He stared out of the window. “No, we play the long game. See if we can avoid any violence, for now, intimidate Toscano into keeping his mouth shut.”
“Probably shouldn’t have offed his business partner then,” Wes muttered but quelled under Frederick’s furious glare.
“Wesley, when this trip is over, I want you to take some time. Think about if you really want to defy me at every turn. Now shut up.”
Wesley shut up. Frederick sighed. The murder of Maximillian Nero had been unfortunate but necessary, but Frederick had underestimated Enver Toscano’s grief for his friend, and what he would do for revenge. Even threatening one of Enver’s girlfriends hadn’t stopped him from vowing to being the Ingles down, and the girlfriend had been quietly whisked away somewhere they couldn’t touch her.
The Ingles family ruled most of Europe. France, Italy, Spain, Germany – there were very few countries which their malevolent presence didn’t reach. Their business – money laundering – was run under the guise of philanthropy and their enemies were dealt with ruthlessly and efficiently.
Until Max Nero had uncovered the evidence of their dealings, the Ingles had run rough-shod over their competition, the police, even Interpol. Nothing and no-one could touch them.
Frederick shook his head, remembering the day he’d killed Max. A mistake. Frederick’s first misstep since taking over as head of the company after his father died. He should have paid off Max instead of killing him. Max was malleable, unlike Enver. Max had given him the option. Fred would never forget what Max said. “Believe me, Frederick, this is a better deal for you. If Enver ever found this information…you may think he’s the playboy in this, that he’d rather fuck your wife than use this information, but you should never, ever underestimate him. He’s a good man, through and through. Any whiff of corruption and he’ll bring the force of law down on you. And then he’ll fuck your wife, and she’ll swear blind, even under the threat of death, that he was the best lover she’d ever known.”
Frederick had snarled, losing his temper and ordered Max killed. He was aware the second he had killed Max and his wife, Julia – and not quickly either - that it was the wrong move. Enver would mourn the loss of his friend and be like a tenacious puppy. It hadn’t taken Enver long before he’d found out what happened – some jerkweed on Frederick’s staff had sold the Ingles out. Enver had vowed to bring them down – Frederick had expected a bullet. But what Enver wanted was the destruction of the Ingles’ family business, not just one Engle. He went to the F.B.I. and told them he would testify, under oath, and destroy the Ingles’ reputation once of for all.
Which meant now that Frederick would have to kill Enver Toscano and soon. Whoever this girl was, Frederick hoped she was only a one-night stand because he hated to kill an innocent woman. He smirked to himself. No, you love it, you sick fuck, just admit it. He shrugged. He didn’t really care about this girl who was fucking Toscano.
But no-one would get in the way of Enver Toscano’s murder.
No-one.
Padme tried not to show how miserable she felt as Sunday night came around. She never, ever thought she would be dreading this particular Monday morning but the last forty-eight hours had been nothing short of…magical.
Danilo – or whatever his name was – wasn’t just a phenomenal lover, he was incredibly funny, sweet and fascinating. He told her what he could about his past – born and raised in Florence, Italy, by his Italian father and American mother, he had lost both of them young, his father when he was five, his mother when he was just eighteen. His best friend, Max, had died recently and Danilo was still raw from it. Padme marveled about he wore his heart on his sleeve, how the conversation between them was easy and fun and above all else, it felt genuine. Often, she thought about telling him about who she was, asking him to trust her to tell her his real name. She wanted to know…him. The real him. His name was important.
Now, she wondered why she had worried about it. Their connection had been deeper than mere names or even the sex, as great as it was.
And now, she was going to have to say goodbye, and she was struggling to find the word.
“Hey,” Danilo came from the bathroom – a white towel wrapped around his body. They had just showered together, making love under the hot water spray. His dark curls were damp against his face, his eyes such a beautiful color against his tanned skin. Padme ran her eyes over his body, open in her admiration.
“Dude, you are one gorgeous man.”
