Page 26 of Saint

Two armed men stepped into the cavern and Saint pushed Mia in the opposite direction. “Run,” he ordered, stepping in front of her as he lifted his Udav and started firing. Thankfully, she took off without argument. There were endless places for her to hide until he took care of these two assholes.

His eyes had adjusted to the gloom and it didn’t take him long to notice the men’s ink. They sported the telltale marksof Anton Petrov’s men—the same eight-pointed star Saint had on his neck.Fucking great.Nadia’s mole had already informed Petrov that Saint was back in Russia. The sudden need for a cigarette and an antacid filled him.

Ducking behind a mammoth ice formation, Saint fired at the encroaching men. A quick look over his shoulder revealed empty space—no sign of Mia. Good. He hoped she found a nice hidey-hole to wait out the slaughter, because he wasn’t backing down until both Petrov’s men were dead.

Ice splintered near his head where a bullet hit it, and Saint cursed as a shard sliced his temple.Bastards. Dropping down low, he hustled around the corner, moving behind a huge icicle that hung from the ceiling to the floor. Using it as a shield, he swung his arm out and fired. A shout of pain split the air and bright red blood splattered on the ground. One down, one to go.

Retracing his steps, Saint moved back behind the ice formation and listened. The moment he heard fast-approaching footsteps, he stepped out from behind his cover and fired at the same time Petrov’s soldier did. Luckily, Saint was a better shot and the man dropped with a pained groan.

Before he sought Mia out, he wanted to ensure both men were dead. A quick shot to their foreheads confirmed it. No sense taking chances and having to repeat his efforts. Saint dug around in the first man’s pockets, found the keys to his snowmobile, and pocketed them. Since theirs was out of commission from a bullet, courtesy of one of the dead men, he’d help himself to one of Petrov’s vehicles.

Spinning around, Saint moved away from Petrov’s thugs and headed toward where Mia had run. “Mia?” he called out, holstering his weapon. No response. “Mia!”

He began to doubt the direction he thought she’d gone, when a scream pierced the air and Saint’s blood turned to ice. He ran toward the sound, racing around ice formations and rocks, calling for her.

“Nik!”

Her panicked voice was suddenly much closer than he realized, and Saint skidded to a halt right before he would’ve plunged head-first into one of the many underground lakes. There were over seventy of them down there, and it was just his luck Mia had fallen into one.

His boots splashed into the waterline, but he didn’t dare go further because it would drop off into a deep sinkhole. “Mia!” he called, hearing her splashing. Stepping back onto shore, he dropped down onto his belly and reached for her. “Grab my hand!”

The moment her fingers touched his, he wrapped his hand around hers and tugged, pulling her out of the water, and right on top of him. They fell back onto dry land and relief filled him.

Spluttering and soaked, she coughed, and he tightened his arms around her. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“I c-can’t swim,” she stuttered, voice laced in fear.

He trailed a hand down her wet hair as his heart slowed down and his fear subsided. When he’d heard her scream, a million terrible things had gone through his mind. Had she encountered a wild animal? Another one of Petrov’s men? Or, had she stumbled and fallen over the edge of an icy cliff and plummeted to the ground below?

How had he grown so attached to her in such a short amount of time? So much so that he truly cared about her safetyand well-being? He gave his head a slight shake, unwilling to confront those thoughts and what they meant right now.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered, consumed by her soft vanilla scent.

“I was running and tumbled right into the water.”

Without thinking, Saint pressed his lips against her wet head and breathed in the lingering scent of her shampoo. Slight trembles racked through her body, and he tightened his hold, whispering words of reassurance. He couldn’t ignore how right she felt, how well they fit together. Damn, his thoughts had taken a dangerous turn. Shutting them down, he pulled back and helped her stand up.

“You’re bleeding,” she whispered, reaching up and wiping her wet glove along his temple.

“I’m fine. But you’re soaked,kotyonok. Get those gloves and that coat off.” Mia didn’t question him, she merely tossed her gloves, unzipped the heavy jacket dripping with water, and dropped it. He held up the keys he’d taken off one of the thugs and said, “We’re going to the safehouse, but it’s going to be a cold ride.”

“Let’s go,” she said bravely, lifting her chin.

His brave kitten. “Can I have my phone?”

She was still holding it in her fist. “I’m sorry, it got wet.”

“It’s waterproof,” he assured her. When she handed it over, he lifted it up, lighting their way, and hoped it wouldn’t take long to find the exit. Mia was cold and he wanted her safe and warm. They followed a rocky path, avoiding the tunnel because he had no intention of crawling through that narrow section of hell again. That was a big fuck no.

It took longer than he wanted, but they finally found an exit point. Before they walked outside, though, Saint handed his gloves to Mia and unzipped his coat. “I want you to sit in front of me on the snowmobile and we’ll zip you up in my coat, okay? Otherwise, you’re going to freeze to death.”

She nodded, pulling on his warm gloves. “I really don’t want to freeze to death.”

“Not on my watch,kotyonok,” he assured her.

???

Teeth already chattering, Mia hurried alongside Nik to the two snowmobiles parked outside the cave’s entrance. The wind whistled through the evergreens and she wished she didn’t have a head of wet hair and soaked clothing. Falling into the cold water had been a regrettable mistake, but unavoidable due to the lake’s still black surface which blended in so perfectly with the dark ground. Even if she hadn’t been running, she could’ve easily mistaken it for terra firma. Thank goodness Nik had scooped her out before she drowned.

---