One year later
‘NO!’ JACO STARED at his friend in disbelief.
‘It’s true, Jaco.’ Vieri’s voice was deadly calm. ‘I wouldn’t be telling you this if it was just gossip. In fact, I’m not supposed to be telling you at all. But I thought you had a right to know. You have a child—a son.’
‘No!’ Jaco repeated, banging his fist down on the bar top, his eyes wild.
Vieri picked up his drink, silently regarding Jaco over the rim, waiting for the shock of the revelation to sink in.
‘And what makes you think it’s mine?’ Dragging in a desperate breath, Jaco rounded on Vieri.
‘Leah has told Harper that the boy is yours. I see no reason why she would lie. Especially as, far from hounding you for maintenance, it seems she doesn’t want anything to do with you.’
‘So how old is he, this child?’ Covering his face with his hands, Jaco pulled them away again to reveal his horror.
‘Three months, apparently.’
‘Three months?’ He gave a low growl.
‘Yes. Does that seem...?’ Vieri hesitated, choosing his words carefully. ‘About right?’
‘About right?’ Jaco threw the words back at him, fury tainting his voice. ‘Trust me, Vieri, nothing about this seems right.’ He jerked himself to his feet, sending the bar stool rocking.
‘Calm down, Jaco.’ Vieri placed a steadying hand on his shoulders. ‘I know this has been a shock, but it doesn’t have to be so bad.’
‘Doesn’t it?’ Jaco glared at him, eyes wild. ‘And you’d know, would you?’
‘I have a son, and I know he’s the best thing that ever happened to me. That and Harper, of course.’
‘Well, good for you and your happy little family.’
‘Jaco!’
‘Trust me, Vieri, you have no idea how bad this could be.’
Nobody did. Nobody knew anything—not even Vieri, his oldest friend. It was far too dangerous. Now this discovery could blow the whole thing sky-high.
Vieri shrugged. ‘Okay, have it your own way. But don’t shoot the messenger.’
‘I’m sorry.’ Begrudgingly, Jaco nodded an apology. ‘So where are they? Leah and this son of mine?’
‘That I don’t know.’
‘Don’t give me that.’ Jaco’s anger quickly resurfaced. ‘You are lying.’
Getting to his feet, Vieri squared up to his friend. ‘I don’t appreciate being called a liar.’ His voice was deceptively soft. ‘Especially when I’m trying to help you.’
‘Help me?’
‘Yes. I didn’t have to tell you any of this. I’ve had to go behind Harper’s back, and that’s not something I’m proud of. But, like I say, I thought you had the right to know.’
‘So Harper—she knows where Leah is?’
‘No, she doesn’t.’ Vieri glared at him. ‘So don’t even think about pestering her for information. She only found out about the baby herself very recently. Leah has kept the whole thing hushed up.’
The two tall, handsome Sicilian men squared up to each other again, hostility simmering between them, until eventually Vieri put his hand on Jaco’s shoulder again.
‘Look, why don’t you sit down and have another drink—take a few minutes to calm down?’ He signalled to the barman to refill their glasses. ‘I take it from your reaction that you had no idea?’
Jaco gave him a haunted stare, but accepted the glass Vieri held out to him, seating himself back down on the bar stool.
‘So when did you last see Leah?’
‘Ages ago.’ Jaco raked a desperate hand through his hair. ‘Last August, maybe? Yes, it was just before the grape harvest. It was then that she told me she was quitting her job.’
‘She didn’t say why?’
‘No. She disappeared for hours on the first evening I was back at Capezzana, and when I finally tracked her down she went all weird on me. It was getting late so I thought I’d leave her to it, try and get some sense out of her in the morning, but by then she had packed up and left—disappeared without a trace.’
‘And you didn’t try and find her?’
‘No, Vieri, I didn’t try and find her.’ He glared angrily at his friend. ‘She made it quite clear that we were done. The job...us...’
‘Hmm...’ Vieri stared into his glass. ‘So there was an us?’
‘Well, yes. We’d been seeing each other for a few months—nothing serious.’
‘Well, it has clearly had serious consequences.’
