THE MOTORBOAT CUT through the calm, inky water, its sound echoing in the still of the night. As he neared the yacht Jaco turned the engine off, letting the boat glide almost silently forward until he was able to jump on board and secure the ropes.
The yacht was in total darkness, with no sign of life. Climbing the ladder to the back deck, Jaco stood and looked around him, breathing the fresh, salty air into his lungs. There was a full moon tonight, casting its beam of light across the sea, owning the indigo sky.
He had done it! Tipping his head back, Jaco let the momentous realisation sink in. The sting operation had actually worked and the Garalino family had finally got what was coming to them.
Moving over to the railings, he grasped hold of the cold metal and looked out to sea. He could hardly believe it. All the months of meticulous planning, the organisation, the investigating and the cross-checking. All the co-ordination, the manoeuvring, the deal-making, the crucial judgements he had had to make. All the necessary money that had changed hands, the danger he had put himself in. It had all paid off.
In the end it had gone like clockwork. Luigi Garalino and his two sons had walked straight into the trap and been arrested handing over a suitcase full of cash. The armed drugs squad had rounded up the Garalino henchmen and left them no choice but to drop their weapons, despite Luigi ordering them to shoot to kill.
And as Luigi Garalino had been unceremoniously bundled towards an unmarked police car Jaco had stepped out of the shadows, positioning himself in front of him and looking him straight in the eye. In the only part of the whole operation that hadn’t been scripted Jaco had raised his fist and, without saying a single word, punched his adopted father square in the jaw. Because, frankly, he hadn’t been able to stop himself.
Now, lifting his hand from the railings, Jaco flexed his knuckles, feeling the satisfying stiffness of the swelling. He would have liked to do a lot more damage to that man—a whole lot more—but for now he would have to content himself with the satisfaction of a job well done.
The next stage was to prove that Luigi Garalino had murdered his parents, and he was confident he would soon have enough evidence for that. Tongues tended to loosen when long prison sentences were dangled over them—especially when ‘the boss’ was never going to taste freedom again.
So finally he could get his life back—whatever that life was.
Jaco’s eyes focussed on the reflection of the moon on the sea, on the rippling column of light stretching towards him. He should be feeling exultant, triumphant. He should be punching the air, leaping around the deck of his luxury yacht like a man who had just conquered the world, opening bottles of champagne, seeking the company of beautiful women, staging a party to end all parties.
But the fact was Jaco didn’t feel like doing any of those things. Where jubilation should have sat there was only a hollow emptiness, and the taste of victory was surprisingly bland.
He drew in a breath, then looked at his watch. It was still evening in New York. He would make a video call to Francesca—tell her the good news. That would be sure to cheer him up.
* * *
‘I can hardly believe it’s all over, Jaco.’
‘Trust me, it’s true.’ Jaco smiled back at his sister. ‘I’ve got the injury to show for it.’ He raised his knuckles to the screen to show her the swelling.
‘Jaco!’ Francesca gasped on a smile. ‘Since when do you resort to violence? I thought using your fists was beneath you?’
‘Yeah, well, there is no one further beneath me than that piece of scum.’
‘And he really is behind bars?’ Suddenly her voice was anxious again. ‘I mean, there’s no chance of him getting bail or something?’
‘Not a chance. You don’t scream “Shoot to kill!” at the police and expect to get preferential treatment. Your ordeal is over, Francesca. You can finally come out of hiding. That monster will never be able to hurt you again.’
‘Oh, Jaco, thank you so, so much. What you have done is just incredible. Bringing that family to justice when everyone said it couldn’t be done. You are officially the most wonderful man on the planet. Has anyone ever told you that?’
‘Not recently, no.’
‘Jaco?’
‘Forget it, Fran, it’s nothing.’
‘No, it’s not. Come on, Jaco—out with it.’
Jaco stared at the deliriously happy face of his sister, then at the image of himself in the small box at the bottom of the screen. He couldn’t match that expression, nor anything like it.
He filled his lungs with air. ‘Well, I’ve got another bit of news for you.’
‘Go on.’
‘How do you feel about being an auntie?’
