“Now?” Rocco asked.
I stepped back, grabbing the blanket from the back of the couch and wiping my bloody fists on it. “Yeah, now.”
Rocco took my place and put two bullets in Enzo’s head, the silencer muffling the noise. Enzo’s mother was right. His dumb fucking mouth definitely got him in trouble.
After we left the apartment, Rocco called in the cleaning crew so that they could dispose of the body, and I spent the rest of my day in my office in one of the buildings that Cosimo had owned on 8thStreet for the sake of owning it. He could have rented it out to tenants, considering the price of real estate in the concrete jungle, but he had told me that he preferred the solitude of an entirely empty building.
I hadn’t understood it until recently.
Pushing away from the desk, I stood up and walked over to the bank of windows that overlooked Washington Square Park. I was going to have to face Leda sooner or later, figure out how the hell I was going to explain my actions in a way that would make sense to her.
The truth was: I was fucking terrified about what I felt for Leda. She was the one weakness I couldn’t afford but couldn’t live without.
I hated it. If word got out, Leda would be turned into a pawn to get to me, just like I had done to her father. She could be bargained for or even killed just because it would be a convenient way to hurt me.
And if she died because of me, I’d never forgive myself.
I ran a hand through my hair, and contemplated my next move. I would have to tread carefully with this tonight if I wanted to walk out with my balls intact after she got done laying into me.
Hell, I deserved her anger. I deserved her hating me for what I had done to her, for the lies I had told her. For breaking her heart so callously after she worked so hard to make me happy.
Leda deserved a hell of a lot better than me, but as much as I didn’t want to admit it to anyone, I hoped she hadn’t given up on me.
I waited until darkness fell before I made my way to the penthouse, and forced the driver to stop by a florist so I could pick up some flowers for Leda. Rocco snorted when I slid back into the car, shaking his head.
“I hope you hid a few diamonds in there too,” he said. “Because you are going to need them.”
I clenched the bouquet tightly in my hand. “Diamonds are next on the list.”
He grinned. “They better be.”
When I finally reached the penthouse, I realized that maybe Rocco wasn’t wrong after all about the diamonds. The living room was dark, but I could see Leda’s outline on the terrace, staring out over the city. Quietly I crossed the room and walked outside, where the wind tugged at my hair. “Leda.”
She turned, her eyes falling on the flowers. “Really, Lucas? You think that I’m going to be swayed by cheap-ass flowers?”
Okay, first of all, these flowers weren’t cheap. But that wasn’t the point.
She was spoiling for a fight.
“You’re right,” I maintained my own composure. I had caused this anger in her, this hurt, and it was my job to diffuse it and smooth this over so she wouldn’t be looking at me like she wanted to hurl me over the terrace.
I threw the flowers onto the nearby lounger. “This was a stupid idea.”
Leda wrapped her arms around her waist. “What the hell do you want?”
Killing a man had been easier than this.
“I lied to you,” I started, figuring it was easier if she knew that up front. “Everything I said yesterday was a lie.”
Leda’s hard expression didn’t change. “Why?” she challenged.
There was hurt in her voice. And I hated to hear it because I knew I caused it. She was going to force me to say it, and I could only hope that once I did, my cock would be buried in her before the night was over. That we’d wake up in each other’s arms, and all of this was just some bad nightmare.
“I care about you, Leda.”
She scoffed and dropped her arms. She wore a crop-top sweatshirt that gave me an ample view of her flat stomach, and a pair of yoga pants that molded to her ass so tightly that she might as well be wearing nothing at all. Her hair was in a messy bun, and her face was withdrawn and pale. I wanted to see her smile for me, to give me that look that sent my blood roaring to my ears and my cock.
I wanted her to be happy again.