Page 152 of Caught in the Crossfire

My hand closed gently on her upper arm. She whirled back at me, eyes wide, chest heaving. I let go.

“What’s wrong,amore?” I whispered.

She closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath. A semblance of control washed over her, settling her shaky hands. “Everything’s fine. We just can’t fuck this up. There’s too much at stake.”

I nodded, then reached up to brush my thumb across her cheek. Something told me she wasn’t giving me the whole truth, but I didn’t want to push her. We didn’t have time. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She pulled away from my touch. “I want to get this over with.”

She turned her back, and I rushed to follow. “Something’s wrong. You’re hiding something.”

“Nothing is wrong, Cas!” she snapped. “Let’s just fucking go.”

My lips thinned. We definitely didn’t have time for me to push her, but how was I supposed to let her stomp off into a mission like this?

Her head was not screwed on straight, and if anything happened to her…

The six of us piled into the elevator. Obi watched and listened, catching my eye, like he also saw her tension.

“Are you going to be okay with what we find at that auction?” I asked loudly, so everyone could hear.

She narrowed her eyes at me in the elevator’s mirrored wall. “You think I won’t be?”

“You tell me, princess,” I returned.

Her lip curled back like she wanted to yell at me, but she paused, took a deep breath, and centered herself. Her hands steadied and her face regained some of its color, even though her breathing was still elevated.

“I’m ready. I’m fine. I want to do this.”

This time, the words rang true. Whatever emotion she’d beendealing with seemed to melt away on the elevator ride down to the garage. When the doors opened, she was once again Leona Vero, our queen. She stepped out of the elevator behind Ciel and Wynn with her head held high.

I locked eyes with Obi again. I raised an eyebrow, and he nodded, giving me a sign that he’d watch her like a hawk, just like me.

If she fell apart, I’d be there to get her out. I was her bodyguard, and I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

51

LEONA

The tunnels were cold and dark despite the lingering warmth of late-summer outside. When we arrived outside, at the same time as Max and his men, twilight had cast a shadowed darkness over the entrance. The entire street was dead quiet, like the people who lived and worked here knew something bad was about to go down.

Wynn chatted with a group of two women waiting on the street corner, and then they disappeared inside a bodega nearby. Giulio’s men arrived after, and we agreed to go in together.

Max had a rough idea of where he thought the auction was taking place. His men had been cataloguing the tunnels when possible, and he’d been using his tech resources to find blueprints and documentation that broke down the layouts. He expected the auction to be farther north than this entrance, but this was the closest option to get there without being seen or running into anyone else.

We needed surprise. If the Albanians or the buyers found out we were coming, the whole thing would be blown. That could not happen.

The business where Wynn had blood-eagled the dude wasstill cordoned off with police tape, but no one was here. We broke through the tape and went inside. My eyes caught on a pool of blood staining the shitty linoleum. I glanced away, keeping my focus on the backs of our men.

Cas had asked me again whether I was fine before we followed a set of stairs underground.

Iwasfine.

Everything was fine.

Ciel and Wynn led our group inside while my heart raced. I gripped my gun, pointing the barrel at the ground, while we slowly lost the light from above. Instead, old lightbulbs hung from above, flickering periodically with their pale, ghostly light. It was spooky at fuckingbest. Exploring New York’s abandoned subway tunnels with their cobwebs, drafts, echoes, and shadows was the last thing I ever pictured myself doing, but this was personal.

If there was an auction happening, wehadto stop it. Not just for the Albanians, but also for the people being trafficked. We could find the buyershereinstead of…elsewhere.