Page 17 of Blood Moon

Appetite renewed, I lifted the cover off the cake with a flourish and proceeded to consume every crumb.

Then I hid under the flat sheet to change into the luxuriously soft sleeping clothes. I didn’t even give two shits that he hadn’t included a change of underwear. I simply went commando like I did every night.

With a full belly, I searched the area for a way to go to the bathroom. Of course, there wasn’t a secret trapdoor or anything that opened to reveal such a luxury.

“Dammit, you prick! I have to pee!”

Laughter echoed from overhead, and I looked up, startled.

“The door to your cage is open, my pretty little pixie. The bathroom is in the far right corner. You can’t miss it. There’s also a blanket folded on the couch. You can sleep there or on the bed—your choice.”

I jumped up and pushed on the door of my gilded cage, and it effortlessly swung wide.

“You fucker!” I shouted as the lights came on and I rushed toward where he said the bathroom was.

Once I was done, I immediately went to the room’s door. Of course, it was locked from the outside. Still, I banged on it before I flipped the room off, knowing he had cameras somewhere. There was a little scanner that I tried to use, knowing it wouldn’t work. I growled in frustration. Then I stormed to the couch, flopped down, and angrily covered myself. With one last scowl around the room, I covered my head with the blanket.

Surprisingly, I fell asleep easily… and dreamed I was a tiny fairy, trapped in a little cage on a pirate’s ship.

Chapter7

Leo

“Burning Out”—Bad Omens

Iwas transfixed by the vision on the screen. It pleased me that she enjoyed my cooking. Not many people outside my family knew I loved to cook. It was one of the few things that brought me true peace.

As I sat in my dark office, with nothing but the monitors illuminating the area, I watched her. She huffed and puffed as she stormed around before finally flopping on the couch and covering her head.

She had several choice words for me, which I deserved. I loved that in a situation that would have most women pissing themselves, she was still a fireball. What I hated was that she was going to despise me after this. It was only a matter of time before she figured out who I was. Once that happened, there would be no coming back from this.

The thought of never seeing her again sent a painful stab through my chest. One so excruciating, I gritted my teeth and grabbed the edge of the desk. Eventually, I breathed through it, and it subsided. I told myself that if I was successful, it would be worth it.

My phone rang.

I saw my oldest brother’s name on the screen and rolled my eyes. Yeah, I loved him, but he was a real pain in the ass sometimes.

“Yes?” I answered.

“Leo, have you seen Tinsley Romanov?” he asked, cutting straight to why he’d called.

My gaze narrowed as I leaned back in my chair, ignoring the monitors. “Why the hell are you asking me?”

“Because Peter called me asking for my help looking for her. She was supposed to deliver an item to his office, and she never showed up. He said she’s not answering her phone, and her location is off,” he explained.

“Again, this has what to do with me?” I did my best to sound bored.

“I know you fucked her, Leo. Pietro saw her follow you out of my penthouse and caught quite an eyeful before the elevator doors closed,” he began, but I cut in.

“That doesn’t mean I fucked her,” I countered.

“Look, I don’t care if you did or didn’t. Quite frankly, I wanted you to because I’ve been wanting to buy into Peter and Tinsley’s company. I was hoping that if we could get a match between you and Tinsley, that would be our way in. Except now she’s missing, and I wanted to know if you’ve seen her or talked to her,” he explained.

Irritation simmered that he thought he could pull my strings like I was one of his fucking puppets. “So my brothers all got to choose their wives, but I get the arranged marriage for profit?”

“Oh, come on, Leo. She’s not bad to look at, and you’re obviously attracted to her, so don’t make it sound like you’d be throwing yourself on a sword,” he snapped. “Besides, that’s a moot point if she’s missing or, worse, dead. Peter has made some enemies over the years. He’s worried that one of them got to her.”

“I can’t help you. We didn’t exactly exchange numbers.” It wasn’t a lie. We hadn’t.

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