Page 64 of Shadows of Obsession

He knows Damien? God, I'm so stupid. Of course he knows him.Roman runs the Russian mafia, and Damien the Polish one.

"Luna and Aidan. I swear, Damien, if you don't have a good explanation..."

I signal him to hang up because nothing good can come from this call, but I hear Damien speaking and some of the tension in Roman's shoulders seems to disappear.

"We'll continue this discussion tomorrow at my office!" And with that he hangs up and puts his hand to his temple.

"You didn't have to do that," I whisper, watching him close his eyes and take calming breaths.

"What's the name of the man who made the marks on your back, Luna?" he asks, and I know that if Igor wasn't already dead, he would kill him in the most torturous way possible.

"Damien killed him when he found out what he did to me."

And when he opens his eyes, I know I'm about to tell him everything that happened after Aidan arrived at my apartment and found me tied to a chair with Igor, his ‘artwork’ on my back. I give him the details about how Igor entered the apartment, everything that happened in that hour while we waited for Aidan to appear, and what followed when he wanted to renegotiate with Damien.

"I went the next day and took out a bank loan. I gave the money to Damien, and he threatened Aidan not to look for me if he didn't want problems with him," I whisper because the memory of that night always brings an emotional tornado to my soul.

All the pain I felt while that psychopath was cutting me, all the fear while sitting in the car, waiting to reach Damien. I don't even realize I'm crying until Roman approaches me and kisses my cheeks where tears have tracked down my skin. It's intimate and sweet and I hate how that night still has so much power over me.

"You can continue, love," he whispers.

"He hasn't bothered me in recent months, and I thought he understood the message, but apparently I'm the only fool who believed we'd left that incident behind."

I'm now crying uncontrollably. I try to breathe, to tell myself I did what I could in that situation, but the truth is I chose the coward's way out and now I'm paying for it.

"It's okay, Luna," he tells me, and my last shred of control gives way.

"Is the debt still with Damien?" And now I realize that the accent of the guy who broke in wasn't Eastern European like Igor's. Roman studies me for a few seconds, framing my face with his hands.

"The debt isn't with Damien now. It’s with the Irish mafia, whom I happen to not be on good terms with anyway. Nobody is going to ask you for that money, Luna. I swear!"

And I can only trust him and his words. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't have the money, and I don't want to help Aidan anymore.

"Any more questions?" he asks while I'm fixed on his face.

"Just one," I whisper. "Are we officially together?" I try to smile through all the tears shed.

"We're more than that, moya dusha."

And he kisses me, long and slow, as if trying to erase the memories of that night with his taste and smell.

"I actually have one more question..." I tell him in a low tone.

My brain can't help but want to have all the wires connected, and now something escapes me. I see him raise his gaze, waiting for me to formulate my query. I feel...awkward, not knowing how to phrase it.

"Does this mean you want me to stay here? To move here?" I heard what he said earlier, but maybe I misinterpreted the message.

I can't just accept from day one the fact that he's the leader of a criminal organization, but the thought of returning to my apartment, where that man bled all over the floor, turns my stomach.

"You think I'd let you go back to that apartment?" His tone is severe, and I frown at the authority in it.

"We initially talked about me staying a few days."

I know he feels my undertone. I choose to stay with him. I choose to give this relationship a chance. I choose to be here. His tone makes me feel like I'm captive here, regardless of my choices.

"Luna, the only way you would have returned to that apartment would have been with me and a small army of men alongside. I would never have let you return there alone."

I feel the protectiveness vibrating from him, and I exhale.

---