“Phew,” muttered Anna as she fastened the strap under her chin and climbed on behind him, wrapping her arms around his lean waist. She felt his abs tense under her hands.
“Ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” replied Anna. Rafael accelerated and they took off at a leisurely pace up the steep, winding hill to the crest village of Capri.
To Anna’s embarrassment she found she was sexually aroused when she climbed off the Vespa. Having his firm butt nestled tightly between her legs had turned her on without her even realising. The gentle vibration of the 50 CC motor between her thighs hadn’t helped either. Feeling herself flush she looked down and handed Rafael the helmet. “Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem. So I’ll come and fetch you tomorrow, after lunch? Around two o’clock?”
“How about I meet you at the marina?” suggested Anna, staring at her toes. Like hell she was going to get on a Vespa behind him again.
“Okay, don’t be late. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Anna waved goodbye. She was mystified by Rafael’s strange request and even stranger behaviour. She’d never seen him that earnest before.
She watched as he turned the Vespa around and took off again, this time towards Anacapri.
“Wow! Is this your boat?”
Anna stared in delight at the fifty-foot luxury motor yacht moored in the tiny marina. Rafael, looking tanned and windswept, with designer sunglasses propped on his head, waved at her as he released the mooring lines. Anna caught her breath. Could he possibly be any more glamorous?
“Yes,” he replied, jumping down onto the deck. “It’s faster than the ferry and less expensive than a helicopter.”
“It’s beautiful.” She stared at the elegant, streamlined hull with its silver lines, and its sparkling white deck complete with leather upholstery and launching area at the stern. It was like something out of a James Bond movie.
“I visit Naples a lot on business. It makes sense to be able to get their quickly. The ferry takes over an hour, even the hydrofoil is a good forty minutes. With this baby, I can get there in half an hour.”
Sure, why not? Rafael was a wealthy lawyer, after all. Half his clients were probably Napolitanos. If you had the money, it made perfect sense.
Perhaps he’d bought it with Giovanni’s money - his half of the inheritance? Then she looked at him competently checking the boat’s controls and decided, no. This man had made his own money. He was capable, ambitious, determined. He had all the ingredients for success. The inheritance would have been the cherry on the top for him.
“Welcome aboard,” he grinned as Anna nimbly leaped onto the deck. “Take a seat. We’ll head off immediately.”
Anna did as she was told, still in awe at the overwhelming elegance and detailed finish of the motor yacht—and the fact that she was on it. She ran her hand along the smooth surface of the desk.
“I must admit, I’m intrigued by your request,” she said as they got underway. The warm Mediterranean breeze caressed her face, relaxing her. “I can’t think what is so important that you had to whisk me away to Naples.”
“It will all make sense soon,” promised Rafael. “But since we’ve got half an hour to talk, let me give you some background information.”
He faced forwards, eyes locked on the distant Naples shoreline so Anna couldn’t see his expression. By the tension in his neck and shoulders, however, she guessed he wasn’t entirely comfortable with the conversation. Fascinated, she wanted to know more. “Okay. Go ahead. I’m all ears.”
Rafael took a deep breath. “When I was twelve years old I tried to pick-pocket a man. It was Giovanni Albertosi.”
“What?” Anna gasped.
He glanced at her, one hand still guiding the wheel. “Yes, it’s true, I’m afraid. I was a real ruffiano. How do you say that in English? Ruffian?
Anna nodded, speechless.
“My father walked out on us shortly after I was born and my mother died when I was ten. I was put into foster care. When that didn’t work out I ran away and survived living on the streets. Some months were so bad I had to steal to stay alive.”
He spoke without malice or bitterness, like he was telling a story about someone else. It was clear he’d come to terms with his past.
“Oh, my gosh, Rafael. I had no idea...”
Her heart went out to Rafael, the kid. She knew what it felt like to be homeless, and unloved. Rafael was clearly a lot more complex than she’d first thought. Sure, she knew he’d had a rough childhood, but living on the streets... stealing to survive. It was horrific.
He shrugged and turned back to the wheel. “I don’t want your sympathy. I’m merely telling you this so you’ll understand why I need your help tonight with Mancini.”
“Mancini? What has he got to do with all this?”
“You’ll see,” said Rafael, a grim smile on his face. “I will explain everything.”
“Good, because I am so confused.” What on earth did Mancini have to do with Rafael’s past?
After a few minutes of tricky navigation past a ferry bound for Capri, Rafael continued his story.
“Instead of arresting me, Giovanni sat me down and we had a long chat. He gave me two options. I could either go to juvenile court and be convicted, which as you can image did not appeal to a twelve year old. The other option was to be sent to boarding school for which he’d pay, on condition that I worked hard and finished school.”
“I’m guessing that’s the route you took?” stated Anna.
“Naturally. Anyway, that’s what I meant when I said Giovanni saved my life.”
“I see,” whispered Anna. So Giovanni was a good guy at heart. That was encouraging. He may have been absent in her life all these years, but at least he’d saved one poor lost soul. “Now I understand why you’re so loyal to him.”
Rafael nodded. “Yes. He adopted me officially some time after that and once I’d graduated, he put me to work in his Rome office. He was my mentor as well as my savour.”
