“Come,” she said softly in direct contrast to Carlo’s shouts. “We must talk.”
Behind them, Carlo’s voice rose once more. “You can’t leave us here!”
“Carlo.” Natalia spun on her sandaled heel and snapped at him. “Quiet. We’ll be right outside.”
Right outside the room, she turned to Adam and hugged him close. Natalia pulled back and took his hands. “We must do something,” she said in a low rush of words. Guilt churned in her stomach, but she was utterly serious. “I know your contact can’t help for a few days yet, but we must protect Carlo.”
Adam stared hard at her and snapped, “What do you suggest we do? Stuff Carlo and Rosina in your purse and run off?”
He stopped and sighed, his free hand scrubbing over his face. The hand holding hers squeezed her fingers once before he spun away. With her lips pursed and mind racing, she watched him press the heels of his hands to his eyes. His shoulders were stiff with tension, and she softened.
This wasn’t his fault.
Carlo had assured Adam no one could trace him and once he’d handed the information over to Adam, Natalia knew her lover believed them to be the targets, not Carlo.
She reached out and touched his shoulder; the muscles jumped beneath her touch, but Adam turned and looked at her. His face remained unreadable, but something in his gaze softened. Nodding, she turned to the nurses station. This was Italy, after all—anything could be bought for the right price.
Speaking rapidly in Italian, Natalia said, “The man in that room.” She waved a hand in the direction of Carlo. “I need you to take him to a different room and put him under a different name. He is…” She trailed off, her mind racing. “An important part of my business. And I don’t want him harassed.”
The nurse, young, dark eyed, and shrewd, tilted her head and studied Natalia. “I’m sorry, but…what business?”
Calling a second nurse over, she spoke with a slight smile and all the confidence she possessed. “Do you recognize the name Natalia Dolcini? Or Principessa Natalia?”
The second nurse, a little chubby herself, let out a gasp and nodded eagerly. “Oh, the designer! Sì, sì, sì.”
It didn’t take long for Natalia to repeat her request about moving Carlo and offer the nurses what Euros she had in her purse. She wondered how many Euros Adam had, but then decided it was best not to show too much. People could be greedy.
An hour later, Carlo was listed under Alfonso Filipepi and secured in an entirely different ward.
Adam led her to one of the hospital lounges while they planned their next step. Suddenly exhausted, she leaned against him and closed her eyes. The sun had long since set, and even indoors, her sundress—cute and tempting for the beach and Adam—was no protection against the cold April night.
Adam shrugged off his suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Natalia looked up at him and offered a small smile then sighed before resuming her place against Adam’s shoulder.
Carlo was only momentarily safe, she knew that. She’d heard Adam on the phone while she told Carlo what they’d arranged, and knew Adam tried to arrange for MI6 to protect the Sambotis.
“They took the trouble to shoot him,” Adam said in a quiet voice.
Natalia looked up at him, but his face was utterly impassable. If anyone looked at them, they’d have no idea their conversation was literally life and death. Quiet, she nodded.
“They no doubt took the trouble to find out what hospital he was in,” Adam added, equally quiet.
His words sent a shudder of foreboding through her, but Natalia merely nodded. Taking a deep breath she said, “Carlo probably lured us here. He’s not very brave; he probably told them that he gave us the information.”
Adam nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her tighter to him. He gave a slight laugh, though it lacked humor. “Yes, I thought of that, too. I didn’t want to scare you, but apparently you already figured it out.”
Tilting her head back, she gave him a smile that told him, Of course I did. But then she sighed. “We can’t go back to your hotel room or my townhouse just as we said.” Then almost to herself, she added, “I’ll need to call Carlotta and tell her not to go to the house.”
“We need to be careful about losing any tail that’s waiting for us outside.”
Natalia grinned wickedly and moved his hand to her bum. “And I know how much you like tails.” She laughed huskily then purred when he pinched her bum. “Oh, are you becoming Italian?”
