and she was never returning home. Remy had promptly forgotten about our guests and had turned on me with all her I-Am-Woman-Hear-Me-Roar, so I roared right the fuck back.
Francesca had to jump in between us and push us back to our respective corners.
The girls ended up going downstairs, via the secret staircase, to shop online and have a concierge deliver some clothing for Remy to get her through the week. I hadn’t been lying when I told her that her apartment was going to be packed up within days.
We were getting married at the end of the week.
Much like the other two unions, there’d be no wedding. Just a ceremony with us six in attendance along with the priest. I didn’t trust anyone to attend and not try something. Marrying Remy was going to shift shit, and I was taking every precaution.
Once Francesca convinced Remy to retract her claws and go downstairs, Phoenix, Ciro, and I had retired to my office to discuss business. Business being the fuck who approached Remy at the café.
The second the girls had gone downstairs, Phoenix had dished the goods on the man who had approached Remy. There wasn’t much more he could find on Emery Aldos because he had been so low-level, it was a wonder anyone even knew how to recruit him for this.
“Gio has to be behind it,” I told them, then recapped our earlier conversation.
Phoenix was sitting on the couch, his back resting in a corner, his ankle crossed over his knee. He put out his cigarette and adjusted his cuff. It was Saturday, and we were at my place, but we were all still in suits. “Sounds like he’s finally seeing the writing on the wall, and he’s getting nervous,” he commented.
Ciro was leaning up against the bar, a scowl on his face. “I don’t know,” he replied. “I agree he’s getting nervous, but why is he showing his hand? That’s not like him.”
“He’s trying to trip me up,” I answered. “He wants me nervous. He thinks revealing what he knows will rattle me somehow.”
Phoenix scoffed. “He must not know you very well.”
“What do Sal and Leo have to say about it?”
I looked over at Ciro. “They don’t know,” I told him. “They know Gio’s getting nervous, and they’ve pledged their allegiance to me, but they don’t know details.”
“So, Sal doesn’t know she’s the same woman who saw you guys kill a man?” Ciro asked.
I shook my head. “No. Only you guys know that.”
“It doesn’t matter if Sal knows or not,” Phoenix interjected. “Sal’s not going to go up against you.”
“So, do you think Gio sent someone to test her or scare her away?” Ciro asked, pouring a scotch.
“I think both,” I told him. The more I thought about it, the more I was confident he had sent the man to see what Remy was made of, but also to see if he could get any information out of her. Gio was getting desperate and it was showing.
Phoenix dropped his leg, leaned forward, and let out a sigh. “I know you want to wait until the end of the week to marry her, Luca, but…I think you need to marry the woman tonight.”
“I agree,” Ciro added. “You need to call in Sal and Leo, let them know, and then call a priest.” Ciro drank down some of his scotch. “I don’t like Gio thinking he can…interfere.”
They were right.
There was something in the air and I wasn’t comfortable with it any more than they were. Gio was up to something, but it was more than that. Something was amiss and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I didn’t like the uncertainty and I knew I was going to have to convince Remy to marry me sooner, rather than later.
“Do me a favor,” I said. “Go downstairs and check on the girls while I call Sal and Leo.” They both nodded and walked out. I sent messages to both my brothers and waited for their arrivals. I knew they’d back me but talking about taking over and doing it were two different things.
And hour later, Ciro texted me to let me know that Remy’s palms had been scanned, and they had given her a tour of both apartments. She was made aware of the connecting passages and it still kind of took my breath away with how much I was trusting this woman with. I knew it was too much, too fast, but it didn’t feel that way. The more Remy