Chapter 17
Quentin
I stared at the pastry box from La Crumbedonna. My Friday indulgence.
Julia set the box down and gave me a double glance. “You’re looking at that box like someone who hasn’t eaten in a month.”
“Those zeppoles will be the death of me.” I licked my lips. “I can’t eat just one.”
“Maybe you should change your tradition from every Friday to every other Friday or maybe just the third Friday of the month or—”
“Get behind me, you temptress!”
“Okay, okay, every Friday I promise to stop at La Crumbedonna and get your order. Cross my heart and hope to die.” Julia crossed herself and smiled like a mischievous child. “Would you like me to serve you one?”
“No, thank you.” Standing, I pointed to the door. “I’m going to grab a coffee first. Join me?”
“Sure.” Julia looked at the box. “Should I bring the box to share with the rest of the staff?”
“Are you trying to get fired?”
“Are you trying to have a heart attack?”
Before I could admit that I had a problem with sugary carbs, Serenity Jones, my new hire, approached the door to my office. “Who’s having a heart attack? Should I call the paramedics?”
Julia pointed to the box. “Mr. Vanetti seems to have a problem sharing.”
“I’ve heard about zeppole Fridays from Stone.” Serenity pointed to the box. “I think sharing is the right thing to do. May I?”
“Okay, you two win.” I winked at Julia before waving at the box. “Go on, bring the box, but if you’re smart, you’ll join us for coffee.”
Serenity nodded. “I’ll take you up on the offer. These better be as good as Stone claims.”
“Trust me.” I wanted to take Julia’s hand as we walked out, but prudence overruled my desire.
Julia stepped into the hallway, Serenity picked up the pastry box, and we all started toward the kitchen.
I held the steaming coffee mug under my nose after Julia handed it to me. “I love the smell of Italian roast.”
“I prefer the nutty flavors myself.” Julia took her mug from the Nespresso and turned to Serenity, who slid a kitchen knife along the edge of the pastry box to cut the tape that held the lid secure. “Can I get you a coffee as well?”
“That would be nice, thank you.” Serenity set down the knife. “I have to be careful touching the cutlery without gloves. Too many of the images are gross. Unimportant, but disturbing.”
“Your gift is so fascinating.” Julia handed a mug to Serenity. “Do you get something from everything you touch?”
“No.” Serenity shook her head. “It comes at random times, usually when something has a significant event attached to it, although I don’t always know how it’s related.”
I nodded. “She recently saved Stone’s life.
” Stone had resisted Serenity from day one—argued, complained, made it clear he didn't want or need a psychic bodyguard.
Now he couldn't stand to be away from her.
The bastard was head over heels, and he knew I'd been right all along. “Seems I’m a good judge of character after all.”
Julia placed three zeppoles on plates and smiled at me. “Dig in boss. Your sugar-high awaits.”
“Ladies first.” I sipped my coffee and pretended to be patient.
Serenity slipped off her gloves. “I can hardly justify eating one of these beauties with my gloves on.”
I lifted a zeppole. “Creamy goodness and—”
Out of nowhere, Serenity’s hand struck like a snake and smashed the pastry out of my hand. It flew to the floor. The China plate shattered into pieces.
She grabbed Julia’s wrist and shouted. “Don’t touch that.”
“What’s going on?!” Shock rose in my chest. “Why did you do that!”
Visibly shaking, Serenity closed her eyes and took a breath for control. “I had a terrible vision. There’s something wrong with the pastries. They’re not safe.”
As realization dawned, I glanced at the box, then at the mess on the floor.
Julia had picked up the pastries only an hour ago.
“We need to bag everything. Julia, get the kitchen gloves from under the sink. Put them on. Don’t touch anything until you do.
Put everything into a trash bag. Double bag it.
Next, call Dino. Tell him we’ve got something for him to submit to forensics. ”
Wide-eyed, Julia jumped into action. “Should I call Stone as well?”
“Yes. Get him down here ASAP.” I turned to Serenity who’d opened her eyes again. “Let’s go to my office.”
Serenity followed me down the hall to my office. Her face had gone pale, and she was still shaking.
I gentled my voice, and motioned to the chair in front of my desk. “Please. Sit down.”
Serenity plopped down and sighed. “That was terrible. I’m sorry I made such a mess.”
“Don’t worry about the mess.” I sat across from her and leaned forward. “Tell me what you saw.”
I'd first heard about Serenity's abilities a couple of months ago and dismissed them as fantasy. A psychometrist—someone who gets visions from touching objects or people—sounded like con artist territory. That's why she always wore gloves—physical contact triggered the visions, wanted or not.
