Revenge (10 page)

After Enrico left his card on her desk, Kate
laid her head down in the circle of her arms. She wanted to weep.
Or scream. Vince was a killer. A cold-blooded killer. And if she
didn’t play this right, she could be his next victim.

But losing her head wouldn’t help. She took a
deep breath. At least she knew where she stood. She had enough cash
to see her through a few weeks. Once she knew where she was
staying, her parents could wire her some more.

Enrico’s offer seemed sincere; she was more
than a little tempted to take it. But he’d been married to a
mobster’s daughter; he’d participated in Carlo’s business. Enrico
could be as dirty as the Andrettis, only with a finer veneer on
top.

A shoe scuffed the floor, making her start.
Kate looked up as Vince stepped into her office. His cheeks
reddened and his eyes narrowed as anger crawled over his face. Her
pulse skittered like a frightened mouse. “What are you doing here?”
she asked.

“I waited until he left.” He paused,
breathing fast. “What do you think, I’m fucking stupid?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Lucchesi.” Vince leaned across the desk.
“How many times have you opened your legs for him?”

Kate’s skin heated at the accusation. He
might be a Mafioso, but she didn’t have to put up with this. “You
have a lot of nerve.”

“No.
You
have a lot of nerve. I saw
the two of you. No man like Lucchesi just
looks
at a woman
he wants. And you acted like a perfect little
puttana
too,
playing that game so I’d have to leave. So you could be with
him.”

“You’re calling me a whore?” For some reason,
the word hurt.

“It fits.” Vince’s fingers opened and closed
on her desk, his knuckles turning white when his hands clenched
into fists.

Seeing his near loss of control, she rose,
her body trembling, a chill racing up her spine. She struggled to
keep her voice even. “It’s
over
, Vince. I don’t have to take
this from you.”

He lunged, grabbing her by the hair, and
yanked her halfway across the desk, sending her papers and laptop
flying. She heard the computer hit the floor and break. He mashed
her cheek flat against the wood, then pulled her head up, forcing
her to look at him. “You’re
my
wife, and I’ll call you
whatever I want. You’re a whore. A dirty, fucking,
whore
.”
He spat the words at her, his voice low and menacing. For the
second time that day, he backhanded her, sending her sprawling into
the chair.

Kate’s eyes flooded from the pain in her lip
and jaw. Her face throbbed and stung from the slap, her scalp
burned as if he’d pulled out a fistful of hair. She tried to gulp
down air, but her throat felt too tight.
Get up
,
run
,
damn it
! Her muscles shook, her heart thrashed in her chest,
but she couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. Couldn’t run.

Vince stalked around the desk. Finally she
regained control of her body and launched herself out of the chair,
but he slammed her back into it, trapping her. “I’ll see you dead
before I see you with a Lucchesi.”

Enrico had nearly reached Kate’s office when
the sound of her husband’s raised voice turned his blood to ice. He
threw the door open, heard the click of Andretti opening a
switchblade. The man bent over Kate, the knife gleaming.

As Andretti’s head turned toward him, Enrico
sprang for his knife hand. Capturing the man’s wrist, he crushed
the bones, grinding them together. Andretti grunted with pain and
lost his grip on the blade, the stiletto clattering to the tiles
between them. Throwing his body into Enrico’s, Andretti sent them
sprawling to the floor.

Andretti landed on top. The impact jarred
through Enrico and he struggled for air. Andretti’s meaty fist
hurtled toward his face. He eluded the blow and grabbed Andretti’s
left forearm, digging his fingers into hard cords of muscle. They
were well-matched, but Enrico had the advantage when it came to
weight and height. Straining hard, he finally flipped Andretti onto
his back and held him flat, both of them panting with exertion. His
voice came out rough when he spoke to Kate. “Get the knife.”

“Don’t you fucking help him!”

Kate picked up the shining blade, then
clicked it shut and closed her fist around the knife’s pearl
handle, her body shaking. She looked at Enrico with wide eyes.

“Now call my guard, Ruggero.”

“Fucking cunt!”

Kate stepped into the hall. While she was
calling Ruggero’s name, Enrico looked down at Andretti. “You will
never
speak to her or touch her again.”

“You make me fucking sick. Sniffing around
another guy’s wife.”

Enrico’s cheeks burned. It was true. But it
didn’t excuse Andretti’s behavior. “Take your anger out on me, not
her.”

“With pleasure, buddy.” Andretti bucked
against Enrico and tried to wrench his arms free. “Let me the fuck
up.”

Enrico stared at Andretti until the man
looked away. Then he slowly let him go and stood, watching him.
Andretti rose from the floor smoothly, appearing little affected by
their struggle. He straightened his jacket and dusted off his
trousers. Then he stepped close, his face darkening. “I ain’t
forgetting this, Lucchesi.” He spat at Enrico’s face. Enrico
dodged, but some of the spittle found its mark and ran down his
cheek. He wiped it off with the back of his hand.

Antonio and Ruggero burst in and trained
their guns on Andretti. Ruggero’s face grew stern as he sighted
along the barrel. Enrico’s heart seized. Ruggero was about to pull
the trigger. Killing Andretti in front of Kate would ruin
everything. “No!” Enrico held up his hand for emphasis and stepped
into Ruggero’s line of sight. “No,” he repeated. Ruggero looked at
him questioningly. “This is a misunderstanding.”

Andretti snorted. “I didn’t misunderstand you
wanting to fuck my wife.” He took a step in Kate’s direction, and
she jumped away from him, her back hitting the wall.

