CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
En route to the train station, I make a stop at Foust’s Watch Repair to get a new I.D. for Everly. In less than an hour, we have the required documents.
She glances at the fake passport. “Eve Smith?”
“It’s easier for us to travel as honeymooners. We’ll attract less attention that way.”
With a sigh, she closes the passport and tucks it into the side pocket of the purse she’d bought while we waited for Foust to finish. There is another bag as well, filled with resort wear. I don’t think Everly cared what I bought for her. At this point, I think Everly is barely aware of what she’s doing, just following my instructions in order to stay alive, but I have no time to stop and really check on her.
There will be opportunity to rest on the train. It’s a fifteen-hour trip, and I’ve already purchased first class tickets. We will be able to shower and sleep along the way.
Pulling into the parking deck, I find a spot and cut the engine. Everly just sits there, even as I grab our things and open the door.
“Everly,” I say, touching her leg.
She jumps. “Oh. We’re here.”
Grabbing her purse, she gets out of the SUV. I finish gathering our things, keeping her in sight. This is not good. Although the worst hasn’t happened, yet. We haven’t been reported to Interpol as being terrorists on the loose. Still, the mindless way she’s acting right now is a dead giveaway that something is wrong.
Or she could be suffering from jetlag.
I seize upon that thought. I grab her shoulders and turn her to face me. “Listen to me. We met in Raleigh. You flew to join me in Berlin yesterday and we were married. Now we are travelling to Barcelona for our honeymoon.”
She blinks slowly. “Am I supposed to tell someone that?”
I kiss the top of her head, grab our bags and her hand. “Anyone who asks.”
Everly showers while I unpack our bags and check my weapons. It’s easy enough to get through security when you know the right people. But the story I concocted for us is for those who can’t be paid to look the other way.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed in the sleeper car, I drop my head into my hands. I’ve never been this weary before…then again, I’ve never been on the run before, and certainly not with another person.
The door swooshes open and I look up as Everly steps inside, a bag on her arm. “I stopped in the dining car. They made me a to-go bag.”
I motion to the identical bag beside me. “I did the same.”
A little smile curves her lips, lighting up her face. “Guess we should have coordinated better, huh?”
Reaching out, I grab her arm and pull her between my legs. “Thank you for being so thoughtful.” Releasing my grip, I shift my hands to her hips and lean against her. “God, you feel good.”
She bends to one side, setting the bag down. Her fingers sift through my hair, soothing me. “Have you slept much?”
“Enough.”
“Roman, you need to sleep,” she says sternly.
“Sleep is for the dead.” Which we will be if I don’t stay alert.
She steps out of my embrace. “Then call me a corpse, because I’m exhausted.”
I eye her, taking in the fatigue that clings to her like a shroud. “Are you feeling well, love?”
“I just escaped imminent death.” Her smile widens slightly, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Of course I feel well.” Turning away, she grabs her bag, sets it on the table under our window, and begins to rummage through it.
I do the same with mine, and after a few minutes, we are eating in silence. “Everly…”
“Please don’t,” she says, wiping her mouth. “I’m clean, I’m full, and there’s a bed calling my name. And I’m fairly certain we’re safe aboard public transportation.”
Standing, I cross the small space to gather my things. “I’ll be in the shower.”
“Have fun.”
I exhale, thinking of her forced cheerfulness and the cramped space I’ll have to wash in. “Thanks,” I mutter.
By the time I return to our sleeping cabin, Everly is fast asleep. The bedcovers are pooled around her waist and her mahogany-colored hair is spread across the pillow. She’s wearing a small tank top that barely conceals her round breasts.
Desire surges inside of me, but I ignore my needs to cross the room and pull the blackout shade down. I have two choices at this moment. One, sleep in the bunk across from her. Two, sleep under her in the same bunk.
Everly’s eyes open. “Why are you standing there?”
I cut off the remaining lights and take off my clothes. “I’m trying to decide where to sleep.”
My eyes adjust to the darkness just as she scoots over and lifts the covers. “With me.”
I don’t argue. I don’t ask to make sure it’s what she really wants. All I want is sleep and her, and she’s giving me the chance to have both.
I climb in and lie on my side, fitting her against me. She sighs, her body relaxing against mine in slow degrees until she’s asleep once more.
Stroking the soft skin of her bare arm, I calculate how much time we have left before Ben joins us, and how much time is left on the hit that’s still out on my half-brother’s life. Despite Viktor’s demise, the financier has not withdrawn his or her request.
When I asked Everly to come with me to meet my grandfather, I had also told her of a charity event that we would attend, lest she think I was trying to kidnap or murder her.
I grunt at the irony.
The charity event is to take place in two days in Barcelona, and my half-brother, Sebastian, will be there.
Perhaps I should go to warn him. But would he believe me? The few times I’ve met him—introduced as his cousin—he was a prick. Then again, he was a teenager back then, and they’re all pricks.
Everly snuggles into me, her round ass brushing against my dick, and I start to harden.
Brilliant.
Forcing my brain off, I concentrate on the sound of the train, the noise it makes as it skims the rails, the evenness of Everly’s breathing, and the drip of the water into our sink.
My lids start to droop. I press my nose into her hair and breathe deeply. The scent of my woman calms and inflames me.
Turning slightly, I glance at my mobile and note the time. The train will stop in Paris in a few hours. Time enough for me to sleep and make plans.
Though Ben helped me rescue Everly, I don’t completely trust him. I don’t trust anyone at this point but the woman in my arms.