Page 83 of Fall Before Her Throne

“Explain the layout of the casino,” Obi said to Max. “So we know what we’re walking into.”

“The vault is in the back office,” Max said. “The regular tables are up front. Most of our customers play those. The high-stakes games are in three separate rooms in the back. The staff bolted, but a few of the waitresses barricaded themselves in the bathroom. They said Greco’s men are trashing the place while trying to get at the vault.”

“How much money is in there?” I asked. “Would it be safer to let them have it?”

Max shook his head. “There’s a metric fuckton of money at that casino. But it’s not just the money. We’ve always been able to protect our assets. Even when the Albanians bombed the casino a month ago, they didn’t get close to the vault. Our customers trust us. If we lose that money, we lose the whole operation.”

Well, at least the stakes of this evening were clear. It would be an enormous blow to Max’s bottom line—our bottom line now—if Greco took that money. Plus, there was the pride of it all. Greco was hitting us where we were vulnerable.

“Why didn’t you tell us about the casinos before?” Frustration curled around my belly like a snake. “We could have had our men protecting it.”

Max looked out his window, a muscle feathering in his jaw. “I…I didn’t think he’d come after them. They make substantial money, but they’re no threat to him. Frankly, I thought he’d have bigger fish to fry.”

“Guess you were wrong,” Ryuji said from the third row, next to Ciel. “Another thing you kept to yourself, and now we’re paying the price.”

“Down here,” Max said, pointing at a small street while he ignored Ryuji’s barb. Obi followed his directions until he pulled up in front of a nondescript building shoved between two other multi-story complexes.

I’d only been to Diamonds once before, and only because I was driving to an event with my father and he stopped here for ten minutes to conduct some kind of business. I didn’t even get out of the car; he wouldn’t let me go inside.

The building had a brick exterior with construction scaffolding covering one side, probably repairs from when the Vokshi bombed the club. A large, singular black door was positioned in the center. A velvet rope was knocked down to the ground right out front of the entrance—almost like a club, where a bouncer checked IDs and let people in. No one stood there now, but I remembered two bouncers checking the door the last time I was here.

Obi parked within view of the building. Together, with guns drawn, we headed for the door.

“Sweep the rooms, kill the Camorra men, and get to the vault,” Max said. “Cas and Obi, come with me. Ciel and Wynn, there’s an exit to the back. Make sure no one escapes.”

The guys immediately turned to me and Obi for confirmation of his orders. I shrugged right as Obi gave a nod. We didn’t have time to debate orders.

“What about me, Mr. Mastermind?” Ryu raised an eyebrow while he adjusted the straps on his backpack filled with extra ammo and supplies.

“Or me?” I asked.

“You two stick together,” Max said quickly, gripping his gun and creeping forward. “Leona, you were excellent with the survivors in the abandoned subway tunnels. Make sure the girls are safe?”

“Okay,” I said. After we swept the place and cleared it, I’d head to the bathroom to find them. “Stay safe, everyone. Check in on the ear comms if anything goes wrong.”

Wynn and Ciel peeled off to slip around the building. Obi and Max breached the door while Cas followed right behind. Ryu yanked my shoulder backward so he could enter the building first, and as soon as we stepped inside, the harsh scent of gunfire stung my nostrils.

The inside was bigger than I expected, but the casino was trashed. Tables were flipped and broken. Chairs were slashed. Glass was everywhere. Chips littered the ground, making every step just slightly uneven.

“Shit,” Cas hissed. “Men down. They need medical attention.”

My eyes scanned the casino, snagging on two groaning figures dressed in black suits, huddled near the wall. “Are they ours?”

“Yes. The bouncers,” Max answered while he and Obi scoped out the main hall. “Leona, can you⁠—”

“I got it,” I said, reaching for the backpack that Ryu handed me. “Ryu?”

“Got your back, Leona dear,” he murmured as he followed me, gun raised, to the men. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Obi, Cas, and Max work in tandem to sweep through the building room by room. I thought we’d be rushing into a battle, but it seemed like we’d already missed the worst of it.

“Help,” one of the injured men cried, grabbing his thigh.

I knelt by his side and started rifling through the backpack until I found the med kit. “What happened?”

“They ambushed us,” he groaned, sweat dripping down his brow. I started examining his leg—definitely a gunshot wound—and he hissed in pain. “Hit us hard, stole the money, and left. Hard and fast, before we could even realize what was happening.”

Ryu pressed a finger to his ear comms. “The money is gone. Bouncer says they left, but keep alert.”

“Copy,” Obi said while Max cursed in the background. “We’re still clearing and will converge on the vault last.”