Chapter 36 Remy
REMY
Rocco’s was busy Saturday afternoon, so busy I worried it wasn’t the best place for the meeting we’d set up with the Kings.
The place was humming with locals stopping in for lunch while out running errands or meeting up with friends for a pre-holiday hang, but Willa greeted us as soon as we walked in and showed us to a private room in the back.
It was cozy inside, modern and sleek, but warm, with wood-paneled walls and dark blue velvet upholstery on the chairs arranged around a dark wood table.
We introduced Maeve, and Willa promised to send out food and drinks while we waited for the Kings.
I’d only met Willa twice before, but I’d always found her to be friendly, a willowy blonde sharp enough to keep the Kings on their toes. which those arrogant assholes definitely needed.
“Probably not ideal for your meeting but the restaurant is so busy this time of year,” she said. “It’s all hands on deck right now.”
The door opened and Drago stepped into the room. I’d seen a lot of crazy things in my life, but not many of them compared to the pierced, tatted Drago holding a cherubic baby with silky dark hair on his hip.
He bent his head to kiss Willa and I saw the love written all over his face. Saw it and recognized it because it was how I felt when I looked at Maeve.
Fuck. I hoped I wasn’t that transparent.
“Want me to keep him?” he asked Willa.
The baby reached for Willa. “I got this little man. I think he’s hungry.”
The baby grabbed onto a lock of her long blonde hair and Willa turned to us. “It was nice to see you again. And nice to meet you Maeve.”
“You too,” Maeve said.
Willa slipped from the room and Drago took a seat at the table.
“Fatherhood looks good on you,” Poe said to him.
He beamed. “Best thing that ever happened to me.”
We made small talk and a couple minutes later a uniformed server stopped off with water, craft beer, and an assortment of appetizers that smelled good enough to make my mouth water.
“Looks like the place is doing well,” I said, reaching for one of the appetizers.
It looked like a scallop wrapped in bacon but when I popped it in my mouth, it tasted like heaven.
I made a mental calculation of the possible ingredients to add to my nutritional tracker later. “Wow, that’s really good.”
“Booked out for weeks,” Drago said. “Rock’s killing it.”
They’d come a long way since they’d started managing the drug trade between Blackwell and Aventine, and I couldn’t help thinking it had a lot to do with Willa.
It wasn’t just the restaurant. Drago had been showing his photography in the city and Neo had just bought one of the old buildings in Southside to turn into a boxing gym, with Bram’s permission of course.
The door to the private room opened and Rock stepped in with Neo. If it had been anyone else, I would have expected Rock to be wearing an apron, but I wasn’t at all surprised to see him in dark jeans, loafers, and a white button-down shirt.
Neo was just as pulled together in navy slacks and a deep purple shirt unbuttoned enough to show off two gold chains and a good portion of his ink.
The fucking Kings liked their clothes. Always had.
They looked ready for a night on the town, not an afternoon of work at the restaurant.
We said our hellos and Rock and Neo joined us around the table.
“How do you like the scallops?” Rock asked.
“They’re incredible,” I said, reaching for another one.
Bram gave me a dirty look.
“What?” I said with my mouth full. “They’re delicious.” I held the plate out for Maeve. “Try one of these.”
She did and nodded her approval. “Really good.”
“See? Maeve went to culinary school,” I explained. I’d never had a chance to brag about Maeve and I was proud to do it now.
Plus, Poe had told me about how Maeve kneed Bram in the balls, and I wasn’t looking to take my cues from someone whose dick was in witness protection.
Rock lifted his eyebrows. “Really? That’s super cool. You should come by sometime and give me some tips for the menu.”
“Judging by those scallops, I don’t think you need any tips,” she said.
“So what’s up?” Neo asked. “Never thought I’d see the day where you need anything from us.”
“We’re looking for information on one of your alumni,” Poe said.
“One of our alumni?” Drago looked confused.
“At Aventine,” Poe said.
“We’re out,” Drago said. “Over a year now.”
“But your parents went there right?” I asked, eyeing something that looked like a mini crab cake.
I loved crab cakes but they were probably fried.
Neo’s face turned stony and I remembered that his dad had been connected to some of the missing girls around Blackwell.
Ouch.
“Yeah,” Rock said. “Aventine has a strong legacy program.”
Bram snorted. He didn’t have to say anything. We all knew the “legacy program” at Aventine was a joke. It was only a “legacy program” for the kids and grandkids of infamous criminals.
The cartels, the Russians, the Irish, the Italians… they were all at Aventine.
Rumor was their hazing was brutal, a series of fucked-up games designed to prove you could handle the real deal.
“Who is it?” Neo asked.
Bram pulled out his phone and turned it around to show Neo the picture of Ethan Todd that Aloha had found online. “It’s not a great picture, but this was what he looked like when he went to Aventine. Went by the name Ethan Petrov.”
Neo shook his head. “Doesn’t ring a bell. Is he Russian?”
Bram shook his head. “Birth name was Borkowski. Changed it when he went to Aventine.”
Neo scowled. “Sounds like he was trying to get in with the Russians.”
Poe held up his phone where a press photo from Ethan Todd filled his screen. “What about this guy?”
“Wait…” Rock peered at the photo. “Isn’t that the manosphere guy?”
Poe nodded. “Ethan Todd. We think he changed his name sometime after he graduated from Aventine.”
“No shit,” Drago said.
“Yeah,” I said. “He went to Blackwell High, but he used a different last name then too.”
“Guy’s obviously a chameleon, but he’s not connected,” Neo said. “Not by birth. None of those names are familiar.”
“That’s why we’re trying to figure out what he was doing at Aventine,” Maeve chimed in. “He was raised by a foster mom here in town. He didn’t seem to have any connection to, um…”
She blushed and I knew she was trying not to offend the Kings.
“He didn’t seem to have any connection to the mafia,” I said. “And not to the Bratva or the cartels or anyone else that we know of either.”
“Well, if he went to Aventine, he’d be in the records somewhere,” Neo said.
“Any chance we could get a look at them?” Poe asked.
Neo tapped his fingers on the table. “Let me see what I can do.”