Page 224 of Fall Before Her Throne

“I’m going to Willow’s haven in a few days, once we’re done with the mercenary agency,” I said softly. “Want to come with me?”

“Of course. I’ve missed Penny, Claire, and the girls.” She smiled, and it filled me with warmth. The shadows that used to plague my heart were burnt away in the face of her brightness.

“Me, too.”

73

CASPIAN

2 MONTHS LATER

On tonight’s evening news, we’re covering the most recent updates in the organized crime case that has shocked all of New York. Piero Greco, the Head of the Italian Camorra, was identified as the leader of the Five Families here in New York City. He was the mastermind behind dozens of crimes plaguing the city for the last two decades—including the bloody firefights that took place in the Bronx and throughout Manhattan this past summer.

In a multi-departmental operation that spanned local and federal agencies, the government successfully captured Greco and brought a racketeering case against him this fall. Unfortunately, he passed away shortly after in jail. Max Volpe, a well-known businessman with ties to organized crime, was charged as his number-one man and accomplice. Max Volpe accepted a plea deal, detailing decades’ worth of the mafia’s crimes. While the details of his plea deal are sealed, experts believe he could face up to twenty years in prison. The same racketeering charges led to the arrest of dozens of other men, who now face the same prison sentence. The mountain of evidence makes this one of the most successful racketeering cases in FBI history…

I clicked off the news.

The rest of my family sat around the TV, anxiously watching Leona while she bit her thumbnail and glared at the now-blank TV.

Twenty years…

Obi’s palms massaged her back, and she seemed to relax at his touch. It wouldn’t be that long. We’d get him out sooner.

It had been a hectic two months, dealing with the fallout of all this shit.

First, we all made Leona rest for two weeks before she was ready to leave the house. Her wound wasn’t as severe as Wynn’s, but it was serious and she needed time to not only physically heal but also emotionally recover from the stress of the previous five months.

She’d made it through, and she’d spent the last month working herself to the bone again. She’d confirmed our alliance with Fallon Byrne and Konstantin Makarov. Makarov would keep his territory, and we’d continue using him for our drug sales. Fallon was fine in Philadelphia, but we mutually agreed to come to each other’s aid if necessary in the future.

Leona had also secured an official alliance with Enzo Rossi. We agreed that he’d keep his small territory, and we’d leave him alone. While he would technically live under our rule as the Shadows, he would remain as Don Rossi and become our business partner. It suited both of us just fine—he got to keep to himself, while we knew he wouldn’t undermine us in the future.

Dealing with Lucia and the rest of the Camorra was trickier. After we took out the mercenary agency, Obi, Ryuji, and Wynn traveled to Italy to assist Lucia in the transition of leadership and secure the organization’s loyalty to its new leader. I half-expected Obi to return having taken control himself. But he didn’t. He let Lucia take the reins, and he let the rest go. Lucia had agreed to dismantle the international scale of the Camorra organization and keep it localized within Italy instead. Even though we didn’t have an alliance, we had a mutual understanding. She’d mind her business, and we’d mind ours.

Anton Felix had returned to Los Angeles, but not before Leona declared that his life debt had been paid. He still worked for us, but as far as I was concerned, he’d become one of our fiercest allies. He’d agreed to visit every few months, not just for business purposes but also because he was our friend. If anything ever went wrong in LA, we’d help him out, no questions asked.

The rest of the criminal underground reeled from the upheaval. The power vacuum was already intense, with multiple other organizations jostling for power. The Shadows had become a worldwide name, even larger than before. Everyone knew we owned New York now, and we would destroy anyone who challenged us or the safety of our friends. It was still very, very new, but it felt like peace—at least to us.

I was positive we’d face our challengers one day, but for the first time in months, I wasn’t looking over our backs every fucking second. I wasn’t worried that someone was going to murder Leona in a moment of my weakness.

We were safe. All we had to do was wait for Max, and then we’d be complete.

“How much longer do we have to wait until he’s out?” Leona asked as she stood from the couch and began pacing in front of the TV. “Are we supposed to accept that this could take twenty years?”

“No. Everything will be fine,” Obi assured her. “Max is being taken care of. He’s safe. Samuel and Badawi say it will just take time.”

“Can we expedite this at all?” She pulled out her phone. “Bribes? Threats? I can call the mayor. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve spoken, but she might be able to do something.”

The mayor and Leona had gone out for coffee once everything had settled down. Their agreement had concluded, and Josephine was back to being on the opposite side of the law from us, but the two women had become friends. At least, as friendly as they could be in their positions.

“Samuel and I are working on it,” Obi soothed. We didn’t want to trigger her, but she knew as well as we did that any poor behavior on our part would just make it worse for Max. “It will only be a few months.”

She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. I recognized the look from her days as a spoiled teenager. After a few seconds, her back straightened, and she let out a calming breath. A smile pulled at my mouth. She was a Queen in action. She’d be all right.

“Okay,” she said. “What’s next, then? I’m not going to sit in the house and do nothing.”

“I know what we can do,” Ryu said, smirking.

She and I both rolled our eyes.