Page 44 of Power & Punishment

“Fuck you.”

“Right here in your brother’s office?” I ask with a grin. “I like it, but that’s a little twisted even for you.”

Mia’s face turns a deep shade of red as obscenities gather on her lips. She doesn’t get a chance to use them before her brother returns.

“Here’s what you’re looking for; now stop fucking with my little sister and get the hell out of my bar,” he says, dropping some documents and a flash drive onto his desk.

“Even if this was everything I needed, I don’t take kindly to people telling me what to do.”

“Fine, but if you want to continue this conversation, Mia has to leave,” Dante says, puffing out his chest. He obviously ignored the second part of my statement.

“I can be a reasonable man, so I agree,” I say, gripping the side of Mia’s neck and pulling her closer to me. “Go grab me a drink, Cara. I’ll be out soon.”

And then I meet Dante’s stare and place a hard kiss on the corner of her mouth. It’s enough to push him to the edge, but he keeps his temper locked inside.

Dante has always been the hothead out of the two Russo brothers. Vince was calm and a natural-born leader, where his brother was the type that broke jaws first and asked questions later. But it looks like Dante has to lock away his wild side to run things.

Mia doesn’t waste any time scrambling off my lap and through the entrance. The momentary feeling of loss is almost enough for the possessive demon inside me to pull her back in for a proper kiss, but I let her run away.

I prefer the chase anyway.

“Stop eye fucking my sister and let’s get this over with, DeLuca,” Dante says, unclenching his jaw with every syllable. Then he motions to his lackey and prompts him to follow Mia, leaving us completely alone.

“Very well, Russo,” I say, throwing his last name tactic right back at him. “I’ll cut to the chase. I’m going to take down Enzo Caruso, and you’re going to help me.”

His jaw slackens, letting his chin bob in the air like an idiot.

“Your brother had the same reaction.”

“What did I tell you about talking about my brother? Now I know you got him killed with this crazy plan.”

“But you don’t think I killed him?” I ask, pointing out the obvious. “I’ll take that as a win.”

His gaze remains cold and full of anger. The emotions roll off him in waves, displayed proudly on his face.

“It’s not. I still don’t trust you.”

“And I don’t trust you,” I agree, pausing to inhale the sweet lingering smell of vanilla and nicotine. “But we don’t have to trust each other to both get what we want.”

“Which is?”

“Enzo Caruso’s head on a spike,” I seethe. Resentment grabs my heart and squeezes, remembering the pain that man has caused me. The bastard didn’t even recognize me when I came back reborn from the ashes he created.

“And why would I want that?” Dante says, leaning back in his chair. “Enzo is good to us. He pays me on time and makes sure we have protection if we need it.”

“Does she know?” I ask with one brow quirked.

“Know what?” he asks, his entire body going rigid.

I smile, shrugging quietly and shifting my position. “That Enzo was the one who had your dad killed,” I state calmly. Dante opens his mouth, his denial locked and loaded, but I don’t let him answer. “Don’t deny it. Vince told me. It’s one of the reasons he agreed to work with me.”

Dante’s lips stay pursed, and if he flinches, I don’t catch it. His entire body remains still, but his eyes give me everything I need to know.

“That’s none of your business,” he says evenly. It wasn’t this hard to get his brother to cooperate. But then again, Dante isn’t as soft, or at least he pretends not to be.

“It is my business,” I counter, gripping the edge of my chair. “Because Enzo didn’t just kill your dad. He burned many other people who wouldn’t bend. He’s killed multiple people just to prove he could.”

His gaze tightens on my own and the corner of his mouth wrinkles in deliberation. “And how would you know?”