Page 84 of His Forbidden Obsession

“No, both of you need to stay in the cabin. Alina, do you still have my gun?”

“I do.”

“Keep it with you.”

Lorenzo left, and Alina encouraged me to sit in her room, away from where my father lay on the ground. My father’s corpse. He wasn’t really here anymore. He couldn’t hurt me or anyone else.

A few minutes later, Lorenzo knocked on the door and called for us. I held it open as he pulled Landry inside, gripping him under his arms.

Alina scowled at him. “Did you drag him here?”

“It’s not hurting him. He’s fine.” Lorenzo brought him to the couch, and the two of us helped him get Landry up there. “I checked him over and made sure nothing was broken before I brought him in. I think he was hit on the head, just like I was. There’s a bump here.”

When Lorenzo touched the swollen spot on the side of Landry’s head, he started to come around but didn’t fully wake.

“Landry!” Alina said. “Landry, come on, wake up.”

Lorenzo headed toward the kitchen. “I’m going to get some ice for him,” he said.

“What about you? Don’t you need some too?”

“My head hurts like hell, but I’ll be okay.”

I wasn’t going to let him ignore being injured. “You might have a concussion.”

“True, but we can’t worry about that right now.”

He was right. We were in the middle of nowhere with a disabled guard and a dead body, but I needed to know he wasn’t seriously hurt.

“Hold this.” Lorenzo handed the ice pack to Alina.

When she placed the ice against the knot on his head, Landry’s eyes fluttered open.

“Landry,” she said. “Are you okay?”

He groaned and started to close his eyes.

“No.” She slapped his arm. “Stay awake. Talk to us.”

He blinked at her and then looked around, eyes widening when they landed on Dimitri. “Fuck. What happened?”

32

LORENZO

The evening’s events were too long a story to tell now. “Niko and Alina will explain it. I’ve got to get Dimitri’s body out of here and call Ambrose.”

“What are you going to do with him?” Niko asked.

“Leave him outside for now. Then consult with Ambrose. If the wildlife drags him off, all the better. It’s none of our concern.”

Niko nodded. “He doesn’t deserve a real burial.”

“Fuck no, he doesn’t.”

I grabbed Dimitri’s arms and dragged him from the cabin, taking him far enough into the woods that if someone approached the cabin from the front or rear, they wouldn’t see the body immediately. Beyond that, I didn’t care. Anyone who came out here was either a friend who would help us or someone who would be joining Dimitri very shortly.

Niko was probably right—I likely had a concussion. My vision was a little iffy, and I wasn’t as steady on my feet as I needed to be, but I would have to push through. I didn’t have any fucking choice.