Page 62 of Fall Before Her Throne

He pressed a finger to his ear. “Did you have access to any nearby cameras, Ciel?”

The hacker responded in our team comms. “There aren’t any cameras nearby. I can search⁠—”

Max shook his head. “No, the Camorra would have cut them all or removed them. This was our active drop zone, and they were well aware of the risks. They’d bring their shipments here, and my men would take over from the drop site. We’d bring them into our fold after that.”

“Giulio said they tracked the shipment from the port to the warehouse,” I said. With the internet out and unsure how Lucia had gotten access to our systems, we hadn’t felt safe texting or calling, so Ryu and I had met up with him an hour ago. “He’s got his men on standby a few blocks away. They’re waiting for our signal.”

“Give it,” Obi commanded. “We’re ready to converge.”

“Copy.”

“Tell him the entrance to the North is usually the least occupied,” Max said. “My men usually came from the South side. It has better access to the street for our box trucks.”

Using the new-and-improved secure text messaging system Ciel had installed on everyone’s devices before we left, I sent Giulio the message. He texted back almost immediately.

“They’re making their way there now,” I relayed.

That meant we were converging on the South side, where we could expect the largest number of Greco’s men. This was about to be a gunfight. I glanced at Leona, watching her double-check all of her weapons and ammo at the same time as everyone else. My gut screamed protect her, but I knew every single one of us would put our lives on the line for her. If there was one unspoken agreement between my brothers and me, it was that she would always make it out alive—even if one of us didn’t.

Obi caught my eye in the rearview and gave me a solemn nod. He must be thinking the same thing.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Affirmative,” she confirmed.

With Obi’s orders, we slipped out of the SUV and stuck to the shadows. Max walked with me, side by side, and that feeling of brotherhood practically smacked me in the chest. He gave me a sideways glance—like he knew exactly what was going on inside my head. I tightened my grip on my gun and kept walking.

Obi and Ryu led the pack while we snuck from shadow to shadow, avoiding what few streetlights there were. Wynn and Leona were next. She kept casting glances backward at us until Wynn nudged her to pay attention.

When we got to the chain-link fence surrounding the drop zone, Obi paused and crouched in a patch of darkness.

“Stay alert,” he whispered. “Stay active on the comms. Find the guns, kill anyone in our⁠—”

Gunshots ripped through the air. My head snapped toward the sound. It was coming from the North—the opposite side of the building.

“Fuck,” I hissed. “Giulio’s men.”

More gunshots exploded through the night sky.

“We have to go,” Leona said tightly before standing. “Come on.”

“Stay behind me,” Obi said as he pulled on her arm.

The two of them sprinted forward, side by side, while the rest of us followed. Max’s heavy breaths wheezed through the night, and I slightly slowed my pace.

“Duck!” Wynn shouted, just in time to yank Leona down to the ground. Shadows moved in front of us, light sparking from the muzzles of their guns. The rest of us darted for cover. Wynn and Obi pulled Leona behind a wall of corrugated metal. Ryu dove behind a pallet of stacked wooden boxes. Max and I hid behind a box truck.

More flashes, more gunshots, right before the bullets slammed into the wall of corrugated metal, ripped through it, and continued flying. Fuck. Obi and Wynn covered Leona’s body with their own, just barely ducking below the trail of carnage.

“There!” I whispered, glancing at Max.

Max’s eyesight followed mine, and we locked onto the shadows at the same time. With our position behind the truck, we could see them crouching beside a forklift right in front of the warehouse’s bay doors. Max gave me a quick nod, and together we lined up our shots.

“I’ll take the one on the right,” he murmured.

“Left.”

We each fired two bullets into our targets. The shadows collapsed beside the forklift.