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LEONA

I sat on the couch, staring off into space.

Thoughts whizzed through my brain, too fast to catch them. What just happened? Vincenzo was dead. What did that mean? Did Max really get engaged to my best friend? What did Chiara think? Was she trying to tell me that all along? Was she trying to warn me?

I had to get in touch with her, but what if?—

“L-Leona,” Ciel finally said aloud, momentarily stopping the rushing train of thoughts. I blinked, focusing my vision.

The rest of the guys sat around me in uncomfortable silence.

My mouth tasted like copper and ash. But they were all staring at me, looking at me for something. Did they expect me to break down? Fall apart? Rage? Fight?

I didn’t want to do any of those things. Numbness made my fingers cold and tingly.

I had to say something. Do something.

But I couldn’t move.

Had I just deluded myself into thinking I could be a queen? Queens didn’t react like this, did they?

Cas shifted next to me, grimacing and biting back a groan.

“Are you all right?” I asked, finally breaking my silence. Tonight hadn’t just affected me. He’d pushed himself too far, like he always did, and if I wasn’t careful, I would be the death of him.

If that happened, I’d never be able to live with myself. None of this would mean anything.

That snapped me out of the stupor.

Obi had already lost respect for me. The other guys would, too, if I couldn’t get my shit together. I could handle this. I could be strong .

Cas’s eyes flicked to me. “Are you ?”

With a sigh, I unfolded my legs, and stretched my arms from side to side. I was not okay, but sitting here doing nothing wouldn’t change anything. It was only going to make them lose faith in me.

I forced the words from my mouth, even as nausea rolled through my belly. “We have to talk about what just happened.”

“We can wait until tomorrow, darling,” Wynn said. We’d returned to the penthouse, and I collapsed on the couch to leave the rest of them to unpack, clean their weapons, and change into fresh clothes. Eventually, they’d all come to sit in the living room, just waiting for me to speak.

Tonight, I’d done nothing but watch while they fought for their lives. For our future. But what did we get out of it?

I wasn’t a leader. I had no idea what to say. Tonight didn’t feel like a complete failure, but it also didn’t feel like a win. Max was still alive, Vincenzo was dead, but none of us were hurt. We’d made it through, somehow, and we stood in exactly the same place as before.

What the fuck were we doing?

I looked out the windows. The sun was barely rising over the New York City skyline, casting the apartment in its soft glow. The clock on the wall read almost 5:30 a.m.

“It is tomorrow,” I murmured.

“Let’s debrief,” Obi said. He’d exchanged his dark combat clothes for his usual kind of relaxed loungewear: slacks and a polo shirt. I’d only ever seen him wear pajamas that one night we’d fallen asleep together on the couch.

I turned my gaze to him, and his dark eyes held mine. My heart twisted in my chest with all the conflicting emotions struggling to surface.

Max had surprised me yet a-fucking-gain. I knew it was possible. He always had a plan up his sleeve. Even when we were kids, and we were playing pranks on Alessio and Daniele, my father’s men, he had everything thought out. But somehow, I never would have seen that coming. Never would have seen him getting engaged to my best friend.

I’d been so angry that Obi had cut me out of that mission, but if I had been there, it would have been a royal shitshow. Obi was right. I needed to see what happened from a distance. Otherwise, Max would have gotten his wish, and I’d probably have been snared by whatever else he had planned.

I realized, then, that I wanted Obi’s comfort. I wanted his strong arms to wrap around me and for him to whisper in my ear that we could do this. That he believed I could do it.

But he wouldn’t do that until I’d earned that respect.

“You were right, Obi,” I admitted, staring at my fingernails. The last time I got them done was with Chiara a week before my birthday, but the polish had chipped off entirely in the six weeks since then. “Max was setting another trap, and if it weren’t for you, I would have played right into it.”

“This is why we must proceed with caution,” he said. I closed my eyes to take a deep breath. “Tell me what you are thinking.”

I shook my head, a little laugh bubbling up in my throat. What was I thinking? I could barely get a handle on it. “I’m thinking, what the fuck? ”

Ryuji leaned forward. “Are you surprised he allied with the Tommasos? We knew that was a possibility when Ciel found him there.”

“I’m surprised Chiara agreed to an engagement,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’m surprised I got smacked in the face with another betrayal from one of my closest friends. I’m surprised Vicenzo would give his daughter to such a piece of shit.”

“Perhaps she was forced into it,” Wynn added. “Mafia marriages are often arranged with little to no input from the women.”

I sucked in a breath. I knew Wynn was right, and I’d been wrestling with the question of a forced marriage since the words came from Max’s mouth. Maybe that’s what Chiara had been trying to tell me. Maybe if I had responded to her text messages, I could have saved her. We could have planned to get her out of there. But I was too afraid.

And still, it didn’t quite feel right. Would Vincenzo really have done that? Wouldn’t Chiara have fought? Screamed? Yelled to get away from Max?

What made more sense—that she was being forced and controlled or that she was somehow involved and had betrayed me?

“Vincenzo is— was a strong Don who stuck to the old ways mostly,” I began, trying to make sense of it, “but I always thought he was more like my father. He spoiled Chiara. She got even more privilege and freedom than I did.”

“There was a lot about your father that you didn’t know,” Ciel told me in a hushed voice.

Understatement of the century.

But I did know one thing. My father never would have forced me into a marriage I didn’t want. I regretted how hard I pushed him to let me marry Max every day. I knew my role as the Vero princess was to forge alliances, but he never would have sold me away without a care for my happiness or safety.

