Navy Seal's Innocent Italian (2 page)

Rocky Mountains, Colorado…

“Did he answer yet?” asked Mrs. Panturo, trying to stop wringing her hands. She had turned on the local news just before retiring
the night before, only to hear that the kidnapped baby had been returned to her parents. The story about an elderly, confused man having mistakenly taken the baby had her calling urgently for Bruno.

After taking a quick glance at the television, Bruno had hurried to the nursery, only to find it empty of both people and many of the items that had been purchased for the infant
’s care. Bruno had quickly pulled up the security tapes, alarmed to see the young nurse leaving the mountain hideaway with a large man at her side.

The time
stamp on the video showed the couple had been gone for several hours and Bruno worried that the authorities would be arriving soon. He’d retired for the night, hoping that the police would wait until sunrise to head up the mountain road.

He
hadn’t recognized the man in the video, but assumed that he must be one of the hired mercenaries employed by Trent’s long-time friend Shawn Marshall. He’d attempted to reach Marco, but the jet was still in the air and no service was available unless he notified the pilot through a flight control office. Marco did not like bringing attention to himself, and Bruno decided he would wait until morning and then tell his boss the news.

“He’s still not answering his phone. I know he landed, I talked to Petro’s
secretary, and she said Marco arrived and immediately joined the meeting taking place in the conference room.”

“Should we have her interrupt him?” Mrs. Panturo inquired.

“No.” Bruno thought for a moment and then made a decision. Glancing at the clock, he realized it was only 5:30 in the morning and shook his head. No doubt Mrs. Panturo hadn’t slept either. A quick glimpse out the large picture window showed the sun was just beginning to break over the horizon. If the authorities were going to visit, it would most likely occur in the next several hours.

“Pack everything
you need and I’ll take care of closing the house up. We’ll take the limo to the airport and catch a commercial flight back to Italy. I don’t want to be here when the authorities show up.”

“Are you so sure Trent will call them?” she asked.

“No. But I don’t want to confront Trent himself either. Are you prepared to explain why Mr. Bresi stole his baby?”

Mrs. Panturo quickly shook her head, “No. I’ll be ready to go inside the hour.” She turned to head back towards the housekeeper
’s suite, “In fact, I can be ready to go in thirty minutes.”

“Good,” Bruno told her with a smile. “
I’ll call down to the cleaning agency and let them know we’ve had to leave on an emergency and they can send someone up this afternoon to clean and empty the fridge.”

“Good. Okay,” Mrs. Panturo took a breath and then hustled to pack her belongings. She had been completely on board with Marco’s plan to exact his revenge for the loss of his daughter and unborn grandchild. But now that the game was up, she wanted to be nowhere near Trent Coldwell. She hoped Bruno would be able to advise Marco to stay in Italy before too much time passed. Marco needed to distance himself from these proceedings and gain a new perspective on things.

She missed Serena terribly, having considered her a surrogate daughter, but Serena was gone. Nothing was ever going to change that fact. And stealing someone else’s child, while it might offer some momentary satisfaction, the more she’d thought about it, the more she felt for the mother who was still alive and missing her child. Two wrongs never made a right, and she’d been planning to have a talk with Marco upon his return. It seems some act of fate had taken matters into their own hands and saved her the aggravation. Now, Marco needed to move on and forget all this revenge talk.

As she finished closing her suitcase, she consoled herself with the knowledge that the infant
’s mother was holding her daughter closely this morning, Trent was rejoicing in the birth of his first child, and for the first time since Serena’s death – Mrs. Panturo was able to find peace. She only hoped she could help Marco do the same.

             
                                                                      *****

Rome, Italy….

Marco and the Moretti’s had a light luncheon together, and plans were made to finish the business acqu
isition by the end of the week. Petro would take care of the final details, whereas Alex would be joining Marco on his return trip to the United States in two days’ time.

As he headed towards his home outside
the city, he tried to contact Bruno, but received no answer. He then tried to call the mountain home, but again, received no answer. Neither occurrence caused him any panic as the cell service in the mountains of Colorado was known to be unreliable and spotty. He’d try again later.

After showering and taking care of a few more business matters, he met Petro and Roberto back at the office, where the final paperwork was signed and notarized. Petro would be assuming the lead position as manager
of Daramark for the next six months while a suitable manager was found. Roberto had been unable to recommend any of his current employees for the task, and Marco had assured him Petro would locate just the right person.

Alex had returned home to begin packing her belongings. Marco had encouraged her to bring only a few suitcases, telling her that once she decided where she was going to live, her other belongings could be shipped easily enough.

When asked where she might want to settle down, she had stated a small community just outside Denver, Colorado, where they were making remarkable strides with children who suffered from learning disabilities.

Marco had been very impressed as Alex told him of her work with musical therapy, and the amazing results she had been obtaining in her current research. Several
organizations in the states had expressed a desire to see her work personally, and more than a dozen universities had offered her a place to continue her research. Alex’s eyes had lit up when she talked about helping young children achieve new things.

She had the classic northern Italian looks, long honey-blonde hair, the classic Italian nose, and vivid green eyes. Her eyes had come from her mother’s side, who was decidedly Irish, along with her musical talent.

Alex not only had a beautiful singing voice, she played piano, cello, and the flute. She had inquired about bringing her instruments, and Marco had said all but her piano were welcome aboard his jet. She’d laughed and told him she would purchase a piano in the states once she was settled. With money no object, she could afford to do that and more once she decided where she wanted to live.

Returning to his home, he once again tried Bruno, only to have it go to voicemail yet again. It was a full day before he finally made contact with the bodyguard and chauffeur. “Bruno, I’ve been trying to contact you since yesterday.”

