Page 202 of Keeping Kasey
“You touched her,” I grate out in barely audible words. “Youhurther.”
“I would never touch a woman who wasn’t my wife,” Leon says, then looks at the man who stands to his left, giving me a languid grin. “Rex, on the other hand, got a bit carried away—I will admit.”
I study Rex for all of three seconds—which is all I need to memorize every detail of his dog-like face. As I stare at the blood coating his knuckles, I swear to myself that I will kill that man in the cruelest way imaginable.
But right now, I need to take care of Kasey.
“You had no reason to touch her. You knew I would come.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t come as a surprise to you that this one isn’t good at listening to directions or showing respect. She also isn’t the point of this meeting. The list,” he demands with an outstretched hand.
“She needs medical attention.”
“She won’t need anything if you don’t hand me the list.” To emphasize his point, Leon pulls a gun from a holster in his jacket and points it directly over Kasey’s forehead.
“Don’t,” I plead, ignoring his smug grin. “What do you want with it anyway?”
If I’m going to hand over two hundred known traitors within Moreno’s family and mine, the least I can do is attempt to determine why.
I jerk out of Emilio’s and the soldier’s hold, and they let me go. I pull open my coat, and Leon shifts his gun to me.
“Do something stupid, and I will kill you, then your heir.” He nods to Kasey, whose hand rests over her abdomen.
I lift my hands in surrender. If something happens to me, Kasey has no chance.
“You already know I’m unarmed,” I remind him through gritted teeth. He doesn’t lower the gun, but I take the lack of being shot to mean I can continue. Slowly, I reach into my jacket, pull out the envelope, and hold it out in front of me.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” I say as Emilio takes it and walks it to his cousin.
Leon opens the envelope, looking over the information with a smile. “You would’ve killed them, no?”
“They’re traitors.”
Leon nods. “Exactly. That’s two hundred men with intimate knowledge of the inner workings oftwoof my enemies. I save these men from certain death, and in turn, they hand over that information.”
“You’ve started a war over a few recruits?”
“You and I both know this is more thana few recruits. You asked for war when you aligned with Moreno on the basis of a sham marriage. Do you think the other families are taking well to the prospect of an alliance that size? That’s withoutmentioning how yoursisternow holds a position as a capo within the Moreno family.”
“Then your problem is with Moreno, not me.”
“Ah, but Moreno didn’t locate the traitors—you did. Besides, he took what he wanted; that’s not unnatural. What is, however, is thatyou let him. Any real man in your position would never have allowed his sister to marry an enemy. But I’ll admit,” he says, lifting a hand, “I’m being harsh. I’m genuinely impressed with how you’ve managed such a smooth transition of power. You earned my interest, and I’m curious to see how you’ll retaliate if you survive the night.”
“This is all a game to you?”
“On the contrary, it is with the utmost severity that I regard the complete lack of respect for the traditions our families have upheld for years. If you think I’m the only one who has an issue with this mass alliance, then you’re far more out of touch than evenIrealized. You’ve prompted the other families to start looking to align as well. So, if you ask me, it is you and Moreno who have started this war.” His smile turns triumphant. “I’m just the first to win a battle.”
“You got lucky,” I clip. “It won’t happen again.”
“Lucky?” Leon laughs, a deeply amused sound. “I don’t believe in luck, young Consoli. I believe in leaking an email to one of your associates after you began inquiring about a cybersecurity specialist. I believe in following the girl until the perfect opportunity arose to inject her with a tracker. I believe in slipping into her apartment to track her progress on the retrieval software. I believe in tipping you off to her location when it was ready. I believe in using the very passionate neighbor to bring her to me, so I don’t even have to lift a finger to have you at my mercy. No, Consoli, I don’t believe inluck. I believe in winning.”
I don’t bother hiding my surprise.
“You planned all of this.”
“Notall. I didn’t know she made the communications program, and I certainly didn’t expect her to get pregnant with your spawn, but it certainly made for a fascinating turn of events,” he says with an easy smile.
“Lo-gan,” Kasey rasps. My name is nearly unintelligible, but I’d know it on her lips anywhere.
