Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Angelo
“I don’t know why Laurie’s here,” I start, but Remi’s already slapped my cheek, hopped off my lap, and is marching out the door.
Mentally cursing, I grab the phone. “Keep Laurie at the gate. I’ll be out there in five minutes.”
Slamming down the phone, I chase after Remi. “Wait!”
Apologizing. Begging. Chasing.
The little pickpocket has stolen my sanity.
“Stop!” I catch up with her, grabbing her by the wrist.
Steeling her spine, Remi tells me, “You’re a businessman, Angelo. Here’s the bottom line. You don’t trust me; I don’t trust you. Let’s not muddy the waters with sex. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get cleaned up. You can find me in the study after you meet with your?—”
“If you say girlfriend one more time, I will turn you over my knee in front of this entire household,” I threaten.
“ Not your girlfriend, who just so happens to show up at your weekend house.” Remi jerks out of my hold.
“It wasn’t by invitation.” I growl. “I’ve already told you, I need Laurie to get into the party.” My hands remain firmly planted by my side, so as to not rip out all my hair in frustration.
“And what will you do to keep that invitation? Will you fuck her with the fingers that were just inside me?” she whispers furiously.
“Would it make you jealous if I did?” I challenge, knowing damn well I’d never do such a thing.
Her cheeks heat with anger as she brushes past me. “What you do with your ‘not girlfriend’ isn’t my business.”
“Bullshit,” I call after her.
Storming back inside the pool house, I throw on my clothes, but not before licking my fingers clean.
Of course Remi Landry tastes like heaven.
My feet tear up the ground in angry clips as I reach the gate. Laurie rolls down her window, and I can barely contain my rage. “You shouldn’t have come here uninvited!”
Laurie shirks back, having never seen this side of me. “You weren’t answering any of my calls or texts,” she starts.
“Because I’m busy,” I spit out the words.
“Is this why you’re busy?” She grabs her phone from the console, shoving in my face a screenshot of me and Remi kissing at the charity gala.
“Where did you get this?” The image was scrubbed, but not quickly enough, it seems.
“Don’t turn this around on me!”
“Turn what around? A stranger kissed me.” Lies and half-truths come with the territory in my world, but this one doesn’t sit right.
“You embarrassed me.” Laurie huffs.
“Let me make it up to you.” Reaching into my pocket, I grab my wallet. Thankfully, Remi didn’t swipe it. Extending my black card, I tell Laurie, “Return to the city for a spa day while I handle business. I’ll pick you up for the party at seven.”
He manicured fingers accept the card a little too eagerly. “You know I can’t stay mad at you.”
Oh, but I guarantee a feisty Cajun woman can.
I find Remi in the study, dressed in threadbare jeans and a worn sweater, her cute little toes covered in combat boots. It’s not lost on me she went with her old clothes and not something I bought her.
Remi’s version of armoring up against me.
I fucking hate it, nearly as much as her calling me by a formal Mr. Calvani, which she looks like she’s about to do now.
Extending my hand, I give my fingers a flex; a subtle warning.
She clamps her mouth shut.
Maks clears his throat. “Here’s what we know.
” He moves to the table, where documents are spread out.
“After the mayor is sworn in, his inaugural party will be held at the Mardi Gras Design Studio on the riverfront.” He taps the blueprints.
“The entire building is rented out for the event, but the main reception hall is where it’ll happen.
” He points out the expansive room on the first floor.
She silently examines the blueprints, the wheels in her sharp mind turning. “Do you have a seating chart?”
Maks shakes his head. “No assigned seating. It’s an open bar and buffet, with a jazz band playing on stage here.” He points to the front of the room.
“How am I getting in?” Remi asks. “I don’t know anyone who works at this place, and I presume security will be tight.”
“We’re still working on that part,” Maks admits.
“As far as security, yes, it will be tight. General security is provided by the venue; on top of that, the mayor will have a security detail of NOPD officers. Right now, we don’t know which officers will be assigned.
Here’s the current roster, keeping in mind the mayor could clean house the moment he’s sworn in.
” Maks points out the photos of the cops.
Remi examines each one closely. “Will they be dressed in uniform?”
Maks shakes his head. “Likely wearing suits; but per NOPD policy, they can’t wear the decorative mask due to risk of visual field impairment. So if you see a man in a suit with no mask, it’s a safe bet he’s a cop.”
“Good to know.”
“Go back to the jazz band,” I interject, thinking out loud. “House band, or do they hire out musicians?”
He shakes his head. “No house band; I’m still waiting to learn who will be performing.”
“That’s how we get Remi inside,” I announce.
“I’m not following,” Maks says.
“She’ll take the pianist’s place.” Whether we have to bribe, kidnap, or kill the pianist, it matters not to me.
Remi’s eyes go wide. “But that means I’d have to?—”
“Play the event. And during a set break, that’s when you’ll disappear into the crowd, find the mayor, and swipe his phone,” I tell her.
