Wanted: White Russian (7 page)

"You're an ass, Dubnikov." She tried to scowl at him, but his grin was infectious. There were innumerable reasons not to trust him, and only one for her to take him at his word.

Blind instinct. Everything inside her wanted to believe him.

It wasn't just the sex, either. She'd had great sex before, though never anything that touched her as deeply as it had with Yuri. He just didn't fit the profile of a killer. But was she willing to risk her life on that assumption? Normally, there was no way. She wasn't one to risk her life frivolously, but she knew without a doubt she was willing to trust Yuri enough to do what he asked of her.

"Maybe," he conceded, "but I've never claimed otherwise, so at least I'm honest about it." She snorted, but said nothing else. Instead, she curled her legs up in the co-pilot's seat and waited.

They didn't talk much after that. They flew in compatible silence for an hour before they approached a large asteroid.

At first, Tiressa thought they'd land on the surface, but as they approached, she saw a crater in the surface that opened up into a cave hidden by the natural lay of the rock. When they passed the cave entrance, there was a shift in gravity and a slight jolt of the ship as they passed into what seemed like a normal atmosphere. Instead of the nearly zero friction of space, there was an atmosphere, causing a significant drag on the ship's momentum. Yuri deftly flew the ship into the cave several hundred meters before landing them and doing a quick post landing check.

"There's a force field just inside the entrance to hold in an artificial atmosphere. Think of it as a hangar."

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Wanted: White Russian

by Marteeka Karland

"Is the air breathable?" This was the most fascinating piece of engineering she'd ever seen. Especially for one man. He definitely had resources.

"Absolutely. This is a small space station housing myself and three others, though there is room for six to live comfortably."

"I see. Quite a feat for four people."

"It's not just us—at least, it didn't used to be. And we were set up here for a completely different purpose." Yuri finished his systems check and powered the ship down before turning back to her. "You see, we were supposed to be the monsters I've been named. The only problem was we figured out what they were wanting us to do and changed the plan."

He stood and held his hand for her. Tiressa took it automatically, and he gently urged her to her feet. Pressing a sequence of buttons, Yuri opened the gangway, and they walked down the ramp. Yuri seemed to like holding her hand, and laced his fingers through hers as they walked through the hangar to the inner part of the station.

Down a long corridor, they entered the first door on the right. There was a big table and six chairs, but not much else.

On the far wall, a console blinked with blue and amber lights above a hollowed out space that glowed with a blue energy field. Tiressa guessed it was some kind of food processor, though she'd never seen one like it.

Then she noticed the three men standing in the corner looking at another wall console. None of them seemed to notice they'd arrived, they were so deep in conversation.

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Wanted: White Russian

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"If we approach with one ship from the near moon's dark side, and simultaneously from the inner rings, the ship launched from the moon should be overlooked and make it through," one man said. His voice was rich and deep, but he was probably the scariest son of a bitch Tiressa had ever seen. Nearly seven feet tall, he carried enough muscle bulk for his size and more, and his face was a mixture of harsh angles and scars. Not a handsome face at all, and one she'd prefer not to meet alone.

"True," one who bore a striking resemblance to Yuri said, his voice accented slightly in Russian, "but we'll have to be careful. If we're too obvious, they'll catch on to us and leave the second ship open to attack. We'll have to send one fighter escort with both, and that itself will be suspicious."

"I have a solution," Yuri spoke up, tugging Tiressa closer to his side and tightening his grip on her hand. Three pairs of eyes turned toward them.

A man with hair as dark as a raven's wing who'd yet to speak raised an eyebrow and nodded toward Tiressa. "New recruit, Yuri?"

"Not for you, Storm." Yuri let go of her hand then, but only to put his arm around her and pull her against his body, obviously staking a claim. Tiressa had to suppress a giggle she was sure Yuri would definitely not appreciate. "She's here to pilot the second freighter."

The other three men looked at each other but said nothing.

The one called Storm spoke to Tiressa. "Can you handle this?

There's no shame if you can't—we just need to know now before we lose everything we've spent months stockpiling."

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Tiressa didn't hesitate. "I can fly any freighter-sized ship you need me to. Whether I can handle the actual mission has yet to be seen, since I'm not certain exactly what to expect."

Storm nodded his head and looked back to Yuri. "At least she's honest. Can she handle it?"

Yuri shrugged, but kept his arm firmly around Tiressa. "If I didn't think so, I certainly wouldn't have involved her. This is dangerous, and I don't like it, but once I saw her flying abilities, I knew I didn't have much of a choice."

"I'm assuming you're planning on flying her escort?" the tall blond asked. He wasn't as bulky as the others, but looked no less dangerous.

"Absolutely, Dmitry. You don't think I'm trusting any of you, do you?" Yuri smiled wickedly, and the others laughed, but if Tiressa were betting, she'd wager he was only half joking.

The huge man with chestnut-colored hair crossed his arms over his chest. The scars on his face seemed accented in the lighting of the room, but his voice was deep and smooth. If she listened to his voice for long, he could easily lull her into a sexual haze that would fog her brain. "So, who is this vision of loveliness, Yuri? It's impolite not to make introductions.

Especially if we're trusting her with the most important part of the mission." Tiressa didn't miss the censure thinly veiled in his question. This man didn't like the change of plans, and Tiressa could see his point.

"I'm Tiressa Sabian, formerly a transport pilot with the Davion Company."

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Wanted: White Russian

by Marteeka Karland

Storm raised an eyebrow. "I've heard of you. You're the only pilot in the sector who hasn't been jacked. Rumor is..."

"Completely true," Tiressa interrupted. No point expounding when they obviously knew the story. "And having it circulated has served me well over the years."

"Satisfied, Hawk?" Yuri gave a level look to the brown-haired man.

