by J. L. Drake
“I want you t—”
He didn’t let her finish speaking before embracing her again. He brushed one hand through her hair, tugging gently as he suckled and kissed up the side of her neck. His other hand grasped her breast, squeezing hard enough to make her moan. The touch of his mouth and hands sent shock waves through her body. Every inch of her screamed for more—more touching, kissing, squeezing—more of anything to stoke the fire that kindled her insides. She wanted, and needed, him to release the energy that had surged throughout her body. His erection was pressed firmly against a bundle of nerve endings screaming for release. Too many clothes. She reached for his belt, desperate to feel his body next to hers—skin to skin. Every ounce of her wanted this man.
Suddenly, he stopped. He pulled away from her, leaving her breathless and wanton.
He moved his hands through his hair. His pants were undone and his erection threatened to spill out. “Kate, I have to get you out of here. I have to get you to Rome. There’s an embassy as well as a large airport. They’ll help get you on the next flight out of this country.”
“What? Can’t that wait?” She wasn’t sure what happened; all she knew is the fireworks were lit but they never exploded. The show was over before it started.
He turned around and leaned his head back. “No, it can’t wait. I need to get you to safety. I can’t let anything else happen to you.”
“What about us? I thought you wanted to make love to me.” She bowed her head, embarrassed by the words that had just come out of her mouth.
He approached her and held her face. “You know I want that more than anything right now, but I don’t feel right putting your life in jeopardy. The longer you’re here with me, the more you’re at risk. We need to get you to the embassy now.”
She took a deep breath, trying unsuccessfully to put out the fire that had been stoked. “Do you think they can help you too? Maybe they can assist you to leave the country unnoticed.”
“Maybe later; I have things to finish up here. My father has left me instructions that I need to follow. I can’t leave until this is resolved, or I’ll be looking over my shoulder the rest of my life.”
“What…what if they hurt you?”
He looked deep in her eyes, his gaze touching her soul. “Please don’t worry about that. I promise you, I’ll be in New York before you know it, and I expect a tour of the Empire State Building.”
She laughed. “There are so many more things to see in the city than that.”
“Fine, I just can’t wait to see the city through your eyes. For now, though, we’ll leave when it gets dark. You can’t stand out so you need to cover your hair with a scarf and wear dark clothes. There’s a train leaving tonight at eight that will get to Rome around eleven. We will contact the embassy once we get there.”
“How far from the train station to the embassy? Will they even be open?”
“The embassy is always open. From the train station, we’ll take the subway to Barberini Square. The embassy is only a couple of blocks from there. It won’t be too much trouble at all.”
“I can’t believe I’m leaving; I’ve only just gotten here. I feel like I was finally beginning to find myself.”
“You can’t begin to know how sorry I am to have brought you into this. Someday, when this is all taken care of, I’ll bring you back here and I’ll show you Italy.”
“You promise?”
“Yes. I owe you that much,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her.
Chapter Ten
Special Agent Daniel Thompson stepped off the plane in Rome. He marveled at how modern the city was, despite being built more than two thousand years prior. The area around the airport was busy; people were bustling everywhere. As he walked outside, he put on his sunglasses, strapped the carry-on bag over his shoulder, and went in search of the private car that was supposed to be waiting.
Thompson had been placed on the case a few months prior. When he first heard about it, he thought it was a joke or maybe he was being punished—or worse yet—demoted. After all, black market importation of olive oil didn’t seem like that big of a deal. However, as he learned what was really going on, he was astounded by the actions taken to mass-produce the stuff. He was surprised to learn that in the late ’90s olive oil was the most tampered agricultural substance in the European Union, and only sixty-nine percent of the olive oil imported into the United States actually met the FDA’s approval rating. The oils that didn’t meet standards were often doctored with various seed and hazelnut oil. Even well-known oil production companies had been victims, causing their products to not meet standards. This was a billion-dollar industry making the Italian mobs very wealthy while providing consumers with a less-than-healthy product.
He was supposed to team up with members from the Guardia di Finanza, who were also working on the case. He was investigating from the United States; he searched for the exact location of the warehouse the olive oil was supposedly being shipped to. However, his assignment was recently changed when one of the agents and his family were killed—presumably by the cartel. The Guardia di Finanza had performed forensics on the bodies found in the house, only to find one of the sons was not identified. Massimo Bertalucci was thought to have somehow escaped. Since his family had been working with the Guardia di Finanza, and training agents how to decipher between pure and tampered olive oil, it was believed that Massimo Bertalucci was in grave danger. They needed to find him before the cartel did.
Recently, Italian authorities found videos of what was presumably Bertalucci traveling through various train stations throughout the country. If it was in fact him, Bertalucci had disguised himself, and was now traveling with an American woman identified as Katherine Anderson, a well-known food critic and heiress to the Anderson Empire, consisting of over one hundred high-end restaurants up and down the eastern seaboard. While the Anderson family had no inkling Katherine was in trouble, if the cartel found out who she was, they would certainly attempt to milk her family for all they were worth. Thompson had to get to her before they did.