She worries her bottom lip. “It’s risky. Pickpocketing is all about blending in; if I’m on stage, I won’t be doing that.”
“What if blending in isn’t the play?” Maks argues. “If you snag the mayor’s attention, that’ll get you past his entourage.”
My jaw clenches uncomfortably. While I can’t stand the thought of Remi snagging the mayor’s attention, I don’t have a better idea.
Remi considers. “Alright, let’s say we go with this plan. So you’re just going to bust the pianist’s kneecaps, and I’ll waltz right into the party?” she asks me.
“Why on earth would I bust anyone’s kneecaps?” I raise an eyebrow.
“Well, excuse me for not knowing how this mob thing works!” Remi huffs.
“Leave the logistics to me,” I assure her.
“But I’ve never performed on a stage before.” There she goes, worrying that bottom lip. It makes me want to grab her and turn her over my knee again.
I run my hand through my hair in frustration. Never have I even considered spanking a woman before, and yet here I am, my cock one hundred percent on board with a repeat performance…
“Hello, did you hear me?” Remi says with attitude.
Focusing, I tell her, “We’ll get you the set list so you can practice, but don’t lose sight of what’s important here.”
“Why do you want the mayor’s phone, anyway?” she asks.
“Nope.” I tsk. “ C’est tout. ” I use Remi’s Cajun-French words against her.
She sticks out her tongue at me.
Maks’ eyes go wide, but he bites his own tongue.
“Let’s walk through this,” Remi says. “Who is going to be running counter surveillance? We’ll either need to be miked up together, or we’ll need a hand signal system.”
“That would be me,” Maks says. “I’ll be outside the venue with our IT guy watching the feed from both your camera and Angelo’s. Remi, I will be in communication with you via your earpiece.”
“In that case, it would help to have Angelo position himself and his ‘not girlfriend’ near the mayor when I make my move,” Remi tells Maks, the jab obviously directed at me. “How many guests?”
“Five hundred plus,” he answers.
Remi whistles. “For a crowd that big, it would be the safer play to use a duke man.”
“I’m going to need a translation,” I tell her.
“With that many eyes on the mark, there’s a greater risk someone notices me lifting the phone. If I have a duke man to pass it off to, should I be detained, cops won’t find the phone on me.”
“So you need a runner, basically,” I say.
She nods. “I’ll pass the phone discreetly to the duke man, they run it to Maks and IT guy, and once they’re done with the cloning stuff, the duke man runs it back to me, and I’ll return it to the mayor.”
“We can bring in Nic if we need to.” He’s the only family member I halfway trust.
“The man you threatened at gunpoint?” Remi raises an eyebrow.
“I’ll do more than threaten next time,” I warn her.
“What would Laurie say about that?” Remi challenges.
My jaw clenches. “Since she’s not my girlfriend, not a damn thing.”
“I must’ve missed something,” Maks comments, his head ping ponging between me and Remi.
“How would Nic even get into the party without an invitation?” Remi presses.
“I don’t know,” I admit.
“I can do it.” Al slips inside the room.
“Absolutely not! And you know better than eavesdropping on my business,” I chastise.
“I’ll tag along with you and Laurie to the party; no one would ever suspect little ole’ me. And even if I were to get caught, I’m just a silly teenage girl and a prank gone wrong.”
“Hate to say it, but I like the plan,” Maks announces.
“I don’t,” I snap.
Remi holds up her hands. “I might not even need a runner; it all depends. Honestly, I’d have a better handle on this if I could scout out the venue beforehand.”
“It’s too risky for you to be seen there before the party,” I warn her.
“But not us,” Al tells me. “We take a tour of the venue space, and I’ll record every inch. You know, to decide where I’m holding my big eighteenth birthday extravaganza.”
“I thought you didn’t want a big party,” I say.
“I don’t, but they don’t know that,” Al points out.
“I’m not sure when she became an evil mastermind, but I like it,” Maks says.
“I don’t!” Turning to my sister, I pin her with my hard gaze. “You’ve been visiting Fabien for months in prison; has his incarceration taught you nothing?”
She waves away my concern. “I’m still a minor. If our lawyer can’t get me out of a few underage charges, then what the hell are we paying him for?”
“You and I will tour the event space, but I’m not agreeing to anything else,” I warn Al.
She nods excitedly, hurrying out.
“Out,” I snap at Maks, and he slips out of the room.
I pour myself a finger of whiskey.
“Careful, Angelo. You’ve already had your indulgence for the week,” Remi teases.
“What you said earlier about us not trusting each other, you were spot on,” I tell her, needing to feel some semblance of control in this situation. “And as a businessman, here’s the bottom line. Betray me and my family, and I’ll kill you.”
Remi examines me with curiosity. “Who hurt you?”
Kicking back the whiskey, I welcome the burn. “Show me yours, and I’ll show you mine.”
She smiles sadly, walking to the door.
“What I thought,” I call after her.