"Unless she proves otherwise, I suppose I'll have to be.

You seem to trust her, and you've always been a good judge of character." He paused a moment before adding, "If you're thinking with your brain, that is."

In that instant, Yuri's expression hardened to one so deadly Tiressa flinched and would have stepped back had he not pulled her against his body with one hard arm. "You're free to leave if you think I'm compromised in any way, Hawk."

The other man raised his hands and looked away.

"Wouldn't dream of it, boss. I just never expected you to bring an outsider here, is all. We agreed we'd keep this among ourselves and not involve anyone else. The fewer people who know about it, the better. The Consolidation already knows about your involvement, and look what they've done to you. If they find out everyone else is involved..."

"You don't have to explain the risks to me," Yuri snapped.

"It was my idea. It's my life that has been forever changed.

The rest of you can go on about your business if you want to, but I'm branded a criminal of the worst sort. And as to how that happened... well, you don't think it was by accident, do you? I leaked the information. They know me and what I'm 64

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capable of. If they knew about me, there was a good chance they'd not look any farther. I've given my life for this project.

I'm not about to jeopardize it now."

Hawk and Storm looked slightly shocked. Dmitry did not.

He only looked grimly satisfied, as if something he'd long suspected had just been confirmed.

"You're an ass, Yuri," Storm spat. "We all agreed to do this. We all gave up our lives and any chance of a normal existence. Why should you take all the risk?"

"Because it was my idea. I'm willing to accept your help, but I'm not condemning all of you to a life on the run. When you're ready to leave, you'll be able to. I'll see to it in any way I can."

The four men looked at each other for a moment before Hawk spoke up. "Well, we're getting our share of the danger anyway, boys. If all goes as planned, every Consolidation ship in the area will be after us. So whoever is flying that freighter better be damned good."

"Do it by remote," Yuri said. "The ship will be sacrificed.

That was always the plan, even if we never said it. By the time they realize what we've done, we'll be back here safe and sound."

Dmitry nodded. "I'll get on it. I'll ride with Hawk in the second fighter and fly it from there."

"Get to it, then. I'd like to get on the go within the next twenty-four hours. The one remaining hidden colony needs these goods."

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Wanted: White Russian

by Marteeka Karland

For the next several hours, Tiressa spent her time studying and familiarizing herself with the freighter she was expected to fly. There was nothing fancy about it, but the shields were much stronger than her ship's had been. It also had some firepower. She'd taken it out for a few test flights and ran some basic maneuvers to get a feel for the craft, and was very pleased with the quality of the equipment the men had at their disposal.

She'd also watched official, classified documentaries on what had really happened on Deblin 4 and several other worlds. Apparently, Yuri had once been part of the Consolidation's military command. When he'd refused to carry out orders that aided in the genocide, they'd named him a traitor. Officially, he was public enemy number one.

Unofficially, he was their scapegoat to explain everything away. Secretly, Tiressa wondered if there wasn't more to it, but she said nothing.

"How did you manage to get all this stuff?" she'd asked Yuri when he finally dragged her off the ship and hurried her down the corridor.

"Stole it, mostly," he replied matter-of-factly. "We jacked them, stripped them down, and went through every piece of electronics and metal we could short of melting them down to ensure there were no beacons to let the Consolidation home in on us." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Is that a problem?"

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"After viewing the surveillance footage meant for Consolidation Command? No problem at all. They've obviously got some kind of experiment going on down there, and it's not for the betterment of mankind."

"They were trying to create super soldiers," Yuri explained as they went down the corridor. He stopped at a door, pressed his palm to the control pad, and practically yanked her inside. "What they did was kill a whole lot of people."

As if the memory of it was too much for him to take, Yuri pulled Tiressa into his arms and covered her mouth with his.

There were many questions Tiressa wanted to ask, but Yuri obviously needed a distraction. Needed not to dwell on what they were going into, and she was more than willing to help.

In the very short time she'd spent around him, she'd learned about the man he tried so hard to hide from the others.

He was strong and deadly when necessary but, underneath it all, he was a kind-hearted man. He wanted so much to end these people's suffering but was afraid it was too late. His only consolation was the small band of survivors hidden deep within the Deblin 4 jungles.

Yuri also did his best to protect the men he commanded here. Though they saw each other more as equals, the others followed him with only a minimum of question. It seemed like they all realized that, in this kind of situation, it was necessary to have one person making decisions instead of all of them going their own way. One thing she had learned, though, was that risking her life by asking her to pilot the freighter was rapidly growing unacceptable to him. He wasn't 67

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willing to risk her life for any reason. Even saving the lives of thousands.

"I'm so sorry I dragged you into this, Tiressa," he murmured in between kisses. "If I had any respect for you at all, I'd take you away from this and tuck you away somewhere safe. Your belly would grow big with my babies, and you'd live on a world where the Consolidation couldn't touch you. We'd live a fairytale life that no one could take away."

She let him kiss her a while longer before putting her hand on his cheek and gently pushing him away so she could look at him. "You're a good man, Yuri. I'm proud to be part of this.

If by some miracle this works, maybe we can talk about this again. Right now, there are probably many other women whose bellies are big with children who need your help. Our help. And from what I've seen, we're the only ones who have a chance of delivering." She smiled when he closed his eyes, his face heavy with emotion he tried so hard to hide from the others but seemed to show freely with her. "Now, make love to me before we have to go. I want to go on this mission knowing, when it's done, I've got someone worth coming home for."

Yuri grunted his assent, scooped her up, and laid her gently on the bed. He shrugged out of his clothing and helped Tiressa out of hers when she wasn't naked enough to suit him. Which meant he'd stripped slightly faster than she had.

He kneed her thighs apart and settled his body between them, though he didn't enter her.