by Paige Tyler
Minka took a deep breath, trying to calm herself the best she could as she sat down in the chair beside Zarina’s desk. She couldn’t keep holding on to Angelo for the rest of her life. Besides, Zarina seemed like a very nice woman—and surprisingly calm even though she was in the same room with a monster. Perhaps Zarina could help keep the beast away.
Still, as logical as that all sounded, Minka kept her eyes locked on Angelo. If the beast came charging back, she was prepared to be back on her angel’s arm in an instant. But just being able to see Angelo seemed to have a calming effect. Not as much as touching him, but if she focused her attention on him, she found that the beast was content to murmur in the background.
She was so focused on Angelo that she didn’t realize the female doctor had begun the examination. She stiffened, remembering all those times the other doctors had hurt her.
Zarina must have noticed how tense Minka was because she immediately stopped what she was doing and stepped back. “Minka, I just want to make sure those people who did this to you didn’t do anything else.” She smiled. “I promise I won’t hurt you.”
Minka didn’t say anything. While she believed Zarina, that didn’t mean she wasn’t scared to death at the same time. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively, pulling the uniform overshirt Angelo had given her tighter as she looked in his direction again. Part of her wanted to call out to him while the other part wanted to run into the hallway and cling to him. But it seemed like he was having an important conversation with his friend. And she had already caused him so much trouble. She didn’t want to cause more.
“Minka, do you feel like you’re about to lose control?” Zarina asked suddenly.
Minka jerked her head up to stare at the doctor. She wanted to shake her head, afraid of what Zarina might do to her if she knew how close the beast was to breaking free. But instead, Minka nodded, then waited for Zarina to reach for a needle—that was what the other doctors had done.
Zarina smiled. “I understand, and it’s okay. What you need is something else to focus on, something you can hold on to that will help keep the animal calm.”
How was it possible for Zarina to understand what she was feeling? It was like she had dealt with people like her before. But something to hold on to was exactly what Minka needed—preferably, someone.
Minka watched as Zarina walked around her desk and picked up a small, furry…thing from the bookshelf behind it. Minka thought at first it was some kind of rabbit pelt. What on earth did the doctor want her to do with that?
But one sniff told her the thing had never been alive, and she was more confused than ever. It was not until Zarina came over to her that Minka realized it was some kind of child’s toy, soft and furry like the animal it was supposed to represent. Minka had owned a cuddly bear when she was very little, but it had looked nothing like this one. She wasn’t sure what kind of animal this was even supposed to be.
Zarina smiled. “This is Boris. He’s a sloth from Central America. He is very friendly and likes to be hugged.” She held out the toy to Minka. “Give him a hug and see if it helps.”
Minka felt very foolish as she took the child’s toy and gave it a squeeze. But she immediately realized holding the furry thing did indeed help. It felt like the beast inside was smiling. If she hadn’t known better, she would have thought it was amused.
So she hugged Boris and kept an eye on Angelo standing outside the door as Zarina slowly unbuttoned Angelo’s uniform overshirt enough to check her chest, stomach, and back. Minka tensed when Zarina ran gentle hands across the faded scars on her back and shoulders.
Even though Zarina wasn’t hurting her, the feel of her hands there made the beast uncomfortable. Minka hugged Boris more tightly, but Zarina was too busy talking softly to herself in Russian to notice.
“Why would any human do this to another?” Zarina murmured softly.
“The doctors who made me this way tortured me to force the beast to come out,” Minka answered in the same language.
Zarina looked at her in surprise. “You speak Russian?”
Minka nodded. “Yes. My father is Russian. He was serving in the Soviet Army stationed in Dushanbe when he met my mother. After the Soviet Union collapsed, he stayed and they married.”
Zarina seemed delighted to have someone else to speak Russian with, and Minka couldn’t help but pick up on the woman’s exuberance. She smiled, automatically relaxing as the doctor continued her exam.
