65. Leona
LEONA
It took all day, but we got everyone together.
The only safe place to meet was in Makarov’s territory—where we could use the cameras Wynn and I had set up months ago to monitor the streets and ensure that Greco wasn’t coming after us.
After Giulio got me a laptop, I’d used every skill that Ciel had taught me to make sure all our allies could safely arrive at Makarov’s estate.
I wasn’t the expert that he was, but I was good enough to feel confident that we were safe.
“All right,” I said to the room. “Listen up!”
Fallon had brought her three men, plus a force of fifty others.
Ronan, Conor, and Finn all greeted me with warm hugs but grim attitudes.
Greco had already been testing the metaphorical waters down in Philadelphia, so if we failed here, he’d set his sights on the rest of the Eastern Seaboard almost immediately.
Makarov’s brother Kolya was still in jail, but the rest of his captains and the security forces surrounded him, protecting his estate. He was ready to use his remaining men for the plan—even if he didn’t know what it was yet.
Enzo Rossi and two other chosen men had arrived in dark trench coats.
They snuck their way here riding the subway.
I was surprised that Rossi only brought two men, but it was a smart strategy.
The smaller the group, the less detectable.
I was a little disappointed he didn’t bring Chiara, but I understood his desire to keep her safe.
Felix had brought all the men reporting to him, along with Giulio and a few other capos who had been working closely with Cas and Ryuji recently.
He’d been acting a little more intensely than usual, ever since we’d returned to the city after picking me up from Fallon’s.
He didn’t seem bothered by her, but he kept looking to the door—like he was expecting my girls to show up.
However, Zoya and Willow had stayed behind in Philadelphia so they’d be safe.
The street war we were about to face wasn’t either of their forte.
“First, thank you all for coming,” I started while standing in the middle of Makarov’s living room.
I’d climbed on top of his coffee table so I could see everyone.
The house was brimming. “You didn’t have to help us.
You could have let us fight the Camorra on our own.
But you haven’t; you’ve been our allies and supported us this entire way.
You have my thanks and my promise that if you ever need anything, call on the Shadows and we will come. ”
Makarov sat on the couch next to his third-in-command, in the same spot where he’d sat the last time I was here.
Fallon sat on the couch I’d occupied before, with Ronan on her right and Connor and Finn to her left.
Felix leaned against the wall next to Giulio, and Rossi plus his two men had occupied some stools that had been moved into the room.
“Now, this is a pretty packed house, so I’m going to need everyone to shut it while I lay out what’s going to happen. If there are concerns, I expect Fallon, Rossi, Felix, Giulio, or Konstantin to voice them. Everyone else, zip it. Agreed?”
Thankfully, it was quiet. I took a deep breath. This entire room was listening to me. Waiting for my orders. No one was trying to say I didn’t belong here, or that I couldn’t handle this. These people were on my side, ready to fight for my city and our future.
It felt fucking good.
“Greco thinks he’s dealt us a major blow by arresting my men,” I continued.
“What he doesn’t know is that getting ourselves into jail was exactly what Obi and Max planned.
We need my Shadows there for the last phase of this whole thing.
But right now, our job is to capitalize on Greco’s assumption.
I need to make him think that he’s won.”
“How?” Fallon braced her forearms on her knees.
A little smile pulled at the corner of my mouth. “I’m going to surrender.”
Murmurs shot through the crowd. Fallon immediately started arguing.
“Are you serious? He’s going to kill you,” she said. “No questions asked.”
I doubted it. Greco was proud. He’d want to gloat. “I certainly hope not.”
Konstantin stood, and the entire room went quiet. The Head of the Bratva had an impressive amount of control over his men. “What do you mean you’re going to surrender?”
“Felix, Giulio, and I are making a few pit stops later tonight—first, to Sandrini. I want to take him out to throw his men into disarray, but it has to be fast and quiet. After, I’ll show up in Rossi’s territory—” I turned to him, “—and Rossi is going to ‘catch me’ trying to assassinate him. He will then turn me over to Greco as a pretend show of loyalty. That’s where I’ll spring my trap. ”
“What’s your trap?” Makarov asked.
“You let me and Rossi worry about that,” I answered. “While I’m with Greco, I’m going to keep him busy. I need the rest of you to surround Greco’s men and be ready to take them all down at once. That’s why I’ve asked you all here.”
