CHAPTER 19
After he returned home from the summit with Carlo and Dario, Dom called Carlo.
“Do you think he suspects?” Carlo asked.
“I don’t think he trusts you, but I doubt he has any idea what we’re planning.”
“Your cousin doesn’t have the head for this role. He never did.”
Dom found himself automatically defending Rico. “Just because I think he’s being a fool over this woman, that doesn’t mean I think he hasn’t done well for the cosca. I may have my quarrels with my capo, but he has more brains for business than either of us, Don Andretti.”
“Are you worried about wearing the crown, Domenico?”
“I’ve been ready for this all my life.”
Carlo laughed. “Wanting to be the alpha dog and actually being it are two very different things. Your cousin has balls, I’ll give him that. You, I’m not so sure about.”
“The nail that sticks out gets hammered back in.”
“Said by men of no courage.”
Dom bit back his irritation. “If I fight him openly, the cosca will plunge into chaos. But if he dies, I will be able to step in without spilling another drop of blood.” He paused. “Of course, it would be to your benefit if that doesn’t happen.”
“You are learning, my boy. I am content to let you have his place, as long as you abide by our agreement.”
Dom’s skin erupted in flames. “I’ll give you what you asked for: the discount and the American. But that does not make you my master.”
“We will see about that.”
Dom wondered. “Did your men forget it was me wearing the white shirt tonight? Some of those bullets were awfully close.”
Carlo chuckled. “They did exactly as I asked.”
“Play any more tricks like that, and I will have to rethink this.”
“And do what? I have you by the balls. Don’t think I haven’t recorded every word you’ve said.”
Ice slid down Dom’s spine. There was no turning back.
He hung up. He’d known he was making a deal with the devil. Now he hoped the only price he’d pay for it was his soul.
It would all be over in three or four days. He was glad Rico was taking a vacation, glad Rico thought things were repaired between them. At least his cousin would die happy.
It was more than he expected for himself. He could only hope his children’s lives would be better because of what he’d done. With any luck, he’d save the cosca, save their future.
But he couldn’t save himself. That damage was already done.
He was killing his own blood; there’d be no mercy for him in the afterlife.
Tears pricked his eyes. No mercy was exactly what he deserved.
Kate woke with a start, her heart a jackhammer in her chest. Her first instinct, which she didn’t question, was to leap out of bed. Which is when she heard a voice that shouldn’t have been there. “Kate?” Enrico mumbled.
She stood there panting, her eyes taking in as much of the room as she could in the dim light of early morning. She was in Enrico’s room. Not with Vince. Never with Vince again. Yet why did he still haunt her dreams?
Maybe it had been a mistake to come back in here. The room had been cleaned up, and new carpeting covered the floor. But still she could smell the blood. Except this time it was Enrico’s, not Vince’s.
“Cara?” Enrico sat up in bed and scrubbed his eyes with his hand. “Did you hear something?” His eyes flicked up to the newly installed panic button. He opened the nightstand drawer and withdrew his Glock. “Kate?”
She inhaled deeply, trying to calm her breathing, then she walked over to him and put her hand out, directing the muzzle toward the floor. “It’s nothing. You don’t need that.”
“What woke you? You leapt out of bed as if the hounds of hell were snapping at your heels.”
She hugged herself, and he set the gun on the nightstand, then stood up and tried to take her in his arms. She flinched away from him. “Talk to me. Per favore.”
That Italian “please,” along with the worry in Enrico’s voice, grounded her. “I was dreaming. It was so real.”
“Do you mind if we talk about this in bed, where it is warm?”
Kate nodded and let him steer her back to the bed. He got in beside her and pulled the covers over them where they lay face to face. She reached over and traced the high, broad bone of his cheek, double-checking that he was real. When she started to withdraw her hand, he trapped it in his, then pressed his lips to her palm before letting go. “Tell me about this dream.”
“It was so real in every detail. Not like most dreams.” She closed her eyes for a second, then opened them, shaking her head. “Vince had broken in and he was raping me. Carlo was there too, waiting for his turn. You were dead. They’d killed you.” Tears slid down her cheeks and she wiped them away. “When is this going to stop?” Why couldn’t she just be normal again?
Enrico’s chest tightened. Her voice was so thick with tears he could hardly understand her. He reached out to her, his fingers skimming along her skin as he pushed her hair out of her face. “Cara,” he whispered, “it will stop. But it will take time.”
“As long as Carlo is out there, I’ll never feel safe.”
“He promised he would not harm you.”
“That was when you were going to marry Delfina. Have you told him yet?”
“I will ask Dom to tell him after we leave. It will give him time to calm down before we return.”
“He’s going to want us both dead.”
“I will think of something.”
She sighed. “I hope so. I don’t want to die over this.”
Enrico didn’t try to keep the bitterness out of his voice. “Over me, you mean.”
“No. I don’t want to die because I killed his nephew in self-defense. And because I’m the reason you don’t want to marry his granddaughter.”
Enrico relaxed, feeling sheepish. “Oh. I thought—”
She put a finger to his lips. “Don’t think I’ve forgiven you just yet. I’m not sure how I feel. But I don’t want you walking around with false ideas about me in your head.”
It was not at all what he wanted to hear, but at least she wasn’t furious with him anymore. After their argument in the study, he’d been surprised when she’d come to his bed in the middle of the night, but he hadn’t asked for an explanation. He’d just been grateful, even though she’d stiffened when he’d reached for her, even though she’d said, “I don’t want to be alone right now, that’s all.” He had hoped things would be different in the morning, but at least they weren’t worse. He wished he’d understood then why she’d come to him. “Have you been having nightmares since the attack?”
