Chapter Eight

Enzo

 

“How is that, sir?” Nancy, Enzo’s housekeeper, and Rupert’s niece, took a few steps back from the dining table and wrung her hands in front of her stomach.

 

She was always such a worry wart, but she had been serving the family almost as long as her uncle had. Her light brown hair had long ago begun to streak with gray, and her frail body was much stronger than it looked. “It’s wonderful, Nancy. Thank you.”

 

“Did you ask your date if she likes roast duck?” Nancy asked nervously. “I know a lot of young women don’t eat meat these days.”

 

“She’s not my date, she’s my attorney,” he reminded her gently, amused that she would be so concerned about what his “date” would think, considering how many women he had gone through his life. “And I’ve seen her eat meat with my own eyes, so I’m not worried about it. Anyone who didn’t think this meal was good enough for them would be crazy.” He took in the glossy mahogany table, knowing the candles would reflect nicely in the finish once he lit them. It had been set with a roast duck, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, orzo with wilted spinach and feta cheese, and broccoli with lemon-almond butter. “You’ve outdone yourself once again.”

 

Nancy nodded, but she didn’t look convinced. “I’ll be in the kitchen, so you just let me know when you want the cheesecake and I’ll serve it up for you.”

 

“No, that won’t be necessary. You’ve done enough. Take the rest of the night off.”

 

“But, sir—”

 

“Nancy, I might be a spoiled brat, but surely I can slice a cheesecake myself,” he said with a smile.

 

She smiled back and patted him on the arm in a motherly fashion. “I suppose that’s true. It’s about time you grew up a little.”

 

“I’ll try, but I’m not making any promises.”

 

When the housekeeper was gone, Enzo put his hands on his hips and smiled at the trap he had set for Madelyn. She was into him; she couldn’t hide that behind all her cool professionalism. It wasn’t unusual; he knew he had a certain charm that women found irresistible. And he planned to use it to his full advantage. If there was any doubt in Madelyn’s mind about how she was going to handle this case, then he would swing her in the right direction.

 

The doorbell rang, and he trotted through the house to get the door. He had dismissed Rupert as well, wanting to be alone when his attorney came over. He wanted her to feel completely comfortable, relaxed, able to open up to him. That wasn’t going to happen if there were servants looming over them. He opened the door, ready to put on the charm and seduce Madelyn into doing what he wanted.

 

But the smooth words he had planned to say died in his throat as soon as he saw her face. Her mouth was a hard line, and her eyes had the dull sheen of exhaustion. The light pink flush that usually lived in her cheeks was gone. In a pair of gray dress slacks and a purple blouse, she would have looked incredibly sexy if it weren’t for the tightness in her shoulders. Things must be worse than he thought. Still, he could do this. “Please, come in. I’ve got dinner all ready to go.”

 

She stepped inside, her knuckles white where she gripped her briefcase. “I’m not sure I can eat, to be honest with you. I talked to Mr. Morber this morning, and—”

 

“No, stop.” He set a finger against her lips. It was a bold gesture, but one that he was sure would get things started on the right track. “The case can wait for a few more minutes. You’ve been working hard, and you deserve to sit down, relax, and have a nice meal.” He took her briefcase from her and set it on a side table as he guided her to the dining room and pulled out a chair.

 

She stood for a moment, just looking at the table instead of sitting. “Did you make all of this?”

 

Enzo laughed softly. “I’d love to take the credit, and I do like to cook sometimes, but I’m not this talented. This was all thanks to Nancy, my housekeeper. She’s a wonderful woman, and she’s been like a mother to me ever since my own passed away.”

 

Madelyn slowly sank into her seat, looking stunned. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize.”

 

He waved off her concern and sat himself. He served up the duck first. “Don’t be. It was all a very long time ago. My father was still around until just a few years ago. Now it’s just me.” He glanced at her as he laid a slice of meat on her plate.

 

Her eyes glittered. Were those tears? “I really am sorry. Now, about the case—”

 

“Madelyn, stop. I invited you over here because I wanted to have a nice private dinner with you, one where we don’t have waiters buzzing around our heads looking for big tips or my annoying cousins dropping by. I promise, we’ll get around to talking about the case. There’s nothing that’s going to change if we don’t get some food in our stomachs first. Besides, Nancy would be very upset if she thought we let the duck get cold. I’m not about to cross her.”

