Revenge (17 page)

The guard took a breath. “I swear it’s
nothing of importance to you or the
cosca
. Only to me.”

Enrico felt like he was struggling to open a
clam and losing the battle. “Are you working for the
Andrettis?”

Ruggero blinked and his head jerked back. He
spoke with fervor. “Never.”

“You swear it?”

“Upon my father’s grave.”

Enrico tapped his fingers on the desk in a
slow cascade from the pinky to the index finger, waiting for more.
Everything Ruggero said felt like the truth. He’d never known the
man to lie. “Will this ever happen again?”

“No.”

“Your punishment is one month’s wages.”

Ruggero looked at him. “I expected much
more.”

“What do you think is appropriate?”

“I expected to be dismissed.” Which was a
nice way to say he expected a bullet to the head.

“Truly?”

“You could have been killed.”

“So, you would fall upon your own sword?”

Ruggero nodded. “It is only fair.”

Enrico took a breath and let it out. If all
his men were like Ruggero, he would be a lucky man indeed.
“Everyone makes mistakes. Even you.”

“I can’t afford to.”

“The day will come when you will fail. There
is no stopping it.”

The guard let out a puff of breath. “If I do
my job well, you’ll live to be an old man.”

“There are few old men in the
malavita
, and you know it.”

Ruggero shrugged.

“You can go.” He watched Ruggero re-arm
himself. “Do not let this happen again.”

“
Sì
,
capo
.”

Ruggero left. What could possibly be
preoccupying the man? He’d always been a rock. Once the immediate
crisis was resolved, he’d ask again, and he’d accept nothing less
than a full disclosure. For now though, he was satisfied. Ruggero
would do his job, as he always had. As he always would.

Or they both would die.

Kate passed much of the afternoon roaming the
grounds of the estate. At first she’d wandered about the house, but
after encountering pictures of Antonella in nearly every room,
exploring the gardens had held more appeal. Enrico had insisted
that Antonio accompany her outside.

She hadn’t known what to say to the young
guard at first, but his English was serviceable, and he proved to
be an enjoyable companion. She almost might have thought she was on
vacation, but whenever she caught sight of the machine gun hanging
from a strap across his back, reality confronted her.

They were strolling through the hedge maze
when she decided to ask him about her host. “How long have you
worked for Enrico?”

“Not long. A few months more than a… year,
yes?”

“Yes, that’s the right word.” She looked at
the sky for a moment. “Is he a good man?”

“Signor Lucchesi? No. He is not a good man.”
She looked at him in shock, and he smiled slyly. “Signor Lucchesi
is a
great
man. My life would be nothing without him.”

“Why do you say that?”

“My parents, they died when I have ten years.
There was no one who could take me. After much struggle… I went to
the Lucchesi Home.” His voice grew hoarse. “Signor Lucchesi, he is
like my own father.”

“Is that why you work for him now?”

Antonio nodded vigorously. “
Signore
wants me to attend university, but I want to repay him for all he
has done for me.”

They walked out of the maze and into the rose
garden, the heavy scent of flowers overwhelming everything else as
the sun beat down around them. Kate stopped and sniffed a
particularly large, lush rose, admiring the perfection of its deep
pink petals. “So lovely,
signora
,” Antonio said.

“Yes, these roses are gorgeous.”

“I mean you,
signora
.” She looked up
at Antonio, saw the glint in his eye.

“Antonio!” She wagged a finger at him
playfully. “You are too young for me.”

He drew himself up and squared his shoulders.
“I have twenty-one years.”

“And I have twenty-nine.”

“So?”

She stopped walking and gazed at him
steadily. Antonio had blond hair, blue eyes, a face sculpted by
Michelangelo, and the body to match. She supposed he was used to
women falling all over him. “Signor Lucchesi would not like
it.”

He eyed her up and down. “
Bellisima
.
Such a woman. It is hard to say no.”

“You’d better say no. Because I am.
Understand?” The last thing she wanted to do was stir up trouble
between Enrico and Antonio. Especially since she’d be gone
soon.

He let out a heavy sigh and placed a hand on
his chest, exaggerating his heartbreak for her benefit. Then he
smiled. “
Signore
makes a good choice in his woman.”

Kate let that comment pass. She wasn’t
Enrico’s woman, but why rub it in? She bit her lip, wondering if
she should ask. “What was Signora Lucchesi like?”

A shadow passed over Antonio’s young face,
momentarily dimming his sunny features. “She is
bella
,
molta bella
. In here,” he said, tapping his chest.

Kate’s throat constricted. How could she
possibly compete with the memory of a dead woman who had a
beautiful heart?

But what did it matter? She wasn’t going to
stay. She wasn’t ever going to be anything to Enrico other than a
fling. End of story. Even though he’d said he wanted more, even
though he’d practically begged her….

