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CASPIAN

L eona had been gone for six fucking days.

Now that she was about to step off that plane and back into my arms, I tapped my foot against the black of the tarmac.

We waited on the private landing strip outside the city. The tarmac was on the property of an old woman who lived way out in the country. Apparently, her house had foreclosed, and Obi bought the whole property with all the surrounding acres of land for her under the condition that the Shadows got full access to the landing strip whenever needed.

I’d asked Wynn how they guaranteed the old woman never told anyone this was where they took off and landed their plane. He’d laughed and said the old woman was practically enamored with Obi and had sworn her lifelong loyalty to him.

She stood next to us as we watched the plane land, also waiting eagerly for the plane to taxi closer.

The plane door lowered. Obi stepped off first, followed by Ryuji. He scowled when he met my gaze. But then he turned around and reached a hand back into the plane. Leona stepped out, hair whipping around her face in the breeze.

I sucked in a breath while my heart thundered. She was home .

Obi stepped off the plane, a reserved smile on his face as he walked straight to the old woman and gave her a massive hug. My eyebrows raised when she planted a wet kiss on his cheek and began chatting his ear off. She even looped her arm around his elbow and pulled him back toward her house.

“Wynn!” Leona laughed as he swept her off her feet and spun her around.

“Missed you, darling,” he said before he kissed her.

Ciel stood waiting next, like we were all in some kind of weird receiving line. I shoved my hands in my pockets. Was this what it was going to be like? Waiting my turn for her attention?

Not if she were my wife .

“You look like you’re about to have a stroke,” Ryuji sneered from beside me. I rolled my eyes as he watched her with the same possessive look I was sure was plastered on my face.

Was he feeling the same thing, even though the bastard just had six days alone with her? Dick. He had no right.

She stepped out of Wynn’s arms and wrapped her arms around Ciel’s neck next. He pressed his forehead to hers.

“Home,” she murmured, eyes closed. “It’s good to be home.”

His grip tightened around her as a smile broke on his face, something unspoken passing between them.

“Take a breath, bodyguard,” Ryuji whispered in my ear.

“Eat shit,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Don’t you want to know how our trip went?” he murmured, low enough that Leona couldn’t hear him. “Mmm. It was delicious.”

It took every ounce of control in my body not to punch him in the face. He was goading me, practically daring me to start something, but that would never happen. At least, not in front of Leona. The only positive thing about them being gone was that I’d had six days without him.

Leona turned to me, saving Ryuji from a broken jaw.

Her golden-brown eyes locked on me, and a giant smile spread over her face. Everything else melted away except for her.

“Cas.” She reached up to me, and I yanked her against my chest, pressing us so hard together I thought we might fuse. My hand slipped into her hair to cradle the back of her head. She let out a huge sigh at the same time I did.

“Fucking finally,” I grumbled in her ear. Half of me suddenly returned. Nothing else mattered except for this. “Welcome home, princess.”

“I missed you.”

“You’re telling me.”

I didn’t wait to slant my lips against hers. The kiss was hard, greedy. My teeth nibbled at her lip while she breathed my name. I was hungry for her.

When she broke the kiss, her face was flushed, and she was breathing hard. “Gear it down, big rig.”

I snorted. “Just wait until we get back to the penthouse.”

Ryuji grumbled something under his breath next to us, but Leona winked.

“You guys ready?” she asked.

The other three turned back to head toward the waiting SUV, joking and laughing with one another as they tossed the bags around. This SUV was a monster, with three rows of seats and extra reinforcements to the chassis. Ciel hadn’t wanted to take any chances with this pickup, and neither had I.

“What about Obi?” Leona asked.

“He’ll catch up,” Ryuji answered, adjusting the straps of his bag and picking up the extra duffels. “We’ll wait for him in the car. Come on, sweetheart.”

As Ryuji and Ciel walked across the tarmac, they teased each other. Ciel jokingly pushed Ryuji before they both turned to wrap an arm around Wynn’s shoulders.

“Damn,” Leona said, watching them. “That’s the first time I’ve seen them all look so normal. Happy.”

