by Kym Roberts
She hesitated and then remembered the historic water clock in the public park where she’d met Sister Francesca her second day in Rome. She nodded and Sister continued. “Be there at six o’clock this evening and wear this.” Sister pulled a blue and red scarf from her other pocket and shook out the wrinkles. “I don’t know who will be there to meet you yet, but it will be a friend who’ll ask you where you bought your scarf. They will be looking for a store to purchase a quality scarf for their mother.”
Hope sparked to life in Téa’s chest. Could she really come back to this place she loved so much? “What do I tell the people in the kitchen?” The last thing she wanted to do was leave the food bank high and dry for the evening meal. Not only would it leave them in a lurch for tonight, it wouldn’t endear her to them in the future. If there was a future for her here…
“I will cover for you and tell them you weren’t feeling well. Hurry before Anna comes back. You can slip out the side door.” Sister Francesca opened the door and looked both ways.
It was the first time Téa had ever felt the desire to hug another human being and never let go since her mother had died. But something inside her wouldn’t allow her arms to rise. Instead, she followed Sister out of the powder room and down the hall. She glanced over her shoulder at Sister who blocked the hallway as she pushed on the door.
“Thank you, Sister Francesca. You truly are heaven sent.” She didn’t wait for a response as she rushed out the door, pulling her hair down around her face as she exited into the side alley. In moments, she disappeared into the busy streets of Rome with her head bent down and her gaze meeting none of the passersby. To most people, she would be invisible with her hair draped across her face hiding her features, to others she would be a young teen with her head buried in the cell phone she held up as a decoy. The phone lit up, but had no service beyond the ability to call the polizia. It was perfect for a woman who had no one to call.
What she didn’t notice was the man sitting on the corner who knew exactly who to call when she hit the streets.
Chapter Four
“What do you mean he was released?”
“Don’t kill the messenger. I contacted the Carabinieri and they said he wasn’t a threat to the community.” Megan shrugged. “Just you.”
Khaos rubbed the bridge of his nose and leaned back in the leather seat at his borrowed desk. This could not be happening. He knew he should’ve contacted the state police agency that handled criminal investigations in the city before he’d allowed the officers to take Stefan from the scene, but a commotion at the other end of the security detail had kept him busy for most of the afternoon. A couple of photographers and bikini models had caused the crowd to surge and one senator with a less than pristine reputation had joined them. It seemed the senator only needed protection when he was viewing historical sites, not when skimpily clad women were involved in a photo shoot. The ridiculous scene was still creating hurdles five hours later.
Khaos sighed. Without repercussions, Stefan’s obsession was a heartbeat away from turning dangerous. A minor slap on the wrist was nothing to someone as persistent as Stefan had become.
Damn it, this goat fuck of a day just kept getting worse. With everything that had happened, he’d missed the opportunity at the food bank to confront Téa. No matter how much he dug into the events of that night in Mexico City, it always came back to her. She was the only way to get Ty’s name cleared, but he suspected she knew secrets the Vanetti la Cosa Nostra would not want known, and that was what had gotten her parents killed. The same information that had left her a victim to sex trafficking. Coming home would not be without risk.
Téa was also the reason he’d met Stefan. Stefan had brought her grandmother groceries the day Khaos had gone to visit Alice Bello. Téa Bello wasn’t her full name, but it was enough to find a missing person’s report. Téa Bello Vanetti had been missing for almost four years when Khaos walked up her grandmother’s sidewalk and rang the doorbell.
That visit with her grandmother Alice Bello had been the first of many. Khaos bonded with the woman almost instantaneously. There was hope in her eyes to find her daughter, and granddaughter alive, since the remains of her son-in-law Alessandro Vanetti had been found three years earlier.
Stefan had walked into the house in the middle of that first meeting like an over-sized Boy Scout earning a badge for his uniform. The kitchen door had slammed closed and a booming voice reverberated off the walls. “I’m home, Alice! I’ve brought you bonbons!”
Alice had instantly gone to assist the man with her groceries and Khaos had followed. It was then that he learned Stefan had worked for Téa’s father, and although there were implications of Alessandro Vanetti being involved in a bribery scheme of some city council members before his death, there had been no evidence to prove it.
Alice introduced Khaos to Stefan and the two had talked for what seemed like hours. Stefan Asher didn’t have a completely clean record, but he was loyal to Téa’s family, which he proved by taking care of Alice’s yard, house and groceries every week. As helpful as he was to Alice, however, he was the exact opposite for Khaos. He knew very little about Olivia and Téa Bello, other than what Alice had told him and as time went by, Stefan became more and more of a problem for Khaos.
Khaos rubbed his face. “Did you at least get to talk to him?”
“Sorry, Boss. By the time I got there, he was gone.”
“Of course he was,” he muttered, too pissed off to keep the comment to himself.
“It was my mistake, Boss. I’ll track him down.” Megan offered.
“He’s the least of our worries. Today we learned about security risks we can’t have when the Vice President arrives next week. Did you find out how Stefan made it past the first barrier? He shouldn’t have had a pass.”
