CHAPTER 31
Kate focused on her breathing, trying to settle her fluttering stomach as she got ready for dinner. She’d asked Antonio if they could dine at the hotel’s restaurant instead of going out. She and Dom were counting on Antonio and the guards to be lax, since they were staying in the hotel. They had no reason to suspect Kate was going to run off, and she didn’t want to give them one by acting at all out of the ordinary.
She made sure all her cash and her passport were tucked in the money belt she wore under her slacks. She wouldn’t be using that passport for a while, but she’d need it someday, when she could go back to her normal life. Though she had no idea when that might be. Surely Carlo would give up eventually? If she hid for a year or two, that might be enough. Dom had promised her a loan, but money would eventually be a problem. Hopefully he’d be able to get her good enough documents that she could work.
Her parents would help. But if she could avoid involving them, she would. Her throat tightened; she couldn’t see them, she couldn’t even see her cousin Terri. She had to hold onto the thought that someday she would see them all again. And she’d figure out how to stay safely in touch from a distance.
She heard a tap on her door. “Come in.” She’d chosen a loose, gauzy top in black with matching black pants and low-heeled shoes in case she needed to run.
Antonio was in a suit as usual. The dark blue of the fine cloth brought out his eyes. When he came into the room, he looked her up and down, a slight smile on his lips. “Ready, signora?”
She picked up her purse and crossed the room, leaning into the mirror to check her makeup. Perfect. She smiled at him. “That color suits you.”
A flush poured into his cheeks. “Grazie, signora.”
She took his arm as he escorted her out of the room. The guards fell into step behind them. “You know,” she said to him for probably the hundredth time, “you can call me Kate.”
He shook his head. “No, I cannot.”
“Why not?”
He glanced at her, his expression stern. “Do not tease me.”
Kate bit her lip and looked away. Then she squeezed his arm. “I wasn’t.”
“Perhaps not. But you forget, and you should not.”
She looked at the richly patterned carpet beneath their feet. “I apologize.”
He made a little sound of amusement, and she looked up to see him holding back a smile. Realizing she’d been had, she nudged him with her shoulder and shook her head. “You’re incorrigible, Antonio.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I do not know this word.”
“It means you’re bad beyond reform.”
He grinned. “That sounds like me.”
She returned the grin, then looked away when she felt her smile start to falter. She was going to miss Antonio, and she hated deceiving him. But it was the only way. She tried to focus on her surroundings as they crossed through the lobby and down the hall past the drawing rooms that served as the central gathering places in the hotel.
The Villa d’Este was a former palace, and that lent it a different air than most hotels. Its design wasn’t the result of some shiny corporate vision; rather it had been built to reflect the grandeur of the person who’d commissioned it. This particular history meant that some things had been retrofitted in later to make the hotel usable for guests. And one of those things, the thing she and Dom were counting on, was that the restrooms for restaurant guests were located below the ground floor, in a basement area that had been used by servants in the days when the hotel was a working palace. It was the perfect place for him to meet her, since there was a service exit just down the hall from the restrooms.
Kate and Antonio were seated at a table in the beautiful dining room, one whole wall nothing but windows so they could look out at the moonlit lake. Kate glanced at her watch. Still plenty of time to eat at least part of her meal, then meet Dom at eight thirty. She glanced around them, her foot tapping under the table.
Antonio touched her hand. “Signora, you seem… not easy.”
Uh-oh. “I’m a little restless. We’ve been here over a week now.”
“Perhaps a walk after dinner?”
She smiled. “I’d like that.” Then she looked down at the menu. She wasn’t going to take that walk. She wasn’t going to see him ever again after this.
They ordered and ate leisurely, Kate struggling to keep up the usual small talk. Then Antonio introduced something of interest. “Ruggero discovered our problem.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Problem?”
“The source of the break-in. And the trouble returning from Capri.”
“Ah.” The traitor. “Who was it?”
“Fiammetta’s father.”
Kate pressed her lips together. She could understand his reasons. Still, the man didn’t care if anyone else got hurt while he got his revenge. “I’m sure Enrico is relieved.”
“I think that is not all of it. None of us are convinced.”
“Who else do you suspect?”
Antonio glanced at the guards, then looked at her. “I think you know.”
She looked him full in the eye. “Yes, I think I do.”
