Page 80 of Completing Her

“You might have to. He wants to help, but handing over his employee list might not sit well. I’ll do a little digging here too. None of our contacts matched up the sketch with a known entity. Their searches got no hits on the name. I think you’re right in assuming it’s fake.” He was quiet for a moment. “Proceed carefully. Don’t make him angry again.”

I told him about Raven’s idea for an argument. He hummed in agreement. “Not a bad idea. Might flush him out. With the right precautions, you might nab him and keep her safe.” He paused. “She’s brave, your lady.”

“She is.”

“And you really care about her.” It was a statement, not a question.

“She is it for me, Julian. I can’t imagine life without her now.”

He chuckled. “And another one bites the dust.”

“Big-time.”

“All right. Let me see what I can do. I have a couple more calls I can make.”

“Thanks.”

I hung up and walked to the windows, staring down on the street.

“Where are you, asshole?” I muttered.

I needed to find him.

Soon.

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

Raven

Hiding my anxiety, I smiled at Damien. “It’s all pretend, right?”

He nodded, the tension around his eyes obvious. Neither of us had slept much the night before, and this morning, we had both been quiet. Damien had made love to me in the middle of the night, his movements slow and gentle, his voice a low hum in the dark. I had lain in his arms after, trying to hold back my tears, feeling vulnerable and silly.

It was just a pretend fight. Egan was already in my apartment, having swept it for bugs. Damien had decided, during our fight, he would reach for the satchel and accidentally tear off the bunny. If Andy was watching, he’d think it was an accident. But not being able to track or hear me might spur him to follow me to the apartment. Meanwhile, Damien was going to disable the bugs Andy had planted and try tracing the manufacturer to find out who they were sold to if he could.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.

“Yes. If it brings him to us, then yes.”

He blew out a breath, dragged me into his arms, and kissed me. Hard. His tongue, his touch, everything about it was possessive, claiming. Perfect.

He drew back, cupping my face. “Just for show.”

* * *

I shook off Damien’s hand. “You’re holding me too tight.”

“Stop whining.”

“Stop breathing down my neck. You’re suffocating me,” I hissed.

“Forgive me for trying to watch out for you,” he snapped.

I shook my head. “Did you hear anything I said to you last night, Damien? I’m tired of this!”

“You’re tired of this? You’re not the one having rocks thrown at her car or trying to help someone who keeps insisting they can look after themselves.” He sneered at me. “We both know you do a shit job at it.”

“I managed quite well before I met you.”

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