Megan nodded. “I agree, but no one claimed him as a guest and our protocols were in place. Only special guests were allowed into the restricted area. Individuals who’d been thoroughly vetted.”
“Stefan wouldn’t have passed a background check. He had a felony conviction for credit card fraud.”
Megan closed the door and sat down in one of the two comfortable chairs positioned in front of his desk. That cushioned chair was a mistake he’d never make if this was his office. Make subordinates too comfortable, and they never leave your damned office.
His eyebrow quirked at her actions. “I take it you have something to say?”
Megan wiped an imaginary loose hair back from her face. Not one strand had loosened throughout the day. Her brown eyes met his, strong and capable. “There’s something you’re not telling me, or anyone else.”
He leaned back in his chair, amazed at this little woman who had more balls than all of the other agents in his office combined. No one asked about his personal life, because he didn’t share. Some things were common knowledge. Like the fact that his parents had been murdered while he was in college. Everyone knew that. They also knew their murders had been attributed to a feud between business partners. They didn’t know the partner had been involved with a drug cartel. Even the police doubted that tidbit of information about the crime. The local police believed his parents were killed in a robbery gone bad, and their partner committed suicide a year later. Khaos had long known his parents were killed in a murder for hire case along with their deceitful partner. His parents’ business partner had been a coward whose involvement with the cartel had gotten them murdered, and once their deaths were carried out, he’d been eliminated as well. He didn’t kill himself out of guilt, he was executed.
The only thing that kept his sister alive was that she was at college and had no knowledge of the business. Yet she still lived in constant fear. He’d been able to keep her safe from the threats of future violence since that time six years ago.
The one time he’d gotten too caught up in his own career, Ty Beckinsale had somehow broken down his sister’s emotional walls and succeeded in trapping himself in h
er secured compound as well. It was unfortunate that Ty’s past was making everything worse.
Megan stirred in the seat in front of him, something very uncharacteristic of her. “I want to apologize for involving Gilham in your personal matter.”
He’d expected this at some point, but it wasn’t necessary. He knew she was busy on this trip. He moved some of the papers on his desk, trying to convey a lack of importance in the information.
“Forget about it.”
She didn’t. “I got busy and couldn’t wait for Father Petra’s call. I’m sorry.” When he didn’t respond, she continued. “I received a call from a Father Petra a few minutes ago.”
Shit.
“He said he needed to talk to you.” When Khaos looked back down at his computer, Megan snorted. “He couldn’t wait. He said he needed to speak to you right this instant. He’s on line three.”
“Why didn’t you say so before you sat down and made yourself comfortable?”
“I thought you had something you needed to get off your chest.”
He looked down at the phone and saw line three was as dark as every other line. He grabbed the phone and pushed the button, but his suspicions were true. The only thing he heard on the other end was dead air.
He bit back every expletive wanting to flow through his lips and asked, “Did he say what it was about?” Khaos knew damned well what the call was about, he just needed to know how discreet his contact was being.
“Life or death. He didn’t say which one.”
“Thank you, agent.” He dismissed her and turned back to his desk phone.
“Don’t you want the number?”
Her expression was as innocent as a nun in a schoolyard, and just as alert too. He wasn’t pulling any woolen nun’s habit over her eyes. Out of all of the agents he worked with, Megan knew what drove him. They’d been friends before his promotion. More than friends since then if one night of loneliness had any say in the matter, and they still were friends. They just had the barrier of rank between them; drawing a line in the boundaries of how much they shared.
“You know I have it.”
“Then why are you shutting me out? You’ve found her, haven’t you?”
He trusted Megan completely. She knew about Ty and his sister and he’d confided in her about Téa—to a point. She’d been the only one he’d ever turned to for help in this case. A little info here, a tidbit there, but he’d tried to keep her insulated from everything he did. She didn’t know about Alice, or where he’d met Stefan. She didn’t know about his meeting with Téa or the chemistry he’d felt. Now wasn’t the time to confide, and yet, if Father Petra called, he needed to find out what was going on.
“Yes—”
Megan pushed forward in her seat; her enthusiasm added a glint to her eyes. “Oh my God! That’s wonderful!”
Khaos didn’t have time for her elation. It was unwarranted at this point and he needed to call the priest before he lost her again. “Megan, if you don’t mind, I need to make this call.”
She stood up with her exuberance waning. “What’s wrong? How can I help?”
“You can’t.”
“I can.” Her enthusiasm to assist was palpable in the room. Megan was driven to save. Khaos didn’t know why, but as soon as she got wind of a supporting role, she wanted to be that pillar to hold the ceiling in place. It wasn’t a hero complex, and it wasn’t a hero behind the hero complex either. He’d never been able to put a finger on exactly who Megan wanted to be. Possibly a hero behind the scenes that no one ever noticed?
He shook his head, refusing to get caught up in the conundrum of Megan’s personality. “Agent,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “Shut my door on your way out.”
That glimmer was still in her eyes, but it’d turned to one of determination; that dogged trait that made her a damn good agent. Too bad it was directed at getting into his personal business. She walked toward the door, then turned around and confirmed his suspicion.
