He’s pretty efficient, after all.
I nodded.
“I’ll just call them to get the fuel over here,” he disclosed, already turning around.
The refueling didn’t take long. Stepan’s call came just as Drew and I were alone again on the isolated runway. He had gotten to the venue, and they were lying low, waiting for her to be out in an hour or so. I told Drew to take a cab into the city to get something to eat, but he claimed to be fine with his stash of snacks.
I couldn’t exactly insist since I wasn’t eating either. So I had painted a mental picture of the fate that awaited him if he risked piloting us while getting dizzy due to exhaustion or dehydration. In response, he had quickly listed off all the snacks and drinks he stocked up on.
I glanced at the time as Drew went back into the aircraft.
7:08 pm.
The event should be coming to a close in an hour, and it would take them thirty minutes to get back here.
Lots of time with nothing to do. Of course, there were loads of accounting statements and club business to be handled. But the Markova bombshell had sapped my desire to work on anything. I knew I couldn’t focus on anything else until I had Arkady Markova’s daughter under my thumb.
I strolled down the runway. The vast spread of nothingness forced me to relax for a second. I breathed in the cool evening air and sighed, appreciating the gentleness of the wind.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out. It was an email from Mikhail, my brother. It wasn’t lengthy, nor was it void of meaning. He had heard about Arkady Markova messing with funds. Mikhail wanted me to let him know how he could be of help, if need be.
I chuckled as I replied to him that I was on it and would let him know.
Being my immediate older brother and the one I was closest to growing up, Mikhail definitely knew what he was saying when he added the clause ‘if need be.’ Beyond the fact that all of us were trained to be self-sufficient, I wasn’t the type to accept help until there was no other possible way forward.
It made sense that I was perfectly okay with being a charmer in public and a workaholic in private. Of being sure to stay single while my older brothers were happily married.
The sound of vehicles revving surprised me. I put my phone back into my pocket and walked to the side of the jet. The two cars my men drove slowed to a halt a few feet away.
I watched as the back door of the first car opened and Stepan emerged. Then he held it open—and she stepped out.
It struck me immediately.
I know her.
I’ve seen her around Isabella and Emilia, my brothers’ wives. She’s Isabella’s childhood friend or something.
But that was not the only thing that struck me as she tilted her head to the side on seeing me.
She’s gorgeous.
Her evening dress wrapped around her gracefully, making her look like a queen.
I had seen the coverage of the event on the flight. I wasn’t blind; I saw that she was a bold and beautiful young woman. However, the live coverage couldn’t have captured the confidence in her step as she walked ahead of Stepan toward me. No livestream could have shown the contained elegance I was staring at. Cameras couldn’t have carried the ‘unstoppable’ aura she exuded. It was allher.
She approached me calmly, stopping only when she was a foot away from my face.
“I had a feeling this wasn’t orchestrated by Viktor or Mikhail. Only you could pull off something this smooth. You’re the sleek one,” she uttered.
Of course, she’s smart.
My response to her was a smirk as I motioned to Stepan.
Stepan came to her side to guide her into the airplane. She didn’t scoff or throw more words at me in frustration like other ‘classy’ girls would have done. She simply blinked and went up the stairs with him like she didn’t need to say anything else. That was another surprise. She was definitely different from the regular ‘glam girls’ I usually met. I just didn’t know how much.
As we were flying over the Atlantic a few minutes later, I went through some documents on my laptop. But I couldn’t help glancing at the woman sitting across from me. Her wrists weren’t bound, nor were her feet. Stepan had told one of the two men flying with us to ask her if she needed anything, andshe casually waved him off like she was on a luxury trip and just didn’t require anything more.
She was composed, too composed. I had just kidnapped her and was flying her miles away, but here she was, behaving like it was the most normal day of her life. Her makeup remained flawless, and her legs were perfectly crossed as if she were on a fun date.
