That was all right. She knew who’d hired him but truly hadn’t expected retaliation quite yet. “What’s your plan?”
He kicked back on the seat. “We’re going to take a nice ride around the coastline, go north, and meet transport on the other side of the island. I’ll radio from there.” He gestured her forward with a gun.
She stepped toward him, forcing her muscles to go lax. “If somebody wants me that badly, you won’t shoot me.”
He lifted both eyebrows. “I was specifically told I could shoot you in the leg if necessary.” His grin widened. “We both know that ain’t gonna be necessary, don’t we?”
She nodded. “We both do know that fact.” Leaping up, she kicked out with both feet, nailing both the gun and his chin. His head snapped back, and he flew off the snowmobile. The force knocked her onto her back, and she flipped up, hampered by the heavy coat and boots. Her sunglasses went flying.
He shot to his feet, blood dripping down his chin. “Bitch.”
“Well now, that’s just not nice.” Her breath panted out, and adrenaline burst through her veins. Bunching her knees, she leaped across the vehicle and slammed into him, one fist plowing into his trachea. He bellowed, twisted, and threw her hard.
She landed on unforgiving ice and rolled, snow gathering in her hair. Pain rippled up her elbow and to her shoulder, but she shoved the sensation away, rose to her feet, and ran full bore for him.
He braced his feet, ready to catch her, when she suddenly jumped up and clamped her knees on either side of his face. With a sharp twist, she cracked his jaw and slid around his back to tuck her arm beneath his chin and pull up.
His scream echoed against the buildings, zinged around, and seemed to come from every direction. He reached up and grabbed her hair, yanking hard.
Agony lanced along her scalp, and she loosened her hold, suddenly flying over his head and smashing into the snowmobile. Her vision fuzzed and her ears rang. She fell down, her butt on the ground. It had been too long since she’d been in a real fight. Bile rose in her throat, followed by panic.
He cupped his jaw, fire shooting from his eyes. Real fire, red and angry, danced down his neck.
Shit.
She tried to scramble up, but plasma balls formed on his hands. Damn it.
He spit out blood. “You’re no human.” The plasma morphed and danced, waiting to burn. “Let’s see what you can take.”
She swallowed and tasted blood. “I’ll triple your price.”
“No way. I want you to burn.”
A shadow fell across the sun for the briefest of moments. She squinted and looked over his shoulder, gasping. What the hell? A figure in all black, straight and true, hang glided from the east in perfect formation. Her mouth gaped. The guy had to have jumped from the high peaks of the jagged mountain. Crazy.
Vegar half turned to see the figure.
Cee Cee launched herself off the snowmobile, hitting the witch mid-center and throwing him on his back. He clamped her arm, burning through the material. Pain cut into her, and she cried out, shoving against his chest to stand. Crying, swearing, she stomped onto his hands, throwing snow.
He clasped her ankle and shoved her back toward the snowmobile. She no sooner hit than she jumped up and aimed for him, punching and kicking strategic points. The traitor defended himself, hitting back, but not getting enough time to form more fire. If he created more, he might incapacitate her. His fist connected with her jaw, and she dropped, her head spinning in sharp pain.
Then he grabbed her hair and pulled her back up.
She helped him, punching both fists into his groin. The sound he made defied description. Using her hair, he swung her around and flung her again.
She landed on her front, the air knocked out of her lungs. Her gloved hands scrambled to stop her as she turned around and around on the ice, spinning away from the threat. She had to shut him down before he created more fire.
A plasma ball landed next to her, and she yelped, rolling out of the way and crouching up on her knees.
He stood, blood flowing down his face and turning his teeth red. “You’re gonna pay.” As if remembering just then, he half turned, but it was too late. The man on the hang glider kicked two large boots into Vegar’s face, throwing back his head. The snap of bones breaking ripped through the chilled air. Vegar crashed onto the ice, arms outstretched, out cold. Probably with a broken neck.
Cee Cee pushed herself up, her legs wobbling. She squinted as the sun reflected across the ice. Spotting her sunglasses, she reached down and planted them back on her face, protecting her eyes.
The hang glider dropped and sent the glider across the frozen tundra to slide into the orange building. He was big and broad and easily controlled his body in a graceful jog to stop within a yard of her. A black headgear mask covered his face, and a knit hat covered his hair. A dark Klim Latitude jacket covered his wide torso, and Klim pants led down to thick boots. Even mirrored eyeglasses hid his eyes.
But she knew. Damn it, she knew.
He ripped off the face mask. “Cee Cee.”
Ah, crap. “Daire. How in the world did you find me?” Spirals unfolded in her abdomen, sparks of unwelcome pleasure. Her body was happy to see him. Her brain was not. “Seriously. How?”
He tucked the mask into his back pocket and shoved his glasses atop his head.
Furious. Green eyes, ringed with darker green, shot sparks at her. His body was relaxed, and yet, a tension now lifted the breeze, sparking along her skin. “You might have taken my surveillance cameras, but cameras are all over town, baby.”
Baby. When was the last time anybody had called her baby? Had anybody ever called her baby? She didn’t think so. “I see. You caught up surprisingly quickly.” Trying to be casual, she moved slightly toward the snowmobile.
He smiled, and she halted in place. The smile wasn’t kind or remotely amused. It was a warning.
She was smart enough to heed it.
“Considering the files you stole, I tracked you here.”
“I have to admit, you made it so easy to find the exact right maps with your freaky organizational skills. Do you have OCD?” she blurted.
He drew back, irritation all but wafting from him. “No. I just like things orderly.”
Must be nice. Her world was usually full of chaos these days. “I could’ve gone to the mines in Russia instead of here,” she murmured, and she still fully intended to do so. Where was the key to the snowmobile? She had to move to see the ignition.
Daire lifted a dark eyebrow in a dangerously rugged face. “The key isn’t in the ignition. I assume he has it.” Daire jerked his head toward the unconscious witch, whose neck should be repairing itself. “Who is he, anyway?”
She sighed. “Vegar Bergan.”
Daire coughed. “The mercenary?” He kicked the downed man, who didn’t even moan. “You trusted Bergan?”
Heat climbed into her freezing face. “I paid him well.”
“Not well enough,” Daire drawled.
“Obviously.” Her chin lifted.
“Everyone knows Vegar is available to the highest bidder. If you have an enemy, then you’re vulnerable when working with a guy like this.”
Yeah, she’d learned that the hard way, but enough chitchat. It was time for some action, even if it hurt. She’d lost any patience for waiting around. “If you and I are going to fight, I’d like to start now. It’s getting cold.”
He rubbed his chin with what looked like thick glove insoles. Witches probably didn’t need full gloves. “Well, I have to admit, I caught some of your earlier fight. You can hit, darlin’.”
She breathed out evenly. That didn’t sound like a compliment, but even more, it didn’t feel like one. She was damaged and had needed to learn to fight physically, but she didn’t need to share that fact with him. “I took karate.”
“Nice try, but you’re not human. It took me a while, and I don’t really understand what’s going on, but now at least I know what you are.” He took two steps toward her, casting an intimidating shadow across the icy beach. “Take off the sunglasses, Cee Cee.”