23. Obi
OBI
My eyes scanned over ten years’ worth of notes, plans, favors collected, documentation, and blackmail. I organized all of it on my laptop, an entire plan laid out before me.
Phase one was in progress.
We were biting back against Greco—hitting his smuggling operations, fighting back on the streets, disallowing him from getting his claws into the city as much as we could. Sean Porter would hopefully do his job and create other roadblocks for Greco to slow him down.
I had Ciel focused on rebuilding our systems and keeping our location safe from Lucia Greco’s prying eyes and technology.
His latest update tonight was promising—he had almost entirely rebuilt our systems, and they were stronger than ever.
He was also working on a way to strike back at her using a breadcrumb trail she’d left behind in her attack.
Volpe was, so far, providing extremely helpful information about Greco’s men and organizational processes. We’d fed that to Giulio and our Italian forces. Two of our strikes today had been successful in taking out his men and destroying his resources.
Phase one was proceeding successfully. Phase two would begin shortly.
We were at war, and there would be no end in sight unless we took out Greco.
The problem was that he was as slippery as he was devious.
Assassination wasn’t an option. I’d witnessed his extensive personal security detail, and it had likely only increased since I lived in Italy.
With his resources in the political sphere, he could also escape the city or easily outmaneuver us.
The entire reason I’d cultivated so many contacts was because I’d always known that assassinating him would not be possible.
I drummed my fingers on my desk. I needed to trap him. To catch him off guard and get close without him realizing it. To force him to let down his guard enough that our silent blade could strike.
There was an option. A path where we could spring a trap that he was guaranteed to walk into.
But it was too risky. And I wouldn’t do it.
Not unless there were no other choices.
A knock lifted my eyes to the door of my new study at the back of the house. Leona’s head peeked inside. She smiled when she saw me.
“Hey.” She walked over and leaned her hip against my desk.
I reached for her, dragging her onto my lap. Her legs spread over my thighs while she straddled me. “Did you have fun with Ryuji yesterday?”
I’d been dying to have her to myself since then, but there was never enough time. I had to snatch these precious moments while I could.
A blush colored her cheeks. “He pounced on me in the hallway. It’s not my fault.”
I smiled, leaning forward to capture her lips. “I enjoyed hearing you, though it was incredibly distracting.”
Her arms looped around my neck, and I deepened our kiss, though I didn’t rush it. Didn’t sweep my hand over the desk and spread her out on top of it, despite how much I wanted to. No, right now I wanted to take my time to consume her.
“Max saw us yesterday,” she mumbled. “In the hallway.”
“And? What did he do?”
“Watched.”
My lips paused on the column of her throat. “I’m surprised Ryu didn’t knife him.”
She laughed. “Same. I think Ryu was actually bragging instead. Showing off.”
“I’m not surprised at that.”
Her hand on my cheek paused my kisses while she gave me a shy look. “What about you, Obi? What do you think about Max?”
“Volpe is a tool we’re using.”
Her thumb drew down my lip, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. “Yeah. And is he being useful?”
“Useful enough to leave him alive.”
“But what about him and me?” She swallowed. “Kissing me? Watching me?”
I paused, watching the way her eyes flicked between mine.
Questioning. “Leona, my love, I do not care. I have bigger things to worry about than Volpe’s mysterious feelings for you.
As long as he’s serving his purpose and not harming you, I have no quarrel with him.
Let him watch, stop him, kill him, whatever you want is what I want. ”
If he hurt her, I’d kill him. But…we worked well together. He was incredibly intelligent. He was used to thinking strategically. I actually appreciated his ideas.
She let out a heavy breath. “I don’t want to make anyone upset.”
With the back of my hand, I brushed some hair over her shoulder. “For the time being, he’s an effective partner. But if that changes, I will make him leave, or I will kill him.”
“So you’re tolerating him.”
“I suppose.” She sighed and looked away. I turned her face back so I could look her in the eye. “Do you have feelings for him?”
It wasn’t the first time we’d danced around this question.
“I don’t know. Hate is a feeling, I guess.”
I chuckled. “A powerful one.”
“For now, we seem to get along. He feels important to winning this war, and I don’t want to lose what slight advantage we have.”
“I agree. But as far as what he wants long term? I don’t know. The truth of his goals will determine his future.”
“He won’t tell me the truth.”
“Then that’s your answer,” I said. “We can’t trust him if he won’t be honest with us.”