‘An auntie?’ Francesca leant forward, her eyes as wide as saucers. ‘Oh, my God, Jaco. You mean you are going to have a child?’
‘Actually, I already have one. A son. He’s three months old.’
‘No!’ Francesca gasped. ‘But how? Why? I mean, I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone.’
‘I’m not.’ Jaco sat back in his chair, feigning an insouciance that wouldn’t fool anyone—least of all Francesca, who knew him better than most. ‘At least not any more. The child is the result of a relationship I had over a year ago.’
‘I see...’ Francesca fixed him with her most critical stare. ‘And where are they now, your son and his mother?’
‘Well, they are here, actually.’
‘Here? Where’s “here”?’
‘On board The Alessia. That’s where I am. We’re moored off the coast of Palermo.’
‘So let me get this straight, Jaco Valentino.’ Francesca cut straight to the chase. ‘You and this woman...?’ She pointedly waited for Jaco to fill in the gaps.
‘Leah.’
‘You and Leah and your baby son...?’ She waited again.
‘Gabriel.’
‘You three are all cosied up together on your yacht, but you’re telling me that you are not in a relationship with this Leah?’
‘No, there is no relationship. And I never said we were cosied up—quite the reverse.’
‘Meaning?’
‘Meaning that she doesn’t want anything to do with me.’
‘So why is she there with you now?’
‘Because...’ Jaco sighed. ‘It’s a bit of a long story, but basically I needed to keep them both safe.’
‘I see.’ Francesca frowned deeply. ‘And now?’
‘Now that the Garalinos are locked up they are free to go.’
‘And is that what you want?’
‘It’s not about what I want, Francesca.’ Irritation scored his voice. ‘I have promised Leah her freedom and now I must honour that.’
‘You mean you are going to let them go? Give up without a fight? That doesn’t sound like you, Jaco.’
‘Maybe I’m tired of fighting. It’s pretty much all we’ve done so far.’
‘Clearly not all you’ve done.’ She gave him a knowing look.
‘Well, no.’
‘This Leah sounds like someone who stands up for herself.’
‘She is the single most infuriating woman I have ever met in my life.’
‘Oh, my God!’
‘What?’
‘I never thought I’d see the day.’
‘What?’
‘You are in love, Jaco Valentino.’ Francesca clasped her hands together in excitement.
‘Nonsense.’
‘Yes, you are—it’s written all over your tortured face. You have to go and tell her now—right away.’
‘It’s the middle of the night here, Francesca.’
‘So what? Off you go.’ Making shooing gestures with her hands, Francesca leant forward to end the call. ‘Good luck. And I want to hear all about it tomorrow.’
She blew him a kiss and the screen went black.
Jaco stared at his darkened reflection. In love? Was it possible that Francesca was right? Would that explain why the thought of Leah leaving tomorrow felt like a blade to his heart? Why he knew it wasn’t just his son he would miss so desperately, but Leah too? Would that explain the hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach and why, when he thought he had just achieved the most important goal of his life, he could take no pleasure in it?
Because finally ridding himself of the Garalino family—the leaden weight that he had dragged around with him for so long—meant that he had to say goodbye to Leah too.
Jumping to his feet, he paced around the office. The night-black windows on either side seemed to be closing in on him, making it difficult to breathe.
Leah was here, on this yacht, close by, probably curled up asleep in bed, her auburn curls spread across the pillow, her soft breath fanning the air. The image was so powerful, so visceral, that Jaco felt it rather than saw it, as if the thought of her had weakened his whole body.
He had to do something right now. Yes, it was the middle of the night, but the way he was feeling had turned time on its head—turned him on his head. This might be his last chance. He was going to do it. He was going tell her how he felt.
As he silently hurried along the endless carpeted corridors he tried to steady the thump of his heart. He needed to control himself. Storming in there, startling Leah and waking up Gabriel, was not the sensible way to proceed, no matter how much he wanted to do just that—to sweep her up into his arms, silence her protests with a kiss and show her what she meant to him in the way he knew best.
Now was the time for words, not actions. Long overdue words that he had kept locked in his heart for far too long. Words that he could only ever say to this one woman. To Leah.
