by Cara Adams
“Riding School,” replied the man.
Hiding his actions from the man behind them he pointed to Alex on the motorcycle and said softly, “Get on the motorcycle. He’ll take you somewhere you can talk safely.”
The man had nodded and hurried across to where Alex waited. Piotr turned sideways so he could see the follower as well as the messenger, but the follower was almost level with him and broke into a run when he saw the messenger approach the motorcycle.
Piotr executed his Plan B, sticking out a leg and bumping his hip into the follower as hard as he could. Then he’d grabbed the man’s arm in a tight grip saying in deplorable English, “Oh, I say, old man. Are you all right? I didn’t hurt you did I? Terribly sorry, old man.”
The follower swung his right fist up from nowhere and punched Piotr hard in the gut. “Fuck off.” He turned to run but through bleary eyes Piotr could see Tatiana was standing just behind him. She stepped forward and held out a flower to him. “Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,” she sang in a sweet voice.
The man was obviously confused and tried to sidestep her, but she took his hand in hers and danced a few steps with him.
Totally confused now, the man threw the flower onto the ground and began to run after the motorcycle, but it was already turning the corner onto another road.
Piotr was still holding his belly and trying not to throw up as he watched through watery eyes as Tatiana bent down to pick up the flower, showing far too much of both her ass and her cleavage, then walked away singing.
It was only when Tatiana disappeared down the entrance stairs to the subway Piotr remembered he needed to get the hell out of Dodge before the follower came back as well. Still feeling a bit sick, he straightened up and walked to the subway entrance. He looked all around before he walked down the stairs, but no one was watching him and the follower had not come back. Bile rose in his throat for the second time in as many minutes. He hoped that meant Alex had gotten away with the messenger, not that the follower was in hot pursuit of them both.
Cautiously he traveled in the wrong direction for three stops before changing trains and going toward their hotel. It was time to change hotels again, too. Fortunately that wasn’t hard in Vienna. There were dozens of the kind of hotel they wanted. Quiet, clean, and reasonably priced.
It seemed like forever before he received a text message from Alex. On my way back now. Message sent to Alpha.
That was one thing sorted. Now to make sure Tatiana never put herself in danger like that again. The follower had just driven his fist so deep in Piotr’s guts the man’s hand must have just about touched his backbone. Yet she’d deliberately, deliberately, placed herself in danger by singing to him, offering him a flower, and holding his hand. The woman was insane. Never ever again was she to do anything as dangerous as that. Piotr absolutely forbade her to take such a risk again. And he was going to tell her that. And spank her ass for scaring him. And fuck her blind to show her how much he loved her.
* * * *
Tatiana had been focusing on the man following the one who had the message for their Alpha, but she had also tried hard to keep a lookout to ensure Alex had gotten safely away, which she thought he had. Also, exactly as she’d predicted, the follower had been ready to fight any man who tried to get in his way, but helpless and confused when confronted by a mild, peaceful woman. In other words, she’d been one hundred percent accurate in her predictions.
She had wandered around the subway levels for a while, doing a few little dance steps, singing a line or two of an old song, and holding her flowers, but it was evident no one was following her and the only looks she got were smiles at her childlike behavior, or admiring male glances at her bare belly. Which proved men were easily led. Her breasts weren’t big enough nor was her belly flat enough for true beauty, but it appeared men would look at whatever was flaunted at them, which was what she was aiming for.
Back in their hotel room she dressed in regular clothes again, and tied her hair back in a ponytail after giving it a thorough brushing to get rid of all the tangles. She’d just started the coffeepot heating when Piotr arrived.
He strode across the room and snatched her into his arms. “Never do that again. I was so worried about you. That man was an animal. He could have killed you, or at least hurt you badly. My gut is still aching from his fist.”
Tatiana hugged him. “I thought he’d hit you but I was trying to watch that Alex had gotten away as well. But there was no danger. Everything went exactly as I’d imagined. Big bad male wolves aren’t expecting anything from women. They’re so used to being independent and protecting their women it never even occurred to him I could have been trying to distract him. There was no danger to me at all.” Tatiana patted his shoulder and tried to step back but Piotr still held her tightly.
She understood he’d been scared about her and stayed still in his arms letting him recover. But after a few minutes she wiggled from his grasp. “Coffee?” she asked.
“Promise me you won’t do anything like that again. Next time promise me you’ll stay in our hotel room where it’s safe.”
“First, it may never happen again. That may be the only contact for the Alpha while we’re here. But second, I think you’re totally missing the point. If I’d stayed nice and safe in the hotel room, the man would have caught up to Alex and no message would have been delivered. I was never in danger. My plan was perfect and we succeeded.”
“Tatiana, listen to me. I can’t bear the thought of you being hurt.”
“I wasn’t hurt. I was never likely to be hurt. I keep telling you, the man was confused about me being there. He never saw me as anything other than a coincidence.”
Just then Alex arrived and Tatiana grinned at him. “Congratulations, Alex. Well done.”
Alex dropped his heavy jacket onto the floor and pulled his shirt off using it to rub sweat from his face and hair. “That jacket was way too hot for the weather, but yeah. We did it.”
