Chapter 8 Mattie
MATTIE
Dimitri sat at a corner table with his notebook and tablet spread out before him, his brow furrowed in concentration as he scribbled calculations and made notes. The glass of whiskey Mattie had brought him two hours ago sat untouched, while the ice had long since melted and had diluted the drink.
She loved watching him like this.
There was something about a man deep in thought that did things to her.
The way his pen moved across the page with hard strokes, the way his eyes narrowed when he worked out problems, the way he occasionally pushed his fingers through his hair when he hit a wall.
It all made her tingle in all kinds of places and made her think of all the things she was going to do to him when they were finally alone in his room.
It was silly, really. She was surrounded by immortal warriors with supernatural strength and predatory beauty, and here she was getting weak in the knees over a scientist doing math.
Then again, Dimitri was a warrior of a different kind. He wielded a pen instead of a sword, not to write profound words but to create chemical compounds that might change the world just as effectively or even more so.
Not if they remained stuck on this island, though.
Here, his discoveries belonged to Lord Navuh and his followers, and what they did with them was not good.
They weren't interested in curing diseases or improving the human condition.
They were using Dimitri and Petrov's work to create a more deadly version of themselves, so they could conquer and pillage with greater ease.
Not that she knew for a fact that they conquered and pillaged, but it just made sense. Why else would these immortals train nonstop?
She wished she knew the bigger picture of what this place was all about, just to satisfy her curiosity. It wasn't as if she could do anything about it, even if these immortals were pure evil. The best she could hope for was to break free.
With Dimitri and with Petrov.
The older scientist was growing on her, and she wouldn't like leaving him behind.
Underneath the drunkard facade, Petrov was a good man.
He had saved her from those nasty immortals by lying and putting himself in danger.
If it were discovered that Lord Navuh had never given her to Petrov, he would get in trouble.
They wouldn't kill him because they needed him, but they could make his life miserable.
She wiped down a section of the bar just to have something to do with her hands. The evening crowd had thinned considerably, leaving only a handful of patrons scattered among the tables. Thursdays were always slow, which was why Anil had let her come in late.
She checked the time.
It was nearly eight.
Petrov should have been here by now if Dave had shown up for his shots. The fact that he wasn't made her stomach clench with worry. What if something had happened? What if Dave were dead?
Stop it. Panicking won't help.
But the fear had always been there, hadn't it? It was her constant companion since the day she'd arrived on this island, since long before that if she was being honest. Fear had been her shadow since the fire that took her parents.
Mattie was so tired of being afraid.
Hoping for the best, she decided to tell Anil that he might be losing his barmaid.
Giving the bar top one last swipe, she straightened and turned to the barman. "I need to tell you something."
He looked up. "What is it?"
"I might be transferring to work at the lab." She gestured vaguely toward Dimitri's table. "Doctor Petrov is trying to arrange it. I should have the answer by the end of my shift tonight, but I wanted to give you a heads up."
She expected him to be disappointed, or at least surprised. Instead, he let out a breath, and his shoulders visibly relaxed. He looked like someone who'd had a heavy weight lifted from his chest.
"That would be good," he said, and there was obvious relief in his voice. "I'm glad."
Mattie blinked. "You're not upset?"
"Upset?" Anil set the glass that he'd been polishing down.
"Mattie, I have been stressed out of my mind every single day since the incident with Tarik.
Every time the door opens, I think it might be him and his vile friends.
" He shook his head. "I do not want anything bad to happen to you.
If you can transfer somewhere safer, you should. "
His honesty was both touching and painful. On some level, she'd known that her presence was a burden to him, but hearing it said out loud made it real.
"I'm sorry for making things stressful for you," she said.
"You have nothing to feel sorry about." Anil picked up another glass and resumed his polishing. "It's not your fault that Tarik is a pig. I hope you get the transfer, and I hope you'll be happy with your scientist."
Mattie smiled. "Thank you, but what will you do without me? Who's going to help you serve drinks when I'm gone?"
"I will ask for another girl."
"You should ask for Nadia," Mattie said without thinking.
Anil's eyebrows rose. "Who's Nadia?"
"One of my roommates. She works as a room maid in the hotel. She's friendly, good with people, and she could use some positive reinforcement."
