Homecoming: A Secret Baby Romance (17 page)

I shuddered, my appetite suddenly lost. “That’s not good news, but I’m confident Daniel will keep me safe.”

Uncle Carlo nodded, taking another bite of his fish. “Your mother and I talked about this yesterday on the phone. She told me how highly you spoke about Daniel, and she was a bit worried. After a phone call I got this morning, I am too.”

“Why are you worried?” I asked. “I mean, me being at odds with Daniel would only make things more difficult.”

“Getting along is good, but you sounded to your mother like a girl with the beginnings of a crush,” he said. “I have to caution you on that.”

“Uncle,” I said, trying not to whine. I took a deep breath. “Okay, I'll admit, Daniel’s a handsome man. But I don't have a crush on him. Even if I did, is that really a bad thing? You said yourself that he is a man of honor, and I could probably do a lot worse.”

Uncle Carlo sighed and rested his forehead in his hands, shaking his head back and forth. “Bella, I know what you’re saying, but Daniel, at least when it comes to ladies, is not to be trusted. And even if that wasn’t the case, it won’t change what he does for a living . . .”

I sat there, fuming, feeling like I was being talked down to, and not liking it too much. Godfather or not, leader of the Sea-Tac families or not, I was a twenty-three-year-old woman, not a twelve-year-old-girl saying she had a crush on some television heartthrob. “Well, maybe he can change. And he doesn’t have to do that for the rest of his life . . .”

He shook his head. “If it was anyone other than Daniel, I'd have pulled him from the job already. But with what I’ve learned about the man who’s stalking you, I can’t afford to have anyone other than the best of my men protecting you. In terms of doing his duty to protect you, I can trust him, and his honor will make sure that he does the right thing. But outside of that, Adriana, he knows the rules. No man under Bertoli family employ is to touch you. They do, and they will pay with their lives, very simply. I won't compromise on this, nor will I listen to any arguments otherwise. Now, I would like to finish my dinner. Is this conversation finished?”

“Yes, Uncle,” I said, staring a hole in my fish. I waited for him to finish his, then wiped my mouth with my napkin. “May I be excused?”

He gave me a long look, then nodded. “I’m sorry that I have to be so strict on this, Bella, but it is for your own good. Thank you for the meal.”

* * *

I
n my room
, I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. It was too early to think about going to sleep, barely past eight in the evening, but I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want to go to the family room. There was nothing I wanted to watch on TV, and the odds were that either Uncle Carlo or Mom would be there. After what Carlo said, I didn't want to talk to either of them, not with the way they were trying to run my life. I wasn't in the mood to work out, either, as just the thought of the gym sent memories of Daniel's body in his tight workout gear through my mind, and I was aroused enough around him as it was.

Was I really developing a crush on Daniel? I wondered. We'd known each other for most of our lives, and I knew as kids we'd played together. In a house with a lot of Italian men with a slightly skewed view on social rules, he was one of the few kids in the house. He'd been the kid who'd helped me learn how to ride a bike for the first time, and he'd even shown me how to shoot a basketball. Sure, after we hit our teens, we'd drifted apart, but it wasn't like he was a stranger.

But I couldn’t deny that even thinking about him was making my body yearn for things, sensual things that made me want to touch my body. I knew it could put us both in danger, him more so than me, but I couldn’t help myself. Maybe it was selfish, but the urge was strong.

My hands took on a life of their own as I imagined Daniel, his muscles hard under my hands, his sensuous lips tasting my skin, kissing down my neck to my breasts. I could hear the muffled gasps and moans of our passion as if it were real, stifled only because we knew the risk we were taking but didn't care. His fire for me was too much, unable to be denied, and it fueled us both, driving us crazy with lust. I let my fingers run down my neck to the V of my shirt, stroking the suddenly hypersensitive erogenous zones and adding to the heat burning inside me.

