57. Leona
LEONA
Iwoke up completely entangled. The calm morning light pooled next to the bed, reflecting off the chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
No one had gotten up yet—not even Wynn or Obi.
I smiled as I quietly watched them all sleep.
Wynn, Ciel, and Ryu were a pile of limbs.
Max and Cas were both clinging to me. My head was on Obi’s chest.
It was heaven. I hadn’t slept so well in weeks.
I closed my eyes until I felt someone’s fingers gently massaging my head. Cas smiled.
“Coffee?” he mouthed.
I nodded. He was on the outside of our entanglement, so it was easiest for him to slip out, but his movements set off a domino effect of waking us up. Everyone slept lightly except Ryu and Ciel, so I wasn’t surprised.
“Morning,” Max said quietly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He yawned. “I slept amazing.”
“Me, too,” I said, stretching.
Wynn pushed Ryu out of the way so he could lean over my chest and give me a kiss. “Hey, darling.”
“Hello, my love.”
Ryu groaned, throwing an arm over his face. “It’s morning already?” Cas started grinding coffee beans in the kitchen, and Ryu’s head popped up. “Coffee? I want some.”
He climbed over Ciel so he could pad his way over to my beloved bodyguard. I smiled into Obi’s chest when they greeted each other with a kiss.
My head tilted so I could look at Obi. “This is perfect.”
He closed his eyes, smiling and pulling me tighter against him. Max came up on my other side. His breath tickled its way down my bare back. With his eyes still closed, Ciel readjusted until his face lay against my stomach.
“A few more minutes,” I mumbled, simply enjoying the warmth and connection. “Then we can make breakfast.”
It took us a few hours to get going. For once, no one felt a rush.
No one disappeared to go workout, or make phone calls, or check on our men.
We were just hanging out in the living room, piled on the couches and the big bed.
Obi read a book that had been left behind in the study.
Ciel scrolled through his phone. Ryuji, Cas, and Max were playing some kind of card game—where they got the cards, I didn’t know, but Cas was winning.
I lay with my head on Wynn’s lap while we chatted about sparring techniques.
Even though we had mountains to do, for once, we were all perfectly content to ignore it. Just for a few hours.
“What if I aimed my punch for the throat?” I asked.
Wynn pursed his lips and shook his head, gently teasing apart a few locks of my hair so he could braid them. “No, darling, your reach isn’t that long. You’d have to get too close to make that work. I keep telling you: work with your body, not against it.”
“Okay, then I’d go for the knee,” I said. “I’d try to displace the kneecap or target the joint.”
“That would work,” he answered, nodding. “Anywhere vulnerable is going to give you an advantage. Nose, if you can reach it, groin, testicles, kneecaps, toes. There are no fair fights when your life is on the line.”
Ryuji snorted. “You better not go for my balls ever again.”
I laughed. “There are no fair fights when my life is on the line!”
“Sure,” Ryu said as he rolled his eyes. “Your life was definitely on the line. My balls were sore for two days.”
“You got your revenge last night,” I pointed out.
He smirked. “Sure as fuck did.”
“What about an armbar?” I asked Wynn again.
His fingers massaged my nape. “If you can pin them, yes, that would be effective.”
On the big bed, Ciel’s head popped up. “There’s a press conference in a few minutes with the mayor.”
“What about?” Cas asked, flipping some cards over. He grinned while Max let out a heavy sigh. Cas was definitely winning.
“It doesn’t say. Just some sort of announcement.”
Wynn eased my head to the side so he could lean over to the coffee table and grab the remote.
He flipped the TV on and switched it to a local news channel.
The channel was already reporting on the incident at the gala.
A reporter stood in front of the event space, making sweeping gestures to paint a picture of where all the violence had happened.
The gorgeous flowers were still on display, though many were torn down and strewn across the floor.
While there had been no deaths reported, there were dozens of injuries.
“Are they blaming anyone?” Ciel asked while we all watched.
The story continued, explaining how multiple prominent figures had attended and were lucky to escape without injury. The reporter talked about how the mayor was working with law enforcement to narrow down suspects.
“Doesn’t sound like it,” I said, sitting up. Obi put down his book and set it to the side. “Looks like the commissioner is already covering the tracks.”
Had Josephine looked at the drive yet? Was she aware that the head of her police department was under the thumb of the most notorious criminal in the world?
