Page 51 of Only Fools Rush
“No,” Cas replied, voice hard.
“Caspian.” Obi’s deep voice was calm. “I assure you the three of us can travel safely and conduct our business without drawing attention to ourselves. It will be a two-day trip, maximum.”
“You’re acting like I wouldn’t be coming,” Cas said with a scoff. “If she goes, I go, too.”
Obi met my gaze, eyebrow raised. He was thinking the same thing I was thinking.
“I need you here,” I said, grabbing Cas’s hand, and interlocking our fingers. “We can’t wait to talk to Giulio, and the Italians will trust you.”
He froze for two seconds before his breathing went rapid and his fingers clamped around mine like a vise. “No. Unquestionably, no.”
I placed my palm on his cheek. The last time we separated, I almost died. And the time before that, he almost died. All that fear played across his face, causing the vein in his neck to pop.
“One breath at a time,caro mio,” I murmured. He closed his eyes and leaned his cheek into my hand. “This makes the most sense for right now. I need you here.”
I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. His whole body radiated anxiety as his arms banded around my back.
“It’ll be okay,” I whispered.
He said nothing else, but a few seconds later, his grip relaxed.
“It will take a few days to plan the trip,” Obi said. “We will charter a plane and set up the meetings.”
His words felt like a decree. Not even Cas could argue.
He leaned his forehead against mine. “Princess.”
“I know.” I would talk to him more later, but he had to understand. If anyone was going to convince our future men that Max was a son of a bitch, andoursyndicate was going to win this war, it would be Cas. He had already earned their respect tenfold.
I cleared my throat, turning back to the rest of my men. “Okay. That’s personnel and gun manufacturing. We’ll focus on gambling once we’ve got those two things locked down. Meanwhile, let’s keep an eye on the Alacrán Cartel and support the Russians however we can.”
The Shadows nodded in agreement, except Cas, who still sat like a statue, staring at our joined hands resting on his thigh.
“What should I do?” Wynn asked.
“Provide backup to Caspian,” Obi added. “You are his eyes and ears. Ciel will support with information and tracking. We still need to keep an eye on Volpe’s movements, so keep our facial recognition running and keep trying to hack into his systems. We need more information to put us at a greater advantage.”
Ciel nodded. “Volpe still has his hacker for support, but I won’t let him get the upper hand on us again.”
Everyone had their jobs. We all knew our next steps. Now we just needed to start moving.
Build the empire, take down our enemies.
Sure. Easy.
“We feel good about this?” I asked.
If this plan failed, it would be my fault. But I couldn’t worry about that. I could only worry about proving I could pull this off. I had to step up, become the queen that could lead us.
“Yes, Leona,” Obi replied as he stood. God, he was so damnimposing,but it electrified me from my head to my toes.
“Let’s make the world bow at our feet,” Ryuji said, that playful gleam shining in his eyes.
As the sun set, I looked around the room at each of my men. To my family, my future. A wave of emotion had my eyes watering but I swallowed it down. “New York will be ours. I promise.”
“Whatever it takes,” Cas said from beside me. “One breath, one step, at a time.”
14