 

A small smile crossed her face, and Enzo knew he had made another vital step in the process. He’d shown her that he could be a good host, he had endeared her to his family situation, and he had shown that he wasn’t just a callous, pompous ass like the media wanted everyone to believe. Madelyn might be a determined attorney from a bigshot firm, but she wasn’t infallible. She would be melting into his hands by the end of the night.

 

He kept the conversation on small talk, chatting about the traffic in the city, the unusually cool weather for late summer, and the origins of some of the paintings on the walls. Enzo knew he had to find that fine line between a wealthy, powerful man and a sensitive one. He kept his voice even and smooth, like he was training a horse, and it was working well. As they finished their plates, she no longer looked as distraught as she had when she had first walked in.

 

“How do you feel about cheesecake? Nancy left one in the fridge for us.” He set his napkin aside and got up.

 

“Enzo, I appreciate all of this, but you really should know where things stand on the case. The city has a lot of new evidence against you, and they’re working it all into the same trial so that they can damage your character and get you convicted. It was supposed to be an open-and-shut case, but it’s not anymore. I spent all day going over it all and trying to find the way out, but I can’t.” Her voice was a whisper on the last word. “I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

 

He let his shoulders sag. “All right. I can see that you aren’t easily distracted. Let’s go make ourselves comfortable in my study. We’ll have some wine, and we can talk about this. Would that make you feel any better?” He would show her that he cared about her, and that would be yet another piece of the puzzle.

 

She looked so relieved as she nodded. “Yes, please. It’s been weighing on my mind all day, and I’m hoping you might have some insight. Maybe there’s something you know that I can’t see.”

 

Enzo doubted it. He could already see just how capable and dedicated of an attorney Madelyn was, much more so than those big blowhards in the back offices. Sure, they had done their job in the past, but he had a feeling he was lucky this particular case had been shuffled off onto the pretty young lawyer.

 

He escorted her to the doorway of his study. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back.” He whistled to himself as he retrieved a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses, wondering how much of a drinker Madelyn was. Hopefully, she was a lightweight. It would make it easier to wear her down, but he could keep up with her even if she was in the habit.

 

He found her sitting stiffly on one of the leather sofas, her shoulders pressed up toward her neck as she took in the luxury of the room around her. Damn. If he wasn’t careful, he would lose all of his progress. “Here. You look like you need this.” Enzo carefully poured them each a glass and then sat down in a nearby chair.

 

“Thank you. I do.” She took a sip, and then another. “Oh. That’s good.”

 

Enzo smiled. “One of the best bottles I had in the house.”

 

“You should have saved it for a happier occasion.” Madelyn had fetched her briefcase, and she opened it on the coffee table, extracting her laptop and several file folders. “First, I’m going to go over everything the district attorney has, and then I’ll tell you where I’m at on each point. At that point, you can tell me of any ideas you might have. I want to be very thorough on this.”

 

Enzo listened as she rattled off the new charges, trying not to let any of his surprise show. He had always been able to beat the rap, never having to come to terms with the things he had done. His father had shown him how to tread carefully and cover what few tracks he left behind, but it seemed that some detective had finally caught up with him. As Madelyn unraveled the new scenario, he felt his own stomach turn into a hard ball.

 

She claimed to have done her research, and he couldn’t fault her for the amount of work she was putting into this. Madelyn had looked at it from every angle, and she seemed to be right. They were left with few options.

 

When she was finished with her report and her glass of wine was empty, she looked to Enzo expectantly. “What do you think? I don’t want to make it seem as though I’m relying on you to come to your own defense, but I was hoping you might have some other witnesses, some better alibis, something.”

 

He was thoughtful as he poured her another glass of wine and one for himself as well. She was working hard for him, and there was no doubt about it. If they were still talking about the original charges, she would get him off with ease. But everything had changed, and she was going to need some coercing to do what he wanted now. No, not just what he wanted to do, but what he felt they had to do. “Don’t take any of the blame onto your shoulders. You’re earning your fee and then some. I think there’s still a way out of this, but it might require some … unconventional means.”

 

Her eyes were laser points on his face. “What do you mean?” she asked stiffly.

 

Enzo set his glass down and leaned forward. “What do you think? You said yourself that with the evidence and witnesses they have, there’s no chance I’ll get out of this. I have to make sure that doesn’t happen. It’s not very hard to make a witness here or there change their mind or even go away, and evidence can be destroyed.”

 

“That’s illegal!” She looked at him with such indignance that he wanted to laugh.

 

But this was a crucial time in their relationship, and he couldn’t let her turn against him now. They had already come too far. “I suppose you’re going to tell me that all attorneys are honest? That all the men and women that are acquitted are also innocent?”

