by Croft, Nina
“Did you hear me? I said I want to talk to you.”
He opened his eyes. “Really,” he said, running a hand through his thick dark hair. “I somehow got the impression you’d never want to talk to me again.”
“Hoped I wouldn’t, you mean.”
“I thought we had pretty much covered all the bases with our last conversation. I don’t believe I have anything further to add. Except”—he took a deep breath—“that I overreacted, and I’m sorry.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You’re only saying that because you’re ashamed.”
His gaze drifted over her. “Ashamed?” He pursed his lips. “Maybe. But if it makes you feel any better, I’ve had a hell of a two days.”
She looked at him questioningly.
“I’ve had a hard-on the whole time. Damn thing won’t budge. Want to help?” Lia gave him a narrow-eyed stare. “No, I guess not,” he said.
Lia hadn’t meant to bring up the subject, had decided that the whole episode was better off forgotten, but now she found she couldn’t leave it alone. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“Just which ‘that’ are we talking about?”
She stared at him, and he smiled. “You mean, get you all excited and then walk away.” He watched her pensively, as though she were some insect under a microscope. “You’re right,” he said finally. “I shouldn’t have.”
Lia felt a wave of disbelief. “What?”
“No, in retrospect, I should have taken you against that wall and made love to you until neither of us could stand, then taken you on the carpet and anywhere else available.” He studied her through heavy lidded eyes, and Lia’s traitorous heartbeat increased, her whole body coming to life. “Perhaps we could rectify that,” he said quietly.
It took her a moment to understand him. “Go to hell!” she said but even to her ears it sounded ineffectual.
Luc laughed softly. “I probably will,” he said. “Now, if it’s not concerning the fulfillment of every one of my sexual fantasies from the last two days, what could we possibly have to talk about?”
“I want you to let me go.”
“Let you go where?”
“You know what I mean. I want to go back to my home and my job. I don’t want to stay here any longer.”
“Really, and I thought we were having so much fun.”
Lia glared. It was obvious he wasn’t taking her seriously. “I’m going anyway.”
“I think you’re forgetting something.”
“What? You mean those pictures? I don’t think you’ll do anything with them.”
“Maybe you think I won’t do anything, but you don’t know. Are you really willing to risk it? You made it pretty clear the other night that you don’t trust me.”
Suddenly, she felt angry with him. She stood up and stalked over to where he sat, coming to a halt out of reach, just in case.
“Why the hell would I trust you?” she snarled. “What have you ever done to gain my trust? You slept with me, then you blackmailed me into staying here. You want me to help you find my father, but you won’t tell me why. I find out you’ve been in prison, but you refuse to talk about it. You…” she paused then forced herself to go on, “…you make me want you, and then you walk away as if I don’t matter at all.” To her dismay, she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. Luc was staring at her with something unidentifiable in his eyes. He reached out a hand toward her, and she stepped back quickly.
“Cara,” he murmured, “don’t cry. I’m not worth it.”
“I know,” she snapped. “And I’m not crying over you. I just want to go home. Get on with my life.” She wiped her hand across her face and went back to her seat. She sat down and pulled her knees to her chest, put her head on her knee.
Luc got up and went to the bar, pouring them both a drink without asking if she wanted one. He handed a glass to her, and she put it on the table next to her without drinking.
He stood over her, sipping his own drink, obviously thinking through what to do next. She realized she had unnerved him somehow. Then it came to her: Mr. Big Tough Ex-con couldn’t stand seeing a woman cry. She almost smiled. She wasn’t the sort of person to take advantage of such a thing—well, not yet, anyway.
“Stay another week. Then you can go.”
“What?”
“One week,” he said. “If this is going to work, your father will probably show up sooner rather than later. You must have seen the papers after the party. Our engagement is common knowledge.”
She sat for a moment, nibbling her lower lip, then reached out and picked up her glass, sipping on the smoky liquid.
“Why can’t you tell me why you want to find him?”
“It’s personal, cara. But I can promise you that whatever happens between me and your father will be within the law.”
“It will?”
He put his hand to his chest. “I promise.”
The strange thing was she believed him. He might go on about how she didn’t trust him, but he was wrong. Whatever he had done and however little she actually knew about his past, she believed Luc Severino was a man of honor. Except where she was concerned, but then he presumably had his reasons. And presumably, those reasons related to her father.
“I lied,” she said.
He stared at her, a frown forming on his lean, handsome features. “About what?”
“When I told you I loved my father. I lied. I hate him.”
“Why, cara?” His voice was almost gentle.
She thought for a moment, not sure how to explain. She’d still been a child when her father had left, and she had spent much of her time away at boarding school, a fact she was beginning to believe had been her mother’s way of protecting her. Her father had never wanted to send her away, but it was the one thing her mother had insisted on. She had told Lia’s father that attending a prestigious school would allow Lia to mix with a better class of people. Her father had been such a snob—he’d come from a poor background himself—and he’d been so proud of his well-bred wife and daughter. It had been the one argument that had worked. Her mother had obviously known her father well. But even away for most of the time, Lia had still been aware of the sort of man her father was.
