The Price Of Secrecy (12 page)

A
scuffling noise reached his ears, and Dominic didn’t stop to turn around. He
leaned close to Angela’s ear and hissed, “Run!” Then he grabbed her hand and
took off. Her palm was so damp he barely hung on, and he knew he was doing more
pulling her along than she was actually running beside him, but he had no other
choice.

He
ducked behind a series of buildings that he knew featured a maze of alleys
between them, with another entrance to the street next to his building. She
didn’t know how to navigate them, but he did, and he was banking on the fact
that Gene didn’t know, either.

Dominic
heard her soft whimpers and heavy breathing next to him, but he couldn’t stop.
He led her through dark twists and turns by instinct more than anything, and
finally stopped to crouch behind a trash dumpster. He placed a hand over her
mouth so she wouldn’t ask questions or scream, and wished with all his heart
that he had looked harder for the other Trapani family members all these years.

Had
he been lazy, or merely complacent, assuming they were either dead or in jail?
How in the
hell
had he missed the
fact that Gene was still alive and using a fake name? That was sloppy work. It
was beyond sloppy work. It was completely
unacceptable
work, and Dominic Greco didn’t do unacceptable work.

He’d
become comfortable after eighteen years, and there was no excuse for that.
None.
Now because of it, he’d placed
this beautiful girl whom he loved in danger as well. That was unforgiveable.

He
took his hand from her mouth and put a finger to his lips, holding her gaze.
There was barely enough light to see her eyes, but he was able to notice her
nod. Then he slowly peered around the dumpster. The alley was empty. He
listened, holding his breath, and heard nothing. Either they’d lost Gene, or he
was hiding somewhere as well, waiting.

Either
way, they couldn’t stay here all night.

Dominic
took her hand and rose to his feet, again slowly, hoping she’d take the hint
and do the same. She did, and then he let out the breath he’d been holding. He
leaned close. “We’re close to my building. Walk with me slowly. Okay?”

She
nodded again, and he swore he felt her body tremble next to him. There was no
choice now. He’d have to tell her everything about his past and somehow avoid
letting her know that he knew her secret, so she wouldn’t be obligated to
notify her WITSEC inspector. Because if they moved her, and they’d have to now,
he’d lose her forever. That wasn’t an option, and he’d never ask her to leave
the program for him. He couldn’t do that.

Dominic
ran his free hand through his hair as they walked into the alley behind his building.
The back door required an entrance code, and his fingers shook as he entered
it. Any second he expected to hear someone behind them, when he would whirl
around to find Gene advancing down the alley, but nothing happened. The door
opened, he practically pushed Angela inside, and then it was locked again.

He
pulled her close and held her as she cried softly. He would make this right
somehow. He had to. Because he loved this woman, and he wasn’t giving her up
for the sake of a bunch of damn crooks, family or not.

Chapter
Sixteen

Angela
clung to Dominic as he led her to a back elevator and keyed in the code for his
penthouse apartment. She didn’t speak. She couldn’t. So many questions and
emotions raced through her mind, but she couldn’t deal with any of it right
now. All she wanted to do was collapse into Dominic’s arms.

“Take
me upstairs,” she whispered. “Please.”

“Hang
on, baby. That’s where we’re going.” He led her into the apartment and asked
her if she needed anything to eat or drink, but she shook her head. “Are we
alone?”

“No,
but Burt and Judy went to bed before I came to find you.”

“I
mean is Viggo still here?”

“No.”

“Good.”
She wrapped her arms around him. “Make love to me, Dominic. Please. I can’t
handle any of this tonight.” Her voice still shook, and fresh tears threatened.
“I need to feel you inside me. Please. I can’t talk about any of it. I only
want to be with you. I love you.”

Angela
held her breath.
Holy fuck.
Had she
really just told him she loved him?
Yes,
you did.
The words had simply slipped out. He’d think she was still drunk,
but nothing was further from the truth. Any trace of the tequila was long gone.

Dominic
swallowed hard. She knew he had because she saw it and heard it. He lifted his
chin slightly as if sniffing the air.

“I’m
not drunk. That man watching us and the run through the alleys took care of the
last of the margaritas.”

He
let out a loud sigh. “I’m glad to hear that.” The look he gave her now was full
of tenderness and lust. “Angela, we have so much to talk about it.”’

“I
know we do, but I can’t. Not now. Not tonight. Please.”

He
looked into her eyes for a long time, and she watched several emotions cross
his face, including fear. What was he hiding from? Who was that man? Was he
connected to the same people looking for her and her mother? A horrible thought
came to her, but she pushed it away.
No!
She was not in danger with Dominic. He was not connected to the Rossi family.
There was no way. It wasn’t possible.

