Page 11 of Leverage

I shook my head slightly, watching Lucia back-flip dive into the water and then emerge to see if Raf, her bodyguard, was watching. The youngest of the family always craved attention, no matter who it came from.

“It wouldn’t be great, Matteo. It would save our asses.” I turned and leaned against the window sill, returning my full attention. “Our numbers have never been this low. Men and money.”

He nodded.

“Our market is across that border and I’m not letting it fall after decades of owning it.”

He knew I was right. The tic of his jaw reinforced the power that coursed through my veins. I held everything and everyone in a chokehold and a pathetic man like Jameson Clark wasn’t going to take that away.

I softened, biting back the anger and sliding the mask back in place. “The moment things get out of hand, we’ll wash our hands of her and her father. But we need to take the gamble.” An image of her filled my mind, her fear, her trembling, and then the crack of Denis’ meaty hand across her cheek. My voice lowered. “But…”

Matteo perked up with the seriousness of my tone.

“If Denis lays another hand on her, I might kill him myself.”

He quirked an eyebrow, his lips cracking into a smile. “You sound like you’re going soft.”

“Maybe.”

I sat and pulled up the feed again— her hold on me was alarming. When the screen lit up, I honed in on her right away, laying on the mattress and rocking softly to herself. “One month,” I chanted to myself. It was enough time for Jameson to fulfill his tasks. One month and she would be gone, either dead or returned to whatever life awaited her across the border.

“One month,” Matteo echoed.

???

I cracked my eyes open at the first light through my window. Still in my office, my muscles ached against the leather chair and the scent of tequila was a sticky reminder of my uneventful night. It took a minute before I remembered exactly what, or rather who, I was trying to forget and my eyes wandered to my computer. One tap of the keys lit up the screen, revealing her curled up on the mattress, her hair fanned around her like a crown, fast asleep.

“Fuck,” I muttered as if chiding myself. Both for my addiction to watching her and for her current state.

It had been another long night for her, I assumed, and I was sure she was sick of the stench of her own blood dried to her face. Peaking my head out of my office, the house was still silent and I blew out a breath in relief. I had charged Matteo with taking food down to her cell but today seemed as good as any for a day off.

He thought I was going soft… maybe I was. But the idea of feeding her and having her naked in my shower was waking me up like nothing else could.

After a quick shower myself, I slipped down the hallway and unlocked the guest room. Not unlike the rest of the house, it looked like it belonged in an interior design magazine with a cream colored bedspread that seemed to glow in the sunlight. For such a pleasing room, it wasn’t used much. Unbeknownst to Lucia or my late mother, the built-in bookshelf along the back wall wasn’t just there for decoration or to house the many editions of the bible my mother had insisted we kept in the house. My fingertips slid along the bottom plank until cool metal clung and a soft ticking sound broke the silence. It was a false door that led down to the dungeon. An addition my father had insisted on. One exit to the garage and one that led to the inside of the house where his wife and children slept.

Apart from the cell that Darya was currently in and Matteo’s office, it was our personal holding ground when any of thehalconesstepped out of line.

I got to her door and listened for a moment, wondering if she had woken up in the twenty minutes it took me to get ready. Sighing and ripping my fingers through my hair, I tapped the code and felt the door budge.

She jerked and then rolled over, rubbing her eyes with her hands still tied. After a few blinks, recognition flared on her face and she sat up quickly, pushing herself flush against the wall.

My gaze lingered on the soft pout of her lips as she waited for me to speak. “Let’s go.”

“Where?” she shot out.

“To get you cleaned up. I’m sick of seeing all that blood on you.”

She looked me up and down, her brows furrowed as she took me in. I could see the wheels turning, questioning every move I made and calculating all of hers. Looking off to the side, she sucked her lip into her mouth, chewing on it while she thought. The motion sent a zip of electricity through me, my pants beginning to feel tighter.

She shook her head vehemently, pushing against the wall until she pulled herself to a standing position. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Narrowing my eyes, I looked her up and down. Her jeans were covered in dirt from the knee down and her shirt was wrinkled and stained. The blood along the side of her face looked gruesome and my stomach churned at the thought of leaving her down here in filth.

“Come on,” I stepped forward and was inches away from gripping her arm when she dodged away from me.

“Fuck you!”

I lunged at her again. This time I wasn’t expecting the way she smashed her bound hands against mine, pushing me away. Her green eyes flashed and she scurried away into the corner.

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