Arriving outside her suite, he was surprised to find that Cesare was no longer there, standing guard. Alarm immediately flooded through him. Flinging open the door, he marched into the lounge, his eyes darting around as he looked for clues, his breath rasping in the silence. The bedroom door was closed but he stormed in, no longer caring about startling them, not caring about anything other than finding Leah and Gabriel safe.
With a sickening sense of foreboding he flicked on the lights. The bed was empty. The room was empty. Leah and Gabriel had gone.
* * *
Leah stood on the upper deck, hugging Gabriel to her chest to try and keep him warm. A breeze was coming off the sea, ruffling the curls on the top of his head. But he was still sound asleep and perfectly safe.
Leah, however, felt far from safe. Her initial fury that Jaco had incarcerated them on this boat had swiftly turned to fear, the longer she was here—and the more she saw.
Refusing to stay imprisoned in her suite, she had announced to her bodyguard that she was going up onto the deck to get some air. If she had thought he would let her go alone, she had been very much mistaken. Nodding his assent, Cesare had simply followed behind them, so close that his massive body felt like an impenetrable wall. She was never going to get away from this man.
Leah glared at him now, positioned a few feet away, his arms firmly folded across his chest, his cold eyes following her every move.
She turned to look at the sea. The moonlight was moving across the water, its eerie illumination only making her feel more isolated, more desperate. There was no escape from this floating prison.
The idea that she might have been able to sweet-talk Cesare into letting them go—maybe even taking them to the shore in a launch boat—had died before the words could even be formed. One look at his impassive mask had made it quite clear she would get nowhere with him. He was Jaco’s man.
Which meant she had no alternative but to wait it out and see if Jaco would be true to his word and let them go the next day. Set them free. That was what he had said.
As if that would ever be possible.
Leah knew without a shadow of doubt that she would never be free from the torment of Jaco Valentino. His hold over her went far too deep—was far too ingrained for her ever to be free of him. He was a stain that could never be removed from her heart.
She started to pace the deck, walking round the circular swimming pool, its underwater lights the only illumination apart from the moon in the sky. From the railings, Cesare watched her every move, ready to pounce if she looked as if she was going to make a dash for it or try to fling herself over the side.
Mind whirring, Leah’s fractured thoughts went back to what she had witnessed about an hour ago.
A fast-moving vessel, heading straight for the yacht had caught her eye. The engine had been cut some distance away, so that it had silently glided towards the back of the yacht. Jaco—it had had to be. Something that had been reluctantly confirmed by Cesare’s grunt when she had put it to him.
Where the hell had he been at that time of night? The thought of him boarding the yacht under cover of darkness had only reinforced everything Leah had suspected about him. No doubt he had been meeting his ‘business associates’—this was probably the kind of hour he liked to do his deals. No doubt he had been involved in something bad.
Suddenly Leah felt overwhelmingly tired, feeling the weight of everything pressing down on her, weakening her bones. She moved over to the row of padded sun loungers alongside the swimming pool and, adjusting one to the most comfortable position, settled herself and Gabriel down to wait until sunrise.
She didn’t want to miss it. She didn’t intend to be here a moment longer than she had to. As soon as day broke she was going to find Jaco and demand that he honour his agreement and let them go.
* * *
Grazie Dio. Coming up onto the front deck, Jaco spotted them immediately—Leah and Gabriel, the two most precious wonders in his life. The blood pumped though his veins in a hot surge of relief.
Lying on a sun lounger, watched over by Cesare, they both seemed to be fast asleep, Gabriel pressed against his mother’s chest in a sling. Why Leah had chosen to come out here rather than stay in the luxurious comfort of her room he had no idea. But they were safe. That was all that mattered.
Signalling to Cesare, who retreated into the shadows, Jaco moved towards them, stopping a few paces away. He stared down, drinking them in, finally giving himself permission to set his emotions free.
But still the power of his feelings took him by surprise. Nothing could have prepared him for the sheer rush, the swell, the deluge that hit him once the gates were opened. There was simply no containing the flood of love he felt for them both.
His feelings for his son had hit him hard and fast—like a blow to the chest. Ever since that day on the island when he had picked Gabriel out of his crib, first held him in his arms, he had recognised that this was a very special bond, that his love for his son would know no bounds. He knew it would be with him for ever, no matter what the future might hold for either of them.
