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Chapter Fourteen

AYO

“Remind me again why you think visiting the vampire clan will be of any benefit whatsoever?” Ethan asks from the driver’s seat of his SUV.

We’re almost to the law firm Uncle Vittorio and the head of the Moretti clan, Uncle Lorenzo, own together. When Uncle Vittorio called me last night and told me we needed to meet in person to finalise some paperwork for my inheritance, I knew Ethan would insist on coming with me.

At this point I should probably just tell him the truth, but since I was warned off from claiming whatever my mum left me, there’s a part of me that really needs to keep this to myself. If I could have done all the paperwork on my own without even Uncle Vittorio’s help, I would have.

I don’t want Ethan worrying about my safety more than he already is. I know he thinks I might be targeted by the murderer because I actually saw them that night at Love Bites. He needs to be fully focused on discovering who it is and arresting them.

This inheritance is most likely a magical artefact that someone wants to get their hands on. As impressive as Ethan is, magic is not in his wheelhouse.

“I know you want to be completely focused on gathering evidence against Xana,” I begin.

“Or interviewing her,” he grumbles.

“Right. But she’s dodging you, and the evidence is thin on the ground.”

“What’s that got to do with the vamp clan?”

Ethan’s about as grumbly as usual, so I don’t think he’s actually against this. I do need him to be distracted enough with Uncle Lorenzo to allow me time alone with Uncle Vittorio, though.

“Vamps and magic-users tend to work together, or at least have an easier truce than other species.”

Ethan sighs from the depths of his soul. “Which means if they know anything, they’ve probably already told the task force.”

I nod. “Meeting Uncle Lorenzo and making nice will be of potential benefit to the investigation now as well as in the future if we win the contract and become the new task force. He’s the head of the clan and specialises in criminal law.”

Ethan glances at me, a slight smile on his face, before pulling into the car park nearest the law firm.

“What?”

“You said ‘we,’” he points out.

I flush and hunch down in my seat. I shouldn’t have said that, because technically my contract is only for three months and Ethan hasn’t actually offered to extend it, but it just slipped out.

He parks the car, turns off the engine, then puts a hand on my thigh. “Hey, none of that. I like that you think of yourself as one of us.”

“You do?” I straighten a bit.

He leans over and kisses me, keeping it annoyingly chaste. “Yeah, I do.”

I smile to myself as we step out into the light drizzle and walk a short distance down the street. I really want to hold his hand, and I’m starting to rethink keeping this thing between us from my coven. I mean, would it really be so bad?

Even though it’s still early days between us, I can’t imagine Ethan ever not being part of my life.

I’m drawn to him in a way I’ve never experienced before.

It’s getting so intense that I don’t like being apart from him on the rare occasions when he does something without me, like a meeting with the mayor and her team.

That’s probably just my naivety and inexperience showing though, right? How many people find their soulmate at the age of twenty?

As soon as we step inside the sleek glass doors, the red-headed vampire receptionist lights up. “Ayo!”

“Aunt Lexie!” A wide grin splits my face. “Since when do you work here?”

Aunt Lexie is eternally twenty-four and looks like she never left the nineteen forties.

Her hair is always curled to perfection, her red lipstick is on point, and her white skin has an unnatural smoothness exclusive to vampires and fae.

She’s also one of the Moretti clan’s enforcers, so it’s jarring seeing her here.

She comes out from behind the sleek black desk to give me a tight hug before letting go at the sound of Ethan’s quiet growl. “Just helping out while Gianna is visiting family in Florence. Are you well? Are you keeping safe? And why is there an alpha wolf growling at me?”

Ethan stopped growling as soon as Aunt Lexie let me go, of course. He steps forward at her question. “Ethan Lupo, Soldati Security.”

Her eyes spark in recognition. “Ah, Ayo’s new boss. I’ve heard a lot about you. The whole supe community is talking about you and your team.”

That doesn’t surprise me. A mixed-species team challenging the task force, who are almost universally disliked? Yeah, of course everyone is talking about them. Especially since I’ve been going around, introducing Ethan to people.

“He’s also my boyfriend,” I say, bouncing slightly as I slip my hand into Ethan’s.

“That explains the growling,” Aunt Lexie says with a laugh. “Maybe keep it under control upstairs, though. The Morettis don’t tolerate threatening behaviour. Are you here to see Lorenzo or Vittorio? The appointment on the system isn’t clear.”

“Both, actually. They’re expecting us.”

“Let me take you up, then.”