I nodded. They did look comfortable with each other. The last few weeks had felt really tense, but this was different. It finally made sense why they called each other brother. There was a shared ease between them, a camaraderie that only resulted after years of shared experiences. For these three—four, including Obi—those shared experiences had been life-or-death. They’d become brothers forged through fire.

My gut twisted as it reminded me of what I used to share with Max.

And what we’d both lost.

I doubted I’d ever find the same bond in the Shadows that I had with Max. That teasing, that trust. Years of turning to one person for reassurance, advice, and challenge. That knowledge that the person beside you would always have your back—at least until they didn’t.

I’d never fit the same way that those four did. And Leona? She was finding her place, too. She laughed at their jokes and joined in on the teasing. She watched them with warmth and affection.

A little voice whispered in my ear that, I want that . I miss that.

But it wasn’t going to happen.

“I love you, Leona.”

No matter what happened, she’d be the center of my world. There wasn’t room for anything else.

She slipped her hand into mine with a smile. “I love you, too, Caspian.”

What would she say if I asked her to marry me?

“Get in, losers!” Ryuji called from the SUV. “I’m fucking starving.”

Leona pulled me forward as I rolled my eyes again. Ryuji always had to be the center of attention.

“Let’s get into it. What’s new with Giulio?” she asked.

“You sure you want to talk business now?” I asked. I slung her bag over my shoulder. “You don’t want to rest?”

She shook her head, squeezing my hand. “I’m buzzing. I want updates, and then I want to head to the gym. I need to let my brain think.”

Wynn took the bag from me and tossed it into the back. “Well, Giulio has arranged a small meeting of other men willing to talk to us,” I replied. “The meeting is set for four days from now.”

“Four days?” She glanced over her shoulder at Ciel, and he squeezed her arm.

“Yeah. That was the best he could do.”

Obi, done with his discussion with the old woman, climbed into the driver’s seat while Wynn took the passenger. I opened the door for Leona so she could slide into the middle. Ciel climbed into the third row and Ryuji sat on the other side of Leona with a massive grin on his face.

“More seats for us to mess up, sweetheart,” he said slyly. “What do you think?”

“I’ll mess up your face, Ryu,” she replied.

“Please. Please , for the love of God, mess up my face.”

She punched him in the shoulder while he cackled.

“So four days,” she said, ignoring his laughter. “Can we keep spreading the word that we’re recruiting?”

“Definitely,” Ciel responded as he typed on his phone.

“Are you good to talk to them?” I asked. “I’m confident that, as soon as you show them that you’re different from your father and different from Max, they’ll realize you deserve to be Head of the Family.”

If she could convince them, the idea of marriage would be irrelevant.

She nodded. “Yeah. I need to think about what to say, but I want to get in front of them.” She leaned against my shoulder. “Did Giulio say anything else? Anything we should know about the men now that Max has been in charge?”

Wynn and I locked eyes. His expression practically yelled at me to tell her what Giulio said about marriage, but I couldn’t. Not yet. Not when she’d just gotten home. Not with Ryuji already pushing my buttons.

“Nothing else, princess,” I said, putting my hand on her thigh. “We just need to show them how badass you are, and how we’re going to crush Max. The rest will fall into place.”

“Perfect.” She grinned. “It’ll be cool to see some of the old guys again. I basically grew up around them. I can’t wait to show them how much I’ve grown.”

I kissed her temple. “They’ll be proud of you, just like I am.”

“Barf,” Ryuji said. “Let’s talk about our trip to LA. Want to hear about our hotel room?”

Leona snapped her head toward him and narrowed her eyes.

“Actually, I want to hear about this Felix guy,” I said. Ciel had sent the dossier on him to all of us. “Do you think we can trust him?”

Obi adjusted the rearview mirror but said nothing. It didn’t take a genius to know that something went down between them all and Kofler. Wynn and Ciel had alluded to some dark shit, but I still wasn’t sure of the truth of how they killed him.

I bet it was everything the fucker deserved.