But his love for Leah... That was different altogether. So much more complex, so maddeningly unfathomable, it had taken longer to show itself, to come to the surface, simply because it had been buried so deep. But it was that same depth that now made it so unshakable, so undeniably real, rooted as it was in the bedrock of his soul. The question was, could Leah ever feel the same way about him?
Squatting down beside them, he laid a hand on Leah’s arm.
Her eyes flew open. ‘Get away from me!’ On her feet in a second, she backed away from him, her arms wrapped protectively around Gabriel, who had started to stir. ‘I don’t want you anywhere near me.’
‘Per l’amor di Dio.’
Jaco tried to close the gap between them, but when Leah took several more steps backwards he halted.
‘Leah, stop this. You are overreacting.’ He fought to make himself sound reasonable, when all he wanted to do was take away her insulting behaviour with a blazing kiss.
‘Overreacting, am I?’ she demanded in the dark. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘Yes, you are. There is absolutely no need for you to behave like this.’
‘No? So I have no reason to mistrust you?’ Leah arched her back, the wind picking up her hair and lifting it around her head.
‘None whatsoever.’
‘Then perhaps you would like to tell me where you have been tonight. What have you been up to?’ Her eyes flashed in the dark.
Jaco stilled.
‘Yes, that’s right, I saw you.’ Triumphant now, Leah pursed her lips. ‘I saw you sneaking back in the middle of the night.’
‘I can assure you, I was not sneaking.’ A tide of frustration surged through him, and before he knew it his feet had taken him towards her, his protective hands placed solidly on her shoulders.
‘Get off me!’
‘No, I won’t.’ He wrapped his arms around her, trying his best not to squash Gabriel. ‘We are going to go inside now, and then I will tell you exactly what I’ve been doing.’
‘So that you can imprison me again, you mean?’ She raised her hands to try and push him away.
‘Not this time. All I ask is that you hear my explanation. Then you will be free to go. You have my word.’
He felt her hesitate against his body.
‘And why should I believe you?’
‘Because it’s the truth, Leah.’ He loosened his hold a fraction. ‘And because once you hear what I have to say everything will become clear.’
‘So, tell me now.’ Determination glowed in her eyes as she threw back her head to look at him. ‘You can say whatever it is you have to say out here. Right now.’
Jaco hesitated. ‘Very well.’ He pulled in a breath, dropping his arms but taking hold of her hands until Leah gave them an aggressive shake to get them free. ‘But it is getting cold. Gabriel should go back inside.’
He signalled to Cesare, who silently stepped forward.
‘Cesare, would you take my son back down to Ms McDonald’s suite and wait for us there?’
Displaying only the merest flicker of surprise, Cesare held out his arms obediently.
‘No.’ Leah stood firm. ‘I’m not giving Gabriel to him.’ She reached down to take hold of one of Gabriel’s legs that was dangling outside the sling, cupping his foot for comfort, squeezing it in her hand.
‘Yes, you are. Cesare is the father of six. He is more than capable of watching over Gabriel while I talk to you.’
Leah hesitated, feeling the chill of the night breeze blowing over her face. Regarding Cesare with deep suspicion, she nevertheless released the sling from behind her back and reluctantly handed Gabriel over.
‘But this is just for five minutes. And if you so much as harm a hair on his head...’
‘There is no fear of that, Leah.’ Jaco stated sternly. ‘Protecting my son is what this has been all about.’
With Gabriel nestled in the crook of his arm, Cesare turned to take him below deck.
Tucking her windswept hair behind her ears, Leah positioned herself in front of Jaco, fire in her eyes.
‘So come on, then—I’m waiting. What is this explanation that’s going to change everything?’
Jaco took a step closer, holding her shining defiant gaze, physically having to stop himself from gathering her in his arms.
‘Va bene. The reason I have had to keep you and Gabriel hidden away is because I have been involved in an extremely dangerous and complex mission.’
‘A mission?’ Leah scoffed. ‘Is that what you call it?’
Jaco ground down hard on his jaw. ‘But, as of tonight, I am pleased to say it is all over. The mission has been successfully completed.’
