by J. G. Sumner
Thompson knocked on Katherine’s door, knowing no one would answer but wanting to be cautious. When he was certain it was safe, Manchetti slid the key in the lock and entered.
“She never came back last night; her bed is still made. Look! Her suitcase is still here!” He assembled the pieces to the jigsaw puzzle in his mind. It seemed plausible someone could’ve abducted Katherine. Why else would she leave her suitcase, yet not come back to sleep?
He opened the luggage and rifled through the contents. There were only minimal items: a couple pairs of socks, a dress, and a scarf.
Manchetti went through the dresser drawers and the closet. “Nothing.”
Feeling the wind blow out of his sails, he announced, “She’s gone. Look, there’s nothing in this suitcase and nothing in the closet. She must’ve packed her things in another bag and taken off. She’s gone.”
Manchetti barked, “Quit saying she’s gone! Where would she go?”
“How would I know? Your people were supposed to be keeping track of her. You assured me this wouldn’t happen.”
Manchetti pulled his hands through his hair. “All right, all right. Let me make some calls. Maybe they left via the train and there’s some security footage from the station.”
“I hope for my sake your people are able to find something. Otherwise, I’m in some hot fucking water. I don’t have a clue how I’m going to explain this one.”
They rushed back to their room, where he gathered up his stuff while Manchetti placed a call to get the security footage. “I don’t care what you have to do. Get those tapes now!” Manchetti slammed down the phone. “Christ almighty! When you need something now, people scramble and point fingers. Just get me what I need. Goddammit!” Manchetti swiped his arm across the desk shattering glasses onto the floor.
“What do we do now?” Thompson stood with his hands on his hips.
“We wait. There’s nothing to do until I hear back about the footage. We don’t even know which direction to head. We’ve been here all night. Who knows where they are? They could be anywhere. Jesus, they could be in Switzerland by now. Fuck!”
“If we have some time, I’m taking a shower. It’s been two days and I smell like shit.”
Manchetti shook his head. “Sure, whatever. I’ve got to call the surveillance team to come get their crap.”
Standing under the hot water, Thompson searched through the puzzle pieces in his mind. He moved them around trying to get them to fit. Was she alone or still traveling with Massimo Bertalucci? Was the cartel part of this? How the fuck did she know Bertalucci? The questions flashed through his mind one scene at a time, and yet the answers were nowhere to be found.
He jumped at the banging on the door.
“Wrap it up. We’ve got to go,” Manchetti called.
He turned off the shower, grabbed a towel, dried himself, and secured the towel around his waist. He opened the door to find Manchetti packing the surveillance equipment.
“What’s going on?”
“We have footage of what appears to be Anderson and Bertalucci getting on the same train we got off of. In fact, you ran into Bertalucci.”
“I don’t remember running into anyone.”
“According to the footage, as we were getting off the train, they were waiting to board it and you brushed up against him.”
“Jesus. How could I have missed that?”
“I don’t think you noticed. You didn’t even look back.”
“So, where were they headed?”
“Rome. Tapes from the stations in Rome show they got on the subway.”
“So, they’re definitely in Rome?”
“Yes, but it’s a large city with two airports. They could’ve left the country for all we know. I have my people checking hotels and the airlines for anything booked under either name.”
“What if they’re using a different name?”
Manchetti paused while rubbing his chin. “I don’t think Anderson would have the time or the means to obtain a new identity, but it’s possible Bertalucci has one. This could be a problem.”
“Any clue as to why they’re together?”
“None. The cameras show them holding hands and walking with their arms locked at times. It doesn’t appear she’s going against her will. Maybe they’re dating, or could be they’ve known each other a long time.”
“We know that’s not true. Up until a month ago, she was engaged to a guy she’d been dating for several years. And, as far as we’ve been able to tell, she’s never been to Europe. I don’t know where she would’ve met him previously, let alone forge a friendship.”
“I don’t know either. I do know we need to track them down and fast. Get dressed so we can get a fucking move on.”
Chapter Fifteen
Tony woke and glanced at the clock. It was 10:00. When he looked over at Kate, he realized she was still asleep. She’s even more beautiful when she’s sleeping. What an idiot I am to let this woman go. He wasn’t used to the feelings tugging at his heart. How did she weave her way into them? Why couldn’t this be a simple wham bam thank you, ma’am?
They stayed at the lounge until one-thirty that morning talking and laughing about meaningless crap. She shared a little more about her ex-fiancé. He couldn’t believe any man would cheat on her. She was the type of woman every man dreamed about. She was smart, independent, and sexy as hell.
When they got back to their room, she pushed him against the wall and started kissing him as she unbuttoned his shirt. God, she was so fucking hot and such a turn-on. All he could think about was taking her right there. He imagined what it would be like to undress her, and touch every inch of her soft skin. He wanted to be inside her, and feel her warm pussy wrapped around his cock. He almost gave in but instead, he stopped her. If it had been anyone else, he would’ve been all over it. But, she was drunk and there was no way in hell he was taking advantage of an intoxicated woman, let alone someone he had developed feelings for. Even he wasn’t that big of a jerk. Instead, he tucked her into bed, sat on the balcony, drank another beer, and resisted the urge to jack off.
