A video? That’s what this was all about? Ben thought of Halli filming at the lake. She must’ve seen something other than swans after he and Rachel drove off without her. How many times more would he wish he could go back in time and change that monumental mistake?
Lapaglia grunted into the phone. “Then we have nothing more to discuss and I have no further use for him.”
Ben didn’t think it possible, but his muscles tensed even more when the man’s hand moved to rest on his weapon. He’d known Trent Tomlin wouldn’t agree to pay.
Eva moved forward. Ben noted her expression of protest with surprise. Lapaglia’s gaze narrowed on her and her step faltered, then stopped.
Into the phone, he said, “You screw with my business, I require compensation.” He turned to the window. “Do not play me for a fool. We both know you can get the money.”
Ben couldn’t see his face, but the undercurrent of steel in the man’s voice didn’t bode well for him. He wished to hell he could hear the other half of the conversation, but Lapaglia’s words made it clear Tomlin was stalling.
“I think not. You have twenty-four hours.” Quiet fell in the room. Lapaglia moved aside the curtain to look at the lake. He made a humming noise deep in his throat. “No. However…to prove I am a reasonable man, I will give you until five p.m. tomorrow before I call with additional instructions.”
He flipped the phone shut and pivoted toward Ben. “It appears all of you lucked out when the superstar showed up.”
Ben drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair he was tied to. “Yeah, there’s my silver lining.”
The phone rang in Lapaglia’s hand. He ignored Ben’s sarcasm and checked the display. With a chilling smile, he headed for the door, hand at his side. Just when Ben thought he’d let the call go, he answered. He narrowed his eyes after a moment.
“Si, I will have my men retreat, but…I have no further control over la Polizia. Furthermore, a word of warning…my connections are many. You do this alone. If you seek assistance, I will know, and then neither one of us will have use for your money.”
Another pause, and then the Italian chuckled. “You insist I will pay, but your brother committed suicide, remember? It is no fault of mine he was weak.”
He disconnected the call with a downward slap of the phone against his palm. As if snapping the phone shut flipped a switch, he began an angry tirade in Italian as Nino followed him from the room.
Lapaglia’s last comment finally gave Ben another clue as to Trent Tomlin’s connection. Had the Italian been involved in Sean Tomlin’s suicide that’d been all over the news a few months ago? The possibility wasn’t a stretch; Ben wouldn’t put anything past the bastard.
Eva moved to stand in front of him. It was just the two of them in the room now, not that he’d complain. She was something else. And a hell of a lot easier on his swollen eye than Zucchi. His hands were losing feeling from lack of circulation and he rotated them as best he could within his bindings. He was rewarded with a slight tingling in his fingertips.
“So…will you get a cut of that million dollar ransom he just demanded?”
His question caught her off guard. Confusion and uncertainty clouded her eyes, but she recovered with determined, “Si.”
“Damn. I was still kinda hoping you’d help me.”
“I have helped.”
He gave a short laugh. “Oh, right, I’m sorry. Thanks for that ice pack so my eye won’t be so swollen when they kill me. All the easier to stare down the barrel of the gun with.”
“Sarcasm is unattractive.”
Ben tipped his chin. “I apologize again. Maybe our problem is that the definition of help has gotten lost in translation.”
“When Mr. Tomlin pays, you will be free.”
Ben laughed at her choice of words. “If Tomlin pays a million dollars for a complete stranger he’s never even met. Tell me Eva, after all I’ve seen, all I’ve heard, what’s the likelihood I’m still going to get out of this alive?”
She turned around to straighten one of the pillows on the bed, but the brief glimpse of her expression gave him an answer without a single word passing her lips. The ball in his stomach knotted tighter.
“Help me.”
The pillow received a thorough fluffing. She thumped the pillow once more and then faced him with her arms crossed under her breasts. He struggled to keep his gaze on her face.
“Are you hungry?” she asked.
Looked like he’d have to approach this a different way. “Are you cooking?”
“Si.”
He curved his sore mouth in a slow smile. “Then yes, I’m hungry.”
Her head tilted. She returned his smile with a dazzling one of her own. “I bet that works when you are not black and blue.”
“You mean it’s not working now?”
She rolled her eyes, but his vision wasn’t so bad that he missed a promising flicker in her eyes just before she turned for the door. If he could just get her on his side, he might have a fighting chance here. He pitched his voice low and husky. “Eva.”
She paused. Pivoted on those toned, sexy legs.
“I can’t feel my fingers anymore.”
Her gaze dropped to the rope securing his hands to the arms of the chair. He wiggled his fingers again to ease the pressure and gain sympathy. The resulting grimace was completely genuine. After a glance at the door, she sighed and returned to his side.
She leaned over to begin loosening the ties on his right wrist. He kept still, hoping she wouldn’t notice his muscles tensed in a play for additional movement within the bindings. A spicy exotic scent that completely fit her enveloped his senses. He drew it into his lungs.
Tough but feminine. Sizzling yet aloof. Erotic and innocent.
Seeking to ground his wavering focus, he said softly, “If it’s about the money, I can pay you.”
She raised her gaze to his. His heart thumped in his chest.