“My father was a violent man.”
Luc went still. “He abused you?”
“No. He never touched me.” She smiled. “He probably knew I’d punch him right back, but he used to hit my mother. But that wasn’t the worst. My mother loved him, and he used that against her. He did what he liked, he had other women, he’d leave her for months on end and then come back as if nothing had happened. And my mother would take him back and treat him like a hero. He was a bastard.”
“What are you telling me, Lia?”
“Just that I’ll help you. I don’t know why you want to find him or what you’ll do, but I trust it will be fair and legal. I’ve got something you should see.” She jumped up and went to her room, retrieving the bundle of letters from her bag. Luc was sitting again; he appeared deep in thought, but he glanced up as she came to stand in front of him. She handed him the letters.
“What are these?” he asked.
“I found them when I was going through my mother’s papers. They’re letters from my father.”
Excitement flared in his eyes before he blanked the expression.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” she said. “None of them are recent. I think the last one was dated about nine years ago. But they might give you some idea of where he went.”
She sat back and watched as Luc flicked through the envelopes, selecting the last letter and taking it out. A puzzled frown formed on his face as he read.
“What is it?” she asked.
He looked up from the letter. “He writes as though he was coming back, or at least as though he expected your mother to join him.”
“Hmm, my mother always swore he would never leave her for good. She said he’d had to go, someone was after him, but that it was never meant
to be permanent. I thought she was fooling herself, like she had done all her life, but maybe I was wrong.” Something occurred to her. “It was you, wasn’t it?”
His expression was wary. “What was me?”
“The person who was after him. It was you all those years ago.”
Luc merely shrugged. “Can I keep these?” he said, glancing down at the letters.
She nodded. “Will they help?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll let Gary look at them tomorrow. I’ll go call him now, give him a heads-up.” He got to his feet, energized, and smiled at Lia. “Thank you, cara. I’ll see you don’t regret this.”
He disappeared into his office, and Lia stared at the closed door.
Why had Luc been after her father all those years ago? It must have been soon after Luc was released from prison. What did Luc know that had gotten her father so scared he had run and never come back?
And was Luc after him now for the same reasons he had been back then? And what were those reasons? The questions went around and around in her head with no answers. She wished he would tell her why he wanted to find her father. She suspected that everything would fall into place, if only she had that piece of the puzzle.
Seeing him again had made one thing clear—even after his behavior the other night, she still wanted him. There could never be anything long-term between them. For some reason, Luc hated her father, and he would never trust her. Besides, she never wanted that sort of life; she had Sally, she had Mike, and she had her career. She didn’t need anything else, but the thought of never feeling again the way Luc made her feel was like a sharp pain piercing her heart. The knowledge that he would be out there in the world, but not with her, maybe with some other woman, clawed at her insides, and she knew that if he gave her the chance to have him, just one more time, she would take it.
Then she would run as fast as she could in the opposite direction.
…
Luc studied the report. He read the words, then reread them. “You’re sure this is correct?”
“Oh, yeah,” Gary said. “Once we knew where to focus the search, it was easy.”
Luc shook his head. “All this time.”
It was strange; he’d finally been ready to put the past behind him, ready to forget Lia’s father, and as long as Jimmy Brent stayed away from them, Luc would give up his plans for revenge. He’d reached that decision in the two days away from her—if her father never surfaced, he would leave it at that. But this changed everything. He glanced up to find Gary still hovering.
“Thanks, Gary,” he said.
What did he tell Lia? That he had found her father? What would happen then? How would she react to this news? He sat staring into space for long minutes. The truth was he didn’t know what to do, and it was an entirely new feeling for him. Over the last two days, he’d forced himself to think carefully about his feelings for Lia. He wanted her, but he admitted that it was more than that.
For a long time his life had seemed empty; that had changed now, and it was due to Lia. For the first time in years, he was beginning to think that there might be a future for him that wasn’t solitary, but he was pretty sure that Lia didn’t see things the same way. He almost smiled at that thought, but not quite. The fact was, he knew that once he told her this news, she would be out of his life forever.
There was no way he’d use those photos to keep Lia with him. He hadn’t told her, but he’d destroyed the original film, and the pictures he’d taken from it, the night after they’d been out with her little brother. All except the one he carried with him. He’d kept that—he had a feeling if he handled this wrong then that picture would be all he had left of her.
He was aware she still wanted him, or had until he had pulled that stunt the other night. But she was running scared, and he was astute enough to know that it wasn’t only from him. Growing up with Jimmy Brent as a father was hardly likely to enamor anybody to family life.
He remembered what she had said about her mother, how her father had made her life a misery, and his hatred for Jimmy Brent rose once more. Even now, the man seemed intent on ruining Luc’s life.
