Page 69 of Shadows of Obsession

"She was put up as collateral for a debt, Roman. I couldn't just let her go. You know as well as I do that setting a precedent like that is a dangerous thing. She came with a deal, and I kept my part of the bargain," he tells me as his gaze falls on Luna again.

"Not well enough, considering her ex still sends her messages from a private number and I'm convinced he's following her," I tell him as my gaze surely burns holes in his head from how loathingly I'm looking at him.

Damien looks at Luna for a second, frowning, and takes out his phone and sends a message.

"You know where he is?" he asks while continuing to text.

"No. Lev can't find him," I answer, and now both he and Niko look at me.

I know how this sounds. Something's not right.

"This man doesn't have the necessary resources to disappear, Ro. Someone's helping him."

Damien is confirming my suspicions, because that's exactly what I thought too.

"I understand we have some information about that Russian company that's in cahoots with the Irish," Niko speaks now.

From the corner of my eye, I see Luna sitting in the same armchair where she worked before and starting her laptop. The fact that she’s behaving so naturally in the middle of this discussion makes me feel proud. Another woman would have asked a thousand questions and interrupted us by now, but not her.

My woman knows when to listen, and the fact that I trust her enough to bring her here to hear what I discuss with Niko and Damien is my way of showing her that, for me, there are no doubts when it comes to this relationship.

"From what I could find out, he's a predator who's made connections at high levels, so no one comments on what he does. What's more worrying is that he's one of Ilya's associates in Moscow," I tell them, relating my conversation with Ilya.

Something isn’t adding up. We're missing some pieces of this puzzle.

"Until Ilya does his job and we find out why someone with connections in the Russian mafia in Moscow wants to eliminate us from business, I need you, Niko, to find out everything you can about Rastovski. Damien, I want you to put your men onAidan's trail," I tell them and, without meaning to, my gaze slides to Luna, who's looking at me, with the laptop in her arms.

With those glasses and that look full of... No. I don't want to presume her feelings. Maybe I'm wrong.

"Are you sure?" Damien asks me, and I know what it means that I'm asking him to do this.

"Yes. Meanwhile I'll ask Anton to question his informants further. Maybe we'll find Devin and get rid of a problem," I tell them, sitting down at my desk.

Both nod and prepare to leave. Niko waves to Luna, but of course the idiot Damien moves next to her. I'm already standing when I hear him whispering.

"I'm sorry I disappointed you, tygrysek."

Damn hearing. I can't deny the name suits her though. With her cinnamon-colored curls, with her moments of rebellion and all she's endured, my love is a little tiger.

Luna smiles at him, an honest and real smile.

"You did what you could, Damien. I appreciate the months of peace I had," she answers him, and of course she thanks him.

Because that's Luna. Always good. Always empathetic.

"Find him, Damien," I tell him from my desk.

In my tone, you can feel the promise that I'll destroy the man who dared to make her afraid to walk down the street.

"I promise not to skin him until he gets to you," Damien tells me and leaves.

For a few minutes, I go through the paperwork Felix gave me to review and sign. The legal part of our business is as big as the illegal one and requires just as much work.

I feel a presence beside me and the smell of jasmine floods my senses. I turn toward Luna automatically, my hands grabbing her waist and pulling her into my lap.

A sound of surprise escapes her when she lands in my arms.

"You didn't have to be so harsh with Damien," she whispers, and I know she can feel how I tense at the mention of his name.

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