In a semi-trance, I lifted my shirt and bra up, cupping my right breast in my hand and rubbing the stiff nipple until I was moaning, unable to stop the deep cry in my throat. I wanted him so badly, I wanted to feel what it was that made his name a whispered legend. “Daniel . . .” I whispered as my right hand stroked down my stomach to creep inside my pants. “Oh yes . . .”

My panties were soaked, and I shivered as my questing fingers rubbed over my wet lips, the friction sending sparks of heat up and down my legs. It had been months since the last time I'd had sex, a side effect of the creepy behavior from Vincent, and I needed a man, a man like Daniel so badly that I could taste it. Daniel was all that and more, and the thought of him left my head spinning.

Pushing my panties to the side, I imagined Daniel’s cock, how hard and huge it must have been when he got aroused. I imagined holding it in my hand, the warmth and steel rigidity as we would kiss, his strong hands crushing me to him as he held me tight, whispering in my ear that he's always there to protect me and to take care of me. My legs parted as I fantasized that it was for him that I was opening myself. Fear and desire mixed as my mind's eye imagined the intimidating presence of his manhood, but I needed it so badly.

My finger was a poor substitute, I knew, but still, the feeling of penetration knocked all the breath out of my body. My hips lifted to meet my middle finger and I stroked in and out, the heel of my hand rubbing against my clit in slow circles. My finger pumped in and out, now rubbing over the tip of my clit, soaked in my own juices and reducing the friction to an amazing lightness that made me bite my lip. It felt so good. I shuddered, imagining Daniel's hard stomach dragging over my clit as he pulled out, teasing me momentarily before he lowered his head to between my legs. He had such a sensuous tongue, I was sure it would feel amazing on my skin, and the image of his mouth fastened over my pussy drove me the rest of the way up.

My mind went into rapid-fire slide-show fantasy mode, and images of Daniel naked, fucking me in every position imaginable, using his tongue, his hands, his amazing cock everywhere he could flashed through my mind as I trembled on the edge of coming. Then, in a voice so clear I swore it was the real thing and not just my imagination, I heard Daniel whisper in my ear, “Come for me, Ade. Come for me.”

I clenched, my pussy clamping around my finger as my hand ground against my clit, gritting my teeth as I rode out my orgasm. Daniel's blue eyes were in my mind the whole time, his little cocky smile that promised me more pleasure than I'd ever felt in my life, and as my hips slowly sank back into the bed, I knew that I was in trouble. Crush or not, I knew I wanted Daniel, and bad.

I lay there for a while, the smell of my sex heavy in the air, wishing it was more than just the solitary musk of my masturbation. I wanted to smell the salty sweet tang of a man's body with mine, and I knew there was only one man whose aroma I wanted to smell.

Sighing, I looked over at my clock. Eight forty-five. Still far too early to go to sleep. I decided to get out of bed and try and do some homework. I had some marketing homework I could prep for, even if the class was pretty much a cakewalk.

I opened my laptop, pulling up my school email. There were three messages, the first two normal class notes and announcements that I quickly read and noted in my mental itinerary. The third was a personal message, supposedly from another student at the university, a Mike Rutherford. The title was “Strength in your time of sadness.” Curious, I opened it.

The screen of my laptop flashed, and the normal desktop was replaced by a slide show of some kind. Music started, and I immediately started backing away as Phil Collins' voice started. It was the song “In Too Deep.”

The slide show changed from the lyrics of the song to images from my apartment, of Angela being stabbed, and her blood being smeared on the walls. I screamed, hysteria taking over for me as Phil's voice launched into the chorus of the song.