“I will help you find her and bring her home,” she said before she closed the door softly on her exit.
Shit. The last thing he wanted to do was to bring her into this jacked-up mess. Staring at his desk phone, he changed his mind. It was time to move, and get Téa Bello Vanetti in the bag. He slammed down the receiver, pulled his jacket off the coat tree behind his desk and made his way out of the office with his cell phone in hand.
As he exited the office building, onto the streets of Rome, he entered the hustle of the busy streets packed with evening commuters and tourists out to see the sights at night. His call finally rang through. “Father Petra, it’s Daniel Artino returning your call.”
“She left the food bank early.”
He stared straight ahead, trying not to grind his teeth together. “When?”
“Three hours ago.”
It took everything he had not to yell at the man for not calling him sooner. Father Petra had been very responsive to his inquiries and had given Khaos more information than the man was comfortable giving. Yet the hope of reuniting a grandmother and granddaughter had caused the priest to talk—luckily he didn’t know Khaos had ulterior motives that drove him to find Téa in the first place. For that sin, Khaos would probably burn in hell.
“Do you know where she was going?”
“I don’t. Nor does anyone else. She left the bank with Sister Francesca before we served the evening meal. Sister made it back in time for dinner. Téa did not.”
He knew Téa was close to the nun. The two were as close as real life sisters, and Khaos wondered if it was a bond the nun was attempting to make permanent by persuading Téa to join in service of God. Jeezus, he hoped that wasn’t the case. He’d hate to lust after a woman of the cloth. “What did the sister say about her disappearance?”
Father Petra hesitated, then sighed. “I pray you are good for her.”
Khaos couldn’t answer those prayers, instead he held his silence and let the priest make his own mistakes.
“She said Téa had news from home she needed to deal with. I assumed it was you.”
Fuck. Sister Francesca knew he was back. The crafty woman had been more suspicious than Téa eight months ago, when he’d gone to the food bank in search of his imaginary little sister. Téa had been willing to talk to him when he’d approached her, Sister Francesca had swooped in and blocked all communication as she stood between them and talked over the younger woman. It was only when Téa looked up with her drop dead gorgeous smile spreading across her face that he recognized the woman he sought.
He’d foolishly been looking for a teenager, not a full-grown adult who despite her small frame, and baggy clothing, could not hide that she was a woman through and through. Her hair had fallen across her face with the length almost reaching her waist. He wondered about its length now.
“It was not me. Do you know where she would go?”
Father Petra hesitated. It was as if his doubts were taking root in his thoughts.
He stuck with his original story. The one he knew Téa and Sister Francesca had not disputed. “Father Petra, our grandmother isn’t well. We’ve been searching for my sister for years and as you know, I wasn’t able to persuade her to come home eight months ago, but I have to try again. We only want what is best for her. We are the only living relatives our grandmother has.”
“If you give me your grandmother’s telephone number—”
“My grandmother won’t ask for Téa to come home, and you know how suspicious Téa has become. Without seeing me in person, she won’t come home, nor will she believe any information you receive is legitimate without staring her brother in the eyes. Just as it took time for you to trust me, Téa has to learn to trust her family again as well.”
“We have rescued many victims of the sex trafficking trade being shipped in and out of your country and South America. Trust does not come easy for them.”
“I understand. She was betrayed by someone she knows
. She hasn’t told me who, but when she does, I will make sure they pay for what they’ve done to her.” That was the truth. The strength in his vow wasn’t feigned. “Your work with the victims is done at great risk to all who aid in the endeavor. I understand those threats more than most, Father, those seen, and unseen.” Khaos waited and hoped the silence would stir up memories for the priest. Images of him tackling a white supremacist who’d targeted the Vice President just two months earlier on the campaign trail. That video clip had been shown on every news outlet worldwide. The knife had been well hidden. The man had been cheering in support. His eyes however, had shown fear. Sweat on his upper lip displayed nervousness in the brisk winter air, and the tremor in the man’s hands gave away the adrenaline coursing through his body. Khaos had seen it all, and reacted when others hadn’t.
His pause was effective.
“I know you do, Agent Artino.”
“I want to make certain that not one of your people are put at risk, now or in the future. I am the only person she can contact. Another could unwittingly give out her location to the wrong people.” Someone bumped his shoulder and Khaos realized he wasn’t taking the care he should’ve to ensure no one followed him. As he spoke of trusting his talents, he was actually demonstrating a reckless lack of attention to his surroundings. It wasn’t like him at all.
Yet all he could think about were high cheekbones accentuating dark, soulful eyes. Soft, plump lips that trembled even as they enticed, despite the jagged scar at one corner. He didn’t want to desire her. Hadn’t desired the girl in the photographs he’d collected from her grandmother, but the woman he’d met last winter was entirely different than the girl he’d been searching for. She’d had the strength of a survivor, the child didn’t. She had the spirit of a fighter and the ability to adapt to her surroundings. When their eyes met, a spark ignited somewhere within him. The attraction had been instantaneous.