Chapter 16
LEO
That did not go well.
But what did I expect?
After my meeting with Dante, I was pissed off that Mia was nowhere to be found.
I gave her space, and she bolted. It was like training a really impulsive dog that ran for the hills as soon as its leash got taken off.
But thanks to the tracking device I slipped in her pocket while she was in my lap, it was easy to find her.
And of course, that little red dot had to be at the worst possible location.
But again, what did I expect? I was the one who told her that’s where Vince was killed.
However, I was hoping she’d be smart enough to investigate the area when there were less people there.
I hold Mia firmly against me as we move toward the exit. I can feel her attention shift to the commotion behind us, but I don’t bother looking.
No one touches what’s mine and gets away with it.
No one.
When the cold, evening air hits me, I’m relieved at first. And then I see Michael’s looming presence walk out of the alley like the fucking shadow king.
Mia goes stiff and digs her heels into the ground. I pull her arm, forcing her to keep moving.
“We don’t have time for dramatic reunions, Emilia. We’re still being watched,” I explain, gesturing over my shoulder to the bouncers who look like they couldn’t care less about us, but I know better. They’ll report every tiny detail back to their boss, and I can’t risk any more fuck ups tonight.
My eyes cling to her throat as the muscles there constrict and she slowly nods, finding herself following me toward my car parked in front of the club.
I can’t say I hate this submissive version of the stubborn woman I’ve become so infatuated with, but I yearn for her fire. I’d rather let her slice me open with that sharp tongue of hers than float in a shallow puddle of subservience.
Michael follows as we slip into the town car. I can feel Mia’s skin crawl and her eyes smolder with rage.
“You fucking traitor,” she snips at him, flipping a switch as soon as the car door clicks into place.
“I’m not a traitor,” Michael replies, not an ounce of regret lining his voice. “I was doing my job. Besides, I don’t owe your family anything.”
Her dark brown eyes thin into two little slits as she mulls over his words. “We were friends—practically family. We never spent a holiday apart.”
“I think you’re forgetting a key detail,” he says, more talkative than usual.
The man is usually an ambiguous cloud of nothing.
He rarely shares any personal details or offers any insight into who he was before he started working for me.
“Your family dropped mine as soon as they started working for the Carusos.”
Mia’s forehead wrinkles as her lips clamp shut. “I—I didn’t know. I—”
“Exactly. So don’t talk to me about loyalty. Your brothers kept you sheltered. You don’t know shit about this world anymore, so you have no right to be mad at me.”
Her fingers tap against her thigh, and I have to stop my own hand from covering hers. The need to comfort her surges up like a really bad case of indigestion.
Part of me sees her as a toy to play with, but the other half is getting much more attached, and it is starting to seep over into my plans. My perfectly curated plans that took a long time to come to fruition.
“Whatever,” she says, facing forward and inching away from me. But sandwiched between two people she loathes is a bad place to be. When she finds herself getting closer to Michael, she settles with the person who’s had his tongue down her throat more recently.
I stifle a grin.
“Wait a minute,” Mia says, directing her cute little death glare toward me this time. “How did you know where to find me?”
“I told you. I figured you go to the Velvet Room because I told you that’s where Vince was killed.”
“Bullshit,” she snaps, narrowing her gaze. There she is.
“Fine,” I sigh, sliding my hand to her thigh. She freezes, her eyes staring daggers. But she doesn’t swat my hand away.
Interesting.
I slowly slide my hand up her thigh until I get to her hip. She follows closely with each sinister move, not concerned that Michael is right beside her.
Unfortunately, I’m a jealous man, and if Michael sees even an inch of her perfectly tanned skin, I’ll have to cut him loose, and I have a feeling he’ll be a hard man to get rid of. So, I quit my teasing and find my way into her pocket.
She tenses up when my hand slips in, which makes me wonder what else she’s keeping in there. But it’s completely empty other than the tiny tracker I placed there.
“I planted this on you when you insisted on sitting on my lap in front of your brother,” I smirk, holding up the tiny black device.
Her face twists into a red fit of rage as she grabs the object and throws it onto the floor, crushing it underneath her heel. “You son of a bitch.”
“There’s more where that came from,” I wink, feeding into her rage. Even Michael finds her reaction amusing, and the corner of his lip lifts slightly.