“Kate, you need to wake up.” He softly shook her arm.
She slowly opened her crystal blue eyes, “Mmm. What time is it?”
“After ten. We need to eat some breakfast and get moving.”
“Okay, just give me a minute. My head—it’s pounding.” She rubbed her eyes, and stretched her arms above her head.
“Take all the time you need. I’m going to take a shower.” A cold shower.
“Okay. I’ll just be lying here enjoying these pillows.” She had a cute little smirk on her face.
He laughed. She loved those pillows. Even when he’d tucked her in, she rambled on about them for twenty minutes before she passed out.
He got up and adjusted himself as he headed into the bathroom. When he stepped into the shower, he looked down to see his body was responding to what his mind was thinking. He was so engorged it was painful. He tried to clear the thoughts of her out of his mind, but failed. He used his hand to find the release he was unable to the night before.
He left the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. And saw she was still lying in bed, but with her eyes open. Her long blonde hair was tussled around her head, as though she had a wild night headbanging at a heavy metal concert.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
Her cheeks lit up like Rudolph’s nose. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the compliment, or because he was walking around in nothing but a towel. “Good morning. Are you finished in the bathroom?”
“Yes, it’s all yours.”
She pulled the covers back, leaving her flowery scent as she breezed past him in yoga pants and a tank top. His dick swelled again at the sight of her tight ass. Thank God she wasn’t wearing sexy lingerie. There would be no chance in hell he could control himself.
He grabbed a new Hurley T-shirt, boxer briefs, and jeans out of his backpack. He could hear the water from
the shower running. More than anything, Tony wanted to go in there, take her naked body into his arms, and devour her. His body responded again to the thoughts in his head. Jesus, dude. Get some control. You’re like a teenage hard-on around her.
He dropped his towel, and bent over to put on his boxer briefs when he heard the creak of the door. He looked up to see her fully dressed, staring at him. Instead of walking away like he expected, she stood there with her mouth open. He pulled his briefs up over his fully erect manhood.
“I’m so sorry; I wanted to grab my face cleanser. I don’t really need it.” She put her head down and stared at the floor as she turned to walk into the bathroom.
“It’s okay. You’ve already seen what I have. I’m covered up now. Go ahead and get whatever you need.”
He put his jeans on. She looked back at him a couple times before finally turning around.
“What? You’ve never seen a naked man before?”
“No. It’s just—I’m sorry I intruded on you.” She returned to the bathroom.
He pulled his hand through his wet hair and walked out onto the balcony. What the hell was he going to do now? Maybe he should just bail on the packages his dad left and runaway with Kate. That seemed like the easy thing to do; run off into the sunset with a hot damsel in distress. What guy could pass that up?
He was startled as her warm hands wrapped around his bare chest. He turned to face her and saw she stood in front of him—naked. Her eyes had a look of longing and screamed of seduction.
“Kate. Wh—what’s going on?”
“What does it look like? I’m standing here naked in front of you, begging for you to take me.” She closed the gap between them. She embraced him once again, drew her mouth to his chest, and slowly planted her lips on his skin.
He closed his eyes and threw his head back in an attempt to stop the war being waged in his head between right and wrong—good and bad—should or shouldn’t—willpower versus lust. He quickly crashed his mouth against hers and carried her to the bed. He stripped the pants he had put on only moments before. There was no going back; there was no stopping this time. His self-control was lost.
He leaned over her as she pulled him toward her, connecting their mouths. Heat radiated from her body lighting him up like a five-alarm fire. His tongue found the inside of her mouth, longing and searching for a deeper connection—for aches to be tended to and needs to be filled.
He pulled away, eagerly wanting to cover every inch of her body with kisses. He nibbled at her neck and her back arched in response, thrusting her breasts into his chest. He brought a hand to one of her breasts and caressed her nipple until it formed into a hard pebble. His mouth took hold of the pebble as he nipped at it and teased it. Her entire body arched off the bed and wrapped around him. He moved to the next one and she let out tiny moans of pleasure, making him wild—urging on the animal inside him.
“Don’t stop! I want you so bad,” she screamed as she clawed and bit at his shoulder.
He moved his way down to her sex, wanting nothing more to than to consume the nectar of her flower. God, she was beautiful. She was his Aphrodite. Every part of her body was absolutely flawless.
“Don’t frickin’ stop! Keep going!” she cried out breathlessly.
He buried his head between her legs, searching for the carpel of her flower. He took his time dancing around the petals before finding his way to her bundle of nerves. She grabbed his head, pulling him closer and forcing his tongue deeper. She was so responsive. He teased and applied pressure to her most sensitive area as her back arched up and her moans became louder. She was close; he could feel it as her temperature climbed and her legs clenched his body, searching for a release. He inserted two fingers probing for the magical spot that would propel her into another world. Within seconds, her body clamped around his fingers; she cried out in utter pleasure. He milked her orgasm, riding it out as long as she could tolerate.
She hadn’t come down from her high before she commanded for him to be inside her. He didn’t hesitate, as his cock was throbbing and begging to be inside of her.
