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“Because I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He’s lying.”

“He looks at me like he wants to throttle me most of the time.”

“Maybe. But he also looks at you like you’re…special.”

Her heart raced. Did he? Sure, most of the time she had the feeling he couldn’t wait to be rid of her. But what if Nadia was right? And could she hope to be “special” for more than a night or two?

“What should I do?”

“I already told you.”

“Nik is good for more than a night or two,” Mia said indignantly, putting her fear into words.

“I’m suggesting you fuck him and see what happensaftera night or two. He’ll either run or stay. Either way, you can have some fun. How long it lasts, though…” She shrugged a shoulder. “I’ve never known him to want more, but people change. Occasionally.”

Nadia was an interesting woman, but Mia wasn’t sure about her advice.

“C’mon,” she said, “let’s eat. I have a feeling you plan on taking care of Nikolai in more ways than one tonight, so you’re going to need your strength. He’s insatiable.”

Nadia smirked and walked out. She secretly seemed amused, but Mia had no idea why. Heading back to the table, she set the First Aid kit down and sat. The soup was cool enough to eat and she finished it off, along with a handful of crackers.

They still had time before the men returned, so Mia decided to take a shower. It was the quickest shower in history, though, because she wanted to be ready the moment they rolled up to the cabin. Thoughts of Nik consumed her and by the time she heard the SUV pull up outside, she was nearly out of her mind.

Racing across the living room, she threw the door open and an icy wind whipped her blonde hair up and around her face. Nik slid out of the passenger seat looking tired, but very much alive. Now that she’d laid eyes on him, she could finally breathe easier.

“Anxious?” Nadia murmured, moving up beside her.

Mia ignored her, completely focused on Nik. Fighting back the urge to run through the snow and wrap her arms around him, she forced herself to step back and allow the men to enter.Nadia greeted Alexei and Mia couldn’t drag her eyes off Nik. No one paid attention to Zaitsev, the chemist. It was almost like he wasn’t even there.

“Are you okay? How’s your arm?” she asked Nik as he stopped next to her.

He looked exhausted. “Fine.”

Then he turned to Nadia and they had a quick conversation in Russian. Mia bit her cheek, feeling completely disregarded. It hurt more than she cared to admit. While she’d paced and worried about Nik all day, he probably hadn’t given her more than a passing thought.You’re so stupid, she scolded herself.

Several minutes later, Nadia, Alexei and Zaitsev turned to leave.

“Be careful,” Nik said. “The roads are terrible.”

“We will. Take care of yourself.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

Nadia turned toward Mia. “Remember my advice.” With a smirk, she walked out with Alexei and Zaitsev.

“He’s going with them?” Mia asked, nodding to the chemist.

“For now, yes,” Nik confirmed, closing and locking the door. “They’ll make sure he doesn’t try to escape.”

Because Nik can’t,she realized. He was hurting more than he let on, and he needed to rest, not stay up all night guarding someone. “C’mon, I want to look at your arm.”

For once, he didn’t argue. He made a strained sound as he started to remove his coat and Mia stepped in to help him. “Careful,” she murmured, gently pulling it from his arms andtossing it aside. Unable to avoid looking at his dried blood and torn-up sleeve, her gaze zeroed in on the wound and she cringed.

He must’ve noticed because he made a face and started walking toward the bathroom. “It’s not that bad. Just a—”

His entire body wavered and Mia ran over, sliding under his arm to steady him. “A graze. Yeah, I heard. I’m still going to check it over, so the less you fight me on this, the smoother this will all go.”

When he leaned on her, she took that as his acquiescence and guided him straight into the bedroom where everything was set up and ready.

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