Chapter 13
ADRIANNE
The storm cut through every layer of my thick clothing, stinging my skin. Goosebumps were a permanent fixture, despite the unforgiving rhythm Nikolai had set. The man was a damn machine, and I was struggling to keep up.
He walked in front of me, his massive shoulders squared, broad frame forcing a path through the thick snow. Every few steps, he turned to look back. Just a quick glance to make sure I hadn’t vanished into the blizzard.
At least I was distracted enough not to think about the way my muscles burned with each step.
I couldn’t stop trying to imagine Nikolai peeling that awful excuse of a dress off of me and dressing me in heavy winter gear. There was no way he did it with his eyes closed, so he’d seen me in practically nothing. He’d touched me in nothing, too.
My cheeks flushed at the idea, but what I didn’t expect was the burn that ignited my core.
It should have made me angry because, in hindsight, it was a bit too intimate not to require consent. Instead, it did strange things to my chest, and even worse things between my thighs.
If I ever doubted Stockholm syndrome was a thing, this was a freaking real wake-up call.
Stop. Nope. You do not have the hots for your captor.
“How much farther?” I asked, forcing my mind off that stupid ledge, raising my voice over the wind.
“Not far.” His tone was clipped, like even the effort of speaking cost him. It seemed like he was just as over this hike as I was.
Still, he kept going, his steps stiff but disciplined.
My boots sank into the prints he left behind, his stride so much longer than mine.
Every time a branch hung low with ice, he shoved it aside before I reached it.
Every time the snow deepened, he cut through it so I wouldn’t stumble.
The blizzard was unrelenting, but still, Nikolai took the brunt of the storm, his strong body shielding me from the worst of it.
“You know,” I said, panting against the cold, “for a kidnapper, you’re surprisingly considerate.”
He glanced back, lingering this time, his eyes narrowing on me. “Considerate? What do you mean?”
“Breaking trail, checking on me every thirty seconds, making sure I don’t get caught in the wind and fly away. I’m supposed to be your trading coin, but you keep forgetting to act like the monster you say you are.”
His gaze cut through me as sharp as glass. “I need you alive. It would be a waste of time and resources to lose you to a little wind and ice.”
“Never pegged you for a liar.”
His head snapped toward me fully this time while he kept his pace before faltering that steady rhythm for the first time, his expression dangerous.
“Watch yourself.”
But I didn’t stop. The cold must have frozen the part of my brain that measured danger and kept me from running towards it, because the words came out anyway, reckless and hot against the freezing air.
“Why did you go back for me, Nikolai?”
His eyes locked on mine, pale and unreadable. “I gave you my word.”
“You’ve said that. But I don’t think that’s it.
Why? Why did you give me your word?” I had heard enough of the conversation with his father to know that going back for me jeopardized the fragile balance of their relationship.
I didn’t have to ask to know that the men hunting us were sent by Vladimir Volkov.
Saving me had him losing the leverage he had to recover the remains of his family. I couldn’t begin to imagine how hard that decision was, and yet, I couldn’t understand why he made it anyway.
Nikolai kept his silence, his steps keeping a tempo that had me almost jogging to keep up.
“I’ve heard you say I’m cargo, a bargaining chip, a mistake. But you don’t act like it. Not when you keep looking back at me, clearing the way to make this easier for me. Dressing me.”
Nikolai stopped dead in his tracks, making me almost run into his broad chest as he turned towards me, his eyes burning a hole right through me while sweat dripped from his brow.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t look into this.” His voice was raw and cold. “There’s nothing here besides exactly what it is. I’m not kind. I’m not your savior. I’m still the same man who kidnapped you. Remember that.”
With that warning, Nikolai spun on his heels again and refocused on getting us out of the blizzard and to that damn cabin that seemed to be planted on the other side of the planet.
Silence stretched between us, filled only by the crunch of snow and the howl of the storm.
My heart pounded unrelentingly, reckless enough to push me further.
I must have been high on adrenaline from the shooting and jumping out of a car that was driving at full speed, because this savage need to blurt everything that crossed my mind wasn’t natural in me.
“You’re nothing like him, you know?” I have no idea why I felt the urge to tell him that, but something told me he needed that mercy as much as I needed him to save me from his father’s claws.
