Page 201 of Fall Before Her Throne

He’d been loyal and attentive. Respectful. He’d made all of us a lot of money.

“I don’t see it that way, Miss Vero,” he said. “I hated Kofler, and I never tried to hide it, but I thought my life was over that night. When you gave me a chance to show you what I could do, I knew I owed you everything.”

I looked out the window, saying nothing. Maybe Obi and the guys were right about Felix and his affection for me.

“No, not like that,” he said, clearly picking up on my hesitation. “I mean no disrespect to you or the Shadows. You were incredible that night. So were Obi and Ryuji. It had been a long time since anyone had made me feel as on fire as the three of you did—which had been a long fucking time coming. I admire and respect you, but that’s all. I’m happy to serve you, but I also recognize that I owe you my life. Until that debt is repaid, I’m your man.”

“Help us get through this shit with Greco, and I’ll consider the debt paid.”

He nodded. “Whatever you need.”

“How are our men?” I asked. “Have you been in contact with Giulio?”

“Yes,” he said. “They’ve been in hiding ever since last night. The city is on edge. People are hesitant and scared. The mayor herself hasn’t been seen or heard from since the car bomb, though the news is reporting she’s safe and unharmed. I think everyone is just waiting to see what happens next.”

Well, that wasn’t surprising. This shit was unprecedented, and what we were about to do was even more so. But I didn’t see any other way.

“I need to get in contact with her,” I said. “But without Ciel or his equipment, I’m not sure how.”

The corner of his mouth pulled up. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a small burner phone. “I took the liberty of acquiring her phone number for you. We might have been in hiding last night, but we weren’t without action.”

I took the phone from his outstretched hand. “Seriously? How did you know I’d want to talk to her?”

“A life debt,” he said simply. “It’s yours to request. We know it. She knows it.”

I let out a breath. “Thank you, Felix.”

“Whatever you need.”

I flipped the phone open. There was only one number programmed into it. With a deep breath, I pressed it and held the speaker to my ear. The line rang twice before she picked up.

“Hello?”

“Mayor Zambani,” I greeted. “How are you?”

The line was quiet for a moment. “Leona Vero.”

“Yes,” I said.

“How did you get this number?”

“I have my sources,” I answered. “Are you doing all right?”

“Why the fuck would you care?” she spat. “You almost killed me.”

I scoffed. “You, of all people, know how fucking untrue that is. Without me and my men, you’d be blood and bone on the streets of New York City.”

She let out a heavy breath. A tremble crept into her voice. “I thought so.”

“You saw us there,” I said. “You heard me yell.”

“But there were dozens of men, dozens of bodies⁠—”

“Not my men,” I hissed. “My men were the six your people arrested and threw in jail. We did everything we could to stop them and get to you first.”

She didn’t respond.

“I tried to warn you about him,” I said. “I told you at the gala that he was worse than any of the Five Families had ever been before. You provoked him with that speech. He won’t stop coming after you.”