He had to find some way to get through to Lia, and his one strong point was the fact that she still wanted him. He had to work on that, had to seduce her so she couldn’t even think of leaving him, and to do that he needed time alone with her. Once he had her away from distractions, he was sure he could convince her to give them a chance.
He stared down at the report again. Jimmy Brent’s name stared back up at him, and he suddenly had an idea how to achieve that goal. He reached for the phone.
Chapter Fourteen
Luc swore softly, and Lia looked up from her coffee.
It was Sunday morning, and Luc was casually dressed in jeans and a cream linen shirt. He looked spectacular as always, and she felt the now-familiar flutter of desire low in her belly. He had been an absolute gentleman since the other night. It was unbelievable; her decision to give in to his evil ways and have one last fling had collided head-on with his decision to act the perfect gentleman. She still felt him watching her, but he made no move toward her at all. No, it was clear that if she wanted him, she was going to have to do the seducing. And the week Luc had requested was running out. Eyeing the table, she wondered whether she had the strength to toss him onto it and have her way. But maybe now wasn’t the right time.
He was standing by the door reading the front page of a newspaper Mrs. Blake, the housekeeper, had just handed him, scowling down at it as though something had displeased him.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Well, we wanted publicity; just not this sort. I was expecting a mention in the gossip columns, a write-up in that magazine. I’m sorry, Lia.”
A stab of unease jabbed her in the gut. “Sorry for what? What’s happened?”
Luc came across the room, moved her coffee, and placed the newspaper on the table in front of her. Lia glanced down reluctantly. Then stared. That couldn’t be her on the front page of a national Sunday newspaper, could it? She knew it was wishful thinking. That was definitely her and Luc, all dressed up in their party finery and looking pretty good. She stared at the picture again, but only to put off reading the words. She only hoped that they hadn’t brought up Luc’s criminal record. What if they wrote about his past, his time in prison? Finally, when she could put it off no longer, her eyes scanned the headline:
Italian Billionaire to Wed Crime Boss’s Daughter
She swallowed, feeling a sudden wave of nausea, then closed her eyes for a moment. Crime boss’s daughter? Was that her they were talking about? She opened her eyes and forced herself to read the article.
“I don’t understand,” she said. She had known her father wasn’t a good man, but wasn’t crime boss a bit of an exaggeration?
Luc came to sit beside her. He took her hand. “It’s not so bad, cara.”
She shook her head. “But this can’t be true. They can’t print this. You have to make them take it back, Luc.”
She looked at him as if she could will him to help her and caught a curious, almost guilty expression in his eyes that she didn’t understand. She turned back to the article and forced herself to reread it carefully. It was horrible; it talked about her father, said he had a record, had been in prison. She truly hadn’t known that. She had thought her father was some small-time crook, but this was making him out to be the closest thing to the godfather.
But somewhere inside of her, she knew that it was true, recognized now how her mother had sheltered her from so many of the darker aspects of their life. It was all so glaringly clear, she couldn’t believe she had been so blind.
Luc was watching her closely. “You really didn’t know?”
“Of course I knew he was a crook,” she mumbled. “Just not like this.”
“Then I’m sorry.”
“What have you got to be sorry about? You’ve done nothing wrong.”
She turned back to the article and finish
ed reading. It said that her father had disappeared shortly before a warrant for his arrest had been issued, due to information pertaining to his crimes being sent anonymously to the police. She couldn’t believe it.
“Where did you think he had gone?” Luc asked. “Why did you think he had left?”
“I presumed he’d gotten bored with family life and run off. He seemed to do that at regular intervals anyway; just this time he didn’t come back.”
Luc brought her a fresh cup of coffee and sat down next to her. She waited to see the anger and resentment he must be feeling. After the way he had reacted to her bringing up his criminal record, she expected him to be furious about this. But she could make out nothing from his expression, as if he was hiding his reaction from her. She sipped her coffee, trying to think through what this meant, what effect it would have on them. There was no mention of Luc’s record, but it could only be a matter of time before it all came out.
“Would you like to phone home, cara?”
Luc’s question interrupted her thoughts, and she glanced up to find him sitting back in his seat still watching her intently.
“Sorry?” she asked.
“Would you like to phone your housekeeper, warn them about this? Make sure your brother doesn’t see it?”
“Oh my God, yes. I never thought of that.” But she didn’t move.
The phone rang. Luc picked it up and said something before replacing the receiver. “The press want a statement.” He looked at her thoughtfully and then seemed to come to a decision. “I think it would be better if you go away for a while.”
Lia’s heart dropped. Of course Luc would want to distance himself from her. There was nothing derogatory about him in this article, but someone was bound to get around to it. She’d hate for him to be publicly humiliated because of her. She was bad news.
She had been planning on leaving anyway. There was no way Luc would actually use those pictures against her, and she had decided she had to go before it was too late and she got herself in even deeper. But his asking her to leave hurt.
