“Put on the parka,” he instructed, unlatching the suitcase. “Quickly.”
“Are you kidding me?” she replied. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He didn’t have time to argue. By now, the soldiers were riding down zip lines, landing all around the cabin. He turned the lantern up all the way, slipped into his boots, shoved several stacks of cash from the suitcase into her parka pockets and then the rest into his own, threw the parka over his arm, and grabbed her by the neck.
“No way!” Tears streamed down her face as he started the teleportation chant. A slam against the heavy wood door was followed by another. Just as his molecules began to break apart and the pressure began, the wood of the door cracked. Three of them slammed through the door as his vision faded and they were transported to another location out of reach.
The cold air scorched Elena’s lungs. The forest was tinted an eerie blue by the low moon. It looked like the same place where they had been attacked by the things with black blood. Yep. It certainly was, she realized as Nikolai led her down a hill toward an overturned snowmobile. The bodies of the creatures were gone. He turned the vehicle upright and pushed down on the choke and cranked it to life with a rumble. “Get on, Elena.” He handed her the parka.
She had seen the things that broke into the cabin. He was certainly the lesser of the two evils. She slipped on the parka, Velcroed it over her arm bound by the cord, pulled up the hood, and straddled the seat behind him. Because she had no choice, she wrapped her arms around his waist, angry with herself for feeling better for it. With a lurch, the snowmobile jerked forward and then zoomed up the hill. Elena tucked in behind his big body, glad for the wind protection. He had no jacket, she realized, entwining her fingers in the T-shirt.
It felt like they were going a million miles an hour as they zipped through the moonlit night up a snow-covered incline and then followed what was probably a frozen riverbed through the forest. With her head against his back, she could actually hear his teeth chattering. It was a good thing he was immortal. A human wouldn’t be able to endure this without a coat.
Aleksandra’s words ran through her head. Turn her, fuck her, and get rid of her. Elena couldn’t let that happen. If the immortals planned to use her somehow once she was turned, she would have to be sure she stayed human—at least that way, she could escape them through death. She would die before she allowed herself to become a tool or weapon of some kind.
And as far as the “fuck her” part went, it might be worth it to get free of him, but there was no way in hell she’d let him take advantage of her again. She’d been so stupid. She’d actually become fond of him. Shit, she was falling in love with him. Thank God she saw his true colors before it was too late. Still, it would be nice to be free of the cord. Was she willing to go there? To let him touch her again? No. Her heart wouldn’t take it. There had to be another way.
But Aleksandra had told him to get rid of her. That made no sense. If she was useful somehow, why get rid of her? Why dump her in a safe house with vampires or the Time Folder?
Her hands stung and the tips of her fingers were numb even though they were under his T-shirt. He must be half-frozen because he didn’t have a body blocking the wind for him like she did. Still, he raced along toward who knew where. Her teeth clacked together as he steered the snowmobile over a rough patch and up an embankment. Snow fell silently around them, and below, a smattering of tents and carts littered the clear space inside of a ring of trees. A fire burned in the center.
“Perfect,” Nikolai said, steering the snowmobile toward the camp. This time, he didn’t race, though; he slowly chugged down the hill. As they got closer, men emerged from tents and carts, armed with rifles. He stopped the snowmobile in the center of the camp and remained perfectly still on the seat. “Do not look at any of them in the eye,” he whispered. “Stay quiet and keep your head down. They must think I am human and we are lovers.”
“Fat chance on both counts,” she whispered back. His rib cage expanded with a deep breath under her freezing cold hands. The men closing in seemed to be human. Maybe they could help her escape.
One of the men shouted to them in a foreign language. Nikolai got off the snowmobile and answered as he helped Elena off. There was more conversation, which seemed pretty tense, and then one of the men shook Nikolai’s hand. Two others pushed the snowmobile under the trees.
The snow had picked up, and she could barely see the ring of tents circling the fire, which had died down significantly in the last couple of minutes.
“Fate is on our side at last,” he said quietly. “The snow will cover our tracks.”
Her teeth chattered. Nikolai looked her up and down. His gaze stuck at her feet—or where her legs disappeared into the snow. “You wear only socks.”