Page 93 of Captured Obsession

“How could you take her into such a dangerous situation?” Romi seethes.

Dante grabs her by the shoulders. “Now, now, let’s not forget how you were once in danger as well. Risks of the job,” he says somewhat dismissively. She’s furious, and I pull her into a hug, knowing it’s for both of our sakes.

The moment my arms wrap around her, a whoosh of air escapes her, and she holds me tightly. “I’m okay,” I say, then meet Ara’s gaze, seeing hesitance and nervousness in her eyes.

“Come here,” Lily says, pulling her in.

“You can’t do reckless things like that,” Ara lectures, but it’s half-hearted as she slowly accepts the embrace, never having been an affectionate person. I can only imagine what situations she’s put herself in.

“Elanee wanted to be here,” Ara says, looking at Nikolai and holding his gaze. “But that’s for another day.”

It goes without saying that until Dmitri and Nikolai have figured out where they stand in all of this, that Dmitri will protect his wife no matter what. Though, I do miss her, considering all of us used to meet regularly. But I squeeze my friends extra tight, grateful to be here.

“Come along, my little viper,” Luca calls out over Ara’s shoulder. I swear he gets irritated every timesomeone else touches her. I’m certain if we were male, we’d be dead.

We’re led into a grand room with tall wooden bookshelves lining the walls and an ornately carved desk situated at the far end. But it’s the four people tied to chairs that my gaze is drawn to.

Two of them each have a loose bag covering their head. The other two, however, I run to right away.

“Agata.” I’m quick to drop to my knees in front of her and then look over at Andrei, whose gaze softens around the edges. “Thank you,” I whisper to them both. I’ll be forever deeply indebted to them.

It’s been a day since we escaped The Wolf’s murder mansion, and I’ve been by Nikolai’s side the entire time as Dante attended to him. They shouldn’t be here, tied up like this, but I was so preoccupied with making sure Nikolai was okay, I hadn’t been able to check on them.

“They protected me!” I yell at Luca, who seems irritated when I speak. I imagine that, much like Nikolai, he’s in the business of killing first and asking questions later.

I look at Ara pleadingly, but I can sense by the way she’s observing from her spot tucked under Luca’s arm, that she’s just as shrewd as he is. There’s no cruelty there, and I know everyone is uncertain.

“Release them,” Nikolai grits out, coming to stand behind me. He pulls out a knife, and to my surprise, Luca doesn’t try to stop him as he cuts them free.Though the way the hounds stand at attention, they’re waiting for what might happen next.

The closest hound, the one with the light-blue eyes and matching gem, stands behind the other two who are chained to their chairs. They don’t seem to move much, and I wonder if they’re unconscious. I briefly glance at their build, noting they’re both women. I wonder who else they captured.

When Agata is free, I hug her. I can tell she’s surprised by it, but her arms slowly close around me. I’m so glad she’s okay. Andrei rubs his wrists, acting as if it’s business as usual.

“What do you plan on doing about this mess now?” Luca asks Nikolai, flicking his gaze to Andrei in particular.

Nikolai turns to Andrei. “Why did you risk betraying The Wolf?”

Andrei shrugs. “I have a wife and daughter. The only way to protect them has been to turn a blind eye to The Wolf’s actions.” He pauses for a moment. “I thought if anyone were able to take him down, it would be you,Udav.”

Nikolai nods, as if he suspected as much, and a sense of appreciation hangs between them. Perhaps Nikolai always wanted to trust him.

“You will return to Russia and tell them that The Wolf killedUdavbut was caught in the fire,” Nikolai instructs, and Andrei’s eyebrows pinch together. “I don’t care for ego,” Nikolai quickly clarifies. “Besides,now it’s time for me to hunt. It’s better to do so as a dead man.”

“Who will you hunt?” Luca asks.

“There are a few members of The Wolf’s family who might seek vengeance. There are others who personally pissed me off as well. I’ll take them out one by one.”

Luca’s jaw clenches as he thoughtfully looks at one of the women, who begins to mumble under the bag, clearly coming to consciousness. He gestures for the blue-gemmed hound to remove the bag.

The moment he does, my jaw drops with recognition.

“Why are they here?” Nikolai grits out.

The second woman is also revealed, but I don’t recognize her.

“Diablo,” Tiarna, the daughter of The Wolf, seethes, then spits in Luca’s direction.

And for the first time, I see Ara not as my friend, but the Italian mafia boss’s wife, as her expression goes murderous.