Chapter 34
Quentin
“We need to talk about the wedding.” Facing Stone and Serenity in my office, I took Julia’s hand.
Stone raised a brow. "So you’re seriously considering it?”
“Yes.” I glanced at Serenity. "Did he tell you about this?”
“Yeah. Stone mentioned that Isobel suggested a wedding.”
“Good. But… it’s different now. We're thinking a real wedding. Not just paperwork."
The silence stretched.
"So you are serious." Stone wasn't asking.
"We are," Julia said quickly. "It makes strategic sense. But also—" she hesitated, vulnerability flickering across her face. "There’s more to it than that."
The uncertainty in her voice sent a protective wave over me. We were doing this because we loved each other. Not because we were desperate and running out of options. Even if it looked that way.
"Can I take your hand first, Julia?" Serenity held out her hand, that distant look in her eyes. "I need to see—"
"Yes." Julia stepped toward her. "Of course."
The moment they connected, Serenity went rigid.
Then she smiled—huge, joyful—and laughed.
"I saw a wedding. A happy one. Dancing, music, so much joy." She squeezed Julia's hands. "Your face had frosting on it."
Julia blinked. "So I was the bride?"
"I think so. Though I can't say for certain—there were multiple people with frosting on their faces."
"Food fight?" Stone asked.
"Maybe." Serenity looked frustrated. "There was so much happening. I'm sorry I can't see more clearly."
"You give us what you can," I said gently. "That's enough."
Stone shifted his stance. "Let me get this straight. You're planning a real wedding—not just legal paperwork—and you’re doing it, not because you have to, but because you want to."
“That’s right.” I took Julia’s hand again. "We’re also running out of time. Carlo's deadline is only a few days away. Once we’re married, he’ll have to give us more time and listen to what we have to tell him.”
“How soon?” Serenity asked.
“Not sure. That’s why we need your help to plan our next move.”
Stone and Serenity exchanged a long look.
"You're both insane," Stone finally said. "This could blow up spectacularly."
"That's not a no," I pointed out.
"It's not a no. We're in. Someone needs to keep you alive long enough to figure out if you're actually in love or just in survival mode."
“Say what you want, but we have nothing to figure out.” I glanced at Julia. “We’ve decided.”
Her smile was all the answer I needed.
“So what do we do next?”
Julia raised a brow. “Tell the family?”
I shook my head. “Since they haven’t killed us already, that should do the trick.”
She laughed.
Stone crossed to the round table in my office and pulled out a chair. "Sit. Both of you. We need to think this through."
We sat. Serenity joined us, already pulling out her tablet to take notes.
"First things first," Stone said, his voice shifting into tactical mode. "The legal protection. When do you need it?"
"Yesterday," I admitted. "Julia could be subpoenaed at any time. If the Feds connect her to the Russo family—"
"When they connect her," Stone corrected. "It's not if. They're already circling. It’s only a matter of time before law enforcement connects the pieces.”
“You think they’re investigating?”
“When a New York mob boss gets murdered, federal investigators always circle. They haven’t made the connection yet, but they will.” Stone leaned forward. "Which means you need spousal privilege locked in now. Today. Not after some big wedding in a few weeks."
"So courthouse first?" Julia asked.
"Courthouse first," Stone confirmed. "Get legally married this afternoon. That gives you the protection immediately. Then you can plan whatever ceremony you want."
I watched Julia process this. The romantic in me hated that our wedding would be rushed, paperwork in a sterile courthouse. But the pragmatist knew Stone was right.
"Okay," Julia said quietly. "Courthouse today."
Serenity glanced up from her tablet. "I can pull the marriage license. Utah has a same-day waiting period waiver for certain circumstances. Isobel should be able to expedite it."
"I'll call her." I reached for my phone.
"Wait." Julia's hand covered mine. "Before we make it legal, we need a plan. Getting married solves one problem—the legal one. It doesn't solve the bigger problem."
"Carlo's deadline," I said.
"And whoever's trying to kill us," she added. "Filomena, Dominic, maybe even Silvio—someone authorized those payments. Someone wants us dead. A marriage license won't stop bullets."
Stone nodded. "She's right. We need to think bigger."
"The wedding," Serenity said softly. We all turned to look at her. "Not the courthouse ceremony. The real one. The one I saw in my vision—with dancing and music and frosting."
"What about it?" I asked.
Her eyes went distant, that faraway look that meant she was accessing something beyond normal perception. "It's important. Not just as a ceremony. As an event. I keep seeing it, but I can't see why it matters so much. There's something about that day—something that changes everything."
