Page 29 of Savage Little War

“Right by your side,” I promise him.

There’s nowhere else I’d rather stand.

9

Dmitri

The Atlantic is a black void beneath the jet as we slice through the night.

Most people on board are asleep, getting as much rest as they can before we land in Naples. When we land, there won’t be time to breathe, let alone unpack. We’ve got a lot of work to do.

I look over at Cara as she sleeps in the reclined seat next to me with a blanket resting in her lap. A soft blue wash fills the cabin, but it doesn’t calm me enough to sleep. Not yet.

Part of me is eager to put Ferro and his men into early graves, but what’s keeping me up the most is the fear lodged in my chest like a blade. It’s uncomfortable and painful.

A feeling that I can’t shake.

Sitting here stewing in my thoughts is torture, and we have hours to go. I quietly get up and drape the blanket over Cara, my eyes lingering on her peaceful face.

I thought saving her from Ferro the first time would make everything okay. That she would stay safe. But I was wrong.

She isn’t safe until our enemies are dead. All of them.

I slip past her and head toward the small bar toward the back of the jet. I’m not surprised to see Andrei already standing by it with a half-full drink in his hand.

“Still don’t like flying, huh?” I say, keeping my voice down so that I won’t wake up anyone sleeping.

Andrei shakes his head. “I can’t stop thinking about crashing and burning.”

“We’re over the ocean if it makes you feel any better,” I tell him as I grab the bottle of vodka. Just a little might help me relax enough to fall asleep.

“It doesn’t,” Andrei mutters before finishing off his drink. “What are you doing up?”

“Can’t stop thinking,” I admit as I look down into my glass, watching the liquid move in a slow swirl.

“I’m guessing not about crashing and burning,” Andrei replies as he leans his side against the edge of the bar to face me.

“About losing Cara,” I admit, keeping my eyes cast down. “It still haunts me every single damn day.”

Andrei offers me a small smile of sympathy. “She’ll be okay, Dmitri. She’s tough as hell.”

I finally look over at him, pain tearing through my chest. “She shouldn’t have to be. She shouldn’t have had to go through what she went through, and she shouldn’t have to risk her life again.”

“She needs this victory as much as you do,” Andrei replies. “Probably even more.”

Definitely more. I wasn’t the one kidnapped, beaten, and cut up for weeks.

“If it comes down to it, you choose her. Over me. Over anyone,” I tell Andrei firmly. “Will you do that for me?”

Andrei draws in a deep breath through his nose before nodding. “I will.”

I pat the back of his shoulder and nod to him in gratitude. “You’re a good friend, Andrei. You’ve risked your life for me more times than I can count.”

“Don’t get all sappy on me,” Andrei replies with a smirk as he playfully elbows me. “We’re not dying yet.”

Yet.

Andrei pours another drink for himself and tops me off while we stand there in silence together. Before we know it, we’ll be in Italy, on Ferro’s ground.