“Sir, I’ve been trying to contact you as well. Have you seen the news?” Bruno asked, gesturing for Mrs. Panturo to follow him to the baggage claim area.  They had taken a commercial flight from Denver to Atlanta, where they had then boarded a flight bound for Paris. Their flight to Verona, Italy – the home of the Bresi family estate, was on a different carrier. Thus, the need to retrieve their luggage.

“I haven’t seen any news. What’s happening?” Marco asked, concern in his voice. “Is the baby doing well?”

Paris, France…

Bruno sighed into the phone, “The baby is doing fine. She’s with her mother.”

“What?!” came Marco’s agitated voice across the line.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. A man showed up sometime before dinner and made contact with the nurse. Seeing that he returned the baby to the hospital, and Shawn Marshall made up a story about an elderly senile man thinking the baby was his grandchild, I think the man probably was working for MJI.”

Marco was amazed at how relieved he felt, hearing that baby Coldwell had been returned to her parents.
I should be upset my plans were thwarted!
But I’m not.
“So, Trent has his baby back. What about the authorities?”

“We didn’t stick around to find out. Mrs. Panturo and I closed up the house and headed for the airport first thing
yesterday morning. I didn’t want to deal with either the police, or Trent.”

“I don’t blame you. Where are you and Mrs. Panturo now?”

“We just landed in Paris. We have a three-hour layover and then we’re headed for Verona. Are you staying in Rome?” Bruno asked, wondering if he should head directly there instead of seeing Mrs. Panturo home.

“No. As a matter of fact, I will be returning to the states sooner than expected.
The day after tomorrow. ”

Bruno digested this information before asking, “What day would you like me in Rome?”

“This time I’m going to ask you to stay here and help Petro. He will be assuming the reins of Daramark at the beginning of next week, and I would like it if you could offer him as much assistance as he needs.”

“How long will you be in the states, sir?”

How long will it take to get Alex Moretti settled and make my peace with Trent?
“At this point in time, I couldn’t really say. Petro will fill you in on everything when you come down this weekend. Please tell Mrs. Panturo I’ve said she is to rest for the first two days she is back at home. Let her know I will definitely be checking to make sure she obeyed that order.” Marco finished the last with a smile upon his face. The wonderful woman had been his saving grace after his wife died giving birth to Serena.

She and her late husband had taken very good care of him through the years, and while she still insisted she could do her job without help, Marco had seen her starting to slow down, and
often delegating the harder household tasks to others. He considered her part of the family, and made a mental note to see about getting her some other domestic help in the near future.

At the age of fifty-nine, she was a few years younger than him, but still a wonderful, nurturing woman. She had met his driver at a charity event three years before Serena was born. When she had later married his driver, he had offered the job as housekeeper and cook for his home, and as a companion for his wife.

She had done a remarkable job of caring for both he and Serena through the years, and when her husband had tragically died of a heart attack years ago, Marco had offered her a place in his home for as long as she wished to stay and work. He couldn’t imagine life without her, and one of these days he would have to tell her that.

Bruno smiled and then agreed, “I will personally see that she listens, sir. Please tell Petro I will be arriving Saturday evening. He can fill me in over breakfast Sunday morning.”

“I’ll let him know. Bruno, thank you.”

“Sir, if I might ask. Will you be seeking additional revenge against Mr. Coldwell?” Bruno asked, hoping the answer was “No!”  He and Mrs. Panturo had discussed, at length, Marco’s desire for revenge and the absurdity of continuing such a task in light of Trent Coldwell’s resources. There had been enough heartache in everyone’s lives. It was time to let go of the past!

“Bruno, I don’t know right now. I need to do some more thinking on the subject.” Sensing Bruno wanted to say something, he asked, “Did you or Mrs. Panturo have anything else you needed to tell me?”

It was silent for a moment and then Bruno said, “Only that no revenge can bring Serena back to us. Mrs. Panturo and I have talked, and we would like you to consider letting her go. Not her memory; just your need for revenge. I don’t mean to be impertinent, sir, but it’s time.”

Marco knew other men would be furious to hear such criticism coming from the “hired help,” but Marco considered Bruno and Mrs. Panturo family and knew they were only thinking of what was best for him. “Bruno, please accept my thanks, and thank Mrs. Panturo, for seeing what I’ve been too blind to see. I haven’t felt right about the baby incident since I left for the airport.”

Bruno smiled, pleased to know that Marco Bresi was still the man of honor and family-values he’d come to love and know. “What about Trent? I can’t imagine he will be content to let this incident go without reprisal.”

“No, probably not. I will think on this and maybe it’s time for Trent and I to finally sit down and talk about Serena’s last days. The man has contacted me enough, through the years, wanting to do just that. Maybe it’s time I agreed to it.”

“Yes, sir. I believe it is.”

“Thank you, Bruno. Please keep in touch and I will let you know if I require your assistance in the states.”

“Yes, sir. Goodnight.”

Marco hung up the phone and sat in the stillness of the night, for once able to think about his daughter without being consumed with both sadness and guilt. Sadness that her life had ended so young! Guilt that he’d not been able to prevent it!

He also noticed the anger was no longer directed at Trent, but he found himself angry with – Serena! She’d resisted having to grow up and take responsibility for her actions and it had ended up costing her
- her life.  Marco had foolishly tried to make Trent accountable for that, but no more.

He headed for his office and quickly set plans in motion for
making amends with Trent. He would figure out a way to meet with him, once he returned to the states and had Alex settled down.  It was definitely time he and Trent talked about his daughter. It was time for Marco to apologize and gain closure on the entire incident. He would be returning to the states in two days and somehow, he would make amends to both Trent and his beautiful wife.