Page 78 of Pay the Piper

Mila smiles and passes my shaking girl to me. Abby wraps her arms around my waist, and I breathe in the comforting scent of her hair.

Mine.

Chapter 30

Mila lifts me from her bike, and I cling to her, not letting go when she sets me on my feet. I’m shaking too much to stand. As thrilling as that ride was, I don’t think I’ll be riding with my new friend any time soon, and I can see why Thatcher prefers to backpack Misha.

She chuckles, walking us both to where Misha and Thatcher are just now crossing the finish line. “You are an excellent backpack, even if we didn’t win. I didn’t have to do anything to accommodate you like I usually do for Thatch.”

Yeah, because I was holding on for my dear life. She passes me to Misha, and I give her my best enthusiastic “haha” as I collapse into him.

“Sorry, my love. She’s crazy, I know,” he whispers, petting my hair to calm me.

Thatcher, not traumatized at all, skips over to Mila, picks her up, and spins her around. “Great job, babe! You almost had the win!”

“I would’ve had the win if it wasn’t for that asshole,” Misha murmurs only loud enough for me to hear.

“Ooo, what happened?”

He picks me up, wrapping my legs around his waist, and nuzzles into my neck. “I’ll tell you later, lesnaya. It’s been too long since I’ve kissed those pretty lips.”

He does just that, kissing me like it’s been weeks since our last instead of half an hour. God, it’s amazing, though. I’m so lost in Misha that I don’t even realize he’s carried me to the other side of the track until he sets me down on his other bike.

“I would’ve won with this one,” he mumbles.

A familiar laugh floats toward me from behind.

“You keep telling yourself that, Cocoa.” Nikki slaps Misha on the shoulder, then turns to me with a smile. “Now you, on the other hand, did a spectacular job.”

“Oh, stop it.” Rolling my eyes, I punch his arm. “I didn’t do anything but hold on to Mila for dear life.”

“That’s a feat in itself. I’ve seen the way she rides.”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Misha says, stepping between us.

Nikki laughs, throwing his hands up in surrender. “This is the first time I’ve seen you two together…You’re perfect.”

“Thank you!” I grin at his compliment and proudly grab Misha’s arm. I think we look damn good together, but it’s nice to hear it from others. “Congratulations to you, mister, winner of your own race!”

“Thanks, Abby.”

Pain hides behind his soft smile. I want to ask in and comfort my friend, but I know now isn’t the time. Plus, I’m pretty sure Misha is one interaction with Nikki away from going full caveman. We’ll have to talk about that soon. He needs to know that I would never betray him. If I can trust his relationship with Mila, he will have to learn to trust mine as well. Again, not the time.

Misha mumbles something under his breath in Russian, and I startle as Mila laughs from beside me. She and Thatcher must have popped up out of nowhere. I know she’s a Bratva boss and everything, but I do have decent ears. Always listening, always on guard…I’m sure it’s just the race that has me off kilter, or maybe I know that I never have to worry about anything with Misha around. He smiles down at me as I wrap my arms around him and squeeze.

“I told you I’d beat you tonight,” Mila teases. “It’s payback for what you did to me last time we raced.”

Misha clears his throat, and the others lose themselves in laughter. There’s definitely a story there, and he’s not getting off so easily. I raise a brow at him, letting him know just that.

“I’ll tell you later,” he half mumbles, half chuckles.

“Make sure you hold him to that. It’s a good one. And if you ever need any dirt on him, you know where to go.” Mila winks. “Alrighty then, if we are all done here, I think I need to get my guy home.”

“Oh, I will definitely take you up on that offer.”

Maybe it’ll be some leverage I can use when I tell him about all of the skeletons in my closet. I was going to do that after the game tonight, but I didn’t know there would be a race. I suppose I still can…

Misha kisses the top of my head. “Home sounds amazing. What do you think, darling? Are you ready to head out?”