He located the private car waiting for him. Inside, he came face to face with Agent Andreo Manchetti. They had been working together for several months via phone and online conferences. Thankfully, Manchetti spoke perfect English, making it easy for him to work with. Manchetti was the one who informed him about Katherine Anderson potentially being in harm’s way. He didn’t know anything about the relationship between her and Massimo Bertalucci, or how they even met. Their concern was that somehow Bertalucci might have gotten caught up with the cartel, thus explaining why his family was murdered, and perhaps, he was bringing Ms. Anderson to the cartel as payment.
“Glad to finally meet you in person. How was your flight?” Manchetti produced his hand and Thompson eagerly shook it.
“Surprisingly, it wasn’t too bad. It will be difficult to get used to this time change though.”
“I trust you slept on your flight?”
“I was able to get a couple of hours in.”
“Good because it’s going to be a long day. Let me brief you on what’s happened since you left New York.”
“Excellent.” Thompson produced a pad of paper and pen from his bag in order to take notes.
“Ms. Anderson checked out of her hotel in Florence today, and we had an agent follow her to the station where she then took a train to Siena. At that point, Ms. Anderson rendezvoused with who we presume to be Bertalucci. After that, our agent lost them. We know they took off in a cab, but we were unable to follow. We did find a three-day reservation for Ms. Anderson at the Hotel Athena. That will give us time to keep surveillance on the hotel, and learn her connection to Bertalucci.”
“I appreciate your efforts on locating Ms. Anderson. Although I don’t like the idea of waiting to find out her relationship with Bertalucci. I think we should just bring her in and question her. I don’t want to take a chance by using her as bait. If something goes wrong and she’s placed in the hands of the ca
rtel, there could be very serious consequences—none of which I’m prepared to deal with.”
“I understand your concern, and her safety is a priority for us as well. My men are staking out the hotel as we speak, where they’ll place a tracking device in her bag. That way, we can locate her at all times, even if she somehow gets in the wrong hands.”
“I don’t know. It sounds a bit risky. I think it would be wise to get her back to the States as soon as possible.”
“We don’t know what part she plays in this. We don’t know how or why she’s involved with Bertalucci. We need to at least be able to watch her for a couple of days to make sure she isn’t involved with the cartel.”
“I disagree. We have no evidence to suggest she’s had any interaction with the cartel or Bertalucci. She’s an innocent bystander in all this. From what we’ve learned, she’s had this trip planned for several months. In addition, according to the research I’ve done, she’s supposed to be here with her ex-fiancé. Ms. Anderson has airfare and train tickets purchased for him. However, he didn’t come with her. But even still, these aren’t the actions of someone who’s conspiring with the mafia.”
“Yes, I suppose you’re right. Perhaps she doesn’t know what’s going on. Regardless, we need to let this unfold a little more before removing her from the situation.”
“Fine, I’ll go along with your plan, but only for two days. Then I’m taking her on the next plane back to America.”
“Agreed.”
Thompson rubbed his nose and eyes, trying to wipe away the fatigue. His body was stuck on east coast time where it was the middle of the night. His brain was moving at Mach speed processing all the information he’d learned so far. “I’m very interested to find out how she got mixed up with Bertalucci.”
“I am as well.”
He looked out the window as they drove through what was considered the suburbs of Rome. “How far to Siena?”
“The driver is taking us to the train station and the train trip is approximately three hours. In the meantime, I’ve prepared a folder for you to get caught up on the case.”
Thompson reviewed the contents of the folder. He studied the pictures of the Bertalucci family, including Massimo and his brother, Paolo, the agent who was working on the case. The clan stood arm in arm smiling for a family picture; they looked like the average close-knit Italian family. If he didn’t know better, he would think they were posing for a magazine cover. People didn’t look this happy in real life.
He couldn’t imagine Massimo allowing his family to be killed. Something else must be going on. If he was innocent, why didn’t he go to the police? Surely he knew who he could trust. His brother was an agent, so surely they had conversations. The fact that Bertalucci was on the lam, made him appear guilty. This man could be dangerous and Thompson needed to get Katherine away from him.
Chapter Eleven
While waiting for the sun to set so they could leave unnoticed, Tony and Kate sat on the large communal balcony in the hotel. Tony ordered dinner; he wanted to make sure Kate ate so she wasn’t starving later. He also encouraged her to have a couple glasses of wine to calm her nerves. Kate, on the other hand, had been on edge since he explained the plan for leaving the city. Or maybe it was because he got her all fired up and left her hanging. Whatever the case, she needed to relax. She’d almost made her lip bloody, chewing the hell out of it while trying to solve the world’s problems.
After they finished dinner, he took her back to the room so she could put her essentials into a backpack. They needed to move quickly and not draw attention as they left the hotel, so they couldn’t bring her suitcase. She wasn’t even going to check out of the room; she would just leave—for what appeared to be the evening.
“Kate, are you almost ready to go?”
“Yes, I’m just making sure I didn’t forget anything important.”
