Semper Mine (Sons of War #1)(5)

I gotta get better at dealing with civilians. Or maybe just this civilian, if I’m going to spend the week with Petr. No more giving her a chance to lure me into a minefield.

Refocusing mentally, I step into Petr’s room.

Petr bounces to his feet. “Hey, sir.” He’s grinning and moving around like the new leg is a part of him already. It’s nearly impossible to keep a spec-ops guy down for long. I know this and am proud of him.

And relieved.

“We’ve got about sixty seconds before she comes back,” he says and grabs his wallet off the stand. He picks up a pack half the size of his sister and slings it over one shoulder with ease.

“So you’re not hurting,” I guess, a smile spreading across my face.

“I’ll throw myself on a grenade for you, but I will not get in her line of fire,” Petr replies. With a quick, efficient walk, he leads me out of the room and down another hallway quickly, using techniques we employ in a war zone to evade detection in order to avoid his sister.

Not that I blame him. They weren’t exaggerating about her temper.

“Freedom!” Petr breathes when we step outside the hospital. It’s a private clinic I read about online with specialists that only families like Petr’s can afford. When I asked him why, he said it was because he could afford treatment that most other injured soldiers couldn’t, so to save the government resources for them.

They did him up right, I have to admit. He’s happy, healthy, strong and fully recovered.

“You drove, Iceman?” Petr asks with a glance over his shoulder.

“Black F-350.” I point to the largest truck in the parking lot.

“She’ll find us, but it helps to have a head start.”

I laugh. “Three tours in Iraq, and you’re running from your sister.”

“You heard that tongue. Before, it was divided between Mik and me. Now there’s just me. I’ve had no peace since waking up from the coma.”

“I take it she’s got no boyfriend?” Why did I just ask that? I want nothing to do with his sister, let alone care about her life.

“She did, but he left her. She spent weeks with me at the hospital and not enough time with him. We know how that goes.”

“Unfortunately.” Life in the military is as hard on those in it as it is on those who support loved ones who are deployed. I don’t know any member of the team who hasn’t gotten a Dear John email at some point over the past few years.

Unlocking the truck, I open the door and slide into the seat. He tosses his pack in the back then climbs into the passenger’s side.

“You move like you’ve got no problems at all,” I say, curious about his new appendage. “How does it feel?’

“Amazing. I want two legs like this.”

“According to your sister, hanging around me will probably get you another one.”

“The louder she yells, the more it means she loves you,” he says. “Baba says so, at least. She means well.”

“I suppose.” She comes across more like a spoiled bitch with a two-dimensional view of the world to me, but I’m not going to tell him that. I’m not sure how the Khav twins can be related to her. They’re laid back, adventure seekers who never complained a day they were in my command. They definitely didn’t have the liberal indignation of their sister.

I’m pretty sure Katya and I would be at each other’s throats before the end of the first day, and I’d kick her off my team faster than I’d dive on a grenade for her brothers.

“Did I mention she runs fast, too?” Petr says with a grunt.

I glance up from adjusting the climate control dials. I can’t get over how much I miss AC.

Katya is close enough that her run slows to a walk as she nears the parking lot. Her glare is on me, like I’m kidnapping her brother. Her features are flushed in a way that brings out her hazel eyes even more, and I find myself looking at her too long again instead of taking the opportunity to escape.

Without the bulky black dress from the funeral, I can see the hourglass shape of her body beneath the tapered leggings and Bohemian style blouse she’s wearing. She’s got an incredible body, looks to kill, and a mouth bound to drive away any man with sense who wants a piece of that otherwise perfect package. Though I have a feeling she’d be worth the effort.

Irked by the thought, I clear my head. It’s been over a year since I’ve gotten laid. That’s all this is.

“Shit,” Petr says. “It was worth a try.”

“You’ve seen me combat drive. Not an issue,” I reply and start the truck.

“Well … except I’m her ride,” he says. “She can’t drive my motorcycle. If you don’t want her in the truck, I’ll take her on the bike she doesn’t know I own and will yell at me about.”

The last thing I want is her in my truck, but I’d do anything for my guys, even manage Petr’s sister for him.

“I’ll handle it.”

Petr glances at me, surprised. “I’ll give the eulogy.”

I’m not about to shy away from a little girl half my size who happens to have scared her spec-ops brothers and a former KGB officer shitless. If I can handle the super-alphas on my team, insurgents and the politics of being an officer in today’s military, I can handle her.