A little of the tension in his shoulders eased, and the lines bracketing his mouth softened. His hand remained on her ass while his other caressed her cheek. Offering a wicked smile that heated her blood and made her want to forget they were in a hospital and in danger, he said, “I like yours better than any out there.”
Taking a deep breath he stepped back, took her hand, and led her back to the hall. “Come on, I have an idea.”
Adam led her to the bank of lifts. He pressed the button for the next floor down then, much to her surprise, led her to the stairs. Three flights later, she glared at his back as they emerged and took the lift the rest of the way to the basement and the cafeteria.
Natalia hadn’t spent much time in hospitals, and didn’t think she’d ever been in a cafeteria, but it looked exactly as she envisioned it to look: crowded, with a somber atmosphere and the scent of cooking food. A small child ran around a table where the tired parents watched around their paper cups of coffee.
Adam hurried her to the back where, despite heightened security around all public buildings, he easily led her to the kitchens. No one stopped them, though everyone did give them odd looks. He pushed through the propped-open rear door to where the smokers stood.
One of the more alert employees jumped up and tried to block Adam. “Sir,” the man said in Italian, “you can’t come through here. It’s for employees only.” He looked around Adam, saw Natalia, then glared through the still-open door.
Adam held up his free hand. “Smettila.” Then in English repeated, “Stop.”
The employee’s eyes narrowed and in halting English he said, “This is only for employees.”
With the most charming grin Natalia had ever seen, Adam tugged her closer and reached for his wallet. “We’re trying to leave without being noticed.”
He handed over several large note Euros to the now-stunned man. Natalia remained silent, though she wasn’t sure why, and wrapped her arm around Adam’s waist.
“Is she a patient?” the other man demanded in a whisper that didn’t manage to be quite silent enough.
She saw Adam’s eyes widen, but his charming grin didn’t falter. “Yes,” he said decisively after a moment. “And we’re trying to slip away before anyone notices.”
“Young lovers escaping?” the man said and took the money. “Come with me.”
They followed and the older man handed them hairnets and worker smocks, before showing them back to the exit. With a mischievous look, he waved them off.
Looking between the hairnet and Adam, Natalia felt her lip curl. Adam offered a sheepish grin and a shrug, and slung the smock over her shoulders. Natalia gingerly twisted her hair into a makeshift bun and wrapped the hairnet over it. She was positive it looked nothing like it was supposed to.
However, it was a brilliant disguise—even Natalia had to admit it. But she felt foolish as they walked, again hand in hand, out of the building.
No one looked twice at them, or even once, Natalia noticed as they crossed the car park and headed for the Milan Metro. No one ever looked at the help.
Chapter Twelve
Adam leaned close, his lips just brushing her ear. “Turn off your mobile,” he ordered, his fingers digging into her hip. “In case they’re tracking us.”
Alarmed, and annoyed she hadn’t thought of that herself, Natalia dug in her purse. She took an old receipt and pen and scribbled down Gideon’s phone number as well as Carlotta’s and vowed to start memorizing phone numbers and not
rely on technology so much. With a touch to the screen, she did as he asked.
They got off the Metro and walked the few blocks to the Gideon Milan. It was colder now, and she was grateful for Adam’s jacket. And his hand, reassuring and warm, in hers.
“Why didn’t you stay here?” she asked as they slipped through the lobby. Natalia yanked her hairnet off and shoved it into a trash bin along with the worker’s smock.
“The Commission was paying.” Adam shrugged and finger-combed his hair. Natalia sucked in a breath and moved his fingers out of the way, combing his hair herself. “Believe me, if I had a choice I’d have stayed at a Gideon.”
The glittering lobby bustled with activity. People moved around, checking in or leaving for dinner. Several families, looking worn out no doubt from a long day of sightseeing, stumbled in.
“We can’t use our cards,” Adam said from where they leaned against the wall of a small alcove. “We’ll need to use cash—maybe we should stay at a less expensive place so we don’t burn through all our funds.”