She crossed her legs. “We’ve spent the last four days getting the quick and dirty overview of how Kofler’s operation worked. Felix definitely knows what he’s doing, but the question is whether or not he’ll turn around and stab us in the back.”

“That will not happen,” Obi said from the front seat, hands gripping the steering wheel.

Ryu huffed a laugh. “Better not.”

“What happened with Kofler that makes you so convinced?” I asked.

Leona frowned. “We had to kill him.”

Something about the way she said we had me sucking in a breath. “We? Who killed him?”

She hesitated. Ryuji nudged her knee from her other side. “Be proud of it, little vixen. You are a goddess.”

My eyes went wide as I took in Leona. “ You killed him?” I turned a glare on Ryuji. “I thought you were supposed to protect her. What the hell were you doing?”

“I handed her the knife myself. Showed her exactly how to slip it between his ribs,” he responded, eyebrow raised in a taunt. “She doesn’t need protecting. She needs unleashing.”

“You killed Kofler?” Wynn asked, turning in his seat.

“I had to make a point,” she said. “Nobody fucks with us.”

“That doesn’t mean you had to be the one to do it,” I replied. “They should have handled it for you.”

“She’s a big girl, she can do the dirty work herself,” Ryuji said.

“Are you fucking seri?—”

“Guys,” Wynn warned. “Stop.”

“Can we talk about Felix? I want to talk about Felix,” she said, her hands balling into fists in her lap. She avoided my gaze. “Obi’s going to stay in touch with him. He’ll send us updates, and we’ll visit once a month. Either he’ll come to New York, or we’ll go to LA. It should work out fine with Ryuji’s new club.”

Nobody replied, letting an awkwardness fill all three rows of the SUV.

“Are you okay?” Ciel asked her from behind us.

“Yep,” she said quickly. “We also sweetened Felix’s deal by giving him five percent of every successful deal he can broker and deliver. If all goes well after six months, that’ll raise to seven percent.”

Ciel whistled. “That’s a pretty substantial deal for him.”

“Yeah, well, hopefully it’ll keep him out of Max’s ear and firmly planted in ours.”

“Max will keep trying,” I said grimly. “Taking out Kofler will be a huge hit to his bottom line. If he can’t sell the guns, he’ll start to get more aggressive. We can also expect the Camorra Italians to put pressure on him. He’ll have no option other than to try and regain that business.”

“I will handle the Camorra,” Obi spoke up. Nice of him to join in after the tension between me and Ryuji. “I have business with them.”

“Hah. Business,” Leona scoffed quietly to herself.

He locked eyes with her in the rearview. Her eyes slid to the side. Ryuji pointedly took her other hand in his, a frown on his face—but it didn’t look like a frown meant for Leona.

Yeah. Apparently, a lot happened in LA that nobody wanted to talk about.

Silence stretched.

Wynn sent me another glance that seemed to say, Tell her, say something , but fuck no. Not now. There’s no way in hell that discussing an engagement between the two of us would go well right now.

“Well,” Ryuji said, breaking the silence. “I’m thinking we get some burgers on the way home. Anyone else feeling like a burger?”

Leona laid her head on his shoulder. “Burgers sound great.”

I bit back the urge to pull her into my side instead.

She was mine. If she married me, she’d be completely mine.

I did my physical therapy exercises while Leona worked out with Wynn. He put her through the wringer, running her through conditioning drills and hand-to-hand combat sparring.

This was the first time I’d seen her workout. When she caught Wynn with a well-timed punch to the stomach, I practically whooped with pride.

Her father never would have let her do this. Even in the periodic times where he’d let her do target practice with a gun, he’d watch her like a hawk.

But now? She was getting strong. Powerful.

Luciano was a fool.

After they finished working out, I wrapped up my physical therapy and followed her back upstairs. I was also getting stronger, but my arm still tweaked whenever I raised it, and my fingers felt so weak. I must have pushed myself too far when we hunted the Alacrán Cartel that night. Everything about my body felt slower, sorer, and more sluggish.

But what was I supposed to do? Sitting out on everything for eight weeks like Willow wanted was impossible.

