Leo, who was standing a few steps away from me, began lifting both his hands slightly. Not surrendering, more like a "let's talk before someone dies" gesture.
"Val… let's sort this out," he said softly, his voice hoarse but steady. "I just wanna understand what Nathan wants from me. Does he want my life now?"
I scoffed.
"This isn't Nathan, Leo. This is you and me."
"Don't lie." He stepped half a step closer, slow, but clearly intentional. "You've been meeting Nathan a lot lately. You've been his spy from the start, right, Valerie?"
"Leo." My voice dropped an octave. "Don't be stupid."
But he kept moving. Not attacking, just… approaching. Close enough that my palms started sweating on the grip of the gun. He narrowed his eyes, staring at me like he could see through my bones.
Or more precisely, he was trying to find the timing to snatch my gun.
I noticed. He noticed that I noticed.
And that made everything tense.