But no matter how distracted she was by Zarina’s words, she was aware of Angelo’s return the moment he walked into the room.
“I see you’ve made a new friend,” Angelo said, chuckling as he placed a gentle hand on her back. Minka immediately felt herself relax.
Zarina glanced at him as she wrote something down on a notepad. “There have been quite a few studies that show hugging a plush animal can help with anxiety in adults as well as children.”
“This is Boris. He is helping me get through the exam,” Minka said softly, hoping Angelo wouldn’t laugh at her.
But he didn’t. He merely reached out and ran a finger over the sloth’s furry head. “If he’s a friend of yours, he’s a friend of mine.” He glanced at Zarina. “Is this the one Tanner bought for you as a way to apologize for running off to Costa Rica?”
Zarina nodded. “Yes. He said it was your idea. Did you really think having him buy me a stuffed animal would make up for him leaving without telling me?”
Angelo shrugged and gave the doctor an innocent look that Minka decided didn’t really work on him. Clearly he did not know that, though.
“Yeah,” he said. “I thought it might.”
Zarina shook her head as she made some notes. When she was done, she looked at Angelo again. “Physically, Minka is as fit as any other shifter or hybrid. But for me to understand what those doctors did to make her this way, I’m going to need to draw some blood.”
Minka was still trying to figure out what a shifter was when she heard that, and she decided she didn’t care what they were. Her fingers tingled as her claws started to lengthen.
“I don’t think that’s a very good idea, Doc,” Angelo said. “Minka isn’t really a fan of needles.”
“I realize that, but I need to know exactly what was done to her and who did it.”
Minka didn’t understand what Zarina meant, but from the way Angelo’s shoulders slumped, he obviously thought this was something they needed to do.
“If I let you take some of my blood, will it help you find a cure for this?” Minka asked, holding up a hand to show them her curved claws.
Zarina’s eyes were sad as she shook her head. “I’ve been trying, but I’ve been working on it for over a year and I’m not even close. A sample of your blood might help me figure it out. If nothing else, it might stop this from happening to another person.”
Minka bit her lip. She was terrified of needles, but if it might keep this from happening again, she would do it.
“Okay. You can draw my blood,” she said to Zarina, then looked up at Angelo. “But I’m scared.”
Angelo dropped to one knee beside her so that his soulful eyes were level with her own, then took her hand in his. “I know, but I’m right here. I promise Zarina won’t hurt you or try to inject you with anything.”
Minka already knew that, but it still helped to hear Angelo say it out loud.
He must have sensed her unease because he tenderly brushed her dirty hair back from her face. “Why don’t I go first, so you can see exactly what Zarina is going to do?”
Minka nodded, even though she already knew what Zarina was going to do. But if it put off getting stuck for a few more minutes, she was okay with it.
Zarina explained the process of drawing blood in a soft voice as she slowly poked the small needle into Angelo’s muscular arm.
“See?” Angelo grinned at her as he rolled down his sleeve afterward. “Nothing to it.”
Minka didn’t think it had been nothing. She grabbed on
to Angelo with her hand, squeezing Boris as Zarina tied something rubbery tightly around her upper arm. She tried to watch as the Russian doctor moved the needle toward her arm, then decided against it. Instead, she turned and looked at Angelo. He was much more pleasing to focus on.
Angelo was looking down at her arm, a grim expression on his face. For a moment, Minka thought Zarina was doing something improper, but when she looked down at her arm, she realized he wasn’t focused on the needle, which Zarina had put into her arm without Minka even feeling it. Instead, Angelo’s gaze was locked on the series of parallel scars running sideways across the inside of her forearm.
When Zarina pulled out the needle, there wasn’t any blood. A moment later, Minka couldn’t even see where the needle had gone in. She was about to pull her arm back, but Angelo stopped her, gently rubbing his long fingers across the scars.
“Zarina, I thought hybrids healed as fast as shifters. Were these scars from before Minka was changed?”
