37. Luca

Chapter thirty-seven

Luca

I storm back into The Blue Velvet to find Frankie at the bar. He nods as I pass by and respond with a jerk of my head.

This stupid stunt has forced my hand to push things forward. Rome will have to take down his enemy tonight, before anyone notices Robert's disappearance. We can't take the chance they'll get wind of what's to come.

After dropping Kylie off at her apartment, I called Rome to find that Rafael had already filled him in on what happened. We came up with a plan to bring Lisa and Robert into the bugged office demanding an explanation, and then I'll fire them both on the spot. Rome will assign men to watch them until everything is in place.

Lisa isn't a threat. She'll be free to move on with her life. Robert will not have that luxury. It should appear as if he left willingly. If his disappearance is ever questioned, I don't want anything tying him back to The Blue Velvet.

When I enter the office, Gio's sitting on the edge of my desk looking bored while Robert and Lisa are quietly sitting on the love seat.

I don't speak until I shut the door and walk over to stand by Gio and face the two. "Explain. "

Robert and Lisa look at each other as if they're confused by my demand. When Robert turns back to me, he has a smirk on his face. I have to clench my hands to keep from grabbing his scrawny neck and choking the life out of him.

"I don't understand. Explain what?" Robert frowns, trying to look confused.

My nostrils flare. "Explain why you sent Kylie back to my office, telling her I was in here when you knew damn well I wasn't?"

"Oh, well, Lisa told me your girlfriend was coming in and to direct her to the office. I assumed you came in when I was taking a piss." He shrugs his shoulders.

I turn to Lisa, who's staring at the floor with her own smirk.

"Is that true?"

She snaps her gaze to mine and gives me a one shoulder shrug. "It was a joke."

I raise my eyebrow and ask with menace in my voice. "A joke?"

She flinches, but then sticks her chin out in defiance. "Yeah, what's the big deal? So she saw Gio and me having sex. It was funny."

I stare at her until she can no longer look me in the eye. Satisfied, I turn my gaze to Robert. "You're both fired."

Without hesitation, I turn to Gio, ignoring how Robert and Lisa sputter in complaint, and demand, "Walk them out."

Gio nods and moves to Lisa.

"Come on! It was just a joke!" Lisa shrieks as she jumps up from the couch. Gio grabs her arm to pull her toward the door, all the while keeping an eye on Robert.

Robert's slower to his feet, anger taking over his features. "Why am I being fired? Lisa told me to send her back here. I had no idea you weren't really here?" Robert moves to stand in front of my desk and glares at me just as I'm about to sit at my desk.

Calmly, I move back around until my face is just inches from his. Lisa stops her shrieking. Gio continues to hold on to her arm while he waits for my signal.

Robert is shorter than me. All I need to do is stare down at him for the arrogance to leave his face .

I can't keep my anger from showing. I'm too pissed at what these two schemed on top of all the fuckery they're already involved in. It's taking everything in me not to do physical harm to either of them.

"Kylie told me you were waiting at the end of the hall, watching her after you sent her back. That doesn't speak of innocence. That tells me you were sticking around for the fallout of whatever Lisa thought this stunt would cause. You knew damn well I wasn't here and what was going on in this office. For that, you're fired."

Robert pinches his lips and his nose flares in anger. After a long hesitation, he steps back before turning to storm out of the office, shoving past Gio. Lisa, finally smart enough to know she's lost, yanks her arm out of Gio's hold and storms off after Robert.

I give Gio a meaningful look and he dips his head before following them out of the club.

Moving back to my desk, I grab the phone to call the club's manager. He picks up after the first ring.

"Tim, I've fired Lisa and Robert. Gio called in Frankie to finish out Robert's shift, but we are short a server for tonight."

He tells me he'll call in one of the other girls to finish Lisa's shift and start looking for a couple of part-timers to replace them, not once asking why I fired the two.

"Thank you, Tim. I'm in Miami for the weekend, but call if you need anything." I hang up the phone and go through the motions of making it look like I'm closing the office down for the night for anyone listening in on the bugs.

