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Ignoring the looming regrets racing toward me at the speed of a deadly avalanche, I just watched, listened, and savored this last time I’d ever get to hold her like this.
Chapter 23 - Evelina
I woke up from pleasant dreams, my body tingling from even better memories. Until I thought a little further back and remembered that Mikhail wanted to end things. As much as I tried to pretend he’d come around, he had seemed deadly serious about last night being the last time for us to be together. I had no choice but to believe him. Emptiness threatened to overwhelm me. All I could do was push aside all my feelings and hurry up and get dressed.
As soon as I was out of the shower and in some fresh clothes from the safe house closet, Leo hobbled into the bedroom doorway on crutches that were too short for him. He looked worse than the day before, but that was normal, with bruises and contusions. I tried to hide a grimace, glad to see him up and about. I hated seeing him brought low, even more so when it was my fault.
“Hurry up,” he said. “Everything hurts, and Mikhail promised he’d get a real doctor to check me out and give me some meds once we’re back at the fortress.”
I hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed after my glowing review of the place.
“Were you waiting for me? Why didn’t you wake me up?” A glance at the clock showed it was almost ten, not exactly the crack of dawn.
“Mikhail wouldn’t let me. There are some eggs left if you’re hungry.” He waved one of his crutches toward the kitchen.
I didn’t know how I felt about that tiny bit of consideration. It was probably nothing, and better to keep any feelings at bay for now. Overanalyzing would get me nowhere. “I’ll just pour some dry cereal in a bag since you’re in such a hurry.”
“Good,” he said.
“Ingrate,” I muttered.
“Sorry, what?” he asked, pretending like he hadn’t heard me.
I kept my lips zipped. Yes, I had patched him up, but I was still the reason he needed patching. Mikhail wasn’t in the kitchen or the sunken living room, either. When Leo noticed me looking around, he told me he’d headed out to coordinate with the security team. I tried to act normal and not like the rug had just been torn out from under me, and my heart felt as bruised as Leo’s face. I couldn’t believe I was glad he found Mikhail and me being together so distasteful that he didn’t ask me any questions.
Shortly after I forced myself to eat a reheated omelet, Mikhail returned and hustled us out to the car as if he hadn’t been the one to let me sleep in that morning. Leo stretched out in the third row, and I sat ahead of him with a cooler full of cold water and snacks. Another small consideration? Or Mikhail just didn’t want to have to stop?
At the last second, he climbed in the front next to the driver. After Leo fell asleep almost as soon as we were on the highway, Mikhail turned around and faced forward the rest of the mostly silent drive back to the compound. I didn’t bother trying to engage him in conversation because what was there to say? He was done with me, and I had to deal with it.
Back at the mansion, as soon as I made sure Leo was settled in a room just a few doors down from mine, I made a beeline for my computer. The sweet lull of going over all the surveillance footage that was recorded while we were gone was just what I needed. I could always count on work to improve things at least slightly.
I only looked up from my screen when the doctor arrived, and right after I showed him where Leo was, I hurried back down again. I might have wondered where Mikhail was, but I forced myself not to. The next time I looked up, the sun was in a different spot in the sky, and three hours had passed when I checked the time on the screen.
I rubbed my scratchy, dry eyes and went to stand by the window. Looking at all the green foliage and blue sky helped with the strain of staring at blurry video footage for hours on end. A corner of the swimming pool was visible from my office window, and I thought I might see Mikhail down there. Not that I missed him desperately already.
God, I needed help. It was better not to see him. The longer I went without contact, the more my cravings would lessen. It was like a sugar detox. Just had to go cold turkey. I heard a familiar thumping and turned to see my brother swinging in on new crutches that fit him better. He had a sling around one arm, but it hung loose so he could use the crutches. He wore baggy nylon basketball shorts and a garish Hawaiian shirt unbuttoned enough to reveal tightly wrapped ribs. His face was still a raw hamburger mess, but he looked relaxed and happy.
“Painkillers?” I asked.
He nodded. “That and antibiotics. He said your stitches were pretty good but wondered if you sterilized the needle.”
“Of course, I did! Where did you get those clothes?” They certainly weren’t Mikhail’s. And Leo wasn’t a slouch in the style department, either.
“The doc brought them. I think they might have been from the hospital lost and found.”
“Well, as long as you’re comfortable.”
“Flying high, but not so much I can’t take a look at what you’ve got.” He made his way to my desk, and I pulled up another chair for him.
He immediately pulled up his code, frowning at the patches I’d made as he found them and jotting down notes on one of my sticky pads. “Remind me not to let you ever babysit my kids if I have any,” he said, muttering about my subpar coding skills.
“You abandoned me,” I said. “I did what I had to do to keep the cameras online.”
He flinched, then turned to me. “I’m sorry about that. I should have stayed with you, not be a little bitch and cut you off like that.”
My throat closed up at his unexpected remorse, and I shook my head. “No, I’m sorry.” I waved my hand at his many injuries. “This is all my fault.”
“Don’t,” he said. “This is those bastard Novikoffs’ fault, no one else’s. So, let’s get to work to finish them.”
