're expecting you, not me."
He hated that she had a point. The agents were set to ambush him. Even knowing where they were, he'd be caught in the cross fire. "Suppose one of them is trigger-happy?"
"They're trained agents or they wouldn't have been sent here. I don't have to get to all of them, only the ones on one side. You can take the others without having someone shooting you in the back. If I feel I'm in danger, I'll bring in the wind."
"The last time you did that, there was nearly a hurricane."
She laughed. "True, my adrenaline was running a bit fast. I'm getting a feel for this type of work."
He leveled his gaze at her, doing his best to look intimidating. It worked on everyone else. She just raised her eyebrow.
"You know I'm right. Don't be all silly and macho. This will be a piece of cake. I'll take a little stroll around the deck. In fact, the smart way of doing it would be to go past the one at the door with a little cheery wave and stroll right up to the other two and dart them. The one guarding the door will get curious and look inside."
"Don't get clever, Airiana," he cautioned. "These are trained killers."
"Exactly. And they're expecting you, not me. I'm the merchandise, the reason we're heading for Russia as fast as possible. No one wants me dead. You, on the other hand, seem to be very popular with killers. You're the favorite on everyone's hit list."
The little snippy note in her voice made him laugh. "I'll give you a lesson, but if your aim is lousy, you're staying here and I'm going alone."
She rolled her eyes. "Have no worries, my aim has never been my problem. Until your undoubtedly dubious influence, I've never been an advocate of killing anyone."
"While I'm thinking about it," Maxim said, "keep your eye on Benito. That boy needs some guidance. He's a little too much like I was as a boy. I don't blame him, but I don't want him to have the opportunity to turn out like me. His anger issues and penchant for violence need to be cultivated into a much more positive channel."
Airiana's blue eyes fastened on his and he knew he shouldn't have said anything aloud. He kept forgetting she could see inside of him, in a place he thought was well hidden, the one that still worried about children whose lives had been shattered.
"I'll watch him," she said quietly, "no worries."
He winced. She was making it very clear she didn't need his help with the children. He'd said he was taking her to the farm and leaving her there. He'd rejected her offer to stay with her. She wasn't going to make it again, and he couldn't blame her, nor did he know what he'd do or say if she did. To distract her, he pulled out some empty darts and showed her how to load them in the small dart gun.
He made a small circular target and hung it on the cupboard. "They're light, but the velocity coming out of the gun keeps them from dropping too fast. You're a good shot with a pistol, so you should be good here."
She raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to play for points?
"
"We've got killers waiting outside."