Navy Seal's Innocent Italian (6 page)

Shawn waited for Trent to answer his front door, several folders of information held in his hands. He and Trent were supposed to have met at the office for this discussion, however, baby Faith had fussed all night with an earache. Seeing as the nanny had the day off, Trent had rescheduled his day to work from home and help Brianna care for their fussy daughter.

Trent opened the door, the little girl cradled in his arms, “Hey! Come on in,” he offered quietly.

Shawn watched Trent lift the little girl to his shoulder and begin a patting/rocking motion with her. “She trying to go to sleep?” Shawn asked quietly.

Trent smiled, “Trying. Brianna’s exhausted so I sent her off to grab a couple of hours of sleep. This little one doesn’t seem to know she’s supposed to be tired after her all-night ordeal.”

“Ear infection?” Shawn asked.

“Yeah. The doctor gave us some drops for her ear and some antibiotics. Now if only she’d go to sleep, I could get some work done.” Trent turned and headed for his home office, Shawn following closely behind.

“Did you bring the information I needed?”

“I did. I also noticed you’ve already started you campaign.” He referred to the two companies he’d received updates on, stating that the business negotiations that had been months in the making, were now in danger of falling apart as a new buyer had come forward. Shawn hadn’t been fooled in the least. Trent was that new buyer, his only goal to keep Marco from having any success in the business world.

“Did you think I wouldn’t use everything in my power to make him pay for harming my family?” Trent asked as he sat down behind his desk, being careful not to jar the baby too much.

“Trent, have you tried talking to him?” Shawn asked, not liking this side of Trent. He was ruthless and out to do as much damage to Marco Bresi as possible.

Before Trent could answer, a feminine voice asked, “Trent, what’s he talking about?”

Trent and Shawn both turned to see a very tired looking Brianna standing in the doorway. Trent came from around his desk, kissing her on the forehead before saying, “You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

“I heard the doorbell ring and thought maybe you needed me to take Faith for a while,” she said, running a hand down the baby’s back and loving the gentleness Trent always showed his daughter.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you, Bri,” said Shawn, a rueful grin on his face.

Brianna waved him off before turning her attention back to her husband. “What were you two discussing?”

Trent firmed his lips, having promised himself and his wife he would never lie to her, yet not wanting to get into the argument he knew would be forthcoming if she had even the slightest idea of what he’d been up to. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

Brianna watched her husband for a moment and then took a step back, crossing her arms over her chest and staring him down, “What have you done?”

Trent was amazed that she could see right through him. Never had anyone been able to read him like her, and in this particular instance, he wasn’t liking it at all. Preparing to hand her the baby, he tried to change the subject, “She’s almost ready to sleep. Why don’t you take her back upstairs? Shawn and I will be finished here in a few minutes and I’ll join you.”

Brianna shook her head, stepping around him to enter the office, “Shawn, what’s going on?”

“Bri, don’t put me in the middle of this,” Shawn complained, holding his hands up to ward off her approach.

Brianna felt Trent start to come after her and she hurried around the desk, picking up the files and then staring at him in horror when she saw Marco’s name written across the top of each one. “What are you doing?!” She shook the folders at him and gave him a very disappointed look.

Trent took the folders from her and then handed her the baby, “Again, nothing you need to concern yourself about.”

“If you’re going after Marco, I most certainly do need to concern myself about it!”

“Brianna, you don’t understand. The man has had three years to get over his daughter’s death, and I’ve left him alone during that time. It hasn’t been enough. Unless I stop him, he’s going to keep coming after me.”

Brianna patted Faith’s back and quietly asked, “Why, Trent? Explain to me why Marco keeps coming after you. You told me you and Serena weren’t even together at the time of her death.”

“I’d be interested in hearing what happened back then as well. This isn’t like you man.” Shawn was starting to get worried about Trent and his obsession with making Marco pay. He’d been there and seen the anguish Trent and Brianna had gone through after Marco stole their baby, but they had her back and Trent had refused to press charges.

Trent looked at his best friend and his wife and knew he was going to have to tell them at least part of it. He’d never told anyone about the last few encounters he’d had with Serena, feeling embarrassed that he’d allowed her to dupe him for so long.

Sighing, he walked over to the couch and sat down, “Come, sit down and I’ll tell some of it.”

Brianna gave him an encouraging smile, joining him on the couch and settling the now sleeping infant in her arms.

“When Serena got the contract with the fashion house in Milan, I was both happy and sad. Happy that her dreams were finally coming true, but sad because I knew I couldn’t go with her. I had too many deals in the work
s and I knew I needed to stay in the states.

“We spoke to each other frequently, and Skyped a few times a week, but after a few months, she seemed to become withdrawn and was always in a hurry to be somewhere whenever I called. I started to get worried about her.

