“I won’t cause any trouble, I swear. I only wanted to apologize for my abominable behavior and to explain why I did all those horrible things to you and Logan. You see…”
Both of them glanced towards the doorway when they heard the faint strains of someone humming a song as they came down the hall. Shelby turned back to Alicia and was surprised to find she looked nervous.
“It’s only Alba, our live-in cook and housekeeper.”
“I would prefer it if no one else knew I was here. If word got out to Richard…” Alicia’s voice trailed off, but her eyes continued to plead with Shelby to keep her visit a secret.
Shelby hurried across the room and stuck her head out the doorway. “Alba, I’m going to take a short nap before dinner. I left a note in the kitchen to let you know what I’d like you to make tonight.”
“All of Logan’s favorites, I see,” Alba beamed. “Does this mean there is something special to celebrate?”
“Very special,” Shelby returned her smile. “I’m sure he would love it if you whipped up one of your fabulous cobblers for dessert too.”
“Si, I will start on it right away.”
“Thank you,” she called after Alba, who was already heading back downstairs.
“A celebration?” Alicia asked after Shelby closed the door.
“Logan closed an important deal today,” she lied. “Now what were you saying?”
Alicia glanced at the door then back at Shelby. “Is there someplace else we could talk? A spare bedroom maybe where no one will interrupt us? I know it’s a lot to ask,” she rushed on before Shelby could refuse, “but I don’t want to take the chance we’ll be overheard. I feel so guilty for the awful things I’ve said and done and it’s going to be hard enough to explain myself without worrying about Alba or one of your other servants listening in.”
Shelby bristled. “First of all, Alba isn’t a servant, she’s practically part of the family. And you don’t have to worry about the other people we employ here because they’ve all gone home for the night.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so arrogant.” She gave Shelby a tentative smile. “I’m afraid the people Richard employs are quite so respectful of my privacy, but if you’re sure she won’t come back, this will be fine.”
Shelby hadn’t suspected a thing. It didn’t even enter her mind that she was being manipulated so that it seemed like it was her own idea to move to a more secluded part of the house. She’d blithely confessed that she knew Alba checked on her whenever she wasn’t feeling well or if she remained in her room or studio too long. The older woman clucked over both her and Logan like a mother hen so there was a good possibility she’d at least peek her head into the room to make sure Shelby was all right.
“There’s really only two rooms Alba doesn’t go into on a regular basis,” she told Alicia. “Logan has a workout room on the first floor and just down from that is a small music studio. It’s completely sound proof and the only way anyone could hear us is if they switch on the intercom for that particular room.”
“It sounds perfect,” Alicia agreed with a warm smile. “Can we reach it without being seen?”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. I’m sure Alba is in the kitchen baking her heart out for Logan.”
“What if she comes to check on you and you’re not here?”
“That could be a problem,” Shelby admitted, knowing Alba would scour the entire house if she was missing. “I have an idea…” she hurried into the bathroom and emerged a few minutes later. “I turned the shower on. If Alba does come to check on me, she’ll hear it running and think I’m in the bathroom.”
“Perfect,” Alicia said again.
Shelby tossed her purse on the vanity. “Let’s go then. Logan will be home shortly and he won’t be at all happy if he finds you here.”
So they’d sneaked down the stairs to the back of the house and locked themselves inside the music studio. Ironically, it was Shelby who’d insisted Logan add it to the floor plans when he’d had the house built because she played the piano herself and hoped that one day their children would share her love of music and want to take up an instrument. As always, he’d indulged in her wishes had now she was entombed in the only room in the house that no sound could escape from.
****
Shelby seated herself in the overstuffed armchair Logan had purchased so he’d have someplace comfortable to sit while he listened to her play. She sank down onto the cushion while Alicia paced nervously and was actually feeling sorry for the woman. How lonely her existence must be if she felt the need to pursue a married man, and how awful to have to face that man’s wife and confess all the horrid things she’d done. Even so, she was starting to get impatient when Alicia suddenly stopped pacing and turned to face her.
“I think it’s only fair to tell you everything right from the beginning. The first time I met Logan was at my house. He’d come to talk to Richard but was a little early so I came in from the pool to greet him. He took my breath away but it wasn’t just his looks that attracted me to him. It’s the way he dominates a room just by being in it and the image of and power and strength he portrays so effortlessly.”
“Alicia…”
“Oh, don’t get your feathers ruffled, I’m merely explaining what it was that made him different from other men.”
“I know what makes him different from other men,” Shelby said icily, “I certainly don’t need you to tell me.”
