Niko stood with Drago inside the arrival hall, her eyes glued to the doors as they swooshed almost silently open and closed, allowing more and more passengers to pass through on the way to meet loved ones and business associates, or pick up hire cars on their adventure to explore Turkey’s capital city.
The flight they were waiting for had landed almost half an hour ago, so to say Niko was getting anxious was an understatement.
“Niko, for fuck’s sake, stop twitching.” Drago growled at her. “You’re tweaking like you’re high, and it’s attracting unwanted attention.”
Niko glanced around, and sure enough one of the airport security guards had her firmly fixed in his gaze, and she couldn’t be totally certain he wasn’t thinking about arresting her.
She turned to Drago, sliding her arms around him with a big smile on her face.
“Hug me you idiot, and make it look like we’re a happy couple waiting for a bunch of friends.” She hissed up at him.
The look on Drago’s face was priceless as he wrapped an arm around her automatically. He gazed down at her in what she supposed was a loving way, although his green eyes narrowed as he stared at her.
“You do realise that if your brother could see me touching you he’d have me castrated, don’t you?” He grumbled.
“For God’s sake, I’m not asking you to make love to me. Just act natural and make it look like we’re a couple.” Niko gave him a squeeze that was far from loving.
“Sweetheart, acting naturally like we’re a couple is a contradiction in so many ways, it would take me a week to list them. Nothing about us being a couple would ever be natural. It would be like dating one of my sisters.” Drago grinned down at her. “Besides, I think our guests might have just arrived.”
Niko looked around to see half a dozen guys walking through the swooshing doors, looking like they just stepped out of an army recruitment ad. The only thing missing was the camouflage pattern on their t-shirts and pants.
The men obviously knew who they were looking for, as they were heading straight for Niko and Drago.
She stepped away from Drago and almost skipped up to the guy in front, a mountain of a man with dark hair and eyes, and a bemused look on his face.
As she wrapped her arms around him as far as they would reach, she made eye contact with the men standing behind him.
“Make it look like a reunion, and for goodness sake, smile.” She instructed. “Security are watching, and you guys stand out more than a lot.”
The guy she was hugging wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up and swinging her around in a circle.
Niko giggled in surprise before she could stop herself.
When her feet were returned to the ground, she found herself staring up into a pair of chocolate brown eyes that were filled with humour.
“That’s not exactly the welcome we were expecting, but I’ll take it.” His lips twitched, and Niko smiled in return.
“Just trying to be convincing for the authorities.” She shrugged. “Have you got your gear? There’s a van waiting for us outside.”
Drago stepped forward and there was a general round of grins and backslaps that was surprising to say the least, seeing as they didn’t know each other at all.
Niko grabbed the big guy’s arm and led him through the door, turning left and making a path through all the people waiting for taxis.
About fifty yards along the kerb there was a white van waiting with its engine idling, and Niko yanked on the handle of the side door, pulling it back so they could all climb in.
Wooden benches had been fixed on each side of the van, with no sign of a seat belt or creature comfort in sight.
“Nice.” Evan mumbled as he climbed in, throwing his pack to the back of the van. “Just like being back in the military.”
The rest of the men followed, with Niko and Drago climbing in last.
Niko leaned over and spoke to the driver, giving him the green light to get the hell away from the airport. He immediately pulled out into traffic, not caring if any other cars were around them.
She sat down quickly and braced her feet on the floor to stop herself being thrown around.
“Ok, so we’ll get the introductions out of the way.” She glanced around. “I’m Niko Federova. My brother Ilya runs the business, and Drago here is his right-hand man. If anyone is going to give you orders it will be one of us, and we expect them to be followed without hesitation. Understood?”
The six giants nodded in response.
“I don’t need your life histories, just a name I can use to identify you.” She looked around the van.
“I’m Hollywood.” The big guy she’d hugged offered up. “Going anticlockwise, you have Kellen, Kris, Yuri, Logan and Evan.”
“Are you all American?” Niko frowned. His accent was unexpected as her contacts had been British.
