from the rest of us,” he explained. “Ciro and Piero will head out together, while you and Phoenix will head over with Armando and Emilio. I’ll follow with Sensio.”
I wanted to panic.
I wanted to demand he explain why I was heading over with Phoenix and not him, but if learned anything yesterday, it was my place in this new world. I had to trust Luca and, even if I didn’t, I couldn’t show it in front of anyone else. Our issues had to remain private, visible to only Phoenix, Ciro, Luca, and Robbie. I knew in my gut that, brothers or not, Luca didn’t trust them the way he did the others.
With a resolve I didn’t know I possessed, I gave him a nod of acquiesce. “Do I need to get my purse?”
Luca’s chin lifted and I knew he was proud of me. He looked at me with the hunger of a predator and the pride of a god. “No,” he said. “There’s no need.”
I looked over at Phoenix and gave him, what I hoped, was a convincing smile. “Ready to go?”
I wasn’t expecting that same look of pride to come from his hazel eyes, but it turned my timid smile into a real one. He lifted his arm and pointed the elbow in my direction. “Allow me,” he said softly, and I curled my hand around his arm, linking us together.
I turned back to get one last look at Luca before we all left. I wasn’t sure if it was okay or not with an audience, but I knew I couldn’t walk out of here without doing the bravest thing I’ve ever done.
Put my feelings out there.
“I love you,” I told him, my voice strong and confident. No ounce of embarrassment or doubt.
His grin was slow, sexy, and assured. And in a voice just as strong and confident, he said, “I love you, too, mia regina.”
Salvatore and Leonardo went out the front door first, and when I went to step, Phoenix halted my movements. “We are exiting a different way, Remy,” he said. “We can’t all be seen together. It’s too dangerous for us to be seen traveling all at the same time.” With that, he led me to a hidden alcove located past the gym and library. A false wall parted, and another elevator emerged.
I looked up at Phoenix. “What is this?”
“An escape route,” he answered. “Only us six know about it. Not even the guards know it exists.”
Phoenix escorted me into the elevator and as it silently descended, I asked, “Why am I going with you and not Luca?”
“Because we’ve just discovered that Sensio is Giovanni’s snitch and Luca doesn’t trust him around you,” he said easily.
“Holy shit,” I whispered, shocked.
“Holy shit, indeed,” he agreed.
Chapter 23
Luca~
As much as I trusted Phoenix, letting him escort Remy to this fucking shitshow had been a great testament to my inner strength as a man. I knew exactly what we were all walking into, and it burned not being the man leading with Remy.
Fuck Gio.
When we’d all received the address of where the meeting was to take place, I knew Giovanni, his Consigliere, his guards, and all Benetti Capos would be in attendance. He was setting up the audience for a show he thought he was in charge of.
But he was wrong.
The second he had called me and told me to bring Remy to a meeting, I had called Francesca and told her I needed Ciro and Phoenix. Her security plans were going to have to be put on a hold for a few hours. As soon as Ciro and Phoenix had shown up, we’d gone over everything Francesca had overheard and Phoenix, immediately, got on my computer and started digging into everything he could, while I called Sal and Leo and told them to come over too.
For two hours, Sal pulled up everything he could find on Gio. Leo pulled up all his finances. Phoenix took the information Sal had brought on Sensio and focused his attentions on Sensio. And Ciro pulled up every female cop in Morgan City and combed through their lives. I spent my time going through Kratos’ security and kept checking the camera feed on seventh floor, making sure the girls were safe.
By the time everyone had gone home to shower and change, I had everything I needed to bring Giovanni Benetti to his knees.
When Sensio pulled out of the thicket of wooded forest, an old-fashioned barn stood in the middle of the clearing. It looks