by Cara Marsi
He squeezed her hand. “Will you miss me, even a little, Lexie Cortese? Will you think of me when you are home with your family?”
She stopped and raised her gaze to his. His features were tight. The thought that this man might actually be anxious about her answer sent pleasure coursing through her.
“I think I will miss you more than a little, Dominic. And yes, I will think of you often.”
His eyes lit and he lifted her hand and kissed it, sending a delicious thrill through her. “I am glad. I will miss you, too, my Lexie.”
He’d called her “my Lexie.” Heat flared within her, then was cooled by the thought of leaving him.
She swallowed and reluctantly pulled her hand free. He kept pace with her as she walked up the street. Despite the people bustling all around, colorfully dressed and speaking rapid Italian, and the mouth-watering smells of tomatoes, oregano and basil wafting from the sidewalk cafés, all she could focus on was Dominic.
Dominic, with his strength and heat so powerful next to her. He made her long for something untamed, something that promised nights filled with passion. But she recognized another promise in his strength—to provide her with a safe haven from her fears and insecurities if she could trust enough to open her heart.
She walked faster. Where the hell had that come from? Damn, she had it bad for him. Maybe she’d get him out of her system if she made love to him, but she suspected one night with him wouldn’t be enough.
Trying to take her mind off the enticing man beside her, she stopped at a shop window, admiring the whimsical hats on display. Suddenly the prickly feeling of being watched swept her again.
She looked quickly around. A man, short and barrel-chested, his face half hidden by his cap, leaned against a building across the street. He stared directly at her. Malice seemed to flow from him. She’d seen him somewhere before. She gasped as fear pressed against her chest.
“What’s wrong, Lexie?” Dominic asked, touching her arm.
She tore her gaze from the man and looked up at Dominic. “There’s a man over there, watching me. I swear I saw him before, in Rome, and now he’s here.”
With a quick intake of breath, Dominic jerked his head up to look across the street.
Lexie followed his gaze. The strange man was gone. “He was there. I saw him.”
Dominic drew her against him, his arm tight around her waist. “I believe you.”
****
“What a day! Exhausting but fun.” Lexie sank into the cushioned chair at the outdoor café in the main square of Chieti, one of the major cities in the region. They’d eaten a huge meal in Ripa Teatina, then driven over a modern highway to the much larger city of Chieti with its elegant old cathedral dominating the square. Her great-grandparents had been married in that church. Chills had swirled through Lexie as she’d snapped pictures of the beautiful cathedral.
The café faced a fountain, decorated in colorful Roman mosaics, its sparkling spouts of water reaching toward the cloudless sky. Dominic ordered a bottle of water from their waiter, then turned to her with a smile.
“It was a good day.” He took her hand in his across the table and turned her hand over, drawing a lazy circle in the center of her palm with his thumb.
Heat traveled up her arm and through her body. “I had a good time,” she said, surprised her voice sounded so firm considering the havoc his touch was wreaking on her insides. “Thank you for coming along. I wouldn’t have seen as much without your help in translating.”
She looked across the piazza to the imposing building that housed the Museum of the Abruzzi. “I love that museum. I didn’t realize my ancestors were such fierce warriors and that they’d fought Rome.” She shot him a wry smile. “Of course, Rome defeated them, but still it’s kind of exciting. I know so much more now than I ever did about my heritage.”
“Family is very important.” He released her hand, and she felt as if the sun had suddenly been stolen.
“Tell me about your family,” she said. “Do you have any other sisters or brothers?”
A light came into his eyes. “Just Angelica. She’s married now with one child, Luciana.” He laughed. “Luciana is three years old going on thirty.”
“Do you see them often?”
A shadow flitted across his face. “Not as often as I’d like. My job takes me away a good deal of the time. I see them when I can.”
“You’re close to your sister?”
He smiled. “Of course. I raised her after our parents were killed. I was eighteen, she thirteen. Angelica needed me to help deal with the pain of our parents’ deaths. I couldn’t let her down.”
