Chapter 38: Leo

The room is suffocatingly quiet. We’re all sitting around the conference table, tension thick in the air. I can feel the anger simmering beneath the surface, each of us trying to hold it together. But inside, I’m pissed. We all are.

The team had just finished briefing us on the situation, and it was worse than we expected. Moretti broke off the deal with Sofia’s parents. Now, her parents—those selfish pieces of trash—are pissed and desperate to find her, not to protect her, but to make her pay. And, as if that wasn’t enough, Moretti hasn’t given up either. He still wants to make her his captive wife, and his men are actively looking for her.

The worst part? They’re getting too close. His goons have been snooping around her school, her work, asking questions. It’s only a matter of time before they get a lead on her, and none of us are okay with that.

Danny is the first to break the silence, his voice low and frustrated. “We’ve added more security, more men watching the house. We’ll come up with a plan to keep people away from her. But for now…” He pauses, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “We need to bring her back home. It’s the safest place for her.”

I look around the table, at each of the guys. Nate is fuming, his jaw clenched tight, his fists balled up on the table. Riley’s tapping his fingers on the table, something he does when he’s barely keeping his cool. And me? I’m trying to figure out how the hell we’re going to keep her safe with all this closing in on us.

Bringing her back home sounds like the only option. We’ve got top-notch security there, and we can watch over her ourselves.

Riley lets out a frustrated growl, slamming his fist on the table. “Fuck!” The word echoes in the room, breaking the tense silence. His chest rises and falls as he tries to calm himself, rubbing his temples. Slowly, though, I see the shift. He nods, albeit reluctantly, his eyes hardening with resolve.

“Alright, fine,” he mutters. “We bring her back home. But we don’t tell her anything yet.” He looks up, his gaze moving from Danny to Nate and then to me. “She’s been through enough these last few days. She’s just starting to feel better—hell, she’s just starting to trust us. If we tell her Moretti and her parents are closing in, it’ll freak her out.”

He’s right, and we all know it. The past few days have been a whirlwind for Sofia—kidnapped, learning the truth about her parents, nearly getting taken again. She’s fragile right now, and piling on more stress could break whatever progress she’s made.

Nate, who’s been silent up until now, finally speaks up. “Maybe we should take her away for the weekend,” he suggests, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed. His tone is calm, composed, but I can tell he’s been thinking about this. “We’ve got that cabin up north. It’s isolated, quiet. We could get away, give her a chance to breathe while we figure out our next move.”

The idea catches me off guard, but it makes sense. A cabin in the middle of nowhere? No one would find us there. Sofia could have some peace, and it’d give us time to regroup, plan out how to handle Moretti and her parents.

Danny nods, glancing around the table. “It’s not a bad idea. The team can work on figuring out who we need to hit first while we keep Sofia out of sight for a few days.”

Riley leans back in his chair, looking like he’s chewing on the idea. “Yeah,” he says after a pause. “Maybe that’s the best move for now. We’ll keep her safe, keep her calm. And when we come back, we’ll be ready to deal with anyone who’s been sniffing around.”

The plan seems to settle over the room, and for the first time since the meeting started, the tension starts to ease.

We gather our stuff, finishing the conversation and heading back to the lobby. None of us are in the best mood, but we’ve got a plan now. It’s time to get Sofia back to the house, where she’ll be safe. As we step into the lobby, though, the scene in front of us stops us all in our tracks.

There, sitting on one of the couches, is Sofia. But she’s not alone. A little girl, maybe 3 or 4, is sitting beside her, giggling as they both hunch over a piece of paper. Sofia is drawing something—a funny mix of animals, the head of one and the body of another. The girl giggles harder as Sofia adds another animal part, leaning slightly against her as she takes in the silliness.

“Here, sweetie,” Sofia says softly, helping the girl take a sip of her juice. They share a laugh, their blonde curls falling over their shoulders in almost the same way. The resemblance between them is uncanny—soft blonde curls, blue eyes, porcelain skin. The little girl looks like a tiny version of Sofia, and it makes something inside me twist in a way I wasn’t expecting.

“Fuck…” I hear Riley mutter under his breath, catching sight of the two of them. Danny lets out a low whistle, nodding toward the scene. “I know I shouldn’t be thinking this way, but… damn, she’d make an amazing mom.”

I swallow hard, torn between feeling turned on and softened by what I’m seeing. It’s hard to look away, to not imagine what it would be like—Sofia, laughing and playing with a kid like that. She looks so natural, so… nurturing. I’ve never been one to think about that kind of future, but right now, it feels like it’s staring me in the face, and it’s a lot.

Nate just stands there, arms crossed, his eyes locked on Sofia and the girl. “Shit,” he says quietly, almost like he’s in a trance. I can’t blame him.

Before any of us can snap out of it, the elevator dings, and the little girl’s parents walk out. They look pissed, probably coming out of a bad meeting. They stop, taking in the scene of Sofia with their little girl, but the kid doesn’t seem to care. When her mom tells her it’s time to go, tears well up in the girl’s eyes.

“No,” she whines softly, throwing her arms around Sofia in a tight hug. “I don’t want to go.”

Sofia hugs her back, her voice gentle and calming. “Hey, it’s okay,” she says softly, rubbing the little girl’s back. “Thank you so much for drawing with me. Maybe I’ll see you again here one day, alright?”

The little girl sniffles but nods, reluctantly letting go of Sofia. She hands Sofia one of the drawings they were working on—a sweet, messy picture of the two of them holding hands, drawn in that way only a 4-year-old can manage. Sofia smiles, clearly touched, and the girl walks off with her parents, giving one last look over her shoulder before they disappear out the door.

It’s only after the little girl is gone that Sofia notices us standing there. Her cheeks turn a bright shade of red, and she stammers, trying to explain. “I—uh—she was just sitting here alone, and I thought I’d keep her company. I just—”

But before she can finish, we’re all around her. I lean in, letting a smirk cross my face. “Sof, that was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” I tell her, not bothering to hide the admiration in my voice.

“You gonna tell me you don’t want to be a mom one day?” Danny asks, raising an eyebrow as he gently brushes a lock of her hair back.

Sofia’s eyes widen, clearly taken aback by the sudden attention. “I mean… I hadn’t really thought about it,” she stammers, her voice soft. “But, yes, I—”

“Well,” Nate interrupts, his voice low and serious, “you’d be a damn good one.”

She blushes even deeper, and I can’t help but feel that same mix of attraction and admiration for her. Seeing her like that, so sweet and caring, it’s doing things to me I can’t fully explain.