Page 27 of Unholy Night
"And look where it got you." Leo's smile is cruel, but it wavers as his leg gives out, forcing him back into the chair. "Covered in our blood, hiding from the law, pretending you belong here. You think you know Tomas because he saved you from freezing? Because he quoted some of his damn philosophy and fucked you by the fire? You don't know what he's capable of."
"She knows I told her the truth that first night," I say, remembering how I'd laid it all out. "That you wanted her dead immediately. That Dom found her investigation amusing."
Leo's eyes flash. "And yet she stayed. That's the definition of stupid."
"I know he's capable of choosing," Natalie says, her voice sharpening. "Something you seem incapable of understanding."
Leo's phone buzzes. He checks it one-handed, the other pressed to his bleeding leg now, and his face transforms with something like triumph while he types a quick reply.
"Dom's coming," he says. "Tonight. He's bringing solutions for our little problem here."
The threat is clear. Dom doesn't bring solutions, he brings endings. Clean, final, absolute. The kind that leave no witnesses.
"He doesn't know she's here," I say.
"He does now." Leo holds up his phone. "Just told him. Also told him she knows about the family business. Can't have lawyers walking around with our secrets, can we?"
The betrayal hits hard. My chest actually aches. My own cousin, signing her death warrant. Natalie goes still beside him, understanding the implications. In our world, outsiders who know too much don't get to walk away.
"You son of a bitch."
"I'm trying to save you!" Leo roars, and the effort makes both wounds protest, blood seeping faster. "She's going to destroy everything! Can't you see that? She's already got you wrapped around her little finger. What's next? You testifying against us? Turning state's witness for love?"
"I would never…"
"You already are!" He spins toward Natalie, too fast. His leg buckles but he pushes through, grabbing her wrist with desperate strength, yanking her close. The medical supplies scatter across the floor. I can see his fingers digging in, the bruise already forming under his grip, dark purple blooming on her pale skin.
"Leo, let her go."
"You want to know what we do to problems?" His grip tightens despite his wounds making him shake, and I see Natalie wince, trying not to show pain. "We make them disappear. No body, no crime. Just another missing person who got too close to the truth."
My gun is against his temple before the thought completes. Cold metal pressed to his fevered skin.
"Let. Her. Go."
The cabin goes absolutely still. Leo freezes, Natalie between us, her wrist still trapped in his grip. This is the line we never cross. Family doesn't aim at family. It's the first rule, the only rule that matters.
"You're aiming a gun at my head." Leo's voice is soft, disbelieving. Blood from his shoulder drips onto Natalie's arm. "Your own cousin."
"You're hurting her. I can see the bruises forming."
"I'm trying to show you what she's costing us!" His voice cracks completely. He knows what this means. What I'm willing to do. "You'd kill me for her?"
My finger moves from the trigger guard to the trigger itself. The safety is already off. One pound of pressure. That's all it would take. I've killed for less.
"Tomas," Natalie says softly, and I can hear pain in her voice from his grip.
"Quiet," I tell her, keeping my eyes on Leo. "Leo, you have three seconds to let go of her wrist."
"You're really going to do this? Betray everything for…"
"Two seconds."
His grip loosens slightly, but he doesn't let go. Testing me. Seeing how far I'll go. We've played this game since we were children, pushing boundaries, seeing who blinks first.
"One second."
"She knows family business," he says desperately, fresh blood from both wounds now mixing on the floor. "She can't live with that knowledge. You know the rules. If someone outside the family knows our operations, they're either made family or made dead. Those are the only options."