Leah’s silence simmered between them. ‘And I see you have the injuries to prove it.’
Jaco followed her disgusted gaze to the knuckles of his hand, the swelling clearly visible in the light of the moon. He tucked his hand into his underarm.
‘The important thing is that the plan worked and the family have been caught red-handed...’
‘The family? What family?’
‘The Garalino family.’
‘Your family?’
‘They are not my family.’ Jaco swallowed an embittered breath. ‘Luigi Garalino is a sadistic, evil bastard.’ He paused for a moment to steady himself. ‘But now, finally, I have managed to remove him from my life for ever.’
‘What...? You mean...?’
‘Dio, Leah!’
Jaco caught the look of horror on her face and it struck him like a boot to the chest. What sort of person did she think he was? What the hell did she think he was capable of doing?
He raked a hand through his hair, forcing himself to calm down, to get back on track. ‘What I mean is...’ he spoke slowly and clearly ‘...that Garalino and his sons and all their accomplices have been arrested by the police. And they will be put away for a very long time.’
‘Oh...’ Her mouth fell open in a deliciously soft pout. ‘I had no idea.’
‘No, nobody did. Secrecy was of the utmost importance.’
‘I see.’
Leah turned her head away, her profile lit by the moon; her nose and upper lip, her chin, the sweep of her neck, highlighted as if by the tip of a silver pen. She was so beautiful. Suddenly all the irritation and frustration, the sheer, crazy exasperation of everything that was Leah McDonald fell away, until Jaco was left with nothing but the pure, distilled truth.
He loved her. It was as simple as that.
But it was not a truth he had shared with her.
‘So that means Gabriel and I are now free to go?’
Somewhere in the fug of his addled brain he realised that Leah was still talking, speaking her words into the void of the night, as if she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She was talking about leaving. He had to explain—quickly. He had to make her see what was in his heart.
‘No!’ Alarm clawed at him, and without thinking he made a grab for her hand again.
‘I knew it!’ Leah snatched it back, facing him full-on again. ‘I knew you didn’t mean it. I knew I couldn’t trust anything you say.’
‘Leah, listen to me!’
‘What? So you can try and talk me round? Not a chance.’ She turned roughly away from him.
‘At least let me explain.’ He reached for her arm to try and turn her back, but she sidestepped him. ‘I’m not saying you can’t leave...’ He dragged some air into his lungs. ‘I’m saying I don’t want you to leave.’
Leah swung back in surprise. ‘Why? Why would you possibly want me to stay?’
‘Because...’
‘It doesn’t matter.’ Like a gathering storm, Leah swept on. ‘One way or another, Gabriel and I are getting off this boat as soon as we possibly can—and that’s all there is to it.’
‘No!’ He reached out to her again. Leah batted at his hands until he caught them, holding them against his chest. ‘Not until you have heard what I have to say.’
‘Nothing you could say to me would make any difference.’ She shoved against him, pushing him away, losing her balance so that she stumbled backwards towards the edge of the pool.
‘Dio, Leah—be careful.’
Instinctively Jaco caught her in his arms to steady her, his heart thumping.
He exhaled slowly to try and calm things down. ‘You might not want to hear it, but I’m going to say it anyway. The fact is...’
He kept his hands weighted on her shoulders to hold her steady, feeling her muscles and bones shift beneath his hold, sensing the fragility of her, how very precious she was. All that passion and heat and fire in such a delicate, slender frame. It was now or never.
‘The fact is... I love you, Leah McDonald.’
There was a shocked silence. For a second Leah went completely still, but then with a burst of energy she came to life again, holding her arms out in front of her so that they slammed into his chest, twisting out of his grasp so that she could see his face.
‘What did you just say?’
‘I love you.’ He repeated the words softly into the dark.
‘No!’ She gazed at up him. ‘You can’t. That can’t be true.’
‘Oh, but it is, Leah.’
A wary silence fell between them.
Taking a step forward, Jaco meant to close the gap between them, but with a slight shake of her head Leah backed away. His arms shot forward to try and grab her, but he was too late. There was a small gasp, followed by a resounding splash.
Leah had tumbled backwards into the pool.