Chapter 10
Calista jerked awake when a strong hand covered her mouth. “It’s just me,” she heard Goran whisper into her ear.
She tried to look at him, but he held her still. “Someone’s here,” he warned her.
All of the tension of the previous days came right back to her muscles. She looked around and Goran’s hand slowly pulled away, ready to cover her mouth again if her nerves overcame common sense. She might have hissed at him that she wasn’t that stupid, but decided to tell him that after they dealt with whoever was sneaking into their cabana.
Goran held up his hand, fingers spread wide, indicating that he thought there were five people so far. Calista nodded her understanding, grabbing the tee shirt and shorts he handed her. She didn’t bother with underwear as she slipped to the other side of the bed. Moments later, both of them were dressed and ready, although neither of them had a weapon.
Calista could feel her heart thrumming against her ribs, but kept her head down, slowing her breathing so she could gain control of her senses. She knew from experience that raging emotions were the worst thing to have when one was confronted with a tense situation.
Goran tapped her shoulder and she looked at him. The darkness hid his features, but she could make out his hand lift into the air. He gestured to her that he was going to walk around to the other side of the room via the bathroom, trying to get behind whoever was coming in to attack. Calista nodded her understanding, looking around, trying to find some way to defend them. Five against two. Horrible odds, but then again, she had Goran on her side. Maybe the odds were pretty even, if not in their favor.
Calista shifted so that she was on her toes, ready to move as soon as she figured out where the threat would enter. When she saw a shadow in the corner, she stiffened, looked around and saw a pillow. Now she had a plan!
Taking the pillow from the floor where it had tumbled, most likely from their very active night activities, she clutched it with her fingers. When the man looked to the left, Calista threw the pillow to the right. The man, at least, she assumed it was a man, turned in the direction of the pillow, searching the corner of the room. That’s when Calista attacked. As silently as possible, she sprinted across the room and leapt onto the man’s back. With her arm wrapped around his neck, she squeezed with both her arms around the man’s neck as he tried to knock her off of him. But Calista only squeezed harder, tightening her arm and started counting out the seconds. After only ten seconds, the man slowed down and, stumbling slightly, tumbling to the floor. Lack of oxygen did it every time, she thought, stepping away from the now-prone intruder. Moments later, she bent and unplugged the light from the socket, using the light’s cord to tie the man’s hands. She couldn’t see well enough to tie off the ends to something substantial that would further immobilize the man, but the bound wrists would have to do for now.
The moment she finished tying the man up, another dark shadow appeared in the doorway of the bedroom. His first glance was to the bed where he expected both Calista and Goran to be. His next was to the corner of the room where she was hiding behind a very unsteady chair. Hopefully, the shadows would hide her from his view, but she pressed her back to the wall, just in case.
Again, she breathed as slowly as possible, wanting to hide the sound of her rapid breathing from whoever was trying to attack them. Thankfully, the man didn’t see her, but he came deeper into the room. She guessed that the newest man had come to check on his teammate, who should have had both her and Goran pinned down already. But with the bed empty and no sign of the other man, the newest member of the attack team moved into the bathroom. This man had a weapon and Calista searched the downed man for anything else she could use against this next intruder.
Thankfully, she found both a pistol as well as a knife. She tucked the pistol in one hand and shifted the knife around so that it was facing downward. She didn’t have as much upper body strength, so her security team had taught her to use her body weight. When the newest guy moved to the other side of the bed, Calista moved right behind him. She felt only slightly squeamish when she plunged the knife into the man’s arm. She should have stabbed him in the back, but she simply couldn’t do it. She figured the man’s gun arm was the next best solution.
When the man ground out a muffled curse, Calista jerked the man around, sweeping his feet out from under him and twisting his other arm around until he was face down on the ground. Once he was down she kicked the knife wound. The man groaned in pain, but Calista didn’t pay any attention to him. She stuffed part of the sheet around his mouth, gagging him and preventing him from warning the others. She used the knife again to cut the remainder of the sheet up so she could bind the man’s hands, unconcerned about the bleeding wound in his upper arm. She’d take care of that wound once the sun came up.
