Page 110 of Power & Punishment

He winces quietly as my weight shifts, a sharp intake of breath pausing our kiss.

I pull away, my hands reaching for his injured shoulder. “Leo, you’re hurt. Maybe we should⁠—”

“Don’t you dare move,” he orders before pulling my face back to his and deepening the kiss. His good hand caresses my cheekbone as his thumb delicately brushes across my skin. The softness of his lips molds into a promise, an apology, and a truce all wrapped into one.

At some point, Leo pulls back, resting his forehead against mine like he’s done so many times before. But today, instead of lust in his eyes, I see so much more that makes my heart flutter against my ribcage.

“Come home with me,” he whispers, his hold tightening to let me know it’s more of a plea than a suggestion.

For a second, I imagine myself saying yes. Ignoring my responsibilities and free-falling into whatever Leo DeLuca wants to offer me. But I meant it when I said our happily ever after won’t happen overnight.

There’s still work to do, and no number of kisses is going to change that.

I pull back just and look at him. “I can’t, Leo.”

Disappointment flashes across his face, and I feel his body stiffen under mine. I expect him to argue. Threaten to kidnap me and hold me against my will. But he doesn’t.

“Okay,” he says, his body softening and pulling me against him.

“Really?” I ask.

The corner of his mouth quirks. “I said I’d learn. This is me learning.”

I huff out a laugh, tossing my head to the side. “This is going to take some getting used to.”

“What?”

“You listening to me.”

I shake my head and lean back in for a kiss. Leo stills, pulling back and looking at me. “I thought you said no?”

“I said no to going home with you, but I’ll stay for a little while. Besides, I can keep this in my back pocket for when Dante pisses me off again.”

A slow smile spread across his face. “Works for me.”

32

MIA

“Thanks for meeting me,” I say, looking over my shoulder for the hundredth time this afternoon.

Keith smiles, setting a fresh cup of coffee down in front of me.

I picked a spot that Keith and I frequented normally on the job. It was a few blocks away from the precinct and beat the crappy breakroom sludge any day. Familiar enough not to raise any flags. Public enough that no one should try anything.

“What the hell is going on, Mia?” he asks, following my line of sight and rescanning all the areas I just checked.

I lift the cup to my lips, giving myself time to think of a good answer. Except, nothing can justify lying to one of the only people in my life I’ve trusted since leaving my family all those years ago.

“It’s a long story and I really hope what I’m about to tell you doesn’t make you hate me,” I sigh, setting the cup down and placing my hands in my lap.

And then I spend the next twenty minutes telling him everything, right down to the real reason I was so invested in our latest homicide and why it got me suspended.

“He was your brother?” Keith says, slumping back in his chair. “Holy fuck, Mia, that’s—I don’t even know what to say about that.”

I nod, feeling the reality of the last few weeks sink in.

Everything was happening so fast that I never really stopped to mourn Vince’s death. I was too focused on catching his killer. But if I’m being honest, this investigation is the only thing keeping me from falling down a dark hole of all the things I will never get to reconcile now that he’s gone.