Faye

 

To think I’d almost trusted Andrei Zima.

After he’d closed the door, I’d sunk onto the bed and stared at it. Hope was blooming in a painful, tangled way in my chest. Relief teased over me as I thought about what he’d said.

I’m not alone anymore.

But my entire body was tense and jittery a moment later, as I paced the room, going over every encounter with “Dean” and dredging up everything I knew about Andrei Zima.

Roy had always seemed fond of him, although privately Soraya and I had bashed Andrei for not looking out for Roy better. The Zimas were always on Roy’s ass – to the point where they’d made the poor kid drop out of school. Something I’d convinced him to do. I couldn’t help but take that personally. Plus, when I’d been a Black Op with Ivan, I’d never understood how Andrei could let Ivan get away with half the shit he did or how he treated Roy.

Not everyone can be like Soraya, I’d thought at the time.

Soraya who had never cared for Andrei, yet always seemed to ready to resent him. Especially when it came to the fact he didn’t live up to his eldest cousin’s role in her opinion. Secretly, I’d wondered if this prejudice also came from the fact that Andrei had once left her high and dry on an assignment, getting her into major hot water (and later getting her out of it, something she refused to acknowledge.) Further, in a way, they’d been set up as rivals. He’d had the job she’d thought she always wanted – until she actually did it. Never mind the fact that Soraya was related to the Weslarks, the rivals of the Zimas.

But Soraya was right about one thing.

“Oh, that Andrei Zima, he’s a cocky bastard who likes being cryptic and in control,” she’d told me with an exaggerated eye roll and flutter of her long lashes. “Smug in his secrets.”

Andrei did revel in being above it all. He wanted people eating out of the palm of his hand.

In fact, some part of me wanted to throw myself onto the bed and weep with joy once he left. Someone from the Shifters of Anubis, someone I could trust had shown up and was going to help me out. But a cynical voice was singing it was too good to be true.

You don’t know him.

Instincts jangling, I’d suddenly found myself throwing my stuff into my bag and getting the hell out of there.

And thank God I had.

Less than a second after I’d left, I’d heard something coming and leaped onto the roof. Peering down, my heart had stopped, and I’d held my breath.

Rasoir was stalking down the path to my room, hulking shadows behind him and one of them lashed out with a long arm to smash the light. Leaping back silently, I’d taken off and was on the other side of the building when I heard the distant sounds of a door being torn away.

Something had snapped then and I’d run flat out to the airport.

Was no one in the Order clean? Could I ever trust another Shifter of Anubis? How could Andrei do that to his family?

These thoughts had been swimming through my mind as I collapsed onto the field outside the airport. Of course, the next flight didn’t leave for hours and I had to spend that time panicking about what to do next. Rasoir had been so close. If he’d cornered me in that room, I’d be dead.

And now I was running from Andrei Zima.

An unfamiliar feeling was rising up in me as I paused to catch my breath, staring up and down a quiet residential street several blocks from the airport. Fear. Panic. Dread.

I’m going to die tonight, came a terrible whisper.

No! I screamed at it. I refuse to bow to the TLO! I have to save the Order!

Moving down the street, I ignored the voices taunting me with dark promises. Instead, I focused on finding a way out of this mess. I could do it. I’d made it this far.

But I was also so, so dizzy. My stomach was cramping with hunger and my limbs were shaking. I’d forgotten to eat dinner and I’d barely slept last night.

The TLO will get you, Faye. Just like they got your parents.

Pressing a hand to my chest as a sharp, hot pain went through it, I tried not to scream. But in that moment, all I wanted to do was fall to my knees and beg for a reprieve.

Suddenly two hands grabbed me and before I could even blink or scream, I was pinned against a wall, a hard, hot body pinning me in place and a hand over my mouth.

“Don’t move, dushechka,” came Andrei’s rough, Russian voice in my ear. “Don’t even breathe.”

I was about to fight when I heard a horrible dragging sound and my eyes went wide.

A lumbering shadow was moving across the opposite side of the street, red eyes wide and blank as it sniffed at the ground. From here, I could smell an acrid, rotten smell and a shudder went through me. Andrei was tense and poised, his green eyes narrowed at the shadow.

