Page 74 of Fall Before Her Throne

“We are watching you,” I added. Ciel and I had been busy the last week following his digital and physical trail. “Every single movement. We know when you shit, when you wank, when you leave for work, and when you get home. We know the women you bring here to this apartment to cheat on your wife. We know the drugs you’ve purchased, including the cocaine on your nightstand, and who you’ve purchased from. Spoiler, you’ve been buying drugs from our supply, from our men. If you go to the police, we will blow your life apart. Did you think that your visit to The Obsidian and your depraved behavior there—including your assault on our leader—was the only information we had on you?”

True terror paralyzed him from head to toe. His eyes watered. “Your…leader?”

Obi crossed his arms over his chest. “You know her. Leona Vero, the woman you attempted to force yourself on at the club. She is our woman, our queen, and the ruler of New York City’s underground. If that wasn’t reason enough to kill you, we have dozens more.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, promising myself that when all this was over, I’d come back to this apartment and kill him anyway. “You do not want the world to see your browser history, or what’s saved on your computer, do you?”

His voice dropped to a rasp. “No.”

“No,” I agreed. “Every movement you’ve ever made online, we have a record of. All the times you visited the dark web. All the things you’ve seen, messages you’ve sent, and pictures you’ve looked at. All of it is prepared to send to the police, your wife, your parents, your bosses, your coworkers. If you do not do exactly what we ask of you, every single person you know, and every single person you meet in the future, will know what kind of ugly cretin you are. Only then will we kill you.”

A single tear dripped from his eye. “Okay. I’ll do what I can.” He held up the drive. “Everything I need is on here?”

Obi nodded. “Dossiers of every known Camorra soldier. Information on their leader, Piero Greco. The last known information about their shipping habits. What products they buy and sell. We know who likely works for them—including law enforcement and politicians who run the city. It’s your job to make sure they don’t get their hands into the mayor’s office, or any other department directors like yourself.”

Porter scoffed. “How the fuck do you think I’m supposed to pull this off? You might as well kill me now.”

Obi flicked the safety off his gun and held the barrel to Porter’s forehead. “Is that really what you want? I’d be happy to oblige.”

Porter’s lips trembled. His hands fisted in the bedsheets. “No.”

“You don’t have a choice,” Obi said. “You figure it out, or you lose everything.”

Porter sniffled and then nodded.

Obi withdrew his weapon. “If we don’t see progress, we will visit you again. Do you want that to happen?”

His head dropped. “No.”

“I didn’t think so,” Obi said.

Ryu pulled out one of his knives and stabbed the blade through Porter’s bedsheet. He let out a strangled cry as the blade pierced his thigh.

“Just something to remember us by,” Ryu said with a wicked grin. “So you don’t wake up in the morning and think this was a terrible nightmare.”

Porter cried in pain and held his leg while his blood stained the bed. “You could have killed me! I can’t help you if I’m dead!”

Ryu rolled his eyes, insulted by the accusation. “Like I’d hit anything important. I missed your arteries on purpose, Sean. Do your fucking job, or I’ll come back and cut your limbs off one by one. We’ll skin you alive and make you eat your own fucking balls. Trust us, there are things far worse than death.”

Porter swallowed down more cries, nodding vehemently.

“If you try to run, we will find you,” I said. “No amount of money could save you. No hole on the face of this planet would be safe. The Shadows will hunt you down. You can’t escape this. Your only hope is to do what we ask.”

“I understand,” Porter gasped. “I’ll do it. I swear.”

Obi picked up the pin drive, so it didn’t get ruined in the blood-soaked sheets and put it on the end table. “Get to work. We’ll be in touch.”

22

CASPIAN

We left Sean Porter practically shitting his pants with fear. Good. It’s what fuckers like him deserved.

All in all, it was a successful night. Giulio said the replenishment of weapons was making our men more confident. Ryuji said Makarov texted him about a few more skirmishes, which they had won. For the first time in days, it felt like maybe we had what it took to take on the Camorra and win.

Maybe all of Obi’s plans were going to work out.

“What’s going on with you and Max?” Leona asked as she climbed into bed next to me. We’d just finished debriefing after we returned home, and the house was quiet while everyone headed to sleep. I’d been missing sharing a bed with Leona since the penthouse, so I asked if I could sleep in her room tonight again. She’d agreed with a smile that lit my chest up from the inside out.