Page 13 of Blood Moon

“I’m either high as fuck or I’m still in bed and this is a dream. Gotta be,” I reasoned as I leaned on a tree trunk, ignoring how the rough bark caught on the back of my shirt. There was no telling how long I stayed there, stupefied.

Yet the longer I was there, the more I pieced together. It probably seemed like something from a movie or a book, but it was the only thing that made sense in any possible way. Somehow, she had traveled back in time.

Jesus, if I tried to tell someone that, they’d likely lock me up in an asylum or, at the very least, rehab. Hell, it sounded crazy to me. Yet, it was the only explanation for what I’d witnessed and experienced years ago.

The more the reality of that settled in, the crazier my thoughts became. A plan began to form. It was unhinged and probably diabolical enough that I would likely go to hell. Fuck it. With everything I’d done, I was probably heading there anyway.

The ground beneath my feet trembled slightly, and the air around me crackled. Unsure if I was truly losing it this time, my gaze darted around. From where she’d disappeared, the air seemed to ripple and distort. A little cloud of sparkling smoke swirled and expanded.

When the tiny, barefoot woman in pink stepped out of the glittering haze, I made a decision that was likely insane. I crouched behind a bush. Through a gap in the leaves, I watched as she let her hair down, then I could see her appearing to talk to herself as she put her shoes on. With a calculating stare, I waited quietly until she started to walk out of the trees. Then I did what was probably my dumbest move ever.

I kidnapped Peter Romanov’s sister.

* * *

Needing backup, I called one of my babysitters. That was probably shitty to call Domenico that. He’d been assigned to me when I left for college. He was barely older than me, and he fit in on campus as just another student. We’d become friends, which also worked into the facade of him being on campus all the time. He’d been put on other assignments after I graduated, but we’d stayed in touch.

“Leo, you’ve done some dumb shit, but this takes the cake,” Domenico grumbled from the front seat.

He’d arrived quickly and brought exactly what I’d asked without question. That was before he knew who I needed to drug.

“I don’t want to hear it,” I snapped. My gaze dropped to the blonde head that rested in my lap. I gently felt for a pulse for the fiftieth time since Dom had arrived and we injected her. She was so tiny, and I questioned how much he’d given her, but he’d given me an insulted scoff.

“If Gabriel finds out I helped you with this, I’m a dead man walking. You realize that, right?” He was pissed, and rightfully so. I’d used my friendship with him to pull him into my mess and, by doing so, put him in a precarious position.

The crazy thing was, I was dead-ass sober.

“I’ll take full responsibility. You didn’t know. You came to help me when I needed you, and I didn’t tell you why. You’ll be fine,” I assured him, unable to take my eyes off the beautiful pixie that was curled up on the back seat of the SUV with me.

We turned into the underground parking garage, and then Dom pulled up far enough for me to use my fingerprint to get us through the security gate that separated the family’s private parking section. The heavy iron gate rolled open, and we drove through, waiting on the other side to ensure the gate closed behind us without anyone slipping through.

He drove around the corner and parked in one of my empty spots.

“Now how do you plan to get her up to your condo without getting busted?” he asked as he tipped his head toward one of the many cameras mounted in our garage.

“I have an idea,” I told him with a wicked grin. “I just need your jacket.”

“Fucking hell,” he muttered as he got out and came around to my door. He had his jacket off by the time he opened my door. He helped me get the jacket on her, and I bit back the irritation of seeing her small frame encased in another man’s clothing. It completely covered her vibrant pink clothes, and that’s what I needed. We got her out and on her feet, though she was still pretty much out of it.

He kept her upright, and I lifted her into my arms. I adjusted my hold until her face was tucked into my shoulder and her thick blonde hair covered the rest. We made our way to the private elevators and up to my condo. I handed my keys to Dom so he could unlock the door to my “playroom.”

“I’ve got it from here,” I told him, not letting him open the door further. “I’ll meet you in the living room in a few minutes.”

“Fine,” he huffed and spun on his heel.

I shouldered open the door and then closed it. Once inside, the lights came on over the corner. I had them on a motion sensor that only lit up that area, leaving the rest of the room in the dark. The recessed lights glinted off the gold-colored bars.

Dipping my head, I stepped up and through the open door, then carefully laid her on the black satin linens of the bed. Before I left, I removed Dom’s jacket and ignored the way that satisfied me. I’d been tense and irritable since we’d put it on her.

As I stared at her for a moment, I couldn’t shake the voice that chanted in my head in time with my heartbeat.

Mine.

Mine.

Mine.

Mine.

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