Strictly Confidential

by Terri Reed

  Alessandro picked up the 9mm from where he’d laid it on the desktop. He slowly opened the panel and secured it closed behind him. Then he opened the outer office door, made sure the hall was empty, then stepped out and closed the door behind him.

  “Hellooo,” a female voice called out.

  His heart rate jackknifed at the familiar American lilt.

  Colleen.

  He rushed down the stairs, his only thought to secure her safety before Escalante expanded his need for revenge to include her. She stood at the bottom of the stairs like a breath of fresh air in white capris and a blue shirt the exact color of her eyes, her blond hair loose about her shoulders.

  She turned as he stormed down the stairs, her smile hitting him square between the eyes and forcing his lungs to contract.

  He reached her side, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up the stairs behind him. “You shouldn’t be here,” he growled.

  Had she come for him or her story? He didn’t dare analyze the question for fear of the answer. For fear of what he hoped she’d say.

  “Well, hello to you, too.” She yanked her arm from his grasp and halted. “What are you doing?”

  Panic made his voice harsh. “We don’t have time for this. Escalante’s men are here.”

  Her dark blond eyebrows drew together. “Are you sure Escalante’s here? Everything seems very peaceful. I walked in without any problems.”

  “My security team is missing. So is my housekeeper. What else am I to think?”

  “They got better job offers?”

  He ground his back teeth. “No. My staff wouldn’t desert me. Only Escalante could have done this.”

  “Maybe some other villain you’ve ticked off lured your staff away. In your line of work, I’m sure there are more like Escalante popping up every day.”

  Irritated by the thought she’d planted and its validity, he moved up the steps. “Come, we must get to safety.”

  She nodded and followed him to the office. He wasn’t ready to show her into the inner room where Mia slept. Yet. He didn’t want Mia exposed to the press, if indeed Colleen was here in such a capacity. He wouldn’t let his mind wander to any other conclusion.

  “How did you get here?” he asked.

  She cocked her head. “I swam across the ocean and hiked over the mountains.”

  He blinked and fought a smile. “I mean, how did you find my home?”

  “Ahh.” Her face scrunched up in a way that he found adorable. “Well, that was tricky. I’ve spent the better part of the day asking around town about you. A nice older man pointed me in the right direction. I drove my rented car here, though I must say you are tucked back a ways and I was sure I’d missed the house. But here I am.”

  “Here you are.”

  “And if I found you so easily, then Escalante probably could as well.”

  Of course what she said was true, but considering he was more than sure that Escalante had already found him he only nodded. Not sure how to feel or what to think about her sudden appearance back into his life, he just stared at her, soaking up the sight and soft scent of her.

  He ached to take her into his arms, to hold her again. But so much lay between them.

  She had a story to tell that would reveal his true identity and ruin his effectiveness as an Interpol agent. Not to mention he had a daughter to care for, to protect from exposure to the media.

  And first and foremost Colleen would always be a reporter. He had to accept that. And accept that she could not be a part of their lives.

  Something in his expression must have betrayed his thoughts, because she backed up, her hand closing around the door knob. An uncertain light entered her eyes. “This probably was a mistake. I see that. I should leave.”

  Before he could say anything she fled the room.

  He rushed after her, his need to protect her overcoming his distress at seeing her. He caught her halfway down the stairs. “No, bella. You must wait.”

  The sound of heavy footfalls echoed through the ten-foot-high entryway. Alessandro pushed Colleen behind him as he crouched, his weapon drawn. Three armed flack-vested men filed in from the kitchen as two more men burst through the front door.

  Recognizing fellow Interpol agents, Alessandro sagged with relief and slowly stood.

  The man in front held up his fist as a signal to halt. “Mr. Donato. The perimeter is clear. The guards and your housekeeper were found alive and in fair shape in the pool house. None could identify their attackers.”

  Relief that his staff hadn’t met a horrible end because of his job filled him. “Thank you. Please secure the premises.”

  “Bueno.” The men melted back, disappearing into the night, and Alessandro felt a moment’s peace to know Interpol agents were now protecting his child.

  And Colleen.