"Why does she need positive reinforcement?"
Mattie hesitated. It felt like gossip to share Nadia's struggles, but if Anil was to ask for her, he should know what Nadia was dealing with.
"Nuri has been making her life difficult," she said.
"Demanding that she lose weight because she doesn't fit the sophisticated image of the hotel.
Nadia is a little plump, but she's beautiful and sexy the way she is.
She doesn't need to change anything to fit some image that exists only in Nuri's head. "
"What does she look like?" he asked.
"Like Snow White," Mattie blurted out and then chuckled.
"That's who she reminds me of, especially when she puts the maid's uniform on.
She has dark, nearly black hair that is shoulder length and curls at the bottom, blue eyes, and naturally red lips that smile most of the time.
Unless Nuri is tormenting her, that is."
Anil nodded, and there was a sparkle in his eyes. "I know who you mean. I've seen her around the hotel. She's exquisite."
"She is, right? A real beauty."
"She does not need to become any slimmer.
" Anil's voice carried a hint of indignation on Nadia's behalf.
"Men like women with a little meat on their bones.
" He looked sheepish as he regarded Mattie's slim figure.
"Not that you are not beautiful the way you are.
You're just a different kind of lovely. More. .."
"More like a twig?" Mattie supplied.
"No! I would never—" Anil's cheeks had gone red. "You are perfectly proportioned. Small-boned. Delicate."
Mattie laughed. "It's fine, Anil. I know what you mean.
I'm not as small as you think I am. I have hips.
" She patted the aforementioned body part.
"I'm just not as generously endowed on top.
" Her breasts were much too small for the size of her hips, but she'd stopped obsessing over that a long time ago.
"Will you ask for Nadia for the position? "
"I definitely will. And—" Anil cut off, and his gaze shifted to something over her shoulder. "Your scientist friend is here."
Mattie turned to see Petrov entering the bar, his familiar rumpled figure weaving between the tables toward Dimitri.
Her heartbeat kicked up. This was it. The moment of truth.
She grabbed a bottle of quality vodka from the top shelf and poured a generous measure into a glass.
"Can you mix me a whiskey sour?" she asked. "I have a feeling I will need some liquid courage."
Anil raised an eyebrow but didn't comment, simply reaching for the ingredients. Within a minute, he slid the cocktail across the bar to her, the amber liquid glistening with a perfect foam cap.
"Thank you." She picked up both drinks and made her way to the corner table, her pulse pounding so loudly she was sure everyone in the bar could hear it.
Petrov had already settled into the chair across from Dimitri, and both men looked up as she approached, their expressions giving nothing away.
She set the vodka in front of Petrov and sat down with her whiskey sour. "Well? Did Dave show up?"
Petrov picked up his vodka glass and took a long, slow sip. The bastard was enjoying making her wait.
"Konstantin," Dimitri said warningly.
Petrov grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners with amusement. "Congratulations, Mattie. You are officially assigned the title of lab assistant, and you start your new job immediately."
For a moment, the words didn't register. Lab assistant. New job. Immediately.
Then the meaning sank in, and Mattie felt like she'd won the lottery.
"Really?" Her voice came out as a squawk. "You're serious?"
"I never joke about important things." Petrov raised his glass in a mock toast. "Welcome to the team."
Mattie lunged across the table and threw her arms around him, nearly knocking over her whiskey sour in the process. "Thank you," she breathed against his shoulder. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
She kissed both his cheeks, European-style, before pulling back.
Petrov looked slightly flustered but pleased, his cheeks pink above his graying beard.
"How did you do it?" she asked, sitting back in her chair.
"I'd almost given up and closed up the lab when Dave arrived," Petrov said. "It was after six, and all eight of him looked exhausted. The only time I've seen him so drained was when I first arrived, and we ran out of drugs for him."
"Why? What was he doing?"
Petrov took another sip of vodka before answering. "When I asked what kept him so busy, he said Losham needed his help with damage control. At first, I thought he meant the explosions. You know, the cleanup, the repairs, that sort of thing. But then he said something interesting."
He paused, clearly savoring the moment. Mattie wanted to shake him.