Jaco pinched the bridge of his nose, then dragged in a breath. ‘I’ve got to find her, Vieri. I mean, right away. If Harper does know where she is...even if it’s just a guess...’
‘Don’t push it, Jac.’ Vieri’s eyes held more than a hint of warning. I’ve told you—she has no idea where Leah is.’
‘Then I’ll just have to find her for myself.’ Pushing himself off the bar stool again, Jaco started for the exit. But at the door he stopped and retraced his steps, pulling Vieri into a rough hug. ‘Thanks, Vieri. I can see this has put you in a difficult position. I appreciate it.’
Vieri gave him a slap on the back. ‘That’s okay. I just wish I hadn’t been the bearer of such unwelcome news. I hope you manage to sort things out.’
‘So do I.’ Jaco jammed his hands into his pockets. ‘So do I...’
* * *
Leah awoke with a start. There was a faint sort of scratching noise coming from the front door. Heart racing, she slipped out of bed and glanced into the crib, where Gabriel was sleeping peacefully, before moving silently into the living area of the tiny apartment she had called home for the past few months.
The noise was coming from the other side of the front door and now, as she strained to listen, she could just make out whispered male voices. Oh, God! Someone was trying to break in.
She turned, stumbling back towards the bedroom, where her phone was on the bedside table. But it was too late—she didn’t have time to get there. With the force of a tornado suddenly they were in, beside her, their terrifying presence filling the small room.
Her scream was instantly muffled by a large hand clamped over her mouth, pulling her back against a body built like a brick wall. She fought wildly, kicking out behind her, desperately flailing her arms to try and attack him until he easily pinned them to her body with an arm of steel around her chest.
Panic surged through her, and the powerful instinct to protect her baby son overwhelmed every other thought. Somehow she would get rid of these thugs. Somehow she would talk her way out of this.
It seemed there were two of them—one holding her prisoner, the other shutting the door behind them, then moving over to the window and pulling back the curtains a couple of inches to look out onto the street. Only then did he switch on the overhead light and come to stand before her.
Jaco! Leah stared at him in utter astonishment.
A relief of sorts washed over her, but it was short-lived. One look at his harshly drawn face, the cold determination in his eyes, and her worst fears came crowding in. He must have found out about Gabriel. He had come to claim his son.
‘Yes, it’s her.’ Jaco nodded, speaking in Italian to the brute who still had his hand clamped across her mouth. ‘The boy must be in there.’ He looked over his shoulder.
Leah squirmed wildly, making the vice-like grip around her tighten still further.
‘Don’t fight it, Leah.’
He swung his gaze back to her, finally making eye contact. Leah gasped beneath the restraining hand. The familiarity of those eyes, now emanating such chilling intensity, was almost enough to stop her pounding heart.
‘You and the baby are leaving with us. Right away.’
Leah roused herself, widening her eyes, shooting him as much poisonous venom as she could possibly muster. No way was he taking them anywhere.
‘I will instruct Cesare to remove his hand, but only once I know you are going to be sensible.’ He waited, his gaze fixed on her face, coldly assessing her. ‘Can I trust you?’
Leah nodded frantically, and after a second’s pause Jaco gestured to his minder.
Leah screamed. As loudly as her panicked lungs would let her. It was an ear-piercing shriek that echoed off the walls and saw a hand clamped firmly over her mouth again. Only this time it wasn’t the minder’s—this time it was Jaco’s.
‘Big mistake, Leah.’
His face was only inches from her own, and his powerful frame was pressed up against her so that she could feel the heat emanating from him, sense the barely leashed rage that held him so taut, shone in his eyes.
‘If you want to do this the hard way, we will. But for all our sakes I suggest that you do as you’re told. It will be far simpler in the long run.’
Leah glared back at him, blinking against the hot, seductive whisper of his breath fanning across her face, using her eyes to impart as much anger and determination and bravery as was possible when she was sandwiched between two muscled men.
