Luka paced the floor of the waiting area outside the lawyer’s office, ignoring the glares the receptionist kept shooting his way. His faded jeans and baggy sweatshirt had drawn more than a few disapproving glances as he’d followed Damon over marble floors and past sculptures that were worth more money than Luka figured he’d ever see in a lifetime.
He didn’t belong here, but Damon had practically begged him to accompany him. Now Damon was behind those fancy, carved wooden doors, speaking to the lawyers who had contacted him yesterday.
As he paced, Luka felt the reassuring weight of the stunner he wore off-campus all the time now. Drake Logan might be in custody, but nobody had anything on Sergei Romani. Not yet, anyway, though Miko had been working on it ever since they’d arrived back on Aurora.
Cam was hoping that losing the Kamarra and any artifacts that had been smuggled up to her would be enough of a blow that he and Pat would have some time to investigate the Romani connection before their enemies managed to regroup.
Assuming they would even try. Luka hoped they might cut their losses and forget about psi research, especially since there weren’t any Ajhani artifacts left for them play with.
In light of that, it was entirely possible that the stunner he was wearing wouldn’t be necessary, but Luka wasn’t about to take any chances. He had plenty of reasons to want to stay right here on Aurora, and the biggest reason was beyond those fancy doors, radiating so much tension and confusion that it was all Luka could do not to go barging in to rescue him.
The door of the office finally opened, and Damon stepped out, followed by a man and a woman, both impeccably dressed in tailored suits and tasteful, expensive-looking jewelry.
Damon looked pale and a little shell-shocked. He shook hands with the two, and bid them a polite goodbye. Then he moved toward Luka and muttered under his breath, “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
He loosened his tie as soon as they were out of the office, but didn’t say another word.
Luka didn’t push; he knew Damon would tell him when he was good and ready. He had yet to decide if that was due to Damon’s natural reticence, or Shiv’s defensive secretiveness. A bit of both, perhaps. Not that he was complaining; he rather liked the fusion of Damon and Shiv. The man Luka loved had retained the sweetness and compassion that had first drawn him to Damon, but mixed with Shiv’s cockiness and confidence, it made for a heady combination, and Luka was learning who Damon Korsov really was right along with Damon.
So far, he liked what he’d seen.
Luka guided the craft up into the traffic lanes above the city. It wasn’t until Luka had handed control over to Iral’s Traffic Control AI for the flight out of the city’s airspace that Damon finally spoke.
“The woman was one of my father’s attorneys. And the man represents my grandfather’s estate.”
“What did they want?”
“My father’s attorneys have been searching for me ever since his death was confirmed. But I’d dropped off the grid while I was with the Vipers, so they had no idea what had happened to me. They assumed I was dead, and the record-keeping in the downside hospitals isn’t what it could be. If they’d tracked me down earlier, I wouldn’t have been at St. Anne’s at all. They’d have moved me someplace else. Someplace fancier.” He stared out the window. “I wouldn’t have met you or been found by the Institute. Maybe wouldn’t have gotten my sanity back at all. And if I did, I wouldn’t have been able to find you. I would have been looking for Luka Andreyev, and he doesn’t exist anymore.”
Luka reached across the space between them and took hold of his hand, lacing their fingers together. “I did find you. That’s all that matters.”
Damon turned to smile at him. “Yeah. You did. And you gave me a chance, even though you didn’t want to.” He drew Luka’s hand to his lips and kissed the knuckles gently.
“I’m glad I did,” Luka whispered.
“Me, too.” He let Luka’s hand go and leaned back in his seat, staring out the windshield. “My father was worth a hell of a lot of money. He’d put away a fortune in trust for me. And my grandfather passed away last year. I was his sole heir. He left me everything. I… the lawyers said I’m a very wealthy young man. I don’t… I don’t know what to do with that, Luka. They’re asking me all these questions about investments and corporate holdings and… I don’t have a clue what they’re talking about. I’m not…” He shook his head and stared down at his hands. “You know where I’ve been. What I was. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
“We’ll talk to Cam,” Luka told him. “He knows people. He’ll get you hooked up with some finance-wizard who can help you with it.”
Damon turned wide, scared eyes on Luka. “They said I can do anything I want. Go anywhere. Buy anything. I don’t… I don’t know if I want that.”
“Well, what do you want?”
“I want to stay with you.” Damon dropped his gaze and his cheeks flushed. “It sounds stupid, but all I really want is to learn to be a healer and work at the Institute. Eleni said she could teach me, build on what I already know. I could maybe even go to school, like she did, learn to be a doctor.” His eyes met Luka’s again, sure and steady this time. “I don’t want their money. And I don’t want to be like them. My father was a complete bastard and a criminal, and my grandfather was a… a pompous ass. I just want to be yours, Luka. That’s all I really care about.”
A warm glow filled Luka’s chest, and he couldn’t help but smile. Was this what happy felt like? Because if it was, he could get used to it. “Good. Because all I want is to be yours. And all I need to be happy is you.” He leaned over to kiss Damon. “The rest is gravy.”
~ The End ~