Chapter 40 -
Leo’s eyes snapped back to hers. For a moment, the mask slipped. She saw the raw, bleeding pain of a man who had lost everything and was waiting for the world to take the rest. He took a step closer, invading her space until she was pressed against the edge of his desk.
"You think you know me?" he growled. He leaned down, his face inches from hers. "You are a waitress from a diner I could buy with the pocket change on this desk. You know nothing of my world."
"I know you hum lullabies when you think no one is listening," Nia shot back.
The silence that followed was deafening. Leo stared at her, his pulse visible in the hollow of his throat. He looked like he wanted to crush her, or perhaps pull her into him. The tension was a living thing, stretching between them until it was taut enough to snap.
"Three months, Nia," he said, his voice returning to a cold, dead calm. "That is all the time the Don has given me. If Alex does not surface by then, I cannot protect you anymore."
"And if he does not show up?" Nia asked.
Leo looked at her, his gray eyes darkening until they were the color of lead. "Then I suggest you pray. Because I will not be able to stop what comes next."
~
The air in the study suddenly felt heavy, thick with the scent of expensive tobacco and a cold, metallic undertone that always seemed to follow Leonardo DeSanto. He sat behind the massive mahogany desk, the light from a single lamp carving deep shadows into the sharp planes of his face. Across from him, Nia felt the weight of his gray eyes. They were not just looking at her; they were dissecting her, searching for the jagged edges of a lie she did not possess.
Leonardo leaned back, the leather of his chair creaking in the silence. He tossed a folder onto the desk. Inside were photographs taken from her apartment, images of her and Alex smiling in frames that now felt like relics from a dead civilization, also a transcript.
"You are a very difficult woman to believe, Nia Wallace," Leo said, his voice a low, dangerous drawl. "My men found these pictures. You and Alex. And yet, you insist he is ancient history".
Nia gripped the velvet arms of her chair, her knuckles turning white. "I told you, that life ended the moment you shoved a gun in my face. Those pictures are momentum from a ghost".
"And Jordan?" Leo asked, his gaze sharpening until it felt like a physical pressure against her skin. "The man Alex left you for. You knew his name before I even mentioned it".
Nia felt the trap snap shut before she even saw the teeth. She took a slow, steadying breath, trying to ignore the way her heart hammered against her ribs. "This was a conversations with my best friend about the man who destroyed my life, and I knew his name because Alex said it. That night. Our anniversary".
"Tell me exactly what you saw," Leo commanded, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.
"I came home to surprise him," Nia began, her voice small but steady. "I heard sounds from the bedroom. I thought it was a robber. I even left the front door open in case I had to bolt". She closed her eyes, the memory playing out like a horror movie behind her lids. "But it was not a robber. It was Alex. He was sitting on our bed with a man".
"Jordan," Leo supplied, watching the way her jaw tightened at the name.
"Yes. Jordan," Nia spat the name out like it was poison. "I saw them together for maybe five minutes. Long enough for Alex to tell me he was leaving me for him. Long enough to see that soft smile Alex used to give me, directed at someone else".
Leo leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk as he scrutinized her every flinch. "Describe him. Every detail. No matter how small".
Nia concentrated, trying to pull the image of the stranger out of the chaos of that night. "His hair was chestnut brown. Shorter than Alex's. He was lean, but he had broad shoulders. He wore a watch that looked far too expensive for someone like Alex to know."
"An accent?" Leo prodded, his hand hovering over a notepad.
"No. He did not speak a word. He just sat there, looking like the cat that caught the canary while I watched my entire world fall apart," Nia said, her lips curling into a cynical half-smile. "Is that productive enough for you, Enforcer?".
Leo studied her for a long moment, the silence in the room stretching until it felt like it might snap. The ticking of the wall clock was the only sound, a rhythmic reminder that her time was not her own.
"You are telling the truth," Leo said finally, the admission sounding like it cost him a piece of his pride.
"Of course I am," Nia snapped, the adrenaline finally starting to fade into a dull, throbbing exhaustion. "I have no reason to protect a man who helped destroy my life. I do not know where Alex is, and I certainly do not know where his lover went".
Leo tapped a rhythmic pattern against the mahogany with his fingers. "Santiago believes you are holding back. He thinks a different approach might yield better results. Something more... persuasive".
Nia felt a cold shiver race down her spine at the mention of the other man's name. "And you? Do you agree with your cousin?".
Leo stood, his massive frame blocking out the light as he walked around the desk. He stopped just inches from her, the heat from his body and the scent of his skin enveloping her until she could barely think.
"I get results my own way, Nia Wallace," he murmured, his voice a low vibration she felt in her very bones. "And right now, you are more useful to me alive and speaking than broken and silent".
He turned toward the door, the dismissal clear in the set of his shoulders. "Go back to your room. Do not make me regret this moment of productivity.".
Nia stood, her legs feeling like lead as she moved past him. She paused at the door, glancing back at the man who was both her monster and her only shield.
"Thank you for cooperating," Leo added, his voice dismissing her more gently than before.
Nia turned to leave, but stopped when his voice caught her at the threshold.
"Miss Wallace."
"Your friend Isadora," Leo said, his eyes meeting hers with unexpected consideration. "She's safe."
Nia's breath hitched. "How do you...?".
"I have people watching," Leo replied, his tone measured. "Making sure."
Nia stood in the quiet for a heartbeat, stunned by the revelation. "Thank you but...".
"I did not just age out of foster care to end up as a target in this feud, Leo," she said quietly.
"Maybe not," Leo replied, his back still to her as he stared out at the dark, unforgiving grounds. "But you would better hope Alex shows up. Because if he does not, you are dead".