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LEONA

I tried not to gag. I really did.

But watching Obi work…

My jaw was sore from grinding my teeth so hard.

It was slow. Meticulous. Careful. Obi took his time, just like he said he would. And I forced myself to watch every second.

Even as Kofler pissed and shit himself. Even as a few of his men cried and vomited against their gags, almost drowning themselves.

Only one sat unmoving, seemingly unfazed by the violence. He watched with hard eyes and didn’t once flinch.

I bit the inside of my lip, dug my nails into my skin, and refused to look away.

I would not be weak. I’d said I would stay, and I meant it. I needed to see this. I needed to understand what it took to establish and hold control. To gain power and respect.

I had to show them I could handle it; that I deserved to be part of this world. Obi would realize that, and so would the men in my father’s army.

The screams were probably the worst part. Hearing Kofler beg for mercy echoed in my ears and would probably haunt my nightmares. But every time he cried out, my resolve hardened. My anger grew.

He tried to fucking kill us.

He tried to hurt my men.

He tried to ruin me .

So I swallowed the bile, and I watched.

Ryuji acted as Obi’s careful assistant. The two of them spent hours on the work. Every so often, Ryu would lean down to my ear and tell me to leave, but I’d shake my head and plant my feet. Obi didn’t once turn around.

Finally, Obi took a step back from his work and released a long breath. His tense shoulders sank even as his eyes burned brightly.

“Kill me,” Kofler rasped. I’d probably never understand how he was still alive.

Ryuji handed Obi the cloth they’d used to periodically wipe their hands.

“He’s done,” Ryu said, clasping Obi on the shoulder. “Finish it.”

Obi nodded, placing the short knife down. Ryu handed him a longer, thinly pointed one.

“Obi.” My voice cracked, so I cleared my throat and tried again. “Obi.”

He paused, but he didn’t turn around. He still wouldn’t look at me.

“I will kill him.”

At that, he did finally look at me. Blood splattered his face, deepening the color of his beard and tinging it a sticky red. “No.”

I stepped forward. “Let. Me.”

Ryu stepped between us. “Are you sure?”

Kofler moaned wordless sounds. I gulped, but wiped my palms on my jeans, and then stretched out my hand.

“Give it to me.”

“You will not carry this darkness, Leona.”

I stepped closer, careful not to slip in the blood coating the floor. “Darkness is our life, Obi. We are the Shadows.”

I held out my hand again. I was strong enough to do this. He needed to see that. To trust me.

A flurry of his emotions passed over his face in quick succession. But at the end of it he stared at me with anguish in his eyes. “I cannot let you taint yourself.”

With his words, a huge part of him became clear to me. The hesitation. The holding back. He was afraid the darkness within them all would settle over me and stain me.

What he didn’t realize was that I was already steeped in it. Nobody needed to protect me from it.

I reached up with both hands to touch his face. “Obi, you will always be my shield. But I want to be yours, too.”

His eyes closed, and he shuddered.

“It’s my choice,” I said, resolve hardening my voice. “It’s my responsibility to kill him. I will not stand behind you. I need to show the world that nobody fucks with Leona Vero.”

My hand closed around his grip, and I pulled the knife free.

Ryuji stared at me with dark approval in his eyes. From the very beginning, Ryuji’s darkness had called to mine. All our sass, all our banter, was just our shadows dancing with one another. He knew this was necessary just as much as I did.

“Here, Leona,” Ryu said as he pointed to a spot on Kofler’s chest. “Hard. Strong. Careful of the ribs. You want to slip right between them.”

I nodded, eyes locked on the spot. I looked down at the husk of a man. “You hurt me and my men. Nobody gets away with that.”

The knife slipped into his chest much easier than I expected. I pushed it deep, like Ryuji instructed. Then I yanked it free.

He was dead.

Blood drenched my hands.

Obi stared at it, but I made no move to wipe it off.

I turned to the men, still restrained against the wall. Knife in hand, I stared down at them.

