71. Leona
LEONA
Iwas a lucky bitch.
Greco’s bullet had torn through the skin of my side, but it missed everything important. It still hurt like a motherfucker, and the pain meds were the only thing keeping me standing. Rossi and Chiara had forced me to rest for a few hours until the morning, but I wouldn’t stop now.
I had work to do. My men needed to get out of jail.
“You good?” Rossi asked.
He’d ended up having to get one of his personal doctors to take a look at me at a clinic in his territory.
After I got bandaged up and supplied with sufficient meds, he’d taken me back to his massive loft in one of the brick buildings only a block or two away from Nonna’s.
I got a few hours of sleep, though it was fitful with worry.
If all went according to plan, Obi should have killed Greco by now. Anxiety clutched at my chest, but I knew he’d come through. It was over—except for this one last step.
“I’m fine,” I said, inspecting my new clothes in the mirror. I was supposed to meet Badawi in thirty minutes, but I’d needed a quick shower first. Chiara had lent me a new outfit. She sat on the arm of his large leather couch, watching me with worry in her eyes.
“Are you sure?” Her eyebrows furrowed with concern. “You should sleep for another day. The meeting can wait. Your guys will be fine.”
“Nope.” I gave my face one last look over. My scar was extra pink today, and my eyes were sunken from exhaustion, but we were so close to the finish line.
I couldn’t chicken out now.
“What’s next, then?” Rossi crossed his arms over his chest. “I honestly didn’t expect you’d make it this far.”
I snorted as I flipped him off, and Chiara smacked his chest with the back of her hand.
“Samuel is on his way to pick me up to take me to the meeting. Once my men are home, I can rest.” I jiggled the bottle of pills the doctor had left. “These are keeping me going.”
Chiara opened her mouth to argue, but my phone rang. I pressed it to my ear. “Samuel!”
“I’m waiting downstairs,” he said, voice tight. He sounded almost as exhausted as I felt. “Are you ready?”
“Yes. Be right there.”
I hung up and gave Chiara a big squeeze. “Thanks for your help. Now I have to go finish this.”
I hugged her extra tight, letting myself sap some strength from her arms. Her palm cupped the back of my head, and she held tight even when I tried to step away.
She didn’t know about the next part of my plan. Neither did Enzo. But this would be the last time I saw either of them for a while.
When she let me go, there was a strange look on her face—like she could tell something was up. Rather than answer, I turned to the Don. “Rossi. Thanks for your help. I owe you one.”
He gripped my hand and shook firmly, his dark eyes shining. “Pleasure doing business with you, Miss Vero.”
“Pleasure is all mine.”
We parted ways at his private elevator, and I sent up a silent prayer that he’d keep Chiara safe when I couldn’t.
Samuel’s car waited at the curb. I hopped in, buzzing with energy.
It was definitely adrenaline and fumes, because my body was not pleased with all this movement, but if I didn’t follow through with this last part of the plan, I wasn’t sure if I ever would.
“I’ve spoken to the Special Agent,” Samuel said while he drove to the field office. “The plan should be a go. Everything should be set.”
My fingers curled into balls on top of my thighs. “Do you think this will work?”
Samuel gave me a side-eye. “Do I think they’ll follow through with their side of the plan?” He sighed, jaw ticking. “I do, actually. Are you still dead set on this?”
I nodded. “I appreciate all your hard work, but this is the only way we get this case off our backs. We’ll take a plea deal and be done with it.”
“As your lawyer, I have to disagree,” he said, his nostrils flaring.
Samuel had told me more than once that he’d rather fight it in court, but this plea saved us all.
“But as Obi’s friend, and your friend, I understand.
I’ll work out all the legal details on my side.
It won’t be long, so hang in there. We’ll get you out. ”
I stared out the window while we drove. It was the last time I’d see this city as a free woman for a long time.
Badawi was going to arrest me in exchange for letting my men go. My last name was known as a prominent crime family, and if I served time, we could finally put this case behind us.
It was the best solution.
“Take care of my guys while I’m gone, Samuel,” I said quietly.
He pursed his lips. “I will, beauty.”
“Obi is stubborn,” I added, biting my thumbnail. “This is not what he had envisioned in his plans, but it’s the best I could come up with. He won’t be happy.”
Samuel gave me a tight smile. “I will handle Obi. Everything will be fine. Just follow my lead and listen to Badawi. She’ll handle their side of things to take you into custody.”
