Gemma
Zina comes home not long after me and finds me sitting on the couch.
“Why do you look like that?” she asks.
She looks flushed and giggly. One of her straps is falling down her shoulder and her cheeks are a pretty pink. She’s obviously had a
much better night than me.
“Just Cassian being Cassian again.”
I explain the situation to Zina. She rolls her eyes, then says, “I guess at least he made sure you got a ride home.”
“I guess.”
Zina’s phone buzzes and she looks down at it. She frowns and says, “Shit.”
“What is it?”
“Alpha Giancarlo wants to reschedule our next meeting. He says it has to be tomorrow. He was going to take Jace and me to luon to discuss the finer details, but we can’t do tomorrow.”
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“Oh…well, I can go,” I say. “It’s not like I have another job.”
“Could you?” Zina asks. She looks relieved. “I generally like to save your talent for the actual hacking. This meeting is just to take care of details, like when and how he’s going to pay us.”
“Yeah, I can totally handle that,” I say.
*****
The next day, I find myself standing outside of the place Alpha Giancarlo wants to meet. It’s a restaurant that specializes in English pub food, and it’s simply called The Pub. It’s a popular
place.
Little does most of the city know that there’s a secret door in the back that leads down some stairs and into one of the most exclusive gambling dens on the East Coast.
Of course, Cassian and the Smokewind Pack own it. It’s a popular gathering place for their allies.
Just my luck.
I sigh and head inside anyway. Since I’ve been separated from him for a little while now, I have no idea what Cassian’s schedule is
like.
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More likely than not I won’t see him here at this time of day. But the way things have been going, who knows?
Luckily, my meeting with Alpha Giancarlo is straightforward and it goes well. The method and date of payment is squared away, and I get up from the table.
I’m hoping to sneak out without being seen. Not that anyone here knows about my marriage, but at one time, I was here a lot.
Even though I never had anything to do with the organized crime aspects of Cassian’s life, I did have a little bit of say when he built
The Pub.
At the time, I was still hoping to impress him with what an attentive
wife I was.
I came in late after my days at the warehouse as often as I could, and I worked with the chef, James, to create a menu Cassian
would love.
James thought I was just a consultant. He had no idea Cassian and I were married.
I’ve always loved food and been a pretty good cook–I learned how when I was poor, so I could make delicious meals even with the cheapest ingredients.
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Even though Cassian and I had a cook, I wanted to find a way I could share one of my passions with Cassian.
I got my chance when he came in one night on his way to meet someone in the back at the gambling tables.
James supervised as I worked for hours prepping samples of the menu. By the time Cassian arrived, I was sweaty and tired, but
excited.
He stepped into the kitchen. Everything was all laid out.
“Cassian!” I called. “I came up with some things for the menu. I got them all ready for—”
“Not now,” he said. He walked right through the kitchen and went downstairs to the gambling den, where I wasn’t allowed to go.
James patted me on the back. He was an older English man with graying blond hair, and even though he was strict in the kitchen, there was also a kindness to him.
“Don’t worry. He’ll try the food when he’s done.” James shrugged, “And if he doesn’t, you get paid either way, right? No big deal.”
It hurt, even though there was no way James could know why. And of course, I wasn’t getting paid.
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The only reason I had to do this was for Cassian.
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So, I stood in the kitchen and waited for Cassian. And waited. And
waited.
The restaurant closed. Everyone went home, even James.
Finally, Cassian and the last of the Alphas who’d been meeting came up out of the secret casino.
“What are you doing here?” Cassian asked when he saw me. He sounded surprised, and not in a good way.
“I told you,” I said, “I’ve been working on the menu and-”
He made a disgusted sound and waved a hand, cutting me off. “Gemma, this isn’t going to work on me. I don’t like you, and I’m not going to like your food. Stop trying to get close to me.”
That was one of the first times Cassian made me feel truly heartbroken. I never set foot in The Pub again.
Today, though, I discover something interesting.
My food is still on the menu. James kept every single thing.
Just as I’m about to slip out the doors and make it home, I hear
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someone call, “Gemma! Is that you? I thought you fell off the face
of the earth!”
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