Page 93 of Beneath the Light of the Moon

But he had one more thing to do.

Retrieving a pen from her nightstand and a discarded receipt, Mikko scribbled a note out for her to find. It was stupid and silly, but nonchalant wasn’t really his thing.Feeling tired but refreshed, Mikko tried to remember the last time he’d felt this free. While his motorcycle got him close, it rarely managed to fill the ever growing void in his gut. A laugh threatened to burst out of him at the thought of what he’d done. It’d been a while she he’d done something this reckless.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and suddenly he remembered Levi never responded to him. Mikko’s eyes scanned over the message that had come through.

But it wasn’t Levi.

Or Anika.

Mikko’s heart sank as the words seared into his head.

Cristiano:Have you heard from Dimitri? I can’t seem to get a hold of him

Images of Ivan’s brutalized body and altered organs haunted Mikko. If this led to another murder, he was going to be furious. It seemed like he couldn’t avoid Anika’s file for much longer.

Typing a reply, Mikko’s lighthearted mood fading, he promised to do some investigating as soon as he got home.

“See, emotions are a detriment to our business.”Again, his father’s lifetime of scoldings pestered him, especially since he disobeyed one of the most important rules.

And look where it got him—a missing man and no leads.

“Maybe if you hadn’t been stroking your pitiful cock to her face, you could finally be useful,”his father’s voice echoed in his head again. Thedead always had so much to say.

Ridden with guilt and smelling like Anika, he slipped out of her house undetected.

27

Cosmetics, Among Other Things

Anika

Leaves swirled around Anika’s feet as she trekked up the sidewalk to the front door of her house. Levi’s car idled behind her, and she could feel his ever present gaze lingering. Despite everything, she turned and waved, hoping her face conveyed the happiness and simmering desire he wanted to see from her.

It was apparent he’d been sent to look after her by Mikko, their messages incriminating, but somewhere along the way, Levi started to obey his own rules. It was to be expected; the inability to to stay on track an attribute she associated with Romanov Real Estate.

After waving back, he rolled his tinted window up, but his smug grin was already seared into her mind. She shuddered and hoped he’d think it was from the chill in the air. As soon as her front door opened, he pulled away from the curb, only the hazy cloud from his exhaust remaining.

Closing the heavy wood door behind her, Anika leaned against it, suddenly exhausted. Upholding her controlled exterior conveyingenjoyment in the presence of Levi had taken everything out of her. Fatigue wove itself into her bones, her true emotions bubbling to the surface. She never had a moment to herself these days, always on the run with work, dates with Levi, tracking down Mikko and his organization. It was never ending, and after it all, Anika wanted to lay down on the ground.

Kicking her shoes off at the door, she hung her cardigan up on the coat rack before walking up the first few steps up to her room. The old treads creaked beneath her weight, the sound familiar like an old blanket or sweater.

Fingertips trailing along the banister, she pulled herself up, ready to shower and plop into bed and sleep. But when she reached the top of the stairs, she froze in her tracks.

Her bedroom door was cracked. Moonlight shone through, its source coming from the windows in her room beyond.

I didn’t leave my door like that.

Her near photographic memory had served many purposes, but this one might save her life.

Ding.

Her phone buzzed in her hand. Apprehensively she looked down, dreading the name she’d find across her screen. There were only two choices and she was tired of both men right now.

Mikko:Sent an image

Mikko:To give you something to think about while you’re with him

Opening the picture, she found a darkened silhouette of Mikko. He was leaning against the door frame leading into her bathroom, his one arm outstretched above his head to grip the frame. It wasn’t hard for him since his height only left a few inches between the top of thedoor and his head. The waistband of his pants hung low, enticing her eyes to follow the contours of his stomach lower…