Page 86 of Power & Punishment

And then his forehead dips forward, touching mine in a way that’s much more intimate than anything we’ve ever done. “You called me.”

“I did,” I admit, feeling Alice’s presence behind me. I attempt to pull away again, but he grips me tighter.

I shouldn’t like it as much as I do.

“I should’ve been here sooner. I came as soon as I heard.”

A throat clears behind Leo. He lifts his head, but he doesn’t look away or drop his hold. “Is the rest of the house clear?” he asks.

I peer around him, and my brother stands there with his eyes darting between us—no doubt having the same mindfuck as me. His gaze lightens when he sees me looking. “Yes.”

I don’t question how Leo knew where I was or why my brother is with him. How can I question anything when he looks at me like he’d burn the entire city down if I really was hurt?

“There’s a body in Vin—Alice’s bedroom,” I say, feeling an odd chill sweep over me as Leo finally pulls away and trudges toward the crime scene.

I follow behind him, giving Alice a reassuring look as she stares daggers at the man she told me to stay away from.

Leo’s entire demeanor shifts as he crosses the threshold of the room, carefully side-stepping the mess on the floor. He scans the room before getting closer to the body and crouching down. “Was he alone?” Leo asks, his voice cold and controlled again.

“No,” Alice answers, her voice dripping in disdain. “Why the hell do you care and why are you here?”

He doesn’t react to her snippy response. He simply turns to me and stares expectantly.

I feel the intensity of Alice’s stare as I answer. “Alice said there were two, but the other one got away. He must’ve left before I got here, but she said she clipped his shoulder.”

Leo nods, reaching out to tilt the man’s head slightly. He doesn’t look like the type to be able to stomach this type of violence. His suit alone looks like it belongs in a museum, not a rundown rental perched over a corpse. Yet somehow he looks as calm as I do around death.

Maybe we’re not that different after all.

Alice sneers, spinning on her heel and exiting the room altogether. Dante pops in a few moments later.

“Do you recognize him?” Leo asks, inspecting the man’s head wound. I flinch every time he touches the body without gloves, but I doubt it will matter when Dante chops him up and throws the pieces in a landfill somewhere.

“No,” Dante says, stepping forward to take a closer look. He leans down and pats against the man’s jeans until he finds what he’s looking for and removes the contents from his pockets. “No wallet or I.D., but it looks like a burner, some smokes, and cash, which I’ll be taking.”

“Really, Dante?” I snark, crossing my arms.

“You’ve been playing by the rules for too long, Sis. This is how it works in our world,” he says, pocketing his finds. “Besides, he’s lucky this is the only thing I’m taking from him.”

I snort and turn my head, my eye catching on something glimmering in the light. I bend down and find a stray matchbook with the same metallic outline as the one I found behind the Velvet Room.

My nerves hum under the surface of my skin as I roll the matchbook between my fingers.

“What is it?” Leo asks, once again invading my space.

I bite my lip, debating whether I want to reveal the last card I have left, but after today, I need all the help I can get. “I found a similar matchbook behind the Velvet Room the other night. It was in the same area of the bullet that killed Vince. I think it belonged to his killer.”

Leo reaches for the object, but pauses, meeting my eyes for permission before taking it. His fingers delicately feather over mine, leaving a spark of desire in their wake. I pull my hand back to my body before I do something reckless.

“This looks familiar, but I can’t place it,” he says, his eyes locked with the object. “Do you recognize this?” he asks, turning to my brother.

“Nope. I’ve never seen any of Enzo’s men use something ancient like that. I feel like only pretentious douchebags still use those. I wouldn’t be surprised if you owned some.”

Leo laughs, which catches me off guard. His laughs are usually dry and humorless, but this one feels authentic and almost wrong coming out of his lips. I think it catches my brother off guard too because he raises one brow.

“I’ll have Michael look into it,” he decides, handing it back to me. “I can have him look at the burner too, see if he finds anything.”

“I still think it’s weird Michael Chen is your bitch, but the kid is good with tech,” Dante says, handing Leo the flip phone. “I’ll have my guys take care of the body and clean-up.”