Revenge (29 page)

Enrico raised his left hand and looked at his
wedding band.
Madonna
. Until he’d seen Dario, he hadn’t
thought much about Toni the last few days. He’d been so focused on
Kate, on what had been happening with Carlo, that he’d almost
forgotten his grief. “I can do it now.” He pulled off the ring and
set it on the table. His hand felt strange, lighter, without it.
Strange, but all right. He looked at Kate. “I want to be with you.
I want to be your husband.”

Kate shoved back from him and retreated to
the sofa. “You have a funny way of showing it. You’re marrying
someone else!”

“I will not marry her. I do not love
her.”

“You
should
marry her.”

“What?” He could barely form the word, he was
so confused.

Her eyes blazed. “You might as well. Marriage
is just a business deal to you. How can you possibly make love to
me right after getting engaged to another woman? You’re using that
poor girl like a bargaining chip. What is
wrong
with
you?”

“I will not do it.”

“So you’re going to let Carlo kill us both
then? Over what: your heart?”

Enrico stared at her openmouthed, appalled,
his gut twisting. “Does this not matter to you?”

“Of course it does!” Her eyes filled with
tears.

“I do not understand you. First you do not
want me to marry her, then you do.”

“I don’t understand
you
. How can you
be so cavalier about this? Who you marry should
matter
to
you.”

“It does. And I want it to be you.” How could
he make her understand? Delfina meant nothing; Kate meant
everything.

Kate stared at him, her chest tight. “You
don’t know what love is.” He may have removed the ring, but it
didn’t mean anything. He still loved Antonella. He had to. It was
the only palatable explanation for how he was acting. There was no
room for her in his heart as long as Antonella still filled it.

She looked away from him, wiping her eyes. “I
want to go home.”

“You cannot leave. You do not have a
passport.”

“You were going to figure that out earlier
today. You said I could leave if I wanted to.”

“I have changed my mind.”

Kate clenched her hands into fists.
Bastard
. “You can’t
do
that.”

“I can and I will. You will wait until Fuente
clears you. And in the meantime, we are going to Capri, as
planned.”

“No.”

He leaned forward and put his hands on her
shoulders. “I cannot let you go. Not just yet.”

The rawness, the almost pleading note, in his
voice made her soften. “Are you going to marry her?”

“No.” He held her gaze. “I want you.”

His behavior didn’t add up. Unless…. She
frowned, her stomach contracting into a ball. “So if you married
her, you were planning what? To make me your mistress?”

His eyes slid away from hers. “Something like
that. If you would agree to it.”

A wave of heat blasted through her. Who did
he think she was? “And have Carlo Andretti call me a whore at every
opportunity? No thanks.”

He touched her cheek, and she slapped his
hand away. “Don’t touch me.”

“
Cara
—”

“Don’t call me that either.”

He took a deep breath. “I am
not
going
to marry her. I made a mistake in ever agreeing to it. I thought it
was the right thing to do, that it would bring peace.” He paused.
“And I was not sure of your heart.” He took one of her hands in
both of his. “Will you
please
allow me to make amends to
you?”

There was a certain logic to what he said;
she might be wrong about how he felt. There might be hope after
all. “I’ll go to Capri. But I’m not promising anything.”

He smiled, his relief evident. “I will make
it up to you. You will see how much I love you.”

When she processed what he said, a barrage of
emotions rocketed through her. “You
love
me?”

“Of
course
I love you, Kate. Why else
would I want to marry you?” He seemed puzzled by her reaction.

She smirked, not wanting to let him know how
shaken she was. “Well, it certainly isn’t to save your neck, now is
it?”

“That is unfair.”

“It’s the truth. It’s the reason you married
Antonella, and it’s the reason you were going to marry Delfina.” He
said nothing. “Fair enough?”

He nodded. “Fair enough.”

Enrico watched Kate dress. Her back was
turned to him, and he wasn’t sure where he stood with her. She’d
whipsawed back and forth so many times in the space of a few
minutes. He’d told her he loved her, and her reaction had been
anger. Anger to cover her hurt. Hurt he had caused with his
bumbling. Why hadn’t he told her sooner? Why hadn’t he told her
about Delfina before they’d made love?

Had he ruined everything between them, just
when it seemed he’d finally won her?

At least she was going to Capri with him. At
least she was giving him a chance. Though the odds were more
against him now than they’d ever been.

And he still hadn’t told her who he was.

He desperately needed to talk to Don
Battista.

For the first time in his life, he felt truly
lost.

After he returned home from the summit with
Carlo and Dario, Dom called Carlo.

“Do you think he suspects?” Carlo asked.

“I don’t think he trusts you, but I doubt he
has any idea what we’re planning.”

“Your cousin doesn’t have the head for this
role. He never did.”

Dom found himself automatically defending
Rico. “Just because I think he’s being a fool over this woman, that
doesn’t mean I think he hasn’t done well for the
cosca
. I
may have my quarrels with my
capo
, but he has more brains
for business than either of us, Don Andretti.”

“Are you worried about wearing the crown,
Domenico?”

“I’ve been ready for this all my life.”

Carlo laughed. “Wanting to be the alpha dog
and actually being it are two very different things. Your cousin
has balls, I’ll give him that. You, I’m not so sure about.”

“The nail that sticks out gets hammered back
in.”

“Said by men of no courage.”

Dom bit back his irritation. “If I fight him
openly, the
cosca
will plunge into chaos. But if he dies, I
will be able to step in without spilling another drop of blood.” He
paused. “Of course, it would be to your benefit if that doesn’t
happen.”

