Revenge (21 page)

“You mean when I have such feelings for you
that I can’t overlook them? I already made that mistake once. I
won’t make it again.”

“I am not like Vincenzo.”

“No. You’re worse.” Her voice thickened.

A wave of heat tore through his body.
“Why?”

“You’re kind to me, and thoughtful, and… and
if I can’t accept what you’re hiding from me….” She dissolved into
tears. “It’s just not
fair
of you.”

The heat in him dissipated. “I promise I am
nothing like him.”

“How do I
know
that?”

He leaned forward and took her wrists,
tugging her upwards in the bath, baring her chest. He traced his
fingers over the bite mark on her left breast. “I would never do
this to you.” He touched her jaw, tracing the bruise there. “Or
this.” He looked pointedly at her belly beneath the water. “And I
would never take something from you that you did not want to give.”
He cleared his throat, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.
“I resent you comparing me to him.”

She blinked away her tears and took a deep
breath. “You’re lying to me about something. Just like he did.”

“Can you trust me, for a while longer?”

“I don’t have much choice, do I? Fuente has
my passport.”

“I owe the man.” Enrico smiled, hoping to
coax one from her.

She sighed and sat back, looking down at the
soap bubbles that covered her. “Even if I could go, Carlo is
waiting to pounce on me.”

“For once, I suppose I have something to
thank Carlo for.”

Kate studied him. “You do care about me.”

“I do,” he said, warmth welling up in his
chest. Yes, she was difficult. But he liked it. He liked her. He
liked sparring with her, he liked that she didn’t take him at face
value. He liked everything about her, even when she was
impossible.

“I cannot imagine going back to the life I
was leading before this happened. To the dead spot after Antonella.
My life will lose all color again if you leave, Kate.” He extended
his hand and she took it. “I know it has been horrible for you, but
it will get better. I promise you that.”

She smiled at him. “It hasn’t all been
horrible.” She squeezed his hand and yawned. “I desperately need
some sleep. What time is it?”

He pulled his mobile phone from his pocket
and looked at it. “Almost seven in the morning.” He set the phone
on the counter. “Here, let me help you.” He reached for the
washcloth in her hand.

She kept it from his grasp, her grin fading.
“No. Not yet.” She stared at the bathwater.

His throat constricted. It was a good thing
Vincenzo Andretti was already dead. Because he wouldn’t have been
able to resist strangling him with his bare hands.

After Enrico got Kate bundled up in bed with
the Valium the doctor had prescribed, he summoned Ruggero to his
study. He wanted nothing more than to focus on Kate for the next
few days to the exclusion of all else, but their safety was
paramount. And that meant finding the traitor—and figuring out who
they could trust—as soon as possible.

As much as he hated to do it, Enrico armed
himself for the meeting, his Glock in hand under his desk. Just in
case.

Dawn was approaching, a faint yellowy orange
on the horizon, the plants of the garden slowly taking shape in the
growing light. He felt so damn weary. It wasn’t just the loss of
sleep. It was the accumulation of all the years of his existence,
of the constant struggle against enemies without and within the
‘Ndrangheta. The never-ending vigilance of his life—guarding so
many secrets, telling so many lies. And beyond that, making so many
decisions that meant life and death, misery or happiness, for so
many people. The weight of it all threatened to crush him.

But today, more than the responsibility
wearied him. He’d been betrayed from within, by someone he trusted,
maybe even someone he loved. If he had no one to rely on, no one to
trust, how could he possibly go on? How could he survive? How could
he ever keep Kate safe?

After a tap on the open door, Ruggero walked
in.

“Close the door.” He didn’t invite Ruggero to
sit. He said nothing, waiting for Ruggero to break the silence.

Finally the guard said, “I assume you want to
know how this happened.”

“And I’d like to know where Antonio was. Is.”
Enrico listened to Ruggero’s explanation—the drugged dogs, the
access by master code of the side gate and rear terrace, all timed
to avoid the guards. “What about Antonio?”

“He met a girl. We were in for the night; it
seemed safe to let him go.”

“Are you sure that’s what he was doing? Only
four of us have the master code—you, me, Dom, and Antonio.”

Ruggero frowned. “I’m certain of
Antonio.”

“Someone gave Andretti the master code. Is it
possible it was anyone besides the four of us?”

Ruggero shrugged. “You pay him well, but
someone could get to Strasser. And we haven’t been meticulous about
shielding when entering the code. Someone may have learned it.”

“Do you think that likely?”

“I do not see an obvious suspect.” Ruggero
looked at him steadily.

“You don’t?” Enrico asked, his voice
sharp.

The guard’s brow furrowed. “Don Lucchesi, I’m
not sure what you’re implying.”

Enrico’s heart was pumping fast; he could
feel the pulse in his fingers where they gripped the gun. His hand
tightened, and he angled the gun at Ruggero’s knees. “Those lapses
on your part. I’m not sure they were mistakes.”

For the first time in their long
acquaintance, Ruggero looked at Enrico with anger on his face.

“Don’t I pay you enough?”

Ruggero reddened. “The Velas, we are an
honorable family. I took a vow to you, to this
cosca
, and I
am no oath breaker. Money does not motivate me.”

“Then what does?”

Ruggero’s already low voice deepened. “I am a
man of honor. My reputation is all I have. I am not a man who will
ever be don. I do not
want
to be don. I live to serve the
don. That is my job, that is who I am. That is all I will ever
be.”

Enrico started to speak, but Ruggero held up
a hand. “I have something more to say. My father and I followed
your family from Calabria. We left everything behind. My father
died protecting yours. When do you think I last saw my cousins, my
sister?”

The switch of subjects baffled Enrico. “I
don’t know.”

