by Angie Derek
"Do you see who's around her?"
Lessa frowned, not understanding what he meant. "The family."
"The two men standing about ten feet away are her guards for the event. She never goes anywhere without at least two guards. Do you see Nina and the kids? Now, Jio is with them so his guard is doubling as their guard, but there are four altogether assigned just to them. Lucia's guards have been with her for years. She probably sees more of them than she does her husband."
His lecturing tone drew her gaze to his face. "What are you getting at?"
"No one knows who you are. It's prudent to keep things that way. Do you like your life back in Florida? If you want it to bear any resemblance to what you left, I highly suggest we leave. Clarissa has to be protected not because she knows anything. If anyone asked her, she'll clearly tell them she has no interest in the business and knows nada. She has to be protected because a competitor of Jiovanni's could target her for revenge or to force Jiovanni into doing something."
Biting her lip, she was suddenly glad for the breeze which kept blowing her hair into her face. "Where's your guard?"
Marc's lips curved in humor. "I am a guard. Your guard."
"You enjoy speaking in riddles."
He shrugged and put his arm around her waist to urge her to walk away from the funeral. "As long as no one has any clue of your connection to the family, you can go back to your little life. If it gets out . . ."
Turning her head to peer up at Marc, she noticed the family's attorney, MacDonald, walking briskly toward where the cars were parked. She followed the man's gaze to a young woman walking from the parking lot toward the gravesite. Even from this distance it was clear she was crying. MacDonald confronted the girl, grabbing her shoulders, keeping her from getting any closer.
"Who's that?" Lessa asked.
Marc frowned at the small drama. "Ryan's daughter, Opal. He said she was sick."
"She doesn't look good." They drew parallel to Ryan and Opal.
"Everything okay, Ryan?" Marc called out just loudly enough for them to hear.
MacDonald jerked and looked at them briefly. "Oh, Marc. Yeah, Opal's not feeling well and shouldn't have come."
"I'm fine," Opal cried. "I want to say goodbye."
Her father put his arm around her shoulders and forced her to turn and walk back with him to his car. He spoke in a low voice in her ear, and the girl crumpled even more. Lessa's view of them was cut off as a car pulled in front of them. Silvio jumped out of the passenger seat and opened the back door.
She slid in, noticing the driver was the same one who had brought them to the church. She wondered if he'd sat in the car through the entire service.
Marc slid in next to her. "Back to the house."
CHAPTER FIVE
Marc looked up the stairs for probably the fiftieth time in the last hour. He'd taken Lessa up and deposited her in her room just before the first guest arrived. She'd nodded distractedly as he'd given her instructions to stay in her room and not come out until after the last guest left. Yet, he kept waiting for her to come sneaking down. It was what he would have done in her position. She hadn't even attempted to make an appearance.
The main door opened, and Marc frowned at the new arrival. He pushed away from his position on the wall and paced alongside the lead lieutenant of Jiovani's long-time rival Benito Romano. Rocco Paolo subtly gave him the middle finger salute just as he stepped into the parlor. Marc gritted his teeth, but followed him. Grabbing Rocco and throwing him out might cause too much of a problem. At least until Jio decided what he was going to do.
He suspected that the external challenges Jio mentioned earlier were coming from Benito and his men. Rocco walked up to Lucia and took her hand, his face a false mask of sorrow. Jio made a beeline for his mother.
Jio spoke quietly but forcefully into the man's ear. Marc held back the urge to go and assist, but this was a test. Jio would have to deal with the unwelcome intruder on his own without assistance. Marc turned subtly and observed the room. Several gazes were trained on the exchange between the two men. Jio looked up, caught Marc's eye and jerked his chin to the door. Rocco reluctantly walked with Jio toward Marc.
"Marc, Rocco has overstayed his welcome and needs to be escorted to his car."
"My pleasure," Marc replied, giving Rocco a hard stare before grabbing his arm and propelling him out of the room.
