Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief(46)
“I will tell you only when you need to know,” Petrov answers, then turns to his henchmen. “Tie them up and have them in the cars in five minutes. Call ahead and make sure the jet is fueled and waiting for us. I want wheels up as soon as we get to the airport.” He spins on his heel and strolls out the door, head held proudly like a king who’s just conquered a new land.
Where the heck is he taking us that would require a jet?
Chapter Twenty-One
We’ve been in the back of this SUV for so long, I’m beginning to wonder if we’re even still in New York State. We’re certainly not in the city anymore and haven’t been for at least an hour. I sit so close to Will I’m practically in his lap. Partly because I’m almost desperate for anything I can draw a sense of security from, but also because it allows me a better view out the rear window to the SUV trailing behind us. The one my mother and Uncle Samuel are in. With Petrov. We got Vasili and Niko, and as intimidating as they are, they don’t hold a candle to their boss. In fact, they’ve barely acknowledged us the whole ride.
Eventually, we pull off the main highway and onto a dirt road illuminated only by the headlights. Niko flips the high beams on but doesn’t slow. Dark fields fly by outside the vehicle, and there isn’t a speck of light anywhere on the horizon. Every bump and divot in the road sends me jostling against Will, and I press myself closer to him for comfort. Never mind that I’m still a little pissed at him. He’s the closest thing I have to a safe place right now. His hands are bound at the wrists, but he lifts them to encircle me in his arms, pulling me tighter against him. My back is pressed to his chest, and I wear his arm like armor in front of me, clinging to it like a security blanket.
I’m unprepared when the SUV lurches to a stop, and I almost slide off the leather seat, but Will’s hold on me keeps me mostly in place. Vasili and Niko hop out as soon as the engine cuts off, slamming their doors behind them. They stand guard outside our doors as the other SUV slows to a stop behind us. I hear more car doors and male voices. I try to look out the rear window for any sign of my mother, but the other car’s headlights are blindingly bright, and all I can make out is the occasional silhouette moving in front of them.
When Vasili moves away from my window and Niko away from Will’s, I relax just the slightest bit. “Do you think they’re far enough away that we could successfully make a break for it? Try and get help or something?” The minute I ask the question, I know it doesn’t matter how he answers. I’m not going to run away and leave my mother in Petrov’s clutches. No way, no how.
Will shakes his head. “I don’t think it would be a good idea. We don’t even know where we are, and it’s been ages since we’ve seen any hint of civilization. We could get lost out here in the middle of nowhere, and that wouldn’t do anyone any good. It’s better to wait until we have a real opportunity with a real chance of success.”
I nod my agreement. He’s right, and I know it. Even if I didn’t have to worry about leaving my mother behind, running right now wouldn’t be smart.
After that, Will and I sit in silence. I strain to try to hear what the voices are saying outside the SUV, and maybe he’s doing the same. The minutes stretch. Finally, Vasili returns to the SUV and yanks open my door. He settles a strong grip on my forearms and pulls me out so hard Will has to lift his arms out of the way quickly to avoid choking me.
After all that time sitting, my legs aren’t quite ready to bear my full weight, and I crumple to my knees. By the time I right myself and stand in front of Vasili, Niko is rounding the back of the SUV with Will in tow.
“Where’s my mother?” I demand, forcing the words out with venom and more bravery than I actually feel right now.
“Already on the plane,” Vasili answers, and grips my arm at the elbow. I look all around me in the small circle of light provided by the car headlights, but I don’t see any evidence of a plane. Have they taken her somewhere else? He drags me away from the car, out into the darkness of the surrounding fields. As my eyes adjust to my new surroundings, I catch a glimmer of something huge looming in the distance. It must be the plane.
Renewed by the idea that my mother is here, I let Vasili pull me through grasses that come up higher than my waist with no light to guide us. With every crunching, plodding step, I try not to think about what kind of wildlife we might be disturbing. Hopefully nothing that will come lashing out at me with sharp teeth or venom. Somewhere behind us, I hear Will and Niko traipsing through the same thick brush. A hundred or so yards later, the field of tall grass levels out to flat ground, then merges into faded blacktop.
The closer we get, the more solid the plane becomes in my line of sight, until we’re standing almost underneath it. A set of metal stairs leans against the fuselage, leading the way up to an open door. Dim light seeps through the opening, illuminating the top of the stairs.
“Up.” Vasili shoves me toward the bottom step, and I stumble over it; my knee slams hard into the third one up. I grit my teeth against the pain and try to right myself. By the time I’m back on the move, Vasili is already impatient over the pause and shoving me again. I scramble up, doing my best to balance with my hands tied in front of me in an effort to avoid being pushed again.
Inside, the plane is brighter, lit from multiple angles, including accent lighting behind the wood-grain molding surrounding the windows. I’ve never seen the inside of a private jet before, but this is every bit as luxurious and rich as I would have imagined…if I spent much time imagining the inside of private planes. On one side, four gray leather captain’s chairs face one another in pairs across a polished wood table with a metal chessboard inlaid into the top. Glass chess pieces top the board out of order, evidence that someone is in the middle of a game. I’m halfway tempted to knock all the pieces to the floor in spite as I pass. But I don’t.