“Did
you hear what I said?” she whispered. Her question sounded desperate, but she
didn’t care. Anything to keep the idea that whoever Dominic thought that man
was, and whoever he was fearful of was mixed up somehow with her father and
uncles. She couldn’t handle that.

“You
mean what you said about how you can’t handle this tonight, or that you love
me?” His voice was tinged with humor, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

“That
I love you.”

He
brushed a finger along her face, and she shivered. “I heard it, beautiful. Just
processing it, that’s all. I love you, too.” He shook his head slightly, and
her heart soared.
He loves me, too!
“I never thought I’d say that to any woman.”

“You
mean you haven’t?”
Seriously? Holy shit…

“Hell
no, I sure haven’t. You’re the first. The only one.”

Oh. My. God.
“I haven’t either. I mean I
haven’t said that to a man.” A giggle rose up, but she forced it back down.
This was serious business, but every happy thought she’d ever had came rushing
to the surface, just the same, and she wanted to laugh out loud and scream her
joy from the rooftop.

“To
a woman, then?” He was teasing her now, but she loved that.

“Well,
to my mother. And to Lesli, of course.”

“I
have competition from your BFF?”

She
laughed now. She had to. And then she kissed him. “You have no competition,
Dominic. The only man I want is you.”

He
lifted her into his arms and carried her up the stairs, and then into his
bedroom. She let go of everything, and when he laid her on the bed and covered
her body with his, she wrapped her arms and legs around him and kissed him like
she never had before. She was on fire for this seductive, enigmatic man.

The
loud moans filling the air came from both of them, and Angela could barely
stand to wait for him to peel off her clothes. She nearly tore his shirt trying
to remove it, and soon they both were laughing at their eagerness. He cupped
her face and pulled her hair, kissing her with an abandon she’d never felt from
him.

Their
hands were all over each other’s bodies, caressing and sliding up and down
limbs, and over sensitive parts. Angela nearly came from his touch alone. She
couldn’t wait any longer. He laid her face down and slid two fingers into her
pussy from behind. “Baby, oh my God, you’re so fucking wet for me!”

“Dominic,
please. Fuck me. Please! Hard and rough. Take me. Please. Make me yours
forever.”

“Oh
Angela…” He kissed her back, trailing his tongue down over her ass cheeks.
“You’ve always been mine. From the second you walked into my office you
belonged to me.”

“I
love you so much.”

“I
love you, too, baby.”

She
cried out in pleasure as he slid his dick into her wetness from behind, pumping
so hard her entire body moved on the bed. She grasped fistfuls of the comforter
and hung on, riding the crazy waves of passion as the orgasm crashed over her
twice, filling her body with delicious sensations that she could barely stand.

Droplets
of sweat hit her back, and still he fucked her, whispering her name over and
over. His hands slipped underneath to grab her breasts, and she lifted her
torso so he could get a better hold on them. When he rolled her nipples between
his thumbs and forefingers, electric jolts raced to her already throbbing clit,
and the climax was intensified once more.

He
pulled out and rolled her onto her back, kissing her rough and hard. When he
sank his cock into her pussy again, she clung to him as he thrust in and out
with crazy speed. He’d never taken her this way, but it was exactly what she
needed and wanted tonight.

She
was lost in his body and his claiming of her, and she never wanted to come back
to the real world. Angela wanted to stay here forever, in Dominic’s arms, and
with his dick inside her.

She
lost track of her orgasms, and it didn’t matter. Nothing did. Only Dominic, his
dark, intense eyes, and his loud groans and whispered endearments as he held
onto her and took her body over and over. He claimed her very soul this time. When
he finally cried out and came inside her, she shuddered at the intensity of it.

They
lay like that for long, luscious moments while time stood still, sweating,
clinging to each other’s bodies as their breathing slowly returned to normal.
Angela became aware of how wet she was, and then she tried to sit up but
Dominic still had her pinned with his hard, muscled body. “Fuck! Shit!”

That
did. He sat up, staring down at her with alarm on his face. “What is it, baby?
Did I hurt you?”

“No
… Shit! You weren’t wearing a condom.”

“Oh.
You’re right. I wasn’t.” He shrugged. “Good. Maybe you’ll get pregnant?”

She
blinked several times as his words tried to process inside her foggy brain.
“Excuse me?”

“Don’t
you want children?”

“I
… we’ve never discussed it.”

“Then
let’s discuss it.”

She
sat up. “Dominic, I … I don’t know what to say right now.”

He
cupped her face, his own filled with desperation. “Angela, I love you. You have
me. All of me. I don’t do anything half-assed. I told you that. When I said I
love you I meant forever. I’ve never told a woman I love her. I’m not giving
you up.”

