Daire kept one eye on Cee Cee and the other on the papers spread out in front of him on the table. The plane was small, with a green sofa along the back wall, a bathroom behind that, and four chairs around a table. The carpet was an odd yellow with blue dots. “Finish that steak,” he ordered, ducking his head to read another printout. He waited until she rolled her eyes. “I saw that,” he said slowly. Things had changed, whether she liked it or not.
She blinked, and color slipped into her cheeks. But she took another bite of the meat from her perch on the sofa.
Adam had quickly flown them via helicopter to the mainland, shepherded them into the plane, and cooked steaks in the microwave. Now he sat across from Daire, curiosity bright in his eyes, as the pilots flew them through the Arctic storm to refuel in Greenland. Then they’d jump over Alaska, head south, and land in Seattle. Adam had followed orders perfectly by bringing both food and clothing.
The wool sweater and faded jeans had pleased Daire greatly, and the darker jeans and blue sweater fit Cee Cee well enough. The denim stretched nicely across her rounded rear, and he wanted nothing more than to strip her out of them.
Adam cleared his throat and shoved another set of papers at him. “There were seven explosions in Russian mines last night, in addition to the one on the island.”
Cee Cee hummed happily from the sofa.
Daire cleared his throat. “Don’t tell me. The mines belonged to Ivan Bychkov.”
Adam glanced over his shoulder at the woman and then back at Daire, who already faced her. “Either Bychkov or his people. Rumor has it that the Consortia is pissed and out for blood—Bychkov’s and whoever attacked the mines.”
Daire cut Cee Cee a hard look. “It would take an incredible amount of time and resources to coordinate such an attack, don’t you think?”
Adam frowned, no doubt catching undercurrents. “Why yes, Daire. Yes, I do think that.”
Daire turned his focus on his younger brother. “Sarcasm?”
“What is going on?” Adam growled.
“I’ll let you know as soon as I know,” Daire said evenly. Oh, the woman was going to tell him everything, but he preferred to hear it first before sharing with his brother. “Which will be soon.” The second he got her home, to be clear.
She finished eating and stretched out on the sofa. Exhaustion created dark circles under her eyes that all but emanated from her too pale skin.
He grimaced. He’d used her hard, and that was after she’d been severely injured, healed, and dunked in freezing water. According to Bychkov, she was weak. How, Daire didn’t know. In fact, he didn’t know shit, now did he?
Adam cleared his throat. “Five of the mines, including the one on the island, were mining planekite.”
Daire’s attention focused. “So they’re destroyed?”
“Yes, but we’ve been able to determine all five sent shipments to Seattle before being attacked.” Adam sat back, nostrils flaring.
Then it was getting from Seattle to Dublin, somehow. “How big were the shipments?” Daire asked, standing up and having to duck to keep from hitting his head.
“Pretty damn big,” Adam said.
Wonderful. Daire reached into a cupboard and drew out a blanket before settling it over Cee Cee. He dropped to his haunches and smoothed the hair from her face. “Go to sleep and let your body heal itself. When we get home, we’re gonna talk.”
Her lips trembled, and a definite apology glimmered in her beautiful eyes. “I enjoyed last night,” she said softly. Then she shut her eyes, and before he could respond, she slipped into sleep.
He returned to the table.