“You’re right.” Her fingers curled around the back of my neck, and she nudged my nose with hers. “Forget him, then. I came in here to spend time with you because I miss you and I want you.”
My hand cupped the back of her neck as I pulled her mouth to mine.
Her lips were soft and warm, pliant against me.
The urge to devour her expanded from my chest outward.
Her legs tightened around me, her hips pressing down on top of my stiff cock.
Her teeth nibbled on my lip, and I groaned into her mouth.
My palms snuck under her shirt, pulling against her back to bring her as close to me as possible.
“You set me on fire, Leona Vero.”
She could no doubt feel the thickness of my cock beneath her. How I ached to be one. Her teeth scraped against the column of my throat.
Once this was over, once it was all done, we’d rule in peace together. Safe.
My phone rang, vibrating on the desk. Focused on her kisses and the heat of her body against mine, I silenced it with barely a look. It vibrated again, and I only paused at the sight of the name on the screen. Samuel Achebe, our lawyer.
“Take it,” Leona said.
I pressed a hard kiss to her lips while I brought the phone to my ear.
“Samuel,” I said, forgoing our typical pleasantries. “What have you found out?”
When I’d last spoken to him a few days ago, I’d asked him to investigate what the feds had on us and Leona.
I doubted the FBI had much on the Shadows alone—we were better at hiding our tracks than that—but if their goal was to connect Volpe to the crimes of the mafia, then it wouldn’t be hard to connect Leona as well, especially after how much we worked together against the Albanians.
“Obi.” His tone was far more serious than normal. “Unfortunately, I do not have good news.”
Leona paused her kisses on my throat, looking up at me with a question in her eyes. I put the call on speakerphone.
“What is it?”
“My informants in the FBI office say the case results from at minimum seven years’ worth of work, which means they’ve sunk too much time and effort into letting it die without bringing someone to trial.
Plus, the feds are even more unhappy about Max Volpe’s disappearance.
The whole Bureau office has been trying to track him down. Did you have anything to do with that?”
“Oh, Volpe is missing? I know nothing about that.”
Leona smirked, and I brushed my thumb across her lips. Her tongue curled around it, sucking it into her mouth, and I barely withheld the rumble forming in my chest.
Samuel laughed. “Of course not.”
“What else do you know about the case?” My eyes were caught on the color of Leona’s tongue.
“From what I’ve heard, they have enough to bring a case against the entire Five Families organization. Luciano Vero was reportedly their source, but since his death, the investigation has slowed.”
RICO cases were supported by the testimony of soldiers within a criminal organization. If the government’s goal was to connect every crime boss in the city and take them all out in one sweep, they would want an airtight case with as much documentation as possible.
A Head turning on the others would have been too good to pass up. But how did Luciano think he would get away with it? Did they offer him immunity? A reduced prison sentence?
“What do they want with Leona?” I asked. “She’s listening, by the way.”
“Hello, Samuel,” she said brightly. Her hands trailed down my abs until they reached the button of my trousers. I gave her a stern look, a warning. She grinned, immediately ready to disobey.
“Ah, hello, beauty,” he responded, oblivious to the movement of Leona’s fingers. My hand closed over hers. “The agents you’ve recently met, were their names Jack Greer and Farrah Badawi?”
“Yes,” she answered. “We haven’t seen them since they ambushed us at Ryu’s club.”
“They are breathing down my neck to get that interview with you,” he said. Leona frowned, and I smoothed my palm over her hair. “They’ve been calling my office three times a day. I can’t hold them off forever.”
“Ugh,” she sighed in frustration, but her fingers forged devious paths from my thighs to my waistband. “What do they want?”
“I am certain they will ask you to provide information on the whereabouts and activities of Maximiliano Volpe.” He paused for a moment. “They’re looking for him, too. Apparently, he’s been connected with deaths across the eastern seaboard. From Pennsylvania to New York.”
The Vokshi Clan deaths. After Leona was kidnapped, and as we chased the Vokshi Clan across states, we had left plenty of bodies in our wake. We had planted trails of evidence that pointed towards Volpe before we teamed up against them.
“Do you know where he is?” Samuel asked.
Leona paused her mischievous hands and looked up, waiting for me to respond.
“Why do you ask?”
“I need to know what to expect in the days ahead,” he said carefully. “And who I should consider while building our defense.”