"What are you going to tell him?"
"Petrov and I talked about it last night while you were sleeping. I said that the simplest option would be to confirm Dave's suspicion that I've been experimenting with a modified version of the enhancement drugs on myself. But Petrov pointed out the problem with that. If Losham finds out I have a formula that makes humans fight like immortals, he'll want me to produce it. And I can't produce something that doesn't exist."
"So, I assume that you told Petrov the truth."
Dimitri nodded. "I couldn't keep deflecting him. Despite his drinking, he notices everything. Dave was asking him a lot of questions while waiting for me to come down, and he deduced from those questions that something was up with me."
Mattie tilted her head. "Were you hiding from Dave up here?"
"Yes, but I also didn't want to leave you alone even for a moment."
Her heart swelled with love for this incredible man she'd snagged in the most unlikely of places. "That's so sweet. Thank you."
"You would have done the same for me."
"Absolutely." She let out a breath. "So, are you going to tell Dave the truth?"
"Maybe. Petrov hasn't settled on what he thinks is the least terrible option, and neither have I." He ran his fingers through his hair. "But there's something else I need to tell you that Petrov pointed out about the attack."
Something in his tone made her straighten in her chair.
"What?"
"Petrov thinks that Dave manipulated the four to attack us in the harbor."
"What do you mean? Why?"
"These same four soldiers pulled Tarik off me in the bar because they were afraid of consequences. Nothing had fundamentally changed between then and the harbor, so why did they suddenly decide to ambush us in broad daylight and in front of witnesses?" He held her gaze. "Petrov thinks they didn't decide that. He thinks Dave compelled them."
The air left her lungs.
"Dave made them attack us?"
"Dave needed a justification to eliminate them. Those four were a threat to you because they were Tarik's friends, and Dave killed Tarik the day before because he posed a clear threat to you. I don't doubt that they figured out the connection between his execution and what he did to you and almost did to me. They might’ve not touched me for the same reason they'd pulled Tarik off me, but you were fair game, and they might have sought vengeance for the death of their friend. As long as they were alive, they were dangerous. But Dave couldn't kill them unprovoked."
"So, he made them create the provocation first."
"That's Petrov's theory. And it would explain why the Eight were close enough to respond within seconds. They were already in position, either following us or following the four, waiting for the attack Dave knew was coming because Dave had engineered it."
Mattie looked down at her bandaged hand.
If Petrov was right, her crushed and broken hand was collateral damage in Dave's chess game. He'd engineered a scenario that put her directly in the path of four enraged immortals so that the Eight would have an excuse to execute them. He'd used her and Dimitri as bait, and she'd paid the price.
The anger came hot and sudden, flushing through her chest.
"He let this happen to me." She raised her bandaged hand slightly. "He set up the whole thing, knowing I could get hurt, and this is what it cost."
"I know." Dimitri's jaw was tight. "Believe me, I've been thinking about that all night."
"He gave me that phone. Told me to call if I needed help. And then he arranged for me to need it."
"We don't know for certain. It's Petrov's theory?—"
"But the logic is sound. You said so yourself."
Dimitri didn't deny it.
Mattie let the anger burn through her for a moment, then forced herself to think past it. Anger was a luxury she couldn't afford. Not here, not on this island where every decision was a calculation and every misstep could be fatal.
