Chapter 12
LEO
Something’s wrong with Emma, and it’s pissing me off.
I know something’s wrong the moment I walk into the kitchen for coffee and find her already there, arms crossed, glaring at me like I just kicked her dog. My staff moves around us, talking in hushed voices as they handle the morning routine.
“Morning,” I say cautiously, reaching for the coffee pot.
“Is it?” Emma’s voice drips with sarcasm. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve been locked in this house for three weeks with no way to tell if it’s a good morning or a bad morning or just another identical fucking day.”
All work in the kitchen ceases.
I pause mid-pour, eyebrow quirked. “You have windows. You can see outside.”
“Oh, windows!” Emma says, her voice going high and mocking. “How generous of you, Leo. Windows. Really living the dream here.”
The staff continues their freeze for half a heartbeat, then suddenly everyone has somewhere else to be, chairs scraping and footsteps retreating fast. In seconds, the kitchen is empty, the door swinging shut.
I set the coffee pot down harder than necessary. “What is your problem this morning?”
“My problem?” Emma laughs, but there’s no humor in it, her face pinched.
“Where do I even start?” She starts to list things off on her fingers.
“Maybe with the fact that I’m still here.
Maybe with the fact that you still haven’t told me when—or if—you’re planning to let me go.
Maybe with the fact that I’ve been playing house with my kidnapper for three weeks and I don’t even know what the fuck we’re doing anymore. ”
“We’re—” I start, but she cuts me off.
“No,” Emma snaps, her green eyes alight with anger. “Don’t give me some bullshit about revenge or making my father suffer. We both know that’s not why I’m still here.”
I hate that she can see through me so easily, but she sure as hell isn’t going to get that confession out of me. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I tell her in a neutral tone, which pisses her off even more.
“Don’t I?” Emma challenges, moving closer with her jaw set and her eyes blazing. “Then enlighten me, Leo. Tell me what your grand plan is. Because from where I’m standing,” she gestures around her, “you have no plan. You just keep me here because you can’t figure out what else to do with me.”
I don’t answer her because I have nothing that doesn’t make me sound like exactly the kind of man I don’t want to be. Instead, I raise my cup to my lips, eyes on her.
“That’s what I thought.” Emma pushes past me to grab her own coffee, her shoulder deliberately bumping mine hard enough that coffee sloshes over the rim of my cup and nearly burns my mouth.
The casual aggression of it sparks my temper. “Careful,” I warn, setting my cup down. “You’re walking a very thin line right now.”
“Am I?” Emma turns to face me fully, and there’s no fear in her expression, just pure defiance.
“What are you going to do about it, Leo? Lock me in my room?” She mockingly gasps.
“Oh wait, you already do that. Take away my privileges? Stop having dinner with me?” She rolls her eyes.
“I’m sure that’ll break your heart more than mine. ”
“Watch yourself,” I growl, but Emma just laughs nastily.
“Or what? You’ll remember that I’m supposed to be your prisoner instead of your…what? Your dinner companion? Your morning coffee date? Whatever the fuck this has become?”
I’ve had enough of her shit. “You know what your problem is?” I step toward her.
“I’m sure you’re going to tell me.” Emma doesn’t back down an inch.
“Your problem is that you’re ungrateful,” I say, and I can hear how much of an asshole I sound like but I can’t seem to stop.
“You’re living in a mansion. You have full access to the house and grounds.
You have books and art supplies and anything else you ask for.
Most people in your situation would still be locked in a room, but you get to pretend you’re a guest instead of a prisoner. ”
Emma’s eyes flash with fury and she steps right into my space, her finger jabbing into my chest. “Ungrateful? You want me to be grateful for being kidnapped? Are you fucking insane?”
“I want you to acknowledge that I’ve treated you well,” I snap back, my own anger rising to match hers. “That I’ve given you more freedom than I had to. I could make this so much worse for you, but I haven’t.”
“Oh, how nice of you!” Emma’s voice rises, shrill with rage. “How fucking generous of you, Leo! Should I get down on my knees and thank you for not torturing me? Should I be grateful that my captor isn’t a complete monster, just a partial one?”
I push away the thoughts of Emma on her knees in front of me. “I never said—”
“You’re keeping me from my mother,” Emma interrupts, and her voice cracks slightly before going hard again.
“You’re keeping me from my life. You ruined my wedding—granted, it was a shitty arranged marriage, but it was still my choice to make.
