“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."