She almost, almost, agreed, but then she realized what he’d said and where they stood. Giving him a small shake of her head, she held up her hand. “Hold on.”
Natalia marched to the concierge desk and asked to speak with the manager. She had a short conversation in Italian, but Natalia insisted on speaking only with the manager. The concierge nodded politely and fetched the manager. Adam appeared next to her, his hand on the small of her back, but remained silent.
Turning her brightest, most charming smile to the manager, she asked to speak with him privately. He refused, not that she really blamed him, but then did a double take. Suddenly the man brightened. “Princess Dolcini!” he exclaimed in a soft, discreet voice. “Oh, my wife loves your line.”
Silvio ushered them into his office with smiles and offers of coffee. Natalia really wanted dinner, a hot shower, and a nap, but she accepted his offer of coffee.
“I wondered if I could use your phone to call Gideon Marquez.”
Silvio blinked and froze. “Is there a problem, Principessa?” he asked quickly, nearly dropping Adam’s coffee. “Anything I can help with?”
Natalia saw Adam smirk from the corner of her eye as he deftly caught the paper cup. Shaking her head, she tried to put into words what she needed without making Silvio more frantic and clumsy.
“No, no,” she reassured him with a smile and wave of her hands. “He’s a friend and I need to speak with him.”
With another nervous glance, Silvio gestured to his phone and left the room. Natalia dug out the scrap of paper and dialed Gideon’s number.
“Gideon, Sabrina,” Natalia said the second Gideon answered. She heard him click over to speaker, and the rush of noise in the background increased. “We need a favor. I want to stay here at the Gideon Milan, and I don’t want anyone to know I’m here.” She took a deep breath and looked up at her lover. “I’m with Adam.”
“Oh,” Sabrina said clearly over the phone, her surprise evident. “You’re with Adam.”
A slight blush heated her cheeks, but Natalia waved it off. She grinned up at Adam and nodded. “Yes. We’re working on something sensitive together and can’t let anyone find us here.” She swallowed and added, “If you don’t mind, please have Silvio, nice man by the way, create a bill for me. Send it to my office next week and I’ll take care of it.”
Beside her Adam said, “We’ll be here for at least a few days.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Gideon sounded not like her friend but the CEO of a billion-dollar hotel company. “There won’t be a bill; I’ll make sure everything you need is taken care of.”
“Molte grazie,” Natalia said with sincerity.
“When this is all over,” Sabrina said and Natalia clearly heard the smile, “I want all the juicy details.”
Grinning up at Adam, she winked at him. “You shall have them.” Natalia didn’t miss the way his cheeks colored, and she grinned wider.
Adam called Silvio back in and Natalia let him talk to Gideon. Within twenty minutes, she and Adam were handed keycards to one of the top floor suites. She wrote the name of Silvio’s wife on a piece of hotel stationary as a reminder to send round something from her new line.
Before taking the lift to the room, Natalia stopped in at the boutique and picked out several dresses from her own line. Adam selected fresh trousers and button-downs.
Once in the room, she collapsed on the couch. It was a very nice room with a gorgeous view of Milan at night. Natalia wanted to savor this moment of quiet, and the view she rarely got to enjoy, but she was exhausted. In less than twenty-four hours, they’d gone from Milan to Portofino and back to Milan. Plus, she was starving and the coffee she’d sipped in Silvio’s office churned unpleasantly in her stomach.
She didn’t even want to delve into her feelings for Adam. She’d known him all of what? Five days? They’d been sleeping together for three, and that was stretching the timeline.
Natalia looked over at Adam as he stood before the windows, his arms crossed over his chest. His shoulders looked tensed, back ramrod straight. She wanted to walk over and help him relax. She wanted to kiss her way down his back and feel the tension ease from his muscles.
Shaking herself out of her fantasy, Natalia stood and wandered around the suite. Their food should arrive momentarily, and then what? They’d eat, of course, and talk? Pick up where they left off at the villa?