“So Giovanni was a lawyer?”
“Yes. A finance lawyer. He specialised in mergers, acquisitions, property law, that type of thing. Giovanni represented some of the most ruthless businessmen in town. He had tanto coraggio, that man. Much courage.”
“When you say ruthless, do you mean gangsters?” Anna was wide-eyed with astonishment.
“Perhaps not gangsters, but close enough.” Rafael grinned. “This isn’t America.”
Anna gave a thin smile. She wasn’t sure how she felt about her father being mixed up with Mafioso types.
“You see Giovanni also had a tough childhood. He worked his way up the ranks with nothing but tenacity and brains. He had no benefactor. Most of his first clients were old acquaintances, from the wrong side of the tracks. When he expanded, he took on more respectable clientele, including some prominent Government officials, but by that stage he had already made a name for himself in the business.”
Anna soaked up the information. Rafael was giving her a rare insight into her father’s life. Despite never meeting him, she felt proud to be his daughter. “He sounds like an impressive, if not a little scary, man. I wish I’d gotten the chance to meet him.” She took a deep breath. There was no point in wishing for what could never be. Focus on the present, she told herself sternly. Don’t dwell on the past. It gets you nowhere.
“I assume you’ve taken over the firm now that Giovanni’s passed away?”
“Not entirely. I’m a partner in the firm. I specialise in trusts so I manage the Capri subsidiary, in addition to my larger clients in Naples. The Capri branch caters mostly for private clients on the island.”
“I see,” muttered Anna, impressed despite herself. Rafael was way out of her league. He was a glamorous, jet-setting lawyer living in a high-flying world that she knew nothing about. Giovanni had been too, by the sounds of things. Her reality was the maternity ward at the hospital. It was strange to think she could be related to a powerful man like Gio
vanni, and indirectly to Rafael. In fact, if someone had told her she’d be whizzing along the Amalfi Coast on a 50 foot yacht with a guy that made Brad Pitt look ugly, she would have laughed in their face.
But as interesting as all this was, it didn’t provide any clues to why she was here. Rafael’s reason for her to accompany him to Naples was still a mystery. “So what has all this to do with Mancini?”
“I’m getting to that,” remarked Rafael, taking a deep breath.
“Once I was financially secure, I decided to open a charity for street kids like myself. Somewhere that could be a haven, where they could get a decent meal, an education or work advice, if needs be.”
Anna stared at him, filled with admiration. “What a great thing to do.”
Rafael shrugged off the compliment. “It seemed like a good idea. I could have done with a place like that when I was a kid. God knows how I would have turned out if Giovanni hadn’t rescued me.”
There was a brief pause while Rafael contemplated what could have been. Anna kept respectfully silent, waiting for him to go on.
“It’s called Streetwise,” he told her after a beat. “And it currently supports in excess of forty kids. Some only come to eat and sleep, while others talk to advisors and use the training facilities to get into schools and colleges.”
“That’s amazing,” commented Anna. “I had no idea you were so involved with the community.”
“You don’t know me,” replied Rafael quickly.
“No, I suppose not,” mused Anna, realising that there was so much about the enigmatic lawyer she did not know. Here was yet another level to his personality.
“The point to this story,” said Rafael more forcefully, “is that Streetwise is about to be demolished.”
“Demolished? Oh no. Why?”
“Because it stands on prime development land. A wealthy industrialist has bought up the surrounding buildings in order to build an office block and he wants the property Streetwise stands on. He’s gotten permission to demolish the site. It’s going ahead next week.”
“My God,” whispered Anna. “Is there nothing you can do?”
Rafael shook his head. “No. Not up until now. It seemed hopeless. I’ve been running around trying to find an alternative location for the shelter, but even if I did find something now, there wouldn’t be enough time to relocate everyone.”
“Who is this idiot who’s going to demolish the street haven?” Anna suspected she already knew the answer.
“The father of the girl you saved,” hissed Rafael. “Mancini is the bastard who’s going to demolish Streetwise.”
Anna sat in stunned silence as they sped across the white-crested bay. The island of Capri faded into the distance as the sleek motor yacht ate up the miles. Conversely, the Napoli shoreline grew bigger and bigger as they approached. The harbour area was scattered with industrial buildings and warehouses, while higher on the hill the landscape changed to closely-packed flats and houses. It was not a pretty city.
Eventually she said, “You said up until now. What did you mean by that?”
Rafael turned to face her. There was a glimmer in his eyes that was disturbing. “You, my little English rose, are in the prime position to help me save Streetwise.”
“Me? I’m not sure how I can help?” Anna got an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“You saved Mancini’s child.”
“Yes.”
“He’s indebted to you.”
“Yes...” She didn’t like where this was headed.
“He’ll want to pay you back. Italians are like that. His debt of gratitude is such that he’ll ask you what he can do for you in return.”
“I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”
“Come on, Anna. I need your help here. I’m not asking you to do anything underhanded. Mancini will want to repay his debt to you. What could be more important than asking for Streetwise to be left standing, at least until I can secure another place and get it ready for the kids? It doesn’t have to be indefinitely. If that bastard can put his development on hold for two months, it would give me enough time to find a decent alternative, deck it out and relocate the kids so no one has to be out on the street.”
