Page 122 of Fall Before Her Throne

Max shook his head. “I think she’s safe where she is. Going to get her might expose us.”

“Or leaving her there might,” Leona shot back. “You don’t have the men to protect her anymore. Greco could order them to bring her to him at any moment. We can’t take that risk.”

“He would use her as a hostage against us,” I said. He’d done it before. Whatever weaknesses he could expose, he would. “I agree. She needs to be back under our protection.”

We were looking for Greco’s weaknesses. We couldn’t have any of our own.

“Fine, I see your point.” Max ran his hand through his hair. “She’s in Connecticut, by the coast. We can get her. Assuming, of course, she’s even still there. I haven’t spoken to my men there since the day the Camorra came after me.”

Leona looked up at me, her eyebrows furrowing with anxiety. “Can we go tonight? When it’s dark?”

“Not you,” Max said quickly. “Not when the FBI has been watching you.”

“Not you either, then,” she responded. “If they wanted me to snitch on you, then they’re targeting you. You have to lie low.”

He scoffed. “I’m not going to stay here at the house while the rest of you go.”

“Yes, you are⁠—”

“No, I’m not.”

“Do you want to be arrested?”

“Obviously not⁠—”

“Then you’re staying here,” Leona said smugly.

“Then so are you⁠—”

“Okay!” Caspian cut Max off, hands outstretched toward each of them, to the relief of all of us. “Shush, children. You’re both in time-out. No talking for sixty seconds.”

Their bickering would take some getting used to. It was worse than Ryuji’s.

Leona opened her mouth, but I held up a hand, and it snapped closed. “Thank you, Caspian. Both Max and Leona will stay here at the house. The rest of us will retrieve Chiara and bring her back here.”

Leona’s nose flared. “I want to go.”

“You will stay.” My voice brokered no dissent. “I will not hear any other arguments.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

My palm found her thigh, and I squeezed. Her breath hitched, and her pupils dilated slightly. I pulled her forward, gripping her chin and leaning close.

“I’ll add that sass to your list of crimes that require punishment, ifunanya’m. The list is already long,” I said, drawing a pout from her beautiful lips. I kissed them hard, then sat back, leaving her breathless. “Wynn, Ryuji, can you please coordinate an extraction plan? We’ll leave after sundown.”

Wynn nodded in agreement, but Ryuji smirked and winked at Leona. My cock twitched at the mental image of the two of us, spreading Leona out between us. Ryuji would tie her up. I’d bend her over my knee and smack her ass until her arousal dripped down her thighs. Then we’d spend hours working her up until we gave her the relief she desperately needed.

“Regarding the FBI, what exactly are we supposed to do there?” Ciel asked.

“Samuel will give us whatever defenses he can, but this won’t go away easily,” I said. “We need to assume we’re under constant surveillance, even with Ciel’s attempts to protect us. Our best tactic is to divert attention away from the case against us and deal with the Camorra first. Fighting both at once will be the death of us.”

“How are we supposed to divert attention away from us if they’re going to have us under constant surveillance?” Caspian asked.

“Allies,” I said. “We need reinforcements in the streets, and we need allies in the public sphere. I have a few contacts who can protect us if the FBI gets too close.”

“Like who?” Wynn asked.

“The mayor?” Max said. “The police commissioner?”