Page 84 of Vicious Seduction
LINA
Noemi didher best to distract me—her efforts were truly heroic—but I couldn’t stop worrying about Oran. I wasn’t even sure what the hell I was so worried about. Wellington had been restrained and unconscious last I saw him. He didn’t exactly pose a realistic threat, yet I couldn’t shake the unease. It was like walking through a cobweb; no matter how well you swiped at the invisible strands, more took their place.
Eliza’s looming presence likely didn’t help. Conner had stashed her in a spare bedroom, but the woman was like a bad case of herpes—it was hard to forget she was there.
I was curious what the guys would do with her. Or maybe I wasn’t. Maybe I didn’t want to know.
“You think you can eat anything?” Noemi asked. “Conner is going to order something to be delivered. We can grab whatever sounds good to you.”
“Now that you mention it, I haven’t really eaten since breakfast.”
A smile lit her face. “You tell me what you want, and I’ll make it happen.”
“Just something simple. Maybe ramen?”
“Oh, good choice! Conner loves the fried pork dish at Yanagi. Will that work?”
“Yeah, just have him get me the shoyu ramen.” It was practically the same as chicken noodle soup—one of my favorite comfort foods.
Her thumbs went crazy typing out a text, and a knock sounded at the front door not thirty minutes later. Only it wasn’t dinner, it was Oran. Seeing him alive and well made me feel like I could breathe for the first time in hours. I leaped from the sofa and gave him a full-body-slam hug.
“I’m so glad you’re back.” I relaxed my grip on him enough to look him over, only to see the dried blood on his shoulder and remember the poor man had been shot. “Oh my God. I’msosorry! Did I hurt you?”
His arm tightened around my waist as he pulled me back against him. “I will be once you kiss me.” His voice was as dark and decadent as pure melted chocolate.
I brought my hands to the back of his neck and pulled his lips to mine in a slow, sultry kiss.
“Mmm … that’s more like it.”
I felt his guttural rumble deep in my belly where a pool of desire warmed my insides. “Everything go okay?” I asked with a shy smile.
“It did, but I need to talk to you in private.”
Goodbye chill, hello nerves.
“Yeah, okay.” I nodded, my palms instantly starting to sweat.
He led me back to Conner’s office and closed the door behind us. Meanwhile, my brain raced to predict every horrible scenario possible to help prepare myself.
“Is Wellington dead?”
Jesus, Lina. Maybe at least try to be a tiny bit discreet?
I cringed. “Sorry, I mean…”
Oran placed his hand over my lips. “No, he’s not. And he might not be for a while, but there’s no reason to worry about him. Okay?”
“What about my mother?” As much as I wished she didn’t even enter my thoughts, she did.
“I suppose that’s up to you. I could kill her, torture her, or drop her naked and alone in Afghanistan and let karma do its job.”
So blunt wasn’t an issue. Got it.
I shook off my shock and thought for a minute. While I didn’t want Eliza in my life, I wasn’t sure I could order her death or be responsible for inhumane suffering.
You could always leave it up to him and turn a blind eye.
I could, or I could follow Oran’s lead and teach my mother a lesson she’d feel down to her bones. “The things you did to Lawrence—can you do that to her? Take her money and status?”