Chapter 16
EMMA
Reality intrudes, as it always does, when we’re getting dressed.
Leo’s phone rings while he’s buttoning his shirt, and I watch his expression change from relaxed to tense when he sees the caller ID.
“Dante,” he says by way of greeting, putting the call on speaker while he continues dressing. “What’s wrong?”
“Good morning to you too,” Dante says and he sounds tired and weary. “We have a situation.”
I freeze in the middle of pulling on my leggings, watching Leo’s face. His jaw is tight, his eyes hard, and just like that the gentle lover from the shower is gone, replaced by the mob boss.
“What kind of situation?” Leo asks, his voice flat.
“Connor Brennan is planning something,” Dante says, and I feel my stomach drop. “We’ve got multiple sources reporting increased activity. Weapons being moved. Alliances being formed with families that usually stay neutral.”
Leo’s eyes flick to me briefly before returning to his phone. “How solid is the intelligence?”
“Solid enough that I’m calling you at eight in the morning,” Dante replies, and I can hear the frustration in his voice. “The details are vague—no one knows exactly what he’s planning—but everyone agrees he’s mobilizing for something big.”
“He’s coming for me again,” I say quietly, and both men look at me—Leo in person, Dante presumably through the phone since I can feel the weight of his attention.
“Most likely,” Dante confirms, not sugarcoating it. “The first rescue attempt failed. He’s not going to just let that go.”
“I have sixty men on this property alone,” Leo snarls, his dark brows drawn. “Connor’s not getting anywhere near her.”
The possessiveness in his tone surprises me. Not the protective part—Leo’s been protective of me for weeks now—but the ownership in the way he says “her.” Like I’m something that belongs to him that he’s defending.
“He’s my father,” I say, sitting down on the edge of the bed because my legs feel suddenly unsteady. “He wasn’t going to stop at just one attempt. This whole time he’s been planning something else. You don’t know what he’s capable of when someone takes what’s his.”
Leo’s expression goes dark at my words and something flashes in his eyes. Before I can process what’s happening, he’s tossing his phone onto the bed as he crosses the room and pulls me to my feet.
“Leo, what—”
His mouth crashes onto mine.
The kiss is demanding, possessive, almost aggressive in its intensity. His hands grip my hips hard enough to bruise, and I make a startled sound against his mouth that turns into a moan when his tongue slides against mine.
When he pulls back, we’re both breathing hard, and his eyes are almost black with emotion.
“You’re mine now,” Leo says, his voice rough and fierce. “Not your father’s. Not anyone else’s. Mine. And I’ll kill anyone who tries to take you from me. Including Connor.”
The possessiveness should anger me and make me want to argue, to remind him that I’m not property. I belong to myself. But instead it sends a wave of desire pulsing through me so intense that I have to press my thighs together.
There’s something primal about it. The way Leo’s looking at me like he’d burn the world down before he let anyone take me. The way his hands are still gripping my hips like he’s afraid I’ll disappear. The absolute certainty in his voice when he says I’m his.
It shouldn’t turn me on. But it does. Whoops.
“Say that again,” I breathe, my hands fisting in his shirt.
Leo’s eyes darken further. “You’re mine, Emma. Mine. And I’ll kill anyone who tries to take you from me.”
I kiss him this time, pouring all my complicated feelings into it—the want and the fear and the thrill and the confusion. Leo kisses me back just as fiercely, one hand sliding in my wet hair while the other stays locked on my hip.
“Um,” Dante says from the muffled speaker, awkward and uncomfortable. “Still here. Still on the phone. Really wishing I wasn’t.”
We break apart, both flushed, and I watch a slight flush creep up Leo’s neck as he remembers his consigliere is listening to all of this.
“Sorry,” Leo says, but he doesn’t sound that sorry. He picks up the phone. “I’ll call you back in ten minutes.”
“Please do,” Dante says dryly. “And maybe have that conversation about boundaries we keep meaning to have.”
Leo hangs up and turns back to me, his expression intense. “I meant what I said.”
“I know,” I reply, because I can see the truth of it in his eyes. “And that should probably bother me, but…”
“But?” Leo prompts when I don’t finish.