“You said you do not have the money.”
“Not a million dollars, but what I can get you won’t have to share with the other bastards.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Other bastards? Meaning I am one, too?”
Crap. “I didn’t mean it like—”
“It is not about the money.” With that brief statement, she shifted to his other side, now standing directly in front of him, practically between his legs.
Her attention focused on his left hand, he discreetly tested his right. Unbelievably, his plan worked. With very little effort, his hand slid free. Before she could do more than begin to turn her head, he’d fisted his hand in her long hair and drew her close. She braced one hand on his left forearm, the other on the right arm of the chair. He clamped his legs together on hers, holding her captive.
He stared into her brown eyes, only inches from his. Flecks of glittering gold mesmerized him.
“If not the money, then what? Why are you with these guys?”
Her attention dropped down to his lips. When her lashes lifted again, no fear registered in the depths of her eyes, despite her vulnerable position. Irritation poked his ego. She may imagine herself relatively safe with his one hand still restrained, but he didn’t doubt his superior strength would secure his freedom.
“Why else does a woman stay with a man if not for money?” she countered in a low, throaty whisper.
Heat sufficed his body in a split second, though he recognized the fact that she was playing him as much as he played her.
“In that case…” He deliberately focused on her exposed cleavage. “I’m more than willing to pay for your assistance in any manner you desire.”
“Yes?” A slow sensuous glide of her pink tongue wet her lips.
Ben bit back a groan. “Hell yes.”
Then the most unexpected thing happened. She leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his. A warning bell rang somewhere in the distant recesses of his mind.
Do not respond.
He closed his eyes to focus. She angled her head an
d slid her tongue between his lips, into his mouth. With his senses in a heightened state of awareness since realizing Halli was missing, every nuance of the woman in front of him was magnified. His tactical error registered too late for him to recover.
A half-hearted effort tightened his fingers in her hair, but he didn’t drag her away. Not when he’d entertained more than one brief fantasy of this exact experience since seeing the woman yesterday. Red hot desire overrode common sense. The stimulating combination of her scent and taste triggered his response with a vengeance. And not just in the thrust and parry of his tongue with hers. His body hardened damn fast, too.
Eva deepened the kiss. Pressed her chest to his. A moan erupted from deep in his throat. Partly from arousal, partly from her sensual, yet painful assault on his swollen bottom lip. A frustrated tug on his still captive left hand yielded no result. He wanted to crush her against him with both arms. Feel her ripe body and the pleasure-pain of her hips against his straining erection.
Her hand slid along his right arm, skimmed over his bare forearm, and found his hand, fingers still entwined in her hair. The other curled around his head before her nails raked along his scalp. The passion in this one kiss promised incineration in bed.
Oh, but what a way to go.
All thoughts of her naked body writhing under his fled with the sudden jab of her knee to his groin. Pain registered. In his crotch and in the middle fingers of his right hand that she pulled from her hair and bent back almost to the breaking point. He jerked forward in an attempt to relieve the pressure on his hand. Her knee pressed harder into his groin.
“Jesus,” he gasped. “Easy.”
Her breathing was as unsteady as his, but her brown eyes regarded him without apology. “Do not attempt to take advantage of me again.”
“You kissed me, dammit. Ow.”
Her brutal hold on his fingers directed his hand back to the arm of the chair. Once the restraint was back in place and tight enough to prevent another escape, but not so snug as to cut off his circulation, she finally removed her knee.
Instead of moving away, she placed that knee on the chair against the outside of his thigh. His pulse began a steady increase when her other knee mimicked the first on the opposite side, and she straddled him on the chair. He fought the insane urge to thrust upward. What the hell was wrong with him? The woman was a sadist!
Starting at his hairline, she ran the fingers of both hands through his hair, down to the nape of his neck. Her nails stimulated countless nerve endings on the reverse trip. Tingles worked though his entire body. That’s when she settled her weight onto his lap and smiled.
“You are easily excitable.”
Ben choked back a tortured groan. “You’re a very exciting woman.”
He barely recognized his own voice. Never had he been aroused to such a fever pitch before. He’d heard danger could be a wild aphrodisiac, but this was nuts.
With a husky laugh, she rotated her hips in a slow circle. “Grazie.”
His body throbbed. The groan broke free. “God, woman, what are you doing?”
“Exploring my power.” Her throaty whisper gave the statement twice the punch.
He found himself pulled forward for another mind-numbing kiss that ended way too fast. A ragged breath did nothing to bank the fire burning him from the inside out. Staring into her darkened eyes, he admitted, “I’m completely at your mercy.”
“A fact you must not forget.” She braced her hands on his shoulders and pushed off the chair. While he scrambled to form a coherent thought, she smoothed the snug hem of her shirt over the curve her hips. “Now that we have that settled, I will do what I can to satisfy your hunger.”
Was she serious? He waited in breathless anticipation for her next move.
She spun on her heel and exited the room. Somewhere in the distance a church bell rang the noon hour. Ben gave a self-mocking laugh that ended in a low, agonized growl.
She was referring to hunger of the non-carnal variety.
