She was right.
He hated that she was right.
"I'll figure something out," he said. "I'll talk to Petrov. Maybe we can take turns in the bar."
"Konstantin is drunk half the time."
"More like all of the time." Petrov was unreliable at best, but he was important to the research and therefore also untouchable. "He cares about what happens to you, and they can't kill him either. That's his main advantage."
She finished tucking in her blouse and looked at herself in the mirror, grimacing at the wrinkles. "I need to go back to my room and change into a fresh uniform before my shift. I can't show up looking like I slept in my clothes."
Dimitri caught her arm as she moved toward the door. "Don't go. There is still plenty of time before your shift begins. Let me talk to Petrov and see if we can work out some kind of schedule." He rubbed his hand over his neck where the immortal had bitten him. "I'll talk to the enhanced soldiers I'm helping. Perhaps I can request your transfer to the lab. I'll say that I need an assistant."
Mattie's eyebrows rose. "You think they would agree to that?"
"I don't know. Probably not. They might offer me an immortal assistant instead, which would be worse than having none, but I have to try something, Mattie. I can't just leave you unprotected."
She studied his face for a long moment. Then she rose on her toes and kissed him softly. "You're so sweet, Dimitri Volkov. Don't let this place change you."
When they got to the lab downstairs, Russian music was blasting from the loudspeakers, and it smelled like coffee in addition tothe regular smells of lemon and ammonia that the cleaning crew used, and of course, Petrov's vodka.
His boss was at his workstation, singing along with a beaker of amber liquid in one hand and a half-empty bottle of vodka sitting conspicuously beside his keyboard.
"There you are." His gaze swept over both of them with a knowing, almost lecherous grin. "The lovebirds emerge from their love nest." He pointed at the lab table where he'd set up a makeshift breakfast spread. There was a carafe of coffee, a plate of sandwiches wrapped in paper napkins, and three ceramic mugs. "When you didn't show up for breakfast, I figured I should feed you because you'd be hungry when you finally woke up."
Mattie ducked her head, but she was smiling sheepishly.
Now that he knew her shyness was a deliberate act, she was no longer bothering with it around him.
"Thank you, Konstantin," she said, crossing to the table and pouring herself a cup of coffee. "You're a lifesaver."
"That's me." Petrov raised his beaker in a mock toast. "A lifesaver." He got up and joined them at the makeshift breakfast table. "You look better, my boy," he said quietly. "Much better. Two nights with Mattie did wonders for you."
"Konstantin, please." Dimitri glanced at the surveillance camera in the corner. He doubted anyone could hear them over the loud music, but they needed to be careful and talk with their heads turned away from the camera so no one could read their lips.
"I'm just making an observation." Petrov's grin widened.
Mattie sat on one of the tall stools, her legs dangling above the floor, and wrapped her hands around her coffee mug. Dimitripoured himself a cup of the lukewarm coffee and took a long swallow.
The clock on the wall read eleven-thirty, which didn't leave him much time.
"We need to talk," he said in a near whisper. "About protecting Mattie."
The grin faded from Petrov's face. He swiveled his stool so he was facing Dimitri, looking much more sober than the low level of vodka in his bottle suggested.
"Mattie told me about what happened," he said, glancing at her. "And I know that the animals who attacked her might come back for more."
Mattie grimaced, and her grip on her mug tightened, but she said nothing.
"I'm going to prepare a more potent version of the toxin," Dimitri said quietly. "Adjust the formula so it works faster and hits harder. But I can't be there for her throughout her shift. I need you to help me protect her. We will take turns watching over her."
Petrov sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "I can do that for one day. Watch over her from one until four, then switch places with you for the evening. We can probably manage tomorrow too, maybe the day after, but that's not a long-term solution." Petrov held up a hand before Dimitri could interrupt. "We have work to do, Dimitri, and it's not like we can neglect it. We need to show steady progress."
Dimitri had almost forgotten about Dave's compulsion, which affected him much less than it affected Petrov.
"He's right," Mattie said. "You can't do this forever. You have your own lives, your own work. I can't ask you to sacrifice everything just to watch over me. Perhaps you can make some stinky potion I could rub all over myself? Something that is the opposite of pheromones?"
Dimitri glanced at Petrov. "We worked on something like that. Remember?"