He wasn’t free. Not really. Not yet. Maybe
not ever. Could she risk her heart on a man who might not be able
to love her?

She looked at the house and gave a start when
she saw Enrico walking toward them. His lips curved up when he saw
that she’d noticed him, and she couldn’t help the grin that crossed
her face in response.
Stop daydreaming. You’re only here for a
couple more days. Enjoy it. Enjoy him. Then forget
everything
.

He strolled up to her and slipped an arm
across her shoulders, lightly kissing her cheek. “Has Antonio bored
you yet?”

“Not at all.”

Enrico raised an eyebrow. “Ah, then he has
been flirting with you.”

Her smile widened. “A bit.”

Enrico glared at Antonio, but his smile
undercut it. He said something in Italian she couldn’t make sense
of, but she was sure it amounted to a friendly “back off.”

“He’s also told me a bit about you. And
Antonella.” Her voice softened as she mentioned his wife’s
name.

He stiffened, then relaxed. “All good, I
hope.”

“According to Antonio, the two of you are
virtual saints.”

Enrico smiled. “Tonio remembers who pays his
bills, I see.”

The young guard laughed and bowed his head.
“I am not stupid,
signore
.”

“You never were. Now leave us, please.”

Antonio left with a nod to Kate, his blue
eyes lingering on her for a second too long. What else might he
have said if they’d had more time together?

“So what tales has he told you?”

“Antonio thinks the world of you. And he said
Antonella had a beautiful heart.”

Enrico’s eyes misted and he looked away. He
nodded and cleared his throat. “She did.”

“I’m glad you had such a good marriage. It’s
rare to find that kind of love.”

“I am glad too. Even though it aches to be
without her.”

She reached over and squeezed his hand. “I’m
sorry.”

“I am not. I was the luckiest man alive. How
often does that happen?”

“Not often enough.” She paused. “Probably not
twice in a lifetime.”

He looked at her. “That is where you are
wrong.”

“Am I?”

His eyes locked on hers. “I think so, yes.”
He flipped her hand over, his fingers feathering over her palm. He
leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. “Come to bed with
me, Kate. Let me show you,” he murmured against her cheek, his
breath tickling her skin.

She hesitated. She shouldn’t do this. “Well,
it will make the time pass faster.”

“You are concerned only with passing the
time?” he asked mildly.

She gave him a naughty smile. “I suppose
not.”

When she woke later that afternoon and
thought back to what had happened between her and Enrico, Kate
hardly remembered the trip into the house, up the staircase, into
his room. But she did remember the feel of her palm against his,
his large fingers clasped over hers, his pulse and hers throbbing
in time.

The next thing she remembered was his eyes,
the way they burned into hers, the way they devoured the sight of
her breasts, her sex, as he undressed her. She had never felt so
wanted, so desired.

And then she remembered his lips, his mouth
taking hers, his tongue exploring, insistent, finally demanding.
His mouth trailing down her neck, her skin tingling wherever his
lips descended. The fire those kisses stoked between her legs.

His hands, stroking her shoulders, twining in
her hair, cradling her waist, crushing her to him. His fingers
plucking her nipples into points, his mouth taking over then,
making her arch and moan, finally almost scream when he grazed her
aching peaks with his teeth, when he bit down just this side of too
hard.

Then his knee urging her legs apart, his
mouth on her sex, his lips, his tongue, his fingers on her, in her,
slipping in her wetness, making her scream and pant, and call his
name, and beg him to take her, to fuck her.

And finally she remembered him sinking into
her, making her open wide, his hips slapping against hers, harder
and faster and deeper, until she came again.

But the thing she remembered most was the
tender look in his eyes when he withdrew from her, when he rolled
over and pulled her on top of him, when he brushed the hair out of
her eyes and kissed her. When he said, “I believe it can happen
again.”

She almost believed it too.

Sunlight slanted golden and low across the
bedroom as Kate slipped out of bed, not wanting to wake Enrico.
Wincing at the soreness in her thighs and lower back, she smiled at
the memory, almost a fever dream, of their sex. She corrected
herself: their lovemaking. It was unlike anything she’d ever
experienced before. She’d never lost herself entirely to sensation,
to the moment. To the man. To the way he made her feel, inside and
out. She felt cared for, wanted, protected, needed. Maybe even…
loved. He’d implied it, there at the end.
I believe it can
happen again
.

She stumbled into the shower, grateful for
the warmth as the water ran over her hair, her arms, her back. This
was all happening so fast. Too fast. It had to stop.
She
had
to stop. But her mind kept racing down the one track she didn’t
want it to pursue.

Soaping up, she allowed herself to daydream
for a moment.
If
she wanted to be with Enrico, how could
that happen? Vince wasn’t about to give her a divorce. The only way
he intended to let her go was in a coffin.