****
Evalina’s knees wobbled the moment she closed the door, but thankfully, the wall offered necessary support. Sweet mother of God. What had come over her in there? Anyone could’ve walked in. Nino. Zucchi. Alrigo.
She shuddered at the last possibility. His eyes made her skin crawl. They’d undressed her too many times since hooking up with Nino here at the villa. With God’s help, this would be over soon.
They needed that video. It was imperative it didn’t fall into the wrong hands. Ensuring their remaining bargaining chip did not escape was also crucial. No matter the cost. Or so she tried to tell herself. Against her better judgment, she liked the American more with each visit to his room. Sure, he was brash, and cocky, but when his sister had been here, she’d caught a glimpse of a pure heart. He’d protected her more than once, and at great risk to his own life. In her line of work, men like that were rare.
It did not help that he could make her insides quiver with a single look. And that kiss. Would she have had the same out of control reaction to him in a different setting? Or was it just the unusual circumstances they were trapped in?
The lip-lock had started as a necessary move to get him restrained again, but…what came after. On the chair. She got warm all over again just thinking about her rash behavior. Not to mention, his scalding response and the feel of his hard body beneath hers.
She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.
“Where the hell have you been?”
Nino’s annoyed question jerked her head up. Erotic thoughts fled, leaving a flush of heat on her cheeks. Aw, hell, when had she become such an amateur?
She straightened and hurried away from the door, self-consciously smoothing her messed hair. Nino’s gaze narrowed as it swept over the length of her body.
“What’s going on?” Nino asked.
She took a deep breath and fisted her hands on her hips. “You tell me. What the hell were you thinking suggesting a ransom? Are you deliberately trying to screw this up?”
“Easy money,” Nino stated. “A sure bet Alrigo would go for.”
“Well, I don’t like it.”
“The ransom was to buy us some time. We aren’t ready and you know it.”
Evalina stalked forward until she was right in his face. “And what if Tomlin can’t come up with the money? What if he changes his mind?”
She stopped herself from asking a third question, but it didn’t matter. The emotion that seeped into her voice allowed Nino to read between the lines with ease. What if Alrigo killed Ben?
Nino grasped her shoulders and pushed her against the wall. “That man in there is a means to an end, nothing more.”
“He didn’t do anything to anyone.”
A door further down the hall opened, and Eva saw Tony step out. She’d heard about the espresso Trent Tomlin had tossed in his face at the cafe and the guy’s face still showed the effects of the scalding liquid. Knowing he was in league with Alrigo, she couldn’t find it in her to care about his pain.
He paused when he saw the two of them. Nino leaned in close to Evalina, threading his fingers into her hair while his thumbs rested along her jaw. His lean, muscled body unnecessarily held her in place. She knew she had to keep up appearances, though the longer they were here, the harder it became to endure his touch.
Nino’s lips brushed hers, and then skimmed across her cheek to rest against her ear. She closed her eyes against the sight of Tony watching.
“Careful, Eva,” Nino breathed. “Or you’ll be the one to screw everything up.”
His hot breath sent a shiver down her spine, but it chilled to the bone where Ben’s had warmed and excited.
Proving Nino was absolutely right.
Chapter 18
Halli paused in the doorway of Simone’s front room as Trent spoke into his cell phone.
“No, I figured you’d heard the news already, but I swear to you, I did not kill that cop. We were friends. He was helping me investi
gate Sean’s death.”
The muscles in his back were as tense as his voice, but then his shoulders relaxed a bit.
“Thanks—your belief means more than you’ll ever know,” he continued. “Which is why you’re the only one I trust with the money. I don’t care what you have to do, just so it’s ready when I call tomorrow. I’m dead serious about this, Brad. Waterproof bag, and someone you’d trust with your daughter’s life. Yeah. Thanks.”
The ransom money. Hearing him make the arrangements solidified Halli’s growing remorse for doubting him. If he intended to keep the video for himself, he’d have been gone already, right? She watched him flip the phone shut and slip it into his jeans pocket, his back still to the doorway. She searched for an opening line, but he spoke first without turning around.
“Are you here to accuse me of ulterior motives again?”
She’d intended to apologize, but instead went on the defensive. “I had to ask.”
He ran his hands through his hair, frustration evident as his fingers clenched at the nape of his neck. Was that an existing habit, or newly formed, she wondered, stepping into the room. Then he pivoted to face her as he leaned back against the window sill, and she forgot all about the errant thought.
“I’d like to say I’ve looked at it from your point of view, Halli, that I get where it came from, and, dammit, I do. It’s just…I thought we were past that.”
He couldn’t really be as offended as he sounded, could he? Unless he didn’t truly understand where she was coming from.
“I’m sorry.” She lifted her hands, then dropped them back to her sides with a feeling of helplessness. “I’m more grateful than you’ll ever know for what you’ve done for me, and Rachel, but I still have to think about my brother. Can you honestly tell me you didn’t consider the fact that you’d be turning over the one piece of evidence that proves you’re innocent?”
“Of course I considered it. Can you honestly tell me you think I’d choose to let your brother die?” His hand rose, palm out. “Forget it, you already answered that question.”
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