He
pulled her close, and she frowned. His words were perfect. Romantic and
heart-wrenching, but they were also filled with an urgency she didn’t
understand. Who was that man? Dominic had recognized him, and now this. He was
afraid not only for himself, but for her. It suddenly all made sense, but why?

She
pulled out of his embrace. “I love you, too. Yes, one day I would love
children, and I can’t imagine having them with anyone but you.” She took a deep
breath and gathered her courage. “But it seems we need to talk about a few
things first.”

****

Dominic
pulled her close. “Yes. Yes, we do. But I need to preface this by asking you
not to say anything that will force you to call any government agency contact.
Please don’t do that. Not yet. Let me do some background work through Viggo
first. He helped me once, and he can help me again without compromising you or
your mother.”

He
pulled away to gauge her reaction, and it was exactly what he’d expected. “Oh
my God,” she whispered. Tears welled up in her beautiful eyes, and he hated
that. He also hated the fear he saw there. “How did you find out? How long have
you known?”

He
put a finger over her lips. “Don’t say anything. Then no one can say you did.
Let me take care of this. Please? Trust me.” If he’d had any doubt about what
he’d suspected was the truth, he didn’t now.

She
nodded, her eyes wide and filled with uncertainty.

“Good
girl. Okay. First things first. As magnificent as that lovemaking was, and as
much as I want to repeat it already, we’re going to put on some clothes and go
down to my office. I need to make sure your mother has twenty-four protection
before I do one more thing, and this time it will be my friends providing it,
until we can sort this out.”

She
didn’t speak.

“She’s
safe, Angela. I don’t think he was looking for you or her. I think he was
looking for me.”

“He
saw me.” Her voice was small, like that of a frightened child. “He saw my
face.”

“In
the darkness, and he has no idea who you are.”

She
nodded. “I want to call my mom. I need to know she’s okay.”

He
crawled off the bed and retrieved her jeans. The hell with his office. They
could make the calls from here. He fished in her pocket for her phone and
handed it to her. “Be careful what you say to her.”

“I
will be.”

While
he listened to Angela talk to her mother, he realized he’d never been as proud
of her as he was right now. True to her word, she kept her voice calm as she
talked about her new job, and told her mother how much time she’d been spending
with him. He might as well be listening to two best friends talking to each
other, and his heart gave an odd lurch.

She
loved her mother very much, and was obviously close to her. He had to make sure
nothing happened to either one. This had just become far more involved than
he’d realized.

Dominic
had always refused a security detail, but this wasn’t the time to play hero. He
needed them now, and so did Marilyn. He went across the hall to call Brian
Anderson, Merrick’s brother, and gave him as many details as possible, without
compromising Angela’s and Marilyn’s WITSEC status. Brian asked him for two
hours, and then assured him everything would be in place.

When
he returned to the bedroom, Angela was still on the phone, now speaking to her
mother in Italian. It was a Sicilian dialect, and he understood every word. She
was telling her mom what a fabulous lover he was, and how happy she was with
him. He watched her for a moment, and then her eyes widened as she realized he
understood her. She switched back to English and ended the call.

Her
face was as red as a freshly boiled lobster, and his dick was painful now it
was so hard. “Thank you for what you said about me.”

“Why
didn’t you tell me you spoke Italian?”

“You
heard me speak it at lunch the first day of work.”

“Ordering
food and understanding it are two very different things.”

He
crawled onto the bed. “Yes, they are, but you never specifically asked me if I
could speak it.”

She
said nothing, merely grinned at him as he pushed her back onto the bed and held
her arms overhead.

“You
know I lied to you about the Italian roommate.”

He
chuckled. “Yes, I know. I knew when you slipped up and told me you’d learned it
from your mother.”

“Yet
you trusted me after that. Why?”

“Because
I knew you weren’t trying to hurt me. I knew you were afraid and hiding. I just
didn’t know why or from who. You mean everything to me, Angela. I won’t let
anyone hurt you.”

“You
mean everything to me, too. So tell me how to keep you safe as well.”

“I
will.” He kissed her neck. “In a moment.” Dominic let go of her wrists and
trailed his tongue down to her breasts, where he circled each nipple several
times until she moaned loudly and arched her hips toward him. Then he tortured
her by sucking them slowly. When she grabbed fistfuls of his hair, he slid his
cock into her wetness, and fucked her until he couldn’t breathe anymore.

She
came twice again, and then he finally let go and filled her with his seed once
more. They held each other close, the sweat drying on their bodies. Dominic
laid out a solid plan in his head. He would do anything to keep this girl and
her mother safe now. He loved Angela, and he wanted her with him forever. No
one was going to rise up from her past or his to take her away. He’d kill them
if they tried.