“I’m taking control of Kofler’s business,” I declared. My voice sounded much clearer than I had expected it to. “But I need someone who knows it to be our second-in-command.” I gestured to his body. “You have seen firsthand what happens when you betray us. If you don’t want in, we’ll kill you now, and give you a quick death. If you want to step into Kofler’s place and take control, you better be damn sure you’re all in. Even for me, a woman. ”

Fuck Kofler for believing I couldn’t do this because I was a woman. I’d prove him wrong. I’d prove every single man who doubted me wrong.

One man struggled against the gag, jaw moving with muffled sounds. It was the same man who hadn’t even flinched at the sight of his boss being skinned alive.

“Ryu.”

He loosened it enough for the man to speak.

“I will.” His fevered eyes stared up at me. “Let me.”

Without the gag in his mouth, I recognized him as one of the men who stood behind Kofler during the original deal at the warehouse. He’d stared at me then, just as he did now. “Who are you?”

“Felix. Anton Felix. I was in charge of all the deals in the Southwest, from New Mexico to Arizona and Nevada to Southern California. I can step in. I won’t betray you, I swear it.”

I tilted my head, taking him in. Earlier, he’d sat so carefully still. His eyes were emotionless as they watched the blood leak from Kofler. Now, his eyes looked cunning.

I kneeled in front of him. “How can I trust you, Felix?”

“There was no love lost between us. He thought I was coming for him, so he’d been trying to push me out.”

I glanced at the other man restrained beside him. “Is that true?”

The man nodded, tears streaking his face.

“Were you coming for him?” I asked.

“Maybe.”

“So you were enemies with Kofler?”

“Not so much enemies, but we held opposing business views.”

“And that means I can trust you? How do I know you won’t turn and come after me?”

“I want this business. I can run it better than he ever did. You can trust that if you give me control, I can take over. Plus…”

I raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Well...” He glanced behind me, to Obi still standing next to Kofler’s body. “I like my skin attached to my body.”

A little smile pulled up the corner of my mouth. “And you’re qualified to take over?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “Kofler was pulling back, anyway. That was part of our dispute. I wanted him to expand. He got complacent. Any of these guys can attest to that. It’s probably why he snitched on you to begin with.”

Kofler didn’t want to take the risk on me. He wanted to stay in his comfort zone, pulling in the same amount of money he always had. If he’d had to switch suppliers to me, that would have required work. It sounded like Kofler wasn’t interested in that work, but Felix was.

He didn’t look to be lying. And he still stared at me with an obsessive look in his eye.

I needed someone from inside Kofler’s business to help us establish control and keep money flowing. The last thing I wanted was to lose this opportunity to secure millions of dollars in revenue, or to let someone else step into the vacuum and snatch up control from underneath me.

I especially did not want that person to be Max.

We couldn’t just walk away without trying to usurp it.

Well, if Felix didn’t work out, we’d just kill him.

“Send over the financials from the last year so we can review the details. I want no drop in business, Felix. If I see any weakness, you will end up like him.” I pointed the edge of the knife at Kofler’s lifeless body. “But know that trust will gain reward. If you do your job, you’ll be richer, and more powerful, than your wildest dreams. Do you believe that?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Welcome to the team, Felix.” I stood. “What about the rest of these guys?”

“What do you mean?”

“Can they be trusted? Or should we kill them?”

The others struggled, shouting into their gags. Felix blinked. His eyes traveled over each one. “Can you cut my restraints?”

I moved to do it with my knife, but Ryu put his hand on my shoulder to pull me back, away from him, before he let Felix free.

Felix stood, rubbing his wrists. He pointed at the rest, one by one. “Kill him. Kill him. But keep him alive. He’ll work with me.”

I nodded at Ryuji, and he slit their throats in quick succession before setting the last one free.

“All right, Felix.” I took in the mess of the basement. So much blood. So much death. I was no longer surprised to realize it didn’t bother me. I meant what I said to Obi. I belonged in the shadows with them. I always had. “Let’s start with cleaning this up.”