Unfaded Glory Read Online Free

course of action.
    Until he heard
Castallegna.
    Renner had told him there were international and unsavory buyers for the Jewel.
    For Damara.
    He’d kill them before he’d let them touch her.
    A calm came over him. His heartbeat slowed and the peace he’d been seeking filled him. Because this was his purpose; this was what he’d been born to do. And in this, he could keep her safe.
    â€œDon’t leave me,” she whispered. It was the second time she’d sensed what his actions would be before he took them.
    â€œI’ll be back.” He shifted carefully, hoping to make his exit from the lifeboat unseen.
    â€œWhat if you’re not?” Damara asked.
    â€œThen stay here. And when you dock, get to the American Consulate. Ask them to get in touch with Renner.”
    She grabbed his hand.
    He smiled in the darkness. “This is what I’m for, remember?”
    â€œThere’s too many of them to kill them all,” she pleaded.
    â€œI like a challenge.” He didn’t say “trust me” because that was the last thing she should ever do, but this, this he could handle. Byron slid out onto the deck and crouched behind the boat, watching. No matter what he decided to do, he had to do some recon to see what exactly they were dealing with.
    He saw the captain of the ship—his contact Miklos Sanna speaking with one of the boarders.
    â€œAh, Grisha! You should have told me you were coming. There was no need for the display of firepower,” Miklos said as he clasped the man’s shoulders.
    The man he’d called Grisha, a hulking beast with narrow eyes, grinned. “I need to let my dogs run free now and then. Or they will get soft.” He shrugged. “But I don’t have time for pleasantries. Do you have the Jewel?”
    Miklos nodded to the stairs that led to the hold—where they would’ve been hiding had the deck been clear when they’d boarded. “They should be below.”
    That bastard,
Byron thought, even though he wasn’t surprised.
    â€œThey?” Grisha arched a simian brow.
    â€œYou didn’t think the princess escaped Tunisia alone, did you? A hardcase mercenary helped her. American.”
    â€œA cowboy?” Grisha said the word as if his mouth were full of marbles, as if his tongue couldn’t wrap around the syllables.
    â€œA real John Wayne motherfucker,” Miklos agreed genially. “He won’t be bought. You’ll have to kill him.”
    Again, Byron wasn’t surprised at the betrayal—that’s what people did. The only person that could be counted on was oneself. And even that was sometimes sketchy. He thought about their options again.
    Damara was right. He couldn’t kill them all—at least not while he still had to keep her safe, and that was his number one priority. It would be a dangerous game of cat and mouse to hide until they made port. It was possible Miklos would weigh anchor until they were found.
    The Russians had several smaller boats that were unmanned while the crew was aboard the
Circe’s Storm.
    He had enough C-4 he could create a diversion and disable the cargo ship, but that wouldn’t stop the other boats from pursuit. From the position of the stars, Byron judged that they were about ten hours away from Marseille.
    There was one other option.
    He could let Grisha take Damara.
    As soon as the thought entered his head, everything in him screamed in protest—except for his logic.
    Grisha wanted her to control Castallegna. She was a princess schooled in diplomacy. She could keep herself safe for however long it was until they made port and they could escape. Byron didn’t see any other way that didn’t put her life at risk. Grisha wouldn’t kill her.
    That’s not to say it wouldn’t be uncomfortable for Damara. But they were outgunned and outnumbered here. A firefight on open water could lead to her injury or her death. It was