She stared into Jaco’s deep brown eyes—eyes that had mesmerised her from their very first meeting. The memory of them had haunted her for weeks after she had fled Sicily. But now those eyes stirred something else in her—something gut-wrenchingly deep and primal. For it was like looking into the eyes of her son—the exact same shape, the same colour.
Gabriel was a miniature version of his father. And it was that that made her lungs, already struggling to keep her alive, threaten to give up altogether.
‘I am going to give you one more chance.’ He delivered his ultimatum softly. ‘When I remove my hand you are going to remain silent while I tell you what is going to happen. Is that understood?’
Leah nodded. What choice did she have?
Very slowly, Jaco peeled his hand away from her mouth.
‘There—that’s better.’
He still stood within a couple of inches of her, watching her intently, his eyes fixed on her mouth as if willing it to stay closed. Leah felt the burn of his gaze on her lips, felt them swell as the blood returned to them, twitch with something other than fear.
‘You can let go of her, Cesare. Go and stand by the door.’
With a grunt of obedience her captor released her and moved away.
Leah let out a gasping breath. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
The words came out in a torrent of fury, but Leah kept her voice low, mindful of Jaco’s warning, and even more mindful of the fact that he was standing between her and the bedroom where Gabriel was still sleeping. With her mind racing in all directions she desperately tried to figure out a way of distracting Jaco so that she could go to Gabriel, scoop him up and run away with him—and keep on running until she woke up from this nightmare.
But this was no bad dream. This was horribly real. As the heavy breathing of the man mountain who was guarding the front door behind her reminded her. Not to mention the arrogant specimen of manhood who had planted himself before her.
‘I’ve told you—you and the baby are leaving. Go and pack a bag.’
Leah shook her head in disbelief, furrowing her brow as she stared at him. ‘Jaco, this is ridiculous. Have you taken leave of your senses?’
Jaco gave a low growl. ‘I can assure you my senses are perfectly intact. Now, do as you’re told.’
‘But—’
‘Five minutes, Leah. You have five minutes to gather your belongings.’
‘And if I refuse?’
‘Then you will be leaving with nothing. Because you and the baby are coming with me, either way.’
‘So you are kidnapping us? Is that it?’ Her voice shrieked with rising hysteria.
‘I prefer to call it removing you to a place of safety.’
‘Safety?’ Astonishment stiffened her spine. ‘We were perfectly safe here, until you crashed in.’
‘No, you weren’t, Leah.’
‘What do you mean? Of course we were.’
‘I am not prepared to discuss this now. You are under my protection and you will do as I say. Go and pack.’
Putting his hands on her shoulders, he turned her in the direction of the bedroom, the touch of his fingers burning against her bare flesh.
‘And hurry up about it.’
Leah stood in the dark room, listening to the sound of her baby’s soft breathing and the thud of her own heart. This was complete madness. Her eyes quickly darted around, but there was no escape from here. The apartment was on the fourth floor of a high-rise tower block, and the only window offered nothing more than a view of the sleeping London skyline.
Working on autopilot, she pulled a suitcase from the wardrobe and started to stuff in some of her clothes. Then opening a drawer, she took out Gabriel’s baby clothes, plucking more little vests and sleepsuits off the drying rack beside her and shoving them in the case too.
In truth, she had very few belongings. Since coming to London nine months ago she had moved more times than she could remember, going from one dank and dingy room in a grotty shared house to another, finding jobs wherever she could to try and make ends meet, before finally swallowing her pride and signing on for state benefits.
When the council had found her this flat—literally days before Gabriel had been born—she had wept with relief. It wasn’t much, but it was a home, and that meant everything to her.
‘Are you done?’
She turned to see Jaco silhouetted in the doorway, all dark, menacing authority.
‘Jaco, why are you doing this to us?’ She walked towards him, keeping her voice calm, firm. If there was one last chance to stop this madness she was going to seize it. ‘If you will tell me what’s going on I’m sure we could work something out between us.’
‘Could we, now?’ Sarcasm scored his voice.
‘Yes—why not?’
‘Because I have no interest in working things out with a woman who has been so deliberately deceitful...’ his gaze fell on the sleeping baby in the crib ‘...that she has kept from me the fact that I am a father.’