“I’m going to take a shower,” Natalia announced and turned for the bathroom before Adam could even offer to join her.
Where was this affair going? she wondered as she closed the bathroom door behind her. No, she didn’t want Adam to join her; she needed a moment to herself. The feelings that continued to churn within her didn’t help.
What had he said? He wanted a traditional what? Affair? Relationship? There was very little about her that Natalia considered traditional.
If she were traditional, she’d never have ventured into this affair with Adam to begin with. Ha! Her hands flew up into the air, an impatient, exasperated gesture, as if she could toss up her feelings for Adam. Maybe if she did, they’d become a little clearer.
“Adam,” she muttered, unable to get his words out of her mind.
Traditional. What did he mean by that, anyway? They’d known each other for such a short time, but everything had happened so fast.
Her feelings weren’t five days’ worth of infatuation or passion or fascination. They were deeper than that. While she didn’t understand how they could be deeper, Natalia knew they were. Perhaps it was this clandestine mission—they needed to trust each other.
And she did. For an inexplicable reason, she knew she trusted him.
Natalia stepped into the shower and let the hot water ease her own tense shoulders. She grabbed the shampoo the hotel offered, sniffed it, and decided the pomegranate scent would have to do. Scrubbing her scalp harder than normal, she rinsed the shampoo from her hair and leaned her hands against the wall.
Even in the short time they’d known each other, Adam had found a way to burrow into her heart. Given only a few more days, she was terrified he’d burrow deeper. Permanently.
In the five days they’d known each other, it’d been one crazy adventure after another. Who committed to traditional to another? Who made a commitment after less than a week?
Quickly washing, Natalia knew it wasn’t that. It wasn’t a fear of commitment that stopped her. It was a fear of getting hurt. And for the first time ever, she’d met a man who had the capacity to hurt her.
What had she always said about life? If one did not take risks, one never knew true joy.
Stepping from the shower, she quickly dried off and wrapped herself in one of the hotel’s robes. Running a comb through her hair, she stared at herself in the mirror. Time to take the risk, then.
Exiting the bathroom, she saw their food had arrived. She watched Adam as she crossed to the table. He hadn’t turned from his contemplation by the windows. She ca
refully cut into the tortelli di zucca and savored the ravioli.
She didn’t hear Adam move until he reached over for a slice of bread. “You never answered me.”
Swallowing the last bite of ravioli, Natalia sipped her wine and watched him, confused. He looked down at her, his entire being focused on her, on her answer.
“When this is over—and it should be in a few days,” he said in a low voice that went straight through her in a hot flash of need, “I don’t want to stop seeing you. I don’t want to disappear from your life, and I sure as hell don’t want you disappearing from mine.”
Her eyes wide, she gulped down her wine and hastily set the glass on the table. Had he read her mind? Or had their earlier conversation been on his mind, too? Taking a deep breath, she stood and leaned one hip on the table, facing him fully.
“How would this work?” she asked. She wanted to be bold and forward, but her question came out more curious and soft. Natalia had a feeling her tone conveyed more about the state of her heart than she wanted it to.
“With you in London or Berlin or wherever this Commission is?” She waved a hand as if the city didn’t matter. Which it didn’t.
“I’ll have to travel, there’s no way around that.” He didn’t fidget or pick at the food or use the wine as an excuse. He looked directly at her, and once more Natalia thought he could read her mind. “But I’ll be here with you as much as I can be.”
“I want to, Adam,” she admitted, surprised at her own honesty. “I do. But you’re clearly a man of…” She paused. “Adventure. And I only have so much adventure in me.”
Adam chuckled and took her hand. His thumb brushed lightly over her inner wrist, and Natalia felt her knees weaken. “I’m a man of principle.” He tilted his head to the side and offered a slight shrug. “And duty.”
He stepped closer, just a step, just enough so Natalia had to tilt her head back to look up at him. “And I’m also a man who doesn’t need a long time to know when something is right.”
Princess Curvy: A Curvy Girl's Italian Affair Page 9