Aunt Lexie takes us up in the lift, which requires a security pass to use, then into the corridor that also requires a security pass to access.

I’ve been here a bunch of times and it never fails to impress me how expensive it all seems. Like anyone coming here is hiring the best lawyers in the city.

Aunt Lexie knocks on Uncle Lorenzo’s door first. I don’t hear his response but he must give one, because Aunt Lexie opens the door and ushers us in before leaving and closing it behind us.

Uncle Lorenzo comes around from behind his desk, fastening his suit jacket as he does. I’ve always thought he looks like a film star, with his sharp jaw, curly black hair kept short, and intense blue eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him looking anything less than perfect.

“Ayo.” He kisses me on each cheek. “How are you, cuginetto ?”

“I’m good, Uncle Lorenzo. Thanks for seeing us.” I beam at him. I adore all my vampire aunts and uncles. “This is Ethan Lupo, head of Soldati Security. Ethan, Lorenzo Moretti, head of the Moretti Clan.”

Ethan and Uncle Lorenzo shake hands, sizing each other up. Ethan doesn’t growl at my uncle for the physical contact though, which is progress.

Before I can work out how to extract myself and go find Uncle Vittorio, the vampire appears in the doorway behind us. “Ayo, you made it.”

He sweeps me up in a quick hug before doing the cheek-kissing thing like Uncle Lorenzo did.

He’s even more classically handsome than Uncle Lorenzo, if that’s possible, with neat black hair, a sharp blue suit with a white shirt, and a permanent five o’clock shadow.

I asked him once if vampires need to shave or if he just had that amount of stubble when he was turned, but he just laughed at me and never actually answered the question.

“Uncle Vittorio, this is Ethan Lupo of Soldati Security.”

Vittorio ignores Ethan’s hand and kisses my startled boyfriend on each cheek instead, beaming at him. “You and our little Ayo make an adorable couple. Come by for dinner sometime. We need to welcome you to the family.”

“Vittorio,” Lorenzo grinds out.

Uncle Vittorio throws his hands up. “What? Your sense of smell is as good as mine. They’re clearly together.”

Lorenzo pinches the bridge of his nose. “Just get out of here, diavolo. ”

Uncle Vittorio hooks his arm through mine and leads me out of the office. “Come on, let’s gossip and leave those two to do the boring stuff.”

Ethan starts to follow, a scowl on his face, but I wave him off. “I’ll be fine, I promise. Uncle Vittorio’s office is right next door.”

Ethan doesn’t look entirely convinced about letting me walk away with a vampire he doesn’t know. He stalks over to me and presses a kiss to my forehead while scenting my neck with his hand. “Don’t put up a ward.”

“I’m definitely putting up a ward.” I soften my statement with a cheeky wink and skip off with Uncle Vittorio.

Fortunately, Uncle Lorenzo distracts Ethan and I’m able to escape.

As soon as Uncle Vittorio and I shut ourselves in his office, I erect a privacy ward while Uncle Vittorio makes me a cup of tea.

There's already a silencing ward in place here, as there is in Uncle Lorenzo’s office, but there’s no harm in layering my own on top.

My uncle hands me the tea in a fine china cup, then sits next to me at the circular table away from his desk, a huge stack of paperwork in front of him. “Now, tell me, how are you really? Because I’ve been worried about you since you asked me to claim this for you in secret.”

I cradle the cup in my hands and give my uncle a tight smile. “I promise I’m okay. Other than there being a serial killer on the loose who might have me marked as their next target and getting jumped in an alley and warned off from claiming an inheritance I knew nothing about, of course.”

My uncle nods, his expression serious. “Having a handsome wolf shifter sexing you up is an admirable coping strategy for all of that.”

I crack up, needing to put my tea down so I don’t spill it. Uncle Vittorio grins at me, clearly pleased with himself for lightening the mood.

He gets serious again all too soon, though. “Who knows about this inheritance of yours?”

I sigh and eye the stack of paperwork. “You’re the only one I’ve told. I’ve been hoping you’ve maybe figured out who’s after it, based on whatever it is I’m due to get. I haven’t even told Ethan or Nyoka.”

His expression grows tight. “I have an idea, yes. You did the right thing coming to me. Let’s get through the legal parts first, since I don’t know how long my brother will be able to keep your boyfriend busy.”

We get down to going through the daunting legal process, and I’m so glad I decided to call my uncle rather than trying to meet the human solicitor. I doubt she’d have been as patient with explaining it all to me.