Seconds later, Goran burst into the room, flipping on the lights. Calista blinked, startled by the sudden light and looked around. Her eyes moved over Goran, searching for any wounds. There was a minor scratch on his cheek, but otherwise, he seemed to be intact.
“Are you okay?” Goran demanded, stepping into the room carrying two automatic rifles slung over his chest as well as a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other. His eyes quickly moved over her, doing the same search as she’d just done.
“I’m fine,” she told him, standing up and looking around as if searching for another attacker. “You’re hurt.”
Goran looked at the two men, both of whom were tied up, and his mouth dropped open. “What the hell happened in here?”
Calista laughed, then moved over to lean against him, the adrenaline rushing out of her system now. “I’m not just a pretty face,” she told him, trying to get him to smile. But he didn’t laugh. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her hard against his chest. He buried his face against her neck, breathing in her scent as if he needed that as confirmation that she was unharmed.
“I was so worried when I couldn’t find two of the attackers. I knew they were coming in here and…!” His arms tightened and Calista could barely breathe for a moment, but she didn’t say anything to him. Instead, she let him hold her, feeling safe and secure despite the two men sitting on the floor, one of whom was twisting around, fighting his restraints. Goran kicked him and Calista wasn’t sure if he’d meant to aim directly for the wound on the man’s arm.
Goran pulled back, looking down at her. “I think our little vacation is over,” he said. “We were hiding out here, but I don’t think that our efforts were very successful.” He sighed, leaning his forehead against hers. “We need to go home. We need to get back and figure this out ourselves. I’m pretty sure that someone in my government is the inside person, but I won’t know who until I’m there to investigate.” He kissed her temple and pulled her close again. “I can’t put you in danger anymore, and Astir can’t investigate the people that are closest to me.”
“We have to go back,” she whispered, pressing her cheek against his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him.
Astir must have had a plane standing by on another island, because less than an hour later, her entire security team and a team of military personnel burst into the resort’s cabana, taking charge of the attackers who were still tied up, but all of them were conscious now and muttering threats. Calista and Goran had showered and dressed in more formal clothes, then stepped into the waiting SUVs, were driven to the airport and boarded the plane. Unfortunately, Goran kissed her cheek and said, “I need to find out who put you in danger.” Then he disappeared into the plane’s conference room. Calista got on the phone with Astir, updating him, but her big, overly protective brother didn’t give her any information. Of course he wouldn’t, she thought with resentment as she paced the confines of the main cabin on the plane, fidgeting in frustration and wondering if she’d ever get any additional information. Or was she going to be relegated to being a pretty after-thought once more?
The plane landed and Calista peered out of the plane’s windows, her stomach coiling with tension when she spotted the massive crowd of journalists and press gathered, eagerly awaiting their arrival.
“Great!” she muttered under her breath. Goran stepped out of the conference room, looking dapper and completely refreshed in an immaculate suit. She’d pulled on a pink suit and vowed that she’d never wear pink again. Every time she wore it, she felt dismissed. She’d wear red from now on, she told herself, pulling on her public persona.
“You look lovely,” Goran said, taking her hand and tucking it onto his arm. “Are you ready for this?”
Calista was never ready to face crowds. One would think she’d get used to this by now. But the terror she always felt when having to “perform” in front of a large crowd enveloped her. She lifted her chin, shifted her gaze so that they were focused just over the crowd’s heads, a trick she’d learned as a child to protect herself from looking at any specific person, and nodded succinctly. “Ready,” she told him.
Her fingers felt cold. Her feet hesitated slightly, but she forced them to move forward.
Goran looked down at Calista, not sure what the hell was going on. Gone was the sweet, warm, smiling woman he’d gotten to know over the past several days. The woman who had melted in his arms, kissed him everywhere, made him lose control and laughed. Where the hell was the woman who had learned to make sugar cookies? And then fought with him over the last warm cookie?
Gone, he thought. Had he only imagined that woman? He remembered her comments about being in public, about the constant criticism she faced. Yes, he’d heard her words, but he’d never realized how she changed as soon as she stepped into the public’s view.
The change in her demeanor only made him more resolved to protect her.