Page 103 of Desperate Crimes

I roll my neck, feeling every vertebra crack like thunder.

“Oh, I’ll cure him,” I murmur. “With interest.”

“Not done yet,” Sammy adds, his voice lowering. “Aunt Sofia’s been to Leanna’s apartment. She’s poking around.”

My eyes flash toward the wall of screens again—one of which shows Leanna in her soft dress, bent slightly as she writes something in that little notebook she loves.

“She find anything?”

“Not yet, but the woman is a bloodhound, Junior. And she’s close to sniffing out the truth, bro.”

My pulse kicks.

“Define close.”

Sammy hesitates. “Like inner-circle close. Someone tipped her off that Leanna’s not staying at her place. And it wasn’t the cousins. They’ve kept your secret.”

“Fuck.” The word is a growl.

There’s a sharp silence between us, filled only by the whisper of the security feed and the hum of the server tower in the corner.

I clench my fist.

“Find out who the leak is. I want a name, and I want it by tonight.”

“On it,” Sammy says quickly. “And hey—what are you gonna do about Caas and Uncle Adrik?”

I stare at my wife on the screen.

She’s crouching beside a rose bush now, brushing her fingers along the edge of a black rose in bloom. A special breed I planted just for her.

My chest tightens. My blood boils.

“I’m going to remind Gianni Caas who the fuck I am,” I say coldly. “And then I’m going to sit across from Adrik Volkov and let him understand one thing—he’s not losing a daughter. He’s gaining a man who will burn the world down to keep her safe.”

I end the call.

And then I open the drawer.

Because if this is turning into a war?

Then it’s time I dress for battle.

My muscles tense.

My hands curl into fists as I stare at the screen. Leanna is twirling a black rose in her fingers like she’s spinning fate itself.

Completely unaware. Completely mine.

“Keep an eye on every approach,” I growl into the comm I use to talk to my head of security.

“Boss?”

“I said, double the guards on the west perimeter. No one gets in or out unless I authorize it personally.”

“We expecting trouble sir?”

“I’m expecting her father.”