Chapter 4

 Chapter Four  

Leo’s POV  

The last drag of the cigarette burned my throat in the best way possible. I exhaled the smoke slowly and watched as the gray tendrils curled toward the ceiling before I crushed the butt into the ashtray. The taste of nicotine lingered on my tongue, mixing with the expensive whiskey I had been nursing. The leather chair beneath me was cold against my back, but I liked it that way. It kept me grounded. It Kept my mind sharp.  

The news was playing on the giant flat-screen across the room, and my lips curled into a smirk as I watched.  

Alessia Vasquez.  

The woman who had made it her life’s mission to bring me down was now the centerpiece of a scandal so big it could shake the entire police department.  

Her husband was a pathetic excuse of a man, he had been working for me for years, shuffling my shipments, cleaning up messes, and moving drugs under the department’s nose. And the bastard never once mentioned that his wife was the relentless little cop breathing down my neck.  

Stupid.  

He thought he could control her. Thought that if he kept his secrets tight enough, he could keep her in line. What an idiot.  

And now, here she was being humiliated, betrayed and ruined.  

The station was eating her alive and the media had their claws deep in her reputation, tearing it apart piece by piece. I watched her on my phone, the footage caught right in the station and her breaking down, yelling at her husband, slapping him across the face. And when her mother-in-law struck her in front of everyone? Perfecto.  

I liked watching her lose control.  

I liked the fire in her eyes when she was angry, when she was desperate, when she was broken.  

A slow heat spread in my chest with something dark and twisted curling inside me. I tapped my fingers against the armrest, thinking.  

I heard voices from the other side of the room and I turned my head slightly, raising a brow and my friends, Trent and Pero, were sitting across from me in the living room, they were lounging in their chairs with glasses of whiskey in hand. Trent had his usual cocky smirk, his brown leather jacket hanging off his broad shoulders. While Pero, on the other hand, looked like he was chewing on glass, his expression was hard and unimpressed as he swirled his drink.  

“You’re staring at your phone like a lovesick idiot,” Trent mused, taking a sip. “Tell me you’re not actually thinking about keeping this woman.”  

I grinned lazily, tilting the screen toward them so they could see. “Look at her,” I said. “She’s drowning. And I love it.”  

Pero scoffed. “You set her husband up, had him thrown in a cell, and now you want to take her? You’re a psycho, Leo.”  

I shrugged. “I don’t deny that.”  

Trent laughed. “Alright, but let’s be real. What if she wakes up one day and puts a bullet between your eyes? That woman hates you, Leonardo. And she has every damn reason to.”  

I took another sip of my drink, letting the taste settle before setting the glass down with a soft clink.  

“That,” I said, my voice smooth, “would be the sexiest thing any woman has ever done to me.” Trent barked out a laugh. Pero just shook his head.  

“You’re a lost cause,” Pero muttered, rubbing his jaw.  

“I’ve been called worse.”  

A knock on the door interrupted us, and one of my men stepped in, giving a sharp nod before speaking. “Boss, we got the final update on the upcoming shipment. The deal’s back on track. Vasquez almost ruined it, but with her husband out of the way, things are moving smoothly.”  

“Good Tyler,” I said, relaxing into my chair. “And the issue with our little intruder at the club?”  

The man swallowed, his expression tightening. “Handled. We found out it was one of Romano’s men. The bastard was trying to sell information out of our guys.”  

I arched my brow. “And?”  

He hesitated a bit which was what I hated the most. I sighed with a twitch on my lips. “If you don’t want your head rolling on the floor, tell me what I need to know.”  

He straightened immediately and bowed his head. “We, uh… took care of him. Pero’s guy handled the body.”  

I looked over at Pero, who merely nodded. “Buried deep. Won’t be found anywhere, no need to fret.”  

“Good,” I murmured.  

The Fernandez families were always testing me. Always pushing to see how far they could go before I snapped their necks like twigs especially the first son like Romano who was getting bold and too stupid. 

“We’ll handle him my way” I said, running a hand down my jaw. “I want his casino burned to the ground by midnight.”  

Tyler grinned. “Now that is something I can get behind.”  

“Make it clean Tyler.” I warned. “No loose ends.”  

Tyler and the other guy whom I'm just meeting tonight shared a look before nodding.  

With that settled, I turned back to the original problem at hand, Daniel Vasquez.  

His existence was an inconvenience and a huge distraction to me and Alessia. And I didn’t do distractions.  

“Vasquez is a fucking liability,” I muttered, eyes still on my phone. The last thing I needed was that bastard getting out of prison and coming after me in a dirty way.  

“What do you want us to do?” Tyler asked me eagerly, he never liked Daniel and each time I wondered why, I reminded myself that it was for the best. It's easier to work with your enemy.

I looked at the both of them, smirking.“Let the inmates know he’s a problem.”  

Tyler whistled low. “You want him gone?”  

I nodded once and he replied. 

“Done.” He took his phone out and sent a quick message. “He won’t last the night.”  

I exhaled slowly, pleased at the outcome of everything but the only one at the loose end was Alessia.  

She was fire and rage, a woman who had spent years chasing me like I was her goddamn purpose in life. Now, with her husband out of the way, I wondered what she would do next.  

She hated me but hate could be turned into something else, something… addictive.  

“Alright guys” I said, stretching my legs out. “Enough work talk. Let’s go to the club.”  

Trent grinned and Pero stood up. “Time to waste money on overpriced drinks and strippers?”  

“You say that like you’re not the first one throwing stacks on the table,” Pero muttered.  

“Because I am the first one throwing stacks on the table Idiot!”  

I chuckled and stood up, ignoring the rants. “Let’s go.”  

We left the lounge, stepping out into the night. The city stretched out before us with flashing lights and dirty secrets. My empire. My playground in the City.  

And somewhere out there, Alessia Vasquez was crumbling. I licked my lips, the thought of her sending a thrill through me and went down to t

he forbidden places. The thought of breaking her was the only fucking thing that turned me on right now.