Chapter 105 -
"Let me see it again," Nia said.
“See what?”
"Leo. The paper you just crushed. Let me see it."
“Why?”
“Don't be damn stubborn now. Just let me.”
Leo opened his hand slowly. Nia took the crumpled note and smoothed it out on the desk.
She read it three times. The handwriting was rough, almost childish, like someone had written it with their non-dominant hand to avoid identification. But the message was clear.
"He's not just running," she said. "He's making a statement."
Leo moved beside her, his good hand bracing against the desk. "He's drawing a line, declaring war openly."
"On the Cimmera?"
"On me." He turned to look at her. "On you. Specifically you."
Nia met his eyes. "Why me? I'm nobody. I'm just—"
"You're not nobody." His voice was quiet but hard. "You're the one who gave us the proof against him. You're the one who's been in my house, in my—" He stopped.
"Your what?"
Leo's jaw tightened. "You know what."
Christian's voice echoed from somewhere downstairs, shouting orders. Footsteps pounded through the mansion. The household was mobilizing.
"We need to move," Leo said. "You're coming with me."
"Where?"
"My room. It's the most secure location in the house. Bulletproof windows, reinforced door, separate security system."
"And you?"
"I'll be there too." He paused. "Told you. You're not leaving my side."
They moved through the hallway. Fully armed guards looking grim passed them in both directions. The mansion had become a fortress.
Rosa appeared at the top of the stairs, Gabriel clinging to her hand. The boy's eyes were wide, confused by the sudden activity.
"Miss Nia!" He tried to run toward her, but Rosa held him back.
Nia's heart clenched. She crouched down to his level. "Hey, Gaby. It's okay."
"Why is everyone running? Uncle Mikey told me to stay with Rosa and not come out."
"Everything's fine. We're just being careful tonight." She forced a smile. "You remember what I told you about being brave?"
Gabriel nodded solemnly. "Brave means doing the right thing even when you're scared."
"That's right. So tonight, you're going to be super brave and stay with Rosa, okay? Can you do that for me?"
"For you, yes." He paused. "For Uncle Nardo too?"
Nia glanced up at Leo, who stood watching the exchange with an expression she couldn't read.
"Yeah," she said softly. "For Uncle Nardo too."
Rosa pulled Gabriel away, shooting Nia a worried look, albeit urging her to be more careful.
They continued to Leo's room. Leo punched a code into a keypad, and the lock clicked open. Inside stood a wall of monitors showing security feeds from around the estate.
Leo lowered himself onto the edge of the bed, exhaustion pulling at his features. The run had cost him.
"You should rest," Nia said.
"You should stop telling me what to do."
"Someone has to."
He almost smiled.
Nia moved to the monitors, studying the feeds. Guards patrolled the perimeter. The gates were closed and reinforced. Searchlights swept across the grounds.
"Will he try to come here tonight?"
Leo shook his head. "Not tonight. He's wounded and disorganized. He just passed a message across."
"Then why all the security?"
"Because messages are just the beginning." He leaned back against the headboard, wincing. "He wants us jumpy, tired, and making mistakes."
"And when we do?"
"Then he moves."
Nia turned from the monitors. "You should have let me run when I had the chance."
Leo's eyes met hers. "You wouldn't have gone."
"You don't know that."
"Yes, I do." His voice was quiet. "You're not a runner, Nia. You never were. You fight."
She didn't have an answer for that.
As the night stretched on, they talked about the warehouse, Santiago, and even the most trivial of things. Leo's eyes kept drifting closed, then snapping open again.
"You should sleep," Nia said finally. "I'll watch the screens."
"You don't know what to look for."
"I'll learn."
He studied her for a long moment, then nodded. "Wake me if anything changes."
"I promise."
Leo lay back, draping his good arm across his chest. Within minutes, his breathing evened out.
Nia watched him sleep. In the dim light from the monitors, he looked younger: less like the Enforcer, and more like the man who'd kissed her like she mattered.
➣➣➣
She must have dozed off herself, because the next thing she knew, light was creeping through the edges of the blackout curtains and someone was knocking on the door.
Leo was already awake, already moving toward the keypad.
"It's me, Micheal." Micheal's voice came through.
Leo opened the door. Micheal stood there, looking like he hadn't slept either.
"We found something," he said. "The name of the buyer Santiago's been working with."
Leo stepped aside to let him in. Micheal's eyes found Nia on the couch, then moved back to his brother.
"Federico Valdez."
Leo went still. "Valdez? The Valdez family controls the southern territories. They've been neutral for decades."
"When the price is right, there's nothing like being neutral." Micheal held out a folder. "Here are bank records containing transfers from shell companies traced back to Valdez accounts. Santiago's been selling to them for at least two years."
Nia stood, moving closer. "Who are the Valdez?"
Leo's expression was cold. "A rival family. Although they're smaller than the Cimmera, they're ambitious and still growing." He looked at Micheal. "Does the Don know?"
"I told him an hour ago. He's calling in reinforcements from the other families. If Valdez is making a move, we need to be ready."
Nia's mind raced. A rival family, Santiago working with them for years, Andrea's death, Alex's death, ...all small pieces of a larger game.
"What about Jordan?" she asked. "The body you found with the tattoo. Was it him?"
Micheal shook his head. "We don't know yet. The body was too decomposed for visual ID. We're waiting on dental records. Could be Jordan or someone else wearing his tattoo to throw us off."
"Someone like Santiago," Leo said quietly.
"Exactly."
Nia processed this. Jordan might be dead. Or he might be out there, working with Santiago and Valdez. The uncertainty made her stomach turn.
"What happens now?" she asked.
Leo and Micheal exchanged a look.
"Now," Leo said quietly, "we go to war."
Micheal's phone buzzed. He looked at the screen, and his face changed.
"What?" Leo demanded.
Micheal held up the phone. On it was a photo, a grainy but clear surveillance footage. It showed Santiago in what looked like a warehouse. Beside him stood an older, well-dressed, smiling man Nia didn't recognize.
The caption below read: Federico Valdez and Santiago Estrella, photographed together two hours ago. Location: Valdez territory.
Leo's hand tightened on the edge of the desk.
"They're together," Nia breathed. "They're not just working together, they're allied."
Micheal nodded grimly. "And if Valdez is sheltering him, this just got a lot bigger than one traitor."
Leo turned to Nia. His eyes were hard, but underneath that hardness, she saw fear. Real fear.
"This changes everything," he said. "If Valdez is involved, nowhere is safe. Not this house. Not this city." He paused. "Not even you.”