Danilo grinned. “Why, thank you.” He came to the bed and covered her body with his. “As long as you think so.” He was already hard, and Padme pulled the towel away from his hips.
“That’s better. You should always be naked.”
They laughed. “That would make business meetings difficult, but intriguing. How about we make a deal? If I’m naked, you’re naked.”
She kissed him. “Deal.”
He kissed her back, tenderly, as if memorizing the shape of her lips and then buried his face in her neck, making a strange growling sound. “Mio Dio, I don’t want to let you go,” he murmured, and Padme felt her chest ache. No, neither did she – she wanted to hang onto him, to them, to these last few moments.
He looked up, and she saw the genuine conflict in his eyes. “Hey,” she said softly, “We said one weekend. And it’s been perfect. I mean it…this has been the most incredible few days.”
Danilo nuzzled her nose with his. “It has…I just wish…” He sighed. “I wish that I wasn’t who I was, that I could just be here with you and not have to deal with…” He didn’t finish the sentence, just looked at her sadly. “I’ve never met anyone like you before. And it would have to happen now.”
Padme swept her hands over his face, gazing up at him. “My name isn’t Penny.”
He grinned that crooked smile she loved. “I know. And you know I’m not Danilo.”
“Yes.”
He kissed her. “Soon I hope I’ll be free to tell you my real name.”
“Just whisper it to me,” she pleaded, “I swear on my life, it will go no further.” She saw the hesitation in his eyes. “To sweeten the deal…my real name is Padme Kaur.”
“That’s beautiful.” She could see the conflict in his eyes.
“Trust me,” she said simply and he nodded.
“You’re about the only person in the world I do trust, even after this short time. But if I tell you my name and one day you slip – we are only human – then it could mean your life being in danger. I want to tell you so much, Padme, I really, really do. Please just trust me enough to say, when it’s safe – I’ll tell you everything.”
And she had to be happy with that.
They made love again and then, just after midnight, Padme said goodbye to the most sensual man she’d ever met and traveled by cab back to her apartment. Opening the door, she dumped her purse on the table and stood for a long minute in the silence, before bursting into tears.
“Why do you look so grumpy?” Dale, her partner, squinted at her as she got into his car the next morning.
“Mind your own business,” she snapped then relented. “Sorry, D, I had a weird weekend.”
Dale grinned at her. “Bet I can cheer you up. Guess who got the Cleveland posting?”
Padme suddenly perked up. “Tell me it was Maria; please tell me it was Maria…”
“Bingo.” They both cheered, and Dale was right, that did perk Padme’s spirits up. Maria had been at Quantico with them – an arrogant, incompetent know-it-all who delighted in telling them that her father had been an agent for thirty-five years and she knew it all by osmosis. She didn’t. Couple that with her abject jealousy over Padme’s brilliance, and Maria had been the focus of most of the class’s hatred. Now she had been posted to the least requested field office in the States.
“I have to admit, as much as it makes me a bad person, karma, bitch,” Padme was grinning now. Dale chuckled.
“See, told you I could cheer you up. God, this traffic tod
ay. All ready for our babysitting job?”
Padme rolled her eyes. “Guess we can’t be too picky right out of the Academy. Who is this guy?”
“No idea. We get our orders from the office then head out.”
Henry Jones greeted them both with a smile. “Welcome, welcome. Not to blow smoke up your ass’s right off the bat, but we hit pay dirt with you two. You know every field office was clamoring for you?”
Padme and Dale looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Henry grinned. “Well, now we have the good news out of the way…Here comes the real world. You may think we’re just handed you a babysitting job, but this guy is putting it all on the line to bring down the Ingles, and we’re going to have his back while he’s doing it. The death threats are real, and this kid, Enver Toscano, has already seen his business partner murdered. Also, Frederick Ingles flew into Seattle on Saturday. He knows where Toscano was at the weekend, but since then, we transferred Toscano to a safe house. You read the briefing notes? Good.”
