Her Mile High Mates [The Hot Millionaires #4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (11 page)

“Where are we going?”

“To take an aerial look at the Kremlin. Then perhaps you’ll believe me.”

“Er, would this be a good time to tell you that I hate flying?”

Peyton grinned. “Baby, you’ve never flown with me.”

By the time they reached the doors to the hangar, a helicopter was waiting for them on the runway. Peyton did his external checks quickly and then helped Fabia into the cockpit.

“Been in one of these things before?”

“Never had the…er, pleasure,” she said, trembling.

“Don’t worry, you’re in good hands. Just put your foot on the skid and pull yourself up.”

She managed it easily. Peyton got into the left-hand seat and handed her a pair of headphones with a microphone attached.

“Put these on,” he said. “This thing’ll be pretty noisy when I switch the engine on.”

She donned the headphones, and Peyton did the same with his, adjusting her microphone so that it was at the right angle in front of her mouth.

“All right? Can you hear me?”

“Yes, fine. What’s this thing?” She pointed to the cyclic. She’d had to place one leg on either side of it in order to get comfortable.

“Dual controls,” he said, grinning. “You’ll enjoy it when I start up. It’ll vibrate between your legs.”

“I’m not that desperate.”

“I should hope not, after Clyde just fucked you senseless in the shower. His ego would never recover.”

“Clyde’s kinda cute,” she said, flashing a saucy grin.

Peyton was pleased that she’d stopped thinking about her sister, or her fear of flying, for long enough to flirt with him.

“Yeah, that’s what he’s always telling me.” Peyton chuckled. “And himself.” He did his final checks, literally on autopilot. “Like being fucked by Clyde, did you?”

“As you Yanks would say, it was awesome.”

“Glad to hear it, ’cos you ain’t seen nothing yet.” He winked at her. “Ready to go?”

She shuddered. “As I’ll ever be.”

Peyton started up and the rotor swirled slowly into life, quickly picking up speed. Peyton increased the power and checked there was no other traffic in sight. It was an instinctive reaction. He knew there was nothing else around because they were the only game in town. With no tower to clear his takeoff with, Peyton smoothly lifted the chopper off the ground, tilting the cockpit toward the ground as they ascended.

“Wow!”

“That good, eh?”

Fabia smiled. “It’s not as bad as I thought it would be, but I think I left my stomach on the floor.”

“Most people say that first time up. You’ll get used to it.”

“You make it sound as though I’ll be doing this again.”

“I hope you will.”

“You don’t have to be nice to me just because you’ve told me your secret. I promise not to tell.”

“I know you won’t.” Peyton made a ninety-degree turn, taking them out over the sea. “Can’t I be nice to you just because I want to?”

She chuckled. “You’re in control of this damned bubble, so all the time we’re up here, you can do whatever you like.”

“That’s what I like to hear. A little subservience.”

“Make the most of it.”

“That would be, make the most if it, Master.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Enjoying the cyclic?”

“The what? Oh, yes I…Wow, will you look at that?”

It took a moment for Peyton to realize what she meant. He did this so often that he hardly noticed the Mediterranean spread beneath them, sparkling like a torpid liquid blanket. The setting sun cast light and shadow on its surface, reflecting a dozen different shades of turquoise. It was beautiful. So was the expression on Fabia’s face as she peered down at it with delight. It was one of the reasons that he’d taken this detour. He wanted her to relax and appreciate the view, and she was certainly doing that.

“It’s so lovely,” she said wistfully. “Makes you feel very small and insignificant.”

“There’s nothing insignificant about you, babe.”

“Why, thank you.”

He placed one hand on her thigh and left it there, rubbing his palm across the taut surface, feeling an urgent need to express himself in a more direct way. It was important that she understood she wasn’t in this thing alone anymore. If finding her sister was what it would take to give her peace of mind then that’s what he and Clyde would do. If it compromised their orders from Interpol, then tough. For once, they would put personal considerations ahead of duty.

“This is really lovely, Peyton.”

“Yeah, it’s a good time of day to take a look.” He paused. “Not frightened anymore?”

“Strangely enough, no. I can see what you’re doing, so I guess that makes a difference.”

“It ought to. I’ve been doing this a long time. Never lost a craft yet.”

“Shouldn’t we be looking at that Kremlin place rather than sightseeing?” she asked, sounding as though she didn’t particularly want to cut the trip short.

“We’ll fly back in over it, but if we’d headed that way directly, it would have looked suspicious.”

“I suppose so.”

Peyton flew them down to Alicante and circled the marina, careful to keep out of controlled airspace. Not a problem, since he was flying so low, but Alicante Airport was pretty busy this time of year, and he didn’t want to drop himself in it with the authorities. He radioed the tower as a courtesy to let them know he was in the vicinity.

“I can read the road signs, you’re flying so low,” she said.

Peyton laughed. “Yeah, more than one pilot has prevented himself from getting lost by doing the same thing.”

“You’re joking!”

“Afraid not. It’s one of the advantages that helicopters have over fixed wing.” He turned in a tight circle. “Ready to go back?”

“If we must.”

“I’ll go as low and as slow over the Kremlin as I can,” he said as they approached that building, “but I can only go over once, so be ready.”

She nodded. “I am. Let’s do it.”

Fabia had been enchanted by the sightseeing. That much had been obvious by her relaxed expression and childish pleasure at flying over territory she knew so well. Now the tension was back in her expression. She fisted her hands in her lap, looking nervous and on edge.

“Don’t worry,” he said as they approached. “We’ve made a point of flying over here a lot just so they don’t think it’s odd.”

