by Kym Roberts
Dressed in dark suits and ties with white shirts, both men were short and beefy and had the appearance of professional bodyguards.
One voice rang clear and cultured. “Do not shoot!” The order came from a third man dressed in an expensive double-breasted suit with a silk tie and leather shoes. His dark hair was combed back from his face and he wore a short beard and mustache. In his early thirties, the man had the self-confidence of a man born to lead. He strode down the hillside like he was a king, or a male runway model.
Megan recognized him immediately. “Shit. That’s Andrea Vanetti.”
King. Italian mob king of the Vanetti la Cosa Nostra. If he was angry, it was hard to tell. The man was infamous for killing his enemies without batting an eye. Things had gone from bad, to fucking bad.
Khaos glanced from Megan’s face pinched with pain, to the man, to the inside of the car, desperate to get a view of Téa. There. Staring at him with worry on her face, she yanked and pulled on a seatbelt that wouldn’t give. She hung sideways in the car and he was struck by her beauty. Despite everything going on around him, she was everything.
He returned his gaze to the man approaching the same spot he’d been in when Stefano had cut Megan’s throat. Jeezus. It was a miracle to have her lying next to him, still breathing and scowling. A second miracle might be too much for anyone to expect.
Stefano took advantage of the silence. “Kill them! That bitch killed Ricco and he shot me!”
Khaos grabbed his shirt ready to put a bullet in his head before he died. Blood soaked Stefano’s shirt above his right hip, but the injury didn’t appear to be bleeding at a fast pace.
Too bad.
“That’s far enough,” Khaos ordered.
The man stopped and held up his hands. “Agent Artino, I have no wish to harm you or the charming Ms. McClary.”
“That’s Agent McClary to you Vanetti,” Megan snarled.
Wonderful. Get us killed over a title, Megan.
Andrea bowed his head, in deference to Megan’s demand. “Agent McClary, my sincere apologies. It’s nice to know that my reputation precedes me—”
“She killed Ricco!” Stefano repeated.
Andrea’s eyes narrowed.
Khaos wound his fist in Stefano’s shirt and pulled him close. “I’ve changed my mind. We don’t need you alive.”
“Now, Agent Artino. I hate to disappoint you, but unfortunately I do need him alive. You see, my father is an old man, and he would very much like to meet Stefano.”
“It’s not going to happen.”
“Agent. You are in the middle of nowhere with a seriously injured partner in need of medical attention, and Ms. Téa Bello—I assume she is still in the car?”
Andrea made a move toward the vehicle and Khaos immediately turned his gun on him. Two guns quickly pointed in his direction. “Don’t go anywhere near her.”
Andrea held up his hands and indicated for his men to put their guns away. When one hesitated, Andrea turned his head and the power of his glare was enough to make the man take a step back. Andrea returned his attention to Khaos.
“My apologies. I have a message for Ms. Bello from Sister Francesca.”
Fuck. Khaos heard her breath hitch and out of the corner of his eye saw her hand cover her mouth. He wasn’t going to allow her to relive the events of Sister Mary’s death with the death of another friend. Another nun. Not by a long shot, asshole. “Not another word, Andrea. I don’t care what you did to the nun, you will not utter a word about it in front of Téa, do you hear me?”
Stefano laughed. The motherfucker laughed and Khaos tightened the grip around Stefano’s neck, pulling his shirt tight enough to make him struggle to catch a breath.
Andrea watched without saying a word, and Khaos got the distinct impression the man would enjoy watching Stefano die. He loosened his hold.
Stefano coughed and rubbed his throat. “Are you going to just stand there and—”
“Enough, Stefano. Do not talk to me again. Is that understood?” The urbane quality of Andrea’s voice made the warning deadly. The slight tick in his jaw made it seriously fucking deadly.
Stefano didn’t get the message. “I understand Mr. Vanetti, but—”
Khaos tightened his grip to shut Stefano the hell up. Stefano gagged.