“Stay away from her.” Enrico made his voice a
low commanding rumble, the tone he’d use with a snarling dog.

Andretti whipped back to look at him. “Fine.
She’s your fucking
puttana
now. I don’t want her no more.”
Then he turned to Kate again, his eyes blazing. “This ain’t over,
bitch,” he said, then left the room.

“Make sure he’s gone this time,” Enrico said
to Ruggero, putting his anger into it.

Ruggero followed Andretti, and Antonio
stepped out into the hall, taking a position to the left of the
doorway.

Enrico turned to Kate. She was shivering and
hugging herself. When he moved toward her, she flinched. “Kate,” he
said, his voice as soft as he could make it. “Are you injured?”

She took a breath that sounded more like a
sob. He eased toward her, even though she shook her head, backing
up along the wall away from him until she reached the file cabinet
in the left corner. Stopping there, she sank to the floor, her arms
still crossed over her torso. He stopped a foot or so away and
crouched down. He refrained from touching her, trying to use his
voice to calm her. “He is gone. Ruggero will make sure.”

She continued shaking her head, and he inched
closer. “Everything is okay.”

“How is my husband almost killing me
okay
?” she cried, her voice thick.

Enrico took a deep breath and reached out for
her, putting his hands on her shoulders. “I will keep you safe. I
promise.”

Kate burst into tears, and he pulled her into
his arms. She sobbed against him, her body racked with one great
shudder after another. Her safety had been ripped away, and by the
one person who should have been protecting her. Her husband. Anger
welled up in Enrico anew, a molten bolt of iron in his chest. The
man was a prick of the first order. He swallowed hard.
Dio
mio
, what Andretti might have done if Enrico had arrived only a
few seconds later.

And it was all his fault.

He waited for Kate’s sobs to subside before
letting her go. She walked to her desk, groping for the tissue box
on the edge, the only thing still on it. Her plant was lying on the
floor, the pot smashed, the dirt scattered. She stared at the mess,
her lower lip quivering. Then she inhaled deeply and straightened
her shoulders. Drying her eyes, she surveyed the wreckage of her
office for a few moments before she started gathering her
papers.

Enrico picked up her laptop. The case was
cracked and so was the screen. “I will make sure this is replaced
straight away.”

She looked up at him from where she was
kneeling. “Do you really think I’ll be able to come back to work
here?”

He frowned. “Probably not. At least not for a
while.” He set the damaged laptop on her desk and then leaned
against it, crossing his arms. “You should stay with me until this
matter is settled.”

She paused in her work, her arms full of file
folders and papers. “I’m not sure how long it’s going to take me to
settle things with him.”

Enrico blew out a breath. “We both have an
enemy in the Andretti family. I may be able to negotiate a truce
with Carlo, one that covers you as well.” He paused. “What is the
alternative for you? A life of running from place to place, looking
over your shoulder, hoping Vincenzo has not found you?”

She looked away, shaking her head. “Maybe
he’ll eventually forget about me.”

“He thinks you have put the horns on him. He
will not forget that.”

“What does that mean?” she asked.

He made the gesture for her, folding down all
his fingers but the index and the pinky. “He thinks you have made
him a cuckold.”

“But I haven’t done anything! Can’t he see
that?”

“He is past reason. Giving a man the horns is
the worst possible insult to his honor.”

“Then he shouldn’t mind giving me a
divorce.”

She truly did not understand. “Kate, you
cannot divorce the Mafia.”

She blanched. “I have to try. I’ll hate
myself if I don’t.”

“I cannot let you do that, and I cannot leave
you alone.”

“I refuse to let other people fight my
battles.”

“What you want is irrelevant. All that
matters is what you need, and that is protection. Protection that I
can provide.”
Dio
, he sounded like the worst sort of pushy
bastard. But he had to get through to her somehow.

She stared at him, irritation riding high on
her face. “What are you going to do? Kidnap me?”

“If I have to.” He took a breath and softened
his tone. “I am not speaking in jest. Your life is in danger. And I
will not stand by and see you killed.” He met her eyes. “I will not
allow it.”

“And I will not be ordered around.”

He sighed, unhappy about what he had to do.
“Do you have a mirror?”

“In my purse. Why?”

“Give it to me, please.” She got her purse
and gave him a compact. He opened it and held it up to her face,
reflecting the bruises, the swollen lip, back at her. “Take a look,
Kate. Do you think the man who did this to you will ever see
reason?”

Her eyes glittered with tears. She took the
mirror from his hand.

“I am only concerned with your safety.” He
paused, as she stared blankly at her reflection. “You
must
come with me.”

She took a hitching breath, then blew it out.
“You certainly don’t give a girl a lot of options.”

She’d finally heard him. A smile twitched
across his lips. “What is that saying you Americans have? It is my
way or the highway?”

She laughed, a little too loud, and stood,
clutching papers to her chest. “I’m telling you now, Enrico, that
it’s
my
way or the highway, not yours.”

It was his turn to chuckle. “I never had any
doubt.”

She set the pile on her desk, starting to
sort the papers into neat stacks. He put a hand on her forearm.
“That can wait. Or you can take it with you. I can get you a new
laptop so you can work from my home, if you want.”

“I’d like that. I’m going to need something
to occupy my mind.”

“So you will come with me then?”
Grazie a
Dio
.

“You made your point. I’m stubborn, but I’m
not a fool.”

“That makes two of us.” Though in his case,
he wasn’t sure about the fool part.