Page 80 of Shadows of Obsession

What else could I do? Stay put when I knew very well those attackers didn't have good intentions for me?

"When we get to safety, I promise you can call whoever you want," she answers.

We drive for what feels like an hour, and all the adrenaline has left my body. I'm damn exhausted and would give anything for a mattress and a blanket.

When we finally stop, I realize I'm in front of a house in the middle of a forest. Where the hell are we? My breath forms small clouds from how cold it is outside, and the smell of wet earth and pine floods my senses.

"Come with me, please," the woman tells me, and I follow. I'm not tied up, and when I look around, I see a small group of soldiers who approach when they see us getting out of the car. The fact that no one touches me offers some comfort.

Entering the house, I try to memorize as many details as possible. It resembles those Nordic houses you see in pictures online, A-frame, with floor-to-ceiling windows, but I notice the ceiling cuts off abruptly, indicating the attic doesn't continue with the same windows I see.

The interior is one large space with desks, couches, computers, and a kitchenette separated by a concrete island. It has an industrial style, and when I turn around, my focus locking on the twenty computers lined up in this room, I realize this whole thing most likely has to do with me and not Roman.

The sound of footsteps wakes me from my reverie, and when I turn my head, I'm sure my expression is one of shock as a cry of surprise escapes me. My gaze falls on the same gray eyes I've been thinking about the whole car ride. Except these don't reflect the affection and adoration I know. In these eyes I see only coldness and indifference, and if it weren't for the face sprinkled with small scars and the different haircut, I would have thought it wasn't real.

"I wouldn't have wanted us to meet like this, but we need to have a discussion without my brother intervening," he tells me, and my intuition has me looking at this man in terror.

In my head all I hear is:Holy fuck, Roman has a twin brother.

Chapter 27

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Roman

My mind is chaos, and everything is red. I'll dismember them. Finger by finger, limb by limb, every fiber of their muscles will be torn apart because they dared to take her from me.

I close my eyes and hear her trembling voice as she begged me to find her, and nothing in this world has ever been more certain and sure.I'll always find her.

It's my fault they took her. I should have sent more men with them. Sergey and Vlad couldn't possibly handle an entire convoy.

I know who did this based on their method of operation. Luna was definitely the target. Devin wanted to kidnap her to use as a bargaining chip with me.

Sergey is in the hospital. Vlad is dead. I'm at the site of the attack, trying to figure out what the hell happened here. The place is fairly public. Niko had to send a literal cartload of money to the police commissioner to turn a blind eye to this disaster.

Luckily traffic at this hour on this road is low, and the few cars that saw what happened didn't stop. Our vehicle has already been removed, but there's blood everywhere.

What’s strange is that I didn’t expect to see any of Devin's men, yet the entire field is littered with corpses. It's as if a bombexploded in their midst. I feel bile rising in my throat at the thought that Luna might be hurt.

Someone took her.

My phone vibrating in my hand brings me back to the present.

"Tell me you have some news for me," I say, and I'm almost proud of the calmness of my voice.

"I can tell you she's within a sixty-mile radius south of Chicago, but the signal is jammed," Lev tells me, the sound of his keyboard clicking coming through the speaker.

"So we have nothing," I almost shout, and I can picture Lev's eyes rolling.

"I didn't say that, and if you'd let me finish, maybe you'd already be on your way to her," he says in an exasperated tone you’d use with a troublesome child.

"To be able to jam the signal like this, you need power, and according to my little robots, a Mr. Rocher has a property there with a PO Box address in Thornton. If you add in that they probably don't want to be disturbed, my bet is a forest and..."

I don't let him finish because I know exactly where they took her.

"Highgate Forest!" I shout to Niko, who runs toward me while I get in the car.

"Ooh, so you're not just a pretty face. Good to know, Ro," Lev throws at me.

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