“You are learning, my boy. I am content to
let you have his place, as long as you abide by our agreement.”

Dom’s skin erupted in flames. “I’ll give you
what you asked for: the discount and the American. But that does
not make you my master.”

“We will see about that.”

Dom wondered. “Did your men forget it was me
wearing the white shirt tonight? Some of those bullets were awfully
close.”

Carlo chuckled. “They did
exactly
as I
asked.”

“Play any more tricks like that, and I will
have to rethink this.”

“And do what? I have you by the balls. Don’t
think I haven’t recorded every word you’ve said.”

Ice slid down Dom’s spine. There was no
turning back.

He hung up. He’d known he was making a deal
with the devil. Now he hoped the only price he’d pay for it was his
soul.

It would all be over in three or four days.
He was glad Rico was taking a vacation, glad Rico thought things
were repaired between them. At least his cousin would die
happy.

It was more than he expected for himself. He
could only hope his children’s lives would be better because of
what he’d done. With any luck, he’d save the
cosca
, save
their future.

But he couldn’t save himself. That damage was
already done.

He was killing his own blood; there’d be no
mercy for him in the afterlife.

Tears pricked his eyes. No mercy was exactly
what he deserved.

Kate woke with a start, her heart a
jackhammer in her chest. Her first instinct, which she didn’t
question, was to leap out of bed. Which is when she heard a voice
that shouldn’t have been there. “Kate?” Enrico mumbled.

She stood there panting, her eyes taking in
as much of the room as she could in the dim light of early morning.
She was in Enrico’s room. Not with Vince. Never with Vince again.
Yet why did he still haunt her dreams?

Maybe it had been a mistake to come back in
here. The room had been cleaned up, and new carpeting covered the
floor. But still she could smell the blood. Except this time it was
Enrico’s, not Vince’s.

“
Cara
?” Enrico sat up in bed and
scrubbed his eyes with his hand. “Did you hear something?” His eyes
flicked up to the newly installed panic button. He opened the
nightstand drawer and withdrew his Glock. “Kate?”

She inhaled deeply, trying to calm her
breathing, then she walked over to him and put her hand out,
directing the muzzle toward the floor. “It’s nothing. You don’t
need that.”

“What woke you? You leapt out of bed as if
the hounds of hell were snapping at your heels.”

She hugged herself, and he set the gun on the
nightstand, then stood up and tried to take her in his arms. She
flinched away from him. “Talk to me.
Per favore
.”

That Italian “please,” along with the worry
in Enrico’s voice, grounded her. “I was dreaming. It was so
real.”

“Do you mind if we talk about this in bed,
where it is warm?”

Kate nodded and let him steer her back to the
bed. He got in beside her and pulled the covers over them where
they lay face to face. She reached over and traced the high, broad
bone of his cheek, double-checking that he was real. When she
started to withdraw her hand, he trapped it in his, then pressed
his lips to her palm before letting go. “Tell me about this
dream.”

“It was so real in every detail. Not like
most dreams.” She closed her eyes for a second, then opened them,
shaking her head. “Vince had broken in and he was raping me. Carlo
was there too, waiting for his turn. You were dead. They’d killed
you.” Tears slid down her cheeks and she wiped them away. “When is
this going to stop?” Why couldn’t she just be normal again?

Enrico’s chest tightened. Her voice was so
thick with tears he could hardly understand her. He reached out to
her, his fingers skimming along her skin as he pushed her hair out
of her face. “
Cara,
” he whispered, “it will stop. But it
will take time.”

“As long as Carlo is out there, I’ll never
feel safe.”

“He promised he would not harm you.”

“That was when you were going to marry
Delfina. Have you told him yet?”

“I will ask Dom to tell him after we leave.
It will give him time to calm down before we return.”

“He’s going to want us both dead.”

“I will think of something.”

She sighed. “I hope so. I don’t want to die
over this.”

Enrico didn’t try to keep the bitterness out
of his voice. “Over
me
, you mean.”

“No. I don’t want to die because I killed his
nephew in self-defense. And because I’m the reason you don’t want
to marry his granddaughter.”

Enrico relaxed, feeling sheepish. “Oh. I
thought—”

She put a finger to his lips. “Don’t think
I’ve forgiven you just yet. I’m not sure how I feel. But I don’t
want you walking around with false ideas about me in your
head.”

It was not at all what he wanted to hear, but
at least she wasn’t furious with him anymore. After their argument
in the study, he’d been surprised when she’d come to his bed in the
middle of the night, but he hadn’t asked for an explanation. He’d
just been grateful, even though she’d stiffened when he’d reached
for her, even though she’d said, “I don’t want to be alone right
now, that’s all.” He had hoped things would be different in the
morning, but at least they weren’t worse. He wished he’d understood
then why she’d come to him. “Have you been having nightmares since
the attack?”

She nodded. “It’s gotten worse since I ran
out of Valium.”

“So that is why you came to me last night.”
She rolled over, hiding her face from him. He touched her shoulder,
then pulled her close. “There is no shame in needing someone.” Why
did she always fight her need for him?

Kate took a deep breath. She was
uncomfortably aware of his naked body pressed against hers, her
lacy slip the only thing between them. She was still angry at him,
still hurt he’d even consider marrying someone else. Still upset by
her reaction when he’d told her he loved her. She hadn’t been
coolly neutral the way she’d wanted. Because her feelings about him
were anything but neutral. But that didn’t have to mean she loved
him.

Despite her confusion, her body responded to
his the way it always did, and she resisted the urge to wriggle
against him when she felt his cock stiffen and press into her
buttocks. She looked over her shoulder at him. “It’s not going to
happen.”