“Kellen and I are American, Yuri and Kris are Russian by birth but now live overseas, and Logan and Evan are British.” Hollywood explained.
“And which one of you is my truck driver?” Niko asked, knowing this would be the man she’d be travelling with.
“That would be me.” Hollywood held his hand up. “It’s been a while since I drove anything so big, but I’m fully licensed and have all my papers with me.”
“My son will be travelling with us, so you’d better make damn sure you drive safely.” Niko said abruptly, wanting him to understand where her priorities lay.
“We weren’t able to bring weapons through customs for obvious reasons. We were told we’d be provided with what we needed.” Kellen stated. “Do you have suitable equipment for us?”
“The trucks have all been equipped with everything you might need, including guns. You’ll be able to pick up food along the way, when we stop to refuel, and when we stop for the night, a meal of some sort will be provided.” Drago nodded. “Our routes won’t always be direct, and of course we have to keep to the law regarding the number of hours driven per day, etcetera. We don’t want to give the authorities any excuse to stop and search the vehicles. That means you’ll be spending a lot of time in the cabs.”
“I think we’ve all spent our fair share of time in uncomfortable transporters, driving from A to B.” Kellen shrugged. “At least on this trip we aren’t expecting to come across any IED’s. I’m so past done waiting for my legs to be blown off.”
His team-mates nodded their agreement and Niko wondered how many years these men had spent in the military, worrying about things like losing body parts. She couldn’t fathom how anyone, male or female, would volunteer for such a job.
“We have three large containers carrying our human cargo, plus assorted other goods.” Drago explained. “In addition, there will be anywhere between six and twelve support vehicles around us at any one time, carrying Ilya, myself and the rest of Ilya’s men. Should any one of the trucks be stopped by the authorities, the rest will carry on as though nothing happened.”
“Great, so if I’m driving and we get pulled over, I’m the one to carry the can, right?” Hollywood complained.
“You and anyone else on board.” Niko pointed out. “We’ll all be taking the same risks, and that includes me.”
As they fell silent for the rest of the short drive to the yard, Niko tried to examine the men in the van.
The two Russians were typical of the guys they used for security. Big, broad, and bald. Such a cliché!
The British guys were just as big and broad, but the shock of red hair on the one, and the mass of untamed brown curls on the other were a complete contrast. They looked less like military and more like lumberjacks.
The two Americans were more interesting. Two man-mountains, both dark, but completely different.
Kellen, the guy who’d been asking about the weapons was more intense, with those piercing grey eyes the colour of steel. He looked like he was studying everything with laser vision, and there was something about him that had Niko a bit edgy.
Hollywood, her hug-buddy, was just as dark, but his chocolate brown eyes had a warmth about them that Niko thought Kellen’s lacked. He had those sexy, film-star looks about him, and she wondered whether that was how he’d gotten his name.
He had a sense of humour too, which was going to be a definite bonus if they were going to be stuck in the same truck cab for days on end.
“Where are we headed?” He glanced over at her.
“To a factory unit on the outskirts of Ankara.” She explained. “The trucks are being loaded as we speak, and they’ll be ready for us to head straight out as soon as we get there.”
“Will we meet your brother today?” Hollywood asked, and she scowled at him.
“You’ll meet my brother when he decides it’s necessary, and not before.” Niko announced. “If you’re lucky, that might just be never, because meeting Ilya isn’t always a pleasant experience.”
“I thought the whole point of us being here was to help him get his cargo transported to Rotterdam, where he’ll make top dollar on his product thanks to our employers.” Hollywood pointed out. “You’d have thought that would make us worth meeting, at least.”
“Be careful what you wish for.” Drago warned. “Ilya isn’t a man you want to cross. And he’s not the sort of guy you have a quiet drink with, you understand? He’d as soon put a bullet through your skull as look at you, especially if he’s high or drunk. He has a very short fuse, and you’d do well to remember that.”
Niko stared at Drago before glancing around at the men in the van.
Drago’s warning might be harsh, but it was wholly accurate, and she just hoped these guys took his words to heart, for their own sakes.