Minka almost pulled her arm away in embarrassment, not wanting Angelo to see the ugly scars, but he placed a single finger gently on her wrist.
Zarina studied the scars. “No, these are relatively fresh.” She lifted her eyes to Minka’s. “How badly did they cut you?”
Minka swallowed hard. She didn’t want to think about it. “Very badly,” she whispered. “They gave me something so I couldn’t move, then strapped me down to a table and cut my arm open to the bone. They took out so much flesh, I thought they were trying to remove my arm, but I found out later they just wanted to see how severe of a wound I could recover from.”
Minka heard Angelo swear, but she didn’t look at him. She didn’t want to see the pity she knew would be there. But she couldn’t stop the tears from forming in her eyes as she remembered the pain and the terror she’d experienced. She had been so sure she would die, but the beast inside wouldn’t allow that. It had healed itself, albeit more slowly than usual. In time, Minka was sure even the ugly scars would be gone.
She kept her head down, so Angelo and Zarina wouldn’t see the tears. But Angelo slipped a finger under her chin and tilted her face up to look at him. She saw no pity there. Only anger so intense it turned his normally soft eyes to stone.
“Minka, I promise that nothing like that will ever happen to you again,” he said hoarsely. “And if I get the opportunity to someday kill the men who did this to you, I will.”
Minka nodded, cherishing the way he gently wiped away her tears with his thumb more than the promise of revenge. While she truly hated the doctors who had experimented on her, she couldn’t imagine wanting another human dead on her account. Not even them.
The beast inside, however, growled in approval at Angelo’s plan. It was more than willing to let Angelo kill those doctors, and even happier to help.
Minka had just wiped the last of her tears away when Angelo’s friend Landon appeared in the doorway along with the man who had sent the rat-faced man away in the lab.
He walked in and extended his hand with a smile. “I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself before. I’m John Loughlin, the director here.”
She reached out and hesitantly took his hand with her right, then placed the other—the one with Boris in it—over her heart and bowed her head slightly in the custom of her country. “Minka Pajari.”
John glanced at Zarina. “Everything check out?”
Zarina smiled. “Minka did very well. She even let me draw some blood.”
“Excellent,” John said. “I’m sure she could use a shower, something to eat, and a comfortable bed after what she’s been through. I know that Angelo has some concerns about her staying on the complex. In your opinion, is Minka stable enough to stay somewhere else, Doctor?”
Zarina didn’t answer right away, and the longer she hesitated, the more nervous Minka became. Angelo must have sensed her fear because he took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
“I think that would be fine,” Zarina finally said. “As long as Angelo can stay with her.”
Minka turned to look at him. She wanted to think she knew what his answer would be, but then realized she didn’t know.
He smiled. “Of course I’ll stay with her.”
She sagged with relief. She knew Angelo couldn’t stay with her forever, but for right now, at least, he would, and she was grateful.
John nodded. “In that case, Landon has volunteered to let both of you stay at his apartment. It only has one bedroom but a big couch from what he tells me, so the two of you should be able to make it work. And you’ll have the place to yourselves since he’s going to stay with a friend.”
The director gave Landon a pointed look that Minka was sure carried some significance, although she didn’t know what. But it was none of her concern. All she cared about was being with Angelo.
Minka was about to thank Landon for offering to let them stay at his apartment, and John for allowing it, when a man’s voice interrupted her.
“Have you all lost your minds?”
Minka jerked around to see the rat-faced man standing in the doorway. A growl vibrated in her throat as the beast tried to claw its way out. It might have succeeded too, but Angelo got a firmer grip on her hand and tugged her closer. The beast wasn’t happy, but it behaved.
“There is absolutely no way that hybrid is leaving this complex,” Rat Face said. “I want her confined.”
John turned to face the man, positioning himself slightly in front of Angelo. “That hybrid has a name, Dick. It’s Minka Pajari. And Dr. Sokolov has determined she’s stable enough to leave the complex as long as she stays in Sergeant Rios’s care.”
