Chapter 12 -
Nia had almost forgotten about Gaby beside her until the little boy’s voice broke through the quiet of the room. “Uncle Nardo!” Gaby called, making Leo turn sharply to where they were standing by the door. His eyes widened at the sight of Gaby then softened, but it was gone too soon when he saw his nephew’s hand connected to Nia’s own. Then all too slowly, his gray eyes narrowed when they took Nia in from where Gaby reached near her waist, up to her face.
He ended the call abruptly, signaling for the boy to come to him. Gaby gladly did, skipping to meet his uncle and leaving her side and her to face her captor’s wrath alone.
“Gabriel, what are you doing here and not in your room?” Leo’s tone was stern, but it wasn’t as hard as it used to be, if anything, it was softer for his nephew.
“Mummy and Papa are fighting…” the kid was saying, his voice faltering as he tried to say something more.
But Leo shushed him, kneeling in front of the boy to brush his blonde hair back. “Why don’t you go and wake Micheal, he has a surprise for you.”
“Really?” Gaby’s high pitched voice came at the mention of a surprise. Leo nodded once, and the boy sprinted away, leaving her behind with his devious uncle.
The little thing had betrayed her. And now she was all of a sudden, thinking of her appearance, any drool at the side of her mouth, or the possibility of her brown hair being a bird nest. Among other things, she had been wearing the same cloth since the night before, hadn’t brushed her teeth and the fact that she must stink overwhelmed her. Nia wanted the ground to swallow her right there, she might have volunteered to take Gaby to his uncle, but she wasn’t expecting to be left alone with him. Speaking of the devil, he took one step towards her, and it took all of her willpower not to take a reverse.
“I thought you would know better than to leave the room,” Leo said, his tone measured. Then he took another step, and as he spoke, his voice was laced with that underlying threat she had come to expect from him. “Or would you be rather chained to the bed?”
Nia felt her throat go dry at the mention of chains. She wanted to cower, but held her ground trying to explain her part, even if it was going to get her in more deeper trouble.
“Gaby came to me,” she said simply, keeping her voice calm in the face of the storm.
Leo’s eyes narrowed, his features signifying that he didn’t believe any of that, so she went into details.
“I found Gaby hiding in my closet, he was scared of the gunshots. And what was I to do? Leave him there to cry?”
Leo’s jaw tightened, the muscle along his cheekbone twitched. His gray eyes bored into hers, and if it were any other situation, she would have looked away at the intensity of it. But she held his gaze, having broken enough rules by leaving her room, there was nothing else to do than defend her actions.
“So let me get this straight,” Leo began, his tone deceptively calm whereas his body language said otherwise. “Instead of staying put, you decided to walk around the house with my nephew in tow while shots are being fired.”
Nia’s hands curled into fists at her side, frustration bubbling in her exterior. “Forgive me for thinking someone needed to protect the kid while his parents were too busy trying to kill themselves,” she snapped at him. And that got the reaction she didn’t need.
Leo crossed the distance between them in quick strides, leaning down slightly so that she could see every inch of his annoyingly handsome face. The dark grays of his eyes zeroed on her, his lips were pursed with disdain, and she noticed something she hadn’t seen before. Just above the small scar that ran from his left cheek down to his bottom lip, there was a small beauty mark. Very tiny to be seen from afar, but noticeable enough upclose. She was perusing the little details of his face, when his words caught her off guard.
“Don’t presume to lecture me about my family or my nephew. You don’t know him. You don’t know what he’s been through.”
“And whose fault is that?” She shot back, her resolve hardening.
DeSanto’s eyes flared, and his hands instinctively came to her neck region, but stopped within an inch of her skin. Deep inside her, she felt herself falter for a bit; he was going to strangle her, maybe to death or just do it swiftly and snap her neck. But just as soon as it began, it ended. He stepped back, returning that space within them, though now it was charged with tension. The room was deadly silent for a while, neither of them saying a word as Leo’s eyes flashed with something dangerous, and Nia’s empty stomach twisted in knots.
There was no doubt that she had crossed a line, which had earned a reaction from her captor, and now, she couldn’t bring herself to back down.
“You’re bold,” Leo said at last, breaking the silence between them. “But boldness will only get you so far in this house.”
“And threats will only get you so far with me,” Nia replied, surprising herself by the strength in her voice.
For a moment, Leo looked taken aback, but he quickly recovered, schooling his features to that nonchalant jerk. She knew he wasn’t expecting her to push back, and even Nia was surprised she did. All of this was the opposite of Rosa’s words, she just hoped it won’t come back to bite her in the end when she finally gets to leave this place.
“You’re lucky I like boldness,” the man said, his tone ranging from mock to impossible genuineness. “I’ll savor the moment I get to break you piece by piece. Until there’s nothing left of that.”
Nia wanted to give him a piece of her mind, she swore she had something to say to his threat, but the words died in her throat, and all of a sudden, she remembered she had low pain tolerance. Leo’s brow lifted, the faintest hint of amusement flashing in his expression after realizing that he had silenced Nia. Before she could put an end to his short-lived victory, a small knock on the door came and Rosa slipped into the room, a gasp escaping her at the sight of Nia. Her ocean green eyes took in the scene between them, then they went to Leo.
“Boss, breakfast is served,” the woman announced.
Leo’s gaze lingered on Nia for a beat, his expression unreadable as he spoke to Rosa, “Take her back to her room,” he simply ordered and strolled past them out of the study.
Rosa replied with a curt nod and turned to Nia who was standing there frozen in place. “Dear child, you’re just going to be like the rest of them,” Rosa said, her voice breaking through Nia’s haze.
“What was that? Like the rest of who?” Nia asked, confused, but Rosa shook her head in what looked like disappointment, and just mouthed, “Let’s go.”