“It was too dangerous for Tatiana. Next time she stays behind,” said Piotr.
“Oh, what rubbish. There was no danger to me. You’re just grumpy because he punched you.”
“He did punch you, did he? I wondered about that but was too busy getting the man on the motorcycle and leaving to pay much attention. Are you okay now?”
“It’s not about me, it’s about Tatiana. She could have been badly hurt. He was vicious.” Piotr’s face was as red as Alex’s now, but from anger not heat.
“Piotr. Watch my lips. The man was not angry at me. He was not violent toward me. He was confused. He saw a sweet helpless woman, exactly as he was meant to do. And it distracted him for long enough that Alex got away. That was the plan. The plan worked. Now get over it.”
Alex looked at her, obviously torn. “Tatiana, I get that it was the plan and that the plan worked just as you said it would, but I never liked it much either. It wasn’t dangerous this time, but it could be. Next time they’ll be expecting a woman as well.”
“So next time we have a different plan.” Tatiana shrugged. She’d thought of one plan, she could think of another.
“I’ve told you what will happen next time. Next time you stay here, in the hotel room, where it’s safe.” Piotr was almost shouting now.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Piotr. I’m not a two-year-old to sit waiting in the corner until it’s time to play.”
Tatiana was shocked when Piotr grabbed her and threw her onto the bed. “Then I’ll handcuff you to the bed myself,” he said.
She stared up into his face. “If that’s the way you think of me, then this relationship has just come to an end.”
Chapter Five
The room was utterly silent as Tatiana rolled her suitcase to the door, opened it, and left. The door closed with a quiet click behind her.
He’d wanted to physically hold her down. To lie on top of her so she couldn’t leave. He’d wanted to scream at her not to go, not to leave them, not to step out into Vienna alone. But he
couldn’t. He was paralyzed by the thought that she’d left them because of what he’d said. He was terrified that opening his mouth would do even more damage to their relationship.
Nausea rolled in his belly and it wasn’t from being punched in the guts either. Piotr knew he was two seconds away from throwing up and completely disgracing himself. He walked into the bathroom, closed the door, and turned the shower on full blast. Then he flushed the toilet as well before he leaned over it and heaved, hoping there was enough noise to disguise his actions. He flushed the toilet again, stripped off his clothes, and stepped into the shower. He’d totally ruined their relationship. He knew now—had known all week—that he, Alex, and Tatiana were the perfect mating. And now, in trying to keep her safe, he’d smashed their triad into a million pieces and she was gone. It was his actions that had made her leave. He’d done it. He’d broken their union. Piotr rested his head against the tiles of the shower and waited until his heart rate was steady.
His error. His alone. He was the destroyer of their little family. So it was up to him to glue the pieces together again. But how? And was it even possible?
Piotr stood there unmoving until Alex banged on the door. “Hey! Leave some water for me. I’m all sweaty and need to get cleaned up.”
He turned off the water and stepped out rubbing a towel roughly over his body and then tying it around his hips. Yeah, life went on and he still needed to consider Alex. He was lucky Alex hadn’t left him as well. Alex wanted Tatiana as much as he did and had been much more tactful in how he’d expressed himself.
He stepped back into the bedroom. “It’s a hotel. There should be heaps of water left for you. But I’m sorry for pushing ahead of you instead of letting you go first.”
Alex grinned and disappeared into the bathroom, while Piotr threw himself on the bed the three of them had shared so willingly the previous night. That was another thing. They really ought to move hotels again today, but what if they left and then she came back and they’d gone. No, that wasn’t an argument. She had their cell numbers and they all could call the castle if they needed to find out information without speaking to each other. He might have just fucked up their relationship but that was no reason to fuck up their work for their Alpha as well.
He pulled on boxers and jeans then grabbed his cell phone and found another hotel in a different area of the city. He booked them in there for the next three days, then pulled on a shirt he hadn’t yet worn. It was one of the ones from the castle in a lurid tannish-orange, not a color he’d ever wear by choice, which, he supposed, made it a good selection since no one would recognize him in it, rather like the lederhosen.
Piotr stared at the bathroom door. Any moment now Alex would come out and he needed to apologize. Then they ought to brainstorm how to get Tatiana back. As well as rearrange their schedule for watching the cathedral. Shit! If only I was back in the castle selling candy. If only I could take my words back. If only I could make Tatiana understand I love her. Will she ever forgive me?
* * * *
Tatiana wheeled her suitcase to the subway, then sighed and carried it down a million steps to the main concourse level. She paid her euro and went in to the ladies’ room. It was the only place she could think of where the men couldn’t find her. If they were looking. If they even cared.
Then she shook herself. Of course they cared. Piotr cared so much he wanted her chained to the bed so she couldn’t get hurt. It wasn’t lack of caring that was the problem. It was too much caring. She set her suitcase against the wall, sat on it, and pulled out her cell phone. She had to ask the Alpha what he wanted her to do now. Well, presumably get back to the castle and get sewing again. And it wouldn’t be long before the first banquet was happening and she’d be dancing and entertaining and playing her flute as well. But should she hire a car? Catch an airplane? Did busses go there?
