The Legacy Collection Box Set

by Ruth Cardello

  Dominic stood and offered his chair to a suddenly pale Jake. “You look like you need this more than I do.” Jake shook his head, but he wasn’t fooling anyone with his brave face.

  Walking over to Lil’s side, Dominic said, “Abby, tell me if this is too much for you. I can clear the room.”

  Lil hugged little Judy to her and laughed up at him. “You could try.”

  Abby held out her hand to Dominic. He took it in his, loving the strength and love in her eyes. “I’d love it if you brought Nicole, Rosella, and Marie in. I’m sure they’re dying out there.”

  He bent down and kissed the cheek of the most generous woman he’d ever met. “I didn’t want to invite my family until you were ready.”

  “Our family,” Abby said softly, looking over at their new baby with so much love that Dominic had to clear his throat of the emotion welling there.

  It wasn’t difficult to gather the three Abby requested; they practically fell in the door that led to the outer room of the suite. Nicole and Rosella were crying happy tears and—for the first time Dominic had seen—embracing. Marie’s eyes were shining with emotion, but she was attempting to remain composed.

  “Abby is asking to see you,” Dominic said.

  Nicole gave Dominic a kiss on the cheek and flew past him into the room. Marie cocked her head to the side in question, and it didn’t take more than a slight nod from him to send her in with equal haste.

  Rosella stood before Dominic, tears on her cheeks, hands clenched so tightly in front of her that her knuckles were white. “You, too,” he said gently.

  Fresh tears flooded her eyes. “Are you sure? I’ll understand if you want me to wait.”

  He cleared his throat. “Abby is asking for you.” When she still looked uncertain, he instinctively held his arms open and his mother flew into them, hugging him so tightly he could barely breathe. He wiped a betraying bit of moisture away from the corner of one eye, and felt a bit uncomfortable when he looked up and realized all eyes were on them. That feeling quickly faded when he met Victor Andrade’s eyes across the room. He and his brother, Alessandro, were nodding with approval. Having grown up with a cruel and judgmental father, he was not used to the warm feeling their approval filled him with.

  Some of his apprehension about being a good father lessened in that moment. No, he might not have been raised by a good man, but that didn’t determine what kind of father he would be. Judy’s birth had erased the last of his bitterness about the past. His life was no longer about what he didn’t have. His wife, his daughter, and the family they’d made together—that was his future. “Come inside, Mom. Judith Rosella Corisi needs to meet her nonna.”

  Chapter Four

  A week later, Lil and Alethea sat at a West Village restaurant whose touted brick walls were accented with spicy wallpaper depicting nude women. As requested, they were seated in a corner table, away from the other diners.

  “Do you mind taking the battery out of your phone, Lil?”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Unless you have it protected with antispyware, it’s pathetically easy to upload a virus to a phone that allows people to listen in to your conversations, even if the phone’s turned off.”

  “I’m not dismantling my phone because you’re feeling paranoid today.”

  Alethea simply met her friend’s eyes and waited. Friends since middle school, she knew curiosity would change Lil’s mind.

  “Oh, fine.” Lil opened the back of her phone and removed the battery, placing it on the table between them. “Now can you tell me? Or are you going to ask me twenty questions to make sure it’s me? What if I’ve been abducted by aliens and replaced with an exact replica? They may have uploaded all of my memories, so I’d also suggest a blood test.”

  “Laugh all you want, Lil. Just because it’s not probable doesn’t mean it’s impossible.” She met Lil’s eyes as she tried to drive her point home. “I’m not talking about alien abduction and you know it. I’m talking about the rumors that something’s going on at Corisi Enterprises. No, don’t give me that look. You’re living in a fantasy. Safety requires diligence. You have a niece today because the doctor didn’t blindly trust that everything would go smoothly. He watched for problems. He acted quickly.”

  Lil slumped against the back of the booth. “Do we have to do this today, Al? I was hoping to have a nice lunch with you. You know, one where you ask me how Abby and my new niece are doing and I get to gush about them and show you pictures. Normal stuff.”

