29. Chapter 29
Chapter 29
R oman
Leaning against the wall, I scanned the people coming and going outside Luna’s classroom as she finished her last final before winter break. Studying had kept her busy, and Gideon took over Milo’s bodyguard duties while Luna finished her exams. There hadn’t been any sightings of Lionel lately, but we knew the psychotic bastard was still out there.
A few students started trickling out of the classroom, and Luna emerged behind them. She glanced around and spotted me, giving me a tired, happy grin. I loved watching that smile spread across her face. Straightening, I held out my hand, and she took it without thinking.
“Are you done for the semester, then?” I asked, taking her backpack.
“Yes. Thank you, Jesus. Did you spell Gideon off?”
“I did. It’s Friday, and lunch is being brought into the offices. Do you want to go there, or somewhere else to celebrate?” She’d stayed at the house studying since Milo had been shot, but I knew she needed to get out.
“The office sounds good.”
When we walked into the reception area, Brenna watched us quietly. She seemed more subdued lately and didn’t glare at Luna.
“Hi, Brenna. Do you have any good snarky insults for me today?” Luna asked.
Brenna raised her eyebrow. “No, because I haven’t thought of you at all.”
Luna smiled. “That wasn’t bad, and your eyelashes don’t look fake at all.” Brenna smirked as we walked past her through the office door.
Gideon looked up and smiled when he saw us. “Good afternoon, Ms. Fowler. How’d your last final go?”
“I think it went well, but I’ll find out next week. What’s been happening around here? How’s the water law acquisition going, and how’s Arthur doing?”
“Fine, and Arthur fits in surprisingly well. He’s even better connected and well-versed in the gray nuances of the law than most the partners are.”
She grinned. “I take it you found out he’s married to a Spade, and he’s Fenn and Sylvie’s uncle.”
We hadn’t discovered that little tidbit until right before we signed the contract to bring him and his portfolio on board. Neither Luna nor Ezra mentioned it, and I had to give them credit for that little surprise. No wonder she wanted to intern with him.
We walked into the conference room and saw Drakos and Ivan dishing food out of to-go boxes. “What’d you order this week?”
“Italian from Francesco’s,” Drakos answered. “Hello, Luscious Luna. I haven’t seen you in ages. It was nice of Roman to finally let you out of his sex dungeon. Are you pregnant yet?”
She shook her head. “Drakos, I think you’re the reason the middle finger was invented.”
Drakos wasn’t fazed. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her noisily on the cheek.
“Hands off, asshole,” I growled. He smirked and smacked his lips together.
Ivan grinned at Luna. “He wasn’t joking about the sex dungeon. How’re you doing?”
“I’m better now that the semester is officially over. Where’s Arthur?”
Ivan rolled his eyes. “He takes Fridays off. When he found out we usually work a six-day workweek, he told me I needed to get a fucking life. How come you didn’t tell us he’s family?”
“I didn’t know you planned to buy my exit strategy out from under me. He’s not the staid, dry attorney you thought he was, is he?”
Ivan shook his head. “He has more connections than Al Capone.”
Xander walked in, and Luna stilled. When she set her drink down and watched him pensively, I realized this was the first time she’d seen him since I told her what happened to him at the Ranch. She got up and walked over, touching his arm.
“I’m so sorry, Xander,” she murmured. “I didn’t know about my father’s ownership in the Ranch.”
He shook his head and patted her shoulder. “You were just a child, we don’t blame you.”
Luna glanced over at me, and shame settled in my stomach. “I don’t think you blamed me. Thank you for that.” Xander carefully wrapped his arms around her as he stared at me over the top of her head. I met his gaze and raised an eyebrow because the quiet motherfucker wasn’t going to make me feel guilty. I didn’t want to ruin her now, but I sure as fuck wanted to keep her, and maybe that was worse. Luna stepped back and smiled up at him.
I didn’t like it. I stood behind her, palmed her stomach, and pulled her into me. Xander watched her face as I leaned in and kissed her neck softly. When she reached up and curled her arm around the back of my neck. He smiled. “Let’s eat.”