“It’s seven-thirty and if we don’t leave in the next few minutes, we won’t make it.”
“Okay, okay. Let’s go.” She appeared from the bathroom wearing a long black skirt and matching long-sleeved shirt. She had a gray scarf wrapped around her head, covering her long blonde locks.
The sight of her made his dick wake up and take notice. “Even covered from head to toe, you’re a beautiful woman.”
She blushed and shrugged. What had happened to her that she couldn’t take a compliment? Why did she have such a low self-esteem? What did that dick-head she was supposed to marry do to her? He suddenly felt the need to kick someone’s ass.
“Tony, are you sure there isn’t another way? I’d really like to be able to finish my trip. I didn’t have anything to do with your family. Perhaps if I just go to the embassy, everything can be fixed. You won’t need to run anymore.”
“It’s safer for you this way. We don’t know who is following either of us, and I need to find what my dad left for me.”
“What if you’re killed?”
He shrugged. “It’s a chance I have to take. My family is my blood, and they were killed unnecessarily. I need to make sure that I at least follow through to retrieve whatever items were left for me. My father wouldn’t want it any other way. Now, if you’re ready, we should go.”
She grabbed her backpack and took another look around the room. She was a nervous wreck. Tony wasn’t sure how many times she checked to make sure she had everything. And goddamn if she didn’t fit almost all her belongings in that small backpack.
He slowly opened the door and looked both ways down the hallway. When he was convinced there was no one watching, he motioned for her to follow. It wasn’t until they were in the elevator before he said another word. “I want you to follow my lead. Just let me do all the talking. I’ll head out first to make sure it’s okay to leave the hotel. You hang out in the lobby. It’s important to make it look like we are just going to have dinner or walk around the city.”
“Okay. I can do that.” She gave a halfhearted smile before folding her arms across her chest.
“Good. Here we go.”
The elevator doors opened.
“Give me your hand.”
She laced her fingers in his as they stepped out and walked through the lobby. When they reached the brochures along the wall, she did as instructed. Tony walked outside to make sure the coast was clear before coming back in to retrieve her.
“Come on, love. We’re going to be late for our dinner reservation.”
She put one of the brochures into her pocket as she made her way toward him. Before too long, they were halfway to the train station.
“That was a nice touch back there, placing the brochure in your pocket.”
“Thank you, but I didn’t mean for it to be.” She pulled the trifold paper from her jacket. “There are these fountains in Rome. I’d like to see them before you take me to the embassy.”
“That’s the Trevi Fountain.”
“The brochure says to throw in a Euro and make a wish. It says if I do this, I’ll be provided safe passage back to Rome.”
“Only if you throw it with your right hand over your left shoulder.”
“Why is that?”
“I’m not sure. That’s just what I’ve always been told.”
“So, would it be okay if we did it?”
“I suppose, but it’s going to be very late by the time we get there. They won’t have the lights on.”
“Can’t we wait until the morning to see it then? I’d really like to get a good look at it. The architecture seems amazing, and I’d like to see the story they created.”
“You can get all that from the pictures.”
“Come on, Tony. You and I both know the pictures don’t capture the feeling of being there in person.”
Tony understood what she was saying, but he also recognized that by the time they got to Rome, the jewelry store would be closed. If they waited until morning, he would have a better shot of obtaining what he needed with her there.
“Fine, I’ll reserve us a hotel once we
get to Rome.”
“Are you sure you think it will be okay?”
“Yes, I’ll get us a hotel pretty close to Barberini Square. The fountain is only a few blocks from there. If we stay alert, we can probably get it done before someone recognizes us or realizes you aren’t in Siena anymore.”
“Thank you.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
He wanted more than a soft kiss on the cheek; he wanted the whole frickin’ pie! “It’s the least I can do. I’m the one who put you in this predicament. I told you I’d fix it, and get you home safe. I’m a man of my word.” He squeezed her hand. “The train station is just up ahead. Make sure you cover your face with your scarf.” He quickly wrapped his scarf so it covered part of his chin.
“I’ve noticed a lot of men in Italy wear scarves. Men don’t wear them so often in the United States.”
“They sell scarves on practically every corner here. Sometimes, it gets chilly rather suddenly so it’s good to have one handy. Besides, they’ve become a huge fashion statement.”
As they approached the station, Tony thought about how close he’d come to claiming Kate as his. It took every ounce of strength he had to stop from making love to her. The curves and the firmness of her ass made him want nothing more than to spank it as he took her from behind. That ass was a piece of art—God’s gift to men. He wasn’t lying; he wanted to make love to her, to take the time to undress and worship every inch of her body, to penetrate her deeply and feel her body become one with his, and most of all, to spend hours with her entangled in his arms. Thinking about it made his cock come alive. Oh, all the things he could do with her.
What happened? When did he start caring for some chick? He’d always been a playboy of sorts—the ladies’ man. His brothers would high five him every time he conquered a new woman. His dad tried to tell him about the importance of starting a family and carry on traditions and his mother just shook her head and pointed at him.