You’ve taken everything from me and now you want me to be grateful that at least I have a nice bedroom and access to the library? ”
“That’s not what I meant,” I say, but it comes out defensive.
“Then what did you mean?” Emma demands, getting even closer, and I can smell vanilla and flowers even through my anger.
“Explain to me what you meant, Leo. Explain what you want from me. Because I don’t understand anymore.
I don’t understand what this is or why I’m still here or what you’re waiting for. ”
“I’m not waiting for anything,” I lie, my jaw clenched tight.
“Bullshit,” Emma says flatly, and the vulgarity in her voice combined with her proximity is doing something to me that is so not appropriate right now.
“You’re waiting for something. Some perfect moment where this all makes sense?
Some revelation where you figure out how to have your revenge and keep me here at the same time?
” She jams her finger into my chest. “Newsflash: that moment isn’t coming.
You’re just prolonging this because you don’t know how to end it. ”
“I know exactly what I’m doing,” I bite out, even though we both know it’s a lie.
“Do you?” Emma laughs bitterly, shaking her head. “Because from my perspective, you have no fucking clue. You wake up every day and decide to keep me for another day because letting me go would mean admitting this whole thing was a mistake from the start.”
“It wasn’t a mistake,” I insist, but the words sound hollow even to me.
“Wasn’t it?” Emma presses, her green eyes blazing.
“What have you accomplished, Leo? My father’s upset, sure, but he was going to be upset about the wedding being ruined regardless of whether you took me or not.
He’s only tried to get me once in three weeks, by the way.
Has this brought Gabriel back? Has this made you feel better?
Has this done anything except trap both of us in this fucked-up situation where we’re pretending this is normal? ”
“Don’t talk about my brother,” I snarl, feeling rage start to creep up. She needs to back the fuck down right now before I do something I regret.
“Why not?” Emma doesn’t back down, damn her.
“You brought him into this. You made this about him. So let’s talk about Gabriel.
Do you think he’d want this? Do you think your brother would be proud that you kidnapped an innocent woman and have been keeping her locked away for three weeks with no plan and no endgame? ”
“You don’t know anything about my brother.” My hands clench into fists at my sides.
“I know he wanted to be a chef,” Emma shoots back. “I know he was kind. I know your mother said he’d hate that I’m suffering because of him. And I know that if he was anything like you claim he was, he’d be ashamed of what you’ve become.”
That crosses a line. “Fuck you,” I snarl, getting right in her face, enjoying how her eyes widen. “You don’t get to tell me what Gabriel would think. You didn’t know him. Your father murdered him.”
“That’s right!” Emma yells triumphantly. “My father murdered him. Not me!” She doesn’t retreat an inch. “I had nothing to do with what happened! But you’re punishing me anyway because you’re too broken and too angry to see the difference between me and my father!”
“You’re a Brennan,” I say, and now I’m the one jabbing my finger toward her.
“You’re part of that family. You benefit from everything your father has done, every deal he’s made, and every life he’s taken.
You don’t get to act like you’re innocent just because you weren’t there when he pulled the trigger. ”
“And you’re a Santoro!” Emma fires back, her voice rising to match mine. “You think your hands are clean? You think you’ve never profited from violence? You’re in the same fucking business, Leo! The only difference is you’re self-righteous about it!”
“The difference is I have a code,” I snap. “I have rules. I don’t murder people in cold blood over territorial disputes.”
Emma shakes her head. “No, you just kidnap innocent women and hold them prisoner!” Her laugh is harsh and bitter. “ Because that’s so much better! So much more honorable! At least my father’s violence is quick—you’re drawing yours out over weeks!”
“I haven’t hurt you,” I say, my jaw clenched so tight it aches.
“Haven’t you?” Emma’s voice cracks and she looks suddenly vulnerable, making my chest ache.
“You’ve taken me from my mother. You’ve stolen three weeks of my life.
You’ve made me into a prisoner in a gilded cage and now you’re mad that I’m not grateful for it.
That’s not violence? That’s not hurting me? ”
“You’ve been fine,” I argue, even though I know it’s a weak defense. “You’ve had everything you need—”
“Except freedom!” Emma interrupts, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “Except agency! Except the ability to make my own choices! You’ve taken all of that away and you’re acting like I should thank you because at least the cage is pretty!”