Nico
Saturday morning breakfast at the compound is usually quiet. Pietro reads the news on his tablet. Nora sips her tea. Vittoria scrolls through her phone while pretending she's not. I drink my coffee and wonder if I'll ever sleep more than four hours again.
Normal things.
Then Kristen walks in.
She's wearing jeans and a plain white t-shirt. No makeup. Hair pulled back in a ponytail. She looks like she barely slept, which makes two of us. She's holding a tray.
"Kristen!" Vittoria sets down her phone. "What are you doing? It's Saturday. You're not supposed to work weekends."
Kristen's gaze sweeps the room. It lands on Pietro. On Nora. On Vittoria.
It skips over me like I'm furniture.
"I need to speak with you," she says. Her voice is steady. Professional. "About my situation."
Pietro exchanges a glance with Nora. Even my sister notices something's off, her eyes darting between Kristen and me with that annoying curiosity she can never contain.
"Of course." Pietro gestures to the empty chair across from him. "Sit. Have you eaten?"
"I'm fine." Kristen takes the seat. Still not looking at me. "Thank you."
I set my coffee down making a noise on purpose.
She doesn't flinch. Doesn't acknowledge the sound. Doesn't acknowledge me.
The anger coils in my gut, hot and immediate.
I deserve this. I know I do.
That doesn't mean I have to like it.
"We've discussed your situation," Pietro says, setting his tablet aside. "The debt to the Bratva. Nico informed me of the details."
Still no eye contact.
Look at me, damn it.
"The family has decided to pay it off," Pietro continues. "Consider it settled."
"No."
Fuck.
Pietro raises an eyebrow. "No?"
"You tried to repay me once before." Kristen's hands are folded in her lap, knuckles white. "For saving your mother. I told you then that I didn't want payment for doing the right thing. That hasn't changed."
"This is different," Nora says gently. "This is about your safety. Your daughter's safety."
"I understand that." Kristen finally looks up, meeting Pietro's eyes. Only Pietro's. "Which is why I have a proposal."
I lean against the table, arms crossed. Waiting. She can feel me watching her. I know she can. The tension in her shoulders gives her away.
"I'll accept the money to pay off the debt," she says. "But I'm going to work it off. Every cent. You can deduct it from my salary until it's repaid."
"Kristen—" Vittoria starts.