“Thank you, Agent Artino. Now as I was saying, my message from Sister Francesca is a happy message. You see, there was a boy staying at the convent who was abandoned by his mother several years ago. The sisters believed he did not have a father, until one of my employees saw him outside the food bank and recognized him immediately. I’m told he resembles his father as a child quite strikingly.”
Stefano began clawing at Khaos’s hand and Andrea waved his hand as if the fact that Stefano was being strangled to death was mere nuisance. Khaos loosened his grip and Stefano choked.
Téa gasped inside the car. “Oh, my God. Andrea is your son!”
The smile on Andrea’s face was slight, but genuine pride was evident in the man’s expression. He leaned down and looked through the back window of the car. “Yes, Ms. Bello. Andrea is my son. I believed him to be lost to me forever. I should tell you, he speaks very highly of you.”
“You’re not going to hurt him, are you?” Téa’s face grew stern as she began fighting her seatbelt.
Andrea Vanetti laughed as she struggled to get out of the car. It was with his laughter that Khaos recognized the man was not a threat to them and he redirected his focus. They didn’t have time to mess around. Megan was struggling to maintain consciousness. The knife had already slipped from her hand onto her chest. Khaos pulled Stefano farther away from her.
“He’s not going to hurt him, Téa. He’s his dad. Mr. Vanetti, I can see you don’t mean us any harm, but are you here to help us, or get in our way?”
“I am here to offer my aid and that of my men.” Andrea motioned for his men to holster their weapons and although his words said he was there to help, Khaos knew the score. Andrea hadn’t been ready to die. Otherwise, his men wouldn’t have had their guns in a position to raise and shoot at the flick of Andrea’s royal finger. “Let us take your garbage, Agent. Then we will help you extricate Ms.—Agent McClary. An ambulance is already on its way.”
Khaos knew exactly what garbage Andrea was talking about. The man was going to dispose of Stefano, and as much as he wanted to let him, Stefano was an American citizen who had crimes to pay for in the States. He would see justice.
Stefano, who’d remained quiet, suddenly understood the change in the tide. He clawed at Khaos’s hand and gazed at him with panic in his eyes. “You can’t let him take me. I’m an American.”
“I can’t let you take him,” Khaos repeated. He didn’t want to save the son-of-a-bastard; Stefano deserved everything the Vanetti family wanted to give him. Yet, he couldn’t do what Andrea was asking of him.
“I’m afraid I’m not asking you, Agent.” Andrea’s gaze was deadly serious. Khaos didn’t need to be a poker player to read it. If he didn’t give Stefano up, they would take him at any cost.
“Khaos,” Megan looked at him. Her eyes barely open. “Give me your gun.”
“What?”
“I said, give me your damn gun.”
“Do as she says, Agent.” Andrea encouraged.
Khaos shook his head. “I can’t do that.”
Andrea rolled his eyes and waved his hand at his men. Each of them pulled out their handguns and pointed them at Khaos. He was damned if he did, and damned if he didn’t.
Megan rolled half way over with knife back in her hand and held it to his neck. “I said, give me your damn gun.”
Téa went wild in the car. “Don’t you touch him Megan. I will kick your ass, do you hear me!”
“You have got to be kidding me.” Khaos closed his eyes. Megan would cut him. She may not kill him, but as far as she could see, he was between her and Téa’s survival and she wasn’t going to risk it for S
tefano.
Stefano lunged for her and Khaos threw him in the opposite direction, then handed his gun to Megan.
“Idiot, you’ve never known when to just walk away.” Megan pulled the knife away from his neck and proceeded to eject the magazine and the live round from his gun. She tossed his handgun to Andrea who easily caught it and handed it to one of his men.
“What the hell, McClary? You didn’t have to give him my duty weapon.”
“You can’t do that. You’re a cop—” Stefano scrambled back away like a crab, holding his side as he tried to get his footing, but failed.
“Take him away, Bruno.”
The guard who’d hesitated earlier, didn’t hesitate now. He had Stefano and was dragging him back to the car as Stefano pleaded for his life. Khaos could have told him he was only making his sentence worth, but decided the man chose his own fate when he’d put Téa in his car seven years ago.
