Until now. Right now, I had nothing but very real anger for her and what she did. I offered her freedom, and the first thing she did was to betray my trust.
Her door was partially cracked when I approached it. I pushed it open, strolling in without any sort of care. Leda was standing by the bed, oblivious to my presence in her room.
“I’m sorry,” she was saying, emotion heavy in her voice. “That’s all I can say.”
I wanted to wrap her in my arms and chase her sadness away, but I had to make myself clear first.
Without a word, I snatched the phone out of her hand, ended the call, and threw it on the carpet, not caring if I broke it. Leda’s startled eyes met mine, and they widened when she saw the hardness of my gaze.
“That was a very stupid thing you did, Leda.” I said, my words barely a whisper. “Who did you call?”
She swallowed but didn’t tear her gaze away. A small sliver of pride shot through me despite my anger. That was one of the many things I loved about her. She wasn’t weak, and she sure as hell wasn’t afraid of me.
“My brother, Nico,” she finally replied.
Fuck. The last thing I needed was her brother coming in, guns blazing, to rescue her. Or worse yet, for him to send the Feds and demand I give up his sister. I couldn’t let her go. Not anymore. I tried once before, and it didn’t work out so well.
“What did you tell him, Leda?” I asked, advancing on her.
“I didn’t tell him where I was,” she started. “You need help, Lucas. I was just trying to—”
“You disobeyed me!” I interrupted her, making sure to enunciate every syllable of my displeasure. “I asked you not to interfere, yet here you are.”
“I did what I did because I’m worried for you!” she shot back. “Lucas, I—”
I didn’t let her finish. I didn’t want to hear about how she thought I was weak, too weak to protect what was mine.
To protect her.
She had no fucking idea how much I had thought about the terrifying prospect of her death because I couldn’t keep her safe. She had no idea how much I was afraid of what Adrian might do if he got his fucking hands on her. If I wasn’t able to stop him.
Seeing Leda’s disdain because I couldn’t do my fucking job killed me inside. I had never wanted anything as much as I wanted her right now. The thought of losing that, of losing her, was simply unbearable.
“You defied me.” I said.
Instead of shrinking back, Leda poked her finger into my chest, her eyes flashing.
“I’m not one of your men that you can just order about, Lucas! I’m your…” Her words died off, and I felt a roar of approval, followed by the letdown of her silence.
What didshethink she was to me? Hell,Iwasn’t sure what she was to me right now. There was a shape to the word, but I didn’t want to breathe life into it.
I was certain she felt the same.
I took her wrist. “If you were my man and had betrayed me like this,” I told her with mere inches between us. “You would be punished to the greatest of my extent.”
“And what would that punishment be?” she challenged huskily. “If I was one of your men?”
“Death,” I said dryly.
The last thing that a Don needed was someone he couldn’t trust. I killed men before because they had betrayed me. Cosimo killed menh because they didn’t tell the full truth. I was sure even her brother Nico killed men because they betrayed his trust.
To Leda’s credit, she didn’t flinch. Instead, she met me head on. Her chin lifted like the Mafia princess she was. “And what about me?” she asked. “What would be my punishment?”
My cock swelled at the question. This was what she did to me - one word, one challenge, one look, and I couldn’t control myself even if you pressed a gun to my temple.
Fuck, I loved her. With a growl, I wrapped my hand around the nape of her neck, feeling her pulse on the tip of my fingers. Her skin was soft, and reminded me of how intoxicating it had been to touch her earlier.
I wanted that again. “Maybe you need to be spanked,” I told her.