His bare feet, exposed to ice cold floor, had not turned blue or gangrene. “Aren’t you freezing?”
“Yes. But I’m used to it.”
“Not even the Inuit or local Sherpa go around butt-naked and barefoot in subzero temperatures. So don’t give me that I’m a tough Russian crap.”
“But it’s true.”
She hastily dressed and donned her snow boots. “Seriously, you need to get dressed.” Not that I’m complaining, but treating gangrene isn’t something I look forward to.
“Good idea. Over breakfast I will explain real reason cold doesn’t affect me.”
“I’m all ears. I just hope it’s not some military experimental drug that makes soldiers impervious to pain.”
“You, my Goldilocks, have a creative imagination.”
“By the sound of what you are about to tell me, not creative enough.”
Lev handed her the warm brew and sat with his mug, not bothering to dress. Nonetheless, he had the good sense to keep the private part of his anatomy well covered. “What I’m about to tell you is so secret, we only let you live if you sign our non-disclosure contract. The signature requires two other witnesses, but I’ve been permitted to tell you if you agree to remain silent.”
Her curiosity piqued. “And if I don’t keep the secret?”
“Then you would be marked for quick execution.”
She swallowed the hot coffee almost searing her throat. “That serious?” Must be a deep clandestine government outfit. Russian? Or as Jim would have said, the Illuminati?
“More serious than any secret you could ever imagine.”
Rachel lifted her chin. “I will not betray my country.”
“This has nothing to do with national loyalty. You will not betray the United States or any other country.”
“And if I talk, you will kill me?”
His jaw tightened and his expression turned grave. “I am ordered to, but I will not, cannot.”
“Because we had a great dinner date?”
His expression softened. “And shared a bed while naked.”
“Okay, so you would refuse orders because we snuggled? That’s comforting.”
“It’s more than that.” His demeanor returned to a tad above somber. “First, you must agree to keep our secret. Your life depends on us. Only we can protect you from your would-be abductors.”
Rachel’s memories flashed to the immense wolf by her window, Madam Montfort’s rants about a werewolf who made her his, the dead wolf who turned into one of her abductors. Could Lev really be some weird wolf-human genetic experiment? Was that why he seemed impervious to cold? Had her father become obsessed with transgenic medicine? Was this the mess he’d gotten himself involved in? She whispered as if not wanting him to hear, or rather not wanting to learn the answer. “My father, is he part of this secret conspiracy?”
“Yes.”
“That explains why he’s ignored me all these years.”
“He’s protected you from our kind.”
“Your kind? As in some sort of genetically modified wolfen creature?” Her cheeks burned. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound harsh.”
Lev narrowed his intense blue eyes on her and she felt like she was in a hypnotic trance, but aware of her surroundings. The sound of her heart echoed in her ears as if a mouse caught in the gaze of a snake. Then he released her from his hold, freeing her from doing his bidding. “It’s not so simple.”
“Yet whatever you are, Howard was happy to leave his family for?” Her parent’s marriage had been rocky before he disappeared from her life, but what kind of father ignored his only child?
He sighed. “About your father?”