“Whatever,” she grunts, crossing her arms and facing forward. Little does she know it gives me the perfect view of her breasts that she’s pushing up.
Maybe she is a distraction—one I have no intention of giving up. Which makes my plan for Enzo Caruso a little more urgent.
“By the way,” I say, gripping her thigh, causing her to jump slightly. “A good pet wouldn’t leave without their owner. I should punish you for that.”
Mia rolls her eyes. “First of all, I’m not your pet,” she spits, uncurling her arms to grab my hand and thrust it back on my lap. “Second of all, pretending to be your whore tonight was punishment enough.”
“I never said whore, but we can experiment if you like. I didn’t take you as one for humiliation play, Cara,” I say. Her face develops a subtle pink tint, making my grin widen. “Besides, any woman would kill to be on my arm, so consider yourself lucky.”
“Lucky?” she sneers, letting out a divisive laugh. “You just put a huge target on my back. According to your boss, I’m a distraction, and I know what Enzo Caruso does to distractions.”
Irritation hits me unexpectedly. “That leech is not my boss, and if he so much as thinks about harming you, I won’t hesitate to—”
“To what?” Mia asks, cutting me off. “You can’t do anything other than blackmail others into doing your dirty work for you. I’m sure that’s why Michael is your little bitch right now too.”
My hand flexes in midair as I fantasize how good it would feel to wrap her long chestnut hair around my fist and pull until I see tears. And then I’d fuck her until nothing but moans came from those pretty dark lips.
“What did you find tonight?” I ask, attempting to smother the fire igniting between us.
Her lips part slightly before snapping close again. I can feel the gears spinning in her head—obviously phased by the simple fact that I chose to cool things off on purpose. If I were a betting man, I’d even go as far as to say she looks disappointed.
“I didn’t find anything,” she says, leaning back in her seat. And anyone else would believe her. Her tone is even and she looks disinterested in the conversation. But Mia Russo has one very obvious tell when she lies.
My eyes stay glued to the way she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. “We’ve done this dance before, Emilia. Just tell me what you found. We’re on the same side here. If we weren’t, I would’ve let you suffer the same fate as every girl that’s been dumb enough to walk into the Velvet Room.”
She turns toward me again, this time her eyes connecting with mine. Flashing city lights reflect on her pupils, making them sparkle with an emotion I can’t read. It almost looks like vulnerability, but it can’t be.
“If we were on the same side, you’d tell me everything that happened the night Vince died. Not feed me pieces when I do what you tell me to.”
I hold her gaze for a few more minutes, taking in the tiny cracks I crave to bust through. I don’t think I’ve ever desired someone’s trust like this.
“Fine.”
“What?” she asks with a shocked tone.
“I’ll tell you everything, but I need a drink first.”
“Tomorrow. It’s almost three in the morning. Just drop me somewhere, and I’ll get a cab home,” Mia sighs, squeezing her eyes closed.
“You’re not going home,” I say. Between her trashy super and lack of security, there’s no way I’m letting her stay in her apartment. Enzo probably already has his feelers out there trying to figure out who she is. She’s not safe on her own. “You’re staying with me until my plan is complete.”
“Excuse me,” she says, her voice booming inside the car. “Stop the car. I’m getting out.”
I give the driver a nod through the rearview mirror, and he pulls to the side of the road. We’re only a block from my place, and I’d rather have this conversation without our not-so-little third wheel.
When the car comes to a complete stop, Mia doesn’t wait. She rolls over me and opens the door before thrusting her body into the streets of Brooklyn. I shake my head and give Michael a nod. “We need to talk. Meet me at my office tomorrow morning. I’ll text you when I get in.”
“Planning on a late night?” he asks, watching Mia bolt down the sidewalk.
“Something like that,” I sigh, slamming the door and stalking toward her. It doesn’t take me long to catch up.
Without looking behind her, she barks, “Stop following me, jackass.”
“It’s hard to do when you look this good from behind,” I reply, dying to see that cute little blush that comes out when she thinks I’m not looking.
“Fuck off.”
“Emilia, stop,” I say forcefully, feeling my patience waning. “If you don’t listen, you’ll never know what happened to your brother.”
Mia finally stops, tilting her head side to side. And then she turns and her hair blows fiercely in the wind like some sort of sexy warrior princess.