Revenge (38 page)

Best of all, Lucchesi would have no idea that
the pain was just starting. That all of this had merely been the
appetizer before the main course.

Carlo picked up the phone and placed two
calls. One to Domenico, the other to his favorite member of the
carabinieri
.

Kate hadn’t let Antonio leave her side since
he’d come in her hospital room looking for Ruggero. She’d asked him
two questions: How was Enrico? And why had he called him Don
Lucchesi? He’d answered the first, and pretended he hadn’t heard
the second. So she’d asked again. Twice more. He’d looked
increasingly uncomfortable with each repetition. So she asked a
fourth time.

This time he got up and paced over to the
open door, poking his head out and looking down the hall. Then he
came back in.
This is it. He’s going to tell me
.

Instead he sat down in the chair across from
her bed and rubbed his hands over his face. He looked at the floor
tiles and ignored her.

“Answer me, Antonio. Why did you call him Don
Lucchesi?”

Two spots of color rose in his cheeks, but he
continued to stare at the floor.

“Why, Antonio?”

Finally he met her eyes. “I cannot say.”

“Yes, you can.”

“I cannot.”

She sighed, letting her eyes fill with tears.
Maybe that would work on him. It was easy to summon the tears; she
didn’t have to think about anything in particular. She was so angry
and frustrated. And worried. And happy about the baby. And
terrified at the same time. It wasn’t just her life in jeopardy
anymore. Now she had two people to worry about. Two people to keep
safe from Carlo Andretti. How the hell was she going to do
that?

“
Signora
,
per favore
, do not
cry.” Antonio brought her a box of tissues, holding it out to her
awkwardly, his face turned away from her.

“Look at me. Look me in the eyes and tell me
why.”

“
Signora
, I
cannot
say.”

A knock on the door broke their gaze. A nurse
wheeled Enrico in, followed by Dottor Beltrami and Ruggero. She
looked Enrico over, glad his color had returned, though he was
hunched uncomfortably in the chair. But she didn’t want to see him.
And she certainly didn’t want to talk to him. Enrico looked at
everyone around them. “Please leave us.”

“That’s not necessary,” Kate said.

“It is.” Enrico glared at the others. “
Per
favore
, now. And close the door behind you.” Antonio was the
first to start edging toward the hall, then the rest followed suit.
The room was clear a few seconds later.

Kate wiped her tears away with a tissue. She
didn’t want to appear weak for this conversation. “I wish you’d
leave me alone.”

“I had to see you.”

“You’ve seen me. I’m fine. Now go.”

He leaned forward in the chair, wincing.
“Kate, Dottor Beltrami told me about the child.”

She flushed with heat. “I asked him not
to!”

“Why?”

She averted her eyes from his. “You know
why.”

“Because of who I am.”

She looked at him then. “Yes.” She held his
eyes, waiting for more. When he didn’t respond, she added, “You
can’t even say it, can you?”

He sighed and stared at his hands. “I am the
capo
of the Lucchesi
cosca
. There, I have said it.”
He raised his eyes and smirked after a moment. “You would not
believe how many people in law enforcement have wanted to hear
that.”

She took a deep breath. “Why didn’t you tell
me?”

“Two reasons. One, you would not have trusted
me if you had known. And two, that knowledge is dangerous. If I
told you and you rejected me, I would have to silence you.”

“What a nice way of putting it!” She waited a
beat and then said, “So you’re telling me now. Does that mean my
choice is whether you or Carlo kills me?”

“Kate, I would never—”

“You just said you would ‘silence’ me.”

“But I cannot. That is my dilemma. I cannot
do it. And I do not want you with me because you have no choice.
Nor do I want to leave you at Carlo’s mercy.” He bit his lip. “And
I do not want our child to grow up without knowing me.” He paused a
moment, his voice hoarsening. “I already have one child I did not
get to raise. I do not want that to happen again.”

Kate’s eyes widened. “You have a child?”