“No, I don’t suppose you do. At first, it was just a fantasy to become Logan’s lover but every time I saw him I wanted him even more. I realized, of course, that to make my fantasy come true I had to get rid of any obstacles standing in my way, namely you and Richard.”
Shelby couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Are you telling me you’ve been plotting to break us up even before…” she stopped abruptly when she realized what she’d been about to say but Alicia was nodding slowly as if to confirm her fears. “Oh my God,” her voice shook, “you couldn’t possibly…”
“Oh, but I did,” Alicia smiled proudly. “Once I decide to do something I don’t let anything dissuade me. I hired someone to follow you and learned your routine. I even became a regular at the same hair salon you use and discovered you had an appointment on the same day Richard and I were meeting Logan for lunch. I convinced Richard to spend a romantic evening with me at the hotel across from the salon then suggested it might save time if he asked Logan to pick me up on the way to the restaurant.”
“But you couldn’t have known I’d be running late and see you coming out of the hotel or even how I’d react to it even if I did.”
“Oh Shelby,” she laughed, “you really are as naïve as you seem, aren’t you? I’ll bet you’ve never done anything even slightly deceptive in your life no matter how strong the temptation. I, on the other hand, have had years of practice, and making other women green with jealousy is something I’m very good at.”
“You couldn’t have orchestrated all of that,” Shelby insisted, “it was pure luck I happened to be leaving the salon when you and Logan walked out.”
“It wasn’t that difficult, believe it or not. I knew what time your appointment was and about how long it would take. I also knew Logan wouldn’t be late picking me up so I needed to make sure you were late leaving the salon. It was easy enough,” she boasted, “all I had to do was wait until you’d gone inside then make a quick call to your hair dresser and keep him on the phone for ten minutes. From the lobby I had a clear shot of the salon entrance so I stalled Logan by pretending to adjust the strap on my heels until I saw you coming out.”
Shelby stood up slowly, her whole body shaking with rage. “So you knew I saw you together and you convinced Logan he needed to help you down the stairs because of the heels you were wearing. What kind of monster are you? Didn’t it bother you at all to know you were destroying the life of someone you didn’t even know? What if I hadn’t jumped to the wrong conclusions, what would you have done then?”
Alicia smiled, but there was nothing but cold disdain in her eyes and her voice. “I am not a monster; I’m merely a woman who saw what she wanted and went for it. And there was no question as to whether you’d be jealous when you saw your husband with his arm around another woman, not when we were coming of a hotel in the middle of the day and not after I’d taken so much trouble to look the part of a seductress. If only Logan had been as easy as my other conquests, this all could have been avoided.”
“Conquests? Is that how you see all men, as conquests?”
“Of course,” she replied with a shrug. “I have a good thing with Richard but he’s gone so much of the time I get bored. When I do…stray from my marital vows it’s never for more than one night. If Logan had slept with me all those months ago I would have left you both alone and moved on to another challenge.”
Shelby’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “But he didn’t sleep with you and he never will, so why bother telling me all of this if you’ve given up on him?”
Alicia arched a brow. “Who said I’ve given up? When I found out you were back, I knew Logan would be even more resistant to sleeping with me than before so I had to…rethink my game plan. Making him believe you’d left him again might work, but then again it failed the first time so it probably wouldn’t work this time either. But,” she said with a sly smile, “if he thought I had something to do with your disappearance and that some harm might come to you unless he…cooperated, I think he’d fold fast enough.”
“My God, you really are insane! You’ll never pull this off,” Shelby hissed. “Logan loves me and no matter what lies you tell him, he’d never betray me that way.”
“You think not? Would you care to wager on that, Mrs. Vittorio?”
“I’d bet my life on it,” she said with bold confidence.
Alicia eyed Shelby with grudging admiration. “I think maybe I did underestimate you,” she admitted, "but it won't change anything. So here’s the deal. You’re going to disappear for forty-eight hours. If I convince Logan to sleep with me during that time, you runaway for good this time and you file for divorce so I don’t have to deal with any guilt on his part for committing adultery.”
“This is ridiculous. I refuse to play this game with you, and I refuse to stand idly by while you try to seduce my husband.”
“Afraid you’ll lose?” Alicia taunted.
“I told you, I’d bet my life he’d never cheat on me. And even if I was stupid enough to go along with this, how do I know you wouldn’t just add to your pile of lies and tell me you slept with him whether you did or not?”
