Chapter 110 -
Night fell heavy over the estate. Nia sat in Leo’s room, watching the monitors. He was still in the study with Christian and the Don making plans and all that.
The door opened, and Lucia stepped in.
“Can I sit?”
Nia nodded. Lucia settled into the chair by the desk. For a long moment, she just stared at the monitors.
“You ever get used to this?” Lucia asked quietly.
“To what?”
“Watching screens…. Waiting for something to explode.”
“I grew up waiting for worse,” Nia replied. “This feels familiar.”
Lucia let out a slow breath.
“He’s going to get himself killed.”
“Who?”
“Christian. The way he’s pushing. He won't just listen.”
“He’s angry.”
“Aren't we all?” Lucia said. “That doesn’t mean we get to be stupid.”
“You think Leo’s right?”
“I think Leo thinks long-term.” She glanced at Nia. “Christian thinks in moments.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“It is.”
Lucia turned to her fully now. “You love him.”
“Who?”
“Leo. Don’t pretend.”
Nia held her gaze. “I don’t know what I feel.”
“Liar.”
Despite everything, Nia almost smiled. “That’s what I told Micheal.”
Lucia’s expression softened slightly. “He’s different with you.”
“How?”
“He listens, hesitates, and is softer.” She paused. “More human even.”
“Is that a good thing?”
Lucia looked back at the monitors. “In this house? I’m not so sure about that.”
Silence stretched between them.
“We’re a mess,” Lucia said finally. “All of us are broken in different ways but bound together because leaving isn’t an option.”
“And you?” Nia asked quietly. “Why are you still here?”
Lucia’s lips curved faintly, but there was no humour in it. “Because someone has to keep the pieces from cutting too deep.”
She stood to take her leave. At the entrance, she added.
“Watch out for Micheal. He’s not as strong as he pretends.”
Nia lay in Leo's bed for an hour after Lucia had left, staring at the ceiling, but her mind wouldn't shut off Lucia's warning.
She got up, pulled on a sweater over her clothes, and padded barefoot through the quiet hallway. The sweet smell of bread hit her from the kitchen. Rosa stood at the counter, rolling dough. She looked up when Nia entered, and something in her face softened.
"Can't sleep either?"
Nia shook her head. “No.”
Rosa gestured to a stool. "Hmmm… Sit. I'll make coffee."
"You do this every night? Like cooking and cleaning." Nia asked.
"Most nights. Someone in this house is always awake. Might as well be useful." Rosa set the kettle on the stove. "Leo used to come down at all hours when he was younger. After his parents died and before Andrea came along."
"What did you make him?"
"Coffee, sometimes… bread. He'd sit right where you are and not say a word for hours." She glanced over. "Eventually he'd talk. He always started with something small: the weather or q book he was reading. Then, the real stuff would come out."
"What was the real stuff?"
Rosa was quiet for a moment. "That he was scared. That he didn't know how to be what everyone needed him to be. That he missed his mother's cooking."
Nia tried to imagine Leo as that boy, young, lost and sitting in this same kitchen.
"He changed," Rosa continued. "After Andrea passed away, the grief hardened him and made him quiet in a different way. He stopped coming down at night to talk about small things."
Nia wrapped her hands around the warm cup Rosa had set down for her. "Lucia came to see me tonight."
"Did she?"
"She warned me about Micheal. She said he's not as strong as he pretends."
Rosa sat across from her. "Lucia sees things others miss. She's been watching this family fall apart for years. She knows the cracks."
"What cracks?"
"Christian. His marriage. His temper. The way he looks at his brother sometimes like he can't decide whether to save him or destroy him." Rosa paused. "Micheal drinks too much because it's the only way he can sleep. Leo buried himself in work and revenge so deep he forgot how to feel. And Lucia... Lucia married a man who doesn't love her and stays because leaving would break her father's heart."
Nia stared at her. "That's... a lot."
"That's this family." Rosa's voice was gentle. "You're part of it now, whether you wanted to be or not. So you should know."
Nia took a sip of her coffee. It was hot and slightly sweet, given the addition of a small handful of cream and sugar.
"Why are you still here?" she asked. "After everything, after watching all of it. Why stay?"
"Because someone has to make the tea or coffee. Someone has to remember the boys they were before the world broke them. Someone has to be here when they come down in the middle of the night, unable to sleep, needing to talk about small things."
"You love them."
"Like they were my own." Rosa's eyes glistened. "Flawed and broken and impossible. All of them. Andrea was good for him. But you're different."
"How?"
"She made him comfortable, made him feel like everything would be okay." Rosa leaned forward. "You make him fight. You make him want to be better. That's not the same thing."
"He said something similar," she admitted.
"Good. It means he's paying attention."
Nia almost smiled. "You really do know everything."
"Not everything." Rosa stood, carried her cup to the sink. "But enough."
The kitchen door swung open, bringing Leo's face to view.
"I'll leave you two," Rosa said. She squeezed Nia's shoulder on the way out. "Drink your coffee. It helps."
The door swung shut. Leo crossed to the stool beside Nia and sat.
"You okay?" she asked.
"No."
"Want to talk about it?"
"No."
She nodded and took another sip of coffee. Then Leo spoke. "Christian wants to move against Valdez tonight. Hit their main compound before dawn."
"And you?"
"I said no again. He's not wrong that we need to act. But he's not right about how."
"He's your brother."
"He's also reckless when he's angry."
Nia looked at him. "Are you ever reckless?"
"I used to be." He paused. "Now I just calculate odds."
"That sounds exhausting."
"It is."
She reached over and took his hand. He let her.
"Rosa said you used to come here at night after your parents died."
He stiffened slightly. "She talks too much."
"She cares."
"I didn't know how to be what they needed," he said quietly. "My brothers. The Don. Everyone expected me to be strong and hold things together. I didn't know how."
"What did you do?"
"I sat here, drank coffee, and waited for morning. Rosa never asked questions. She just made the coffee and let me sit."
"She's good at that."
"She's the best."
Turning to face him fully, she said.
"You're not alone anymore, Leo."
He looked at her. His gray eyes were soft in the dim light.
"I know," he said.