Lexie leaned closer and touched his hand. “I’m so sorry about your parents. How did they die?”
He tensed and looked away. Lexie suspected he struggled with a pain that never quite left.
He turned to her with a bleak expression. “They were killed by thieves who robbed the grocery store where they were shopping. They were good people in the wrong place at the wrong time. I still miss them.”
She blinked back tears. “I’m truly sorry.”
“Their murderers are in prison now. They won’t hurt anyone again.”
“I’m glad,” she said. “You’re a good brother. You were young, just starting your own life, yet you raised your sister.”
He waved a hand in dismissal. “I did what any brother would do. I worked my way through university, then helped Angelica pay for school.”
“Not every brother would do that,” Lexie said. “Angelica is lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one. Angelica and Luciana are all I have. They give me much more than I could ever give them.”
The melancholy and loneliness in his eyes filled her with a hollow ache for him and what he’d suffered. She started to raise her hand, to touch his face and bring the light back to his eyes. He wouldn’t want her pity. She clasped her hands together on the table. “I suspect you’re a hero to your sister and niece.”
“I’m no hero,” he said in a harsh voice. He leaned forward and his eyes darkened. “Enough talk about me. I would rather talk about you. Do you have brothers or sisters back in Las Vegas?”
She relaxed, feeling almost guilty. Her childhood had been apple-pie perfect. “I’m an only child. I used to want a brother or sister.” She laughed. “I wanted someone to take all the attention from me.”
“How so?” he asked with a frown.
“My parents are wonderful, but they put all their attention and hopes on me. It would have been nice if they could have spread some of that around. Because I loved them so much, I wanted to always please them. Growing up, I did everything they asked—took music lessons, ballet lessons, participated in sports, which I hated, did well in school.” She shrugged. “I would still do anything in the world for them, but I’ve learned I need to follow my own dreams, to make my own decisions, take care of myself for a change.”
Dominic’s eyes were warm and soft with understanding. “You’ve been a good daughter, but now you deserve your own happiness.” He placed his hand over hers. “He is a fool.”
“What? Who?”
“The man who let you go. I would never give you up.”
A current of electricity shot through her. The promise and hunger in Dominic’s eyes made heat coalesce low in her belly. Dominic stirred dangerous longings in her. Despite her resolve to always be in control, he wasn’t a man easily controlled.
The waiter brought their water and poured them two glasses. She pulled free of Dominic, needing space to calm her crazy heart and body. There were hidden depths to him, depths that scared her and made her melt with desire at the same time. But she welcomed the feeling of being alive again, of being desirable and sexy. She didn’t need a man to make her feel worthy, but it sure felt good when a vibrant man like Dominic treated her as if she were special, someone to look after and protect. She suspected his love for his sister made him the sympathetic man he was.
Gathering her memories of
the day around her like a soft summer blanket, she sipped the refreshing water and scanned the piazza. It was getting late and soon they’d be heading back to Rome. The wonderful day would be over. She sighed. She was glad Dominic had come along. He’d looked out for her, even finding the cemetery where her ancestors were buried. After she’d told him about the strange man watching her, Dominic had stayed close, not letting her out of his sight. Through the day, even before she’d seen the menacing guy, she’d had the feeling Dominic was on alert, watching and waiting. For what? Thankfully, the stocky man hadn’t shown up again.
She set her drink down on the white-clothed table and looked across the piazza to where Ruggiero lounged against a building. They’d invited him to join them, but he’d refused. Ruggiero perused the piazza, his body tense, as if he could be looking for something or someone too. A few times during the day, before they’d gotten into the car for their next destination, Ruggiero and Dominic had whispered to each other. Afterwards Dominic had claimed they were discussing which route to take, but Lexie wondered if it wasn’t something different.
As she scoped the piazza, she noticed policemen almost everywhere again. She turned to Dominic. “There are a lot of police here. I noticed the same thing in Ripa. Do they have much crime?”
He tensed for a second, then relaxed. “This is a growing tourist area. With growth comes crime. The police want to be sure the tourists feel safe here.”