“That hybrid is dangerous, and she belongs to us.”
Angelo was the one who growled this time. “No, asshole, I’m the one who’s dangerous. Minka is cute and cuddly compared to me.” He nudged her behind him. “And she sure as hell doesn’t belong to you. She doesn’t belong to anyone but herself. Got it?”
The rat-faced man—Dick—turned red, and for a moment, she thought he might try to fight Angelo, but instead, he directed his anger toward John. “If this goes sideways, you’re the one taking the fall.”
“That responsibility comes with the title of director,” John said.
Dick muttered something under his breath that sounded like “not for long,” then turned and stomped off.
John sighed. “I’m sorry about that. Dick can be somewhat irritating.” He gave her and Angelo a smile. “I think Landon can take it from here. I’ll see the two of you tomorrow.”
Landon looked at Zarina. “Anything else you need right now, or can Angelo and Minka get out of here?”
“We’re done.” She smiled at Minka. “Get some rest and I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
Minka nodded and would have turned to leave when she suddenly remembered she still had Boris. She held him out to the Russian doctor. “Thank you for letting me hug him.”
Zarina’s smile widened. “Why don’t you keep him for a little while?”
Minka looked from Zarina to Boris and back again. “Are you sure? I don’t know Tanner, but he must be special to you if he brought this back all the way from Central America. I wouldn’t feel right about taking something he gave you.”
“Tanner won’t mind if you borrow him,” Zarina said. “Besides, Boris has been wanting to get out of the lab and see the sights.”
Minka caressed the sloth’s fur. She wasn’t sure why hugging the plush toy helped keep her calm, but it did, and she was relieved to be able to take him with her. “Okay. If you’re sure.”
“I am,” Zarina said.
Landon led her and Angelo back through the maze of hallways and offices, and outside to his pickup truck. Landon’s scent permeated the interior, which wasn’t surprising since it was his truck. But she also smelled the beautiful, dark-haired woman who was with him earlier. They must spend a lot of time together.
Landon took them on the same roads they had arrived by but in the opposite direction.
The scenery was just as intriguing now as it had been then, and she could not resist asking what things were as they drove. Fortunately, Landon didn’t drive as fast as the man who’d taken them to the complex, so she was able to see a lot more. This country was so full of new and exciting things, and she had the urge to experience all of them.
When they got to his apartment building, a four-floor multicolored brick building on what seemed like a surprisingly quiet street, Landon parked in the underground garage. He grabbed a big black bag from the backseat, then led them to the elevator and up to the fourth floor.
Having never seen an apartment outside of Tajikistan, Minka was surprised to see how huge his was. She walked through the kitchen and into the living room, holding Boris in her arms and wondering what one person could possibly do with so much space. In her home village, a full family of six or seven people would live in a place like this, but in Washington, DC, Landon lived here alone. He must work a lot though, because while his scent was present, it wasn’t very strong. If she had to guess, she would say he hadn’t been there in a week or two.
Landon handed Angelo a big, black bag with a shoulder strap and zipper along the top. “These are some clothes Layla had in her locker at the DCO. It’s mostly workout stuff, but it’s clean. She said they should fit Minka.”
Minka hugged Boris close, her fingers curling into his soft fur. These people were giving her clothes to wear? She’d been wearing the same ripped and tattered blouse and skirt since being captured all those months ago. The thought that she might be able to finally throw them away and wear something else brought tears to her eyes.
“As for you, dude,” Landon continued, “there’s a closet and a dresser full of stuff in the bedroom.” He grinned. “Have to have two of everything, so I can make it look like I still live here. Oh, and there’s some food in the kitchen that should still be edible along with a whole stack of take-out menus in the drawer by the landline. Are you good on money, or do you need something to hold you over?”
Angelo shook his head. “I’m good. Get out of here. We’re just going to call for a pizza or something, then head to bed. It’s been a really long day.”
