Page 58 of The Leader

She looked at him speculatively. “And are you?”

He bent his head to her. “Are you asking me if I have blood on my hands, or if I deal with the mafia?”

“Both.” She knew there was a challenge in her voice, but if he thought she was going to back down now, he had another think coming.

“I am not squeaky clean. I can’t be, even if I wanted to. I’ve done certain things to get to where I am today. Do I have ties to the Bratva as some claim? Yes. Though, not of the kind you might think. I don’t do illegal business with them that could get back to me or my family.”

“But you’re doing business with them?”

He was silent for a moment. “I have certain connections there. Nothing you need to worry about.”

“I’m not worried.” And she truly wasn’t. If there was one thing she had learned about her husband, it was that he was very protective of those he considered his. Overprotective even, but she’d like to think she was working on that.

“And you shouldn’t be. Nobody gets to touch you.”

“Still, doesn’t it bother you that people throw your past in your face? That they just assume you’re a gangster because of your father?”

“Why should it? I’m not ashamed of who my father was. He did his best with the cards life had dealt him. The only mistake he ever made in my book is letting our mother get murdered. See, a made man knows how he might end up one day. It’s most likely in jail or six feet under before his time has come. What a man, however, does take care of, is his woman. My father failed at that, letting his business touch my mother. It’s the reason why I chose to go legit.”Mostly, his eyes seemed to say. “I can’t have my brothers dying in some turf war. Though, even being legit, I still seem to have failed my family.”

“You didn’t,” she protested.

A hard laugh. “Oh, but I did.”

“How did you—”

“Luca.”

A name she’d never heard him, nor another Detta, speak before. Lucas’ incarceration was like a dark cloud hanging over the brothers. “You will get him out. I have no doubt of that.”

“I will. One way or another, I will. Just as I will take down the man who murdered my parents.”

“You know who he is,” she said softly.

He nodded.

“Is he still alive?”

“For now.”

“Why?” It was a legitimate question. She highly doubted that he was collecting evidence to hand the man who had done his family wrong over to the authorities.

“Because it took a long time before we found out who he is. When we did, he was practically untouchable. Taking him out would not have been a problem, but the aftermath would have. There’s always a trail, and I couldn’t have that follow back to my family. See, we want him to know who ends him. I want him to know, without it having a backlash on my family. It took us years to make his empire crumble, until he became a nobody. Also, we want him to be alone, and broken, to suffer before we end him.”

It sounded like a promise. An ominous, dangerous promise. She didn’t like this dark mood that suddenly washed over him.

“Let’s go home,” she whispered.

“You don’t want to bid on anything?”

“No. I already have everything I need.” She probably shouldn’t have said that, revealing too much of the conflicting emotions she felt, but she couldn’t stop herself.

Gio’s eyes turned into a dark blue, smoldering fire. He kissed her hand and made a call to Raoul to pick them up.

Then, he showed her exactly why she didn’t need any panties that night. Yep, in the back seat of the limo.

CHAPTER 28

GIO

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