He teased his way into her entrance.
“Tony…I…want…you…inside…of…me…now!”
“I-I don’t have a condom!”
“I’m on the pill. I just want you inside me.”
Her desperation—her pleading—forced him to relinquish all control. He plummeted inside, the warm bath surrounding his cock. He closed his eyes and reveled in the sensations thrilling through his body. “God, Kate. You feel so good.”
He picked up the pace until their bodies moved in unison. He willed himself to hold on—to bring her to her next release before he could think about planting his seed inside of her. Her body was tense and beads of sweat had formed on her forehead. She was close.
“That’s it, baby. Let your body go.” He brought his mouth to a nipple and suckled. When her body constricted and she let out a feral moan, he quickened his pace until he found his own release exploding inside Kate, letting go of all the sexual tension that had been building for days. His body spasmed, emptying everything he had before collapsing on top of her. She nuzzled her head in the crook of his neck, panting, recovering from the physical toll placed on her body. If this were an Olympic event, this gladiator would’ve just won gold in the city where the games began.
“You were amazing,” she announced with a smile consuming her entire face.
He gazed into her eyes. “I don’t know what possessed you, but I’m so glad it did.” He rolled onto his back.
“I don’t know. I’ve never done anything like this before. It’s just—it’s our last day together and I didn’t want to look back with any regrets.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Do you regret seducing me?”
She laughed. “Absolutely not.”
He wrapped his arm around her. “Me neither, you rocked my world. I thought I was going to pass out I came so hard. Jesus, woman! Your entire body consumed me.”
She rolled on top of him and smiled. “I’m hungry. I’m going to take a shower and then we can go get breakfast.”
Before he could answer, she jumped off the bed and ran into the bathroom.
He took a couple minutes to recover before he pulled himself out of the bed and put his pants on for the second time that morning.
Tony located his cell phone, dialed the jewelry store’s number, and was pleased to find it already open. Everything would work out as planned. They would eat breakfast in the lounge; he would take Kate to the Trevi Fountain, hit the jewelry store, and then take her to the embassy, where she would finally be out of harm’s way.
He retrieved the newspaper from the hallway. Since the Waldorf was an American hotel, they provided USA Today along with the local Italian paper. He took the newspapers onto the balcony. While Rome looked like an entirely different city during the day than at night, it was still a magnificent sight from this vantage point.
The landscaping was lush and green; there were plants sculpted into horses with knights on top, a fitness trail, and cabanas by the pool providing poolside service. The Waldorf had gone all out to make this hotel a retreat.
He leaned back in the chair and the warmth of the sun beating on his skin was exhilarating. It was to reach the nineties later in the day—absolutely perfect.
He flipped through the pages of USA Today. He didn’t often follow American news, but now that he befriended Kate, he was a little more interested in what was going on there. On the front cover of the finance section was a headline that read:
Businessman Charles Anderson Opens 105th Restaurant in Miami.
The article described how the developer owned multiple restaurants up and down the East Coast. Normally, his family attended every opening with him, but his daughter was traveling abroad, and was unable to be there.
Tony’s heart raced as he connected the dots. This is Kate’s family. This is her dad. What have I done? This guy is an influentia
l American businessman, and I tried to manipulate and take advantage of his daughter. Tony rubbed his hand over his brow and down his face.
He dropped the USA Today and grabbed the Italian paper. He searched through the pages looking for anything having to do with his family or the cartel. Up to this point, very little was said about the accident or the downfall of his business. On the second page, a headline read:
Bodies Identified at Bertalucci Explosion.
One Son Missing.
The police finally released that he wasn’t in the explosion. Suddenly, the sun’s heat felt like a blistering inferno. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his stomach performed its very own circus act with somersaults as the main highlight.
The article confirmed what Tony already knew. The person who was thought to be Massimo Bertalucci was instead Tony Lupito. Massimo Bertalucci was missing. The police would not confirm if he was a person of interest or if they thought he had been kidnapped by whoever caused the explosion. Either way, the police were eager to find him. Massimo studied the pictures; there was one of him with a full beard taken at a work function and also a more recent picture of him taken in one of the train stations. His heart suddenly stopped, and it felt like all the air had been sucked from his lungs. Tony doubled over in attempt to pull in any breath he could.
“Oh my God, Tony! What’s wrong?”
He looked up to find Kate dressed in a robe with her wet hair dripping water down her neck. He tried to catch his breath, but he was unable to. He held his hand over his chest. The tightness felt like his heart was being ripped open. He tried to stand up, but his knees gave out; he crashed to the floor, hitting the chair on the way down.
“Tony!”
A shrill cry came from Kate’s lungs. He needed to calm her down so she didn’t attract attention. Instead, he was paralyzed. He closed his eyes trying desperately to climb into his mind and get his body working again. The warmth of her body encapsulated his shoulders. The heat of her breath against his skin as she leaned into to kiss his forehead, brought life to his skin. He focused on her touch—anything but the fact the Guardia and the cartel probably knew their whereabouts at this very moment. They were no longer safe.
