Niko nodded. After cleaning up all evidence of the Breed assault on the garage apartment, he and Renata had commandeered the Agency's SUV, which their attackers had been helpful enough to leave parked along a side street near Jack's place.
"You hanging in there?" he asked, seeing the fatigue in her eyes. "We can wait here and rest awhile if you need to." She shook her head. "I want to keep moving. We're only a few miles from the lodge."
"Yeah," Niko said. "And I'm not expecting Lex to roll out a red carpet for us when we get there. Things could get ugly real fast. It's been a couple of hours since you mind-blasted those Agents. How long before your reverb sets in?" "Probably not long," she admitted, glancing down at the moonlit grass at their feet.
Niko lifted her chin and couldn't keep from stroking the delicate line of her cheek. "All the more reason to hang out here for a while."
She drew away from him, stubborn with determination. "All the more reason to keep going before the reverb hits. I'll rest after we have Mira." She pivoted around and started walking to the vehicle. "Who's driving - you or me?"
"Hey," he said, catching her hand before she could get very far. He walked up to her and wrapped his arm around the small of her back, easing her into his embrace.
God, she was so beautiful. Any idiot could appreciate the fragile, feminine perfection of her face: the pale, almond-shaped eyes that glittered like moonstones beneath the inky fringe of her lashes; the impish nose and lush, sexy mouth; the milky skin that looked like flawless velvet against the ebony gloss of her hair. Renata's physical beauty was stunning, but it was her courage - her unshakable honor - that really did Niko in.
Somehow, in the short time they'd been forced together, Renata had become a true partner to him. He valued her, trusted her, as much as he did any of his brethren in the Order.
"Hey," he repeated, quieter now, staring into her brave, beautiful face and awed all over again by this extraordinary woman who was proving to be such a vital ally to him. "We made a pretty good team back there, didn't we."
"I was scared as hell, Nikolai," she confessed softly. "They came at us so quickly. I should have reacted faster. I should have - "
"You were amazing." He smoothed an errant wisp of hair from her face and hooked it behind her ear. "You are amazing, Renata, and I'm damned glad to know that I've got you at my back."
She gave him a small, almost shy smile. "Same here."
Maybe it wasn't the ideal time for him to want to kiss her, standing in a godforsaken stretch of backcountry, a trail of blood and death behind them and more of the same sure to be waiting down the line before this journey was over. But all Nikolai wanted to do right now - what he needed, here and now, this very moment - was to feel Renata's lips pressed against his.
He gave in to the urge, leaning in and taking her mouth in a tender, unhurried kiss. Her arms went around him, tentatively at first, but her hands were warm and giving as she stroked his back and held him to her, even after their kiss had ended and she laid her cheek against his chest.
When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. "Are we going to find her, Nikolai?"
He pressed his lips to the top of her head. "Yes, we are."
"Do you think she's okay?" His hesitation was brief, but long enough that it brought Renata out of his arms. She frowned, her eyes dimming with hurt. "Oh, my God...you don't believe she is. I can feel your doubt, Nikolai. You think something's happened to Mira."
"It's the blood bond you feel," he said, not even close to a denial of what Renata had read so accurately in him.
She was backing away now, her feet shuffling in the dark grass as she moved toward the SUV. Her face had taken on a stricken look. "We have to go now. We have to find Lex and force him to tell us where she is!"
"Renata, I still think you should wait here awhile and rest. If the reverb hits you - "
"Fuck the reverb!" she cried, tossing her head in mounting panic. "I'm going to Yakut's place. You can either ride along or stay behind, but I'm leaving right fucking now."
He could have stopped her.
If he'd wanted to, he could have been on her faster than she could track him, physically preventing her from taking another step toward the vehicle. He could have tranced her with a simple brush of his hand over her face and forced her to wait out the pain that would probably wipe her out completely not long after they reached the lodge.
He could have held her back in any number of ways, but instead he circled around to the driver's side of the black Humvee before she got there and blocked her entry with his body.
"I'll drive," he said, giving her no chance to argue. "You're shotgun."
Renata stared at him for a second, then walked over and climbed into the passenger seat.
They found their way back to the road and drove the short distance to Yakut's wooded property in silence. Niko cut the lights as they approached at a slow roll. He was about to suggest they bail out and move in on the lodge by foot when he noticed something was off about the place.
"Is it always this quiet?"
"Never," Renata said, shooting him a grave look. She reached behind the seats to pick up some of the Agency weapons. She looped the strap of an automatic rifle over her head, then handed Nikolai one for himself. "Lex only had two guards left, but it doesn't look like anyone is here at all."
And even from this distance, Niko detected the scent of spilled blood. Breed blood, coming from more than one source. "Wait here while I go check things out."