Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Alexei didn’t hesitate; he ducked and rolled on the balls of his feet to Soren’s left when the man pulled on his arm. From the corner of his eye, he saw Soren reach out and spray something with a sharp chemical smell on both the man and woman. He tossed the little bottle at them and then there was the gritty scrape of a match as it was dragged briefly across something rough. Alexei’s heart jumped into his throat when he saw both of the Russian agents covered in a rush of dancing flames.
For only a second, he was frozen to the spot, watching them both scream in panic before remembering to drop to the ground and roll about. Soren roughly grabbed his hand and jerked him forward.
Hand-in-hand, they ran across the plaza and out onto a main street, heading away from the Louvre and the Seine. They needed to disappear in the busy, winding streets of Paris, but he was still trying to wrap his brain around what had just happened.
“You set them on fire?” Alexei cried, glancing over his shoulder at Soren.
“It was just a tiny fire. I had to do something. You were gonna try to kill them with a butter knife.”
Alexei cried out in horror. “I am not carrying a butter knife. It’s a small knife. There’s nothing wrong with it.”
“That’s not a knife. This is a—”
“Fuck you! If you say that silly Crocodile Dundee quote, I’m leaving you with the Russians.” Alexei jerked Soren along a street heavily laden with expensive fashion stores and turned onto a quieter street. He kept turning down one street after another, trying to put more distance between him and Russian spies.
Alexei slowed to a brisk walk, glancing over his shoulder. He didn’t see them, but that didn’t mean someone else wasn’t following them.
“I’m relieved that you aren’t too old for that movie,” Soren said between gasps of air.
“I am. My uncle Justin likes goofy movies. But fire?”
“A tiny fire.”
“Do you normally carry an accelerant with you? Or was that only for the Louvre?”
Soren skipped up a couple of steps so they could walk side by side along the street. “I thought it might be handy if I needed a distraction.”
That thought brought Alexei to a complete stop regardless of the danger that might be on their heels. “You were going to set fire to the Louvre.”
“Sssshhhh! Lower your voice! You’re going to get me killed.”
“But you said—”
Soren slapped his hand over Alexei’s mouth and bent so that they were standing nose to nose. “A tiny fire. It was going to be a teeny, tiny fire if we needed a distraction or another escape plan.”
Alexei tamped down the temptation to lick Soren’s palm and grabbed the man’s wrist, pulling his hand away. “You’re not allowed to make the plans anymore if they are going to be so horrible.”
“It would have worked!”
He had no idea whether he should smack him, shake him, or kiss him. Setting the Russian agents on fire had been a stroke of brilliance. He wished he’d been able to do it himself. But the idea of a fire touching any part of the Louvre made him sick to his stomach.
“We need a place to hide for a while. We can’t go back to my apartment.”
“Leave the country?”
Alexei chewed his bottom lip before turning to resume walking. They couldn’t keep wandering around Paris, waiting to be found again. They needed a safe place, but he wasn’t sure about leaving France yet. What if they were able to unload this hard drive safely at long last?
“I want to stay here one more night. At least think about the next step instead of jumping on the first plane.”
Soren lifted up his ball cap, shoved one hand through his sweaty hair, and resettled it on his head. “Sometimes jumping on the first plane is how you stay alive.”
He couldn’t really argue with that. He needed to fucking think about what the hell he was doing. Maybe even talk to his uncles. He’d not ever expected to find himself face-to-face with the KGB again.
Had he screwed up his life as well as his uncle’s by mouthing off when he shouldn’t have? After everything that had happened when he was young, his uncle had finally disappeared from the notice of the Russian spy ring and assassins. It was better if he remained below the radar of that world, particularly the Russians.
“I was thinking a hotel,” Alexei murmured.
Soren’s voice was a touch sullen when he asked, “Are you going to make me get my own room?”
“Are you done setting things on fire?”
“I’m just hoping to set you on fire tonight.”
Alexei flashed him a weak smile. “No supplies.”
Soren bumped against his shoulder. “You don’t have to be inside of me for us to burn up.”
Alexei huffed a weak smile. That was very true, but it felt like he wouldn’t feel comfortable in his own skin until he was sliding inside of Soren again.