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“I would trust you with my life, Kazimir.” She hesitated. “As I have already trusted you with my heart.”
His mouth captured hers, and then he was inside her.
And, just for a little while, the world went away.
CHAPTER TEN
At midday, they boarded a sleek Gulfstream 500 that would carry them, non-stop, from New York to Mardonsk, the capital city of Sardovia.
The jet was luxurious; the crew knew him and had everything waiting just as he preferred it. The wine. The food. Even the kind of coffee that was his favorite.
Katie said a polite “No, thank you” to everything the flight attendant offered.
“Eat something,” Kaz pleaded, and she finally agreed to scrambled eggs and toast. He ordered the same thing, but neither of them could choke down more than a couple of mouthfuls.
Eventually, he asked the attendant to dim the lights.
Then he drew Katie into his arms and held her, whispered to her until, finally, she fell into a restless sleep.
Fool, he told himself.
He should never have listened to her when she’d insisted that she could not disappoint her mother. What if his plan failed? Plan? It was more the desperate scheme of a desperate man and what he should have done, instead of wasting time, was to have—was to have…
What?
Lock her up? Take her to the top of a high mountain and refuse to let her leave?
“Katie,” he whispered, and she sighed in her sleep as he pressed his lips to her temple and gave voice to the words that were in his heart. “Katie. Ekaterina. I love you.”
* * * *
He had not sent word of their arrival time, but in accordance with international flight rules, the Gulfstream pilot had alerted the airport at Mardonsk well in advance.
Katie clutched Kaz’s hand as the plane touched down.
“They’re waiting for us,” she said in a choked whisper.
They were.
An entire delegation. Long black limousines disgorged a dozen dignitaries. The minister of state. The minister of culture. Secretaries and under-secretaries. An honor guard stood at stiff attention.
And Gregor Rostov.
Rostov stepped forward and took his daughter’s arm.
“You have done what was asked of you,” he said to Kaz. “We have no further need of your presence.”
Kaz moved to within inches of the man. His face was as hard as if it had been chiseled from stone.
“You will come to my rooms in one hour,” he told Rostov.
Rostov laughed. “Do you think I will take orders from you?”
“Lighthorse Investments,” Kaz said, very, very softly. “Waterside Funding Company. Sardovia Gold Mines, Incorporated. You hold large stakes in them all.”
Rostov went a little pale. “What is your point, Savitch?”
“My point,” Kaz said, “is that you will appear in my rooms in one hour, or the investors in those companies are in for some distressing news.”