“You do have a point there,” Alicia conceded, “but it wouldn’t be very sporting of me to lie about it. Besides, I have an idea how you can witness the whole thing without Logan knowing.” She nodded to the panel on the wall. "You’ll be able to hear everything that goes on in your bedroom from that intercom so there won’t be any doubt in your mind as to whether I’m telling the truth or not.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Shelby’s temper exploded. “I’m not going to stay here and listen to you try and get my husband into bed!”
“I’m afraid you have no choice in the matter,” Alicia replied calmly as she reached into her purse.
Shelby just stood there, gaping in horror as Alicia drew out a small handgun and aimed it at her heart.
Chapter 13
Logan listened intently to every word Alicia said, careful to keep a wooden smile pasted on his face. Devious didn’t even begin to describe the workings of this woman’s mind and he was having a hard time grasping how anyone could do the damage she’d done without a stitch of remorse. Obviously, Alicia was responsible for driving Shelby away this time, but he never would have suspected it was her handiwork that had cast doubts in his wife’s head the first time Shelby ran out on him.
While Alicia continued her sordid tale, the gut wrenching fear that he’d lost Shelby for good this time made him want to bolt from the room and go find her. What had he told her this afternoon? If you run away from me a second time, I will not go after you. After finding Alicia in their bed, how could he blame her for leaving him?
Despair washed over him in waves. She’d never believe Alicia had managed to sneak past the gardener and slip into the house through the patio doors. And she’d never believe Alicia got past two maids and Alba then somehow found her way to their bedroom without any guidance from him.
If only he knew she was safe. It tormented him to think of Shelby driving around in the state of mind she must surely be in. What if she got in a wreck and was seriously injured or lost their baby? Logan’s heart sank even lower. He’d thought of nothing else on the way home but the thrill of watching Shelby’s body change during her pregnancy. Dio, he wanted her back in his arms. He needed to touch her, taste her, breath in her feminine scent.
“I know this is a lot to take in all at once,” Alicia was saying, “but now that you know the lengths I went to so that we could be together, you can’t possibly be angry with me.”
Logan forced a tenderness to his voice, though it sickened him to do so. “Of course not, how could I be angry? I am a little…concerned about Shelby though.”
Alicia waved her hand dismissively. “She’s perfectly safe, and you don’t have to worry about her coming back while we’re getting to know one another on a more…intimate basis.”
“How can you be so sure? If nothing else, she may return to get some of her things.”
“There’s no chance of that. It’s just you and me now,” Alicia said in a sultry voice. “Take me to bed, Logan. I want you to forget that little nothing of a woman ever existed and make love to me.”
Logan’s nostrils flared but he refused to let anger cloud his thinking. He put his arm around her and pulled her close so that her head rested on his shoulder. It was the only thing he could think of to eliminate any chance she’d see the mixture of fury and fear on his face. His eyes darted around the room while his mind searched for a way out of this that didn’t end with taking Alicia to bed just so he could find out what she’d done with Shelby.
“Patience,” he said out loud then clamped his mouth shut, silently berating himself.
“Patience?” Alicia repeated. “You’re right, my darling, our first time shouldn’t be rushed, not after we’ve waited so long to be together.”
Stall. That’s what he had to do. Stall her until he could sort a few things out in his head. Logan’s gaze landed on Shelby’s vanity table, and for a moment the poignant memory of watching her comb out her glorious mane of hair was so vivid he couldn’t breathe. Vaguely, it registered that Alicia was talking to him but his attention was focused on the small beaded handbag poised on the end of the table.
It was hanging half on and half off, as if she’d thrown it there without any regard as to where it landed. He’d seen her do it countless times and had always found it rather amusing because she was so meticulous about putting her things away. It was almost as if she had to prove to herself that she could rebel against her own compulsion for neatness if she really wanted to. It was such a minor thing, one small purse sitting on the vanity, but was a very major mistake on Alicia’s part to have overlooked it.
Even in a highly emotional state, Shelby wouldn’t have left the house without her purse because it contained her car keys and pocketbook; two things that would be essential if she intended on leaving him for any length of time. The only conclusion he could draw was that she’d been forcibly removed from the house, and that meant Alicia had either taken Shelby somewhere nearby or she had someone else do it.
Logan immediately dismissed the idea that anyone but Alicia was involved in Shelby’s disappearance. It would have been difficult enough for Alicia to slip past a few people unnoticed but it would have been nearly impossible for a second person to pull it off, especially since they’d have to avoid being seen a second time when they left with Shelby.
VITTORIO'S RUNAWAY BRIDE Page 17