Page 72 of Grizzly Sleuth
“I’m tired of travelling, though.” Svetlana sighed.
“Then perhaps it is time you planted roots somewhere and made a home, with a room for me, of course, when I visit.” Her brother grinned.
“Who will take care of you if I’m not around?” Svetlana retorted.
“I am a grown man,” Yuri announced. “And I’m pretty. I’m sure women will be more than happy to help me out anywhere I go.”
A bold statement that had Takhi snorting. “Because every grown-ass woman wants to take care of a man-child.”
“Child?”
As Yuri and Takhi bickered, Svetlana snuggled into Idris and whispered, “I’ve always wanted to live by the sea.”
A dream Idris would do his best to make true.
The helicopter landed in the middle of a circle of flares, with no buildings in sight, only a pair of vehicles, by which stood a man. Slater, the only one of their group who’d gone through the protocol and never shifted, like Tatiana the woman they’d rescued. Not for lack of trying though. Slater had told them of the injuries he’d sustained, and the painful days and weeks after it took to heal as the general tried to force the shift. Most likely Tatiana had been subjected to the same torture.
Given each SUV had only five seats, they had to split the group. Slater drove Hiro, Tatiana, Takhi, and Yuri, while Barrett, Tanis, Freya, Svetlana, and Idris travelled in the other. At least the group had brought spare clothes, meaning they at leastlooked passable, although Idris and Yuri struggled with the small shoes.
Despite the late hour, they drove, stopping only to gas and piss. By late afternoon, they made it to Poland’s border, and more than a few of them tensed. Half of them lacked passports, and Idris remained a wanted man by the KGB.
Phoenix and Barrett handled the border guards by handing over a fat envelope of cash. Once they got waved through, they took turns napping uncomfortably and driving until they reached a hotel deep inside Poland.
A good thing his mates brought enough cash because they ended up renting seven rooms. Hiro ended up sharing with Tatiana, who panicked at the thought of being alone. Yuri and Svetlana took one room with two beds, while Barrett and Tanis ended up in the honeymoon suite.
Idris had hoped to spend the night with Svetlana but understood her brother likely wanted to catch up. Still, he missed her presence. How had he gone from single and fine with it to pining over a woman he’d known less than a week?
He showered and had just lain down on his bed wrapped in a towel when a light tap at the door had him bounding to open it.
Svetlana tilted her head. “Yuri is already snoring. I’m sleeping with you.”
“Okay.” As if he’d say no. He could barely contain his happiness at seeing her.
She strutted in and immediately began to strip, talking all the while. “Yuri is determined to see the world.”
“At least he won’t be alone.” To everyone’s surprise, Takhi had offered to be his companion, stating she’d been wanting to travel but preferred to not do so alone, given women tended to be targets in some foreign nations. An odd statement for her to make, given how many men she’d made cry in the barracks for making the wrong kind of remark. Idris didn’t call out her flimsyexcuse, mostly because he knew it would reassure Svetlana to know Yuri would have someone by his side.
“Takhi will have her hands full keeping him out of trouble,” Svetlana retorted.
“Yeah, but if anyone can handle Yuri, it’s her.”
“Hiro is interesting.” Svetlana had removed everything but her underpants, and Idris couldn’t help but stare at her tight body.
“If you say so.” When they’d switched up the people in the vehicles, they’d had a chance to get to know the man. Or at least the others did. Idris had been napping.
“Did you know he went on a hunger strike in an attempt to die? Which is when they decided to use Tatiana to keep him alive.”
“I didn’t realize they were a couple.”
Svetlana snorted. “They’re not. More like a father-daughter relationship. It helped him get over the grief of losing his niece and nephew to the experiment.”
Insane to think their capture of Hiro had been the start of Project Therianthrope. “What’s his plan now that he’s free?”
“To move somewhere remote and hopefully never be captive again.”
Understandable. “I wonder what happened to those who escaped in the truck.” It had surprised Idris that Barrett let them go, to which the captain explained,“Most of them were still in the early stages of the protocol and can hopefully resume a normal life.”
“And if they can’t?” Idris asked. “What if they tell the wrong people about us?”