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. Argued with Piotr sounded simple and childish. It was so much more than just an argument. It was a basic lifestyle disagreement. And saying she wanted to go home gave the wrong impression, too. She was perfectly happy here, she just didn’t want to be locked in the hotel room like a naughty child. Finally she typed, Personality clash. Have left hotel. Await your instructions.
Almost immediately the answer came back, Go to airport.
Okay, it appeared she was going home. She wandered around until she found a map of the various train lines, then went to the correct platform and enjoyed the trip out there. Actually it wasn’t very far at all. She stayed in the central area, not wanting to have to drag her suitcase any farther than she had to, having no idea which area her flight would leave from.
When her phone beeped she wasn’t really surprised to see the message was from Odette. What did surprise her that she was flying to Izmir. The only thing she knew about Izmir was that it was in Turkey and on the coast. It was not home. Odette also told her that Turkey was a majority Muslim country and that money had been put on her credit card to buy whatever she needed.
Tatiana took that to mean she needed some long-sleeved tops. Fortunately she’d brought with her some lengths of material to cover her hair as a disguise, so they’d be perfect as headscarves. She also had a couple of long sleeved shirts, but not very many. Her flight didn’t leave for a couple of hours so once more she headed for a ladies’ room. This time she rummaged through her suitcase and changed her jeans for a long skirt, then added a long sleeved shirt over her T-shirt and knotted a length of fabric around her neck to use as a head-covering if she needed it.
She checked in and got her boarding pass, then remembered it’d been a long time since she’d last eaten, and also that she’d never even gotten to drink the coffee she’d made, so she went and bought some lunch. That filled in the time until she needed to board the airplane and leave for Turkey.
Turkey. How exciting. She’d never traveled before and now she’d been to Vienna and soon Izmir. That made her shiver with delight. She read every word in the airplane magazine about Izmir and was thrilled to learn about the old city part of it, which used to be called Smyrna. Already she knew any free time she had would be spent wandering around looking at the old buildings. Well, assuming the Alpha allowed it. She still didn’t know what she was supposed to do in Izmir. It was pretty obvious she wasn’t being sent there purely to enjoy a vacation though.
After arriving at Izmir and collecting her luggage, Tatiana wasn’t really sure what to do. Should she catch a bus into the heart of the city or wait? Waiting seemed better as she might end up on totally the wrong side of town. Sitting on her suitcase seemed to be the theme of her day, but it was comfortable enough, so she pushed her luggage against a wall and sat on it as if she was waiting for her ride home. Which, in a way, she supposed she was. Only five minutes later her cell phone rang and it was Odette.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, sweetie. Things are a tad hectic here. I’m emailing you your hotel details as we speak. The Alpha of Turkey is planning a very private party in Izmir and we’d like you to look around and get a good feel for the town and the kinds of places he might go. Also where his guests might stay and what they might do. Your Alpha is certain the place will soon be flooded by wolves all watching each other. Hopefully as a human woman you’ll appear to be just a tourist, although be aware it’s a predominantly Muslim country and don’t ignore the cultural rules. Also, be in your room by dusk every night and don’t trust anyone. It might be a wolf from the wrong team. Apart from that, enjoy your vacation.”
Tatiana was left holding her cell phone. Odette had rung off. Wheeling her suitcase she joined the line of people waiting for a taxi. Tomorrow she’d hire a motorcycle. It’d been a while since she’d ridden one but she was confident she could remember how. That would give her a lot more freedom than always having to find public transportation in a country where she didn’t speak the language. And it wouldn’t leave her open to catching a taxi driven by someone less than honorable. This afternoon she’d find a bazaar or some shops tha
t sold floor-length skirts and long sleeved tops. The two she’d brought with her wouldn’t last long. Maybe she’d even buy another scarf or two. But this was going to be so much fun.
* * * *
His final four days in Vienna were total boredom for Alex. He was no longer interested in sightseeing. It was no fun without Tatiana’s sparkling commentary and enthusiasm for everything new. He was just so very glad there were no more people with messages. He didn’t think he could cope with the tension of doing that ever again. Plus he was sure without Tatiana’s presence the last time wouldn’t have been a success anyway.
The drive home seemed much longer too, with just the two of them to share the driving and navigation. Of course, they were going home, which was always easier since they’d done the trip once, but he was more than just missing her lively presence. He was also missing the help she’d provided for them.
Alex knew he had to say something to Piotr about their future. He didn’t need to remind Piotr it was his possessiveness that had caused the break in the relationship, but it did need to be Piotr who made the opening gambit to bring her back to them once they returned home. Alex now knew he couldn’t live without her. All the color had seemed to drain out of his life since she’d gone. Everything was lifeless, dull, boring, whereas, with her, every day had been an exciting fun-filled adventure.
Alex decided he’d wait until he was driving, so he wouldn’t be staring at Piotr, which might give the man a fraction more privacy. He pondered for a long time, trying to decide what words to use, but ended up simply saying, “How are you going to apologize to Tatiana and get us back together again?”
“Yeah. A simple, ‘I’m sorry’, is hardly going to impress her, is it?”
“No.”
“How do I make her understand I was just terrified she’d be hurt?”