Jane chuckled softly as the heavy stage door closed behind them. “Goodness, Allegra. There’s no shortage of handsome men when you’re around.”

Allegra’s laugh was easier than it had been for the last few days. “I’m glad to provide you with entertainment.”

“That,” the older woman giggled, “and plenty of eye-candy.”

Feeling her cheeks flaming with heat, Allegra’s shoulder shook with a new round of silent chuckles. “Any of them strike your fancy?” Allegra felt Jane step up beside her again and offer her arm. Taking it, they walked down the hallway.

“Any? Oh, sweetheart, I’m taken, but I’ll look my fill. Even if I was single it would be all just a blushing fantasy, but I sure do like to imagine what they look like under those tailored suits.”

Nodding, Allegra knew to expect the turn up ahead and then the short walk to the elevator. “I’ll leave that to you. There’s only one man’s suit that I want to get into.”

And it felt good to think about him.

After being with Jane for the last few days and focusing on her rehearsals and the upcoming concert, she was ready to go home.

Yes, home. Free of the anxieties driven by the secrets and the notes, her worries had melted away under the sway of her music. Somewhere between Bach and Debussy, Adagio and Vivace, she had finally risen above the fear in her heart and she’d found the clarity she’d been seeking.

And that clarity was Valerio. Her mate.

Reaching up her free hand she felt the healed mark under the shoulder of her dress. It wasn’t just a declaration or something as ephemeral as a ring, the mark she wore on her shoulder went all the way to her heart, her very soul.

A moment later, she realized that they’d stopped walking.

“Sorry, I was in my head again.”

“Well, if you’re thinking of your man, then it’s a lovely place to be.” Jane opened the door to her dressing room. “And when you’re actually with him after the show tonight, you be sure to thank him for the brunch he sent over to my apartment. I’ve never had such a lovely meal before.”

“You and me both,” Allegra sighed and leaned forward, reaching for the pianist. Jane returned the hug and continued down the hall to her own dressing room.

Allegra stepped inside and moved to the closet six paces away, sliding open the panel. Hanging inside was the gown that Natale had designed for her, a soft buttery silk patterned with a raised-texture that tickled under her fingertips. Natale had left her a message that they would meet her backstage after the concert, so she would have a chance to thank the designer in person. She would have a chance to thank them all in person.

The air conditioning system clicked on, ramping up as it always did before a show. During rehearsals the theater could get away with a bare minimum of air-conditioning, enough to keep the performers and their instruments cool and at the appropriate temperature, but when they were about to open the doors to ticket holders and patrons they needed to add extra power to the system to maintain the right temperatures with the hundreds of added bodies in the theater.

That meant that it was time to do make-up.

“My favorite time of the day.” The table was a few steps away and she sat down in the chair and slowly moved her hand over the surface of the table. She located her compact and her lipstick, blush, eyeliner and then the edge of an envelope.

The breath rushed out of her lungs as she picked it up from the table, fumbling it once before she managed to hold it between her fingers. Untucking the top flap of the envelope she pulled out the card inside.

Braille.

Allegra blew out a breath and felt a tremor roll through her body, fear spreading like ink in water, curling through her body. Touching her fingers to the raised letters she read the message.

See you tonight after the show

Mia Anima Gemella

Valerio

His soulmate.

He said the words to her before. She’d heard them as a whisper, as a groan, and mumbled again and again like a prayer as he’d held her in his arms.

Oh yes, she was ready to go back to him.

And it was a huge relief that the card was from Valerio. Since she’d gone to stay with Jane there hadn’t been any new messages. She was beginning to think it was all some kind of a weird dream. Lance was in Geneva. She was safe from him. And whoever had tried to make her scared, they’d obviously given up. All she had to do was get ready for the concert and prove that she’d taken her life back and found her way even with all the hurt that Lance had caused her before.

Picking up her base compact she flipped it open and took out the applicator.

Allegra looked up at the sound of a knock on the door. “Come in!”

The door opened and she heard someone take a few tentative steps inside.

“Hello?”

“Oh hey, sorry. It’s Zack. I um… well, you looked up and I thought maybe… anyway, sorry.”

