Page 104 of Caught in the Crossfire

Cas nodded. “I like that idea.”

“It could be a trap,” Ciel said. “Ryu has a point. He’s trying to draw us out.”

“If this is a trap, it’s transparent,” I said. “It makes more sense that he legitimately wants to discuss something with us.”

Volpe was highly intelligent. A formidable foe. He wouldn’t invite us into his home without a plan, I was sure of that, but it made little sense that he’d try to kill us there. If we accepted this meeting, we would prepare for a betrayal, but by now I was certain: he did not want to hurt Leona.

I still wasn’t surewhythat was true, especially with his actions, but the way he looked at her…my hands fisted at my sides.

He looked at her like we did.

I tried not to let my visceral rage twist my features as my memory flipped through every interaction we’d had since we’d rescued them both. If I said that thought aloud, at least three of my brothers would have a mental breakdown. Ciel might be the only one who’d react with a level head.

He was a threat, but not to her. If we took this meeting, perhaps we could learn something that would turn the tables on him.

“I was thinking the same thing, Obi,” Leona said quietly. She paced around the kitchen, ticking her statements off her fingers one by one. “Here are the facts. One, both of us could have killed each other by now, but we haven’t. Two, we’re both trying to eliminate the Albanians, and it’s personal. Three, he’s wrapped upin the Camorra, and we don’t know how or why. Four, he still has Chiara somewhere, and we need to get a message to her.”

Despite my buried rage, the more calculating part of my brain was turning alongside Leona’s. It was possible that this meeting could prove more beneficial to us than to Volpe…as long as we could guarantee her safety.

“What could he possibly want from us?” Wynn asked.

She braced her hands on her hips. “Information, maybe.”

I stepped in front of her to stop her pacing. She looked up at me. “It is to his benefit if he has to fight enemies from all sides?”

“No.” She chewed on her lip. Caspian had just updated us on the fact that our men were becoming a problem for him. We were also one step ahead of him when we went after Orik Vokshi, and he came out of that mess with less than we did. “A truce, then?”

I nodded. “He would want to control the aggression against him.”

“Which is us, especially if our guys continue to bleed his on-the-ground forces. We’re putting strain on his men and his hold on his empire. He needs that to stop.”

“Yes.”

She pulled her hair back into a ponytail. “I enjoy knowing we’re a nuisance.”

I smiled. “Indeed. If this were a chessboard, what would be your move?”

“I’d use our pieces to force him into a corner,” she said carefully. “If he wants something from us, we have leverage. There’s nothing we want from him, so that puts the power dynamic in our favor.”

“But do weneedthat? If we’re creating as much of a problem for him as we think we are, then maybe we don’t need this. Maybe we’re closer to taking him down than we think,” Caspian added.

“Maybe,” she murmured. She looked up to me and me alone. “Is it stupid that I need to know what he wants?”

“No,” I said, my palm on her cheek. She’d already expressed to me some of her complicated feelings surrounding Volpe. They were only bound to get worse. But if we could tackle this head on, beside her, she could get what she needs and focus again. “It’s a risk, but it is not stupid.”

“Can we manage the risk? Can we make sure we can walk out of that house safely if we need to?”

I looked to Ciel, and he shrugged. Then, to Wynn, and he closed his fist around his brass knuckles. Ryuji would be armed to the teeth regardless, ready to defend her to the death.

“I think we can,” I answered her.

She exhaled a breath before turning to Caspian. “Is this a good idea, Cas? What do you think?”

He was quiet for a moment before he picked her up and set her on the island counter. His palms found her thighs, and she parted her legs to give him space to press forward. “I want to kill him, but I support you. If you want to go, we can form a plan and make it work. You and I know that house just as well as he does. We grew up there, too.”

“But he hurt you so badly?—”

He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, and I’ll get my revenge for that one way or another. Actually, I think I already did, sinceIget to be the lucky bastard that sleeps beside you every night. He is a blip in the greater scheme of our lives. He means nothing to me compared to you.”