  If that’s the game I need to play to get you to listen to me, sure. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about Abby or the stories Lil had to share—she did. It was just that what she had asked Lil to meet her to discuss was urgent. “How is Abby?”

  Lil looked like she wanted to say something else, but she decided to play along instead. “She’s good. She’s home. They named their baby Judith Rosella. You should see how beautiful she is. And when she wants something she has a cry you can hear throughout the whole house. Not like the soft cry Colby started with. This girl has lungs.”

  Corisi lungs, Alethea thought but kept it to herself. Lil wasn’t in the mood for her cutting humor. “Is Dominic back at work?”

  “He hasn’t left Abby’s side. I’m pretty sure she’s ready for him to go, though. He’s such a mother hen. Who would have guessed it?”

  “He knows how easy it is to lose something that’s unprotected.”

  Lil shook her head in defeat. “I give up. Let’s talk about something else. Was it my imagination or did I break up something between you and Marc at the hospital?”

  “Marc, the security guy?”

  “You know which Marc I’m talking about. The one who looks like a cross between a gladiator and the Secret Service. I could have sworn you were getting all moony-eyed over him.”

  Damn it, she could feel herself flushing. Lil knew her too well. “You’re crazy. I was pissed because he couldn’t see that I was doing him a favor.”

  “Pissed? No. That wasn’t the expression on your face. I think it was more like, ‘Oh, baby, take me now, you big hot stud.’”

  Alethea threw a crouton at Lil’s head. Lil ducked and chuckled. “That was definitely not what I was thinking.” Liar, liar, pants on fire.

  Lil raised an eyebrow in disbelief. She lifted her phone in one hand and the battery in another. “No one is listening but me. You don’t have to lie.”

  Alethea denied the truth to even herself for a moment, then caved as a grin spread across her face. She bent forward across the table. “I have the hottest dreams about that man.” She shivered. “I don’t know what it is about him. From the moment I saw him that night I snuck Jeremy into Dominic’s engagement party, I’ve had a bit of a thing for him.”

  “A thing?” Lil clapped her hands once in excitement before her.

  Alethea shrugged one shoulder. “Okay, so I may have done repeated background checks on him just to see if I could find an unattractive photo of him. Nope. He was cute even as a kid. Except for that one time when he banged up his face a bit playing hockey. Nah, even then he looked adorably beaten up.”

  Shaking her head, Lil said, “Al, you scare me sometimes. Why not just ask him out?”

  “I can’t.” Just the thought of it made her brain shudder.

  “Really?” Lil asked with growing fascination. Alethea regretted revealing as much as she had. “You’re not shy around men. You usually twist them up like emotional pretzels and spit them out.”

  “This guy is different. He’s a war hero, for God’s sake, with a Navy Cross. It’s why Dominic hired him. Marc came home wounded, and made the news when he was turned down for a job at a department store. Unemployed war hero. The story went national. Dominic put him in charge of his security team. Trial by fire, so to speak. He’s a self-made man with an impressive reputation in his field.”

  Lil’s eyes rounded. “Oh, my God, I never thought I’d see the day. You finally found a man you respect.”

  “
Don’t build this up into more than it is. I like that he is who he is. No stories. No lies. No matter how deep you dig, you find more all-American, boy-next-door good guy. He put his brother and sister through college. Paid off his parents’ home for them.”

  “And you wouldn’t want to slip up and sleep with a man like that, would you?”

  Alethea gave her an impatient look. “You, more than anyone else, should know why he’s off-limits to me.”

  Evidently, Lil had forgotten her earlier warning to stay away from him. “I dare you to call him.”

  “That may work on others, but it doesn’t work on me. I get in enough trouble without your help. Can you imagine what everyone would say if I started dating Dominic’s head of security?”

