Page 82 of Revenge & Ruin

He grabs me by the collar, twisting me around until I’m the one shoved back against the wall.

“I warned you. You should have never tried to build that casino,” he sneers, his voice dripping with venomous arrogance.

I shove him off me, throwing a quick right hook that catches him on the jaw. He stumbles back, spitting blood onto the asphalt, and grins like he’s enjoying this.

The alley is narrow and cluttered with old crates, a busted trash can, and a stray pipe lying abandoned near the wall. Leon grabs the pipe before I can, swinging it at my head, but I duck, feeling the rush of air as it whizzes just past my ear.

I surge forward, catching him off balance, and slam his hand hard against the wall. The pipe clatters to the ground.

“You think burning down my casino’s going to stop me?” I growl as I shove him brutally into the stack of crates. “You think any of this will matter once Ida pays for what she’s done?”

But he recovers faster than I thought possible. He shoves me back, nearly knocking me off my feet, and we both stumble to right ourselves. Our breath comes out heavy, eyes locked like two animals sizing each other up.

“You don’t get it yet, do you, Teo?” he says. “You’re never going to find her.”

The words light a fire in me that is hotter than the one devouring the casino. I lunge at him again, and suddenly, we’re locked in a brutal struggle of blows, giving like for like.

He’s quick, landing a punch square on my ribs, pain searing through my side, but I don’t let it slow me down. I bring my elbow down hard on his shoulder, feeling the impact reverberate all the way up my arm.

He staggers back, but his foot catches on a loose brick, and he uses it to swing himself right back at me. His fist connects with my temple, and stars flash in my vision, but I refuse to go down.

We’re moving in a fast and dangerous rhythm, each looking for an opening that never comes. His eyes are burning with the same stubborn fire I feel.

Neither of us is willing to give an inch.

“Where’s that fiery little redhead of yours?” he sneers as we circle each other once more. “She could have taken me down quicker than you.”

I grunt as I lash out, grabbing him by the collar, forcing him down onto his knees against the cracked pavement. He glares up at me, breathing hard, and for a second, I think he’s finished.

But then his hand slips down to his boot, and I just make out a flash of silver before I leap back out of range.

He had a knife the whole time…why didn’t he use it before?

“You want a war, Leon? You’ve got one.”

He gives me a bloody grin, hand expertly spinning his knife. “I think we both know who started this.”

A familiar sense of dread begins to writhe in my stomach.He knows. He has to know.

You must be prepared to go through with the threat.

“I could kill her for this,” I say. My voice is cold and steady, just loud enough for him to hear over the noise of the sirens and the flames roaring in the distance.

He laughs then, and it’s icy and cruel, just like his sisters. “You couldn’t even if you wanted to.”

No. No, no, no. That’s impossible.

Leon opens his arms out wide. “So, which one of us are you going to go after? Because the longer you spend fighting me, the more time she has to get away.”

22

ISABELLA

Iwaited two whole minutes after Teo left before I sprang into action.

It took me five minutes to search his wardrobe for clothes, settling for a pair of jeans I could roll up and secure with a belt, as well as a black T-shirt that I could tuck in so it didn’t fall to my knees.

It took me another minute to orient myself out in the corridor and beeline to where I saw the computer before.

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