Struggling to sit up she just made out the dirty face of a young kid as he leapt over the garbage and grabbed her arm. Thinking he was about to hit her Eleanore screamed again and raised her free hand and realised that he was pulling at the straps of her handbag. Suddenly there was the sound of heavy footsteps running toward them and with one almighty yank that nearly ripped her shoulder from its socket her assailant was off her. She heard him scrambling beside her in the snow and then he took off around a narrow opening between the buildings.
Not waiting to see if the person who had come to her aid was a friend or a foe, Eleanore clutched the petrified kitten that was scratching at her jacket and rolled to a crouched position as all the self-defence instructions she’d learned a couple of years ago—but had never had reason to use—came flooding back.
A male swore above her as he pulled her to her feet and Eleanore sagged with relief. ‘Lukas! Oh, my God. You scared the life out of me.’
‘I did!’ he roared. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
She remembered her anger at him from the bar and it warred with her fear. ‘Walking home.’
‘Down an alley!’
‘No. There was a kitten...’ Saying it out loud sounded dumb even to her own ears but Eleanore had never been able to walk past an injured animal or a crying child without stopping. She remembered all too well what it was like to feel alone in the world and she wouldn’t wish it on her worst enemy. Feeling the kitten tremble against her she eased her grip on the poor thing and cuddled it against her jacket to reassure it.
‘Let me guess,’ Lukas spat. ‘It was tied to the bin.’
Eleanore’s eyes widened. ‘Has it happened to you as well?’
‘No.’ He reached down to pick up a dark shape from the ground. ‘I’ve done it before.’
‘What?’
The dark shape turned out to be her beloved overcoat and he wasn’t gentle as he bundled it around her shoulders. ‘Of all the gullible, idiotic things to do...’ He shook his head. ‘I told you earlier that St Petersburg wasn’t the wonderland you think it is and why in hell didn’t you wait for me to take you home?’
‘Because I don’t want you to take me home.’ But now that she’d had time to process what had actually happened her anger toward him wasn’t quite as strong as it had been back at the bar. ‘Thank you for helping me,’ she said stiffly.
His face was all harsh angles and shadows as he glared down at her in the dim light. ‘Don’t thank me. I’m too angry. You could have ended up dead. Are you hurt?’ he added gruffly.
‘No. Thankfully he was only a kid. At least I think he was a kid.’
‘They can be worse than the adults,’ Lukas said grimly. ‘More desperate and much more unpredictable. Come, my car is waiting at the kerb. Can you walk?’
‘Of course.’ Relief that he’d come after her made her feel weak and for once she didn’t argue.
He held the back door of the Mercedes open for her. ‘Get in.’
She cradled the kitten inside her overcoat as she did as he asked.
Lukas followed her into the car and glowered at the lump on her chest from the opposite seat. ‘What are you planning to do with that thing?’
‘She’s not a thing and I can’t leave her in the snow. She’ll die.’
‘Survival of the fittest, Eleanore, it’s what makes the world go round.’
‘That’s not true.’
The look he gave her said he thought she was an idiot. And maybe she was. She was certainly a lucky one even though she was pretty sure she would have been all right if the kid had managed to take her bag but she was also glad she didn’t have to test the theory.
‘Will I have to file a police report?’
Lukas turned his brooding expression back from the window. ‘There are over sixteen thousand street kids in St Petersburg and you just fell for one of the oldest tricks on the streets so there’s not much point.’
‘Sixteen thousand!’ She frowned. ‘How do you know how many street kids there are in the city?’ She would have no idea if asked the same question in New York.
The Mercedes pulled up outside her apartment building and Lukas helped her out while his driver held the door, his breath fogging in front of his face.
Eleanore’s legs didn’t seem to want to work properly and he must have read her mind because he firmed his grip beneath her elbow. She wondered if he’d make some reference to feminists or her brainlessness but he remained big and silent beside her until they reached her door.