When we arrived at the field office, my hands were shaking. It wasn’t the idea of lockup that scared me. It was that I was trusting Badawi to let my men go. If she went back on this deal and arrested me anyway, we’d be fucked.
I wasn’t sure how I could get us out. I’d played all my cards already.
“Miss Vero,” a receptionist greeted us. “We’ve been expecting you. Please come this way.”
We followed her to an interview room at the back of the building. When Samuel pushed the door open, my men were waiting inside. I sucked in a surprised breath. “What—?”
They shot to their feet, chairs scraping across the ground. I sprinted toward them. We were a tangle of bodies and warmth, and my heart twisted with how much I’d missed them.
“Princess,” Cas said against my hair. “Did you get shot?”
I snorted and then grimaced when a twinge laced through my stomach. “How do you guys already know?”
Badawi entered the room, a folder in her hands. She raised a guilty hand. “Sorry, that was me. I let it slip.”
“Damn,” I sighed while Cas cupped my cheek and examined me for any other suspicious wounds. “I was hoping I could get through this without you all knowing. But I’m fine, I promise.”
“Are you sure?” Wynn asked. His eyes raked over my stomach. We’d have matching scars now. “You need to be in the hospital.”
“I’m okay. It wasn’t as bad as yours, Wynn.” I wrapped my arms around Obi and squeezed him tight. “Are you okay?”
My unspoken question lingered between us. Did you take care of him?
His face buried in the crook of my neck. “It is done.”
I pulled back. “Yeah?”
He nodded. “You did well, my love.”
I gave him a watery smile. He’d done it. Greco was dead. It was over. I could go with Badawi now. My guys would be fine. I stepped out of his embrace and took a steeling breath.
I looked back at the Special Agent. She leaned against the wall by the door. “I thought that…” I trailed off, not wanting to admit to my guys yet that our time together was limited.
She gave me a thin-lipped smile. “I thought this would work better.”
Something about her tone gave me pause, but I didn’t have a chance to question her before Samuel walked over and grabbed the folder from her hands.
He flipped it open, skimming over the chunk of documents within.
He asked a question, and she launched into some complicated and detailed explanation of what the FBI was doing—including a collaboration with the CIA re: the guns my father sold them “on behalf of the Camorra.” They turned to the door, ducking heads.
I didn’t want to spend my last few minutes of freedom listening to legalese, so I turned to Ryu instead.
“Ryu.” I brushed my fingers against his bruised cheek. First, he got shot in the arm. Now, this? “What the hell happened?”
He grinned and dropped his voice low while his palm circled my waist. “I started a riot. It was amazing.”
My eyes went wide. “Seriously?”
“We got time in the hole,” Ciel whispered excitedly. “Do you know how many ideas I had? The quiet time was amazing.”
I laughed. “That’s my genius hacker. I thought you’d be bored.”
“Right?” he said, eyes bright. “But it was like an entire system reboot. My brain was going crazy. I can’t wait to get home.”
Cas pulled me into a hug. “Well, I slept like shit. Couldn’t get comfortable with the gash on my leg. Don’t worry, it’s fine. These weirdos all loved solitary, but it was driving me up the wall. I missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too.” I wrapped my arms around his chest, breathing in his scent. The guys would have to make sure he took care of himself, make sure his wounds would heal. Being without Cas…that would be painful. I had no idea how I’d sleep.
At least it was only temporary. A few years, maybe.
I turned to Max, waiting for him to say something, but he was suspiciously quiet. He gave me a crooked smile while his eyes bounced around my face, down to my stomach, and then back up to my face. Before I could ask what he was thinking, Samuel and Badawi started speaking with harsh whispers.
They glanced over at me multiple times. Samuel pointed. Badawi shrugged with her eyes wide, some kind of exasperated look.
I put my hand on Obi’s arm. “What’s going on?”
He stared down at me, his jaw feathering. He glanced toward Max.
Oh, no. That was not a coincidence.
My eyes narrowed. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Badawi chose that moment to turn away from Samuel and walk over. “Miss Vero. Thank you for coming to today’s meeting.”
I looked between her and Samuel, letting out a heavy breath. It must be time. “Can I have a few more minutes? Please?”
Cas frowned. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
I stepped backward, putting space between my men and me. I wasn’t sure if I could do this if Cas was still touching me, if Ryu still crowded my back.
Samuel dragged his hands down his face. “That will not be necessary. Apparently.”