His answer made sense, but somehow it didn’t quite ring true, and she wondered why.
They finished their drinks as the sun was setting, bathing Chieti’s main square in a golden light that painted the buildings and fountain in an almost ethereal glow. Lexie relaxed against Dominic as they walked arm-in-arm to where Ruggiero waited with the car. She and Dominic settled into the backseat and they left Chieti for the long drive back to Rome.
Dominic sat close to her, the warmth of his body dissolving her insides into molten heat. She inhaled his scent, spice, citrus, male, and again felt the tugging deep inside her, the yearning for something unnamed that would fill the empty places in her heart.
Ruggiero expertly maneuvered the car over the hairpin road. The mountains were high in this region of Italy, and the drop over the sides was steep. Dominic took her hand and brought it to his lips.
“Don’t worry, Lexie. Ruggiero has proven himself a good driver.” He turned her hand over and brushed his lips over her palm, then tucked her hand into the crook of his arm.
She moved closer to him, craving his heat.
The intimate moment was shattered when Ruggiero turned and said something in Italian to Dominic. She didn’t know what he said, but the urgent tone of his voice made anxiety jolt through her.
Dominic released her and glanced out the rear window, then whirled around to lean his arms on the back of the driver’s seat. He barked what sounded like orders to Ruggiero.
Pulse racing, Lexie twisted to look behind them. A large sedan bore down on the limo, moving quickly, too quickly. The sedan’s windows were tinted. The other driver was in shadow, but Lexie could see he was a large man. A very familiar looking man. Her heart thumped wildly and her palms moistened in sweat. She gripped the edge of her seat.
“Dominic?”
The other car tapped their bumper. The limo swayed wildly, its wheels spinning on gravel. Lexie slid to the other end of the seat, then back again as Ruggiero frantically tried to control the car. Dominic grabbed her arm, holding her against him, his body taut, his face grim.
The car tapped their bumper again. Ruggiero let loose with a string of rapid, loud Italian that Lexie guessed were curse words. The limo swerved dangerously close to the edge of the road. Still swearing, Ruggiero battled for control. Dominic held tighter to her, reaching toward the door handle. The car tilted and the abyss, dark and deep, yawned below, waiting for them. Lexie screamed.
CHAPTER NINE
Ruggiero’s cursing, the squeal of tires, and Lexie’s scream ricocheted through the limo. It fishtailed, swerving away from the precipice, heading toward a wall of rock. Lexie froze, any further screams dying in her throat, as the mountainside came at them like a skeleton in an amusement park fun house. Only inches from the rock wall, Ruggiero regained control and pulled the car back onto the paved road.
Lexie clung to Dominic’s arm and sent up a silent prayer for help as the roar of the sedan’s powerful engine sounded again. Too close. They hadn’t been able to shake the other car. The sedan tapped the limo’s bumper again, this time harder. Ruggiero’s knuckles were stark white as he gripped the steering wheel, cursing loudly.
Coming down from the mountain, they entered a wider, flatter stretch of road where the sedan pulled alongside them. The other car’s window slowly rolled down. The driver’s face was half hidden by shadows, but the gun in his hand was all too visible. Lexie dug her nails into Dominic’s arm while Ruggiero and Dominic shouted to each other in Italian. The sedan kept pace with them as the other driver raised his gun and aimed it at Ruggiero.
The sound of another engine ripped the air. The road curved slightly. A small car appeared from the other direction, heading straight for the sedan. The sedan chasing them pulled back, its wheels spinning on gravel, before it settled onto the road behind the limo.
Ruggiero sped away, the other car in hot pursuit. Dominic continued to hold tight to Lexie, keeping her from sliding all over the backseat. A fork appeared in the road ahead. Cars clustered around a construction site, blocking their way. A cop directed traffic.
“Stop!” Lexie shouted to Ruggiero. “Tell the cop the guy behind us is trying to kill us.”
