Chapter Four
As they awaited their flight out of Bangor to JFK in New York, Lina nervously looked at Zack. “I can’t do this,” she said, tears close to the surface.
He squeezed her hands. “Yes, you can. We’re all here for you.”
“But what if I accidentally set fire to the plane or something?” she fearfully whispered. “I don’t want to kill everyone!”
Brodey sat down beside her and slung an arm around her. “Listen, Goddess girl. Remember how scared you were flying to Yellowstone?”
She nodded.
“Remember it was okay?”
She hesitated, but nodded again.
“Okay, then. Do you honestly think we’ll let anything happen to you, or let you do anything to anyone innocent?”
“But what if I can’t control myself?” she whispered.
Blackie stepped over. “Move aside, guys,” he said, offering his hand to Lina.
She reached up and took it, then let him lead her off to the side, to stand beside the windows near their gate.
With his voice calm and low, he looked into her eyes. “I hate to fly, too. I really do. But do you know what I do?”
She shook her head.
He offered her a kind smile. “I have a little ritual. When I get to the door, I always put my hand on the outside of the plane and say to myself, ‘Just one more flight, please. If not, it’s a good day to die.’”
“But I don’t want to die!”
“I know,” he soothed. “Sometimes, however, things are beyond our control. Right?”
She finally nodded.
“Who’s with you today?”
“Huh?”
“Humor me. Who is traveling with you today?”
“Jan and Rick. Zack and Kael. Brodey, Wally, Jocko, and you and Callie. Why?”
“So the people who either love you, or who care a great deal about you, right?”
She nodded.
“You’re surrounded by love. Not many people meet their maker getting to say that. Right?”
“Um, morbid, but sure, okay.”
He chuckled. “You’re a goddess. If you’re really that worried, just envision us having a safe, uneventful flight to JFK.” He snorted. “Then pray that Wally doesn’t rip out someone’s throat in hunger if we’re stuck on the runway while waiting too long for takeoff there.”
That got her laughing.
“Deep breath.”
She took one, then let it out.
“Better?”
“Not really.”
He leaned in close and hugged her. He took the opportunity to whisper in her ear. “We’re flying with Baba Yaga’s sister. If you don’t think Callie is going to make sure we land safe, rest assured Baba Yaga most likely will. That alone should comfort you.”
She laughed, this time taking a deep, relaxing breath. “Okay. I’ll give you that point.”
“So, better?”
Another deep breath. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Good. Just follow my lead and you’ll be fine.”
When they called for boarding, Lina watched as Daniel did, in fact, pause at the plane’s door and pat the airplane’s skin beside the doorway. Then he turned and sent her a wink before stepping inside.
“What’s that about?” Zack asked.
She paused at the doorway and did the same thing. “Never mind,” she said as she stroked the plane’s skin before crossing the threshold and stepping inside.
Fortunately, the flight went smoothly, and they even landed a few minutes early at JFK. Daniel smiled at her from across the aisle as she waited her turn to get out of her seat and retrieve her carry-ons.
“Okay?” he asked.
Lina nodded. “Okay.”
Callie laughed. “Don’t worry when you’re flying with me,” she said. “Perk of the rank.”
Lina could only hope she’d one day have that level of confidence. “Thanks.”
“The only fear you should have,” Brodey softly quipped, “is Wally eating all the food on board before we’re halfway across the Atlantic.”
Wally snorted as he dragged his bulk out of his seat. “Hey, I resemble that remark, fuzz face.”
Not only did the “flight across the pond,” as Jocko called it, go smoothly, Lina managed to get a couple hours’ sleep before they landed in Paris the next morning. The attorney met them at baggage claim and faced a few nervous minutes of careful scrutiny from the men in their group, who would take no chances with Lina’s safety.
Only Zack and Callie stayed back with Lina. “Do you think they’ve grilled him enough?” Lina snarked.
“No,” Zack said. “He doesn’t seem to have shit himself yet.”
Callie evilly grinned. “I could take care of that. Although Wally looks like he’s holding his own.”
Lina laughed. “I don’t think we need to go that far, but thanks for having my back.”
With Rick, Jan, Jocko, Brodey, Daniel, Wally, and Kael finally convinced the man was, in fact, Bertholde’s attorney, they gathered their luggage and followed him to the large rental van he’d obtained for them.
Lina wasn’t sure what she expected, but the drive to a small village east of Paris, near the La forêt Domaniale d'Armainvilliers, was beautiful.
Then they pulled up to a gate in a high wall surrounding an estate. Another car waited there, and the driver and Uncle Andel stepped out. Andel looked aggravated.
“He looks like he’s in a pissy mood,” Rick softly snarked as the lawyer got out to talk with Andel. After a moment, the lawyer unlocked and opened the gate, then drove through and pulled to the side of the gravel driveway to allow Andel’s car to get by. When they passed, he closed the gate behind them, relocked it, and followed Andel’s car up the long, winding drive. The rolling grounds were thick with large shade trees and lush grass.
As the house came into view, Lina felt the breath sucked from her lungs. “That’s mine?”
“Yep,” Jan said. “Lock, stock, and barrel.”
“How big is this?”
“Twenty-five acres,” Jan said. “Not a bad little hovel, huh?”
She playfully shoved him from across the seat.
Made out of reddish stone, the huge three-story house looked nearly as big as the Old Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone. A covered portico one story high and at least three cars wide sheltered the front entrance, but the two vehicles parked in the gravel driveway. Three men and two women awaited their arrival on the front steps when they all climbed out of their vehicles.
The attorney, whose name was James Rieucheaux, motioned Lina over and spoke in very rapid French to the workers. Without her realizing it, Jan stepped in behind her. He started whispering a translation into her ear. The attorney was introducing her and the others, and informing them that they were, under no circumstances, to take any orders from Andel. Andel looked indignant and perturbed at that, but he kept his mouth shut.
Crap. No telling when I’ll get my Rosetta Stone stuff.
“Ask him how far away the hotel is,” she snarked.
He shook his head. “We’re staying here. That’s what he just told them. Frankly, I think it’s a good idea. We can protect you better here, plus no telling how long it’ll take to find the tablet.”
She tipped her head back to look up at the house. “This is all mine? Seriously?”
Jan laughed. “Yes, sweetheart. All yours.”
“Ugh.”
“Very ugh.”
The staff showed them all to their rooms. They didn’t bat an eye over her and Jan and Rick sharing a room, or over Zack and Kael. Apparently the house had twenty bedrooms, and the one Lina and her men were given was the largest and on the second floor, but it wasn’t the one Bertholde had used, much to Lina’s relief. Despite the age of the house, modern IKEAesque furniture decorated their room. Sleek, honey-colored wood dressers and matching bed frame and end tables formed the center of the scheme. A matching armoire held a large flat-screen TV, DVR, and cable box.