Dante
Leona disappears into Inferno, but I don't move. I stay where I am, leaning against my car, letting a slow, satisfied smile curve across my lips. Fuck. Leona is a fucking problem, damn. She is something else.
Most women—hell, any woman would've melted at my offer. They would've stumbled over their words, flattered, tempted. But she didn't, was 2 million dollars two small for her? My lips twitched, a quiet chuckle rumbling in my chest.
I exhale, shaking my head as I glance down at myself. Christ. She had me so wound up, I was actually hard from that little threat. Fucking hell.
She had the nerve to talk back to me. The audacity to look me in the eye and throw a threat in my face, a knife to your throat? Fuck. That was sexy.
I felt it, the tightness in my gut, the slow, rising heat coursing through my veins. Not anger, this was pure amusement. Intrigue. Desire. I like my women fiesty, the kind who had a little fight in them. But Leona? She was an inferno.
I exhaled through my nose, shaking my head as I turned toward Nico, who had been watching the whole damn thing like it was a free show. The bastard was smirking.
"She's got a fucking attitude," he said, lighting a cigarette.
I huffed a laugh, stepping forward. "And you know what, Nico?" I plucked the cigarette from his fingers, taking a slow drag before exhaling the smoke into the night air. "I think I like it."
Nico gave me a knowing look. "You're enjoying this way too much."
He wasn't wrong. There was a sharp thrill curling around my spine, an itch I wanted to scratch. Leona thought she could push me away, but all she was doing was pulling me in. Like a goddamn moth to a flame.
I flicked the cigarette onto the pavement and straightened. "Keep an eye on her," I said. "I don't want anyone going near my new toy."
Nico snorted. "Toy? Since when do you call women that?"
I smirked. "Since she made me hard just by threatening to slit my throat."
Nico let out a sharp laugh, shaking his head. But he didn't argue, because we both knew the truth, she is different. Women threw themselves at me, desperate for a taste of my wealth, my power. But Leona? She looked at me like she wanted to slit my throat and walk away with a smile. And that only made me want her more.
But there was something else. Something nagging at the back of my mind.
"She's hiding something," I muttered, more to myself than to Nico.
Nico raised a brow. "You think so?"
I let out a low chuckle. "I know so. There's something about her that doesn't add up."
Nico pulled out his phone, scrolling through something. "I already started digging. Her records say she's from California. Foster care system, bounced around a few homes, nothing major. But her accent? It's not West Coast. There's something else there."
I frowned, my instincts sharpening.
"Then there's her job history," Nico continued. "She supposedly worked in a bar in Miami before coming here, but no one remembers her. The bar itself exists, but when I called, they said they'd never had an employee by that name."
My jaw tightened. I had expected something to be off, but this? This was more than just a woman running from a bad past. She was hiding something. Maybe a former 'bad girl turned good', and if there was one thing I fucking hated, it was secrets.
"Keep looking," I ordered. "Dig deeper."
Nico nodded. "Want me to question some of the Inferno staff?"
I considered it. If Leona caught wind of my suspicions, she might run. And I hated when people ran from me. I just wanted to know about her, so the next time we meet, I catch her off guard.
"Not yet," I said. "Gather everything you can without making it obvious. I want to know exactly who the hell we're dealing with."
Nico nodded and walked off, leaving me alone outside Inferno. I glanced toward the entrance where Leona had disappeared minutes ago. My fingers twitched, itching to pull her back. She thought she could dismiss me. Thought she could reject me like I was some nobody.
She had no idea who she was dealing with. I always got what I wanted.
LATER THAT NIGHT…..
I sit at my desk, whiskey glass in hand, as Nico places a folder in front of me.
"I looked into her like you asked," he says. "Something's… off."
I glance up, interest piqued. "Go on."
He flips open the file, revealing documents, background checks, all neatly put together. But the deeper I look, the less sense it makes.
"She's clean," Nico says, leaning against the desk. "Too clean. No criminal record, no debt, no family to speak of. Leona Rivera came to Brooklyn two years ago, got a job at Inferno, and that's it."
I tap a finger against the paper. "And before that?"
Nico exhales. "Nothing solid. Just that".
The question was, who the fuck is she really? I close the file, exhaling slowly.
"You want me to keep digging?" Nico asks.
I nod once. "Find out everything. Where she's been. Who she's connected to. If there's anyone looking for her."