Page 56 of Power & Punishment

He chuckles at that, taking a long sip of his drink. My own drink sits in my hands untouched, the ice clinking off the sterling glassware. I hate scotch, but I can barely keep my eyes open, so I take a deep breath and shoot it back, grimacing at the way the liquid burns sliding down my throat.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone shoot $2,000 worth of scotch before.” He smirks.

I roll my eyes and set the glass on the table hard enough to hear a satisfying clink. “It tasted more like ten dollars. I think you overpaid.”

He chuckles again, making my skin tingle with the same satisfaction I experienced this morning. I cross my legs and lean back.

“You were saying?” I ask, swallowing a yawn.

“First of all, I didn’t have to blackmail Vince,” he says, setting his own glass across from mine. “Once I decided Enzo Caruso had to go, I needed to find someone who wanted the same thing as me but wasn’t important enough for said person to snitch on me or pull out at the last second. I needed someone that wanted something money or power couldn’t sway.”

I furrow my brows, sinking deeper into the soft leather. “What do you have against Enzo Caruso?”

There are a million other questions pressing against my tongue, but I need to play it safe. Political corruption is at the very top, but I could sense Leo’s disdain for Enzo as soon as we stepped into the man’s orbit. I’m surprised the boss man couldn’t sniff it out, but that’s what happens when your ego is too big to care.

His posture clicks slightly as he adjusts himself on the couch. If he’s fighting sleep like me, I can’t tell because he looks as fresh as he did at the beginning of the day.

“It’s a long story—one that you don’t need to know for the plan to work.”

“Ugh,” I groan, letting my head fall back on the couch cushion. “I’m a detective. Motivation is the biggest key in any investigation. Of course I need to know,” I sigh, picking my head back up as I feel my eyelids fluttering closed.

“Tired, Tesoro Mio?” he asks with a sly grin.

God, I hate Italian men.

“Not too tired to tell you to fuck off,” I snap, attempting to sit upright, but failing miserably as I sink back into the luxurious leather. It doesn’t help that it smells like him. “Fine. Don’t tell me then. But hurry up and give me something useful.”

“As you wish,” he winks, causing something unsettling to stir inside me.

“I was already in Caruso’s orbit. It was the first phase of my plan after realizing how much he likes corrupting politicians. But then I realized that I was never going to get close enough to get any real information, so I needed an actual inside man. After doing some digging, I started hearing some rumors that your family had just as much reason to hate Enzo as I did, yet the Russos were dutifully working for him. Now I know they didn’t have a choice, and Enzo has basically been forcing other crews to rely on him for a while. He’s attempting to form a monopoly in the underbelly of New York.”

I stare down at my hands, remembering how broken we were when our mother was dying. Dad was already struggling to keep things afloat, and that was the last domino that made everything else tumble to the ground. He had no choice but to work for Enzo even if it killed him inside.

“So, how’d you get Vince to agree?” I ask, forcing him to move things along.

“You’re very impatient tonight, Emilia,” he says, his pupils darkening.

Somehow I find the strength to roll my eyes, causing him to laugh. “It was easy to get your brother on board. He’d just gotten married and was looking for a way out. I think you inspired him in some ways.”

“Me?” I question, my entire body perking up. “I thought you didn’t even know I existed.”

“I didn’t,” he answers boredly. “He always talked about a family member getting out. Never mentioned you directly. But now that I know you, it makes sense.”

“Right,” I reply, my voice dropping to a barely audible whisper. Most days I was able to bury the hurt of Vince’s death. The promise of finding justice for him kept me going, but once it’s over, I know the pain will catch up to me.

Leo goes silent. When I look up, his facial features are soft, and his mouth is curved in a slight frown. It might be the sleep deprivation, but he looks concerned.

A nagging feeling aches in my chest and something wiggles loose. “I wish he would’ve had the chance to experience life away from the outfit. I always knew he’d make a good dad and Alice—fuck, I need to go see her,” I say, feeling a multitude of regret and sadness line my tear ducts. “It’s not fair.”

I bow my head again as Leo rises to his feet and walks toward me.

Perfect, shiny black shoes fill up my line of sight. It almost makes me smile as a single tear drops off the bridge of my nose and onto the toe of his shoe, disrupting the smooth surface.

Soon the space next to me shifts and I’m forced to blink my shame away as Leo sits next to me. He reaches out to comfort me, but at the last second he pulls his hand back like he just came close to touching a live wire.

And I’m thankful for that small bit of reprieve because I’m not sure what I’d do if he touched me right now.

“It wasn’t a part of the plan for him to die. If I would’ve known⁠—”