Her visions varied in clarity—some sharp as photographs, others murky and symbolic.
But she'd proved herself invaluable when Stone became a target.
Stone had hated having a babysitter at first, especially one who claimed to be psychic.
But she'd saved his life more than once, and now?
They were inseparable. The man was completely devoted to her.
Without her, I'd have lost Stone, which would've left me vulnerable in ways I couldn't afford. Keeping her on permanent payroll was the easiest decision I'd made in years.
She cleared her throat. “I’m so sorry about the mess.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I gave her my best disarming smile. I needed her to relax. “I’m assuming you just saved someone’s life. Tell me what you saw.”
“There were paramedics. I saw you.” She closed her eyes. “It was awful. They were trying to get you to breathe. I can’t say for sure, but I suspect those zep—what are they again?”
“Zeppole.”
“Yeah, that.” Serenity’s hands fluttered. “I think the zeppoles are poisoned. But there’s more.”
“What?”
“I’m not sure what this means—” she let out another sigh “—but I saw Julia pick them up at the bakery.”
“That’s a normal part of her job.” A small flutter of uneasiness ran over me. “La Crumbedonna makes them for me every Friday. It’s a standing order. Barbara used to pick them up before, and now it’s Julia’s responsibility. Did you see anything else?”
Serenity shook her head. “No. Just because I saw her doesn’t mean she tried to poison—”
“Of course not.”
“It’s just—” she lowered her voice. “—I don’t normally get a vision without a reason. Since I saw her picking them up…”
“There might be something significant about it.”
“Exactly.” Serenity’s shoulders drooped. “It could be something else… I mean, maybe you were choking and we called the paramedics just to be safe?”
I raised a brow. “You really think so?”
She shook her head and sighed. “No… afraid not.”
I nodded. This was serious. I’d trusted Julia, and now I had to consider that she’d deceived me. Something in my chest tightened. “I need you to get a reading on her. Discreetly, if possible, but if you can’t be subtle then just do it anyway.”
“Okay. I think that’s a good idea.” Serenity lifted her brows and met my gaze. “I haven’t seen anything suspicious or worrisome, so I don’t have a good reason not to trust her. But Stone is concerned. He doesn’t like the situation.”
“Yeah… tell me about it.” I rubbed my chin. “First things first—head down to La Crumbedonna right now. See if you can pick up anything there. Then I'll need you to get a read on Julia. Meanwhile, I'll have Dino rush the forensics. We need to know what we're dealing with.”
“Okay.” Serenity headed to the door and looked over her shoulder. “In the meantime, please be careful.”
I nodded and buzzed Julia to come to my office.
Just minutes later, Julia stepped into my office, eyes bright with concern. “I talked to Dino. He's coming by in an hour to pick up the bag.”
“Good.” My jaw tightened. I gestured sharply to the chair Serenity had just vacated, unable to keep the edge from my voice. “Sit. Now.”
She frowned, but didn’t object.
“Let’s walk through your morning.”
“Sure. I left my place as usual. There wasn’t anything noteworthy about my drive to work. I stopped at La Crumbedonna as planned. The order was on the counter. I signed the form, handed it to the cashier, thanked her, and left.”
My standing order was always ready and waiting on the counter to be picked up in the morning, previously by Barbara, now Julia.
My employee merely had to sign the order form to confirm pickup.
The bakery invoiced Vitality Ventures monthly.
The bakery had been vetted by Stone. Forrest had done a little surreptitious digging and hacking to ensure there were no connections between the business and any of my enemies.
There hadn’t been.
The only change was that Julia had picked up the order instead of Barbara. But I couldn’t forget that Silvio Russo might still be lurking around, although my men hadn’t seen him since the night I showed Julia his photos.
“Tell me what you saw when you entered the bakery. Was anyone acting strange? Was it possible you were followed? What about your ex? Did you talk to him?”
Julia’s brows dipped. “Yes. I sent him packing. I’d be surprised if he had anything to do with this.
” Her tone became defensive. “I wasn’t followed as far as I know.
It’s not like I’m an operative sneaking around.
Anyone who may be following me, would also know my routine, and where I was headed.
Which was here. To the office. Like I do every day. ”
“Except for Fridays.”
She shrugged. “Okay, except for Fridays, when I stop for your order.” Julia rubbed her forehead. “Anyone trying to poison you could have figured out you had an employee pick up that order every Friday, right? Hasn’t Barbara been doing it for years?”