Page 28 of Gangster's Empire: Leeza & Havel

Leeza glared at him. “You shouldn’t need a reason to visit your grandmother.”

The skin around his eyes crinkled in amusement. “Spoken like my future wife.”

“Fuck off,” she mumbled.

“Watch your language while you’re in Babi’s home,” he admonished.

“Sorry.” He was right. As much as she was conflicted over what was happening, Babi was impossible to hate, and Leeza would never knowingly disrespect her.

“Eat,” Havel instructed Leeza, picking up a napkin, placing a sandwich on it and handing it to her.

“No.” But only because he was insisting.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “You won’t refuse Babi’s hospitality. She’ll be hurt.”

She pressed her lips together and took the sandwich. “I hate you.”

“You don’t,” he said mildly as Babi made her way back into the room, sitting heavily in her chair.

Havel was right, she didn’t hate him. But she hated… so many things it was impossible to separate what she hated from the man. She hated the mafia because it chewed her up and spit her out like she was nothing. Yet, Havel embodied everything that was mafia. Strength, moral ambiguity, pride, weaponry, death. She hated her stepfather for marrying her to another man. She hated that Havel had stood by and allowed it to happen. She hated that he couldn’t stop it without losing his life. She hated that he hated her for making the decision for both of them.

Babi produced a small velvet jewelry box, handing it over to Havel while beaming at Leeza. “It belonged to his mother.”

Panic gripped her and Leeza couldn’t breathe as Havel opened the box and pulled a delicate ring out, the small set of diamonds and the gold still shiny despite its age. Holding it between his large, blunt fingers, Havel took her hand and slid the ring on her third finger.

“A perfect fit,” Havel murmured.

It wasn’t. The ring was slightly too large, but that didn’t matter. Rings could be sized. What mattered was its existence, its meaning. She realized she knew so little about Havel. Why was this in Babi’s possession? What had happened to Havel’s parents? He’d never told her and she’d never thought to ask.

Jerking to her feet, Leeza mumbled something about needing the washroom and rushed to the back of the house, Anne pointing the way. The first room she saw belonged to Babi as it had a bed piled high with quilts and a railing attached.

Through the next door she found the washroom and rushed inside, slamming it shut. She dropped to her knees in front of the toilet as vomit burst from her. The burn of tears seared her eyes, but they refused to fall. They never fell.

Damn it.

Everything was happening too fast. One moment, she was on the run with her son, trying to keep them both safe, the next she was captured by Havel and dragged back to what she thought was certain death only to find out she’d have to marry the man she’d wanted to marry eight years earlier. But this time around everything was different. He was different. She was different.

A knock on the door startled her.

“Leeza?” The soft voice belonged to Anne. “Are you okay? Can I help?”

Leeza tried to say ‘no,’ but it came out as an incoherent squeak.

The doorknob rattled, then the door opened enough that Anne could peek in. “I’m sorry for intruding,” she said. “I heard you throwing up and thought you might need help.”

Leeza shook her head, slamming the toilet seat shut and reaching for the flush. The handle didn’t work.

Anne pushed the door open, slipping inside and closing it behind her. “There’s a trick to it. Let me.” She jiggled the handle, then pressed it halfway down for a few seconds until it made a whooshing sound. Then she pushed it all the way down. The toilet finally flushed.

Leeza let out a half-hysterical giggle. “This place is a dump.”

Anne nodded. “Yeah, but its Babi’s dump and we try to protect it for her.”

Leeza wanted to say she understood, but she really didn’t. Growing up, her mother had to have the best of everything, which meant her daughters also had the best of everything. Putting up with a toilet that didn’t flush properly or water stains on the wallpaper was far beyond Leeza’s understanding.

“Babi has mentioned you,” Anne said unexpectedly.

Leeza was surprised that Babi would have thought of her. “What did she say?”

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