“Marco called me at one point and urged me to go and bring her home, telling me that she wasn’t doing well but wouldn’t say anything to me.”

Trent sighed remembering that conversation now and wondering if Marco hadn’t gotten wind of her antics and hoped Trent would put a stop to them. “Anyway, a few weeks after that call, I cleared my schedule and flew over to Milan to surprise her. I even stopped and picked up fresh flowers for her.” Trent shook his head, once again feeling stupid and totally lied to.

When he didn’t immediately continue, Brianna reached over and laid her hand on his arm, “What happened when you got to Milan?”

“I went straight to her apartment. I was going to try and convince her to come home with me. I never got the chance.”

“Was she home?” Shawn asked.

“Yeah. She was home. She answered the door on my third knock, dressed in a flimsy robe, and wearing her newest boyfriend on her back.”

“What?!” both Shawn and Brianna exclaimed.

“She was sleeping with someone else?” Brianna asked, horrified and feeling sadness that Trent had been treated so horrible.

“He wasn’t the first I would come to find out later.”

“Man, that’s tough. What
did you do?” Shawn asked, knowing what he would have done in those circumstances.

“I left. I didn’t even speak to her. I just tossed the flowers at her feet and left. I went back to the airport and flew home. She tried to contact me for weeks afterwards, but I refused her calls.”

“You didn’t speak to her at all?” Brianna asked, wondering why the woman hadn’t just gotten on a plane and followed him back to the states.

“No. Except for once. She called in the middle of the night and I answered the phone without looking at the caller I.D.; it was the worst mistake of my life.”

“How so?” Shawn asked, perplexed at why speaking to his cheating fiancé was the
worst
thing that had happened to him.

Trent laughed derisively, “She was calling to ask me to get back together with her. It seems that her sins had caught up with her and she was several weeks pregnant.”

“And she expected you to pretend the baby was yours?!” Brianna filled in the gaps.

“Yeah. I guess she thought I was stupid or desperate. I told her I never wanted to speak to her again, and since she got herself into this mess, she could figure a way out of it.”

“How long after that before she died?”

“Killed herself, you mean?” Trent asked, meeting Shawn’s eyes.

“Really? She drove off that bridge intentionally?”

“Yeah. She even left Marco a note explaining how I had refused to step up to the plate and marry her after getting her pregnant…”

“She didn’t? Oh Trent, no wonder Marco’s been after you. Did you try and explain things to him?” Brianna was furious on his behalf.

“Numerous times. The man is still grieving his daughter and doesn’t want to hear anything I have to say. In his mind, I caused Serena to lose hope and kill herself, depriving him of not only his daughter, but also of his grandchild.”

“That’s horrible!” Brianna said, tears in her eyes for everyone involved.
What a tragedy!

“Now I understand why he took Faith. He’s trying to hurt you the same way he feels he’s been hurt.”
Shawn shook his head as the sad reality of the situation revealed itself.

“Yeah, but he’s operating under the wrong set of facts. I hadn’t slept with Serena for more than five months when she died.”

“But Marco doesn’t believe that because you made the trip to Milan.”

Trent nodded his head, “Yes, that about covers it. I just can’t help feeling that he knew what she
was up to all along and was hoping I’d put a stop to it.”

Brianna watched her husband for a moment and then asked, “So what are you doing to avenge yourself?” She knew Trent could be ruthless and she only hoped that he hadn’t caused too much damage as of yet.

“He’s going to ruin him financially,” Shawn offered, earning a scowl from Trent.

“Trent, how will that solve anything?” she asked.

“If I cause enough havoc in his businesses, he’ll have to spend his energy putting them back together, which will give him little time to come after me and my family again.”

“Do you honestly think he’d try to hurt Faith again?” Brianna asked, having a hard time reconciling Marco’s recent actions with the charming man she had met several months prior.
Marco had said they would talk when he got back to the states.

“Are you willing to put our daughter’s future at risk?” Trent asked, frustration coloring his voice and making him sound much more aggressive than he’d intended.

Brianna sank back against the couch, observing her husband and trying to come up with some solution to this problem.
He and Marco need to be locked in a room together until they can sit down and have a decent conversation about Serena!
  As she sat there, an idea began to form in her mind and she decided to do a little legwork and see if it might work.

Speaking up, she informed both men, “I’m going to go put this little one in her crib. Trent, I wish you’d reconsider and try talking to Marco one more time. And Shawn, I wish you wouldn’t aid his efforts.” She didn’t wait to hear either
man’s response, but calmly walked from the office, her mind already on the first stage of her plan.

Trent watched Brianna walk from the office, curious as to her sudden capitulation of his plans. That wasn’t like her and he’d have to keep a close eye on her lest she decide to intervene on his behalf. This struggle was between
him and Marco, and after three years of playing cat and mouse, it was time for the game to end.

