I didn’t respond right away. The right answer would be to take Nico up on his fucking offer and do it for her, for the woman who had torn the thorns away from my heart and given me something to live for. I should put Leda first.
But I was a selfish bastard. I wanted her and my Don title. I wanted to feel that power surge through me again, to know that the entire fucking Mafia was bowing to me. I had worked too hard to get where I was and if I gave up now, I would be letting Adrian win.
That was the last thing I planned on doing. “No.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Nico sighed. “I don’t like you, Valentino. And you have something that means the world to me. I can’t let you put her in danger because you are incapable of swallowing your fucking pride.”
I sat up then, careful not to draw any attention from Leda right now. “You think you can take her away from me?”
“I don’t want to,” her brother stated firmly. “Because I think she’s good for you, and you care about her more than you care to admit. But you’ve given me no choice. Understand that my sister’s safety is of utmost importance to me. You have no idea what my father is capable of. He hasn’t touched her yet, but he will, and once he gets her in his grasp, neither of us will see Leda again.”
I went cold inside. “You shouldn’t threaten me, Nico.” Leda belonged to me. Nico just didn’t know how far I was willing to go to keep her.
“Don’t make this fucking harder than it needs to be,” he growled into the phone.
“No, you listen,” I snapped. “You send any fucking body after your sister, and I will kill them before they have a chance to step on my property. If they do seem to get far, then they will have to fight me, and I won’t show them the courtesy I show you.”
They would have to step over my cold, dead body to get to Leda. I wasn’t about to let anyone take her from me.
She was all I had that was good right now.
“Don’t be an idiot,” Nico stated firmly, anger in his voice. “My father is going to come for her. You can’t even fight Adrian right now. You think you can take on my father as well? I don’t think so.”
“I’ve made my choice.” I snarled before ending the call.
He wasn’t about to tell me what I could and could not do.
Chapter 40
Lucas
Later that evening, after Leda was passed out in my bed from a recent furious session, I strode to my study, restless and unable to sleep. I felt like my control was slipping again, and I didn’t like it. Some of what Nico said was true, as much as I hated to admit it. I couldn’t take on both Adrian and the former powerful Don D’Agostino. There were still Carmine sympathizers out there, and it wouldn’t take long before he gathered them again if he had ever lost them to begin with.
Now there was a whole new threat to worry about.
As I entered my study, I found a small velvet box sitting on my desk, causing me to pick it up and gaze at the emerald-cut diamond I had picked out for Leda. Flanked by smaller diamonds, it sparkled in the low light, beckoning me to put it on her finger.
I could. I could go straight upstairs and wake her with my mouth, with my fingers, until she was screaming my name before I presented to her. After all, that had been my plan.
But now, it seemed like shitty plan.
I couldn’t do it.
I snagged the ring out of the box, threw the box into the trash, and slipped the ring into the pocket of my robe before reaching for the bottle of whiskey. I didn’t even bother with a glass as I took a healthy swallow, falling into my chair with a thud.
Nico was right. I didn’t have enough to keep Leda safe. And she’d never voluntarily leave me. I had to do the worst possible thing to her right now.
I had to break her heart to save her.
When the fuck had life become so complicated?
One bottle turned into two, and I was vaguely aware of Leda entering the study a while later, a robe wrapped around her luscious body. “What are you doing, Lucas?” she asked, eyeing the collection of bottles before me.
I squinted at her. “What the fuck do you want?” My words didn’t sound right to my ears, and my tongue felt thick in my mouth.
She let out a small sigh. “Come on,” she said gently, reaching for me. “Let’s go back to bed.”
Laughing, I grabbed my bottle. “You here to fuck?”