Page 136 of Power & Punishment

I grip her hips and smile. She feels warm when everything else is growing cold. “Is that a yes?”

She shakes her head, smiling while applying pressure to my wound. “Don’t flirt with me while you’re bleeding out,” she snaps.

I hiss through my teeth. Fuck it hurts. “I think a dying man deserves one last kiss.”

Her eyes well with tears despite the smile she’s trying to fight. “Leo, for the love of God⁠—”

A heavy thud shakes the floor beside us, followed by someone shouting, “Somebody tie up this motherfucker before I change my mind.”

Sirens wail somewhere in the distance. It’s the first thing I can pick out of the chaos.

“No, no, no,” Mia says as her hands tremble against my shoulder. Her delicate fingers are soaked in my blood, its color reminding me of the dress she wore that night at the gala. She looks amazing in red.

“You’re not dying,” she whispers, applying more pressure to my wound.

I grin wide, even with pain paralyzing every movement. “So that’s still a no to the kiss?”

She laughs, shaking her head before leaning down. And then she presses her lips to mine, and everything feels okay as I slip off into the darkness.

38

MIA

My foot taps against the ground, keeping perfect time with the beep of the heart monitor. It should be reassuring, but instead it’s driving me crazy.

I scoot my chair closer to Leo’s bed, resting my hand beside his. It’s been three hours since his surgery ended, and just like everything else he does, he’s making me wait here, completely on edge.

It’s fucking rude.

Even more rude that he selfishly risked his life for mine.

“You’re being creepy,” Dante says, leaning against the doorway. “I doubt the first thing he wants to wake up to is you staring holes into the side of his head.”

“Go away,” I snap, not bothering to look at him.

“I figured you’d be in a mood, so I come bearing gifts,” he says, walking over with two cups of coffee in his hands. I know he hasn’t slept either since we busted Adrian. There are two dark bags under his eyes and dried blood to prove it.

I let go of the breath I’ve been holding since we got to the hospital and uncurl my legs from underneath me before standing up. My entire body aches.

I look at Dante, then back at Leo. Anxiety builds at the thought of leaving him.

“He’ll be fine for a few minutes. Let’s take a walk,” Dante says, holding out my coffee.

I reach down and squeeze Leo’s hand one more time before nodding and wrapping my hands around the paper cup. “Fine. But just for a little bit.”

I follow Dante out into the bustling hospital hall. We push through a sea of nurses and doctors until we reach a less-busy section full of empty rooms. Dante turns and stops me.

“You scared the shit out of me yesterday,” he admits, white-knuckling his cup. His eyes bounce off every wall, desperate to avoid mine.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve⁠—”

“No,” he says, cutting me off. “That’s not—” he begins dragging a hand down the side of his face. “When Dad died, and everything fell to Vince and me, we both agreed it was safer to keep you away from everything. We wanted better things for you. Not a life full of wondering if you’d survive another week.”

“And maybe we ended up pushing a little too hard because when you left, I felt like we lost a piece of our family. A family that was barely holding it together to begin with,” he says, his voice rough yet soft at the same time.

“When we lost Vince, I knew you’d be the best person to get him justice,” he admits, his throat bobbing up and down. “And yeah, maybe it was selfish, but it was also the only excuse I had to bring you home again.” He finally looks at me, offering a faint smile. “I know I’m not very good at expressing this stuff, but I missed you.”

My throat tightens. “Dante, there’s something you need to know about why I left.”