Allegra laughed. “Old habits die hard I guess. I still turn toward sounds like I’m expecting to see who or what is there. Don’t worry about it.” The moment passed easily for her. “Did you need something?”

“Not really. I was just coming to see how you were doing. You’ve been a little, I don’t know, sad?”

Allegra’s laughter faded a little. “A little, but I think I’ve got it all figured out now.”

“Ahhh,” he sighed, “so I guess you’re still with that guy, huh?”

“Yes,” she shook her head, “as long as he hasn’t changed his mind, I’m all his.”

“Yeah, well I doubt he’s changed his mind. The way he looks at you,” he cleared his throat, “he’s all about you too.”

“Zack, I-”

A knock on the doorframe interrupted them.

“Hey, Zack. What are you doing here?”

“Hey, Linda,” Zack’s voice tensed up a little, “I’m stopping in to see Allegra. What are you doing here?”

There was a little huff of sound, a scuff of a shoe on the carpet. “Ever since they brought you in, you’ve been a pain in my neck, Zack.”

“Whoa?” Zack’s laugh was a little strained. “Way to bring a guy down, Linda.” His voice was clearer when he turned. “Woodwinds, never quite as popular as the strings.”

“Why don’t you go and bother someone else, and leave the girls alone to chat.”

“Chat? You two?” Zack chuckled. “I don’t see what the two of you would have to talk about.”

“Girl stuff.”

That got a reaction and Allegra heard Zack back up through the doorway. “Hey, you don’t have to push. Jeez! Okay, fine! You do your icky girl talk and I’ll see you later, okay, Allegra?”

“Sure, Zack, I-”

The door closed shut.

* * *

Salvatore and Natale walked her father to the door of the penthouse. She reached out a hand and touched his arm. “Papa, are you sure you don’t want to stay with us?”

His deep laughter always made her smile. “Natale, you have your life here and I visit you and see how you glow with love, but I know what a precious time this is for you as a couple.” His face flushed a little. “And there just might be a chef at the restaurant in my hotel who knows that I have a weakness for her pastries.”

Natale pulled her father closer for one more hug. “Be careful, Papa.”

“Why?”

She stepped back and looked over his happy smile with a glorious smile of her own. “I think she’s in danger of having a weakness for you too.”

The flush on his cheeks deepened. “I wouldn’t mind that at all. It might mean that I make a few more trips back to New York from Italy before the new year.”

“You know you’re always welcome to stay with us.” That assurance was from Salvatore.

Natale’s father promised to call the next morning and crossed to the private elevator waiting for him a few steps away.

As the door slid closed, Salvatore wrapped his arms around his mate, pulling her closer to his warmth. “I’m glad he came to see you.”

She sighed and snuggled closer. “He was spending more time in Italy once I was settled in and running Durante.”

“And now that he has a new lady friend-”

“Friend?” Salvatore’s laughter vibrated through both of them.

“And with our baby on the way,” she smiled brighter as Salvatore smooth his large hand over her belly, “he’ll be here more often, because…”

Salvatore felt her tense in his embrace. “Principessa?”

Natale turned in his embrace. “The Singletons. Val said they were very upset by his visit. How angry they still were.”

He nodded. They’d all heard the story.

“Could you check something for me?”

Salvatore pressed a kiss against her lips, growling at the way her breath hitched in her chest. “Anything.”

“Check to see the last time they went to visit their son in Geneva.”

“What are you thinking, my love?”

“You said the parole board let him out early because he promised to move away and never see Allegra again.”

“Mmmhmm.” He stroked her back with his hand. “That’s what they did and his parents bought him a home in Geneva.”

Natale powered up her phone and pulled up the New York Times Society Pages and did a quick search for ‘Singleton’. The search offered up an astounding number of entries over the years. Handing her phone over to Salvatore she let him look. Nodding, he went into the Orsino Business Office, just inside the main door of the penthouse.

Sliding into his desk chair, Salvatore woke the computer with a touch of the mouse and began his search into the bank records of the Singletons, looking specifically for their travel records. Tickets purchased. “You don’t think they might have turned their back on their son?”

