Leah's lips curved into a weak smile upon hearing the name Rodeo had called O'Brien, her eyes blinking languidly as his thumb caressed away some of her worries. "I wouldn't be too offended by that. Piglets are cute. And he probably only called you that because he couldn't think of anything more intelligent to say." Seeing him annoyed made him infinitely more interesting and attractive to her, yet in this instance that particular emotion was dangerous. When someone had the power to make O'Brien so pissed off that he agreed to things without fully thinking them through, Leah felt compelled to keep him calm. Just like he was doing with her.
Talk of criminals also made her wonder if telling him about the intended trip to Sing Sing prison would be a good idea, after all. If there was a chance the inmates had taken over the prison as a safehouse, sending O'Brien — and Brandon — in there was a surefire death sentence waiting to happen. Of course, the same fate would probably await her and Marchand, if that was the case. Now wasn't the time to broach the subject. Not with everything else happening.
"Brandon's had to deal with the same thing on occasion," she explained. "And I've had my fair share of threats. Better that they threaten me than Kori or Lilah. Besides that? Rodeo saved my sister's life. No, that doesn't excuse what he did, but if his selflessness was genuine? I'd be willing to bet that he wouldn't have actually hurt me." Did she really believe that herself? Not really, but her intent was to ease O'Brien's mind. "As for Luke and Alana: does Rodeo even know what they look like?"
Leah felt her brows draw down at that, less from irritation and more from consternation this time. Dropping her gaze away from his, she dug her teeth into her bottom lip, unable to tamp down the feeling that his words were some kind of criticism. Like all their prior conversations had been one big lie. "If I could have, I would have." She tried to make her tone sound casual, but it didn't quite work out that way. There was still a little quake in her voice.
O'Brien's words brought her attention back to his face. His hand was warm against her neck, taking some of the focus away from the headache that had started to pound between her eyes. A few more tears escaped and she blinked them away. The fear of losing him hadn't gone anywhere, though. If she still let him have his chance, there was still the very real possibility that she could lose him. Worrying about three people was stressful enough. Could she handle that with a fourth person? Would it be worth it?
Now he was the one begging, and just as O'Brien couldn't ignore her pleas, Leah found that she couldn't ignore his. Nodding, she let her hand slide from the collar of his coat to the back of his neck. "Guess I'll hang on, then." Leah didn't understand how she was able to make anyone happy, but the words touched her, made her feel a spark of the old Leah shining through. "Couldn't force myself to let go." Even though she'd tried. To protect them both.
Leah huffed a breath of laughter when O'Brien commented on how she was even still able to function. "I keep functioning because there are important people who depend on me, and I don't want to let them down. Some days are better than others." Better days had been more common lately, and most of those were thanks to O'Brien. He brought out feelings in her that she'd thought were lost for good. "But I think I can do that." Let him be there for her, if things got too overwhelming, like tonight. "It's not easy letting anyone see me like this. Even my family doesn't see it that often." Brandon saw more of it than any of them. Lilah saw the least, because Leah didn't like exposing her sister to that.
Leah noticed that he added in a condition to his promise. 'When they have the upper hand.' It echoed many situations her brother put himself in. Brandon knew his limits, most of the time. Leah nodded her acceptance. "Know your limits. That's all I ask. I won't ask you to avoid fights or killing altogether, because that would be impossible. Just... keep in mind the people you're staying alive for."