Page 199 of Caught in the Crossfire

My throat suddenly went tight. My guys would be such incredible dads.

“I wouldn’t have even thought you’d want kids,” I said softly.

He propped his head on his other palm with his elbow on thebed. “Why have I done everything I’ve done if not to keep my family safe? To make a better world for us? And for our children?”

My cheeks warmed. I imagined Obi as a father, strong and steady and safe. He would do anything and everything for our children. He would be the kind of father my children deserved. All of my men would be.

It wouldn’t take much convincing to get me on board with that idea.

I swallowed down the heaviness in my throat. “You really think I’ll make a good mom?”

He kissed me. “No question. No doubt.”

“One day,maybe. I’m not sold on the idea.” I sighed. His palm was warm on my stomach, and I covered it with my own. “Besides, we have to live through all this shit first.”

“One day,” he said, as if he had no doubts at all.

65

LEONA

“Welcome to my home. Now take off your fucking shoes.”

Fallon greeted us at the door to her estate with a wide grin. She lived in a giant mansion on the edge of Philadelphia, surrounded by acres of land, a gated fence, a guardhouse, and multiple guards. The house seemed as loud and confident as her personality.

I toed off my boots before pulling her into a hug. “Hi, Fallon.”

The rest of my guys filtered in behind me, leaving their shoes behind while Fallon and her men welcomed us inside and showed us around.

“Hello, Leona,” Ronan said, reaching out a hand to greet me. The first time I’d seen him, he looked incredibly intimidating with his dark hair and eyes. Now, he was warm and welcoming.

“How’s it going?”

“Grand,” he replied before he turned to pull Wynn into a hug. “Thanks for coming.”

Conor said hi next. The big blond was dressed head to toe in combat gear. As Fallon’s enforcer, he definitely fit the part. Ryuji raised an eyebrow at the blades strapped to Conor’s chest beforepulling one from a hidden sheath on his back and asking to compare knife sizes.

Then came Finn. The rakish redhead joked with Obi and Wynn about how us women just couldn’t sit still while he threw a wink in my direction. Fallon punched him in the gut, and he looped an arm around her waist to kiss her. When they were done making out in front of everyone, Finn pulled Ciel to the side to discuss the technological part of our evening.

I never would have imagined this was where we’d end up when I sat in Fallon’s office that day and asked her to introduce me to the Shadows. It made to smile to think of all these people as actualfriends.

We were meeting here to get ready and prepared before hitting The Obsidian tonight. The guys were going to run through their side of the plan while the girls got dressed and ready to infiltrate.

“The girls are upstairs already,” Fallon said as she walked me up the grand staircase and brought me to the bathroom in her suite. It was, of course, giant and opulent, with a massive bathtub that filled me with screaming jealousy and a huge vanity.

Willow, Ludmila, Ximena, and Penny were already dressed and doing their hair and makeup. Zoya wasn’t dressed, but looked totally gorgeous with her blonde hair draping down her back in luxurious curls. I didn’t see Claire, but she had to be around here somewhere. Fallon went to her walk-in closet and began changing.

“Leona!” Willow greeted me with a wave while she applied makeup to Ludmila’s face.

“How are you?” Ximena said with a little wave. Her black hair was straight and long, with intricate braids pulling back the front pieces away from her face.

“Ready to take them down?” Zoya bounced on the balls of her feet. Her eyes flashed deviously.

I laughed. “Hey, everyone. Yeah, I’m ready. Are you?”

“Absolutely.”

“What do your brothers think about all this?” I asked Zoya. Konstantin and Kolya couldn’t have been happy.