The moment passed, and we filled our plates with chicken piccata and antipasto salad while we talked about the past week.
As we finished up, Gideon walked into the conference room with a grim expression. He motioned me with his head, and I followed him out.
He didn’t waste any time. “Fiona called. One of her dancers was attacked in the parking lot of Euphoria about an hour ago. They have Lionel on video, looking right at the camera.”
“Fuck. Do you know which dancer?”
Gideon cocked his head. “Why? Do you know any of them personally?”
“No, but Luna does.”
“Ah. I’m not surprised.”
I stepped into my office and called Fiona. “Talk to me.”
“Lionel Strack and another man I didn’t recognize cornered Misty in the parking lot.” Fiona paused, and I could hear her breathing heavily. “Roman, they stabbed her in the stomach and chest, then kicked her in the face as she lay bleeding. She'd be dead if Samuel hadn’t been watching the camera feed, waiting for her to arrive.”
I palmed the back of my head. “ Fuck . How bad is it?”
“Her lung collapsed, her intestines were probably nicked, and she lost a lot of blood. They likely fractured her cheekbone, and she’s in surgery right now.” Her voice went husky. “I need Lionel to pay .”
Fiona never lost her composure, and she was the consummate business partner, but this had turned personal for both of us. I hung my head and leaned a hand on my desk. Misty was one of Luna’s friends.
“Text me Samuel’s contact information, I’m sure he’s at the hospital. We’ll send someone to help him guard Misty so he can focus on her. Don’t let any of your employees be alone in the parking lot. If you plan to stay open, you need additional security. Let me know if you want our help with that.”
“I called the police, and I plan to go to the media. That fucking drug syndicate needs to rein him in. If they won’t, I’m going to smoke that bastard out.”
I straightened and stared out at the brilliant blue sky. “If we don’t give them the courtesy of informing them first, this could blow up in our faces.”
“I don’t give one flying fuck right now!”
“You need to keep the rest of your people safe. Think, Fiona. Be smart. Give me twenty-four hours and then you can go public.”
“Fine,” she bit out. “You have until tomorrow at three.” She hung up.
I walked into the conference room and shut the door. Luna was the first to sense something was wrong.
She gazed at my face when I walked in and stood up. “What happened?”
Drakos and Ivan had been debating about something, but when Xander stood too, they shut up and turned to me.
“Misty was attacked outside Euphoria.”
Luna clutched her stomach, and Ivan tilted his head. “Who’s Misty?”
“A dancer there, and my friend. How bad?” Luna murmured.
I clenched my jaw, not wanting to cause her more pain.
“Roman, how bad is it? Is she…”
“She’s alive, but it’s bad.”
She reached out and blindly grabbed Xander’s arm. He held her while I told them about what had happened.
A half-hour later, Fenn and Sylvie came to pick Luna up and take her to Fenn’s house for safekeeping. I was down a man, so I’d called in another fucking favor from Fennick Spade.
When Sylvie walked in, she went straight up to Drakos and pointed her finger in his face. “You’ve had more than enough time to take care of Lionel fucking Strack, Lucifer. Now it’s our turn.”
Drakos smirked and grabbed her finger, pulling her into him. “Hello, my sumptuous Sylvie. Have you missed me?”
“Yeah, like gonorrhea or syphilis. Let go of my hand, Satan, and walk away.”
He leaned in. “You can’t banish your demons if you still like playing with them.”
She rolled her eyes and tugged her arm away. “Come on, Luna. Let’s leave them to it.”
Luna came to me and put her hands on my cheeks. “Please be careful. I… like having you around.” The mild surprise in her voice made me grin.
Sliding my hands around her waist, I pulled her into me, kissing her hard and deep. “And I like being around. Stay with Fenn and Kilian. And Luna?”
“Yes?”
“If you put someone else’s safety above your own again, you and I will have more than just words.”
She smiled sweetly and patted my cheek. “We’ll see about that.”