Valek eased closer. Yelena sat in the middle of the clearing, rooting through her backpack. Not only alive, but she also appeared unharmed. The power of his relief knocked him to his knees. It took him a moment to regain his composure and another dozen heartbeats to suppress the overwhelming desire to run to her, sweep her into his arms, hug her tight, and never let her go. He huffed a laugh over what he imagined would be her response. A slap to the face if he was lucky, a kick to the groin if he wasn’t.