“The press conference is about to start,” Wynn said.
The screen switched to a view of the mayor standing at a podium, about to address a crowd of reporters. All seven of us leaned forward, locked onto the screen. After some obligatory introductions and greetings, she jumped into her speech.
“Most of you saw the incident at the fundraising gala thrown for my campaign funds last night,” she started.
“Cornerstone Industries, which I’ve learned hosted the event, is funded by members of the mafia.
I want to make it incredibly clear that I did not, and will not, accept any money with connections to organized crime.
I also condemn the host of last night’s gala and the terrible events that led to the injuries of innocent people. ”
She paused, looking into the crowd.
“There are criminals in this city who think they can buy me,” she continued.
“They cannot. I will not be bribed or coerced into overlooking blatant acts of violence. My administration will have zero association with these criminals. I will work with every form of law enforcement available to me in order to bring these people to justice.”
“Shit,” Max said under his breath. “Every form of law enforcement.”
The FBI. But was the mayor referring to us? Or Greco?
“First and foremost, I am a servant to the people of New York City. Those citizens have long been affected by nefarious acts from people in positions of power over them. I’ve spent the last year working to change that, and will continue to do so.
I will not bend, and I will not break. If that makes me a target, then so be it. ”
My eyes went so wide I thought they might bug out of my face. Josephine ended her speech there, dodging the reporters shouting questions at her. Her security staff quickly escorted her off the stage and into a waiting vehicle.
“Whoa,” I whispered.
It wasn’t the first time city leadership had condemned the mafia, but in the past, we’d all known it was fake. This city ran on corrupt officials. But this felt real. Like she was ready to make a stand. Whether she was speaking to Greco or to us, the message was clear.
We would find no ally in the mayor.
“Greco will not be happy with that display,” Obi said, forearms braced on his knees.
“Nope.”
“If she were a politician in Italy, she would have just signed her own death warrant,” Max said. “I doubt Greco has ever been disrespected like that before, and not in public.”
Cas scoffed. “Well, he’s the one who showed up here and thought he could just steamroll our city.”
“It’s not like she’s supporting us either,” Wynn said. “She’s as much our enemy as she is his. She declared war on all of us.”
“Yeah,” I murmured, remembering our conversation last night. What would she do next?
Ciel sat straight up, eyes wide. “Holy shit.”
“What is it, love?” Wynn asked.
“Greco is going after the mayor,” he said. “Right now. Right fucking now.”
I shot to my feet. “What?”
“He’s going to kill her.” He hopped off the big bed and ran through the living room until he skidded to a stop next to the kitchen island.
He picked up his tablet. “I was just checking Lucia’s files.
With the bugs I put in place, I intercepted his message to his underboss.
She’s headed back to her office for some meetings. They’re going to hit her there.”
Ryuji whistled. “That was fucking quick.”
Fuck. Max and Obi were right. He wouldn’t let her speech stand, and now he was going to make an example of her. “We have to stop him.”
“What?” Ryu asked. “You want to get involved in that shit?”
“Well, we can’t just let him kill her!” I exclaimed. “Not after she just made that sweeping declaration!”
Cas nodded. “Leona’s right. If we know she’s in danger, we shouldn’t turn our backs on that.”
“Not only that,” Max added. “But if she dies, Greco will install someone he can control. It’s a lose-lose.”
“Exactly,” Obi said tightly, looking at Max. An unspoken message passed between them. Max’s jaw ticked and Obi slightly shook his head.
“How is it a lose-lose?” Ciel asked, looking between them. “What do you mean?”
Obi leaned back in his chair. Max rubbed the back of his neck. My eyes narrowed. Something was going on between the two of them.
“What the fuck is that?” I asked.
“What, nke’m?” Obi asked.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “You know what. Your little secret message with Max. What are you two thinking about?”
Max sighed. “Obi’s right. It’s a lose-lose. If we let her die, Greco will put a puppet in her place. He’ll then use his puppet to come down on us. It’s also bait. He wants to draw us out.”
“A trap?” Cas asked.
Obi nodded. “I’m guessing it has something to do with the commissioner. He’s chosen a side, and it is not ours. The two of them will try to take out two birds with one stone—us and the mayor.”
“So…what?” I asked. “If we try to intervene, they’ll kill us instead? We’re stronger than that. We’re not easy to get rid of.”