‘Jaco... I...’
‘Save it, Leah.’ He raised his hand. ‘You will have plenty of time to explain yourself later. First we are getting out of here.’
‘But where are we going?’ She was pleading now.
‘You’ll find out soon enough. Give me your passports.’
‘Passports?’ A fresh wave of panic washed over her.
‘That’s what I said.’ Jaco fixed her with a punishing stare.
‘No—you’re not having them.’
‘Hand them over, Leah.’
‘No.’ She squared up to him. ‘You can’t make me.’
‘Keep me waiting any longer and you will find that I can.’
Leah glared at him in desperation. Whatever had happened to the charming man she’d once thought she knew?
‘Jaco...’ She tried again. ‘Why are you behaving like this?’
‘Passports.’ He held out his hand impatiently. ‘Now.’
With no alternative but to do as she was told, Leah ducked past him and, going into the tiny kitchen, opened a drawer and took out two passports, holding them against her chest. Too late she realised she could have lied—told Jaco that Gabriel didn’t have a passport. The only reason he had one was because she had wanted to be prepared for any eventuality—including fleeing the country to get away from Jaco if necessary.
Over the past twelve months Leah had spent far too much time thinking about Jaco Valentino—he had crowded her head, pervaded her thoughts day and night as if there was no escape from him. Finding out he was a cheating, two-timing bastard had broken her heart, and if that wasn’t enough a darker worm of doubt had begun to eat away at her. About his background, his business dealings, the sort of people he associated with.
She had found herself remembering things that had barely registered at the time. The skilful way he had avoided talking about his past, for example, and the set of his jaw—just a little too firm—when she had threatened to pry too much. His obsession with work—constantly checking his phone, working late into the night...
On more than one occasion she had come across him at two or three in the morning, having stealthily removed himself from her bed, his fingers flying across the keyboard of his laptop, a look of grim determination on his face. With the laptop hurriedly closed at her approach, she had politely but firmly been ordered back to bed, any attempt to ask him what he was working on dismissed with a kiss on the lips before she had been shepherded away.
In retrospect, his need for privacy had been excessive, and now Leah had another word for it—secrecy. Jaco was a man with secrets. She didn’t know what they were. But something told her they were bad.
Which was why she had made the decision to flee to the anonymity of London, to keep her pregnancy a secret, to tell no one about Gabriel. The more she’d examined Jaco, the more convinced she had become that she had to protect Gabriel from him at all costs. As long as he didn’t know of his son’s existence, Jaco could do him no harm.
Doing it alone had been so hard, but keeping the secret from her twin sister had been the hardest thing of all. Harper was used to Leah packing up and leaving on a whim—usually chasing a dream that never materialised. So she hadn’t been that surprised to hear her sister was on her travels again.
Keeping it deliberately vague, Leah had rung her every now and then, assuring her that she was fine, that she was having the time of her life, in fact, and then ending the call and sobbing her eyes out.
Somehow she had managed to keep the pretence going through all those long, lonely months. But deep down she had always known she would crack in the end—and crack she had. Just recently, after yet another mind-numbingly sleepless night with the baby, she had reached for her phone, scrolled to her sister’s number and, taking a shuddering breath, called and confessed to her about Gabriel.
Fending off the barrage of concerned questions, Leah had kept the details to a minimum, saying that he was Jaco’s child, but that she wanted nothing whatsoever to do with him. That under no circumstances was Harper to say anything. She had sworn her sister to secrecy.
And look where that had got her.
Leah’s eyes travelled from the passports in her hand to the implacable face of the man who was waiting for them. With a shaking hand she passed them over to him.
‘There. Happy now?’ She tried for defiance as she watched Jaco flick through the pages, his grim features hardening still further as he found the grainy photo of his baby son.
‘Gabriel McDonald.’ He spat out the name in disgust, barely leashed anger holding him taut. He looked up, thunder clouding his face. ‘This is my son, my flesh and blood—’ he jabbed at the photo with his finger ‘—and yet not only did you not see fit even to tell me of his existence, but he bears your name.’
