Page 184 of Fall Before Her Throne

Wynn pushed Ryu out of the way so he could lean over my chest and give me a kiss. “Hey, darling.”

“Hello, my love.”

Ryu groaned, throwing an arm over his face. “It’s morning already?” Cas started grinding coffee beans in the kitchen, and Ryu’s head popped up. “Coffee? I want some.”

He climbed over Ciel so he could pad his way over to my beloved bodyguard. I smiled into Obi’s chest when they greeted each other with a kiss.

My head tilted so I could look at Obi. “This is perfect.”

He closed his eyes, smiling and pulling me tighter against him. Max came up on my other side. His breath tickled its way down my bare back. With his eyes still closed, Ciel readjusted until his face lay against my stomach.

“A few more minutes,” I mumbled, simply enjoying the warmth and connection. “Then we can make breakfast.”

It took us a few hours to get going. For once, no one felt a rush. No one disappeared to go workout, or make phone calls, or check on our men. We were just hanging out in the living room, piled on the couches and the big bed. Obi read a book that had been left behind in the study. Ciel scrolled through his phone. Ryuji, Cas, and Max were playing some kind of card game—where they got the cards, I didn’t know, but Cas was winning. I lay with my head on Wynn’s lap while we chatted about sparring techniques.

Even though we had mountains to do, for once, we were all perfectly content to ignore it. Just for a few hours.

“What if I aimed my punch for the throat?” I asked.

Wynn pursed his lips and shook his head, gently teasing apart a few locks of my hair so he could braid them. “No, darling, your reach isn’t that long. You’d have to get too close to make that work. I keep telling you: work with your body, not against it.”

“Okay, then I’d go for the knee,” I said. “I’d try to displace the kneecap or target the joint.”

“That would work,” he answered, nodding. “Anywhere vulnerable is going to give you an advantage. Nose, if you can reach it, groin, testicles, kneecaps, toes. There are no fair fights when your life is on the line.”

Ryuji snorted. “You better not go for my balls ever again.”

I laughed. “There are no fair fights when my life is on the line!”

“Sure,” Ryu said as he rolled his eyes. “Your life was definitely on the line. My balls were sore for two days.”

“You got your revenge last night,” I pointed out.

He smirked. “Sure as fuck did.”

“What about an armbar?” I asked Wynn again.

His fingers massaged my nape. “If you can pin them, yes, that would be effective.”

On the big bed, Ciel’s head popped up. “There’s a press conference in a few minutes with the mayor.”

“What about?” Cas asked, flipping some cards over. He grinned while Max let out a heavy sigh. Cas was definitely winning.

“It doesn’t say. Just some sort of announcement.”

Wynn eased my head to the side so he could lean over to the coffee table and grab the remote. He flipped the TV on and switched it to a local news channel. The channel was already reporting on the incident at the gala. A reporter stood in front of the event space, making sweeping gestures to paint a picture of where all the violence had happened. The gorgeous flowers were still on display, though many were torn down and strewn across the floor. While there had been no deaths reported, there were dozens of injuries.

“Are they blaming anyone?” Ciel asked while we all watched.

The story continued, explaining how multiple prominent figures had attended and were lucky to escape without injury. The reporter talked about how the mayor was working with law enforcement to narrow down suspects.

“Doesn’t sound like it,” I said, sitting up. Obi put down his book and set it to the side. “Looks like the commissioner is already covering the tracks.”

Had Josephine looked at the drive yet? Was she aware that the head of her police department was under the thumb of the most notorious criminal in the world?

“The press conference is about to start,” Wynn said.

The screen switched to a view of the mayor standing at a podium, about to address a crowd of reporters. All seven of us leaned forward, locked onto the screen. After some obligatory introductions and greetings, she jumped into her speech.