Razing Kayne

FOURTY-FOUR



The storm raged outside as the concrete bunker swiftly filled. In the last fifteen minutes, it had nearly reached Jess's waist. In another fifteen, it would be too high to stand.

Ondrej looked down at Jess. “We don't want Gracie wet again. If the water gets much higher before someone comes, I want you to go back and climb up on the metal crate. It will buy you more time.”

“We're not going to make it out of here are we?” Jess shivered. She’d never felt so helpless in her life.

Ondrej lifted her chin and stared at her with a confidence he couldn’t possibly feel. “Yeah we will. Just stay calm. I'll figure out something if help doesn't come soon.”

“Make sure you include me in whatever you have planned,” Nina chimed in.

His head snapped to Nina. “Trust me lady, you'll be the last one out. Jess and the baby are my priority.”

“No.” Jess glared. “Gracie is the priority. Period. End of sentence. You make sure she gets out and back to her father, no matter what. Promise me.”

Ondrej refused to agree, and so they stood there arm-in-arm, keeping Gracie as warm as possible, and glaring at each other.

“What's he like?” Ondrej finally broke the silence.

“Kayne?”

Ondrej nodded .

Jess eyed him suspiciously. “Why?”

Ondrej shrugged. “Apparently I'm his brother or half-brother.”

Jess gasped and took a small step back. She studied him carefully. His eyes were different, a deep-ocean blue, but his build was similar. Though Ondrej was bigger, she could see traces of Kayne in his facial structure.

He shook his head, his expression full of regret. “I didn't know why we were coming here, or that Kayne was Volkov's son until I heard you talking about it in the cabin. Volkov never knew about me, or hell maybe he did, since family means nothing to him. I didn't even know until a few years ago, after I was already imbedded in the organization, and my handler let it slip.”

Though it was difficult to talk about Kayne, knowing she might never see him again, Jess told Ondrej about the brother he'd never known and quite possibly would never meet.