It wasn't until they'd stepped out of the house that Rocco opened his mouth. "Nicely done, Marco." Rocco wrenched his arm away and smoothed his suit jacket as Marc stopped in front of his car. "My employer wishes to offer you a branch."
"He needs to speak to Jio." He braced his feet and kept his arms hanging loose and ready.
"He's not interested in dealing with the Ivy-educated whelp. You were brought up the right way. You know what it's like to start from the bottom and claw your way to the top. He'd like to offer you a position."
Marc went from suspicious to amused. Benito knew where his allegiance lay. It was another test for Jio. He was going to have to let Jio know Benito was trying to tempt people away to check his loyalty base. "Tell Mr. Romano, thanks, but no thanks."
"You should think before you answer." Rocco frowned when Marc didn't say anything else, but finally climbed in his car.
Marc waited until the car had disappeared out of sight. "Silvio."
Silvio stepped out from the tree he had been standing behind ready to assist if needed. "Boss."
"Have you received any offers?"
Silvio was good at what he did, and it wouldn't have surprised Marc if he'd already gotten similar offers.
Silvio shook his head. "I don't let them get that far."
He turned to his right-hand man. "But someone's approached you."
"As I said, I don't pay attention to crap like that. I have a job to do. Besides," Silvio smirked in amusement, "I don't have to be polite about it like you."
"It's going around?"
"Jio needs to watch his back."
"He won't have to. We'll do it for him."
"Right, Boss." Silvio nodded in understanding. He fidgeted.
Silvio never fidgeted. "What?"
"Can we get back to work? This sitting around is worthless."
Marc looked back at the house. "Couldn't agree more, but it has to be done. At least by me." He jerked his chin to the row of cars with drivers. "Why don't you go sit around with them for a while? See what you can learn."
Silvio smiled. "Okay."
"Carefully."
Silvio's smile dimmed, but he nodded and lumbered off. Marc headed back in to face the civilities. The minute he walked back inside, anger at losing Jiovanni hit him so hard his breath shuddered in his chest. He shoved the emotion away. It would be dealt with later. Now was time to work. He glanced up the stairs as he passed them. Still no sign of her. But worrying about her possible appearance served its purpose, distracting him away from less pleasant thoughts.
The rest of the wake went smoothly. Welcome and unwelcome guests came and went. He watched and observed like the dutiful lieutenant he was, but like Silvio, he didn't have the patience for standing around sharing memories of Jiovanni. He needed to be out on the street finding his killer. That was how he would honor Jiovanni's memory. Finally, Virginia and the other trusted household staff herded out the last of the guests.
Marc met up with Jio briefly to let him know he was heading out with Silvio to do some investigating. He nearly went up to check on Lessa, but changed his mind. She occupied his thoughts enough of the time without actually seeing her.
"Cops still have it blocked off," Silvio said as they headed out the front door.
"We need to find the street rats who are usually there."
"They scattered."
Marc frowned at him as they walked to the car. "Right, let's go hunting."
"Marc!"
He sighed in frustration, but turned obediently to Clarissa as she click-clacked down the front stairs in her stilettos.
&n
bsp; "We need to talk," Clarissa said, her gaze going purposefully to Silvio.
"I'll be back in a moment." Marc walked them away from the car to where she would feel comfortable speaking freely. "What is it?"
"I'm breaking our engagement."
Shock rushed through his system, and he couldn't do anything but stare at her in surprise.
"Now, don't look at me like that," she said defensively. "You don't love me any more than I love you. Daddy was the one who wanted and pushed the merger. Because that's what it was, a business deal. He was rewarding you for your years of service, and bringing you even closer into the fold so you'd have no way out."
"Wait, hold on." He had to focus to keep up because she always talked fast when she was nervous. "Who says I don't want to marry you?"
"Come on. Shit, Marc, you've never once tried to get me into bed."
Amazingly, his face started to heat in embarrassment. "I was being respectful."
"I'll buy your reasoning for the first year, maybe even the second, but past Year Three, it gets a little insulting. I refuse to marry someone who doesn't love me. It's okay that you don't love me. We don't have to marry. It finally hit me as I stood there watching you hurry my little half-sister into your car."