“A son. He is twenty-seven and lives in
England. He was conceived while I was engaged to Antonella. I was
seventeen. I was infatuated with an English girl, Veronica, and I
did not want to marry a girl I had not chosen. I have regretted my
behavior ever since.” He looked at her. “I never told Toni. She
already hurt so badly over not being able to have a child.”

“Wow.” Kate was silent for a moment. “You
have a son only two years younger than me?”

“Does that bother you?”

“A bit. It’s been easy to forget our age
difference.”

“I have a past, Kate.”

She was silent for a moment, then she said,
“So, do you see him?”

Enrico shook his head. “I have not seen him
since he was eight. Well, I have not seen him up close. I have
spied on him from afar a few times. He hates me.”

“Why?”

“It is a long story.”

“We don’t have anywhere to be.”

Enrico sighed. “He thinks it is my fault his
mother killed herself.”

“
Is
it your fault?”

He fiddled with the ties on his hospital
robe. “Of course not. But sometimes I blame myself, for not seeing
the signs. For not treating her better all those years ago. I
should have told Veronica I was engaged. I should not have let her
believe I was free.”

Kate let out a sound of disgust and lay back
against the pillows. “You are one fine piece of work, Enrico.”

“What does that mean?”

She held his eyes with hers. “First this girl
in England, and then your secretary. And now me. And your wife too.
You lied to us all.” Her anger rose, building into a flash of heat
that burned her face and throat. She poured acid into her voice.
“
Twice
I asked you,
twice
you denied it. You lied
right to my face. That is
not
how you treat someone you
love.”

His eyes dropped to the tiles. “I cannot
argue. I have no right to ask you to forgive me. But I will.”

The gall of him. “How long have all of you
been laughing behind my back?”

“No one has been laughing at you. It was
necessary. All of us keep secrets all the time. It has become
second nature.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Frankly, I am
weary of it.”

“I’m ‘weary’ of all the lying too. How could
you have so little respect for me?”

“I
do
respect you. I was trying to
keep you safe. If I had told you earlier, you would have run, and
Carlo would have found you.”

It was true. But it didn’t change the fact of
who he was. “How many people have you killed?”

To his credit, he didn’t hesitate.
“Personally, a handful. I do not keep track of how many I have
ordered to be killed.”

She sucked in a breath. How casually he said
this. “Don’t you feel any remorse?”

He said nothing for a second, then he
answered, his eyes on hers. “I kill only when it is deserved. Then
there is nothing to feel guilty about.”

“It’s still murder.”

“God kills every day. Is that murder?”

“So now you’re God?”
The balls on this
man
!

“No. But I do administer justice. I am sure
that sometimes I am carrying out His will.”

“But you kill innocent people! How can that
be God’s will?”

He leaned forward, his eyes intent on her,
anger on his face. “Listen to me. I kill only those who deserve it.
The innocent have nothing to fear from me.”

“How can that be true?”

“Do you think the people of this area, do you
think the Italian state, would tolerate me long if I killed the
innocent? If I did not enforce, yes, law and order, upon my own
people, and upon other ‘Ndranghetisti? I serve a purpose here. I am
their major defense against the likes of Carlo Andretti and Cosa
Nostra and the Russian mob, and any other criminals who would like
to infiltrate Milan and the lake.”

If Enrico were gone, and Carlo Andretti were
running the show…. Her stomach roiled.

“Can you forgive me?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” She looked down at her hands,
twisting them in the light sheet covering her. What should she do?
He was a Mafioso. And yet he was everything Carlo Andretti was not.
Everything Vince had never been. Did that make him a good man?

“Then I am going to ask again. Do you forgive
me? Everything I did, it was out of love. I wanted to give you a
choice. I wanted you to come to me of your own free will. I wanted
you with me because you love me. Not because you have to be.”

“And the child, I suppose, is part of
it?”

“I do not want our baby to grow up without
me.” He paused. “Or not to grow up at all.”

