Faye

 

Baring my soul to Andrei lifted the weight that had dragged it down for months. Free and light-hearted, I could smile for real now. I could hope that I’d make it through this.

Yet at the same time, there was a hollowness left in my chest. A lurking anxiety I couldn’t quite place. I wasn’t sure if it was from keeping the secret so long that it was a struggle to trust anyone. Or if I was worried I’d endangered people in telling him.

At the latter thought, I big my cheek hard. So long as no one else had known, they were safe.

Did I make the wrong call?

“You want this last piece?” Andrei asked, sliding the box over with a grin. “You look like you need to bulk up a little, there.”

Accepting it, I smiled and my nerves stretched thinner. If Mirois knew what he’d done…

You put Andrei and the Zimas in danger. An infant. His sister. Roy and Kesari.

“Andrei, maybe we should split up,” I blurted out.

He stopped mid-chew, his stuffed cheek poking out and gave me an incredulous look. Swallowing, he leaned over and gave me a heart-stopping smile. “You can’t be sick of me already.”

“No, but–”

“All work and no play makes for dull pizza. I never eat and work.” Andrei said, pointing at his slice. “See, I’m not done. Stop fretting.”

“I’m not fretting,” I said, trying to sound casual. “I only think maybe we should split up.”

His nostrils flared and he said nothing, dedicating himself to his slice of pizza.

“It’s a better idea, Andrei. It keeps you safer longer. I can disappear and–”

“No.”

Drawing back at the intensity on his face, the word vibrating through the room, I sighed. Stubborn man. I linked my fingers loosely and placed my chin on them.

“At least consider it,” I said in a placid, persuasive voice. “I’m not a junior agent, you know I can take care of myself and you wouldn’t be leaving me behind forever.”

“You’ve sacrificed enough,” Andrei said shortly. “And stop, no more of this talk.”

Nodding, I let out a small sigh and let my eyes drift down. Worry was gnawing at me and I couldn’t help but feel like the walls were closing in on the people I cared about.

Andrei groaned and suddenly calloused fingertips forced my chin up. "I'm worried, too. But losing yourself in it will do nothing, Faye. And I already told you – you're not leaving my sight. As of right now, we have the upper hand. We have you. Everything will work out.”

His fingers were warm and the knot in my chest loosened under his gaze. Andrei said things with such a careless conviction that I felt myself believing him.

I took a deep breath and sat up straighter. After all, hadn’t Sun Tzu said it best in the Art of War? “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war.” I’d survived this long, hadn’t I? And now I had Andrei Zima as an ally.

“There’s the Faye Knight I heard so much about,” Andrei said, grinning at me and dropping his hand. “‘Victorious warriors win first and then go to war,” he said.

I blinked at him and then smiled, my chest glowing a bit. “I was just thinking that.”

“Of course you were. You’re an elite warrior.” Andrei regarded me. “You’re that other Sun Tzu quote. ‘If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.’”

I smiled wider, deeply flattered. “I’d imagine you’d only tell yourself that, Zima.”

“Every day in the mirror, love,” he said, winking. “But I can share.”

After we finished lunch, I took a long and hot shower at his urging. Then Andrei and I spent a few hours writing down everything I’d seen and trying to find connections.

Our discussions ranged from the serious to the silly, with Andrei working hard to make me laugh if I got too bogged down on details. He told me all about Dez’s bold planning that took down the TLO’s funding in Boston and how he later got arrested.

“Soraya wanted to kill me, but of course I got him off,” Andrei said with satisfaction.

He was nothing like I’d imagined from Soraya’s snarls or Roy’s simple compliments. For one thing, he was far more guarded. If I hadn’t spent so much time with Roy, I doubted I would pick up on how much he parried questions. He was adroit at it, never giving away too much.

But I caught glimpses of the real Andrei under his masks. From his macho, flirty side to the brooding and enigmatic one to the distant and haughty Zima.

I had to wonder, though, has anyone seen what’s under those masks?

But no matter what, I felt, deep in my bones, he was someone I could trust. Someone who took breaking promises seriously. And that’s what mattered most.

Later, we watched a movie and Andrei fell asleep, his chin dropping down onto his chest. Even in sleep, his face seemed guarded. Getting up quietly, I found a throw blanket and tossed it over him. Sitting back down, I pulled my feet up and sat cross-legged, my body melting back into the couch cushions. I could hardly believe I woke up two days ago in Tahiti. It seemed like weeks.

Suddenly Andrei stirred and moved over. His head fell onto my shoulder and I stared down in surprise. Eyes still not open, Andrei murmured, “You’re too nice, dushechka. Thank you.”

My heart fluttered at the feeling of his rough cheek and that word again. But as curious as I was about attractive Andrei, he gave off the air of a player. Not the guy for me.

