Page 4 of The Taker

It has everything they could dig up about Leo Costa. His address, known family, place of employment, school records, bank accounts, and health history. Everything down to a jaywalking ticket he got last year. I peruse the file and spot a familiar name—Riccardo Costa—one of myZio’smade men who died in an attack on one of our warehouses upstate five years ago. I wasn’t aware he even had a son. Turns out he and Bea Costa had three kids, Leo, Julia, and Lucy. The girls are sixteen and ten.

How adorable.

I read on, and see a separate address for his mother in Vermont. Google maps shows the location as a run down cabin off a backroad that is in serious need of repairs. The cabin belongs to John Campbell. Maddalena confirmed her presence there as recently as a week ago.

Hm, if mom is in Vermont, who’s taking care of the two girls?

Raising two other people must make him busy. I dig deeper into the file, realizing that Leo’s apartment is in one of ourbuildings, where we only rent out to the soldiers. Makes sense, we often pay the rent for the families of our fallen men. That also explains why he’s working in one of our most renowned restaurants when he didn’t even finish culinary school.

An unbidden image of his angelic, tear-stained face peering up at me as he bleeds for me flashes through my mind. I wanted to grab his hair and pull it so he was pinned in place. My own heinous thoughts spur me to continue reading through the file. The urge to know everything about him is all-consuming. I can’t ignore that vile monster in my brain that screams,Take him. Mine!

This poor man has no clue what he got himself into when he saved me.

I check Leo’s social media accounts, and surprisingly they’re not the window into his life I thought they’d be. Unlike most people his age, he barely posts, and the few times he does are all observational shots. Strawberry Fields in Central Park. Sunrises and sunsets. Street performers. Random dogs he sees on the streets. He has a keen eye, despite how boring the subjects of his photos are.

Leo’s financial information gives me a deeper perspective of him. He doesn’t make a ton working at the restaurant, barely enough to afford all the things he pays for. There are debits on his checking account for dance lessons, music lessons, and groceries. His savings account is dismal—he’s one catastrophe away from everything falling apart. Seems like Leo has a cash flow issue. Something I can use to my advantage if need be.

The more I learn about him, the more I want to see, touch, and taste the brave little lion who was stupid enough to jump in front of a bullet for me—putting himself directly in the path of a predator. The memory flitting through my mind will never be enough.

I need to have him, and I’ll stop at nothing to get what I want.

Exiting through the back, I avoid the manager and other employees and slip into my car. Gio, my guard, nods, but once he sees me tapping away on my phone he gives me silence. He’s amazing at his job, always knowing exactly what I need.

I spend the entire trip to the hospital updating my crew on a change of strategy. Our original plan with Ronan flopped, and now I have to go back to the drawing board on how to get the Brass Bruisers’ warehouses.

I stroll into the emergency room after visiting hours, winking at the old hag at the visitor’s desk as I walk right by it without signing in. Being a Vettore in this city has privileges, my favorite being anonymity when I want it. Everyone knows who I am, what family I come from, and that I’ve sent my fair share of patients to this emergency room. But no one is stupid enough to flap their gums about my whereabouts.

No, you didn’t see me, thank you very much.

Leo is fast asleep in his room, hooked up to a bunch of machines with a bandaged arm. The soft beeping noise fades into the background as I stand by his bedside to take a good look at him. His clean-shaven face is relaxed in slumber, features smoothed out. He has an upturned nose and high cheekbones that give structure to his youthful face. My brave little lion looks so…innocent. So ready to be corrupted.

It’s always fun to fuck up the good ones. The pure ones who never see it coming.

I cup his cheek, his cool skin sending waves of unbidden possessiveness through me. I don’t want anyone touching his soft, pure skin.It’s mine to mar.

Shifting in bed, he nuzzles his face into my touch and opens his eyes slightly, gracing me with a small smile.

“Rocco?” he rasps the word, his throat parched and gravelly.

“Shhh,” I whisper. “Go to sleep. You’ll need your strength.” And boy, will he. I have plans for my brave little lionheart.

Leo’s smile widens before his pain meds pull him back into slumber. He has no right feeling this comfortable around a monster like me. What a fool. Soon, he’ll realize exactly what he got himself into.

A short, stocky man in a lab coat walks in, nose deep in a clipboard clutched between swollen fingers. When he looks up and sees me, he’s caught off guard.

“Mr. Vettore,” he nods, glancing at the clock, then averting his gaze to the ground.

“No worries, I was on my way out. Have a good evening doctor—” I eye his name tag, taking note of his name to make him nervous, “Ploski.”

It’s good to know his name, in case anything goes less than perfect in Leo’s recovery.

My little hero doesn’t know it yet, but his life just got a lot more interesting…

3

LEO

Me: Enzo put me on leave for another week!

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