It took her a second to grasp what he meant.
“I’m keeping the baby.”

He smiled, his body losing some of its
tension. “I am glad of that at least.” He rolled the chair closer
to the bed, his face tightening with pain as he did so. “Kate, I
want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”

Adrenaline rushed through her at the words.
She’d been afraid of them. And now that she knew who he was, she
was afraid of him. Of what he’d do if she said no. “I can’t answer
that.”

“Why not?” He looked at her, puzzled.

“Because I don’t have a choice. It’s yes, or
that’s it, isn’t it?”

“If you want to say no, say it. I will figure
out how to get you out of the country. And somehow I will keep you
safe from Andretti.”

“But won’t you be in trouble for letting me
go?”

“Most likely I will lose my head over it. But
I will not force you to marry me.”

Would he be saying that if she wasn’t
pregnant? “So were you ever planning to tell me? Perhaps not until
after I was your wife, after I was pregnant with your child?”

“That would not be right. Remember when we
were in the car? Just before you were shot, I said there was
something I owed you, so you could admit you love me. And that
something was the truth. I planned to tell you that minute, so you
could decide. And then only you and I would know you knew, and if
you wanted to leave, you could.” He looked away from her. “I wish I
had worked up the nerve to say it a few minutes earlier. I wish I
had told you long ago. Then you would know you could trust me.”

She thought for a moment. “Does anyone else
know about your son?”

“No. I have kept him secret to keep him
safe.”

“So you trust me with this?”

He raised his eyes to hers. “I am trusting
you with my
life
. You know who I am now.” Then he added,
“And with my heart too. I love you so much it tears me apart to
think of never seeing you again. But I will let you go, if that is
what you want, and I will face whatever I have to as a result.” He
reached out and took her hand, his warm fingers closing around
hers. She kept her hand stiff at first, then finally relaxed it.
She looked at him for a good long while, not saying anything. He
trusted her; could she ever trust him?

“Kate?” he asked, his voice low, hushed.
Waiting.

“If I wasn’t pregnant, would you still let me
go?”

“Of course. I would never harm you. Never. I
would take a bullet for you.”

She smiled. How many people could say that
and literally mean it? “You did, actually, in the car. And with
Vince, you almost did.”

“Do not forget he tried to stab me, too, back
in your office.” He returned her smile.

He was always taking a risk for her; maybe it
was time she did the same. “That’s how this all started.”

He shook his head. “Not exactly. I was in
love with you for months before that. But I had to finish grieving
for Toni first before I could see that.”

He’d been through so much; he’d taken so many
chances since that fight with Vince in her office, and all of them
for her. Her throat tightened up. “You really do love me, don’t
you?” Kate fought to keep tears out of her eyes.

“God knows I do.” He picked up her hand and
kissed her knuckles. “I would do anything for you.”

She blew out the breath she’d been holding.
“Including lying, cheating, and stealing?” she teased.

“If you wish.” He looked at her closely, his
expression serious. “Will you forgive me?”

“Will you ever lie to me again?”

“Never.”

“You swear it?”

“On the graves of those I loved, I swear
it.”

She looked into his eyes, so serious with his
love for her. “Then I forgive you.”

He kissed her hand again. “Will you do me the
honor of being my wife?”

She searched his face. It was impossible to
know how the baby was affecting things, impossible to know if he
loved her as much as he loved Antonella. He’d broken the law, he’d
killed. But he wasn’t a cruel man. And he did love her. He had
proven it in the most meaningful way possible. He had risked his
life for hers. He had entrusted her with his two most important
secrets.

And despite all the armor she thought she’d
clad herself in, Enrico Lucchesi had touched her heart. She thought
back to that day by the pool, how he’d brought her the hat and the
sunscreen, how he’d moved the umbrella around to keep her shaded
while she slept. They were little things, and yet they were
everything true and decent about this man. He looked out for her,
in all ways, large and small. If that wasn’t true love, what was?
Her eyes blurred with tears, and she let go of his hand.