Page 101 of Power & Punishment

“That’s very kind to do for someone you barely know,” I say, evening out my tone and forcing my lips into a friendly smile.

He turns around, his expression eerily similar to mine. The softness in his expression doesn’t match the sharp, deadly essence of his eyes.

“Leo has had nothing but good things to say about you,” Adrian smirks, walking toward me with a Crystal glass, half full of water. “He’s absolutely enamored with you.”

Enamored? He has to be joking.

I swipe my tongue against the back of my teeth, scrambling for the right thing to say next. I can’t let him know I’m suspicious of him, although I have no clue what I’m suspicious about.

“I’m surprised he told you about me,” I say, nodding as I accept the water I have no intention of drinking.

I raise the glass to my lips, tracking how his eyes follow the movement. I pretend to swallow before lowering it.

“You shouldn’t be,” he says, blinking slowly and pulling his gaze to a more comfortable level. “Are you feeling better? You’re looking less pale.”

His tone transitions into more sympathetic and less sinister. Much like Leo, he’s the perfect politician, and yet Leo never made me feel off like this.

“Yes,” I smile, setting the glass down on his desk. “Thank you for the water, but I should really⁠—”

“I’m glad I bumped into you. I actually had a question about some upcoming legislation, and it would be helpful to have a Brooklyn native’s perspective.”

Another piece of information that isn’t public knowledge…does this man know who I am? Who I really am?

I keep calm. “Anything I can do to help.”

His smile deepens, clearly pleased with my answer.

“That man that was killed a few weeks ago caused quite a stir in the neighborhood. People are concerned about organized criminal activity having a resurgence. Do you think it was related?”

I press my tongue to the roof of my mouth, ignoring the chill gliding over me in one cool motion. It feels like I ran away from one monster straight into the arms of another.

“It was an isolated incident, and there wasn’t enough evidence to go off of,” I say. “Things like this happen. I don’t want to speculate, but it’s likely a mugging gone bad.”

Adrian hums softly, tapping his shoes against the carpet as he considers my response.

“A mugging,” he repeats. “That sounds very convenient.”

My nails dig into my palms.

“Convenient?”

“For whoever was involved,” he states, stepping closer. “It’s clean. Contained. Easy for the public to accept and move on.”

At some point, the smile slipped from my mouth and into a straight line. He’s baiting me, but it’s unclear why. “Not every case has a happy ending.”

“Very true,” he agrees, his eyes still trained on me. “Thank you for your input, Mia. I won’t keep you any longer.”

“You’re welcome. Let me know if you have any other questions,” I lie, already an arm’s length away from the door. I’ve been inching toward the exit this entire time without even knowing it.

“I will,” he adds. “And Mia?”

I pause in the doorway and slowly glance over my shoulder. “Yes?”

His perfectly polished smile greets me out of the corner of my eye.

“Be careful who you trust.”

It’s a loaded comment. Too vague to be a clear warning or threat. But it’s enough to make doing a background check on Adrian my number one priority after I leave this dreaded office building.