Page 74 of Only Fools Rush

He swallowed. That amount of money was bigger than the Christmas bonuses the Don used to hand out during good years. But it was worth it. We needed to get men on our side, and quick, if we were supposed to fight against Max’s army, the Tommaso army, and the South Americans.

The longer this was drug out, the bloodier it would be.

“Fast. Right, Giulio?”

He nodded as he grabbed the cash and tucked it into his pocket. I pulled one more bundle, just a bit smaller. He spluttered, choking on his coffee.

“This is for anyone who wants to hear us out. No strings attached,” I said, holding it up before sliding it across the table.

Wynn reached across and placed his hand on the cash. “An incentive. Our pockets are deep, with only more coming. Split it among anyone who wants to listen.”

Giulio inhaled. “Fuck, guys. This will help, for sure.”

“Discretion, Giulio,” I warned. “You know what Max will do to you if he finds out anyone has whispers of turning.”

He swallowed. “Everyone is aware of what Max does to traitors.”

“Good. But you should know, if we’re betrayed in any way, Wynn here is so much worse.” I jerked my head at the pretty boy. At that, humor filled Wynn’s eyes, but quickly he shuttered them back to the stoic assassin. “He might look like all bark and no bite, but he’ll blood eagle anyone who so much aswhispersabout what we’re doing. Tell everyone else. Betraying us is betraying the Shadows. They don’t want to take that risk.”

His eyes went wide. “All right, all right. I’ll keep you posted, Cas.”

“You have my number.” I stood. We were done here. Now I wanted to get back to the penthouse and call Leona. I needed to hear her voice. “Contact me if anything goes wrong and let us know when and where to meet.”

The Italian extended his hand to each of us before we parted ways at the door.

Wynn and I slipped back into the SUV, with him in the driver’s seat and me in the passenger. As soon as the door shut, my head fell back against the headrest.

“Well, fuck.” That went both better and worse than I expected. We had hoped that the other Italians would hear us out, but Giulio had opened a can of fucking worms with his suggestion to marry Leona.

Wynn gripped the steering wheel. “Did you expect him to say something different?”

“Maybe.” I gripped theoh fuckhandle on the SUV’s roof. Truthfully, ever since Max used his engagement to Chiara to secure the Tommasos, I had buried this deep question whether that would be our future.

What would Leona think? Would she get engaged to me if it meant turning her father’s army against Max? Would the guys allow it?

I scowled, picturing Ryuji acting like a pissy little bitch at every fucking turn. There’s no way that dick would agree to a marriage.

“What do you think?” I asked quietly.

Wynn frowned. “I…”

“You wouldn’t agree to it.” I exhaled. Shit. If the guys said no, Leona would never. She already felt frustrated as all hell with our tension so far. This could break us.

“I was thinking it’s not really my decision. It’s Leona’s.”

I dragged my hand down my face. It was her decision. But it was also something that would fuck with her head when right now she needed to focus.

If I could get Giulio and the men on our side, it wouldn’t even matter. I could convince the Italian men she deserved to be Head. The whole question could become moot.

“For now, don’t tell her.”

His brow furrowed. “Why not?”

“I don’t want to force her into a decision she doesn’t want to make.”

My lips thinned. She had just told me she wanted a future with the Shadows, too. What if she felt forced to marry me, but it drove a wedge between her and them? She’d hate it, and that would kill me.

On the flip side, if she outright rejected me—that she didn’t want to marry me, even to turn men against Max—my heart might break.