Forever, Amore

4.

Leo's P.O.V

I knew this wasn't going to be easy. She wasn't just going to come here and act as if nothing happened seven years ago. But it was frustrating me that she disrespected me in front of my men. At the end of the day, I'm still the leader round here. None of them speak to me like that without consequences. So I should punish her to set an example...but I can't.

It's my own fault she's acting this way, no matter how much she was pissing me off.

So I headed down to the gym before sunrise to release those pent up frustrations. Losing track of time, I noticed it was already eight am. After being here for four hours, I pulled a towel off the railing wiping the beads of sweat that cascaded down my face.

I slumped it over one shoulder, it resting on my bare chest as I walked upstairs to the kitchen. Approaching, I heard three familiar voices conversing over the sound of breakfast sizzling.

"Monroe, you have to hear the guy out." Kat pleaded. "I know you want answers. After all, an Italian Mafia took you from your home to protect you from things you don't know about either."

Standing round the corner, I waited for Monroe to reply, to say something.

Her exasperated sigh echoed through the silence. "I do want answers about all of this. But he's left me with questions for seven years. So forgive me for not believing he'll actually give me answers."

I took this as my cue to enter the kitchen still glistening with sweat from my long workout this morning. Kat, Monroe and Lorenzo stood in shock as they weren't expecting me to be there. I walked to grab a glass of water without making eye contact with any of them.

"Boss." Kat and Lorenzo nodded in my direction as a greeting. I turned to face them all, noticing the only one not looking at me was Monroe. She wore a white and navy short jumpsuit. She probably didn't intend to sport the colour of our mafia, but the thought of her branding navy made the corner of my lips tug up in a smirk.

"No offence but you look like shit fratello." Kat chuckled and I watched as Monroe's eyes shot over to Kat. I wasn't sure what put her in this state of shock. Was it the words she spoke? Or was it the way Italian rolled off her lips.

Kat noticed Monroe's look too and that made her chuckle. "Why are you looking at me like that, amico?"

Monroe's arms folded against her chest as she now glared daggers at Kat. "I've known you for years now. Years, yet not once have I heard an Italian accent. That was the first time."

I watched as kats face dropped, looking at me apologetically. She knew that Monroe was going to demand answers about Kat and I wasn't quite ready to share that. This whole situation caught me off guard.

Kat shuffled from one foot to the other as she looked back at Monroe. "I thought you wouldn't pieced that together. Bearing in mind that I knew where you were without being taken here by the same people you did."

You could see the look of realisation fill her eyes as her glare shifted to me. "I think we need to talk."

And with that, Monroe rose from her seat and stormed towards my office before I heard the door slam shut. "Good luck with that one, Brother." Lorenzo chuckled and Kat glared at me. "Don't lose it with her. Understand that she was thrown into this life less than 24 hours ago.."

I nodded before walking into my office to see her sitting on the seat opposite my desk. Throwing the towel on the sofa, I sat in my seat, the cold leather pressing against my bare back.

"I just want answers as to why I'm here, Leonardo." She hissed at me, showing me a new side to her. The Monroe I left seven years ago was sweet and loving all the time. I'd never seen this side to her in all the time I knew her. And the sad part is I knew what made her like this.

Me.

I leant forward in my seat, running a hand through my hair as I slid a file over to her. "Hans Fruhr. Leader of the German Mafia." She opened the folder, reading all the information. "Seven years ago, he started a war with the Italian Mafia because his wife was murdered and he always blamed my father for it. Of course we tried to tell him it wasn't us but he didn't believe us. Instead, Hans made it his mission to destroy us by killing everyone we cared about."

I glanced at her as she sat with her eyebrows furrowed, reading the file. "What does this have to do with me?" He stated bluntly, not once looking up. "Because that's the reason we left seven years ago.."

Her head bolted up and she met my gaze instantly.

"We left because he would've killed you the second he found out about your existence.."