Page 18

18

WYNN

I was the earliest riser out of my brothers. Ryuji and Ciel might enjoy sleeping in all day long and staying up late, but I preferred to rise with the sun. I accomplished more that way. In my past, it had always meant more time for working. More time for researching, and more time for hunting down traffickers. Rising early gave me purpose.

In those first months after Willow and I escaped, neither of us could sleep, partially because we were homeless and living on the streets, but mostly because of our trauma. When we were picked up by the Irish, we’d fallen into a routine of getting up early to exercise. We were taught to quell the demons and to focus by moving our bodies.

Getting up early was part of my natural rhythm now. No matter how late I went to bed the night before, I had to follow the same morning routine, usually right at dawn.

Make breakfast, work out, shower, and then work on whatever contracts Obi had assigned. The structure was not only a coping mechanism; it was also comfort.

Since Leona came into our lives, she had easily fallen into my routine. She was a comfort.

We met for breakfast, went to the gym, trained, and then we met up with the guys to work through what we needed to do. Always shortly after dawn.

Today, when she never showed up for breakfast, I knew something was off. She was rarely late, and she hadn’t missed a single morning of training since the first day she stepped into our penthouse.

Her uneaten bacon, toast, and fruit still waited on her plate. Where was she?

I pushed away from the table and covered her food with a towel. She never missed breakfast. She’d definitely want to eat it at some point.

As the elevator dinged open to the gym floor, I could hear her in the shooting room at the back. I glanced at the clock hung on the side wall. 5:30 a.m. What was she doing here so early? Why hadn’t she eaten with me?

With a sigh, I slipped into the room and walked up behind her.

She stood exactly how I taught her: feet planted, legs as wide as her hips, knees slightly bent. She fired three shots in quick succession, and they slammed into the target on the opposite wall. She groaned in frustration. Even without seeing the target up close, we both knew her shots were off.

It wasn’t a live ammo shooting range. We had a location secured offsite for that, large enough for even Ryu to practice his sniper shots. But this room we used for target practice and accuracy drills with dummy weapons, and I’d been training Leona in here the last few days. She was a decent enough shot, but she needed to be more precise, especially under duress. Here, she could practice in the safety of the penthouse while still finding some practical application to her real Springfield Hellcat. The weights of the guns were similar, and the shot felt almost exactly the same, even with fake rounds.

With a deep exhale, she squeezed the trigger, and fired two more shots—right into the target’s heart. There. That was better.

I smiled with pride. “Nice work.”

She glanced over her shoulder. “I need to get better.”

“You will, darling.”

She set the gun down with a sigh and rubbed her eyes. “I need to get better faster.”

Every time we trained, she said the same thing. She needed to improve, to be stronger, to have better instincts.

I swore I would help her get there. I would help her become the person she wanted to be. Together, we’d create a better New York—one free from trafficking. If I could do that, the cosmic scales may tip back in my favor. The guilt of my past would ease.

When we had built our empire, when her father’s wrongs were righted, mine would also be. I would finally feel absolved of my crimes.

“You haven’t slept.” She looked exhausted. The pressure on us all was heavy. But if she didn’t take care of herself, she’d fall apart.

She reloaded the weapon. “I’ll sleep on the plane.”

The trip. I would miss her.

She fired five more rounds, but three went wide, and she hissed through her teeth. “ Shit .”

I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her back. Her breath hitched and her shoulders tightened, but she let me.

“You’re too tense,” I told her as I loosened her elbows before I ran my finger all the way down her spine. “Straight but not tight. You’re over-correcting and it’s making your aim go wide.”

She relaxed against my chest and took two deep breaths. She fired the remaining bullets in the clip.

I grinned. “There. Much better.”

She dropped the gun on the barrier in front of her and then leaned back against my chest. Everything about her felt like it fit . She gave me hope that one day I’d feel worthy of this life, if I just did enough to get there.

“Thanks, Wynn.”