“Fifteen years ago, not since becoming your
personal guard.”

“You haven’t asked for time off.”

“My point is this: I’ve given my life over to
yours. Perhaps I have already died for you.”

“Is this what’s been bothering you?”

Ruggero clasped his hands behind his back and
looked at the carpet. “Indirectly.”

Enrico felt himself relax, even as guilt
overwhelmed him. It had never occurred to him that Ruggero might
wish to visit his family. “Then you’ll have a vacation as soon as
this is over.”

“The situation is more… dire than that.”

Enrico raised a brow. “How so?”

“My sister’s husband is dying, and she wants
me to come visit.”

Damn. Why did the bad times always
multiply
? “Who do you trust to take your place?”

“No one. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

“Be reasonable. What about Antonio?”

“Antonio is too green, and you are in severe
danger. My sister is not.”

“I don’t want you to make a choice you can’t
live with.”

Ruggero’s voice was crisp, a rebuke. “I will
keep my vows: the ‘Ndrangheta and my don above all else.”

Enrico studied his guard, seeing the resolve
on his face. He would not be a fool to put his trust in this man.
“I apologize for insulting you with my doubts.” He brought the
Glock out from under the desk and set it on top. Ruggero’s eyes
followed the gun, but he didn’t look surprised to see it. “And I
apologize for not treating you as a person with a life outside your
job.”

Ruggero nodded, the anger leaving his face.
“It would be foolish not to question me. And I cannot expect the
don to attend to my needs. That’s my responsibility.”

“It’s mine. You aren’t a machine, Ruggero.”
His voice softened on this last statement.

Ruggero took a chair in front of Enrico’s
desk. “I would like to think I am.” He scrubbed his hand across his
jaw, his fingers rasping against his early morning stubble. “I’ve
failed to keep you safe. Again. The Andrettis are getting too
close. It worries me.”

Enrico’s pulse sped up again. Ruggero,
worried? Unprecedented. “Someone inside is working against me.
Vincenzo admitted it. But who?”

“Between the falcon and now this, there are
only three possibilities: me, Antonio, or your cousin. If you have
eliminated Antonio and me as suspects, only Don Domenico is
left.”

His stomach flipped over. He didn’t want to
believe it. Dom. The person he loved and trusted most.

And then another possibility occurred to him.
Who hated him more than anyone, aside from Carlo?

Franco Trucco. Fiammetta’s father.

It wouldn’t be hard for Trucco to learn what
he needed to assist the Andrettis. Dom had warned him. He’d made a
mistake showering Trucco with money, setting up scholarships for
his remaining children, paying off the extensive renovations to his
house. All the money in the world would never be enough. It would
never bring Fiammetta back. It would never quiet the anger in
Franco Trucco’s heart. Or the guilt in Enrico’s.

“What about Franco?”

“It’s possible, though more difficult for
him.”

“But it
is
possible.”

Ruggero nodded. “You want him watched?”

“I do.”

“What about Don Domenico and Antonio?”

Enrico blew out a breath. “It’s got to be
Trucco.”

Ruggero leaned forward. His voice was soft.
“He has a most compelling motive, I agree. But he’s not the only
one.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you die, childless, who stands to profit
most?”

A chill washed through him. Dom. He’d inherit
everything and his branch of the family would take over the
cosca
. “It cannot be. His blood is my blood.”

“We must consider every possibility.”

“And Antonio?”

Ruggero rubbed his chin with his fingertips.
“He’s smart. And ambitious. I think he’d like to be don someday.
But he looks to you as a father. I don’t think him likely. However,
he is an outsider.”

Enrico smiled. “Anyone who’s not Calabrian is
an outsider to you.”

“That doesn’t make it any less true. There’s
a reason we choose only our own.” He paused. “There’s another
possibility.”

Another
? “Who?”

“Signora Andretti.”

Waves of heat and cold flashed through him.
“No.”

“She held a gun on you several hours ago. If
I hadn’t been there….”

Enrico shook his head. “Her husband tried to
kill her. She was upset.”

“The whole thing could have been an act.”

“But she killed him.”

“She could have seen an opportunity.”

“For what?”

Ruggero shrugged. “To be more than a
mid-level man’s wife. To be yours. Maybe even to bear you a child,
then kill you and run the family in your stead.”

“Few women have ever headed a family.”

“But it’s happened.” Ruggero paused. “She
certainly knows how to handle a gun.”

That detail did bother him. It was highly
unusual for the women of his acquaintance.

“And Americans are ambitious. The women are
practically men. And just as ruthless.”

“I don’t think Kate is that kind of woman.”
But she’d hardly missed a beat
,
had she
?

“She didn’t have to kill her husband. She
could’ve left that to us.”

“It was too risky. Andretti almost got the
gun back.”

Ruggero shrugged. “Still, the timing’s
suspicious. She’s here for less than two days, and we have a
security breach. I don’t want to overlook her.”

“I think you’re looking too hard.”

“And I think you’re in love.” The words were
gentle, but the message was clear. When it came to Kate, he was
blind.

He’d be stupid to ignore Ruggero. The guard
was a man of few words, but those he spoke were always worth
heeding. “All right.” He looked steadily at the man. “I want them
all watched. I’m counting on you to solve this.”

“I will not fail you.”

“I trust that you won’t.” Enrico was about to
say more when his mobile phone buzzed. He glanced at the display.
“It’s Dom. I need to take this.”

Ruggero bowed and then left the study. Enrico
waited for the door to close before answering. “What the hell
happened?” Dom yelled when he heard Enrico’s voice.

“Vincenzo Andretti broke into my house. He
tried to kill me and Kate. But she shot him.”

“Were you hurt?”

“Just some bruises, a mild concussion.”