“But it doesn’t,” I admit. “It should. But it doesn’t.”
Later that day, after Leo’s spent hours on the phone with Dante and his other lieutenants discussing security protocols and contingency plans, he finds me in the library.
“We need to go into the city,” he says without preamble.
I look up from my book, surprised. “Huh?”
“I have a meeting with one of my suppliers,” Leo explains, leaning against the doorframe. “He’ll only deal face-to-face. He doesn’t trust phones or intermediaries.”
“Okay,” I say slowly, not understanding why I need to know this. “So…you’re telling me you’re leaving?”
“No,” Leo says, and there’s something in his expression I can’t quite read. “I’m taking you with me.”
I set my book down carefully, not quite believing what I’m hearing. “Y-you’re taking me with you?”
“Don’t get excited,” Leo says, but there’s a slight smile playing at his lips. “You’ll be in the car with guards while I’m in the meeting. But yes.”
I don’t bother hiding my surprise. “Why?”
Leo’s quiet for a moment, like he’s trying to figure out how to put it into words. “Because keeping you locked in the house feels wrong now,” he finally says. “And because, well, I…I want you with me.”
The admission is quiet, and it does something to my heart. “Okay,” I say, standing up. “Yes. When do we leave?”
“Twenty minutes,” Leo replies, his cheeks still a bit pink at what he said. “Nothing too flashy—we’re going to Queens, not Manhattan.”
It’s the first time I’ve left the estate since Leo took me from my wedding nearly two months ago. And now I’m being allowed to leave, even if it’s just to sit in a car.
I dress carefully, aware this could be a test. Dark jeans, a simple shirt, my hair pulled back in a ponytail.
Nothing that screams “kidnapped heiress.” When I come downstairs, Leo’s waiting with three of his men—Marcus, Antonio, and Luca, all of whom I’ve seen around the estate but never really talked to.
“Ready?” Leo’s eyes scan my outfit with approval.
“As I’ll ever be,” I reply.
We walk out to the garage together, Leo’s hand at the small of my back, a gesture that’s become so natural I barely notice it anymore. His men flank us and I can see they’re all armed.
The car is a black SUV with tinted windows, bulletproof. Leo opens the back door for me, a gesture that’s oddly gentlemanly considering our circumstances.
I’m just about to climb in when Dante’s voice rings out across the garage.
“Wait! Don’t—”
Everything happens too fast.
Leo’s hand is suddenly on my arm, pulling me back hard enough that I stumble. His body is moving, covering mine, and he tackles me to the concrete floor of the garage as the world explodes.
The car erupts in a ball of fire, the blast wave washing over us with scorching heat that makes my exposed skin feel like it’s burning. My ears are ringing, and I can’t hear anything except a high-pitched whine. Leo’s weight is crushing me, protecting me from the worst of the blast.
Debris rains down around us—bits of metal and glass and god knows what else. Something hot lands on my hand and I try to scream but no sound comes out. Or maybe I can’t hear it over the ringing in my ears.
Then Leo’s pulling me up, his hands checking me over frantically. His mouth is moving but I can’t hear what he’s saying. He looks panicked though, his brown eyes wide with fear. My ears are still ringing, everything sounds muffled and distant.
“Emma!” Leo’s voice finally penetrates the ringing. “Emma, are you hurt? Look at me!”
I focus on his face, trying to process what just happened. His face is smudged with soot and there’s a cut on his forehead that’s bleeding, but his eyes are clear and focused on me with an intensity that’s almost frightening.
“I’m—I’m okay,” I manage to say, though my voice sounds weird and distant to my own ears. “I think I’m okay.”
Leo's hands are still checking me over, running down my arms and legs, looking for injuries. One of his men is talking rapidly into a radio, calling for…something. Medical? Security? I can’t quite make it out.
“Inside,” Leo says, his voice hard and commanding even though I can barely hear it. “Now. Emma, can you walk?”
I nod, even though my legs feel shaky, and Leo pulls me to my feet. His arm wraps around my waist, supporting me, and we move toward the house. Behind us, I can hear shouting and see Leo’s men swarming the scene, but everything feels surreal and distant.