Antonio broke their gaze and looked down at his plate, using his fork to push around a few mouthfuls of risotto. “He is not to be trusted.”
Kate’s stomach dropped. That’s just what I’m doing. But helping me leave gives Dom what he wants. And he doesn’t want anyone to know about the baby.
“Signora, are you all right?” Antonio placed a hand on her wrist and leaned toward her.
“I’m just thinking.”
He studied her. “You seem pale.”
“Don’t worry. My stomach is just fine.” Then why does it feel like I’ve swallowed a school of live anchovies?
“Should I ask for the check?”
Kate shook her head and glanced at her watch. Eight twenty-five. “I’m going to the restroom. Please order me the panna cotta for dessert.”
He rose and pulled out her seat. She walked away from him, Paolo following her. Kate glanced back at Antonio. He’d been so kind to her, so understanding. She had to blink furiously to hold back her tears.
She hurried past the lobby bar and the great rooms, then slowed when she started down the marble staircase that led to the restrooms. Her heels clicked on the marble, echoing in the space. Near the bottom, she stopped and turned back to the guard. “Paolo, I left my purse at the table. Could you get it for me?”
He hesitated. “Signora, I shouldn’t leave you alone.”
“What’s going to happen?”
Paolo hesitated again, then nodded. “Do not move. I will return soon.”
Kate waited until he reached the top of the staircase, then she rushed down the remaining stairs and rounded the corner to the left. The service exit was at the end of the hall. She didn’t pause until she reached for the handle. Was she making a mistake? A sharp rap on the door made her jump and her heart gallop. She took a deep breath. She had to do this. When she opened the door, her hand slipped on the handle, her palm slick with sweat. Dom stood to the right of the door. “We must hurry.” He motioned for her to precede him.
Her hesitation must have showed; he smiled, visibly relaxing. He looked so much like Enrico then that it was comforting. “Come, signora. The guards will soon miss you.”
She glanced back over her shoulder, but the corridor was empty. There was nothing more for her here. She had to go, she had to be free of Enrico. And she had to save her baby. She touched her stomach, then stepped out the door.
Dom guided her to an unattended side lot, his car nearly hidden by a large spreading maple.
They got in and he started the Lamborghini, his movements quick and decisive. Kate looked behind them and saw Paolo burst through the service exit. Could he see her through the tinted windows? She ducked down as Dom pulled out.
Paolo rushed toward them, and she shouted “Go!” at Dom. He pressed down on the gas and the car leapt forward, its tires spewing gravel as they barreled through the open front gate.
They’d driven for some time, Kate checking the side mirror, looking for cars in pursuit. But no one was racing after them. “I’m surprised they aren’t following.”
Dom glanced up at the rear view mirror. “That is because they already know where we are.”
“How?”
“Ruggero planted a GPS tracker on the car.”
“Why?” Though she knew.
“He thinks I am the traitor.”
“Are you?”
He laughed. “Who else would want both of you gone?”
“Why would you want me gone?”
His eyes flicked to her belly. “I will not lose the cosca to your child.”
Kate’s heart seized, and fear ripped through her, her stomach rolling in a way that made her nauseous. “You don’t have to worry about that. Just help me disappear. Enrico will never see his child.”
Dom shook his head. “He will never stop looking for you.”
“I told you. I’ll tell him I lost the baby. He’ll give up on me then.”
“What a fool you are. He has risked everything for you. He started a war over you.” He shook his head. “He will never give you up, regardless of the child.” When Dom spoke again, his voice was thick. “You do not deserve him.”
Kate felt the truth of that with a bitter pang. “Neither do you.”
“True. But I have to save my family’s future. Rico is throwing it all away, over you. I have no choice.”
“Yes, you do.”
Dom let out a huff. “You do not understand. Rico has put the life of every man who works for him at risk. Carlo has already attacked us, and he will certainly do so again. Rico’s refusal to deal in drugs has put us at a disadvantage against Andretti’s deep pockets. The only way for us to survive is to make an alliance with Carlo. But Rico will not marry Delfina, even if you leave; he will not give you up. And so I have to make things right. I have to give Carlo what he wants.”
“Which is?”
“You. And Rico. And a discount on certain services he receives from the family.”