He caught the look in her eye.

“You’re right. They were full of excuses for him.”

“I don’t trust them to follow the ruling. People like the Singletons don’t see themselves like the rest of us.”

Salvatore picked up the phone receiver and set it on speaker, touching speed dial three.

The call picked up on the first ring. “Can I kill him now?”

Natale’s indulgent sigh was the only thing that stopped Salvatore from snapping at his brother. “No.”

“I’m bored,” the youngest Orsino was not used to waiting for things, “all he does is the same thing every day. Go to work and then market before he gets home. Then he makes dinner and watches movies on his computer and drink.” When he was done with his recitation he paused. “How is Allegra doing? Does she know I’m going to miss her concert?”

Salvatore gave his mate a slow smile when she silently sighed at Uberto’s comment. “She knows.”

“Can’t be helped, I guess. First things first. So, if I can’t kill him, what can I do?”

Salvatore had a look in his eye that made Natale shiver down to her toes.

“Can you get into his home when he’s not there?”

There was an ominous moment of silence on the other end of the phone. “I’ll pretend you didn’t just insult my skills. Just tell me what you want.”

“Fingerprints. I will send you the prints from the police file.”

“No need,” Uberto’s voice sounded upbeat, excited, “I have the records on my phone. Why do you need the prints?”

The front door of the penthouse opened up and Salvatore was already on his feet. “Get them and compare them to the prints in the file. Then call me.”

“What? That’s all you’re going to-”

Salvatore hung up and he moved toward the front door, taking Natale’s hand in his as they moved.

In the kitchen, Valerio dropped his keys on the table and looked up at them. “I just need to get showered and changed. Then we can go to the theater.”

He saw a look pass between the two.

“Did something happen?”

Salvatore managed a smile for his brother. “Not yet, but our brother is about to have a little bit of fun on company time.”

Valerio tugged at his tie, a ghost of a smile returning to his lips. “Tell me.”

* * *

Allegra let a bit of time go by before she turned back to her makeup table. “You were kind of hard on Zack.”

“He’s annoying,” Linda huffed and walked over to the closet, sliding the hanger on the bar. “This is a really nice dress.”

“Thank you. Natale was a huge help. It’s hard to find a dress that I feel comfortable in and can play in, without having to worry about flashing the first few rows while I’m getting ready to play.”

“I guess you’d have to worry about something like that.” Linda’s tone was soft, almost sullen. “Oboe players, well, we don’t have to worry about that.”

Allegra set down her compact and laughed. “Yeah, I guess that wouldn’t be a problem.” She picked up her blusher and opened up the cover. “And I guess you don’t get a lot of the same comments about playing position. When I was in high school, some guy that I liked told me he’d never be interested in a girl who played the cello.”

“What?” Linda sounded genuinely surprised. “Did he say why?”

Allegra sighed as she dusted on the blush high on her cheekbones. “He said all girls that played the cello were secretly lesbians. That we liked thick girls with hips between our legs.” Allegra laughed. “Little did he know.”

“Yeah, um… that’s bordering on-”

“TMI? Yeah, I guess. Sorry about that.” Setting the compact down she turned slightly on the seat. “You said you wanted girl talk. What’s up?”

“Nothing, I mean… I had something to… so what are you going to do after this concert? I mean, you’ve been gone so long. You haven’t played in public in forever and now you’re just… What are your plans?”

Allegra felt an odd twinge in her middle. “You know, I don’t know. For so many years I thought I’d never play again. So much of my process in learning music, well, anything really, it’s all visual.

“But when I was upset or when I was lonely, which was a lot of the time,” she confided, “I’d hear the music in my head and my fingers were almost itching to play again, so I got a tutor to come in and we worked on getting my skills back.”

Linda mumbled something, but Allegra couldn’t quite hear it.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” Linda sighed. “Nothing.”

A chime sounded from Allegra’s phone.

“Okay then,” Allegra turned back to the table, “then I really need to get my makeup done and get changed.”

“Hey,” Linda moved closer and wrapped her hand around Allegra’s upper arm, “why don’t we go for a walk. You know, relax a little before the show.”