“I don’t know, Rafael. I mean, what if he doesn’t ask me anything. Perhaps dinner is his repayment. You can’t be sure he’s going to offer anything more.”
“No, that’s true, but if he does, will you at least consider what I’ve asked?”
“I can’t promise anything.” At the look on his face she added, “I’m sorry. I just don’t know how the evening is going to turn out, that’s all. I don’t want to make any promises I can’t keep.”
“Okay, well perhaps once you’ve seen the place you’ll change your mind.”
Rafael expertly steered the motor boat into Naples harbour. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but if Anna could work her special brand of magic on Mancini, he would be granted a respite for the shelter. After all, who would be able to resist someone with Anna’s looks and grace? Mancini was bound to be as taken with her as any red-blooded male.
Just look at her. The woman was a goddess. Her ethereal beauty outshone even the models he knew. Those sexy, oval eyes and high cheekbones were made to be admired, and her body, well that was made for something else, but Rafael didn’t want to dwell too long on that, else he was liable to be uncomfortable for the rest of the day.
They jumped into a taxi at the harbour and Rafael barked out an address.
“This isn’t in the best area of town, by the way,” he informed Anna, as they sped away, horn blasting continuously. “Just keep an open mind.”
They pulled to a stop so suddenly that Anna nearly got whiplash. “Good heavens, does everyone drive like a maniac around here?” she asked.
“It is the Italian way,” shrugged Rafael obviously used to it. “Come, follow me.” And he led her down the street and around a corner into a shabby, downtrodden area with litter in the gutters and paint peeling off most of the buildings.
Anna grimaced. “Is this where you grew up?”
Rafael arched an eyebrow. “Yes, this was my turf. Nice, isn’t it?”
Anna didn’t reply. It was dreadful to think of Rafael as a little boy, without parents, trying to survive in these conditions. He’d had to steal to stay alive, for God’s sake. She shuddered. And she thought her childhood was bad. It was a breeze compared to this.
They rounded one more corner and came to a halt outside a wooden door painted in bright green. Someone had graffitied ‘Streetwise’ across the side of the building in bright, funky letters. It looked very urban and modern.
“One of the kids did that,” said Rafael as if reading her thoughts. “Talented, isn’t he? He’s now at art school studying graphic design.” Anna noticed the pride in his voice.
He really cares about these kids, she thought.
He pushed open the door and a bell sounded somewhere in the depths of the house. In the hallway stood an empty desk with an open book on it and a pencil, tied to the book with string.
“This is where the kids sign in,” said Rafael, scouring the most recent entries. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to the team.”
Anna followed Rafael somewhat hesitantly down the hallway and into a brightly lit room filled with tables and chairs. She really didn’t know what to expect. Anna had never been into a homeless shelter before.
It was a large room for a house, and Anna guessed Rafael had knocked through to create it. A few tatty looking teens were sitting at one table eating something that looked like stew. As they passed, Anna got a whiff. It actually smelt quite good.
“This is Cecelia,” said Rafael, waving at a homely, cheerful woman sitting at one of the tables under the window.
Cecelia stood up and smiled at Anna. “Please to meet you,” she said in halting English. “Rafael told me you were coming to visit us.”
“Please to meet you, too.” Anna smiled and shook the woman’s hand. “This is a l
ovely room.” She looked around her. Two huge windows let in ample sunshine, and both were framed by colourful yellow and blue chequered curtains held open with matching tiebacks. There were some threadbare but jaunty rugs on the polished wooden floor and the tables were clean and shining.
“Thank you. This, you could say, is my office,” laughed Cecelia, “I like to keep it neat and tidy.”
Rafael patted Cecelia on the shoulder. “Cecelia is the housekeeper and mama to most of these kids. She practically runs the place.”
Cecelia went off into peals of laughter. “I have lots of help,” she whispered to Anna conspiratorially. Anna liked her immediately.
“Christiano does all the hard work, like fixing and building,” Rafael said as a lean young man of about twenty-five came sauntering in.
“Mama, ciao. Rafael, ciao,” he called as he pulled up a chair next to the teens and high-fived the lot of them. “What’s for lunch? I’m starving.”
Cecelia was ready with a large plate of stew. She grinned as she placed it in front of her son. “My boy has a healthy appetite,” she told Anna, her blue eyes twinkling.
“It’s because I work so hard,” remarked Christiano, giving Anna an appreciative glance.
“This is Anna,” introduced Rafael. Christiano grinned and gave her a friendly wave.
“Let me show you around,” said Rafael hastily steering Anna away from Christiano and back through the door into the hall.
“Here’s the admin centre,” Rafael told her, opening the door to another large room. This time there were blinds over the windows. There was a row of desks against one wall, all with computers on them.
“We have full Internet access here,” said Rafael proudly. “The kids can search for jobs online, or training courses. Whatever they want. We even have a volunteer teacher that comes in once a week and gives computer lessons. They’re always fully booked.”
The Italian Inheritance Page 8