Even if Emma is the price.
Chapter Seven
Emma
Leo brings me food and a blanket in the morning.
“What is this for?” I ask, taking the blanket.
“I don’t need you dying while you’re in here.” He hands me the plate of food – a pastry, cold meat, and eggs. “That would defeat my plan. I need to get info out of you.”
“And what if I can’t give you anything?” I stuff the pastry into my mouth and moan from the taste. I didn’t realize I was so hungry.
Leo’s eyes darken but I’m not sure if he’s angry or if it’s something else. “Even if you can’t give me anything, I can still use you. Your father attacked my boss’s club last night. I need to use you to make a point.”
“And what point is that?”
“That I will hurt you if he doesn’t back off.”
The coldness in his voice makes me set the plate down. “You… what? You’ll really hurt me? Was all of your kindness a complete lie?”
“I am doing what I must. You are my bargaining chip. I will take you to see your father today. Once he sees that I own you, he will stop this pointless war.”
“I don’t even know my father. I wouldn’t know what he looks like.”
“Once you see him, I’ll see if you’re lying about that.”
I clench my hands around the plate. “I am not lying. I have not lied about a single thing.”
“You’re the daughter of Alessandro Greco. I don’t know if I can trust you or not.”
“You can.”
“I am sorry, Emma. But this is the way things have to go. I will show your father that I have you and he will back off.”
“And if he doesn’t? If he decides to attack something else? What happens to me then?”
“Then you’ll remain with me.”
“In this cage forever?” I ask as a sinking feeling hits me in the stomach.
“If that’s what it takes to get Alessandro to back off, then so be it.”
I shake my head. “How can you be so cold to me when talking about my life? As if I’m not even human?”
“Because if I see you as human, I won’t be able to do this.”
His admission catches me off guard. “I know you have some goodness in you, Leo. I saw it when you first took me in.”
His laugh is bitter and makes me flinch. “That was all a lie. I am not a good man, Emma. I have never been. I work for the mafia. You can’t be good when you work for the mafia. I am sorrythat you’re the sacrifice in all of this but I’m not sorry for what I have to do. And if it comes out that you’re in on this with your father, then I will hurt you and I won’t feel sorry for it.”
“And when you find out that I am not working for my father, a man I have never even seen in my entire life? A man I didn’t know existed until you told me he did? Would you feel guilty then?”
Leo looks away from me. “If that’s all true, then we’ll deal with it when we have to. Until then, you will stay in this cage. Eat. Get warm. I will show you to your father tonight and everything will go well. This war will be prevented. And then you can either be free or…”
“Or?” I whisper.
“Or you’ll be killed. If you’re working for your father, Emma, I will have to kill you. So it would be better if you know something to tell me it now before it’s too late. I can save your life. If you work for me and Gabriel, you can have your freedom.”
