Page 94 of Power & Punishment

“I was perfectly content with my life,” he says, his hands pulling away from my body and curling into fists pressed against the granite island. “And then I went back to where my old family restaurant was to pay my respects. That’s when I saw it.”

He pauses, his teeth clenched tightly together. “Enzo bought the property and built his headquarters on the ashes of my parents. The ashes that he created because they refused to sell to him.”

“That bastard probably doesn’t even remember their names. Doesn’t think about the child he left with nothing.”

He pauses again; this time his eyes are burning with the fire that he dulls for everyone but me. “And I cannot wait until the day that he finds out exactly who I am.”

A chill slides down my spine.

“The Velvet Room,” I whisper, feeling my own anger rise up to meet his.

Leo nods, grabbing the wine glass and taking another drink before setting the glass down so harshly that I have to check it didn’t shatter.

“You’ve been waiting a long time for this,” I say, not questioning, just observing.

His head tilts up until his face is level with mine. The overhead lighting shines across his face, highlighting the sharp curve of his jaw.

Every inch of him is beautiful and sinister all in one. And I hate that I understand him.

“Every decision I’ve made in the last few years has been for his downfall, and I will never apologize for any of it,” he says, but then his face drops. “Well, except⁠—”

“Don’t,” I say, reaching out and cupping his jaw. Vince’s face flashes through my mind like it does almost every second of every day. “I understand.”

It feels odd to say out loud.

Maybe even wrong.

But something seems to click as my thumb gently strokes the stubble growing along his chin.

“I don’t blame you for what happened to Vince,” I sigh, picturing myself waving a bright white flag as the words come out. “He wanted out and he thought helping you was the way to do that. My brother was a lot of things, but he wasn’t dumb and he knew what he was getting himself into.”

I blink slowly, trying to replace the image of his corpse with happier memories, but the truth is the last time I saw him wasn’t a happy time in our lives.

“He was never afraid to endure the bad to get to the good part. I just wish he had the opportunity to experience the good,” I say, my voice faltering at the end.

Leo grabs my hand and moves it to his heart. I can feel the organ beating fast and uneven, fighting against its cage to meet the soft side of my palm.

“Your brother didn’t deserve what happened to him,” he says breathlessly. “And I⁠—”

“Neither did your parents,” I say, not letting him sink in his regret.

The seam of his lips slips for a second before perking up into a telltale smirk. “I can’t say I love the interrupting thing.”

I muster up a smile of my own, desperate to crawl out of our shared moment of despair. “Well, get used to it. Someone has to stop you from monologuing all the time.”

He shakes his head, his chest vibrating with quiet laughter. I melt into the feeling.

When the laughter fades, his warmth doesn’t. Leo grabs the back of my thighs and slides me closer until my hips are flush against his.

“Does that mean you’re sticking around for a while?”

I mash my lips together, too worried about what promises might come out with his hot breath mixing with mine.

“I’m yours until this is over,” I say, eyes catching on the way his hand seems to flinch at my sides. But every other surface of his perfect face is unbothered.

“Keep telling yourself that, Emilia,” he says, his eyes dipping to my lips before bouncing back, dripping with hunger. “I think you’re in a lot deeper than you want to admit.”

My breath catches.