He sat on the edge of the desk. “His lawyer, an arrogant asshole called Brian Dedalus, specifically requested new agents. The Ingles have spies everywhere, and he is betting on them not having gotten to you two – yet. So, get over to this address. You’ll meet the lawyer and the protectee, and work out the protection detail together. Don’t forget to brief me about what you decided.”
He stopped talking and studied them. “We’re throwing you in the deep end, kids. Look after yourself.”
Dale and Padme were quiet as they drove to the safe house, realizing just how much responsibility they had been handed. Padme drove while Dale looked over the case file.
“Jesus, this guy’s young to be in this situation. Thirty-seven and a multi-billionaire. Single, workaholic, playboy. The usual. Stepping up to the plate, though.”
Padme smiled at him. “You getting a crush on the protectee? Gonna be his best buddy?”
Dale grinned. “Screw you, Kaur.”
“You wish.”
“Shut up.”
Even though they spent the journey busting each other’s chops, both were still on high alert, checking they weren’t followed. Padme even erred on the side of caution when she saw a sedan with blacked out windows pull alongside their SUV. She turned off the highway and took a detour, but the sedan was long gone.
They arrived at the safe house and were greeted by a security team. After showing their i.d. they were led into the house. A young woman, thin in the extreme, with long blonde hair and nervous energy, smiled shyly at them. “Hi, I’m Chaley, Mr. Toscano’s personal assistant. Please come this way, he and Mr. Dedalus are waiting to meet you.”
They were led down a long, lushly carpeted corridor. Even if this was a safe house, Enver Toscano obviously wanted to be kept in comfort. Padme caught Dale’s eye, and he smirked, apparently thinking the same thing.
Chaley led them into a room. A smartly dressed man sat on a large couch, a briefcase by his side and a laptop open. He looked up, and Padme saw his ice-blue eyes take them in.
“Where the fuck have you been? We were told you would be here by ten a.m.”
Padme looked at the man coolly. His hair was artfully swept back and held in place – Padme was almost certain – by a buttload of hairspray, his blue eyes cold, his manner one of arrogance and entitlement. In other words, an asshole. Was this the protectee? If so, he could just go fu… “We were told to make sure we arrived here safely and unseen. Which is what we did. Now, how about you try that again?”
The man stood – Padme was amused to see he was smaller than her five-nine – and flushed angrily. “Fine. Well, now you’re finally here…”
“Let’s start over. I’m Agent Kaur, this is Agent Fortuna. Are you Enver Toscano?”
“No, he’s not,” said an accented and very familiar voice behind her, “I’m Enver Toscano.”
With a jolt and a pounding heart, Padme turned to see the man whose magnificent cock, a mere twenty-four hours earlier, had been deep inside her as he made her scream with pleasure again and again.
From his expression, Enver Toscano was as shocked to see her as she was to see him. This was the man whose life was in danger? God, no, please, not him. Suddenly everything made sense. To his credit, he immediately covered his surprise and shook both their hands.
“Thank you for coming. Do excuse Brian, he’s not had his Ritalin this morning.”
Padme smothered a snort of laughter with a cough. Enver invited them to sit, managing to squeeze Padme’s fingers inconspicuously. He was dressed in jeans and a vintage t-shirt, and Padme wondered how she could have ever thought the slime-ball lawyer Dedalus was Enver. Enver was careful not to stare at her, but as they talked, Padme was hyper-aware of his body close to hers, his eyes on hers when she spoke. She felt like she was stammering and gibbering like an idiot as she outlined the protection plan she and Dale had come up with, but the men in the room seemed to nod along with it just fine. Even Dedalus looked appeased.
“Obviously,” Dale took over from her, “when it’s time to transport you to the courtroom, we’ve arranged a decoy vehicle. We’ll actually be flying you via helicopter to the nearest helipad to the courtroom, and then more decoy cars will be sent out as we transfer you by car. We’re taking this very seriously, Mr. Toscano.”
Enver nodded. “And I couldn’t be more grateful for your help.”
