Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Yuri exited the bathroom wearing a towel around his hips. “Where’d your big man disappear to?”
“Left to get us food.”
“Good. I’m famished, and I’ll need energy for tonight.”
“Excuse me?” Svetlana crossed her arms and glared at her brother. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be seeing Olga anymore.”
“We didn’t get as much time to talk as hoped.”
“You were gone more than three hours.”
A devilish grin teased her brother’s lips. “As I said, we didn’t talk much.”
“Ugh.” Svetlana grimaced and rolled her eyes. “You do realize this isn’t a game. If she finds out you’re the third person—”
“They have no clue, and this is too good an opportunity to waste.”
“Did it ever occur to you that maybe another agent will find it odd you’re spending so much time with her? What if they decide to check you out?”
“Check out what? Dimitri Sokolov doesn’t exist.”
“You used our uncle’s name?” She couldn’t help but squeak.
“Why not? The man is long dead.”
“You idiot. He’s a link to us,” she hissed.
“Lots of Dimitris and even more Sokolovs.”
“And how many of them with a niece named Svetlana and a nephew named Yuri?” she riposted.
“Stop worrying so much. I’ve got this under control.” Yuri no sooner said that than he stiffened and whispered, “Someone’s in the hall.”
Before she could reply that it was probably Idris, the door to their room smashed open, hard enough it hit the wall but, before it could bounce shut, people clad in body armor, their faces covered in helmets, poured in, screaming, “Hands up and don’t move.”
Svetlana immediately complied, but Yuri spat, “What is the meaning of this? Why are you kicking in our door?”
Before any of the armed soldiers, wearing distinctive KGB badging, could reply, a petite blonde stepped past them and scowled at Yuri.
Uh-oh. Svetlana’s stomach knotted because she recognized her.
So did Yuri. “Olga, what’s this about? I thought dinner wasn’t until eight.” Her brother offered a flippant query with his drop-your-panties smile.
Olga’s gaze slewed to Svetlana, and her lip curled as she spat, “I can’t believe I fell for your lies.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, and before you think the wrong thing, this is my sister, Sonya.”
“I think you mean Svetlana,” Olga countered with a cold smile. “You can drop the act and the fake charm. I know who you are.”
“The man who made you scream do me harder.” Yuri couldn’t resist the taunt, and Svetlana could have killed him. A woman scorned should never be humiliated.
Olga’s face turned an ugly shade of red. “Yuri Romanova, you are under arrest, as is your sister.”
Caught. So much for Yuri’s claim they had no clue as to his identity.
His expression turned blank and his query flat. “How did you find out who I was?”
“By surprise, only moments before our meeting this afternoon,” spoken sourly.
“It’s why I was late. I was requested to attend a briefing because our hackers had new information on the suspects we’d been seeking.
They managed to trace Svetlana, the mighty bear trainer, back to her roots and in the process discovered she had a brother.
They didn’t have many images to work with, but even though much younger, I recognized you.
I immediately informed the doctor so that we could make plans to take you into custody at the restaurant, but Dr. Levy insisted I go through with our lunch. ”
“Now, Olga, we both know it was more than a meal.” Yuri winked, and Olga trembled with rage.
“I had orders to not act out of the ordinary.”
“An order to fuck me? I hope you got paid extra.” Yuri’s crudeness made Svetlana wince.
Olga’s chin went up. “For the sake of the mission, I sacrificed my dignity that I might plant a tracker in your jacket.”
Yuri’s lips flattened. “You used me to get to my sister.”
“Not just you. Where’s the bears?” Olga demanded.
“What bears?” He opened his eyes wide.
“Don’t play stupid. I want the one your sister named after you, plus the second one spotted at the hotel.”
“Alas, our current location doesn’t allow pets, so we had to set them free. I’m sure if you go wander around the forest outside of town, you’ll find them. Or they’ll find you. They’re probably hungry by now,” Yuri offered with a vicious smile.
“You won’t be laughing for long. Take them into custody,” Olga barked. “Comrade Albalkin is ready and waiting with his tools. He’ll make them confess to the bears’ location.”
Torture with no chance of escape. Perhaps it would be better to die now before the pain started. Maybe if she attacked the woman, the soldiers would shoot her.
Yuri must have had a similar thought because the towel around his hips hit the floor as the bear emerged with a roar and charged.
To say people were surprised would be an understatement. Olga’s jaw hit the floor, and the soldiers froze in shock.
Not Svetlana. This was her one and only chance to survive.
She scrambled onto the bed to get out of the way as Yuri began swiping with his big paws.
