They went down to the lab.
Petrov lowered himself onto one of the stools with a grunt that was out of proportion to the distance his knees had traveled and set the vodka bottle on the lab table.
Dimitri sat on the stool next to him.
"Ground or instant?" Mattie asked over her shoulder.
"Ground," Petrov said. "I am suffering enough as it is."
"Ground it is."
"I'll make it." Dimitri rose to his feet.
"No." She stopped him with her hand. "I'll make it."
She was so stubborn, insisting on doing things that were difficult to do with just one hand, but Dimitri had learned to pick his battles, and he sat back down.
She walked into the kitchenette area of the laboratory and got the hand grinder down from the cabinet one-handed. Watching her, Dimitri admired her determination, but more than that, he admired the swell of her breasts, perfectly outlined by her flimsy nightshirt.
The urge to bite returned full force.
"So," Petrov said.
"So," Dimitri said back.
"Why coffee at night? We never have coffee past seven in the evening."
"Company, Konstantin. I thought you could use some tonight."
Petrov lifted the vodka, considered it, and set it down again without drinking. "So could you, Dimitri."
He didn't ask how his mentor knew that the initiative to spend the evening together wasn't solely for his benefit. After all, the three of them were spending so much time together that it was a miracle they hadn't had any major fights yet.
Mattie set three mugs on the table and sat down without saying a word. She had decided to let them talk.
Petrov sighed. "I'm worried about Anita with the Eight. Even if they behave perfectly, they are going to scare her because of the way they are, and I couldn't go and warn her, explain that they are different and that she shouldn't be afraid."
"They are not that scary," Mattie said. "I got used to them almost right away." She smiled. "They have a certain charm."
Petrov looked at her as if she were missing a few screws. "They act like cyborgs, and they killed five soldiers by tearing out their hearts."
"They were perfectly calm when they did that," Mattie said. "It was premeditated."
He arched his bushy brows. "And that's supposed to make me feel better about them being alone with Anita?"
"Yes." Mattie waved her good hand. "They didn't act in anger. They had a good reason to eliminate those five. Those immortals wanted to kill Dimitri and me. Anita is not a threat."
He shook his head. "They need Dimitri and me. Our survival is crucial to theirs. They killed those soldiers to protect their own interests."
"Yes, but they didn't need me." Mattie took a sip of her coffee. "They saved me because I was important to Dimitri. The same is true for Anita. They will not harm her because she's important to you."
Petrov opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. "It's not the same situation,devochka. Dimitri is in love with you, and if anything had happened to you, he would have been devastated. I'm not in love with Anita."
Mattie leaned forward and stared into his eyes. "It doesn't matter that you don't love her. You care about her enough to want to take her along when we leave here, so you'll be devastated if something happens to her. They know that. Besides, they don't want her. They are only meeting her as a favor to you."
He groaned. "I know that. But she's a sexy lady, and they might get ideas."
So that was what Petrov was worried about.