When we return from Miami, everything will have been taken care of and we can sweep through the club to remove all the listening devices.

I'm ready for life to return to normal.

"They're gone. I stayed until they drove off and informed Frankie of their firing." Gio tells me more for the benefit of the listening devices as he stands at the doorway .

"Good. I've called Tim, and he's got the schedule taken care of. Let's get out of here. I want to go over those Miami properties before we board the plane. Kylie's packing. I know you planned to ask Lisa to come entertain you when we aren't working. If you have anyone else you'd like to bring in her place, feel free." I make that up and Gio understands where I'm going with it.

"No. That's okay. I'll just find local pussy when we get there."

I chuckle. "I'm getting too old to chase pussy. Having Kylie tag along makes it convenient for me. She thinks we're going on a romantic getaway." We both chuckle at that, but my insides churn at this charade I'm still putting on. I hate having to talk about her this way, even though it's necessary to keep these men from thinking she's important to me.

I almost messed up earlier when I stormed into the office after Rafael called me to tell me what happened.

"Let's head out." I turn the lights off in the office before locking the door.

I thank Frankie for coming in and providing coverage.

As soon as we settle into the escalade, Gio asks, "Rome's house?"

I nod, still pissed at the change of plans. Grabbing my phone, I text Kylie and tell her it will be much later before I can come get her. When she doesn't respond right away, I put my phone away and turn to stare out the window while I seethe. That's when I remember I didn't have anyone on Kylie.

"Fuck." How could I forget?

I bring my phone back out and dial Joseph to ask him to cover Kylie at her apartment until I get there. Ending the call, I check to see if Kylie has texted back yet.

Still nothing.

Knowing Kylie, she's got loud music playing while she packs her things. I decide right then to buy her a smart watch so she'll immediately know when I call or text her, no matter what she's doing.

After we arrive at Rome's house, I step out of the Escalade and straighten my jacket as I wait for Gio to come around the car. The front door opens the minute we step onto the first stair. Leo's personality is a lot like Gio's. Most of the time, he's fooling around, always trying to get a laugh. But not now. Now, his face is devoid of any humor as we approach.

Without a word, Leo opens the door wider and waves us in. I walk straight to Rome's office.

My gaze sweeps the room to find Rome. "Do your men have Robert?"

"Not yet." Rome stands from the couch and waves to the chair beside him. "Come in, have a seat."

I'm about to demand an explanation when Rome holds up his hand.

"You're angry and I get it, but you need to calm down, cousin. Rafael and I have talked and we need your clear head."

He's right. This is too huge. I take a calming breath before moving to sit.

"Good, Gio, my man. Come. Sit. No need to stand by the door." Rome sits back down next to Rafael and waits for Gio to get settled before explaining, "We have to play this smart. I've got men following Robert and Lisa. The plan is to nab him right before we hit the enemy. I'm having Lisa followed to see if she contacts anyone, but as we agreed, I won't take her into custody unless necessary."

"Will the plan work if you execute it tonight?" I ask.

Rome runs his hand through his hair as he stares down at the blueprints. "I'm still waiting for confirmation of everyone's whereabouts. We picked tomorrow based on rumors of a meeting at this location at midnight." He shakes his head, then looks at me. "Without most of them in one location, we'll be spread thin. The risk will be too high."

"Alright. I get it." And I do. I just don't like it.

Rome nods. "Good. Keep doing what you normally do. Don't give these guys any clue that this afternoon was more than you just firing a couple of employees. They already know you're planning this trip to Miami for business."

The glint in Rome's eyes tells me he can't wait to play and a part of me wishes I'd be right by his side when he does.

"Promise me this ends tomorrow night." I demand.

"I promise, cousin. When you return from Miami, this will all be settled. No one will dare come at us again. I promise you that. "

We clasp hands in solidarity.

"You got any whiskey?" Scrubbing a hand down my face, I work on calming down. I want to return to Kylie without this anger inside of me.