Would she pick me, if it came down to it?
I knew she loved me. I’d finally heard her say it. But afteryearsof being second in her heart…I still wasn’t sure if shewould. She was my everything, but I knew I wasn’t hers. Not with all the guys in the mix.
No, we could figure this out without forcing her into marriage. I would do anything in the world to keep her close to me, to not risk what we had now. If I could get her in front of the Italians, if we could show them how we’d be better leaders than Max, she wouldn’t have to worry.
I wouldn’t have to worry.
She could stay mine.
Wynn eyed me. “Hiding it feels like a bad idea.”
“Just until we get further down the road,” I replied. We would bring it up later, if we needed to. But if we didn’t need to, then she didn’t need to worry about it. “If she has more leverage against Max, she’ll have more freedom to make a decision that makes her happy.”
It was better, for now, to not tell her. Not until we had more power under her belt, and she felt like she had options.
“I will tell her, Wynn,” I repeated as I stared at the window. “Just keep it between us, for now, all right? The other guys are just going to get upset and it will influence her decision.”
If Ciel, Ryuji, or Obi knew, they’d obviously have opinions—and those opinions would not make her choice any easier. But Wynn and I could get out in front of this.
“I won’t say anything. For now.” Wynn turned the key in the ignition. “In the meantime, then, we’ll meet up with Giulio and some of the others to convince them Leona deserves to be Donna.”
I grabbed theoh fuckhandle again as we pulled into the street. “It’ll take convincing, but the younger generation might be open to it. They might not care about all the marriage shit.”
Hopefully, they’d see her, and they’d recognize her power and capability. We had visions for a better future. A better NewYork. She didn’t need any of us to prove she could bring those men into our organization, one with a safer future for everyone.
My mind raced, and my thumb swiped over my phone screen. No new messages.
We could make as much progress as possible while she was gone. And once she got home, my head would finally feel centered again.
We just had to stick to the plan until then.
22
WYNN
My hands tightened on the steering wheel.
Marriage. To Caspian.
He was making a mistake not telling her. But I was also selfish in my own desires of not wanting her to know.
Of course, she’d say yes.
As she should. It would secure her an army of loyal men to fight Max. It would be foolish to say no to that.
But then she would be married—and what effect would that have on the six of us?
My thoughts trailed back to that night in the library, when Ciel and I had taken her together. It was the most incredible experience of my life.
If Caspian and Leona were married, things could change. What if she wanted to stay true to her marriage vows?
It wasn’t just physical. Helping Leona build our empire, remove trafficking from the city, was my path to redemption. It was how I would wipe my slate clean. A change in our dynamic could jeopardize everything. And I wasn’t ready to take that risk.
So, for now, I’d let Caspian decide when he wanted to tell her about that part of the conversation. He promised he would.Maybe once the six of us were closer…maybe then, even if she did say yes, things wouldn’t have to change.
I sighed, keeping an eye on the road and readjusting the transmitter in my ear. We’d agreed not to fill in Ciel until it was necessary. He was already nervous enough around Leona as it was. If he found out that she might need to marry Caspian, he would pull back.
Caspian could hide it for a few days, but if we didn’t secure the men, we needed to rival Max, we’d have to tell her.
