Free Wanted: White Russian by Marteeka Karland Page A

that would be a dead giveaway as to their landing point.
    Before she could even shut down the engine, Yuri burst into the control room and grabbed her arm, yanking her to her feet. "We've got to get the fuck out of here! Leave it!"
    She let him pull her out of the ship and practically throw her into the copilot seat behind him in his fighter. Without another word, he lifted off and shot out of the forest as hard 74

    Wanted: White Russian
    by Marteeka Karland
    as the ship could stand. Tiressa's stomach rolled at the extreme G-forces, and for one horrible moment she thought she'd be sick. Fortunately, she managed to suck it up and hold everything down.
    Yuri didn't say a word, and she didn't see the other ships anywhere. She didn't know what they were doing, but the last thing she wanted to do was distract Yuri with stupid questions.
    "We're safe, Four." It sounded like Hawk on the encrypted channel, but she couldn't be sure. That one, short message was the only sound she heard other than the whine of the engines as Yuri made one evasive move after another. The way he was flying, she was sure there had to be a fleet of ships after them, but she saw nothing.
    Tiressa closed her eyes and considered everything that had happened. Even now, she could sense Yuri's warring with himself over protecting his crew and protecting her. He'd done everything he could to make sure all of them came out of this alive. Even if she dismissed all the footage she'd seen, the official documentation classified as Ultra Top Secret about nuclear war games and biological and chemical weapons testing against these people, of the projects that took children and tried to transform them into the perfect soldiers only to have them go mad and destroy themselves and everyone around them, she'd have known Yuri wasn't a killer. He was a hero of the best kind.
    His flying gradually became smoother and less like the hounds of hell were after him. Soon after that, they approached their hideout again and docked. Once in the 75

    Wanted: White Russian
    by Marteeka Karland
    hangar, Tiressa found the other three men packing up shop.
    Everything was stowed neatly in a few small boxes and being loaded onto the decoy freighter.
    "We'll be ready to leave in fifteen more minutes, Yuri."
    Dmitry spoke to Yuri as if informing a commander of their current status. Yuri claimed not to lead them, but they followed him. Tiressa recognized the difference, and it only spoke more to Yuri's character.
    "Good. We'll move to Karni 2. Take different routes and meet there in one standard month." He looked at them all, worry hard in his eyes. "Someone betrayed us."
    "I have a thought on that," Dmitry voiced. "It's something I'll look into before I rendezvous with the rest of you."
    "I'll go with you," Hawk clapped the younger man on the shoulder. "Someone will need to keep that temper of yours under control."
    Dmitry gave Hawk a you've-got-to-be-kidding look. "And who's gonna keep your temper under control?"
    "I think the bigger question," Storm interrupted, "is whether or not I care if either of you control your tempers. I hate a fucking traitor."
    "I second that," Yuri growled. "Just don't get caught. As much as you two irritate me on occasion, I wouldn't want to lose either of you." He gave his team one last look. "Be safe.
    Be swift. And come home safely." Then he ushered Tiressa down the corridor back to his cabin.
    "You know, I could start a systems check on the freighter while you pack. It would save time." Tiressa grinned.
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    Wanted: White Russian
    by Marteeka Karland
    "You know damned well I'm not leaving you out there with those horndogs. Besides, I need you here with me. That was just too damned close."
    Tiressa immediately put her arms around him, trying to comfort him. His body actually trembled against hers with the force of his fright. "No one got hurt, Yuri. We're all fine. I'm fine."
    "I know. I just..."
    "You're the one who has to keep it together, and you almost lost