“Back to following me around, huh?” Leona teased as I closed the door to our room behind us. She went straight to the bathroom while I pretended the comment didn’t bother me.

I wasn’t a puppy. I was her soulmate, and I missed her like crazy.

She peeled off her shirt and leggings, standing in the bathroom in only her underwear and sports bra.

New bruises peppered her ribs and shoulders. I crossed my hands over my chest as anger rolled through my veins. Fuck. Ryuji and Obi promised to protect her, but she came home like this?

“What happened?” I asked, voice hard.

She caught my eye and followed it to her torso. “Oh. From when we got ambushed. I’m fine, though. I don’t feel them at all.”

“Leona…”

“I’m fine, Cas.” Her voice went soft. “Really. I promise.”

“They were supposed to take better care of you.” She was never leaving my sight again. Not if she was going to come home battered and bruised.

She wiped her makeup off her face. “It wasn’t their fault. And we kept each other alive.”

I sighed before gingerly snaking my arms around her waist. She turned in my arms after she finished washing her face and pulled me into a hug, her arms around my neck. Her fingers dragged up the back of my neck, through the hair, sending a shiver down my spine.

“I missed you so much,” she whispered into my neck. “It was so weird not having you with me all the time.”

I squeezed her tighter. “Like half of me was missing.”

“ Yes .” She kissed my throat. “You get it. You know that you’re my everything, right? Even though you’re sticking to me like glue right now, and you know how much I hate that, I still can’t stand the thought of being separated again.”

“I know,” I murmured. I cupped the back of her neck and tilted her head back so I could kiss her. It started gentle and sweet, but it didn’t take long before I was pressing her back against the bathroom countertop and lifting her to the edge.

“Your kisses set me on fire,” she groaned as she wrapped her legs around my waist.

I rubbed my dick against her center. “You can feel exactly what you do to me.”

My hand trailed down the bare skin of her torso, careful of the bruises. Her fingers wandered down my shirt until they reached my belt.

I nipped her lip, my heart thundering in my chest. “Bed or counter?”

She unhooked my belt and pushed her hand inside my boxers, fingers curling around my length. “Here.”

I groaned, resting my forehead on her collarbone as her hand stroked me.

“Your hand is so much better than mine,” I said with a soft laugh.

“You jerked off while I was gone?” she murmured, pressing kisses against my jaw. “Thinking of me?”

“Definitely,” I growled. Thinking of all the ways I’d have her for the rest of our lives. Remembering what it felt like to be deep inside of her. “I’ve jerked off to the thought of you so many times, I couldn’t even try to count.”

She giggled. “Well, come get the real thing.”

“Need this first.” Kneeling before my queen like her most faithful servant, I breathed over her center. I’d missed my breakfast, lunch, and dinner—and I needed it now.

She sucked in a breath as I drew my finger over her clit. I could already see her panties dampening and I groaned, using my other hand to pull it to the side.

“So wet.” I leaned forward and swiped my tongue up her slit. Her fingers curled into my hair. “Look how wet you are for me, princess. Just a few kisses and you’re soaking.”

“I need you, Cas,” she whined. “I need everything. All of you.”

I pressed a finger inside her. She widened her legs, jutting her hips forward to meet the rhythm. “You own every piece of me, Leona. All that I am belongs to you and always will.”

I withdrew my finger and replaced it with my tongue. Every moan she uttered only urged me on. I lapped at her like a man dying of thirst.

“I’m coming. Oh, God, I’m coming already .” Her whimpers rose as she rode out the waves against my face, one hand gripping the countertop, the other on the back of my head. I chased her through it until she could breathe again, then I stood, and lined myself up to her entrance.

“More?” I asked, while I still retained a sliver of rational thought.

“More. Please, more.”

I still didn’t bother pulling her thong off. I just yanked it to the side and sank inside her in one firm thrust. She gasped as she sucked me in, her pussy a vice grip on me. My lips clamped down on her neck.

“ Cas. ”

My tongue, still tasting of her, dragged down the length of her neck before my teeth skated across her collarbone. She was so warm, so tight. My fingers dug into her ass. I yanked her against me over and over. We were both hungry and desperate. She shuddered and moaned, heels digging into the backs of my thighs.