My heart sank, regret sweeping through my chest. Maybe an arranged marriage to someone I hated would have been easier compared to what happened in the end. Maybe if I had let my father decide who I should marry and not insisted on Max for so long, he’d still be alive.

But he’d also still be selling people, stealing drugs, and ruining his empire.

And I wouldn’t be here. With Cas. With the Shadows.

“Vincenzo must have had a reason for agreeing to the alliance,” Cas went on. He rubbed at his shoulder and flexed his fingers. “Maybe Max had some sort of blackmail against him.”

I cocked my head as the answer seemed to scream in my brain. Blackmail. I locked eyes with Obi. “We need to get to the bottom of those account numbers.”

“I was thinking the same,” he said with a nod. “Ciel, you and I will work on that.”

Ciel nodded.

The account numbers we’d found on the hard drive of my father’s computer were still unaccounted for and unsolved. Honestly, other things had been much more pressing and important. But my gut told me we might find some truth in those numbers. Some reason why this was all happening.

“So does that mean Volpe is now h-head—” Ciel paused. I sent him a weak smile of gratitude for changing the subject. “Volpe is now head of the Tommaso Family?”

I frowned. If that were the case, we’d be up against double the number of soldiers we’d originally thought. “Chiara has two brothers. Technically, the eldest would take over.”

But her brothers were idiots, and Max was a fucking evil mastermind.

“Leona, we know Max better than that.”

I bit the inside of my cheek and clenched my fists in my lap. “Max never would have agreed to that marriage if Don Vincenzo hadn’t promised him future leadership. Shit. We probably did him a favor tonight.”

I doubted Max would outright kill Chiara’s brothers, but Vincenzo could name a new heir if he wanted. If he had signed the paperwork to name Max heir after their marriage, it would be done—and Chiara’s brothers likely wouldn’t have the loyalty of the Family to stand against him.

It was another takeover.

He might not be officially married to Chiara yet , but he would be the de facto leader.

“So we can assume he’s going to take leadership or will attempt to do so in conflict against Tommaso’s sons,” Obi concluded.

I nodded. “Chiara’s brothers wouldn’t stand a chance against Max. So, he now has two armies. Mine and the Tommasos, if those men agree to serve under him.”

Ryuji rubbed his chin, a strange look on his face. “I don’t miss.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“My aim was true.” He leaned back into the couch cushions. “That bullet would have hit Volpe.”

“But Chiara pushed Don Tommaso, and the bullet hit him instead,” Wynn added. He looked at Cas. “You said you had doubts.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. Everything was fuzzy for me after hearing the bombshell news. I hadn’t paid attention, at least not until I thought they had Max cornered—yet he got away once again.

Cas exhaled. “I don’t know. I don’t know what she tripped over when she pushed him. And at one point, I thought I saw a smile on her face.”

A smile? Had Chiara killed her own father? But why?

I shook my head. “That doesn’t make sense. They always had a good relationship. To me, she looked terrified on those cameras. She probably had no idea what was going on and just reacted.”

Cas nodded. “I agree. I don’t know what I saw. Fear makes us all do strange things. She might have not even understood what she was doing, and her actions just had unfortunate consequences.”

“You could have shot Volpe and ended everything,” Ryu pointed out. “You were right there. Your aim is that bad?”

Cas’s jaw clenched. “In the chaos, my bullets went wide.”

Ryu rolled his eyes with a dismissive snort. “Chaos is our life. If you can’t handle the fire, get out of the kitchen. Weak link.”

Cas hands fisted at his sides, and he shifted like he was going to stand, but I gripped his thigh and squeezed. “Stop. It’s okay.”

His muscles dropped some of their tension, but he fumed.

“Ryuji, that is enough,” Obi cut in. His voice carried that finality that sliced through my core. Maybe Obi could get these two under control because I certainly couldn’t.

“Chiara still ran,” Ryuji said, darkness in his voice. “She could have fought Volpe, tried to break free, but she didn’t. So we need to decide. Is she a target?”

“No,” I whispered before I could swallow the word.

But in truth, I wasn’t sure. A sharp pain laced across my chest as their words, and our reality, settled in.

Chiara. My best friend. Getting married to the boy I used to love.

She knew, too. We’d spent hours and hours whispering how I might finally get him to love me the same way I loved him. On the night of my birthday party, she’d touched the starburst necklace in awe and told me with confidence that it was only a matter of time. Men didn’t just give gifts like that to people they didn’t love.

I’d believed her. I’d let her encourage me.

But was she thinking differently the entire time? Was she hiding her true self from me, just like Max had done all those years?

Could I kill her if I needed to?

I sucked in a breath, finding myself unable to speak. Emotion choked me. There was another thought plaguing the back of my mind, sending me down a dark spiral of heartbreak.

I knew it was illogical and stupid, especially with the five most amazing men sitting right in front of me. I knew I had no reason to be letting this thought cut me so deeply, but I couldn’t fucking stop it.

What was so wrong with me that Max didn’t want me?

What was so much better about Chiara?

Tears pricked my eyes. I jumped to my feet.

“Excuse me,” I said. There was no way I’d sit here in tears, losing even more of their respect. “I need a few moments. Can we finish this discussion later? Make a new plan then?”

I asked no one in particular, instead staring at my black socks against the beautiful designer rug.

It was Obi who answered, “Of course. Everyone, let us get some rest. We will discuss more after we’ve slept.”

Before the tears could fall, before I could see how they all looked at me with pity in their eyes, I fled from the room.