Page 48

48

LEONA

I woke in Obi’s arms.

We hadn’t had sex. Neither of us had really slept, and both of us were exhausted. All it took was laying down in his insanely soft sheets, and within moments, we’d both drifted off.

He was the only one of my men I’d never seen sleeping. I memorized the details of his face, preserving the peaceful look, the openness. My fingers reached out to touch the strong edge of his jaw, but I didn’t want to wake him. He was so handsome.

His eyes fluttered open, and it took a moment for them to blink into full consciousness.

“Hey,” I whispered, finally giving in to the urge to touch him. I pressed my fingertips to his shirtless chest, feeling for the pulse beneath his skin. It didn’t matter how hard he tried to hide his emotions from me, his pulse never lied. Whenever I needed the truth from him, I’d felt for his racing heartbeat.

His hand cupped the side of my face. His eyes closed again. “That is the second night I’ve slept without nightmares.”

“What was the first?”

“The night we fell asleep together on the couch,” he replied. I smiled, turning my face into his palm to kiss it.

Obi was complicated. Difficult. Controlling and stubborn.

But he’d shown me how much he cared about me. His kisses had worshipped me. His actions had saved me and Cas. He’d brought all of us together.

“Leona, I am sorry,” he murmured. “For how I’ve treated you.”

I sucked in a breath while I searched his face.

The lying still hurt. Treating me like a pawn on his chessboard still hurt.

Trust was damaged, but there was hope. The space between us had lessened greatly, and I finally found that I understood him a lot more than before.

Obi was a protector. Of me. Of his siblings. Of the boy he believed he’d failed. He was doing everything he could to build a safer world, even at the expense of his own happiness. But now that I knew about him, I was even more confident in what I said back in Kofler’s basement.

He was my shield. But I would be his shield, too.

“I forgive you.”

He released a breath and smiled. It stole the air right from my lungs.

After another quick kiss, I asked, “What time is it?”

He leaned over my shoulder to peer at the watch on the end table. “Around nine in the morning.”

We’d only been asleep for a few hours. What was everyone else doing? The girls had been up super late, so they might be still sleeping. But I could also imagine Fallon leaving at first light, as suddenly as she had appeared.

I nuzzled my nose into his neck. “I wonder if Fallon is still here.”

“I do not care.” His fingers tilted my chin upward so he could take my mouth in a deep kiss, sending tingles down my spine. I prayed I didn’t have morning breath.

“Can I ask you something?” I murmured.

“Yes.”

“Why me?” I searched his face. “Why did you choose me for all your grand plans?”

He took a deep breath and leaned back on the bed. “Both your father and Volpe had submitted contracts against each other. I intended to select the option that benefitted me most, so I came to your birthday party that night to decide. Then Volpe took matters into his own hands before I had the chance.”

“You were going to use one of them?” I asked. “Take the contract to earn a favor?”

He nodded. “I wanted the Italian mafia in my pocket, for me to use when the time was right.”

“For what? What’s your end goal?”

His fingertips brushed against my cheek. I knew I was pushing him to tell me the truth, but after yesterday, I needed to understand. I needed to know if he’d tell me.

“The Italian mafia here in New York can one day rival the Camorra,” he finally said. “If nurtured appropriately.”

My eyes widened as pieces started to slot into place. “You want to take down the Camorra.”

“Yes,” he said with a nod. “One day. If I controlled your father’s resources, and eventually those of the other Five Families, it would be a formidable force against them.”

“Why?” The Camorra was the most powerful criminal organization in the world. And Obi wanted to take them on? With our new syndicate?

“I have shared some of the details of how my parents were killed,” he said. I nodded. My heart still broke for him. “In my time living in Italy, I came to find out that the group that killed them were funded, in part, by the Camorra.”

My mouth fell open. “Shit. Are you serious?”

He nodded. “My family will not be safe so long as the Camorra is in operation. Their reach is far, their interests vast, extending even to the cartels in South America. They must be ended.”