“Can I have the knife?” He asked Megan. Her eyes were closed and he wasn’t sure she was even conscious.
She didn’t open her eyes. “Only if you use it to cut Téa out of that stupid seatbelt and get this damn car off my legs.”
“That’s the plan. Where are you hurt?”
“It’s my right leg. It’s broken in at least two places. I don’t think it’s a compound break. I can’t feel any blood, but fuuuck. Just get the car off me.”
When she didn’t make a move to hand him the knife, Khaos took it off her chest and made his way down to the car. Andrea’s man stood next to him ready to help. It seemed odd, but he wasn’t going to turn down the assistance. Megan could be in worse shape than she knew.
Khaos reached in to Téa who was hanging sideways in the car with the seatbelt in the locked position. Her face was red, she had blood splatter and cuts on every inch of her exposed skin and there was broken glass in her hair. She’d never looked more beautiful than she did at that moment. “Are you hurt?”
She laughed and cried at the same time. “No, I’m just stuck in this stupid seatbelt.”
“If Megan had worn her seatbelt, she wouldn’t be stuck under the car with bad hair on display.”
“I heard that,” Megan growled.
“You were meant to hear that.” Khaos looked down at Megan’s calf, which was visible through the broken window of the car. The right angle of her right shin made him wince. “Let’s get you out of here so we can get Megan to the hospital.”
Téa nodded.
“That sounds like a brilliant plan, Einstein.” Megan still had her eyes closed, but her mouth hadn’t stopped.
Sirens screamed in the distance and for the first time since the ordeal began, Khaos felt as if all three of them might make it out of there in one piece. He pulled off his coat and wrapped it around his hand, then began tearing out enough of the broken glass to enter through the rear window. He crouched down and crawled inside the vehicle, being careful not to touch Megan’s leg. The last thing he wanted to do was put more weight on it, but the amount of room he had inside the car was minuscule at best.
“Grab hold of my neck. We’re going to try and do this without touching the car or Megan. Got it?”
Téa nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. In less than a minute he had her out of the seatbelt and was handing her out to Andrea’s guard. The squall of the ambulance siren suddenly stopped as the driver pulled up next to the accident scene.
Khaos pulled himself out of the vehicle to a view of Andrea Vanetti brushing Megan’s hair out of her face. The moment was tender and endearing. What the hell?
Megan’s right eye opened long enough for her to answer one of the questions running through his head. “He knows how to take care of a woman.”
As if there was nothing else to say, Andrea began giving orders about how to raise the vehicle off Megan’s leg. Khaos had to give the man credit. He pitched in, worked with the ambulance crew, and with the help of his remaining guard, and Bruno who’d returned without Stefano in tow, Megan was stabilized, the vehicle was moved, and Megan was in the back of the ambulance in record time.
Once again he faced the decision of leaving Téa, or going with his agent to the hospital. It was a fucking miserable déjà vu he didn’t want to repeat.
Téa touched his arm. She made the move. Not him, but her. Without a single hesitation she reached out and grabbed his arm to get his undivided attention. He wasn’t even sure she realized she’d done it. “I expect you to go with her. I imagine the Carabinieri will want answers.”
Except he couldn’t leave her to be questioned by the police about Stefano. That was his cross to bear, not hers.
“Agent Artino,” that suave cultured voice broke into his thoughts. Khaos hadn’t even known Andrea Vanetti was standing just around the corner of the ambulance. Without a care in the world, possibly the universe, the man was leaning against the vehicle with his legs crossed at the ankles and his arms across his chest. He’d redonned his expensive suit coat, covering any dirt he may have gotten on his shirt while lifting the car off Megan’s legs. His assistance in the operation had even surprised the ambulance crew who knew the man on sight. “I will speak with the Carabinieri and make certain that Ms. Bello is brought to your hotel.”