She nodded. “It’s gotten worse since I ran out of Valium.”
“So that is why you came to me last night.” She rolled over, hiding her face from him. He touched her shoulder, then pulled her close. “There is no shame in needing someone.” Why did she always fight her need for him?
Kate took a deep breath. She was uncomfortably aware of his naked body pressed against hers, her lacy slip the only thing between them. She was still angry at him, still hurt he’d even consider marrying someone else. Still upset by her reaction when he’d told her he loved her. She hadn’t been coolly neutral the way she’d wanted. Because her feelings about him were anything but neutral. But that didn’t have to mean she loved him.
Despite her confusion, her body responded to his the way it always did, and she resisted the urge to wriggle against him when she felt his cock stiffen and press into her buttocks. She looked over her shoulder at him. “It’s not going to happen.”
He shrugged and moved away from her, propping himself up on his elbow. “As you wish. I cannot help it.” His eyes lingered on hers, then slid down to trace the curves of her body. “Bellissima, so bellissima.”
She started to smile, then suppressed it. “Aren’t you still intent on forcing me to go to Capri?”
He grinned. “I am.”
“Then you’d better get in the shower.” She lay back on the bed and watched him walk across the room, the hard, muscled beauty of his form making her breath catch and her sex grow wet. She wanted him even now, damn her. When was she going to learn? Enrico Lucchesi was bad news in a sexy package. That was all. He was not the man of her dreams, he was not the man who was going to make her happy. She had to keep telling herself that until it sunk in.
Making love with him yesterday had been a mistake. A delicious mistake, but a mistake nevertheless. Whatever she did, she wasn’t going down that road again. That road led somewhere she couldn’t go.
Humming to himself while Kate was in the shower, Enrico quickly shaved and brushed his teeth, then dressed in the clothes he’d pulled out the night before. He picked up the gun from the nightstand. Capri was generally safe, jet-set hotspot that it was, but you never knew. His father always said that the man who was prepared for anything had the advantage over the fool who trusted in luck.
He checked again that the clip was fully loaded, then put the gun in his jacket pocket. Was it fair of him to expose Kate to this life? Could he really continue to put her selfishly at risk? He scrubbed a hand across his face. Madonna. He didn’t see how he could continue to endanger her—and yet, he couldn’t see how he could let her go.
The shower shut off, then Kate stepped out and started drying herself. He walked over and leaned against the doorjamb, his eyes drinking her in. When she noticed him, roses bloomed in her cheeks. “Stop staring,” she said, turning half away from him.
“I love the rear view too, you know.”
Her cheeks bunched up with a smile, but her eyes stayed on her legs. He stepped closer to her and tugged at the towel. “Let me.” She resisted for a second, then let go.
He rubbed the towel over her shoulders, tossing the dark red sheaf of her wet hair to one side. He dried her back, the planes of her shoulder blades, the curves of her buttocks, then turned her around and brushed the plush white cloth over her breasts and belly, his touch teasing, lingering. He loved this moment with her, the intimacy of it, her trust in him a welcome contrast to the wildness he’d woken up to. He hoped she’d let him in again. He hoped she could find it in her heart to forgive him. He hoped she’d someday tell him she loved him.
But if he was going to earn her trust, her forgiveness, her love, he was going to have to trust in her, wasn’t he? He was going to have to tell her everything. And soon. Or he was going to have to let her go.
Kate looked at Enrico as he gazed upon her body. She felt an upwelling of warmth at his tenderness, the reverence with which he touched her.
“I’m sorry, Rico. For doubting you.”
He looked away from his task, meeting her eyes. “You had every right.” Wrapping the towel around her shoulders, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I am asking a lot of you.” He looked down at his feet. “Sometimes I think I should put you on a plane. Send you some place far from here. Some place safe.”
Fear knifed through her gut. It must have shown on her face, because he said, “I will make sure you are safe, so if you want to go home, you can.”
Kate wasn’t sure what to say. She still didn’t know what she wanted. Him, or home? She finally settled on “Thank you,” trying to imbue the words with gratitude, hoping he could hear it, that he would understand what she was trying to say.
He looked at her, tension rising between them. He opened his mouth, looking like he was going to ask a question. Then his face changed and he said, “The plane is waiting for us.”
Kate nodded and shooed him out of her way. She ran a comb through her hair, deciding to let it air dry, then pulled on some clothes and brushed her teeth.
Enrico started out the door with their bags, then he turned around and came back in. “What if we drove back? It will take a few extra days, but I would love to show you the coast. I can have someone bring the Maserati down to us.”
She smiled. “I’d love it.” Might as well see as much of Italy as she could. While she was still here. “But you have to bring that bag back over here then. I’ll need some more clothes.”
He shook his head. “I am buying you a new wardrobe, remember?” His eyes flickered up and down her body, a grin spreading across his face. “You will love the stores in Capri.”
She picked up her purse and walked over to him, her smile slow and teasing. “Will I now?”
“Oh yes.” He leaned down to kiss her, his lips lingering on hers. “And I am going to love buying you everything.”
“Everything, huh? Then I’m going to need more luggage too.”
“As you wish, mia cara.”
Kate tried not to feel guilty when she heard the endearment. She wasn’t leading him on if she wasn’t sure, was she?