Page 23 of Saint

For her.

Saint pulled his hand away as though it caught fire and gratefully broke their stare when Lev called for them. He andDimitri had pulled the truck around and already stowed their bags in the back. Letting out a puff of air, Saint briskly said, “C’mon.”

He opened the rear door and helped Mia climb inside. It was a tall truck, he told himself, and wrapping his hands around her waist and lifting her inside had nothing to do with wanting to touch her. Nothing at all.

After hauling himself up, he settled in beside her and Lev began to drive them away from the town square.

“Who are Petrov and Zaitsev?” Mia asked. “And what’s this neurotoxin you were talking about?”

When Saint didn’t reply, Mia continued asking questions. Questions he had no intention of answering in front of their audience. He could’ve sworn Dimitri had shifted in his seat and was listening to them.

“Do you think my father is working with them?” she asked.

“We can talk about it later,” he said curtly.

“But—”

“Later,” he said firmly, sliding a glance to the men in the front seat. She followed his look and then nodded. Good. She understood that he wasn’t just being a dick. He didn’t trust them and didn’t want them to overhear any important information.

It was a damn good call, too, because fifteen minutes into the drive, Dimitri pulled out a pistol and shot Lev point blank.

???

The loud, unexpected pop scared the crap out of Mia, and she let out a scream as Nik shoved her down and threw himselfinto the front seat. While he grappled over the gun with Dimitri, Lev slumped sideways.

Oh, God, he must be dead. No one is driving the truck!

Mia braced herself as they veered off the road, bounced several times and began to slide down a steep, snowy embankment. Another loud pop filled the air and Mia cried out, ducking lower, terror filling her.Please, let Nik be okay.A few seconds later, they hit something hard, the impact slamming her against the back of the seat.

“Mia? Are you okay?” Nik asked, spinning around and looking into the back.

She glanced up, forcing herself to nod. “Yeah. You?”

“Fine. We need to get outta here.”

He threw the door open, no doubt climbing over two dead bodies, and then opened the back door. Huddled down on the floor, trying to be brave and failing miserably, Mia met his dark gaze.

“C’mon,kotyonok.” He held out his arms. “You’re okay.”

Mia reached for him, and he pulled her out of the truck and right into his arms. Even though layers of clothing and coats separated them, Mia couldn’t miss how firm his chest and legs were as he slowly lowered her to the snowy ground. He exuded power and strength, and she was extremely grateful he’d just saved her life.

“Are they d-dead?” she managed to ask, twisting her head to look back into the truck.

Nik pulled her away and around to the truck’s back bed where a snowmobile was chained in place.

“Don’t worry about them,” he said gently, pulling his phone out.

Trembling from fear and the cold, she watched him place a call.

“We have a problem,” Nik said after—Mia assumed—Nadia answered. “Your man Dimitri just shot and killed Lev and—”

His dark head snapped up and Mia’s heart fell when she heard the distant rumbling of snowmobiles approaching.

“We’re about to have company,” he said in a clipped tone, then listened to whatever Nadia said. “Okay,spasibo.”

Nik whirled around, scanning the winter landscape for the snowmobiles.

“What now?” Mia asked. It was starting to snow and the wind had picked up, whipping the flurries against her cheeks and into her eyes. They couldn’t take the truck because its front end was wrapped around a tree.

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