 

Madelyn opened her mouth to reply and then snapped it shut again.

 

“Exactly.”

 

She took a long drink of her wine before slamming the glass down on the table and getting to her feet. “Look, Enzo, I want this trial to go well for you, but you can’t ask me to be a part of anything illegal. I’m not going to just sit around and pretend like nothing is wrong while you murder people in order to get away with murder!” She began gathering her papers, slamming the items into her briefcase.

 

Enzo grabbed at her gently, trying to get her to stop. When she tried to slap him away, he stopped being nice and wrapped his fingers around her upper arms, holding her still and forcing her to look him in the eye. “Madelyn, I’m not paying you to be honest. I’m paying you to win. I though you understood that, and I also thought you were smart enough to understand that you don’t have a choice in this matter. Things will go very badly for you if you don’t win.”

 

The fear in her eyes wasn’t what he had initially been going for tonight, but it would work. It was mixed with a little bit of hatred, though, and he would have to work on that.

 

“Fine,” she spat, jerking her arms out of his grip. He could have held on easily, but he let her go. “Fine. You do what you need to do, but don’t make me a part of it. I’d like to still be able to practice law once this whole thing is over with. And if you ever touch me again, you’ll find out that mobsters aren’t the only ones who cut off body parts or have people drowned in the river.”

 

Despite the tension, Enzo laughed. He couldn’t help it. This sweet little woman wanted to threaten him. It turned him on in a strange way, and he moved back to his chair to keep himself from throwing her over his shoulder and taking her upstairs. “Okay. I can see that you’re serious.”

 

“I am. And I want you to know that I don’t like this at all. It’s not how I normally do things.” She sat back down heavily, putting her face in her hands.

 

He reached over and pulled one of her hands away. “Listen, Madelyn. I know it’s scary for someone like you. But I’m scared too. I don’t want to go to jail.” He kept her hand in his, slipping his fingers between hers. “I know it’s not an ideal situation, but I don’t see any other choice.” He wasn’t really scared at all. He knew he could pull off the right hits and heists to swing things in his favor again. Hell, if he had to, he could skip town and go take on a new identity for a while until things calmed down. But he could stay in the city and pull this off if he just kept Madelyn on board.

 

She looked up into his eyes, her own glistening with fear. “I don’t want you to go to jail, either.”

 

“Is that because you don’t want to see me locked up, or because you’re afraid of my cousins?” He ran the back of his finger down her cheek. His plan had been to charm or intimidate her into doing what he wanted, but he realized there was something else happening between them. Even in his own mind, he refused to put a name to it. He wouldn’t allow himself to be that weak.

 

“Both,” she replied with a weak smile. “I know you’re probably not a completely innocent man, but the whole thing just doesn’t seem fair. It’s like the police set you up for this, like there’s someone out there to get you.”

 

Enzo’s free hand moved back to touch her hair. It always looked so good, and the strands were just as soft and silken as he could have imagined. “They are. They want to be the ones who run everything in this town, and they don’t like the idea of anyone else being powerful. It’s convenient for them to make me out to be the bad guy, but I’m no worse than they are.”

 

“Oh, Enzo. This is awful. I don’t want to see an innocent man go to jail.” A tear trickled down from the inner corner of her eye, running down her cheek and leaving a track across her skin.

 

He bit his lip. “Maybe it’s time I told you the truth. I didn’t kill George Lewis myself, but I’m still responsible for his death.”

 

Madelyn’s hand slipped out of his, and she took a quick step back. Her brow creased, and the softness of her mouth quickly hardened. “What? You told me at the very beginning that you didn’t do it.”

 

“And I didn’t. Not with my own hands, anyway. I ordered his death. I paid a very reliable hitman.”

 

He could see the way the words punched her. They seemed to hit her straight in the stomach. Madelyn’s shoulders slumped, and one hand went to her mouth. She blinked furiously, but the tears couldn’t be held back now. “Please, Enzo.”

 

“Listen to me.” He pulled her back to him, turning her face up to his. “He had made arrangements for protection, but he kept getting behind on the payments. Every time I sent a man out to collect, he only came back with excuses. George kept getting more and more aggressive, and I had to deal with him myself.” He could easily recall that day still, as though he had just lived through it a few moments ago. “He didn’t hear me when I walked into the dry cleaner’s. I could hear him yelling in the back, so I just went behind the counter and looked through the door. George was beating the shit out of a woman. You should have seen what he was doing to her.”

 

Madelyn tried to pull away. “I don’t want to hear this, Enzo.”