  “If it stopped you from obsessing over every possible thing that could go wrong, and sneaking into hospitals just to prove you can, I think they’d love it. I should have Jake ask him if he’s dating anyone.”

  “No. Lil, stop. I shouldn’t have said anything. Don’t tell Jake. Don’t tell anyone what I said.”

  Looking mutinous for a moment, Lil then sighed in resignation. “My lips are sealed.”

  “I’m serious, Lil.”

  Throwing her hands up humorously, Lil said, “Why does everyone think I can’t keep a secret?”

  Alethea raised a hand and flagged the server to bring the bill. “Because we know you?” she asked, but there was no bite to her tone, only one good friend lovingly teasing another. “You know I’m kidding. Well, I’m mostly kidding. Can we talk seriously for a minute?”

  Lil laid her fork down. “I can’t get involved the way you asked me to. All I can do is ask Jake again if there are problems at work and suggest that he talk to you. That’s as far as I’ll go, Al.”

  “He won’t tell you the truth.”

  In an instant, Lil was as serious as a heart attack. “We tell each other everything.”

  “Everyone has secrets.”

  “Not us,” Lil said confidently.

  Sitting back with a sigh, Alethea decided to try another approach. “What if he doesn’t know how serious it is?”

  Lil sat straighter. “Jake is one of the sharpest minds in the country. If there is a problem, he’s going to see the big picture. If you have solid information, let’s take it directly to him.”

  “What the hell is solid information? I pay people to keep their ears to the ground. I pay them well to update me on events even if they seem unimportant. It’s because I get tidbits from inside, outside, underground, and overseas, and I see patterns where others might not. I’m not suggesting that I’m smarter than your genius boyfriend—”

  “Fiancé.”

  “Fiancé, excuse me,” Alethea said sarcastically.

  “Wait, did you just say inside? As in, inside Corisi Enterprises? You have someone on your payroll there?” Lil’s mouth dropped open in shock.

  Said like that, it sounds bad. “I have since Abby left for China. Something you would have thanked me for if she’d gone missing.”

  “Oh, my God, Al.” Lil stood, stuffed the various pieces of her phone into her purse, and swung it over her shoulder. “I can’t listen to any more.”

  “Aren’t you even curious about what I found?”

  Checkmate.

  Lil sat. “You found something?”

  “Those glitches are not an accident. My person has traced two of them back through several decoys to one specific IP address.”

  “Then there isn’t a question anymore. We have to take this to Jake.”

  “Not yet.”

  “What are you talking about? Jake needs to know this. As soon as they find the source, he and Dominic will annihilate whoever it is. Problem solved.”

  After the waitress returned with the paid bill, Alethea looked Lil straight in the eye and said, “We can’t let that happen. Not until we know for sure he’s guilty.”

  “You just said you knew who was doing it.”

  “No, I said it was coming through one IP address. We need more than that before we point a finger.”

  “Al, you always think we have to do this on our own, but Jake can help us. We don’t have to be private sleuths anymore. You could be part of a team instead of working alone.”

  “Lil, it’s Stephan’s IP address.”

  Lil swayed in her seat. “No.”

  “Yes.”

  “Holy shit.” Lil was quiet for a moment, considering the idea. Then she shook her head adamantly. “No. Stephan wouldn’t do that. He loves Nicole.”

  “He’s gone after Dominic before.”

  “That was before they got engaged.” She shook her head again in shock and held a shaky hand up to her mouth. “You don’t honestly believe he would do this, do you?”

  “Money and power corrupt people. I don’t know.”

  Lil held her purse tightly to her side, looking angry and miserable. “I don’t know what to do with this, Al. I don’t want to know this. I want to be happy. I love Nicole and I love Stephan. This would tear the family apart. Oh, my God, we can’t tell Jake. He doesn’t trust Stephan.”

  Although she hated seeing her friend upset, she knew she had to figure out if Stephan was behind these glitches—and that she needed inside information to do it. “This problem won’t go away just because you refuse to deal with it. Do you really want to wait and see how it plays out, hoping for the best? What if Stephan is out to hurt your fiancé’s company? Do you want to be the person who did nothing?”