Jake and Alex stood side by side, looking out over the water that separated New York from New Jersey. Jake had taken her to various places over the last few hours, places that normal tourists would never be made aware of
, and Alex was enamored of the man at her side. He was quick witted, had a commanding presence that everyone around him responded to, including her. But he was also gentle and caring. Alex had been full of curiosity and questions, all of which he had answered to the best of his ability.

She was an extremely intelligent woman, and as he watched her finish her ice cream cone, he was once again struck by the duality of her character. One minute, a sophisticated, mature, independent woman; the next, a young woman, innocent and just stepping out into the adult realm.

“Thank you for today,” Alex said, glancing at Jake as he stood by her side. His back was to the railing, while she was leaning against it facing forwards. She saw a woman walking nearby give Jake a thorough look before she noticed Alex standing next to him and she scowled.  Alex bit back her smile. Jake was with her!

Jake smiled down at her, “No problem. It was nice to see New York one last time before I head west. It was nicer having someone to share it with.”
In fact, Jake couldn’t remember a woman he’d enjoyed spending more time with. He reached a hand over and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He had spent several frustrating hours in the presence of this woman, and everything about her was getting to him. Her laugh. Her smile. Her scent.

He tried to remind himself he was only using her to gain information about Marco, but his heart wasn’t on board with that at all. There was something unique about her, and the attraction he felt towards her had only deepened as the afternoon wore on.

“When do you head for Colorado?” Alex asked. Alex glanced at his profile, trying to memorize his features to recreate his image in her dreams at night. Since breaking things off with her arranged fiancé, she had gone on very few dates, not feeling comfortable in social atmospheres with strange men.
Funny how you seem very at ease with this strange man!

She was trying not to read anything into the fact that he was also headed for Colorado.
Out of all the men in New York City, what were the chances she’d run into the one man moving to the place she intended to make her home?
Alex wasn’t a mathematician, but she knew the odds of that happening were pretty slim.
Maybe it’s fate and you were supposed to meet him?

Jake hesitated, not having really gotten that far
in his plans, after speaking with Shawn. “Well, I’ve arranged for all of my stuff to be shipped out there next week.”
Or I will have once I get home this afternoon and give them the green light!

“Even your bike?” Alex asked, looking over at the black monster that she was dying to ride on again.
Each time she had climbed on the bike had been a special thrill for her, and she was still trying to process why. 
Was it the man riding in front of her? Or was it the thrill of the bike itself, the roar of the engine beneath her legs, the wind blowing against her body?

“I guess. I had thought about taking a long road trip, but I think I’ll save that for a later time. I’ll probably catch a flight out there the day after the moving company loads my stuff up.”

Alex had a plan forming in her head, but she wasn’t sure if either Marco or Jake would appreciate her interference. Deciding she needed to speak with Marco before saying anything to Jake, she nodded and then said, “I should probably head back and get cleaned up for dinner. You are going to join us, aren’t you? Marco would really like to meet you.”

And I’d like to meet him as well. Maybe in a dark alley where I could teach him some manners about stealing babies!
Jake didn’t let his anger towards Marco show, and answered, “I’d love to. Why don’t I drop you off and then I’ll go home and change as well?”

“That sounds like a good idea.”
Alex didn’t want her time with Jake to end. He was unlike any other man she’d met. He didn’t know who her father was, and frankly, she doubted he’d even care.

Jake dropped Alex off in front of Diamante Global, promising to return a little before 6 o’clock. He headed off to his hotel, hoping to find some control so that he didn’t punch Marco in the face upon first sight.

                                                                                    *****

Marco carefully set the phone down before cursing in Italian and turning to look out the windows of his twelfth story office building. This call marked the second time today he’d been informed that someone was challenging his buyout bid for a failing company.

Both companies had been experiencing financial difficulties, making them prime targets for a takeover and reorganization – Marco’s specialty. He had a knack for taking struggling companies, tearing them apart, and them putting them back together, stronger than ever and turning immediate profits.

Now it appeared that someone was out to thwart his business dealings. The only person that came to mind was Trent Coldwell.
Had Trent finally decided to fight back?
For the last several years, Marco had done his level best to destroy and disrupt Trent’s vast business holdings, all to no avail. The man’s businesses seemed to be impenetrable.

Marco’s business dealings evidently had some holes that needed to be plugged. If the deals on these two companies fell through, he stood to lose almost a billion dollars. A crippling amount of money, not to mention the effect such losses would have on his reputation in the business community.

Returning to his desk, he was just getting ready to pick up the phone, when it rang. Answering it, “
Si?”
he only half listened for the voice on the other end.

“Marco?” came the tentative
voice that had his head lifting in amazement.
Brianna Coldwell? What in the hell was she doing calling him? Better question, did Trent know she was calling him?