“Not until you drop yours.”
Leo’s eyes flick to mine and all I can do is shake my head. With a sigh, he lowers his gun to his side. “Ok. I won’t shoot. Just let Emma go.”
“No.” Mother walks us backwards up the stairs until we reach my bedroom. She shoves me inside and locks the door. I can’t see anything on the other side but I can hear.
Hear the sound of the shotgun firing. Hear the sound of Leo’s pistol in response.
Then silence.
I hear my mother moan like she’s in pain before the sound of footsteps come up the stairs. The door unlocks and is pushed open. That’s when I see Leo standing there.
“Emma,” he says with a warmth in his voice that startles me. He picks me up bridal style and carries me out of the room. I see my mother on the ground with a gunshot wound to her shoulder.
“Don’t take her from me,” Mother screams. “Don’t take her!”
But Leo doesn’t listen. He doesn’t even look back.
He carries me to his car and places me in the passenger seat. My head is swimming. What is going on? Leo is the last person I can trust and yet… I feel like he’s the only one I can trust.
Without a word, Leo drives us away from my mother’s house and back to his own.
I tense. Back to the cage, I guess.
But Leo doesn’t lead me to the basement when we step foot inside. Instead, he brings me to the bathroom and looks at my bleeding knuckles. Still not saying a word, he grabs a first aid kit from the cabinet and cleans my hands, wiping away the blood. I wince from the alcohol wipes that sting my skin.
Leo is steady in his approach. Once he finishes cleaning my hands, he wraps gauze around them to stop the bleeding.
“There,” he finally speaks, stepping back. “Much better.”
I stare down at my bandaged hands. “Why did you do this?”
“I won’t have you bleeding, Emma.”
“But I’m your prisoner. Why do you care? You only want me to hurt my father.”
“I did. I still need you for that. But…” He shakes his head with a frown on his lips. It somehow looks good on him. “Was that what your home life was like? Your mother put you in that bedroom and locked the door like you were a prisoner.”
I’ve been unable to tell Leo all about my mother because of the shame she filled me with. But Leo has seen my home now. He’s seen the way my mother treated me. There’s no more hiding.
But when I open my mouth to speak, only the sound of sobs escape me.
Leo looks stunned for just a moment before he pulls me into his arms. I cling to him with everything inside of me. All my pain and fear and frustration and even lust. Everything I have felt for him.
“I didn’t know,” he murmurs into my hair. “I’m starting to see that you were telling the truth. You really don’t know who your father is, do you?”
“I don’t,” I sob into his chest. “I have never met him.”
“Your mother locked you in that room, didn’t she?”
I hesitate before saying, “Yes.”
“She kept you as a prisoner. She didn’t want your father finding you. Fuck, Emma. I’m… I was wrong, wasn’t I? You really are innocent.”
“Why did you hurt me?” I sob. “Why did you do that to me?”
I can feel Leo flinch. “Because I’m a mafia man. It’s in my nature. But you… you didn’t deserve it.” Leo continues to hold me as I cry.
It’s only once my tears pass that he picks me back up and carries me into my old bedroom upstairs. Not the basement. Not the cage.
