Nadia sat on the rickety chair at what they termed the “desk” in the space, her high-heeled boots kicked up on the piece as she rocked back.
The chair legs smacked into the floor as I appeared in the room, and she leapt to her feet, rushing toward me. She grabbed my hand, studying the few light wounds.
“What are these?”
“I took a less-than-sensible route from my room. I was afraid they’d have the alarm system armed,” I explained.
She almost threw my hand down as she released it, her features unimpressed. “I don’t like this, Natashka.”
“I don’t either, but I’m doing the best I can do to find us help so I can come home.”
Nadia crossed her arms, the leather of her jacket squeaking against itself. “You have to go home anyway.”
My eyebrows shot high on my forehead. I wanted to go home desperately, but now that I’d met Kyle, it would be bittersweet. “Right now?”
“No, but soon. Nikolai is making moves, and we can’t allow them to go unchecked.”
I bristled at the mention of my brother’s name. My jaw tightened, my features twisting with disdain. “He’s making his play?”
“Right along with Mother.”
I clicked my tongue, matching my sister’s stance. “We cannot allow them to do this.”
“No, we cannot. Which means you must return, otherwise they will claim that you have absconded from your duties. But I must make certain things are safe enough first.”
“I’m certain they are not, but I must fulfil my duty.” I flicked my gaze sideways, my mind racing. For a moment, Kyle faded to the background, but the ache in my heart over his reaction to all of this did not. And in an instant, he was at the forefront of my mind again. “We need to up the timeframe with Kyle–“
“There that is again,” my sister said, her tone chiding.
I snapped my gaze to her, my features pinching with confusion. “What?”
“Kyle,” she answered, her eyebrows arching. “Do you mean Dr. Carter?”
I lowered my gaze, avoiding eye contact as I shrugged. “Yes.”
Nadia’s features twisted in annoyance. “Please do not tell me things have gone further personally with Dr. Carter than they should have.”
“It doesn’t matter. We need him. Have you at least determined if he is a viable candidate for the job?”
“Still being assessed,” she retorted.
I stifled a sigh, tightening my arms across my chest.
“However, we have determined that is a talented doctor with a…sketchy background. All of which is quite useful to us.”
“Sketchy?”
“Apparently, there has been a bit of trouble surrounding the good Dr. Kyle Carter and his relationship to his biological father–“
“Grant Harrington. Yes, I did see who his father was on my cursory search.”
“But did you see that he blew into New Orleans like a hurricane, ready to ruin Grant?”
I swallowed hard. “I did not.”
“No, I didn’t think so.”
I flicked my gaze back to her. “As if you should talk about men from interesting backgrounds.”