His breathing was slightly shallow and noisy in my ear, but more than that, I could feel the slamming of his heart against mine. It wasn’t adrenaline, either.

It was fear. Fear for me.

For a second, I stared up into his face as his features unraveled and revealed themselves. The lines softened and I saw stark worry, making him seem young and vulnerable.

It was exactly like Roy. That idiot little brother of mine always tried to wear a mask, but if you watched hard enough or got to know him, it all melted away.

Andrei was far more adroit at it than Roy. I wondered if I hadn’t known Roy if I even would have discerned it with Andrei. My eyes roamed across his face with interest. There was a slight tic by his mouth and a faint silver scar from his left cheekbone to temple.

Dropping my eyes, I saw the tight muscles of his neck standing out and the flicker of his pulse in his throat. There was a glimmer of silver around his neck – some kind of heavy chain. Then I looked up again, studying his face while he wasn’t looking at me.

Damn, he's good looking.

Until he looked back at me, I’d forgotten he even had a hand over my mouth. There was a moment where we stared at each other, Andrei’s eyebrows pulling together and then raising. Then I blinked and his mask was back in place, as well as his smirk.

“I will always catch you,” he whispered. “Accept the inevitable.”

My eyes slit. For Rasoir? You didn’t want to let that beast catch me, did you?

“I am not working with Rasoir,” he said in a hiss, his pupils dilating and smirk vanishing. “How could you even think such a thing? I would give my life for the Order.” Glancing around, Andrei shook his head. “If you run off, they will catch you. We need to get out of here.”

I squirmed and shook my head. I wasn’t going anywhere with him. I had to–

“Tsch. You will not give me any other choice, eh?” Andrei muttered. His hand dropped, my mouth opened and there was a pinch on my neck. My eyes rolled up in my head and I saw blackness rushing up as Andrei caught me in his arms.

 

Jerking awake, I twisted and turned, caught in my blanket. Then it fell off of me and I stared down at it. I wasn’t in my bed. A round window was over my head and I raised it, staring out.

I was tied up.

On a plane over the ocean.

“Mmph!” exploded out of me as I wriggled to no avail.

I was bound with Anubis iron cord, the toughest and strongest material we had. Mainly used on bear shifters who had gone rogue, it could probably prevent an elephant from moving.

“A thousand apologies, sunshine, but drastic measures had to be taken,” said an amused voice. Eyes wide, I turned my head and saw Andrei lounging in the seat across from me. He was wearing a crisp, collared shirt and sipping on a vodka sour from the smell of it. “Good morning.”

A million questions exploded in my head, but I remained still and closed my eyes. There was nothing I could do now. He’d won. Perhaps we were on our way to Lilian Frost now.

“We’re headed to New Zealand, Faye, to put my plan into motion and keep you alive. Close shave back there. But even Rasoir and his creatures are no match for me.”

His arrogance was actually breathtaking.

“I’ll unwrap you, love if you promise not to go berserk and attack anyone – especially me.” I opened my eyes and met his again. There was a stern, no-bullshit-look on his face. “One wrong move and I’ll keep you like that until we get back to LA.”

Back to LA? I wondered.

An irritated expression crossed Andrei’s face. “I am no traitor,” he said in a cold, furious voice. “Do you honestly think a Zima would turn on Anubis?”

He had a point there. That family was annoyingly proud of their status in the Order.

“Faye, I am begging you. Calm down and hear me out. Once again, I'd like to point out that you are not dead. In fact, I saved your life last night,” Andrei raked both his hands through his hair as he leaned forward. “Plus, you look pale. You need to eat.” His nose wrinkled. “Take a shower.”

Bastard. I thought as I slowly nodded.

Andrei gave me a wary look as he came over and sat me upright. Starting with my feet, he quickly undid the bindings and then sat next to me as he untied my arms. Before he could touch my face, I’d reached up and ripped off the gag.

“Let me get you something to eat,” he said, standing up and moving away. “I’m trusting you, Faye, don’t do anything stupid again,” he called back.

My lips twisted at that and I glanced around the cabin with interest. This was not an Order plane, I knew that much. It looked like an expensive, private aircraft a celebrity might use. The seats were all wide and deep, made of a deep, creamy leather. The floor was a thick, plush carpet. Multicolored lights were embedded into the ceiling.