Caution snaked up Khaos’s spine. Despite his helping hands, Andrea Vanetti was a mob boss. He only did things in his interest. He didn’t give a damn about him, or Megan or Téa. There was no way he was going to let this man take Téa anywhere. He dismissed the idea. “You don’t know where we’re staying.” He turned toward Téa. “Let me talk to Megan a moment. She will under—”
“Your plan was to meet in Cassino, and stay at the private estate of—”
“—I get it.” Khaos interrupted. Jeezus. How did the man know? “You know our plans. How you got the information is irrelevant at this moment. I’ve changed them.”
“I have my ways.”
“Of course you do. The fact remains, I will not leave Téa—”
“My cousin.”
“Your what?” Téa asked the question before he had the chance. The two had the same last name, and they were undoubtedly related at some point in their history, but cousins? Surely the man was using the term in the broader sense of the word.
“Your cousin,” Andrea said softly. “Your father and my father were brothers.”
Téa shook her head. Particles of glass, still in her hair, tinkled to the ground as if they were tears. Whether they were tears of joy or sorrow remained to be seen. Khaos reached out to take her in his arms, but she shrugged him off and went to stand in front of Andrea. Khaos followed, unable to let her out of his site for one moment, especially now.
“My father didn’t have any brothers. Only uncle Marco.” Her chest was rising and falling as if she was struggling to breath. This moment meant more than Andrea could possibly know, more than Khaos knew.
“And Frank, but your father chose to keep you away from him. Your father had moved to America to get away from the family. Unlike our Tio Marco, our fathers believed they could leave the family business if they chose. Your father chose.” He shrugged. “Mine did not.”
“B-but I’ve never heard of you.” Téa’s eyes were wide with disbelief and possibly betrayal. She had a family she could’ve turned to for help…
“As I you, until yesterday. It seems our parents decided it was best to cut ties in order to give your father and mother a clean break.”
“But I knew Marco,” she argued while Khaos stood by helplessly.
“You weren’t supposed to know Marco. He contacted your father when he shouldn’t have. Frank didn’t hide who he was. Marco did, but when it came down to the expansion of the family business, and your father refused…Marco showed his true colors.”
“He had my parents killed.”
Andrea nodded his head, but didn’t say a word. Yet it was there, on his face. Compassion. Andrea Vanetti was sorry for what had happened to Téa and her parents.
“I
vow to make it right.” The strength of his conviction echoed in Andrea’s voice. “I cannot change what has been done, but I will deliver the Vanetti justice.”
“I would prefer American justice,” Téa’s voice shook with emotion.
If Andrea was shocked by her response, Khaos couldn’t tell. The man’s face had become inscrutable once more.
Andrea turned his attention back to Khaos. “As you see, my loyalties remain with Ms. Bello.”
“Vanetti,” she corrected.
Andrea’s smile was full of charm as he nodded in agreement. Holy hell, thank God the man was her cousin.
“Ms. Vanetti will be my guest at the Diamante Grezzo in Rome. You may find her there after you go to the hospital to be with your agents and Ms. McClary.”
“That’s Agent McClary to you Vanetti!” Megan yelled from within the ambulance.
Andrea’s smile grew as he winked at Téa. “I believe I will miss that woman’s mouth.”
Chapter Seventeen
A knock at her door sent unease skittering up her spine. Khaos should be at the hospital and she wasn’t expecting anyone else. No one knew she was there—except Andrea and Khaos.
Khaos.
The distance to the door seemed interminable, yet once she was there, it’d been too short. She focused on the man standing on the other side of her door. His sex appeal through the peephole shouldn’t have been overwhelming. It was. Daniel Khaos Artino could turn a woman’s brain to a state of utter confusion with a tilt of his head in her direction. When he gave her his whole attention, no woman could resist his allure.
She steeled herself against the ragged beat of her heart and opened the door.
“What are you doing here?”
“I have something for you. May I come in?”
No. “Of course.” She backed up into the room and let him decide if he should close the door and walk into the suite with her, or if he would stand in the entrance and say what he had to say, then leave. Please don’t leave.
The door swung closed behind him and he stood at the door. Damn it.