Page 100 of Power & Punishment

I walk to the door, but just as I’m about to push it open, I stop dead in my tracks.

Leo’s voice cuts through the heavy wooden door, laced with a tense energy. “I won’t risk her getting any more hurt than she already has… She asked me if I knew the name Marco Bellini. The second Enzo’s insiders caught wind that she was digging into his dead second-in-command, he’d start asking questions and figure out who she is.”

My chest clenches

Pressing my ear closer to the door, I hear Michael’s response, which slowly inches the knife deeper into my gut. “…Sure, you can justify the suspension, but can you justify fucking up our plan…”

I stop listening after that.

Of course he’s the reason I got suspended.

I’m not sure why I’m surprised. I should’ve seen it coming.

But still, everything inside me cracks wide open, and I try to push through the hurt and focus on the anger. I latch onto it, the feeling so intense that I have to use Georgia’s desk to steady myself.

I carefully contemplate my next move—even though I’d love nothing more than to burst through that door and show Leo DeLuca exactly who he’s dealing with.

I’m not someone who needs to be protected. I’m someone he needs to protect himself from.

At some point I start moving.

My vision tunnels.

And all I see is red.

He took away the one thing I’ve been working toward for years, all for what? To protect me? As if I’m some helpless bystander in my own life.

“Careful.”

The unfamiliar voice snaps me out of my trance right before I collide into the stranger’s suit-clad body.

A hand reaches out to grip my upper arm, steadying me.

“Are you Mia?”

I look up and try to place the man in front of me. He looks familiar, like I’ve seen him before but haven’t quite met him.

He’s older. Hair laced with black and grey—the perfect salt-and-pepper mix. He’s undoubtedly handsome with his tailored suit and sharp jawline with clean facial hair.

“Do I know you?” I ask, taking a step back so he’ll drop my arm.

“No, but I’ve heard a lot about you from Leo. He’s a friend of mine on the council. My name is Adrian,” he says, his eyes heavily assessing me. “You look flushed. Would you like a glass of water? My office is right over there.”

I open my mouth to turn down his invitation, instantly feeling something off about him even though he looks harmless. But then I hear heavy footsteps echoing down the hallway, and I panic. “That would be lovely! Show me the way.”

I quickly follow Adrian to his office, tucking my tail between my legs like a coward.

As soon as we step into his office, which is slightly larger than Leo’s down the hall, I allow myself to take one steady deep breath before turning to Adrian and mustering up an excuse to leave.

“Oh geez, is that the time?” I ask, pretending to glance at the clock overlooking his desk. “I should get going. I need to get to work.”

“I thought you were suspended?” he asks with his back turned. The hair on my arms stands straight up.

“Leo told me,” Adrian adds, reading my mind. But that doesn’t calm the odd sensation stirring low in my gut. “He knows I have connections down at the precinct and was asking if I’d help get you reinstated.”

There’s no way Leo asked him that, let alone told him about my suspension.

Warning flags flare to life as I go to work scanning his office for anything that might seem off. Nothing jumps out at me. The place is a carbon copy of the other snake a few doors down.