Leaning over, I stared out at the expanse of water under a dull gray sky and my stomach contracted. Is he really taking me to New Zealand? Can I trust him?

“Here,” Andrei said, reappearing with a plate of eggs, pancakes, and fruit. Next to him was a smiling older woman holding a tray of coffee. “This is Ulma. She can get you anything you need.”

“Anything,” the woman said with an emphasis that made me smile.

Ulma put down the tray on a table that slid out from the wall and then patted Andrei on the arm, saying something in Russian. He replied with a jovial laugh.

As he sat down across from me, I frowned at him. “Whose plane is this?”

Eyes dancing, Andrei grinned at me impishly. “That’s the first question you ask? Not how I rescued you and carried you for miles in my manly arms?”

I snorted softly, wishing Soraya was here to put this goon in a headlock. “I could care less.”

“Alas, I was born in the wrong time period. I should have been a knight with damsels sending me off to war,” Andrei said with a sigh and I raised an eyebrow at him. “Very well. This is my plane.” I choked on a bit of strawberry and stared at him. “I would fly it, but you needed me.”

Ignoring that, I glanced around again. “Why do you have a plane?”

“It seemed prudent,” he said coolly, apparently annoyed I couldn’t just take that comment at face value.

“But the Shifters of Anubis have access to–”

“I don’t know what Roy told you about our grandfather,” Andrei interrupted. “But he impressed upon me that you should never be reliant on anyone but yourself. It’s good advice.”

Again, I snorted. “The Order is about teamwork and…” I trailed off.

“It is,” Andrei agreed softly. “And look how easily the TLO exploited that. The Halls of the Anubis shifters are filled with distrust and anger these days. We unravel from the inside out.” He paused as those words sank in and a heaviness entered my soul. “You’re a prime example.”

My fingers clenched around the fork. “What?” I snarled at him.

“Not only will you not trust me – someone who has proven himself time and again, but worse, you don’t trust yourself.” His green eyes darkened. “I can see it all over your face.”

Enraged, I wondered what his face would look like if I plunged this fork into his hand.

“It’s fine, we’ll get you back to the Faye Knight of old in no time. And you’ll be stronger for this experience, I’m sure,” Andrei said, sounding both far too complacent and arrogant. “Eat up.”

I was about to make a nasty retort and fling down my fork in protest, but a wave of dizziness and nausea went over me. I sucked in a breath as I brought a trembling hand to my head.

“You’re in bad shape, Faye,” Andrei said quietly, his voice dropping a few octaves and I looked up at him. That look was back on his face and a strange zing went through my chest. “Please, I might be a bit of an ass, but I’m trying to put you at ease, I swear.” A smile touched his lips. “Nothing seems to focus Soraya more than getting a little riled up. I thought you might be the same.”

I had nothing to say to that.

He gave me a look and then sighed, pulling out his phone. “Here. Kesari sent me this. I think you might appreciate it.” Andrei stood up. “You’re welcome. Now eat and try to relax.”

Puzzled, I watched him leave and then picked up the phone. My eyesight warped with sudden tears and my hand shook so badly I had to put it back down.

There on the screen was Kai Weslark, Piper’s little brother and Enele Lafi, both of them grinning at the camera, although Kai looked ready to burst into laughter. Sitting in the middle of them, grimacing as he tried to smile, the panic in his eyes clear, was Roy.

He was holding an infant in each arm and I realized those must have been Piper’s twins. They were beautiful. And I realized, with a fresh pang of grief, I didn’t even know their names.

A wave of homesickness hit me so hard, I thought I might curl up and die. Choked sobs were starting to wrench from my chest, even as I tried to stifle them.

But Roy, in spite of his abject terror, looked happy and relaxed. He was surrounded by family and back to living life, instead of being a Zima political weapon in the Order. He had Kesari.

Hands shaking, I went to zoom in, when my finger slipped and the next photo came on the screen. Another wave of pain hit me. Here was a picture of Andrei, Desmond Devoy, Soraya, Kesari and Roy all laughing at something. They were standing in some parking lot in LA, I could tell.

Closing my eyes, I bowed my head as the tears came.

I want to go home.