Page 47 of His Obsession
I shake my head. “He knows about Adrian’s Mafia ties, and obviously the domestic violence. Apart from that, I couldn’t say.”
“Are you going to bring him in on it?”
I can’t help a mirthless chuckle. “I’m not exactly his favorite person right now,” I tell him. “Not since I knocked up his sister.”
“Fuck!” Matteo exclaims at the exact moment I realize that, in all the chaos, I hadn’t actually told him about the pregnancy. “When you go for it, you really go for it.” His laugh is loud and genuine, cutting through the tension.
I shake my head. “Tread carefully,” I warn.
“Hey, I think it’s great,” he says, holding up his hands. “Gives you a reason to stay in her life and stop being such a mopey little bitch. Also explains why you’re going through so much trouble to dig up all this shit about her ex.”
“Protecting her means protecting my child.” I glare at him.
“You and I both know it’s more than that.” He smirks. “You’ve lost your shit over her. I’ve never seen you like this with anyone. Didn’t even know you were capable of real human feeling.”
“If you’re going to be a dick, get out of my office.”
He backs away slowly, still grinning. “Are there any other security matters you need handled?”
“I’ve got an asshole cousin who could use some roughing up,” I deadpan.
He turns and walks out, flipping me off. I swear I hear him laughing all the way down the hall. Once he’s gone, I look more closely at the file open in front of me.
It shows clear financial ties between one of Vescari’s shell companies and a private security firm that recently set up temporary operations in Southern California. There’s no reason for him to have financial interests here. He’s stalking her.
I can’t sit on that knowledge and do nothing. This has all become intensely personal very quickly. It’s up to me to find him before he gets to her. I text Matteo the addresses listed so he can check them out.
I leave my office and have my driver drop me off at Val’s. I’ve never been to her office in person since all our meetings happened on my properties, but I’m not risking her safety, given what I know. Ten minutes after I arrive, she walks out of the building and looks stunned to see me.
To my surprise, she doesn’t argue when I tell her I’m driving her home. She doesn’t even insist on taking her own car back. Maybe my tone or my expression gave away just how critical it is that she stays safe.
She doesn’t say a word on the way home. She does sigh heavily enough to let me know she’s pissed, but otherwise she’s giving me the silent treatment. I can handle that. It’s a small price to pay to know she’s out of harm’s way.
When we pull through the gates, I see Nico’s car waiting in the driveway. He’s one of the few people who has access to the compound when I’m not here. I’m not at all surprised. He avoided me all day at the office, but I know he’s chomping at the bit to check on Val.
“About time you showed up,” he says when we get out of the SUV.
“It seems my employees don’t work as hard as I do,” I respond.
His face breaks into a smile, and I know things are fine between us. He’ll keep being pissed for a while, probably, but it’s water under the bridge. After all, he’s going to be the uncle to my kid.
Val walks ahead, not acknowledging him. It seems she’s icing him out, too.
“She’s in a good mood,” he murmurs sarcastically. “What the hell did you do?”
I sigh. “I cared too much about her safety.”
He chuckles as we follow behind her. Once we’re inside, he stops her from disappearing to her room.
“Valentina, we need to talk,” he says in an almost fatherly tone.
She turns on him with ire in her eyes that scares even me. “Nicolas, don’t you start with me!”
“You know we’re only doing this for your benefit, right?” he says defensively. “I don’t want you staying here any more than you want to be here, but it’s the right call.”
“Don’t you think I should decide what the right call is in my own life?” she shoots back, before turning on me. “Or do you think I’m too stupid to take care of myself?”
“It’s not a matter of intelligence,” I say darkly. “Your ex is a nasty character. I’ve spent the whole day combing through files about him. Shit you probably don’t even know. I’m not risking him getting anywhere near you.”