“So, one of you will always be here with us?” Brian Dedalus looked at Dale and then raked his eyes up and down Padme’s body, apparently considering how a slim woman like her could protect a six-foot-two man like Enver. His judgment made her bristle with annoyance – he really was an asshole – Henry hadn’t exaggerated.
“Yes,” she said, her voice hardening. “And I will have to remind you that any and all decisions regarding Mr. Toscano’s movements must be discussed with us.”
She felt Dale nudge her discreetly and then he cleared his throat. “Agent Kaur is the lead on this, so she has the final say on any decision.”
Padme tried not to look surprised – they hadn’t discussed who would lead and she was grateful to Dale for his support – if Brian Dedalus thought he could pull any misogynistic crap on her, he had another think coming.
Enver was watching her, his eyes amused. “In that case, perhaps, Agent Fortuna, you can go brief my security team, with Brian, and I can settle things with Agent Kaur.”
“Call me Dale, and yeah, that’s a good idea.” Dale looked at Padme who nodded at him, a smile on her burning face – at least it felt like it was burning.
When Dale and Dedalus had left, Enver smiled at Chaley. “Chaley, would you mind giving us a minute? Take a break, get yourself a coffee.”
Chaley hopped off the end of the sofa, shooting Enver and Padme a smile – and then finally, they were alone.
Padme let out a long breath. “Enver Toscano.”
Enver came to her side, sweeping a loose strand of hair back over her ear. “Mio Dio, Padme, I can’t say it isn’t good to see you but the thought of you putting yourself in harm’s way for me…”
“I would take a bullet for you in a heartbeat,” she whispered, fiercely, “but it’s not going to get to that, Enver. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
His lips were against hers then, and for a moment, she fantasized that this could be their reality. She drew away after a moment. “But we can’t do this. Not if I’m going to protect you properly. If I was distracted and something happened to you…god, Enver.”
“And I cannot bear that you might get hurt because of me. This is just what I was trying to avoid.” He got up and paced around the room. “Maybe we should…ask for a replacement.”
“No,” Padme felt panicked. “No. I won’t be able to trust anyone else to protect you the way I would. I meant what I said…I would die for you.”
Enver’s eyes were sad. “You don’t even know me, Padme, cara mia.”
Padme stood and went to him. “I do know you. I know you love with your whole heart, that the l
oss of someone close to you could crush you. I feel the same way – about you. I know that’s completely opposite of what a woman is supposed to say after the weekend we had – I’m supposed to act cool, and god knows, professionally, but in this case…I don’t trust anyone else to protect you.”
Enver kissed her gently. “The moment this is over, Padme Kaur, you and I are going to spend a lot of time together. Naked. I think we agreed that at the weekend. Deal?”
She smiled. “Deal.” Her voice was a whisper. How had her life changed this much in this short a time? They heard Dale and Brian returning.
“Don’t mind Brian,” Enver said in a low voice, “He just wants this over and done with so he can get back to his life in New York.”
“He’s staying here?”
Enver rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t trust me to be by myself.”
“You’re not.”
Enver met her gaze as the others came back into the room. “Hopefully, not ever again, my beautiful Padme.”
He said it in a low voice, but it sent Padme’s heart into overdrive. He knew she should tell Dale and her bosses of her relationship with Enver, however humiliating that might be, but she was convinced – no-one could protect Enver better than her.
Chaley showed Dale and Padme to their respective rooms, Dale whistling in appreciation at the comfortable beds and wide screen t.v. Padme dumped her hold-all on the bed and wondered how she could possibly sleep knowing Enver was only a few rooms away. God, how she wanted him, but she would not compromise his safety for the sake of a fuck – even if that fuck were with that gorgeous man. Padme knew, if they even risked it, and it was discovered that they were sleeping together, she would be fired, maybe even arrested for risking the operation.
There was a soft knock at her door, and her heart began to thump. “Come in.” She was both relieved and disappointed when Dale opened the door, giving her a boyish grin.
His Sweet Torment: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance Page 2