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“No.” I dragged my hand down my face. This was going to take some explaining, but I didn’t want to put Benjamin in anymore danger than he already was. “I kidnapped you because I thought you might have had something to do with Charlie and the information he stole.”

“But I’d only met the guy that day.”

“I know that now, but at the time I couldn’t risk it.”

He cocked his head to one side. “What did Charlie steal?”

“Everything. He took a copy of my ledgers and gave it to the guy that sent me the corpse.”

Benjamin’s eyebrows shot up. “Shit. Is that why you went to the Council?”

I nodded. “Then the warehouse blew up. I think my mysterious benefactor did that because I buried the body rather than frame Remy Lavaeux.”

“As in the supermodel Remy Lavaeux?” Benjamin’s eyes were wide with shock.

“Yes,” I replied, a little bit annoyed at the breathy way he’d said Remy’s name. “But I spent too long building the partnership with the Council, just to throw it away on the whim of some maniac.”

“Why would someone frame Remy? Why target you? Has the rest of the Council received any threats?” he asked as he leant forward, his curiosity seeming to outweigh his anger.

“No, no other threats. Only me.” Now that he’d mentioned it, that did make it feel entirely too personal. It was my ledger that was stolen, the body of a man I thought I’d killed was dumped at my door, and it was my warehouse that was destroyed. Although that was a result of my unwillingness to capitulate to some asshole’s demands. Perhaps someone from my past was catching up with me, but who?

“Smells like revenge to me,” Benjamin said and I frowned at him. “If it was a play for power, he’d be going after everyone, the fact that it’s only you, Damyr, suggests that it’s a personal vendetta.”

He was right, and deep down, I think I already knew that. The burning question though, was who could it possibly be?

There were so many people from my past who could have a reason for going after me. You didn’t become the head of a criminal organisation by making friends.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Damyr?”

“About what?”

“About everything,” he said irritably. “About vampires and me being your mate. I mean, what does that even mean? How are vampires real? What else is real, huh? Demons? Angels? Jesus fucking Christ!”

“I don’t know about Jesus, but I’ve met a demon before.”

He shot me an angry glare. Right. Probably best not to make a joke. He jumped up from his chair and started pacing, one hand on his hip, the other running through his hair until his curls were flying in all directions.

I stood up and walked over to him, halting his pacing. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Benjamin. I wanted too, but with everything else going on, I didn’t want to put you in more danger.”

“So you kept me in the dark instead,” he growled. “I’m not a child, Damyr. I’m perfectly capable of handling myself and—”

I cupped his face in my hands, interrupting his angry tirade. “I know you are, baby. You’re strong and resilient, beautiful and light. I didn’t want to drag you into my world of darkness, Benjamin. You deserve better than that.”

“But you didn’t give me the choice, Damyr. You decided you knew better, that dying wasbetter,” he spat as tears filled his eyes. “I thought you’d died, and I didn’t understand why that had me so twisted up inside. You didn’t even give me a chance to understand.”

Pain lanced my heart as I watched him fall apart. He’d been feeling the connection between us, even though he was human, and I’d pushed him away. “I’m sorry. I should have told you, but I also didn’t want to lose you.”

“You’re an idiot,” he said with a sniffle.

I wrapped my hand in his hair and pulled him into my chest. I needed to feel him close to me, to let his touch to ground me. “I know. I just thought you’d run away if I told you everything and that terrified me more than anything.”

He pulled back and looked up at me, tears clinging to his lashes like tiny diamonds. “I might not have believed Vlad at first, but then Byron took away all my doubts. Maybe this way was better. If you’d told me, I might have run.”

“One thing I know for certain,” I said as I brushed my thumbs against his cheeks, “is that I would never have let you run far.”

He scoffed, but there was a hint of a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. “You’re so full of yourself, Damyr.”

I shrugged. “Comes with the territory of being the boss.”