"You're serious." He considered what it meant not to be marrying Clarissa. His heart wasn't breaking even a little.
She smiled. "You're seeing it now, aren't you? Admit it, you were dreading being tied down to me."
"I was not." He wasn't stupid enough to say something like that out loud.
"Okay, well, no offense, but I was dreading being tied down to you." She made a face as she realized she'd just insulted him. "You're a great guy. I know if I need anything, you'll do whatever you can to make it happen. I consider you to be a friend, but I don't want to marry you. So, I'm not going to marry you."
"I got that already. Your epiphany this morning was a long time coming?"
She looked down at the ground as she shuffled her feet. "Yes. I promise I wouldn't have left you at the altar, but I never intended on going through with it."
Marc laughed in amusement at the image of waiting for her in the church for eternity. "Why tell me now?"
"The charade was wearing on me. I didn't see the point of continuing it since he's gone. Don't worry, Marc, there'll be plenty of women lining up to be your wife."
He raised his eyebrows in doubt. "Where?"
"Certainly not here. You'll need to dump the blonde and hit the town."
"You could get to know the blonde," he suggested against the hint of resentment he heard in her voice. He wasn't sure at whom she'd directed it. Toward her father for bringing Lessa here or toward him for not spending time with her after her father had just died. "I promise you, she isn't here for any reason other than curiosity about a family she hadn't even realized she had."
Clarissa frowned as she considered what he said. "I don't want a sister."
"It's just a suggestion." He shrugged. "You might find her a refreshing change from the rest of your family. Try to remember she didn't ask for this any more than you did."
"You're being her champion very well."
He had serious doubts about how well he was handling the situation so far. "I'm thinking about you as much as her in this instance."
"I'll think about it." Clarissa glanced around looking for an excuse to end the conversation. She didn't have to look far. "Silvio's getting impatient."
Marc nodded, but didn't make any move to leave her. Despite her callous words about Jiovanni, he knew she was hurting over his death. "He can wait."
A small smile touched her lips, and she kissed his cheek before shifting back and touching his other cheek with her hand. "Thank you. Get on with you now. Hunt down the dirty bastard who killed Daddy."
Lessa paced around her room. She'd crashed right after the funeral but was no longer able to nap. A quick workout until her abs screamed hadn't eased the tension she was feeling. She'd showered again and changed into something besides her workout clothes and the ugly black dress, picking a light blue blouse and skirt set.
What to do? What to do? She glanced around the room. Her eyes fell on the cell phone where she'd placed it by the bedside lamp. Guilt snuck in, but she didn't think she was ready to talk or even listen to her mother. She did need to touch base with her boss, Sharon, and see what was going on with Emily, her crazy stalker.
Hitting the power button, she waited for the software to load and dialed Sharon's cell.
"How's the trip?" Sharon answered without the usual greetings.
"Interesting," Lessa responded. "Not quite what I expected."
"What is?" Sharon asked with a laugh.
"Sorry to bug you, but I figured I should check in on the Emily situation."
"I'm glad you called. I gave the magazine to Detective Grady to add to the file. There was a not so lovely message written across your picture. Did you notice it was the special issue from last year featuring the Mermaids?"
She started to nod. "Yes, I saw the date."
"I asked him for an update, Emily has an alibi for when you were nearly run down. They found the car. Looks like someone stole it from airport parking and then returned it there afterward. There's video footage of the car leaving and coming back, but they can't make out the driver.
"Grady said they got her to admit to the letters and phone calls, but she swore she didn't have anything to do with the near rundown. In fact, she said she left the magazine on your porch that afternoon, when you weren't home. They're still trying to see if they can connect a man to her who could have been the driver."
She sat on the bed and considered what Sharon was telling her. Emily was in the clear for actually trying to run her down, but it didn't sound like they'd ruled out someone helping her. But if it wasn't Emily, who else hated her enough to try to kill her?