‘Yes, he does.’ Leah flinched beneath his furious scrutiny, but she refused to show her fear. ‘And that’s because I don’t want you to have anything to do with him.’
Jaco gave a hollow laugh. ‘That much I had worked out for myself.’ He speared her with his eyes. ‘But let me assure you, Leah, your solo rights over this child are very much at an end. The child’s name will be changed—this passport will be changed.’ He held it aloft. ‘My son is a Valentino and that is the name he will bear.’
Leah felt a wave of panic surge inside her. This was exactly what she had been dreading—Jaco storming in, taking over. As a proud Sicilian man, family meant everything to him—she knew that.
From the few scraps of information he’d thrown her she had managed to piece together the fact that his parents had died when he was five, that he’d lived in a children’s home for several years, along with Vieri, and then been adopted at the age of eleven. She knew he was estranged from his adopted family, but any attempt to find out why had been met with a chilling refusal to say any more, Jaco’s urbane mask slipping, ever so slightly, to reveal a darker, more shadowy side.
But his heart was firmly embedded in the small Mediterranean island that he called home—that much was obvious. She had seen it in his eyes when they had been at Capezzana, heard it in his voice. And Leah had no doubt that with such lineage came the primitive sense of possession, the unilateral decision that his child would live in his country and obey his rules. To him blood ties were the strongest tie of all—binding. Impossible to break.
‘Jaco...’ In desperation she cast about, looking for some reason. ‘Can’t we at least talk about this?’
‘No.’ He closed the space between them. ‘The time for talking has passed. I have no intention of standing here listening to your pathetic excuses. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. From now on we are going to do things my way.’
He towered over her, backing her up against the kitchen cabinets, the passports still held aloft in one hand as his eyes raked over her body.
Leah swallowed. Everything about the taut strength in his powerful body, the glint of steel in his eye, the granite set of his jaw, told her there was to be no reasoning with this man. And yet still his nearness provoked a reaction in her that was wholly inappropriate, tightening her nipples, tensing her core.
And, worse still, Jaco could see it. As his hot eyes darted over her defensive figure, lingering on the swell of her breasts beneath the skimpy vest top, they left a shuddering trail of havoc in their wake and Leah could sense his masculine satisfaction. His realisation that he could still do this to her, that his control over her took many forms.
But maybe she could use it to her own advantage. With a wild surge of adrenaline Leah imagined reaching out to him, linking her arms around his neck and pulling him closer, finding his lips, kissing him, having him kiss her back. Because despite everything she still wanted that kiss. Despite everything she had gone through in the past twelve months, everything she had so sternly told herself, she still wanted Jaco.
For a moment he gazed at her—as if reading her thoughts, as if he knew exactly what was going on in her head. Then with a slight curl of his lip—a gesture so deliberately dismissive that it curdled Leah’s stomach—he looked away.
‘Get some clothes on.’
Leah watched as he stowed the precious passports in the inside pocket of his jacket.
‘We are leaving.’
Fleeing to the bedroom, Leah pulled on a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, picking up her phone and slipping it into her handbag. Then, bending over the crib she gazed down at her baby son, still sleeping soundly through all the drama. Her heart swelled with anxiety and pride.
With his arms flung out on either side of his head, his little fists closed, he looked as if he was ready for a fight, ready to take on the world. But Leah knew that was her job—that she would do absolutely anything to protect him, to keep him safe. Even if right now that meant scooping him up and taking him God knew where, obeying the orders of a man who, she now realised with dread in her heart, was far darker and far more than dangerous than she could ever have imagined.
Reaching for the baby sling, she slid it over her head, holding Gabriel against her shoulder as she lowered him into it, tucking him in so carefully that he barely even stirred.
‘You are ready?’
Jaco had silently come to stand beside them—the closest he had ever been to his son. Leah held her breath, waiting to see how he would react, expecting him at least to want to take a peek at the small, dark head pressed snugly against her chest. But instead he turned away, checking his watch and then picking up her case before leading them out of the room.
As Leah closed the door to her apartment behind her she realised she had no idea what was happening or where she was going. No idea when she would ever be back here again.