Page 86 of Damian’s Conquest

Feeling Damian’s arm around her, made her finally relax a little.

“Well done, son,” Amaury said and patted Damian on the shoulder. Naomi saw pride shine from Amaury’s eyes.

“Well, we couldn’t have done it without Naomi’s help,” Damian said. “If she hadn’t alerted us to Mrs. Zhang, we wouldn’t have found the thief so easily.”

“That was a stroke of luck,” Amaury said. “Ryder, Vanessa, I really appreciate you guys helping out with this.”

Vanessa chuckled. “It was easy.”

“Totally,” Ryder added.

“Why don’t you guys head home? Get some rest. You were out all night,” Amaury said.

“We want to see it through to the end,” Ryder said, and Vanessa nodded in agreement.

“I’m kind of curious how a human managed to trap a vampire and lock him up,” Vanessa admitted.

At Vanessa’s words, Naomi suddenly remembered Wei Guo. “Amaury, what about Wei Guo? Is he still locked up here?”

Amaury nodded. “Yes, but we’re planning to release him soon. Gabriel confirmed that he had nothing to do with the kidnapping or the theft of the blood. We’ve already pulled off the guard outside Mrs. Zhang’s flat, and restored her phone line.”

“What are you gonna do with Wei Guo? I mean, he’s seen that you guys are vampires.” She looked at Amaury and Damian.

“We’ll have to wipe his memory and that of his mother too,” Damian said. “And not just of us, but also of the plot he hatched with his mother to get back at Mick. Neither of them can be allowed to know anything about the bottled blood.”

“But doesn’t that mean you have to go back at least a week or so? I mean, Wei Guo and his mother might have been thinking about this for a while,” Naomi wondered.

“Gabriel will help us with what we need to erase,” Damian replied. “Wei Guo won’t remember that he ever gave you the assignment to investigate the Mezzanine.”

Naomi nodded. “Good. Nevertheless, I’m not gonna continue working there.”

Damian gave her a quizzical look.

“I can’t work for somebody who has no qualms about using the power of the press to destroy somebody because of a personal vendetta. That’s unethical.”

“Good for you,” Damian said.

“Damian told me that you’re a good investigator,” Amaury said.

“Thank you. I enjoy that kind of work.”

“You make a good team,” Nina added. Her husband drew her closer to him, and they exchanged a loving look.

~ ~ ~

Damian understood what his parents were trying to tell him: they approved of Naomi. Not that he would give her up if they didn’t, of course. But it was good to know that they accepted her. She would fit perfectly into his family.

In the conference room, everybody involved in the rescue who wasn’t in the medical center taking care of Tracy and Ralph, was assembled. Plus a few others, chief amongst them Samson.

Mick sat at one end of the large table, a half-full bottle of blood in front of him. He continued to drink from it. Damian released Naomi and walked toward Mick, who instantly rose.

Damian hugged him. “Fuck, man, you gave us a fright.”

“Thanks, Damian. I knew you guys would come.” Then he looked toward the door. “And Tracy? Is she okay?”

Damian nodded. “Maya is taking care of her. She’ll be fine. You can go see her a little later.”

Mick exhaled a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”