“You’re welcome, friend,” I said, looking up now and steeling my resolve to be nothing more.

“I am a good friend,” Andrei said, his voice low and breath warm. “And a good cousin.” A long sigh exuded from him and his weight became heavier. “I’ll keep my promise.”

I looked down, about to ask him what he meant, but Andrei was asleep. A good friend and cousin who kept promises? What was he talking about?

And why did I have the strangest feeling it had to do with me?

 

The next morning, I was abruptly awoken by Andrei. Squinting at the window, I saw it was still dark out and I struggled to focus on his face.

“What is it?” I mumbled, reluctant to leave the warm nest of blankets and pillows. I’d forgotten what a good night’s sleep in a nice bed was like and I wanted to weep over the luxury of it.

Never again will I take sleep and pillows for granted, I thought.

“It’s a nice foggy morning,” Andrei said. “Time for a run.”

“Have fun,” I muttered, sinking back into the pillow and closing my eyes.

Something fluttered across the back of my neck and I frowned, then gasped as something cold pressed against my skin. Wide awake and swinging, Andrei nimbly caught my fist and held up an ice cube with the other. Grinning, he tilted his head to the side.

“Old Zima trick for getting sleepy heads up,” Andrei said. “Although I might have toned it down. One time I was thrown out of a window into a snow bank.”

Rubbing my eyes, I muttered, “Your family is insane.”

Andrei flicked his thumb and suddenly the ice cube was down my shirt. Yelping as it trailed between my breasts and down to my stomach, he laughed at me and said, “Five minutes, Knight.”

I threw the ice cube after him and he laughed again.

Ten minutes later and we were jogging down the city street, the buildings overhead stretching up into the fog and casting everything in an orange glow. It was deserted and quiet, with a faint smell of the sea in the air, which grew stronger as we turned a corner.

Andrei moved like all tiger shifters, powerful, silent, and smooth. I, on the other hand, in spite of being a leopard shifter, looked like a duck waddling behind him.

Sheer panic and fear had supercharged my muscles the other night, giving me a semblance of the runner I was.

But right now, I was badly out of practice and praying Andrei wouldn’t notice.

Does he know? I wondered, panting a little as I tried to keep up. An itching burn was starting in my muscles and my arms slumped by my sides.

The fog grew thicker as we got closer to the waterfront, buildings looming up and then vanishing. A lonely cry of seabird came from overhead and I shivered as the air grew colder. In this part of the world, summer was coming to close.

Ahead, Andrei was waiting for me and I stopped too as I caught up to him, struggling to hide how hard I was breathing. He shook his head.

“You’re out of shape,” he said flatly and I winced. “That’s why I caught you so quickly the other night. You were fast, but you tired too easily. Unusual for a leopard, hm?”

The memory of being pressed up against a wall by him flashed through my mind and I flushed. Folding my arms, I was about to argue, then my conscience jabbed at me.

“I did get lazy,” I admitted and Andrei looked surprised. “What? I’m not going to lie. Out of shape is a bit of an overstatement, though.”

A grin twitched onto his face. “Fine. But this means you’re training with me every day.” A diabolical light came into his eyes. “Zima hardcore style. Oh, I know just the workout regimen!”

Zima hardcore style? I thought as I tried to look enthused about that.

From there, we went to a gym where Andrei knew the owner and he set me doing serious weight-lifting and body weight exercises from deadlifts to squats to burpees. I thought I was going to pass out by the end of it. Then he dragged me back to the hotel, my legs shaking with the effort, just as the sun was coming up and made me a breakfast of rice, chicken, and sweet potatoes.

“Where did this food come from?” I asked, my words slurring as I tried to eat.

“Had one of the staff run out and get it,” Andrei replied. “I'll take the first shower, you finish that and then we can get to planning.”

I nodded and gave him a thumbs-up, too tired to answer. The instant I heard the shower, I put my head down on the table and closed my eyes.

Next thing I knew, icy cold water was rushing over me and I was gasping, flailing as I tried to swim and realized I was in a bathtub. In my workout clothes. Andrei was looking down at me, arms folded and eyebrows raised.

“You bastard!” I snapped, pushing my hair out of my face as I tried to grab the shower knob.

“You didn’t finish your breakfast,” Andrei said and then walked out.

Spluttering as I turned it off and hung over the tub wall, incredulous, I shook my head.

He’s making me miss being on the run.

Swiftly I reproached myself for thinking that. Andrei was risking everything for me. More than that, he was right. I was in no shape to take on the TLO or its monstrous ranks of Electi. He was trying to get me ready and I shouldn’t complain.

And forcing a smile onto my face, I was determined not to call him a bastard again.

Well, unless he really deserves it.