My head hung between my shoulders. Fuck. I thought I’d get a chance to say goodbye. Badawi pulled a pair of handcuffs from her belt.
“What the fuck is this?” Ryu asked, stepping forward.
I held out my wrists. “This is the deal.”
But instead of grabbing my hands, Badawi leaned in close. “This was the best that I could do,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
My head snapped up. “What? What do you mean?”
She closed her palm around Max’s upper shoulder. She snapped the handcuffs over his wrists, and they clicked shut. He didn’t recoil; he didn’t jolt.
He expected this.
Everything clicked inside my head. “No.”
“Leona,” Max murmured. “This was always what had to happen.”
I shook my head, stepping closer to fist my hands in his shirt. “I had everything planned out. How could you do this?” I turned to Farrah. “You promised me. We had a deal.”
Badawi gave me a sad smile. “This was a better one.”
“My soul.” Max’s voice cracked with emotion. “I cannot let you take the fall for this. This is my role. It’s my call.”
“No.” I slammed my fist against his chest. “You can’t.” I turned to Obi and the rest of my guys. “Stop this. I followed the plan, Obi. I did what you needed me to do. This isn’t what is supposed to happen.”
Obi ran his hand up the nape of my neck. “You did everything perfectly, ifunanya’m. Leading us here, setting up Greco. You are incredible.”
I jerked away. “Then why is this happening?”
He put both of his palms on my shoulders and tugged me close. “Because the strategy needed a sacrifice. One of our pieces had to fall,” he murmured in my ear. “And that was never going to be you.”
I swallowed the stone in my throat, but my eyes pricked with tears.
There was no way out of jail time. I knew that. It was the only way to close the RICO case and get the feds off our backs.
But it was supposed to be me. I’d made my peace with it. I’d planned for it. The guys were supposed to wait for me, to visit me, to take care of New York while I was gone.
Not this.
Behind me, Cas started a one-sided argument with Max.
Ryu paced, one hand dragging through his hair.
Somehow, Ciel had a phone in his hand, but for once he wasn’t typing—like he knew there was nothing he could do.
Wynn put a calming hand against my back, and it was the only thing that kept me from screaming.
“He will be safe,” Wynn said. “We’ll make sure of it.”
I looked up into his pale gaze. “You can’t know that.”
“We can, and we will,” he answered. He brushed my hair over my shoulder. “You know this is the better plan. Let Obi and Max take care of this one, okay, darling?”
My teeth ground together, but I steeled myself and straightened my back. Without looking at any of my men, I cut through them all and broke up the arguments.
“How long?” I asked Badawi.
“It won’t be forever,” Badawi said quietly. “We’re offering Samuel and Max a plea deal instead. This was the right call.”
I nodded tightly. Samuel put a warm hand on my arm. “I’ll make sure the time is as short as possible.”
“Thank you, Samuel.”
Max cupped my face and leaned his forehead against mine. “Let me do this for you. For all of you. Please, anima mia. All I’ve ever wanted to do was protect you, keep you safe. This is what I’m meant to do.”
The air whooshed from my lungs. There was no getting out of this. Badawi and Max had cut me out. I knew in my chest that Max and Obi must have discussed this before everything went down. I understood why they did it. I also understood why they didn’t tell me.
It was the smarter choice.
I stood on my tiptoes to press a quick, firm kiss to Max’s lips. “Fine, but you have to clean the entire house when you get home.”
His chest shook with laughter, his mouth spread into a wide smile. He held out a pinky finger even though his wrists were still cuffed together. “Pinky promise.”
I circled his pinky with my own.
He turned to the rest of my guys. “Don’t get too comfortable without me. I did the gauntlet; you can’t replace my spot. I’m a Shadow. It’s the rules.”
Everyone laughed, even Ryu. Cas’s arm looped around my shoulder and he pulled me against his chest. I leaned into it for comfort, like I’d gotten used to doing the past four months.
Badawi nudged Max’s arm, and he gave her a sad, tight nod.
One more hug. One more kiss.
“I love you,” he whispered in my ear.
My arms squeezed around his neck. “I love you, Max Volpe. Thank you.”
“Those are my words, remember?” He pulled back, the warmth and happiness in his eyes almost taking my breath away. “See you soon, Leona Theresa.”
“I’ll wait,” I said as he stepped backward. Badawi pulled him toward the door. “We all will.”
He gave us one last wave before he disappeared.