Page 110 of Abundance of Obsession

The first night, she woke up screaming.

Now I know that a hug or a stroking of the head calms her down in these moments.

But let’s not kid ourselves. The situation is fucking sensitive. A Veirix member was on our turf, and suddenly—poof. The guy’s gone.

Eventually, someone will look for him. The underground fighters knew him.

I erased Zoe’s traces from the surveillance footage. Of course, I watched the recordings first, but what I found there wouldn’t have led anyone to her anyway. Still, you can never be too careful.

None of these precautions stops me from worrying about my woman and this whole mess. Part of me wants to give her a few butt smacks for not saying a word about what she was planning.

I want to shake her. Yell that she could have died. That I might have been too late.

But I don’t do any of those things. Not after the way she looked that night.

The thought that I could have lost her…

Jesus, I can barely put into words what happens when that thought pops into my head. Armageddon descends upon my heart and soul. It’s pure madness.

“Eli?” Zoe speaks in a weak voice, but her eyes are still closed.

“I’m here. Everything’s fine.”

“What time is it?”

“Almost eight. Go back to sleep, sweetheart.”

I look at her face, her long lashes and rosy cheeks. Her full lips are parted, and she’s breathing softly.

My gaze falls on her slender neck.

Her skin bears no marks from Owen’s choking attempt, a fact I cannot comprehend. Bruises and redness appear quite quickly. Maybe it’s because of the sweatshirt. I’m not sure, but I’m grateful.

Zoe’s eyelids rise a little. “You’re concerned, aren’t you?”

I sigh. “I think we should tell Ryker.”

The irises of her eyes widen. “What? We can’t, Eli. He’ll ask questions.”

“I know, but Owen was Veirix’s man. You know that. He disappeared on our territory. Ryker should know that something might be coming our way.”

Zoe covers her face with one hand. “You can’t explain this halfway, Eli. He’ll want to know the full truth, and he should know it. But—I’m not ready yet.”

Hoping it will calm her down a little, I kiss her forehead. “I know it’s difficult to talk about this. But I can’t risk anyone linking you to Owen. The stakes are too high, Zoe. You have to understand this.”

“I’ll have to tell Ash everything too.”

I pull her hand away. Her face mirrors my own worries.

“In that case, perhaps it would be better if I hid you for a while? It wouldn’t be much of a problem. I have a friend—”

Zoe sits up in shock. “Absolutely not, Eli. No way. I will not hide for years because of what I did.”

“Not for years. Just for a little while.”

The ringtone interrupts our discussion. Picking up the phone, I see it’s from the lobby.

“Hello?”