“The cops, they can do nothing,” Ruggiero spat out. “I have a better way.” Ignoring the cop’s shouted instructions to halt, Ruggiero barreled through the intersection, knocking over construction cones, barely missing two of the stopped cars. Construction workers jumped out of the way and car horns blared all around them. The cop began screaming and waving his hands. The sedan tried to follow, but a construction truck rolled into the intersection, blocking its way.
Releasing a rush of air, Lexie sank into the seat. Dominic let go of her and leaned forward, speaking in Italian to Ruggiero. Then he too, sank back into the leather seat.
“What the hell was that all about?” Lexie asked when she found her voice again.
Dominic raked fingers through his hair, then turned to her and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him. He kissed the top of her head. “I am sorry you had to go through that. It was probably a highway pirate. He saw this car and assumed the occupants were wealthy. He hoped to scare our driver into stopping so he could rob us.”
Narrowing her eyes, she raised her gaze to his. “Highway pirate? Did you make that up? I’ve never heard of highway pirates.”
His eyes were unreadable. “Call them what you will. They prey on wealthy tourists. It was a mistake to get this limo. We should have had a nondescript car. Forgive me for not thinking of that when I changed the order for the car.”
The closed look on his face and his words sent warnings skimming over Lexie. Highway pirates? She’d escaped an attempted mugging in Rome, plus the other strange events that seemed to follow her like one of Rome’s numerous stray cats. Now this.
She was done trusting anyone for the time being.
****
“You talk to him, Ruggiero. I may kill him if I have to look at him any longer.” Muttering curses, Dominic stalked to the window in Sal’s office and stared down at the busy street. Below him tourists and office workers swarmed like mosquitoes in the afternoon sun. Inside the airless office, Dominic seethed with an anger that threatened his control. He and Ruggiero had been trying to convince Sal that Lexie couldn’t be involved with the diamond scheme. Not after what had happened two days ago on the road from Abruzzo. So far, Sal refused to waver.
“Brioni’s onto something,” Ruggiero said from his stand by the door. “Listen to us, Sal. Someone tried to force us off the road the other day. They could
n’t have known we’re with Interpol; otherwise, they might have tried something else. The guy in the other car assumed we were amateurs, easily frightened. He makes us stop, robs us all to make it look good, but what he really wants is that diamond.”
“Don’t forget about the money,” Dominic said, his back to the room. “Lexie sold her engagement ring, a diamond bracelet, and some other pieces for cash. That has to be where she got the fifty thousand she deposited in her bank.”
Sal grunted. “So she said. She’s one smart woman. The intel we have is good. The Cortese woman was at the fucking shop at the exact time we were told the diamond would be handed off. She’s playing you both. I expect it of Brioni, always falling for that innocent act, but I thought you were smarter than that, Ruggiero.”
Dominic whirled from the window and strode to Sal’s desk. “Cut the crap, Sal. I’m one of the best agents here. So, I fucked up one time in eight years.” He leaned over the desk. “Listen to us. Something stinks about this whole affair.”
“Nothing stinks,” Sal snarled. “We alerted the authorities the Cortese woman might try to deliver the diamond in Abruzzo. And you two fuck-ups convinced me you should go with her. If you hadn’t been there, the drop might have gone as planned. But you screwed it up. Did you stop to think maybe the incident on the road was her contact trying to make the drop-off happen?” He sat back, hands folded over his massive stomach and smirked.
Dominic stalked to the window again, his mind a whirl. Interpol had no authority to arrest. Their job was to investigate and turn over intel to the local or government authorities. Yet he’d convinced Ruggiero, then Sal, that they should accompany Lexie to Abruzzo. What had he hoped to prove? That Lexie wasn’t part of the diamond scheme? Or to see her arrested and know for sure? Dread knotted his chest. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, believe Lexie was involved.
“I’ll go back to the Florence police,” Sal said, his tone softer. “Maybe they can drag more from the scumbag they have in custody, something to help us figure out what the hell is going on. Our contacts in law enforcement aren’t too happy with us for the wrong intel about Abruzzo.”