  She’d become important to him. More than he’d ever intended.

  He turned to the woman leaning against the wall. “Bella, you are all right?”

  “Oh, sure.” She offered him a wry smile. “Life with you is one roller-coaster ride after another.”

  He scowled at her words and stated flatly, “We have no life together.”

  Her mouth quirked at one corner. “Well, now. That’s what I came to see you about.”

  His stomach did a loop. He hated the hope stirring inside his chest. He had no intention of letting her into his heart. “I do not understand. Your life is in America. You have family, a job. I’m…what I am. Our lives cannot mesh.”

  The blue in her eyes darkened with determination, chasing away the earlier uncertainty. “I know you blame me for endangering your daughter. You’re right. I should have been more discreet. I’ve come to ask for your forgiveness.”

  Tenderness welled in his chest, but he fought against it. He’d made mistakes. They both had. But not even forgiveness could meld their lives. His life was too dangerous and too uncertain. As she’d pointed out, there would always be an Escalante lurking out there. He saw that now.

  He would find another secure place for Mia, and this time he would be more careful in hiding her. Hiding a woman as independent and headstrong as Colleen would be impossible. “You have my forgiveness. Now you must leave.”

  The stunned expression in her eyes made him feel as if he’d slapped her. “Just like that?”

  “Just like that,” he repeated grimly, hating the anguish in her eyes. He didn’t want to hurt her, had never meant for this thing between them to come to a point where she would look at him with such heartache.

  “No.” She lifted her chin in defiance. Her tenacity was a palpable thing. “I’m not leaving. Not yet. We have unfinished business, buddy boy.”

  His admiration for her threatened to knock him flat. There was no doubt in his mind she meant what she said.

  He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her mouth until her lips softened and her breath came fast. But he held still, knowing that physical attraction did not equal a lifetime commitment.

  Colleen was a lifetime kind of lady. And he refused to look too closely at the emotions growing in his chest.

  “Papa?” Mia’s groggy voice drew his attention. She stood on the landing, her little body swaying with residual sleep.

  Heart in his throat, he vaulted past Colleen and caught Mia before she stumbled down the stairs. He held her close, sure she could feel his pounding heart. Clever little minx to figure out how to open the panel in his office. He would have to be careful not to underestimate her again.

  “Who’s that, Papa?” she asked in Italian, pointing to Colleen.

  “A friend,” he responded in English, hoping at least that was true.

  Colleen joined them on the top stair. “Hi, little one. You must be Mia. I’ve wondered so much about you.”

  “Do you like dollies?” Mia asked, switching easily to English.

  Colleen’s smile invaded his senses. “I sure do.”

  Mia wiggled until Alessandro put her down. As soon as her feet touched the landi
ng, she grabbed Colleen’s hand and tugged. “I have many dolls. Come see.”

  Colleen stepped past him, her expression curious and gentle. Their gazes held. His gut clenched at having her so close and with his child. As if they were a family unit. Stupido.

  Mia and Colleen disappeared into Mia’s room. He sank to the step and put his head into his hands. I don’t understand, Lord. Why has she come here? To finish her story?

  A deep pain sliced through him. He didn’t want her job to be the reason she was here, yet he couldn’t hope that she was here for him. He couldn’t envision a future with Colleen. Not with the way things stood. He’d have to go deep undercover now that his true identity had been revealed. Or at least, he would have to when she finished her story.

  He rose, weary determination settling in. He would retrieve his daughter and tell Colleen to leave. That was the only course of action to take. His future belonged to Mia. He must think about what was best for her.

  Pausing in the doorway of Mia’s bedroom, the fight drained out of him. Colleen and Mia were curled up on Mia’s pink flowered four-poster bed, surrounded by dolls and stuffed animals. The quiet chatter of his daughter and the occasional soft question from Colleen tore at his heart.

  This was what Mia needed.

  A mother who’d spend time with her, who would love her.

  Colleen glanced up and smiled, a soft affectionate smile that made his knees tremble and his heart twist. He could no longer deny to himself that he’d fallen in love with Colleen Montgomery, investigative reporter extraordinaire.