I placed my chin on top of her head, breathing her in. So much about me had shifted since I met her. For the first time since I was a child, I felt like I could breathe again.

My desire to balance out the wrongs I had committed with the good I could do remained unchanged. But it felt less strangling. It felt less like I was Sisyphus rolling his rock up the hill for eternity.

Leona was my duty now. One day, I’d be worthy of her love.

“Have you heard from Fallon?” Leona asked, stepping out of my arms to face me.

I nodded. “She wants to meet in person, but she can’t leave Philadelphia,” I replied, drawing my thumb over her cheek. The dark circles under her eyes stood out against the paleness of her skin. She needed rest. “When Max took out her bars, he made her look weak. She’s been dealing with challengers.”

“Challengers?”

“Fallon owns Philadelphia. The Irish control basically the entire city.” It had been under her control for five years now, and she was not about to lose it. “In the aftermath of Max’s attack, her leadership has been thrown into question. Some groups have tested her, seeing if she’s weak enough to fall.”

Leona frowned. “I wish we could help her.”

“She knows we’re dealing with Max. She has a massive grudge against him, too, but agreed to keep an eye on the ports there. If the South Americans are bringing in any product, she’ll take them out.”

“Why does she want to meet in person?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. She said its sensitive, but she said the information she has will help us.”

Leona pursed her lips. That crease between her eyes stuck out like it always did when she was thinking. “We can go when we get back from LA.”

“I could go speak to her myself,” I offered. I wanted to be doing something. Helping.

She bit her lip and closed her eyes. “No, I want you to stay with Cas. He’s meeting with Giulio tonight.” Her fingers fiddled with the hair of her ponytail. “He’s still not one hundred percent, and I’m not sure how the Italians will react. I need you to stay with him.”

“Of course, love.” Caspian was a capable man. I had no problem with him.

“It’s not that he can’t handle it,” Leona added quickly, then rubbed the back of her neck. “I just…this is the first time I’ve left him intentionally. I don’t…”

She shifted from foot to foot while cracking her knuckles, and there was no doubt in my mind that Caspian would be just as anxious.

I’d probably be the same way as soon as she got on that plane. I knew she had to do this, and she’d be completely safe with Ryu and Obi’s protection, but that didn’t mean I had to enjoy it.

She was my bonfire in the night. What would happen if I lost her?

I wrapped her in a hug, and her arms snaked around my neck. “I understand. Everyone will be fine. I’ll be with him at all the meetings. I’ll protect him.”

She cupped my cheek. “Protect yourself, too, Wynn. I can’t lose you either.”

Her eyes shined up at me. Despite her tiredness, they still blazed with determination. It made my heart surge with the same feeling.

I pressed my forehead against hers. “I will. We know what we’re doing. And if things go wrong, we’ll adapt.”

The Shadows did not fail. We adjusted, and we completed our missions. We’d do the same here, no matter what.

“I’m fucking tired of things going wrong,” she said, chuckling a little at the end.

“Me too.” My hands rubbed circles along her back. “But you also need to protect yourself. Let Obi and Ryuji keep you safe.”

She stepped to her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to my lips. “I will.”

“And also, don’t let Ryuji give you too much shit.”

She laughed. “I’ll do my best. Stay in touch with Fallon, but don’t leave Cas. We’ll meet up with the Irish when we get back.”

I nodded. “Stay strong. When you talk to that dealer, remember that you deserve to be there. You might not be claiming your father’s legacy, but you still come from a family with power. You’re with us . That means something.”

“Thanks, Wynn.” She took another deep breath, feeling steadier against me. She was strong. I’d always known that, and I loved that about her. She just needed people who believed in her.

With that, she’d be invincible.

It didn’t matter how many plans, how many adjustments, how many pivots it would take—I was hers for everything.

“Always, love.” I placed my hands on her hips. “Now I know you’re tired, but do you want pointers?”

“Can we practice grappling? I want to make sure I can overpower someone bigger than me.”

I grinned, electricity shooting through my veins. “Absolutely.”