“It isn’t that.” She lifted her shoulders, her voice tinny through the microphone. “It’s just that I could be looking down on Sonia but can’t do anything to help her. It’s so bloody frustrating.”

Peyton thought that if Sonia had gone into that place, she would be beyond help, but now wasn’t the time to say so.

“We’re here. What do you think?”

Peyton slowed to just above stalling speed and dropped altitude.

“Blimey! It’s huge.”

“It’s also a fortress. Those gates are electronically controlled, the walls are too high to scale, and you can’t approach it from the sea. As you can see, the cliff is high and sheer. Even an experienced rock climber couldn’t get up there undetected.”

“What are those buildings in the grounds?”

“We think they’re for the guards. They patrol twenty-four/seven. There are also dogs and sophisticated alarms.”

“Only someone with a lot to hide would need that sort of security.”

“Precisely.”

Peyton had lingered for longer than he’d intended. He increased speed and altitude and headed back to the hangar. Fabia didn’t speak again until they were back on the ground and Peyton cut the engine. He climbed out of the chopper and walked around to help her down, wondering if he’d convinced her to back off from Asimov.

“Keep your head low,” he said. “The rotor’s still turning.”

Once they were clear of the machine and Peyton’s mechanic stepped up to manoeuvre it back into the hangar, Fabia finally spoke.

“I see what you mean about it being impregnable,” she said.

“Fabia, I—”

“Don’t! I know what you’re going to say, but don’t,” she said, anguished. “You think if Sonia went in there, she won’t be coming out, but you don’t know that for sure. If she hit it off with one of the guards, perhaps—”

“I doubt it, babe.” He took her hand as they took the steps back to the loft. “Keeping someone on the premises who isn’t supposed to be there would get the guard into deep shit. He wouldn’t risk it.”

Clyde greeted them when they returned to the loft. So did an appetising smell.

“Enjoy the ride?” he asked Fabia.

“Yes, it was quite an experience, but I didn’t like what I saw of the Kremlin. You’re right,” she said, sighing. “There’s no way Sonia could have gotten in there.”

“That’s what we’ve been trying to tell you.”

“So if she isn’t in there, where the hell is she?”

“I can’t believe how hungry I am,” Fabia said, tucking into Clyde’s spicy shrimp curry. “This is really good.”

Clyde winked at her while Peyton refilled her glass. “Glad you like it.”

“Any ideas what I should do about Sonia now?”

Fabia pushed away her empty plate, still surprised that she could eat so much when her sister was missing. Up until now, food had stuck in her throat and she’d had to force herself to eat enough to keep her body going. Perhaps it was the relief of a burden shared. She glanced first at Peyton, his handsome face partly in shadow as he flashed a raffish grin that brought to mind their activities in the hot tub the previous night. He was ethical and reliable, she already knew that much about him. More than that, just looking at him turned her on. Meeting his hungry gaze and watching desire swirling in the depths of his incredible eyes made her hot as hell.

She absolutely shouldn’t be thinking about sex at a time like this. Disgusted with herself, she glanced away, only for her eyes to clash with Clyde’s. When she saw an identical message in his expression to that which Peyton was making no effort to conceal, she knew she was fighting a losing battle. Especially since she could no longer fool herself into pretending indifference. She wanted them both as much as they seemed to want her, and she reckoned they knew it. Her pussy clenched as she held Clyde’s magnetic gaze, and she recalled the feel of his long cock buried deep inside her in that shower. This was so not a good idea.

Think about Sonia.

She was, but it didn’t help. She still felt as horny as hell. Desperately grateful to no longer be floundering alone in the dark with no clear purpose, she now also needed to feel cherished and protected. It was a weakness she could ill afford to indulge, but the messages her body was sending out appeared stronger than the power of positive thinking and there wasn’t a damned thing she could do about it.

“Have you reported her missing to the
guardia?
” Peyton asked, amusement in his tone, as though he’d read her thoughts.

Fabia rolled her eyes. “Yes, but they won’t do anything. She’s an adult, and there’s no sign that she left against her will, so basically, they don’t want to know.”

“Yeah, that figures.” Peyton stretched his arms above his head. “You working tomorrow?”

“I have a couple of lessons booked in the morning, but that’s it. I only get paid if there are clients, so I don’t have to hang about if there’s nothing to do.”

“Stay here tonight, then.”

She blinked in confusion. “Why?”

Stupid question, Brook.

Clyde grinned. “I can think of several reasons straight off.”

“Me, too.” Peyton’s lazy, appreciative smile made her gut churn with desire. “But it would also be safer.”

She blinked back her surprise. “You think I’m in danger?”

“These people don’t fuck about, Fabia. If they caught on to Sonia, don’t imagine they aren’t aware who you are.”

“Besides, it’s more comfortable here than in the staff units,” Clyde added.

“Undoubtedly, but—”

“You know Clyde and I want to play with you,” Peyton said softly, “but only if it’s what you want, too. And that isn’t why I asked you to stay here.”

“Well, I—”

“Tomorrow afternoon the three of us will drive over to your folks’ place and take a look at your dad’s diaries. We might see something in them that you missed.”

“Something that will help find Sonia, or something to help your operation?”

Peyton stood, pulled her to his feet, and placed his hands on her shoulders, daylight separating their bodies. “I was thinking only about Sonia.”

“Sorry.” She shook her head. What was wrong with her? “I know you’re only trying to help.”

“Have you tried charging up her phone to see if there are any messages to lend clues?” Clyde asked.

“I intend to, but the battery’s dead, and I haven’t had a chance to find a charger yet.”

“No worries.” Peyton released her shoulders. “We’ll do it now. Dead batteries we can fix.”

Clyde took the phone from Fabia, disappeared into the study, and emerged a short time later.