Page 29 of The Bratva's Knocked-Up Bride

Even so, it seemed he would be tagging along thanks to Gemma’s agreement, and it was only another excuse for Damien to loom over me.

I only hoped he would mind his own business beyond his new side task, and let me do what I need to.

Chapter 13 - Damien

I considered my luck all the way back to the tenth floor while Sky and Gemma continued with their deliberation about the case.

There was no shaking my barely concealed grin at the thought of being able to escort her to the neighborhood of note, and how Gemma cleared me to go. Even if it was indulgent for me, I was satisfied to know my idea had been backed up by the boss herself, and I wasn’t completely shot down for suggesting it.

Even if Sky had looked annoyed about the whole thing, I was more than pleased about the arrangement. Given how busy she normally was during the day, it offered me minimal one-on-one time with her, and the more time that passed since I last held and touched her, the more impatient I was growing for it.

Standing at the back of the open space, I kept my eyes on the employees ahead while they worked.

Two potential suspects were working on Sky’s floor, and I made sure to observe while they went about their duties, even if I was looking forward to heading out on my little side quest.

First was Raf. The timing of his onboarding and the Levov issues happening were too perfect, along with his obvious eagerness to take up Sky’s time.

The latter could be contested, but it was my observation anyway…

But there was a snag in my investigation. Raf wasn’t the only person hired within that time, which obviously wasn’t enough evidence for me to pin the spying on him. The one other suspect on the floor had been brought on at the same time, which, to my dismay, I couldn’t completely discredit them.

I had my suspicions about Raf, but in watching him, noting his obvious goody-two-shoes attitude and the way he seemed eager to work regardless of how irritating his voice was to me, I found myself thinking I was looking at an eager kiss-ass, not a rat.

The other, however, left their desk a lot more than Raf did. Her name was Sarah, and while she didn’t seem all that note-worthy at first, I couldn’t ignore the patterns in her daily activities.

Almost like clockwork, she’d get up from her desk every forty minutes. I didn’t know why, but after checking the cameras, she always went to the ladies’ room. I wasn’t privy to what she was doing in there, but I had the feeling she didn’t need to go that often.

Either way, the two of them were in my sights, and it was just a matter of catching them slip, then I’d eventually figure out which one was the rat.

As much as I wanted to blame Raf, I did my best to be fair and unbiased. If I blamed him and Sarah turned out to be the spy, then I could run the risk of fumbling the whole operation. I had come so far already, and I wasn’t willing to throw it all away just because I didn’t like how he always seemed to be searching for validation from Sky.

After some time, I heard the familiar sound of heels clicking against the polished floor, and I perked up. Sure enough, Sky was there at my side, sighing as she adjusted a tote bag over her shoulder.

The disdain was clear on her face, but she kept up appearances anyway as she looked at me reluctantly, as if accepting her earlier defeat.

I couldn’t understand why she didn’t want me to escort her for the interviews, given how eager she had been for me before, but I wasn’t about to ask…not while she was still visibly annoyed, anyway.

“Ready?”

Wordlessly, she nodded.

With that, we left the office, enduring a silent and vaguely awkward ride down the elevator, along with an even more deafeningly silent trip through the city in my car.

There were many instances when I wanted to reach out and say something—to break the ice and get myself back in her good graces, but as far as I could tell, she wasn’t too interested in hearing my voice.

Instead, she looked out the window and watched as the city passed. It seemed like she was deep in thought, and I decided to not push my luck.

For all I knew, she could’ve been pondering the new story, and instead of pissing her off right away, I figured that could wait.

Of course, she wasn’t going to be entirely safe from my pestering. That was a guarantee, especially when she made it so easy for me.

Still, it was hard to believe we had slept together, given the slight cold shoulder she was giving me, and didn’t show many signs of stopping. She was being too quiet, and it irked me as much as I found it amusing.

Her demeanor was the exact opposite of how she had been with me before—when we both couldn’t resist that pull between us and did anything to keep that physical contact going.When she was so loud for me, I wondered if anyone in the building heard.

While I tried to focus on the road in front of me, I couldn’t help but let those memories return. The feeling of her skin against mine, the sound of her pretty moans, the way she gripped me so perfectly—

“The first location should be up ahead on the left,” Sky said, finally breaking that silence along with my lewd reverie.

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