Page 71 of Fall Before Her Throne

He stared at the night sky. “Lord, give me strength.”

“I’ll give you this d⁠—”

“Ryu,” Obi interrupted. “The booby traps Greco left behind are cleared and dismantled. Thankfully, none of our men got hurt. Let’s take some of these crates to Makarov. Can you let him know we’re on our way?”

Fucking booby traps. He had to know we were coming for those guns, just like Obi and Max said. Greco was a nasty fucker, and I couldn’t wait to relish in his painful death.

I pulled out my phone and typed a message to Kostya. “You got it. He told me earlier that he’s at a bodega in the Bronx. We can meet him there.”

Giulio and Cas started talking about the placement of our men, our efforts to recruit, and where to put their focus for our protection efforts and drug sales. Cas was an incredible leader—even though I’d never tell that shit to his face. He just knew how the mafia worked, and he knew how to keep the men on track. He and Leona both did.

But the shop-talk still bored me, so I turned to Wynn as he started loading up the SUV with boxes of extra guns for Kostya. I followed Wynn back to the stack Giulio left outside in the back bay of this business we were using as a front.

“What do you think of me and Cas?” Wynn and I had been getting along a lot better since we worked our shit out after the Vokshis. I trusted his opinion.

He raised an eyebrow while he pushed a lock of his hair out of his face. “What’s that thing you always say to Leona when you’re teasing her?”

I frowned. I said a lot of shit. “I don’t know?”

He laughed while picking up another crate. “Inevitable, I think it is.”

I snorted as I hefted up another box. “So you agree with me. We should get together.”

“I think you’d be good together, yes,” he said. “But if he’s not interested, he’s not interested. You should back off. See if he comes to you instead.”

“Is that what happened between you and Ciel?” All of the sudden, the two of them seemed to click, even if it was obvious how they were attracted to one another from the start.

He shook his head. “Ciel persisted in showing me he cared until I couldn’t ignore it anymore, but I’m different from Cas and you’re way different from Ciel. If Cas wants anything, he’ll make it happen. But the more you tease, the harder it is for him to see if you’re being real.”

“I am being real,” I insisted. “I don’t know how much clearer I can make it.”

“If it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen, Ryu. Be patient.”

I pursed my lips and readjusted the crate in my arms. Being patient went against my fucking DNA. If I wanted to fuck, I fucked. If I wanted to kill, I killed. If I wanted to eat, I ate. Patience had nothing to do with it.

I eyed Cas while I placed the crate in the back of our SUV. He and Obi picked up the last two boxes. I caught his stare out of the corner of my eye before he glanced away. I couldn’t be the only one feeling this heat, right? I mean, he’d been hard when we sparred. He watched me the same way I watched him. He flirted back whenever I flirted with him.

The two of them packed up the remaining boxes. I leaned my back against the SUV while Obi and Cas got a few last updates from Giulio.

Maybe Wynn had a point.

But backing off entirely?

That wasn’t me.

21

WYNN

We met Makarov at a tiny bodega in Russian territory. His men ushered us to the back to greet the Bratva Head while they unloaded the crates of extra guns. When we entered the back, the big blond was crouched over a large piece of artwork with a sheet over half of it. His head popped up, and he grinned.

“My favorite assassins,” he said as he straightened. “You brought me some presents, huh?”

Ryu clapped his hand and pulled him in for a hug. “Two dozen extra assault rifles plus ammunition. Merry Christmas.”

Makarov shivered. “Talk dirty to me any more, and you’re going to turn me on.”

I let out a soft laugh. Every time we met up with the Russians, I got the impression that Makarov was just as crazy as Ryuji was—except he had an edge of seriousness hidden beneath his layer of teasing humor. No wonder they’d been friends for years.