Allegra got up so her arm wouldn’t be bent at a weird angle. “Hey, no. I have things to do before the concert and-”

An alarm sounded and Allegra’s whole body tensed.

“That’s the fire alarm.”

“Let’s go.” Linda shifted her hold on Allegra’s arm. “I know a quick way to get out of here.”

Allegra nodded and tried to pull away. “I need my phone.”

“No, we’ll get out of here and you can use my phone, okay?”

The alarm only seemed to get louder and the sound in Allegra’s ears echoed like the sounds of sirens.

Sirens.

Police sirens.

Ambulance sirens.

Her skin went cold, her mind went numb, and when Linda pulled her toward the door, Allegra stumbled after her.

* * *

The phone rang as they were getting in the car. Salvatore put his phone on speaker. “What did you find out?”

“You knew, didn’t you?”

Valerio eyes were as black as night. “What?”

Uberto barked back through the phone. “Lance isn’t Lance. The fingerprints don’t match. They-”

Valerio nearly tore the door off of the car and pulled the driver out. “Get in!”

Salvatore followed but Natale stayed behind with the driver.

The car peeled out of the private garage and rocketed onto the street amidst honking horns and angry shouts.

Valerio yanked his phone from his suitcoat pocket and tossed it to his brother. “Call the guards, tell them to get Allegra out of there.”

Salvatore was already relaying the message.

* * *

People rushed by, excited voices, and Allegra stayed on her feet with Linda tugging at her arm. They avoided the elevator, stumbling down a few flights of stairs with Allegra trying to catch her breath.

“I need my phone, Linda.”

“We’re almost there.”

“I need my phone. I should call Valerio.”

“You should concentrate on the stairs before you fall and hurt yourself.”

Allegra wanted to say that her arm and her shoulder were already aching from the vice-like grip that Linda had on her. “Shouldn’t we be outside by now?”

A rush of cool wind washed over her body, followed by the close smell of dank, stale air. Wrinkling her nose, Allegra turned away.

“What is that smell?”

“We’re leaving through a basement exit. Just keep walking.”

They continued forward and Allegra turned a little and gripped Linda’s arm with her free hand. Fear dug her fingers in deep.

“Ow! Stop it.”

“I can’t,” Allegra gasped in a breath. “I can’t help it. I can barely breathe. I can’t-”

“You really are a basket case, aren’t you?”

A door ahead of them pushed open, creaking on rusted hinges and then a loud bang as if it slammed against a wall.

“What’s that?” Allegra moved toward it, eager to get out of the belly of the building. “Is that the exit? Hello??”

Linda let go of her arm and Allegra stubbed her toe on something, bumping one foot against the heel of the other, and stumbling she fell to the floor, one hand landing in a puddle.

“Linda? Help me up, please?”

“What for?”

Footsteps approached from the open door.

“Help, please?” She lifted a foot to set it down on the ground, but a sharp pain shot through her knee. “I just need to get outside.”

“Outside?”

The laughter didn’t need to echo off of the walls for Allegra to know she was in danger, the sound of his voice was enough to make her legs turn to jelly as her heart stopped beating.

“You’re not going outside ever again.”

“Lance?”

“See? You remember me.”

Allegra turned back. “Please, Linda. I don’t know why you brought me here-”

“I brought you here because I’m tired of you and your circus taking the focus away from the music.”

“Don’t forget how much money I offered you.” Lance’s tone was droll, but tight. He never liked to be in the wings.

“Yeah,” Linda scoffed, “that’s right. It’s a ton of money, more than I’ll ever need even living in New York. So, where is it?”

Something roared over Allegra’s head and she flinched.

A moment later, something fell to the ground behind her.

“You shot her?” Allegra felt anger boil up inside of her.

He laughed in reply. “I hope you’ll understand that I just did that for us, baby. She doesn’t need the money, not anymore.”

Silent tears fell onto her cheeks. “I’m not going anywhere with you. After all these years, just let me go.”

Footsteps splashed through a puddle and came to stop at her side. Fingers dug in to her arm and she groaned as he lifted her up onto her feet. “The last thing I’m ever going to do is let you go.”