Chapter 57: Danny

Leo comes back from Sofia’s room, a soft expression on his face as he walks back into the living room. He flops down on the couch beside me, running a hand through his hair, looking both exhausted and thoughtful.

"She’s out cold," he says softly, like he’s worried speaking too loudly might wake her.

"Good," I reply. "She deserves some rest."

Nate and Riley walk back in from outside, brushing off the snow that’s gathered on their jackets. Nate heads straight for the fire, adding another log while Riley stays by the door, looking like something’s still weighing on him.

"Where’s Sofia?" Nate asks, glancing toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms.

"Sleeping," Leo says. "Didn’t take long. She looked exhausted." Nate walks over to the door and starts heading toward her room.

“Where are you going?” Leo calls out after him, an eyebrow raised. “You’re gonna wake her up.”

Nate shrugs, like it’s not a big deal. He comes back a few seconds later. “I just wanted to check on her. Make sure she’s okay.”

Leo shakes his head but grins. “Man, you’re soft.”

Nate doesn't reply, but I can see that little smile tugging at his lips as he walks back to the couch.

"She’s fine," Leo says. "She’s completely out. Let her get some sleep, man."

Nate sits down and glances toward the hallway again, but eventually lets it go. The room feels lighter now, more comfortable. But the peace doesn’t last long. There’s something we all need to talk about.

“Alright, back to business,” I say, leaning forward. “We’ve got some things to figure out before we get back home.”

“Moretti,” Leo mutters, crossing his arms.

Riley lets out a low sigh, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah, and her parents. They’re both still sniffing around.”

I nod. “Her boss at the coffee shop? He got roughed up pretty bad by one of Moretti’s guys. They wanted to know where Sofia was, and he couldn’t give them anything. Then still got beat up for it.”

Nate’s eyes darken. “And her parents?”

“They’ve been asking around too,” Leo says, his voice heavy. “It’s like they’ve realized she’s worth something now that she’s out of their control.”

“Figures,” Riley mutters. “They didn’t care about her when they had her, but now they’re on the hunt.”

I shift in my seat, feeling that familiar frustration bubbling up. "The good news is, no one actually knows where she is. Sofia kept to herself and seemed to be pretty shy with everyone in general—thank God for that. It’s probably the only reason they haven’t found her yet."

"But that won’t last forever," Leo cuts in. "If Moretti and her parents keep digging, they’re going to find out something eventually."

I watch the tension building in the room. None of us like the idea of Sofia being anywhere near her parents again, let alone Moretti. That guy’s obsession with her is unsettling.

“And what do we do when they find out where she is?” Riley asks, his tone more serious than usual.

Nate looks over at me, his voice calm but steady. “We protect her. We do whatever it takes to make sure they never get close.”

“That’s the plan,” I agree. “But we need to figure out how we’re going to do that. We can’t just sit around waiting for something to happen.”

Riley looks thoughtful for a moment, then nods. “I’ve got guys back home keeping an eye on things. They’ll give us a heads-up if anything changes, but we can’t just rely on that.”

Leo stretches, leaning back with a sigh. “We’re going to have to play defense and offense. Keep her hidden while figuring out how to take Moretti out of the picture for good.”

There’s a beat of silence before Leo speaks up again. “What do we tell Sofia? We can’t keep this from her forever.”

“We’re not telling her anything right now,” I say quickly. “She’s already dealing with enough. If we pile this on her, she’s going to break.”

Riley leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “She deserves to know eventually.”

“Eventually,” I agree. “But not yet. We need to have a solid plan first.”

The room falls into silence again, all of us lost in our own thoughts. We know what needs to be done, but figuring out how to do it without Sofia getting hurt—that’s the tricky part.

After a few minutes, Nate gets up again, pacing toward the hallway that leads to Sofia’s room. Leo just smirks, shaking his head as Nate disappears.

“I swear, the guy’s hooked,” he mutters.

“You’re one to talk,” I shoot back with a grin.

Leo chuckles, but his face softens. “Yeah, yeah, you're right.”

I rub the back of my neck, a thought suddenly coming back to me. "So... Earlier."

The guys turn instantly, telling me that they know exactly what I'm referencing.

"Fuuuuck." Leo says with a groan, taking a pillow and covering his junk. "Don't remind me. I thought I was going to lose control and scare her a bit."

"Dude, me too. I've been wanting that for days now." Riley says, closing his eyes and resting his head on the back of the couch.

"It was pure fucking heaven. Honestly, I'm not the biggest fan of seeing all of your dicks, but if it gets her to do stuff like that, I'll fucking take it." I add and they all laugh.

Just then, Nate comes back from Sofia's room, a small smile on his lips. He sits down on the lounging chair in the corner, "What's so funny?"

Riley opens one eye, "We were talking about Sof and... what we did earlier."

And I swear I almost fall off the couch when I see the faintest blush on Nate's face. "BRO." I say a little too loud, the other guys shushing me as to not wake up our girl. "Bro, what did you do with her?"

He stays silent, eyeing us calmly, but I feel like I already know the answer. Just then, Leo jumps up, pointing at him. "NO WAY! Dude did you...?" He leaves the question hanging in the air, since we all know what he was about to ask.

Nate sighs, then nods with a smile. It's Riley's turn to get up. "Shut the fuck up! Did you really? I ain't proud to say this, but I've seen your guy and it's not small, how did you do that?"

I laugh, knowing exactly what he means. Nate's smile gets a little bigger, "I didn't put it all the way in. I don't think she's done this very often, if ever. Didn't want to hurt her."

I feel the smallest pang of jealousy at the idea of Nate taking my girl's... our girl's virginity. But I also feel proud it's us who can give her all of her first times. "How was it?" I ask shamelessly.

He leans forward, resting his chin in his hands, enunciating every word. "So. fucking. tight."

There's a collective groan escaping all of us, now suddenly wishing she was awake and, well... ready to try again.