The house is chaos. People running, shouting, phones ringing. Leo doesn’t stop moving. He guides me through the hallway and into his office, shutting the door behind us. The relative quiet makes my ears ring even louder.
“Sit,” Leo orders, pushing me gently into a chair. “Don’t move.”
He crosses to his desk and picks up the phone, barking orders I can only partially hear. Something about lockdown. About checking all the vehicles and finding whoever the fuck did this.
I realize I’m shaking. My whole body is trembling like I’m cold even though I can still feel the heat from the explosion on my skin. The burn on my hand is starting to really hurt now, the adrenaline wearing off enough for pain to register.
Leo’s suddenly in front of me again, kneeling down so we’re eye level. His hands cup my face, gentle despite the hardness in his eyes.
“You’re safe,” he says, his voice firm and certain. “You’re safe, Emma. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I nod, not trusting my voice, and Leo pulls me against his chest. I can feel more than hear his heart pounding and his hands are slightly unsteady as they stroke my back. He was scared. Leo Santoro, who faces down rival mob bosses and violent conflicts without blinking, was scared.
For me.
The door opens and Dante enters without knocking, his face grim.
He looks worse than Leo. There’s blood dripping from a cut above his eye, and his glasses are askew and cracked.
His shirt is torn and singed at the shoulder, and he’s favoring his left side like his ribs hurt.
He must have been closer to the blast than we were.
But he’s walking and functioning, his eyes sharp despite the obvious pain.
“You okay, Dante?” I ask, wondering how the hell he’s even standing.
Dante nods, wincing at the movement. “Alicia is going to kill me when she finds out,” he says, looking much older. “Or Leo. Or both.”
“Will your wife still kill me if I offer you a three week all expenses paid vacation and the girls are shipped to your parents?” Leo asks.
Dante sighs. “It’s a start.”
He looks between Leo and me, and I can see the concern in his eyes even through my shock.
“Brief us,” Leo says without moving from his position in front of me. “What the fuck happened?”
Dante runs a hand through his hair, looking exhausted. “There was a bomb attached to the car,” he says. “It was remotely detonated. This wasn’t a homemade bomb, Leo. This was legit. Someone knew exactly which car we’d be taking and when we’d be leaving.”
“Another traitor,” Leo says dangerously. It makes me shiver.
“Maybe,” Dante says, but he sounds uncertain. “But Leo, this bomb…it’s not Connor’s style.”
Leo’s head snaps up. “What?”
“The Brennans use bullets, not bombs,” Dante explains, pulling out his phone and scrolling through something. “They’re old school. This is sophisticated. This is—”
“Like the Corsican intel from before,” Leo finishes, his voice going even colder.
My stomach drops. The Corsicans. The ones who helped Connor’s man Zima betray Leo. The ones who’ve been lurking in the background of this whole mess.
“Wait,” I say hoarsely before I clear my throat. “If it’s not my father, then who—”
“Someone who wants you dead,” Dante says bluntly, and I flinch at the words. “Not captured. Not rescued. Dead.”
The reality of that sinks in slowly. Someone tried to kill me. Not take me back to my father or use me as leverage. Kill me.
“But why?” I ask, looking between Leo and Dante. “What do I have to do with the Corsicans? I don’t even know who they are.”
“That’s what we’re going to find out,” Leo says, and when he looks at me, there’s a protectiveness in his eyes that makes my breath catch.
“But first, we’re going to make sure you’re safe.
Dante, I want every entrance to this property locked down.
Double the guards. No one gets in or out without my explicit permission. ”
“Already done,” Dante says. “And I’ve called Dr. Jones to check Emma over.”
“I’m fine,” I protest, but Leo’s already shaking his head.
“You’re getting checked out,” he says firmly. “Non-negotiable.”
I want to argue, but I can see the set of his jaw and the fear still lurking in his eyes so I just nod and let him take care of me.
Because someone just tried to kill me.
For the first time since Leo took me, I realize that staying with him might actually be the safest place I can be.