The hits just kept on coming. Misha might’ve been able to appreciate the irony if they had been coming at someone else. As it was, he had to struggle not to yell at the messenger. He didn’t, mostly because Andrej would’ve yelled right back. He didn’t take Misha’s shit as a matter of principle. But come on. Somebody give him a break. Misha hadn’t even had a chance yet to digest the whole alien armor system thing.
Andrej scowled. “For once, I can’t even blame him. We shouldn’t have kept him in the dark.” He glanced at Riley. It looked casual, uninterested even, but Misha didn’t miss the quick once-over or the way that keen gaze stuttered for a moment when it scanned for a goose egg and a bruise that weren’t there anymore. Goddamn it.
“Hi, Riley. Feeling better?”
Riley smiled tightly and inclined his head. “Andrej.”
Awkward was too kind a word for the situation. Misha muttered a curse under his breath and gently herded Riley toward the door before the two most important people in his life could do or say something that would annihilate the status quo.
“We gotta move. You do not want to meet Anton. Or my family.”
“You really don’t,” Andrej confirmed, agreeably enough. “They’re probably out to kill you.”
“Who isn’t?” Riley muttered, but he snatched up his duffel without a protest and headed out of the room.
“Whoa. Wait.” Misha shoved his own gun into his waistband and reached into Riley’s bag to dig out the H&K. “Ammo?”
“Right inner pocket.” Riley frowned. “I thought we were in a hurry.”
“We are.”
Yep, there it was, right next to the goddamn flash drive; a fully loaded magazine and a box of extras that felt at least half full. Misha inserted the magazine and chambered a round as they walked, ignoring the two incredulous stares leveled at him. He didn’t care how bulletproof Riley thought he was, Riley was not walking out there unarmed, and Misha was too tense to let anybody else handle a weapon right then. Hell, if he’d known how, he’d have run a systems check on McClane to make sure Riley was going to be as well protected as possible.