Even the cartels? My mind raced as I tried to keep up. I grabbed his hand. “And me? Once Max killed my dad, the contract was moot. So why me? Why take a chance on me, when you had no guarantee that I’d be able to take the Family back under my control?”

“I needed what power I thought the Family, and our new syndicate, could give me.” He propped himself up on one arm and leaned over my body. “But I wanted you. ”

My heart raced with the truth lingering between us. I grabbed his cheeks and pulled his face back to mine. His hand brushed down my chest.

“I wonder…” He breathed against my cleavage. His voice went husky as he leaned over my body, caging me against the mattress. His dark eyes stared into me. “When we first agreed to our partnership, I told you that I’d teach you everything I know. There’s still so much left to learn.”

My mouth went dry. “Like what?”

His hand gripped my thigh through the sheet as he leaned in to kiss me. Wetness pooled between my legs. I pressed against the hard plane of his chest. Yes. Teach me .

A knock pounded on the door. The kiss broke.

“Obi!” Ryuji’s frantic voice came from the other side. “Open the door! She’s fucking gone!”

My eyes widened as Obi’s crinkled with mirth. He stood, and I bit my lip as I took in the sight of him. Broad chest, dark skin, defined muscles, and sleep pants that hung low on his hips. He was a work of art.

“I’m coming.” He sighed when Ryuji knocked again.

I pulled the bedsheet over my chest just as he opened the door. Ryu stood there, eyes wide. A commotion echoed down the hallway. “She’s not here. She’s not with Fallon. I don’t—” Then his gaze slid to the side and locked on me. “The fuck.”

I raised a hand in a little wave. “Hello.”

Ryu blinked, looking back and forth between me and Obi. “Are you for fucking real?”

I cringed. He didn’t sound mad, but he was clearly surprised.

“Would you like to come in?” Obi asked, opening the door further, and stepping aside.

“Um. Surprising to even me, no,” Ryu said. He shouted over his shoulder. “She’s in Obi’s room!”

Footsteps thundered down the hallway. I braced my head against my knees, still wrapped up in Obi’s bedsheet, as Cas, Ciel, and Wynn burst through the door.

All three of them spoke at once.

“What the fuck?” Cas said. “Leona?”

“Baby girl?”

“Darling?”

“Yes?” I hissed, lifting my head. “Would everyone like to come in?”

I glanced at Obi, practically begging for his help, but he just grinned. Why did it feel like I got caught with my hand in the cookie jar?

Obi crossed his arms over his chest as a chuckle rolled through his chest. “It’s not like I kidnapped her. She is perfectly safe.”

“You guys fucked,” Ryuji claimed, as if he couldn’t believe his own words. “Holy shit.”

“No, we didn’t,” I said, swinging my legs to the side of the bed and pulling the sheet with me so it stayed wrapped around my body. As I walked past, Obi’s hand snagged the back of my neck and he spun me so he could plant a searing kiss on my lips. I gaped at his mischievous smile.

“Sexy,” Ryuji murmured.

My cheeks burned. “Jeez. Can everyone just—” I pushed through them. “Let me out.”

I couldn’t look at Cas. What if he was disappointed, or upset, or frustrated? I couldn’t stand the idea. He’d already more than expressed he didn’t like the idea of me with the other guys. I needed more time before we crossed that bridge.

“She’s embarrassed,” Wynn whispered to Ciel.

“Why?” Ciel responded, not quiet at all. “She has nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“Maybe because Fallon and my sister are still here,” Wynn answered.

I groaned. “Everyone, calm down. We just talked things through, that’s all.”

“ Naked ?” Ryuji teased. “If you just talked, why do you have sex hair?”

I flipped him off on my way to my room, trying to ignore their continued questions. Once I was out of their sight, I smoothed my hair down. My face still felt like it was on fire.

“Fallon?” I whispered, opening the door to my room. Zoya still laid on my bed, sleeping, but Willow and Fallon were both gone. Quickly, I went to the bathroom to freshen up and pull on some new clothes. Shit. Ryu was right. I did have sex hair. I pulled a comb through the messy curls, grumbling at every tug. We didn’t even have sex. Yet.

