I’ve been ballooned up like James & the Giant Peach for way too damn long now, but even that discomfort can’t hold a candleto how strange it feels to stand here while Pavel—who’s never looked this serious since the moment I met him—presses a fistto his chest and bows to me.
I glance helplessly to Dmitri, but he leaves me to figure it all out by myself, refusing to share the spotlight.
Gulp. My turn to say… well, hell if I know what my lines are.
But the man just pledged to risk his life for me. Surely that deserves a little bow? A hug, at the very least?
“Thank you, Pavel,” I say, settling for stepping forward and putting my hand on his shoulder. “You have no idea how much Iappreciate that.”
I remove my hand and he bows down low once more. Then he moves away and another one of Dmitri’