"Thanks, Sharon, I'm sorry to dump this on you."
Sharon tsked. "I told you to dump it on me. How's the long-lost family reunion?"
She hesitated. Not ready to reveal her mother's lies to everyone just yet, she'd told Sharon she was going to the funeral of a distant relative. "Complicated and tiring."
"Sounds like you should have gone to the Bahamas."
Lessa laughed. "Probably, but here I am."
Sharon said something, but it was muffled. "Sorry, I have to go. Stay in touch, okay?"
"I will, thanks." She hung up and set the phone down, ignoring the notice of unread voicemails and text messages.
Jumping up, she decided to see if the wake was over yet. The hallway outside her room was quiet. She headed slowly down the stairs, trying to be as silent as she could, listening for sounds of anyone else close by. As she neared the ground floor, she heard the distant sound of kids squealing and headed toward it, walking uninterrupted to the room Marc had led her to the night before.
She hesitated at the sliding door leading to the pool patio. The fog had yet to roll in, and late afternoon sun glinted across the water. Nina's kids were taking advantage of the warm weather.
"Lessa!" Nina called from the glass poolside table where she and Edoardo sat. "Join us?"
Forcing a smile to cover up her unease, she walked over to them. She sat next to Nina and offered Edoardo a tentative smile. He nodded and went back to watching the children. Suzannah waved to her, sporting a life jacket as she played on the pool steps with a doll.
"Jay and Belinda," Nina called. "Come meet, Lessa, your…aunt."
They stared at Lessa in curiosity and swam over to the edge of the pool.
"We've never met her before," Jay said.
"No." Lessa smiled at him. He looked to be around five. Belinda was a little smaller, but size wasn't always an accurate determination of age. "This is my first visit."
Belinda glanced at her brother and back to Lessa. "Will you come swimming with us?"
"Not today, sweetie," Nina answered. "It'll be time to come in soon anyway."
Clicking heels paused behind the
m a moment before resuming their strut. Lessa glanced over her shoulder as Clarissa approached the table.
"How's Mama?" Nina asked her.
Clarissa slanted a look at Lessa. "I just checked in on her. She's retired to bed for the night."
"Of course she has." Nina looked back over to her kids, her eyes never straying off them for more than a moment or two. "I hope she sleeps well tonight."
"She took a pill. She's still very upset." Clarissa slid into a seat between Nina and Edoardo.
"It'll take time," Nina said.
"Hmm." Clarissa tapped her toe, looked at the kids, and back to Lessa with narrowed eyes.
Lessa figured Clarissa had something else to say, but wasn't comfortable saying it in front of her.
Clarissa sighed. "I thought you should know..."
Nina turned her full attention to her sister-in-law.
"I broke off our engagement."
Lessa tensed. Was Clarissa saying what she thought she was saying?
"Since Daddy's no longer here I don't have to marry him." Clarissa's toe stilled, and she leaned back in her chair.
Edoardo laughed in disbelief. "I bet he took that well."
Clarissa glared at her brother. "For your information, Marc is no more in love with me than I am with him."
"Doesn't mean he didn't want to be married to the princess," Edoardo said. "Then he'd be family."
"He is family. He doesn't need to marry me to prove it."
The siblings' posture changed as they snapped at each other and appeared to forget Lessa was sitting right there.
"And I don't have to marry him," Clarissa continued.
"You're sure about that?" Nina asked.
"Of course I am." Clarissa turned, lowering her tone to one less confrontational. "Just because Jio is head of the family doesn't mean he gets to dictate who I marry."
"Father did," Edoardo pointed out.
"You couldn't say no to Daddy." Clarissa crossed her arms. "But I'm my own woman and I have absolutely no desire to be a wife."
"How did Marc take it?" Nina asked in concern.
"He was fine," Clarissa said, at Nina's skeptical look, she continued, "Really, he was as relieved as I am. I already told you he doesn't love me. It would have been like marrying one of my brothers." She looked at Edoardo. "Totally gross."