I left Zoya sleeping in my room and found both Fallon and Willow in the kitchen drinking coffee. “There you are.”

Fallon raised an eyebrow. “And where were you ?”

Willow passed me a cup, and I breathed in its warmth. “Obi and I were talking, and I fell asleep.”

“Where?”

“In his room,” I said as nonchalantly as possible.

“Oh? Is that right?” Willow asked. “Your men were very concerned.” She cast a wry glance in Fallon’s direction. An entire unspoken conversation passed between them.

“Shut up. Both of you.” I laughed. “Stop it.”

“How are you feeling?” Willow asked once she’d stopped chuckling.

“Better. I thought a lot about what you said.”

People made mistakes when they were trying not to hurt those they loved, or trying to avoid being hurt. All six of us had done that at some point. But our mistakes didn’t define us. Our love for one another did.

And I knew; I was growing to love them all.

“That’s good,” Fallon said. “I hope it helped your conversations.”

“It did.” I took a long drink of the coffee. Despite only sleeping a few hours, I felt a lot lighter than the night before.

“Orgasms can fix a lot of things.”

I choked on my drink. “ Fallon .”

Willow snorted while Fallon cackled.

I rolled my eyes as I tried to wipe the blush from my cheeks. “Thank you both for girls night. I really appreciate you coming.”

“Aye, you’re welcome,” Fallon said with a nod, then tilted her mug back to gulp down the rest of its contents. After she finished, she slapped the countertop. “I must be getting back. My men get restless without me.”

“I need to check on my patients,” Willow said. “Zoya and I need to get back to the clinic.”

“Everything is all right?” I asked. “With Zoya?”

Willow nodded. “She’s doing great. This will be good for her.”

“Hopefully only a little longer and this will all be over.”

The guys came down the hallway from Obi’s room, talking among themselves. They gave Fallon a wide berth before settling on the couch in the living room, but Wynn came over. He gave me a soft smile, and I admit I felt disappointed that he didn’t plant a kiss against my hair like he did every other morning when we met in the kitchen. But he was trying to give me space, and I appreciated that.

Without him even needing to ask, Willow handed him a cup of coffee. Their movements were so in tune. So similar. They looked more like twins than a few years apart.

“Let’s wake up Zoya and then go home,” Fallon said, drawing my attention.

I followed her back to the bedroom and helped them pack up their bags and what was left of the snacks. Ten minutes later, the four of us stood by the front door.

“Should I leave some extra weapons?” Fallon asked.

“You brought weapons?”

“Of course I did,” she replied, indignant. She reached behind her and pulled a six-inch knife from somewhere on her back. “A lot more, just like this.”

My eyes widened, but I shook my head. She slipped the knife back into its hiding place. Fuck, that was practically a sword .

“I’ll be fine,” I said finally, glancing over her shoulder to where Wynn peeked from the living room. I was confident the guys were listening in. It had grown suspiciously quiet. “They have to do some serious work to rebuild the trust, but I think we’re going to be all right.”

A collective sigh of relief came from the other room.

“You call me if you need me, Leona,” Fallon said. “I’m very good at castration. Well-practiced.”

Wynn choked on his coffee and spluttered. I bit back my laugh.

“That will not be necessary, hopefully,” I said as I pulled her into a hug. Then I hugged Willow and finally Zoya. “Thank you all. Seriously.”

Willow cupped my cheeks, eyes crinkling in a smile. “Girls night again soon. Maybe at Fallon’s house next time. And maybe next time she won’t scare me half to death.”

“That’s a brilliant idea.”

“Don’t leave me out,” Zoya said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “You’ve forcefully added me to this group, and now I want to stay in it.”

I laughed and nodded. “You got it.”

The three of them left in the same flurry as when they arrived. I couldn’t see the helicopter take off from the roof, obviously, but I watched it head toward Philly. I wrapped my arms around my torso until they disappeared, grateful to have such good friends.