The first time, I wanted patience. I wanted to enjoy every moan that dripped from her lips.

This time, I wanted her fast. I wanted her boobs jiggling while I slammed into her. I wanted her nails digging into my arms to brace herself.

It didn’t take long. This was hard, and it was quick. I couldn’t wait for anything else besides hearing her whimpers as she came again. I followed her, groaning into the bare skin of her neck.

It was everything . I’d never grow tired of it. She rested her head against my chest as we both panted, trying to catch our breath.

“Let’s get cleaned up, princess.” I pulled out of her and helped her into the shower, where we both washed up under the warm spray before putting on our pajamas.

“Thanks, Cas,” she said. We slipped inside the covers. “I’m exhausted.”

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. “Me too. I feel like I can finally breathe again.”

She laid her head on my arm and snuggled against my chest, humming softly while drawing those lazy circles on my chest. It was the perfect time to bring up what Giulio said, but I had zero desire to interrupt the peace. Just when I started to doze off, warm, and content with her finally in my arms, her quiet voice broke the silence.

“I never feel safer than I do in your arms, Cas.”

I could see the “but” coming from a million miles away. I braced myself. “Yeah?”

“But I also have to step into this role,” she continued. I tightened my grip around her. “I can’t hide away when things get messy. I have to prove I’m capable. I have to be at the front of it.”

“No, you don’t,” I replied. “That’s what you have me for.”

I had been her bodyguard for eight years; her best friend for longer. She had me to stand between her and the messy parts of the world. That was my job, not only as her bodyguard but also as her boyfriend…lover? Whatever the fuck. I was supposed to protect her.

“Cas.” She lifted her head off my chest so she could stare at me. “I know you will always protect me, but this is the same argument we’ve had a million times. I will never be strong if you protect me from everything.”

I clamped my eyes shut. “I can’t stand the idea of you getting hurt.”

Her bruises were still purple and swollen. What happened when she got hurt worse than bruises? What happened when she got shot? Stabbed?

She could still be a Donna , a Regina , without putting herself in harm’s way. God knows the Dons did the same. Most of them hadn’t been in a firefight since they were young men. That’s why they had capos , armies, men to do the fighting for them.

“I’m not a child anymore,” she said. “I am a grown woman. I have to show the world that I have the power to be the person who I want to be. Kofler betrayed me because I am a woman, and I’m a risk. I have to show them Leona Vero is a force to be reckoned with.”

I gripped her chin between my thumb and finger, tilting her head up to look me in the eyes. “You have always been a woman in my eyes. But you are the woman I love most in the world. That means it’s my job to keep you out of harm’s way. I will gladly do the dirty work so you can be safe.”

And the thought of Ryuji pushing her to fucking kill someone still pissed me off. Self-defense was one thing. I wanted her to be strong enough to defend herself. But cold-blooded murder? That wasn’t her. She was too good for that. She didn’t need that weight on her conscious.

Ryuji was a stain. A risk to her safety.

“You can’t protect me from the underworld, amore mio ,” she whispered. “Not if I’m truly going to be part of it. As a woman, I need to command even more respect. I can’t be seen as someone who hides behind her men. Please, try to understand that.”

I searched her face, feeling torn.

She was getting strong. I’d seen that with my own eyes. But she was also the princess I had sworn my life to protect. How was I supposed to reconcile those two things?

I loved the idea of Leona becoming powerful—but I did not love the idea of blood on her hands when I could let that blood cover mine instead. We could demonstrate she deserved respect without putting her in harm’s way. What else were we all here for, if not that?

Maybe it would be easier to marry her. Get them all on our side first, and then she could show them that she was the true leader over time.

I opened my mouth to bring it up, but the words died on my lips. She would never want that. She’d reject the whole thing, reject me , on principle.

I kissed her. “Go to sleep, princess.”

She exhaled heavily, but rested her head on my chest. “Love you.”

“ Sempre e per sempre. ”

By the time I fell asleep, I still hadn’t decided the right thing to do.