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They found Mihai by the gate, walking up and down, looking nervous. When he saw them, his old face scrunched into a grimace of what could’ve been either relief or disappointment.
Before they could say anything, he placed his hands together as if in prayer, smiling wide like he was relieved to see them. “I feared the worst. I couldn’t find you two and . . . and . . .”
“You couldn’t find us?” Christian asked sternly. “Why don’t we start with how you went missing in the first place?”
“We were by the well,” Olivia chipped in. “But when we turned around you were gone.”
Mihai shook his head. “No. No. I went to piss, you see. I told you that. You did not hear me, eh? I come back and you two were gone. I looked for you, but then I came back here to organize a search troop.”
Olivia and Christian exchanged glances.
“So you went to the bathroom and then came back and we were gone?” she summarized his statement, a brow raised high.
Mihai shrugged his shoulders. “That’s how it was. You shouldn’t have left the village. I went for a piss. I don’t piss in front of women.”
Christian threw his hands up, his brows drawn in anger. “We looked for you! Where the hell did you go to piss? Russia?” He pointed at Olivia. “We were attacked by bears! She could have died!”
Mihai narrowed his eyes and spat on the ground. “Watch your tone, boy,” he warned.
Christian clenched his fist and took another step toward Mihai.
“Christian! That’s enough,” Olivia cut in and held his arm, feeling his tense muscles. The two men were locked in an intense stare.
“Come on, we better go and take a look at your wound,” she said, gently pulling at his arm. She could feel him relax.
Mihai shook his head. “I’m sorry if you got a scare in the woods. We better not hike again this season.” Mihai’s gaze wandered to Christian’s shirt pocket, where the cat food can was sticking out. He stared for brief second before looking away. Did he know where it had come from? Maybe she was being paranoid.
“I better go,” Mihai said. “I need to call off the search troop. Thanks to the Lord you are back safe. No need to make them come up here.”
“Thank you,” Olivia said, acting as normal as she could. Mihai nodded and walked a few steps toward the castle, but then turned once more.
“Before I forget,” he said in his usual low, growling voice, “don’t leave any food out. When I called down into the village, a farmer told me that bears had broken into his storage and stole a bunch of food. Even the cans.”
Olivia and Christian exchanged puzzled looks.
“Yes, thank you, Mihai,” Olivia said. Mihai threw her a curt nod, grunted, and left.
Olivia and Christian both watched him disappear inside the castle. Christian groaned. “I don’t like this guy.”
“I don’t either,” Olivia agreed. “But it might not be wise to pick a fight with the man who has the only gun in a lonely castle miles away from any other form of life. And it’s getting dark again soon. If we left and your van broke down again . . . It’s not like he actually tried to kill us. He just wasn’t around to save us.”
Christian sighed. “I still don’t feel good about any of this.”
“Me neither. Tomorrow I’ll talk to Elena to see if a replacement for Mihai would be a good idea. Until then, we’ll keep things low-key. Stay out of his way. Besides, what if he’s telling the truth? We have no evidence that he’s not. It would be very unjust to accuse him of . . . of what exactly?”
“Fair enough. But I hope you don’t mind me sticking around until Elena shows up tomorrow. I won’t leave until this whole situation has been looked at under a magnifying glass.” Christian gave her a reassuring smile then shook his head.
“What?” Olivia wondered.
“Nothing. It’s just . . . do you always try to see the best in people?”
She twisted her lips. “Unfortunately, yes.”
Christian stepped closer, lifting a hand as if to caress her cheek. Her heart started pounding in anticipation of his warm touch. But then he pulled back. “There is nothing unfortunate about a kind heart, Olivia. It’s the rotten people who abuse it that lose out in the end.”
Olivia tugged at his arm. “Come on, let’s go take a look at that wound.”
“I might need some wine for the pain,” Christian said.
“I think I can make that happen . . . if you come with me into the wine cellar. It’s too dark and scary to go alone.”
Christian nodded. “At least there won’t be any bears down there.”
They both laughed.