The startled soldiers quickly recovered, most likely because they didn’t want to scream in agony like the guy who found his limbs ribboned.
Her brother knew better than to try and rip through the body armor.
As Yuri turned to take out the next soldier, darts flew, most missing, but one did strike Yuri, the bright tuft of it jarring against his dark fur. The sleeping agent couldn’t penetrate Yuri’s adrenaline, though, and he killed a second man.
Two left, and Svetlana began to think they might just be able to escape. Wrong. Apparently, instead of watching her brother fight, she should have been keeping an eye on Olga. The petite woman yelled, “Stop right now or your sister dies.”
The weapon Olga pointed at close range wouldn’t miss; Yuri knew it.
He ceased mauling the third soldier and transformed, fists clenched and jaw rigid. “Don’t you dare.”
His miffed lover snarled, “I will shoot her if you don’t surrender to our custody.”
“Let her go and I’ll do whatever you want,” Yuri counteroffered.
“This is not a negotiation. You’re coming with us, no matter what. Whether your sister does so alive or dead is up to you.”
“I’m the one the doctor wants,” Yuri snarled. “Leave my sister out of this.”
“Yes, he wants you, and it’s now obvious why. However, my orders are to bring her in as well, but in the heat of the moment, accidents do happen,” Olga stated with a smug smirk.
In that moment, Yuri’s expression went through a few emotions. Anger. Defeat. Desperation. He lunged for Olga, but before he could reach her, darts flew and hit their target. The one remaining soldier had been joined by two more.
This time, still in his human shape, Yuri couldn’t fight the triple dose of the drug. He fell to the floor.
Unconscious.
Vulnerable.
Svetlana could do nothing to help him or herself. And what of Idris? He’d be returning soon, not knowing he walked into a trap.
Frustration built, along with rage. They’d only ever wanted to live peacefully. Sure, they’d done some harm, but only to those who’d threatened. They didn’t deserve what the doctor planned. A life caged, lab rats for the government and a doctor playing god.
It was unfair. Wrong.
Emotions overwhelmed Svetlana, and her vision blurred. A shock since she never cried. And still the pressure inside her built, pushing to the point she closed her eyes and fell to the floor.
Through the ringing in her ears, she heard fabric ripping, and a man shouted. “Bear!”
Where? A quick glance showed no Idris, nor bear, just Yuri asleep on the floor.
A floor where she crouched on her… paws?
Svetlana blinked as she noted the fur not just on what should have been her hands but her arms, too.
“Put her to sleep!” Olga’s shrill scream had her swiveling her head, and a snarl emerged.
She was a bear.
Thank you, god. Veles had given her a way to fight.
Svetlana lunged for Olga, who sprang onto the bed and traversed it in an attempt to make it to the door. A swipe of claws across the back of her legs took the bitch down.
There was satisfaction in silencing the woman who’d threatened Svetlana with a gun, thus neutering Yuri. However, she should have gone after the more pressing threats.
Pft. Pft. Darts peppered her body from the soldiers crowding the door. She wavered on her paws as fatigue invaded her muscles.
So sleepy. So—
Svetlana woke in a cage in the back of a rumbling truck, still furry, unlike Yuri, who sat knees tucked to his chest in his own metal prison.
His head lifted as he heard her stir. His lips tugged downwards. “I’m sorry, Svetty.”
Ra-ra-rawr. She tried to say not your fault, even if it was! But it emerged as a growly noise.
“Guess maybe the bear thing runs in the family.” He tried to speak lightly, but the same despair and fear coursing through him also flooded her.
“You might want to stay furry,” he added. “It’s cold in here, and those pricks won’t even give us a blanket.”
Grawr.
“Yeah, I agree. We should eat them.”
Not what she’d said, but the idea had merit.
A glance around showed no one with them, which led to her tapping herself, pointing at Yuri, then lifting both paws in a shrug. Would Yuri understand?
“I don’t know if they caught Idris. I didn’t see him, which is a good thing. He’ll come to our rescue.”
A few days ago, Svetlana might have scoffed. Why would a stranger risk their life for them? However, having gotten to know Idris, she didn’t doubt for one minute he’d do his best to come to their aid.
If he could.
Did he manage to follow? Would he wait for his friends to join him?
How long would that take? Days at least. She could only hope they’d live that long because when they finally arrived at their destination, a sense of foreboding chilled her through and through, and it only deepened when the balding doctor from the television emerged with a smile.
“Sibling therianthropes. My lucky day! Who shall I test first?”