 

“You need to hear this! I need you to understand! He’d already hit her enough that she could barely stand, and she was slumped against the wall. Still he kept at her, his fists flying into her face. Blood was splattered on the wall, and her face was nothing but a mass of bruises.” He was angry all over again, his fingers clenching where he held Madelyn, and he had to make a conscious effort to relax before he accidentally did something he would regret. “I don’t always walk on the right side of the law, but there’s a line that even I won’t cross, and I don’t tolerate it from anyone else, either.”

 

“So you killed him?”

 

“No. I yelled something at him so he would know I was there. He turned to look at me, and the woman ran out the back. He still wouldn’t give me the payment he owed, but it didn’t matter to me by then. Payment or no, I knew he was going to die.” Enzo’s voice was just a growl now, and he let go of Madelyn quickly. “I’m sure that’s not the kind of justice that you approve of, but it’s one that I knew would be swift and accurate. I don’t know who that woman was, if she was a relative of his or just some hooker, but she’s safe from him now.” He waited, his breath heavy. He hadn’t meant to tell her all of that. Nobody needed to know just how soft he could be in the right situation, including this beautiful lawyer. But there it all was, laid out before her, and she would do what she wanted with it.

 

Her lips slightly parted, she tipped her head to study him as though she was seeing him for the first time. “I understand,” she said quietly.

 

“I’m glad you do,” he admitted. “I’m sorry if I didn’t tell you that right up front, but I didn’t think it was necessary. You’ve worked very hard on the case, and I appreciate it. In fact, I wanted to show you just how much I appreciate it.” He moved across the room and retrieved a small black box from a drawer in the entertainment center. He’d been waiting for just the right time, and now seemed as good as any other time.

 

Madelyn took the box, her face a mixture of confusion and delight as she opened it. “Oh, it’s beautiful!” She held up the glittering bracelet that Johnny and Rico had picked up at the jewelry store. The white gold bracelet was thoroughly studded with sapphires and diamonds, and it winked pleasantly even in the dim light of the study.

 

“Just like you.” Enzo took it from her and gently clasped it around her wrist. Just as he had imagined, it set off her coloring in a striking way that made him want to strip her down right there on the leather sofa and see what she looked like with nothing on but that piece of jewelry.

 

“I can’t accept it,” she gasped. “It’s too much. It must have been so expensive, and there are rules about these things.”

 

“You can.” Enzo had his arms around her again, and he tipped his head down toward hers. Their lips were barely an inch apart, and he could feel the heat radiating from her skin. “If you think about how much you’re getting paid for this case, then a little bracelet doesn’t mean much. And you deserve it, Madelyn. If anyone deserves it, it’s you.” He kissed her, pressing his mouth against those soft lips.

 

She didn’t hesitate to kiss him back, her body melting against his as he pulled her tighter against him. Madelyn willingly opened her mouth to let him in, her tongue hot against his, and he felt his pants suddenly get tighter. Despite the professionalism of her outfit, he could fell all those gentle curves through the thin fabric. God, she was sexy!

 

Her hands moved across his chest and toward his shoulders, pushing away his suit jacket. It was expensive, just as all of his clothes were, but Enzo suddenly didn’t give two shits about it falling on the floor in a heap. He moved his lips away from hers, down her jaw, trailing down her neck to her collarbone as his fingers worked the tiny buttons of her silk blouse until he revealed the deep purple bra that perfectly matched the color of the blouse. The color was glorious against that pale skin and dark hair of hers, and he nipped at the soft mounds that it held.

 

Madelyn’s fingers were in his hair, her nails scratching gently as she kept him close, encouraging him. But in a sudden moment of clarity, he remembered that this wasn’t a typical conquest for him. He couldn’t just take her upstairs and have his way with her. No, sex would only make her question their relationship. It would keep her body occupied, but it would make her mind work too hard later. As badly as he wanted her, this wasn’t the time. Not yet.

 

Enzo straightened and pressed his forehead to hers. “I’m sorry. We can’t do this.” He couldn’t believe he was uttering those words, and neither could his body.

 

“But—”

 

“No. You were right. There are rules. There are limitations. But don’t think I don’t want to.” He had to be careful, because he would get the exact opposite effect he wanted if Madelyn thought she was being rejected.

 

She nodded and immediately began doing up her shirt again. “Of course. You’re right.”

 

He tipped her chin up so that she had to look at him, her fingers still on the buttons at her chest. “I just don’t want you getting distracted,” he said with a wink. “You still have a lot of work to do.”