“Drop it, Adrianne.” His voice was as cold as the ice around us, his body stiff like a predator ready to strike.
“Don’t talk about things you don’t know.
I’m not falling for your fake empathy.” The way my heart plummeted to my stomach caught me off guard.
“Now, stop talking and walk faster. And don’t forget where you are.
You’re in the middle of nowhere with a killer.
I don’t even have to try too hard to justify your disappearance. ”
“Right.” I had no idea why disappointment lined my gut at his threat. Back to asshole, I see.
We walked for what seemed like forever, his pace unrelenting, while I was in need of an urgent break to catch my breath. But the snow kept falling, and though it was knee-deep just a few minutes ago, now it reached my waist and kept on piling.
It must have been an eternity before I finally spotted it through the blur of white ahead. A wooden cabin, half-buried in snow, maybe a hundred yards away.
“There,” Nikolai said, following my gaze. His voice carried a relief he was trying to hide. Was the big bad Russian tired?
“Once we’re inside and the heat’s off our backs, I’ll call Adrik to pick us up. But we need to stay put for a while first.”
That’s when I noticed his ragged breathing, and it wasn’t from exhaustion. When he turned to walk again, he stumbled slightly, pressing a hand to his arm. He straightened without losing a step, plowing through like it was nothing, but then his knees buckled, and I lurched forward to reach for him.
“Nikolai?”
“I’m fine.” His voice was tight but steady.
But he wasn’t fine. His skin was too pale, his breath strained and uneven. Sweat clung to his skin, despite the freezing air. Without saying a word, I yanked one of my gloves off and placed my hand on his forehead.
“You’re burning up.” My voice came out laced with worry. Why the hell is his well-being so concerning to me?
Because he’s your only way out of this white hell. That’s why.
“Keep moving.” He grunted. But he barely managed another step before his body gave out completely. I watched in horror as Nikolai collapsed into the snow.
“Nikolai!” I dropped beside him, my hands grasping his face and shaking him. Heat radiated off of him, like we’d been walking in a desert instead of a snowstorm. His eyes rolled back, and panic flooded my lungs.
He was out.
“Nikolai, please wake up.” I tried again, tapping his cheek as I held his head in my lap. He’s such a massive man. So much bigger and heavier than me, there was absolutely no way I could carry him, or even drag him, for that matter. It didn’t matter that the cabin was right in sight.
I bent down and plastered my lips to his ear, “Nik, I need your help. I can’t do this if you don’t help me. Please, just come back to me.” Out of instinct, I kissed his temple, rocking him back and forth and praying that he’d wake up just enough for us to get to that goddamn cabin.
Taking off my other glove, I pulled the zipper of his jacket down just slightly and slid one of my freezing hands down his skin. My fingers skimmed the muscles on his chest, feeling the dips and masses on his perfect body, hoping that my cold skin against his scorching chest would help him wake up.
His eyes fluttered open, and I took the opportunity to coach him to his feet.
“Okay,” I whispered to him, hooking his arm over my shoulders and helping him stand, “We’re walking to that cabin and getting you warm.”
Step by step, dragging, pulling, stumbling, we made it. I was a heaving mess by the time we reached that damn door, but we were finally safe and sheltered from the snow.
Inside, the cabin was cold, but it had four walls to protect us and a fireplace to keep us warm. I helped him sit near the hearth before rummaging through the drawers to find anything I could use to start a fire.
I threw a couple of logs into the fireplace, managing to light them all while keeping an eye on him, but Nikolai was out cold.
Peeling off his jacket, my stomach turned as I took in the damage. His sleeve was soaked through, and as soon as I pulled off his sweater, I saw the worn bandages that did nothing to protect his wound.
It was the bullet wound from the shooting outside the tunnel, and I couldn’t help but feel the guilt travel through my chest.
It was badly infected.
“Jesus, Nikolai,” I muttered, trying to think about my next move. He’d been so focused on Sasha’s injury that he didn’t even think twice about his own.
Slowly, I peeled the cloth away. The wound was angry, swollen, and red. Just beneath his skin, glinting proudly, was a piece of metal. A bullet fragment, of course.
I had to take it out and then get him out of here. I wasn’t an expert, but with a fever like this, he’d need antibiotics for sure.