  “Give me a day, Al. Don’t do anything else. Just let me think this through. For once, promise to do this my way. Promise me.”

  Lil put up her pinkie for a solemn vow.

  Alethea didn’t like it, but what could she do? She pinkie swore to wait for Lil’s solution.

  Marc was looking over video surveillance tapes from the new cameras he’d had installed systematically throughout Corisi Enterprises’ office buildings. It had taken him almost a week to install them, since the work could only be done at night once everyone had gone home. He didn’t tell the night security crew what he was doing, beyond saying that he was updating their system. The fewer who knew, the better. He’d used only his closest team to do it. If there was a mole, he was going to catch him.

  Craig entered, a report in hand. “We’ve combed through the background checks of everyone who was hired in the last six months. Nothing.”

  “Then go back a year. Go back two. Keep looking.”

  “What are you hoping to find?”

  “Nothing. I’m hoping you come back with nothing. But I have a feeling that might not be the case. I’m also demoting you.”

  “What? Without even a job review? Is this about the hospital incident?”

  “No,” Marc said impatiently. That one was my fault. Alethea was right about the need for specially issued IDs. I should have thought of that. “It’s not an actual demotion. You’re going undercover. Don’t worry; your pay will stay the same. Your job is to be the most laid-back mailroom messenger Corisi Enterprises has ever seen. I’ll talk to Ed in the mailroom. He may recognize you as part of my team, but I can trust him to keep it to himself. You’ll deliver the mail, and rotate where you go. Find your way to wherever people are taking breaks. Look for someone who is driving a new car who shouldn’t be able to afford to. Anything like that. One thing I know about moles is, they may be good at covering their tracks, but they can’t resist spending their extra money. Smile. Flirt. Play nice. I don’t care if you have to go out for drinks with every secretary we employ. I want the office gossip.”

  “Tough assignment.” He gave a young, cocky smile. He stood taller, posed against the doorjamb, and practiced a Casanova smile.

  “Focus, Craig. Don’t date them, get close enough to find out if they know anything and then move on to the next. I’d do it myself if I wouldn’t be recognized.”

  “I hope I don’t break any hearts,” Craig said with feigned concern.

  Marc rolled his eyes skyward. “I’m sure they’ll surv
ive.”

  “That’s cold, Marc. Really cold. What are we calling this covert operation? We need something catchy.”

  “Call it job insurance. You screw this up and I won’t be able to save you from the wrath from above. Get in, get the information we need, and get out. No one can know what we’re doing.”

  With a nod and a smile, Craig said, “Gotcha,” and walked out of the room. A moment later, the earpiece on Marc’s desk lit up. He picked it up and pressed a button that allowed the sender to access protected private radio communication with him.

  Craig said, “The shark is entering the water. I repeat: The shark is entering the water.”

  “Are you the shark?” Marc asked in resigned humor.

  Speaking just above a whisper, Craig asked, “Is this a test to see if I blow my own cover?”

  Closing his eyes and striving for patience, Marc said, “Whatever you want to call yourself, have a report on my desk at the end of each day.” He put the earpiece down. He’d chosen Craig because the man’s quirky personality would allow him to move through the building without raising suspicion. His elite team was too seasoned, too hardened to be able to play the role of a mailroom messenger. Craig was the only viable option.

  Returning to his desk, Marc turned his focus to the real wild card in the game. One that Craig would never be able to fool. He might call himself a shark, but Alethea would make a quick snack of an innocent like Craig.

  His own ego was still smarting from his first encounter with her.

  Alethea. As beautiful as she was cunning. Both Dominic and Jake had warned him about her, but their warning had come one day too late. His heart beat double time as he remembered their first meeting. With her long, wild auburn hair, deep emerald eyes, and athletically tight body, she had easily been the most striking and beautiful woman at Jake’s engagement party.