witnessed him killing that guy? Was he just trying to keep me close so that I didn’t turn him in? Did he really not want to kill a woman, so this was his best option?
I shook my head.
No. Luca Benetti wouldn’t tie himself to a woman for like just so he didn’t have to kill her. He could have just scared me back to Nebraska. Hell, he almost did.
I looked over at Robbie and Frankie looked at me from the couch and I knew I couldn’t lie to them. They’d been nothing but nice to me, so I wasn’t going to return the favor by lying. “I can’t do it,” I repeated. “I’m going to leave. I’m going to leave Luca.” Robbie’s eyes watered, while Frankie just shook her head sadly. “He’ll destroy me if I stay.”
“He’ll kill you if you leave,” Frankie pointed out.
“Maybe,” I conceded. “But being dead is better than not being able to live with myself, Frankie.”
“Remy…please think about this,” Robbie implored. “How do you even plan to leave? Do you think you’ll be let out of this building without the guards notifying Luca? What about Emilio? It’ll be his life if he lets you get away.”
My heart beat a painful tattoo with her words. I hadn’t considered that. But Emilio’s life wasn’t more important than the kids I looked after. He was a grown man who chose this life. My kids weren’t responsible for the hell they were born into.
“I’ll figure something out,” I replied. “I…I just wanted to thank you guys for…accepting me and being my friend.”
Frankie stood up and gave me a sad smile. “I have to tell him,” she said. “You know that, right?”
I nodded.
I did know that.
“Thanks again,” I said before walking around to give both women a hug goodbye.
Walking out of Robbie’s apartment, I found Emilio waiting for me in the hallway. I looked up at him and put on my fakest smile. “Can you give me a tour of the building?”
Emilio gave me a curt nod. “Of course.”
Emilio spent the next hour showing me the entire building, while I spent the next hour searching for a way out of Kratos and out of Luca Benetti’s life.
Chapter 19
Luca~
Normally, I didn’t come to The Sapphire, but I knew a certain senator was going to be in attendance, and we had some business to discuss. After we had concluded our business meeting, which was me basically reminding the prick that I had his balls in a vise, I had stayed for a few drinks. I was still steaming from that fucking disaster with Remy earlier, and I wasn’t quite ready to go home for round two.
I wasn’t quite ready to see that look of hatred in her eyes again.
There was also the fact that I was self-aware enough to recognize I didn’t know how to handle someone who didn’t just do what I said. It was an uncomfortable novelty and I responded like I’ve always had.
With violence or threats of.
The problem with Remy’s kids were the scheduled visits. If she had a routine, it was too easy for someone to catch on to her routine and ambush her. That would not only put her in danger, but the children she so fiercely protects in danger too. However, home visits were not negotiable in her line of work. She needed to see the child’s environment and know that they were safe.
I needed to talk to Phoenix. I stood up and headed towards the back where Ciro’s office was when I was intercepted by a tall blonde who was dressed to kill. Her hair was flowing down her back in a river of gold and her makeup was flawless. The emerald green dress clung to every curve and there was no way this woman was going home alone. The Sapphire was known for being a sex-only spot, but this woman would have been hit on anywhere she went.
“Leaving so soon?” she asked coyly, and I wondered if she knew who I was or if I was just the man lucky enough to catch her eye.
I inclined my head in politeness. “I am,” I replied. “I have some things to tend to.”
She cocked her head playfully. “More important than making new friends?”
I wanted to laugh.
If she only knew the important shit I had to deal with daily.
“I need to get home to my fiancé,” I told her. “I don’t like to be away from her longer than I have to.” I haven’t said the words