Page 44 of Heat Me

"I can’t. Lowen won’t go public about it, the deal has to stay discreet. I’m already risking a lot just telling you this."

I rubbed my forehead. "This sounds like another assassination attempt in the making. You should contact the police. Is this deal really worth risking your lives for?"

"Not necessarily. It could just be sabotage. If we don't meet his conditions, he'll go away. That would be a win for our competition. And remember, he has his own bodyguards, and we’ve got three people here. Pulling off an attack with that much security would be crazy. But Lowen demanded four. No exceptions. If we don’t deliver, the whole thing falls apart. The man’s… eccentric! Brilliant, but weird. I need you here, Storm. You’re our bodyguard for now, remember?"

"For fuck’s sake, this is insane. We could all be in danger. And there’s only forty minutes left. It’ll take me twenty just to get there—"

"Then get in your car now! I’ve already called two other agencies. Nobody can get here in under an hour. You’re my only option! Just show up for a moment so Lowen sees you. Then you can stay in the resting room. When he's about to leave, you reappear. That's it."

"You’ve got to give me something for this, Mr. Ragu. This is a lot to ask. I’d be risking my life—and someone else’s."

"I’m ready for it! You can have your old job back with your previous salary, starting now. No proving yourself needed. And if you lock in at least three out of these matches I asked for, youget the raise we talked about—and… a fixed percentage of all future contracts you close. Deal?"

A percentage of all contracts? That sounded sweet. Almost like… a partnership deal!

"Alright. However, there are two more things—I’m officially still your husband’s employee till the end of this month, but I want to be permanently off the fucking Johansson commission, no matter what happens."

"Fine, I’ll talk to Jun and make it happen. What’s the other thing?"

"I broke one of Dark Dream’s rules. I contacted one of the clients outside company work hours for his heat assistance—"

"Not important! That’s Jun’s problem, not mine. Now get your ass moving!"

"He may be angry—"

"He won’t. I’ll deal with it. Hurry up!"

"Fine. I’m coming—with him."

"Whatever. Just hurry!"

Feeling slightly dizzy, I turned around, and there was Damien in the doorway.

He must’ve heard everything—thanks to his sharp rose omega hearing.

His eyes were wide, but he was smiling. "Well, I guess we’re going! Sounds like quite an adventure. And a risky one."

I let out a breath of relief. "Crazy, huh? But listen, it could be dangerous if Ragu’s wrong, and this is an assassination attempt—"

Damien crossed his arms. "I could say the same about you. I’d rather you didn’t risk it, either."

"I’m hard to kill, Damien. Really hard."

"And I can defend myself just fine," he said, holding up his hand and letting little electric sparks flicker between his fingers. "Besides, I’ll be in a separate room, right?"

I blinked. "Still. I hate putting you at risk."

"He is my uncle, Storm. He's a good guy, and he doesn’t deserve these attacks. He has suffered enough. Maybe our presence can make a difference?"

"I understand, but you are not his bodyguard. It's not your duty to protect him. I’m putting you in risky—"

"There might not even be a risk. We don’t know. But one thing’s certain—time’s running out."

"You’re right!" I rubbed my forehead, groaning in frustration. As we argued, precious minutes passed. "Okay, fuck it. Get dressed. We’re going!"

We threw on our clothes and practically ran to my car.

Two minutes later, I was driving like a maniac, praying for green lights. Damien was next to me, staring out the window.

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