One of the men at the entrance touched a hand to an earpiece and murmured something I couldn’t understand. Mikhail heard it anyway. His attention sharpened.
“We should leave,” the man said.
“In a moment,” Mikhail replied.
The man’s face tightened, but he stepped back.
Mikhail turned to me again. “You have my gratitude.”
I nodded. “I’m glad he’s safe.”
Misha looked up at him. “What about Nina?”
A shadow crossed Mikhail’s face.
“We are still looking.”
“She wouldn’t leave me,” Misha said quickly. “She told me to stay by the fountain. She said she’d buy me hot chocolate. Then she didn’t come back.”
Mikhail crouched again so they were eye to eye.
“I know Nina would never leave you by choice.”
That answer was gentle, but it was not reassuring.
Misha heard the difference. So did I.
The paper bag in his hands rustled.
A tiny sound came from inside it.
