Page 103 of Caught in the Crossfire

“Fuck the flowers,” Ryu growled. “Who the fuck does he think he is?”

He paced around the kitchen island, where we’d set the vase for now. Their soft smell perfumed through the space. No one could deny that the bouquet was beautiful.

“What’s the note say?” Ciel asked. He’d reset all of our alarmsystems, and we’d raised the metal shutters. For now, we seemed to be safe—though everyone was still on high alert.

Leona’s name was written in a script on the front of the envelope. Part of me wanted to rip it to shreds, but if Volpe was making a play, we needed to know what it was. I handed the letter to her. “It’s for you.”

She looked up at me with fear and confusion tightening her eyes. The lust that had been there not ten minutes ago was long gone. If nothing else, Volpe would pay for that travesty.

“He’s taunting us,” she whispered.

My lips pressed together. “We won’t know unless we open the message.”

“No,” Caspian interjected. He stood next to Ryu with his arms crossed over his chest. The two of them were more similar than either realized. They’d been getting closer with their shared training time in the gym. “Burn it. Nothing he has to say can be good.”

“I agree,” Ryu said, reaching for the envelope.

She yanked it out of his reach. “Wait.”

“Hanii,” Ryu warned, voice dropping low. “We don’t need it. Get rid of it.”

She slipped her finger under the lip of the envelope and popped it open. Both Caspian and Ryu stiffened like the paper itself might explode. She pulled a small cardstock note from the envelope and frowned as she read it.

“It says ‘Meet me’with a date, time, and location.”

“Hah!” Ryu barked. “Not a fucking chance.” He snatched the note from her hand and ripped it up.

She watched as its crumpled pieces fluttered to the ground. My hand gripped the back of her neck to steady her while my brain worked to get a firm handle on this situation. What was Volpe after? Why the note? And what would he do now that he knew where we lived?

Would our defenses be enough if we were to be attacked here?I’d have to talk to Ciel. We could overhaul our systems, create extra layers of protection, call in extra security forces, but it wouldn’t change the fact that Volpe knew where we lived. We’d always be looking over our backs.

“Where was the location?” Ciel asked her.

“His house,” she whispered, looking at Cas. A glower spread across his face. He reached for her, and she stepped into his arms. “Tomorrow night.”

“No,” Ryu said. “You’re not going.”

“Don’t fucking tell her what to do,” Caspian snipped. “Or not do.”

Ryu’s eyebrows furrowed. “You think we should go? To his motherfuckinghouse? Are you batshit?”

Caspian smoothed the hair away from her cheeks. He spent a few moments getting control of his emotions before he spoke. “Cosa vuoi fare?”What do you want to do?

“Non lo so.”I don’t know.

“No Italian,” Ryu grumbled. “We’re not putting her at risk. Fuck no. Never again. Leona, I swear to the great cosmic void, I will lock you inside this penthouse.”

She pushed out of Cas’s arms, anger rippling across her face. “I’d like to see you try.”

The two of them stared one another down until he looked at me for help. His eyes glinted with an emotion I’d never seen on his face before. Desperation. When I didn’t respond, he stormed off toward his room. Moments later, the door slammed.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. My brother was struggling to come to terms with his feelings for her; that much was evident in his possessiveness and protectiveness since she’d returned home. Despite how much I wished I could lock her away to keep her safe, all of us knew she’d be miserable. She wasn’t meant for that. She was meant to shine, to lead. It was the very spark I’d recognized within her the first time I’d seen her.

“I’m surprised you’re even considering this, Cas,” Ciel said, picking up the pieces of the note.

His nostrils flared. He seemed to wrestle with what to say until he sighed heavily. “I am considering it if it’s what Leona wants to do, but I’m not fucking happy about it.”

“This could be our opportunity to kill him,” Wynn said. “We should show up and take him by surprise.”