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There’s no way for her to get comfortable with her hands behind her back like this. Her shoulders are going to be sore. I grit my teeth. She deserves more than sore shoulders for running from me.

And then she throws things at me!

If we didn’t have a plane to catch, I would have thrown her over the edge of the counter and used my belt for something else entirely.

Maybe I still will.

“I’ll release your hands when we get there. And you’re going to be a good girl and get through the checkpoints without causing trouble.” I throw her a glare that should push her into submission.

Most men cower when my irritation grows to this level.

But not Mira. This woman seems to have a spine of steel. Maybe being on the run for six months has hardened her.

She laughs. “Sure. I’ll just walk right through and won’t tell them that you’re kidnapping me to deliver me to some mafia drug lord.”

I frown. “Alexander isn’t a drug lord.”

She wiggles in her seat. “I meant Marco.”

“I already told you where I’m taking you.”

“And I have no reason to believe you or cooperate with you.” She twists enough to shoot a glare of her own at me.

It makes her eyes light up, this fire in her. Her dark eyebrows lift into little peaks over her blue eyes.

“You do.” I nod, turning my attention back to the traffic leading us into the small airport.

“Really? And why’s that?”

“One way or another you’re going home. The harder you make it, the worse it will be for you. If you want to try and get innocent people involved, then anything that happens to them as a result is on you.”

I change lanes so I can pull into a parking lot. I’ll need to get my belt off her wrists before she gets out of the car.

She thinks over what I said and turns back around to face forward. From her profile I can see she’s chewing on the inside of her cheek.

“Sasha.” I answer my phone in Russian as soon I see it’s him calling.

“Are you at the airport yet?”

“Just pulling into the parking lot now. Why?”

“There’s a problem. She’s been put on the no-fly list. If you try to get her through security with her own identification, they’ll flag her and detain.”

“Detain? Why detain?”

“The notes say to detain and contact Detective James Calloway for further instruction.”

“All right.” This night is getting even longer. “And how is our other friend? Is he holding tight still?”

“No movement so far.”

“Fine. I’ll have to deal with him on my way.”

“With the girl?”

“How long do you think he’ll be there? If I wait any longer, he’ll fly the coop again.”

“True. Need anything else from me on this?” Sasha’s a good friend, but he has too much of his own shit to handle.