Kate shuddered and hugged herself. She couldn’t let Carlo near her. She should open the car door and jump out. But Dom was driving so fast. What if she hurt the baby? What if she broke a leg? There had to be another way. She needed to remind him about the letters. “I thought you didn’t want anyone to know about the adoption.”
He laughed. “I don’t. But it wasn’t hard to figure out what you’d done. I did a favor once for the concierge at the hotel. It wasn’t hard to intercept that package you were sending to your parents. The letters are ashes now.”
Kate’s stomach went hollow. She and her baby were going to die.
They drove higher into the mountains surrounding the lake. There were few homes, and the road was unlit. As they ascended, the road switched back and forth, making Kate queasy, the forest to their left an unbroken mass of darkness, the drop-off to their right an unending chasm. Finally Dom turned onto a gravel road that disappeared into a thick grove of trees. In the bouncing light from the car’s headlamps, ghostly branches jutted into their path.
A little ways down, he stopped and pulled a gun. He held it on her while he opened his window. “Why are we stopping?” she asked, tensing herself to run.
“I need to get rid of this.” He showed her the tracking device in his hand. “Ruggero is a fool to think I’d fall for my own idea.”
Kate watched the tracker sail out the window and into the night. She grabbed the door handle and Dom shook his head. “Take your hand off that if you want to keep it. Carlo did not say I had to deliver you in one piece.”
She looked into his eyes. He meant what he said. She’d have to hope for another opportunity. A better one.
The gravel road wound through a dense tunnel of trees. When branches scraped the doors on both sides, Dom muttered about Carlo being too cheap to keep the brush cut back.
Rage burned a hole in Kate’s chest. “You’re about to deliver me and my baby up to that horrible man, you’re about to destroy your cousin’s life, and you’re worried about scratches on your car?” Her voice had become shrill. “What kind of monster are you?”
“A practical one. Better to suffer a few deaths than many. Better to save the cosca than have Rico destroy it.” He drove around another bend, and she saw the glimmer of lights. “I want to save my children’s future.” He glanced down at her belly, then up at her face. “I am no different from you.”
“Except I won’t kill anyone to do that!” She yanked on the door handle.
He stopped the car and seized her wrist as the door popped open. “You are not listening. Your existence, your baby’s existence, guarantees that many people will die before this is all over. But if I give you to Carlo, if Rico rushes over here to rescue you, that will be the end of it. Two deaths.” He cocked his head. “Four deaths, actually. Ruggero and Antonio too. They will never trust me. But the rest of the men will.”
Kate struggled against his hold. She tried to throw herself out the door, hoping her entire weight would loosen his hold. Gravel crunched as men approached. She screamed and tried to wrench her arm from his grip. Dom’s fingers dug into her flesh. If she lived long enough, she’d be bruised to the bone. Lying almost flat over the seat, she brought up her legs and lashed out at him. One of her heels struck him hard in the face, and his head snapped back.
Dom lost his grip, and she scrambled out on her hands and knees. When Carlo’s men started running toward her, she headed for the trees. She’d been so stupid, thinking she could manage Dom. And now she was on her own. Enrico would never find her in time. She should have taken her chances with a broken leg.
Her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest, Kate ducked through the trees, running blind in the dark, branches smacking into her, scratching her face and arms, snatching at her hair. She could hear the guards behind her, shouting to each other, though the noise loudest in her ears was her own breathing, a ragged panting as she sucked in oxygen.
A tree root snagged her right foot and she smashed into the ground, air whooshing out of her. Panicked, she gasped for breath, wheezing with the effort, struggling to stand. She’d just gained her feet when one of Carlo’s men seized her around the waist. He lifted her in a bear hug from behind, his voice thunderous in her ear as he shouted for another guard.
Two men, followed by Dom, raced to them. “Don’t let her get away,” Dom shouted. The guard holding her laughed and said something in Italian. From the way the others laughed, he must have been insulting Dom.
The guard, a massive man in every way, scooped her up over his shoulder and carried her hanging down over his back. Kate kicked and screamed and beat at his head and shoulders with her fists, but she might as well have been punching a wall. After a while, the guard jostled her and barked at her to stop. When she didn’t, he swung her down in front of him and pulled back his fist. Kate screamed and put up her hands. Too late. A blow to her temple rendered everything black.