"The killer makes a move," Julia said. "They have to. A wedding between Russo and Vanetti families? That's an alliance. A power shift. Whoever killed Papa can't let that happen."
I saw where she was going. "We use the wedding as bait."
"A trap," Stone said, catching on. "You announce the engagement publicly. Plan a big wedding—somewhere visible, somewhere the killer can't ignore. And when they make their move—"
"We catch them," Julia finished. "Red-handed."
"That's insane," I said. But my mind was already working through the logistics. "Also brilliant. But mostly insane."
"Do you have a better idea?" Julia challenged.
I didn't.
Serenity was writing frantically on her tablet. "Okay, so timeline. Courthouse wedding today for legal protection. Then what?"
"We call Carlo," Julia said. "Ask for a meeting. Show him Margaret's documents, explain what we found. And tell him we're married."
"He's going to lose his mind," I pointed out.
"Probably." She smiled grimly. "But he can't kill you if we're legally married. It would start a war. Bad for business."
"Unless he decides I'm more trouble than I'm worth."
"Then I guess you'd better be charming."
Stone cleared his throat. "Back to the plan. You meet with Carlo—when?"
"Tomorrow," Julia said. "We fly to New York, meet him on his turf. Show respect. Present the evidence."
"And propose the wedding celebration as a solution," I added. "We unite the families publicly. Force whoever ordered the hit to reveal themselves."
"Where do you hold the wedding?" Serenity asked.
Julia considered. "New York. Russo territory. That's where the killer will feel bold enough to act."
"That's also where you're most vulnerable," Stone said. "You'll be surrounded by Russos. Any one of them could be the killer."
"Then we control the guest list," I said. "Limit it to people we trust."
"You trust almost no one in that family," Stone pointed out.
"Exactly. Small wedding. Intimate. Easier to monitor." I looked at Julia. "Your family will hate it."
"My family hates everything." She shrugged. "At least this way, fewer people can try to kill us."
Serenity tapped her tablet. "Security will be critical. We'll need eyes everywhere. Cameras, guards, background checks on every vendor."
"I'll handle it," Stone said. "Forrest can help. We'll make it a fortress."
"A fortress that looks like a wedding," Julia amended. "It can't be too obvious or the killer won't take the bait."
"Agreed." Stone made a note. "What about the legal documents? The evidence against Filomena?"
"We give copies to Carlo," I said. "Let him investigate internally. If he finds proof she ordered the hit—"
"He'll handle it," Julia finished quietly. "Family justice."
The words hung heavy in the air. Family justice meant execution. Even if Filomena was Julia's aunt.
"You okay with that?" I asked her softly.
She met my eyes. "If she killed my father. Tried to kill you. Tried to kill me. Whatever Carlo decides—she earned it."
Fair enough.
Stone stood, pacing now. "Let me make sure I have this right. Today: courthouse wedding, legal protection locked in. Tomorrow: fly to New York, meet Carlo, present evidence, ask for more time. Then: plan a wedding in New York that's actually a trap to catch a killer. Am I missing anything?"
"The part where we don't die," I said.
"I'm working on that part."
Serenity glanced at us. "I should mention—my vision of the wedding was happy. Joyful. Whatever happens, you both survive. I'm certain of that."
"Both of us?" Julia pressed. "You're sure?"
"I'm sure." Serenity's voice was firm. "I saw you together afterward. Flour, laughter, love. You make it through this."
Some of the tension left Julia's shoulders. Not all of it—she was too practical to rely entirely on visions—but some.
"Okay," she said. "So we have a plan."
"A terrible plan," I corrected.
"A plan nonetheless." She turned to me. "Are you sure about this? Meeting Carlo on his turf, planning a wedding that's designed to draw out a killer? Last chance to back out."
I took her hand. "I'm not backing out. We’re in this together."
"Okay. Together." Her eyes brightened with hope.
Stone cleared his throat. "Before you two get any more disgustingly romantic, we need to handle logistics.
Serenity, call Isobel about expediting the marriage license.
I'll contact Forrest about New York security.
You two—" He pointed at us. "—start planning what you're going to say to Carlo. He's not going to make this easy."
"Nothing about this is easy," Julia muttered.
"Welcome to my world." Stone's smile was sharp. "If it all comes together, we should have an appointment with a judge this afternoon. That gives us at least four hours to get everything in place."
"And after the courthouse?" I asked.