I screamed again, and suddenly, Uncle Carlo was at my side, with Mom next to him, holding me and rocking me gently. He looked at the computer, which was looping around to the chorus again with its grisly imagery, and he slammed the lid shut. Still, the song wouldn't stop, still audible through the built-in speakers, and I sobbed, panic stricken and desperate. He pulled the plug out of the wall and flipped the computer over, picking it up. He held it over his head for a moment, and I could read in his body language the desire to smash the offending chunk of metal and plastic down on my desk, but in the end, he set it down, savagely flipping the tabs that let him yank the battery out. Once all power had been cut, the computer shut down, and the three of us looked at the laptop, my sobs still racking my body while Mom held me. “It was him,” I wailed, pointing at the computer. “Vincent. He's still out there!”

“Not for long,” Uncle Carlo said. He picked up my laptop and put it under his arm. “I’m sorry, Bella, but I'm going to have to take this. Is there any information you need for your classes?”

“Carlo, she's hysterical,” Mom said, stroking my hair. “Ask her in an hour.”

He looked at Mom, his eyes flashing in anger, then nodded, agreeing. “You’re right, of course, Margaret. Still, I will make calls. When the expert gets here, he's going to start going through it. In the meantime, I have another call to make.”

“Who?” I asked, sniffling. With the music gone, I could at least focus some, and I was recovering from my scare.

“Daniel,” Uncle Carlo said. “He needs to know. And I’m going to make sure he doesn’t leave your side.”

I
found Carlo
, Margaret, and Adriana in the main living room. I was still in my exercise gear, coming straight from the dojo where I'd been trying to relieve my stress and tension via sparring. I think a few of the guys were glad that I'd gotten the phone call. I'd already put two guys down in the time we'd been at it, one with a leg that was already turning purple from my kicks, and another with a concussion.

“What happened?” I asked, seeing Adriana's still frightened face. I realized how I'd spoken, and I quickly took a deep breath, reasserting control of myself. “Apologies. How can I help?”

“Adriana was in her room, trying to do some homework or something, when she got an email from that piece of shit, Drake,” Don Bertoli said, seething. I'd seen him pissed off before, but never to this degree. He almost never cursed in front of Adriana or Margaret that I'd seen. “I need your services, of course.”

I nodded, looking straight at Adriana, who still was huddled on the couch, her arms wrapped around her knees and her eyes haunted. “Whatever you need, sir.”

He took a deep breath, regaining some of his famous self-control. “First, go by her apartment and sweep it. I want to know if that asshole has found her new place. Second, clear out Adriana's things. She's moving back here until he’s caught and dealt with.”

I licked my lips, working up the courage to do something I'd never done before as an idea rushed through my mind. “No offense, sir, but I think my skills could be used better in another pursuit.”

“Explain yourself,” Margaret said, her voice calm and perceptive. “It’s not often that people contradict Carlo.”

“Apologies, Mrs. Bertoli, but I only speak because I want to ensure your daughter's safety,” I said, intentionally keeping any comments I made directed not at Adriana. With the way that the Don was about Adriana, I had to show that I was emotionally detached, professional. “It is just that while I can do the things that Don Bertoli asks, I think I’d be much more useful in trying to find this Drake.”

Carlo relaxed, and I was glad he wasn’t offended. “What do you have in mind?” he asked.

“I can possibly track back how Drake was able to send his message,” I said, wanting to sit down and show how on a piece of paper, but staying on my feet. I hadn't been invited to sit, after all. Actually, at the moment, the one thing I wanted to do most was hold Adriana and run my fingers through her beautiful flame-red hair, reassuring her that it was okay and that she'd be safe. But I couldn't, that was for sure. “If so, I can start to hunt this man down.”

“He’s more dangerous than we first believed, Daniel,” Don Bertoli said, gesturing to the chair on his left. I took a seat, making sure to not let my sweat-soaked shirt touch the leather. “He has military training. Special Operations training. He might be more than you can handle.”

“With all due respect, even a psychopath with military training is within my capabilities,” I said. “Especially if he doesn’t know that I am hunting him. He probably expects a bodyguard, if he's seen Adriana since the murder, not a man of my talents. It is more difficult to defend against an enemy that you don’t know is coming.”