Page 188 of Caught in the Crossfire

I wouldn’t let anything or anyone stand in my way of destroying them.

Thoughts of our inevitable confrontation created the knots in the back of my neck. I watched Leona carefully while we all gathered in the kitchen. She seemed much more at ease than she had before. That, at least, gave me a modicum of peace.

Max Volpe stood at our island, hands braced on the countertop. Leona sat in one of the island chairs, bracketed inside Ryu’s arms. Ciel and Wynn stood next to each other on the opposite side, their shoulders pressed together. Caspian and I stoodclosest to Max—in between him and Leona—both watching him with cautious, narrowed eyes.

The tension in the room was a palpable thing.

“Why are you here?” I asked.

“The Camorra are on their way.”

Immediately, Leona and I locked eyes. Alarm bells rang in my head.We were not ready.

Her face drained of color. “To the US? Why?”

“I got word last night that they launched a full scale attack on the Albanian compound and killed Armir Vokshi. The Head of the Albanians is dead.”

“Good fucking riddance,” Ryuji grumbled.

Leona reached across the counter to grab Wynn’s hand. He brought her knuckles to his lips to kiss them. That bastard and his men had harmed our family enough. Though his death did not come at my hand, it was still objectively good news.

However, the Camorra on their way to the States was not. But if they had left their impenetrable fortresses with state-of-the-art security…they may be vulnerable. Could I pass this chance up?

“So, why are they coming here?” Wynn asked. He let go of Leona, and she tucked back underneath Ryu’s arms.

“His last remaining son, Arion, is on the run,” Max answered. “They tracked him here, to the East Coast, and they’re coming after him.”

Everyone started speaking at once, all with their own variations of howweshould be the ones to kill him if he came to our turf.

I raised a palm, and everyone quieted. “Why would they tell you this?”

“They want me to find him and have him ready upon their arrival.”

“Ready for what?” Leona asked.

“Death,” he said simply. “They want the final kill. They want to claim they’ve squashed the entire family line of their enemies.The Vokshi Clan, and therefore the Albanian mafia, will be eliminated.”

Tense silence blanketed us.

“That’s…good, isn’t it?” Ryuji asked. “Why are our panties in a bunch about this?”

“Because the Camorra haven’t set foot inside the United States in over forty years,” I replied. “They’re not simply coming here for Arion Vokshi’s head.”

The Camorra played a constant chess game. They expanded their territory through ruthless takeovers and backhanded business deals. They never moved unless they had a purpose.

Max met my questioning stare head on. The truth was written in his eyes.

“They’re coming to take over New York.”

Leona leaned back against Ryuji’s chest. He slung a possessive arm over her shoulder, his face darkening while his palm splayed across her stomach. “And what exactly will the Camorra do when they arrive?”

“I don’t know,” Max answered.

They would first attempt to absorb us. It would be easier for them if we were minions, giving them allegiance and tithe. If that didn’t work, they would destroy us. I’d seen it happen countless times, especially in my country.

I looked around at each of us. Leona, my brothers, Max. The air sucked out of the room. This was too fast. Too soon. I’d planned to build a force strong enough to resist them, but we weren’t there yet. We needed more officials on our side, more manpower, more control over the streets. To face such an opponent as we were, bruised from conflict with the Albanians…

We had to be ready to face them. We couldn’t roll over and let them take control.