“Aye, all right,” Fallon said. “What numbers are we talking?”
“We have an inside man trying to control their influx, but Ciel and my last numbers put the estimates in the couple hundred,” I said.
On top of Sean Porter’s help, we’d also been using Obi’s contact—Cole Hawkins, the founder of the AI tech startup Nexus Solutions.
Obi’s favor required turning over their facial recognition data so we could use it to track Greco’s men.
“The problem is they’re spread out across the old Tommaso territory, Sandrini’s territory, and the old Vero territory.
They have a lot of ground under their control.
This plan requires a decisive strike that can capture most, if not all, of them. ”
Rossi’s eyebrows furrowed. “Capture? You’re not trying to kill them?”
I let out a breath and held up my hands. “Okay, this is the part that none of you are going to like, but keep your mouths fucking shut until I’m done.”
Fallon smirked and Makarov sat back against the couch with a chuckle, but no one fought me.
“After what happened with the mayor yesterday, the cops are going after every whiff of organized crime. That includes us. But Greco is trying harder than ever to establish his presence here by overwhelming the cops and politicians. He’s making a giant statement, trying to show them who is boss, and they cannot fight back without us. ”
Makarov’s mouth hung open. “You want us to work with the cops?”
A rumbling cascaded through the room like a wave.
“What did I just fucking say, Konstantin?” I snapped. “Mouths shut until I’m done!”
He zipped his lips.
“Thank you. Now, I spoke with the mayor a few hours ago. She needs our help, or else she’s dead. We need her help, or else Greco wins. We are not working with the cops. We are working near the cops.”
Thankfully, no one else interjected with unhelpful feedback.
“According to the mayor, they don’t have the manpower to corral them, but all of us—” I made a sweeping gesture to the entire room, “—we do. We know where they are because of Ciel’s surveillance, and the data he’s been able to access from Lucia Greco’s files.
It’s our job to round them up and deposit them in nice little groups for the cops to pick up. ”
Makarov slowly raised his hand. I rolled my eyes, but called on him anyway.
“That sounds like we’re working with the cops,” he said.
My lips pursed. I knew they’d resist this part. Fuck, even I resisted it. We were criminals. Unless we were bribing them or forcing them, we did not work with law enforcement. Actually…
“The mayor owes me a life debt,” I offered. I glanced at Felix. “We saved her yesterday. This is how she’s repaying it. I’m forcing her hand to make her cops ignore us and go after Greco instead. If that’s mutually beneficial? So be it.”
That seemed to appease them. Makarov, at least, stopped his grumbling and nodded along.
“Giulio and I have the last known locations of where the Camorra have gathered. Their bases, their hangouts, where they’re living.
We’ll distribute them after this, and everyone will be split into groups.
Once you have your assignment, it’ll be your job to capture Greco’s men at your location.
Then, you’ll leave them where the cops can find them—the mayor and I have agreed upon certain neutral locations throughout the city. ”
“Is there a catch?” Rossi appraised me shrewdly. “With the cop shit?”
“The catch is that we cannot attack any of the cops,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “Understand? I’m being really serious here, and I want everyone to pay attention.
We cannot hurt the cops, not even if they fire at us.
Our enemy is the Camorra. That is it. If we hurt any officers, the deal I made with the mayor is off. ”
“What if they turn on us?” Fallon said. “What if they arrest some of our men?”
“Then you’ll need to suck it up and take the ride downtown. I’ll handle bailing them out, and the Shadows will cover all of your legal fees, but we have to come out of this looking as squeaky clean as possible.”
She and her men exchanged some hushed whispers, but they didn’t push back again.
“What if Greco’s men are prepared for a fight?” Felix asked.
“This is fucking war,” I said. “We didn’t bring this fight to our streets. Greco did. But we’re sure as fuck going to finish it.”
The entire room erupted into fuck yeah and hell yeah! We’d chosen some incredible allies. The Camorra wouldn’t know what hit them.
It took a moment or two for them to quiet down again, but once they did, Makarov cleared his throat.
“What about the police commissioner? I heard he sided with Greco after everything went down at the fundraiser gala. This plan won’t work if he’s supposed to direct his department to play along with us. ”
“Leave the commissioner and Greco to me,” I said. “You all handle the streets. I’ll handle the rest.”