  Her innate kindness shone through her driven nature. She was a woman who was loyal and strong, who would love with her whole heart.

  But the knowledge only saddened him. Loving her didn’t change anything. He would never be more than a story to her.

  Mia let out a big, noisy yawn. He strode forward and with Colleen by his side, they tucked Mia into bed. His heart ached at the domesticity of the scene. If only it could be real.

  Colleen kissed the child’s forehead before turning toward the door.

  “Prayers, Papa?”

  “Sì.” He knelt beside her bed and quietly thanked God for their safety and asked for a good night’s sleep for Mia.

  “And God, thank You for Colleen coming to visit. Amen,” Mia added.

  Pride and love for his daughter brought tears to the corners of his eyes. He kissed her good-night. He wasn’t surprised to find Colleen standing in the doorway, her gaze misty.

  He motioned for her to precede him down the stairs. He led her into the now-empty front parlor. “Colleen, you—”

  She held up a hand. “No. Let me say what I came thousands of miles to say.”

  He nodded. She bit her lip as uncertainty once again crossed her features. His heart sped up. Would she ask for an interview? He couldn’t grant her one. His breath stopped in the vicinity of his heart.

  She swallowed. “I love you, Alessandro,” she whispered.

  His breath exhaled in a rush. He raised his eyebrows as her words sank in, stirring his soul with unfamiliar elation. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. That was his Colleen. No preambles. Blunt and to the point. Exactly the kind of woman he needed in his life.

  She looked so vulnerable standing there with her heart shining in her eyes.

  “Okay, you don’t have to respond right away,” she said. “I’m sure I’ve taken you by surprise. It took me by surprise. I never thought I’d fall in love, let alone hop on a plane and fly across the ocean to chase down a man who apparently doesn’t feel the same way.

  “But there you have it. I do. You’re a good man. Kind, gentle, yet strong in so many ways. You live your convictions. And you are so good with your daughter. If I didn’t already know I loved you, I’d have fallen in love with you for sure just now watching you pray with Mia.”

  Her words broke through the wall he’d shuttered his own feelings behind. He wasn’t afraid to let the love and tenderness exploding in his heart overflow to fill every corner of his being.

  She took a breath to continue, but he pulled her to him. She gave a surprised squeak before looping her arms around his neck.

  “I can’t go back once the world knows I’m an Interpol agent,” he said, wanting to be sure she understood the way his life would have to be.

  She cocked her head. “If anyone knows, they didn’t hear it from me.”

  Bewilderment siphoned the blood from his head. For a moment the world tilted. He couldn’t have heard her correctly. “What?”

  Her earnest blue eyes gazed up at him. “I didn’t turn in my story. You were right. Some things need to be strictly confidential. Though I’m sure Lidia informed your cousins.”

  Overwhelmed by her sacrifice, he stared. “I don’t know what to say.”

  In a soft voice full of hope, she said, “Say you love me, too, and that you’ll let me into your heart.”

  Risking his life was easier than risking his heart, but he couldn’t imagine living without her. “But what of your career? It’s your life.”

  Her beautiful mouth curve into a wry smile. “You know, they say truth is stranger than fiction. But fiction can sure mirror truth. I’ve decided to try writing fiction. Maybe suspense. Crime novels. I can do that from anywhere.”

  Humbled and touched to his soul by her admission and her willingness to find a new path, he touched his nose to hers. “You are an amazing woman, bella.”

  She sighed. “I love when you call me that.”

  “And I love you.” He captured her mouth and breathed in her “Oh.” Several moments later, he lifted his head. “Bella, life with me would always hold danger. I can’t ask you knowingly to take that on.”

  “You don’t have to ask. I’m offering. And I know it won’t be easy. I’ll worry. I’ll probably get in your way sometimes trying to protect you and Mia. But I know what I want. I know what’s important. And with God on our side, how can we lose?”

  Her words convinced his soul. “I have to ask God for forgiveness. I’ve been operating on the need for vengeance and calling it justice. A wise lady told me that only God can deliver true justice. I wasn’t ready to hear that before, but I am now. I’m ready to live that truth. I now know what’s important, as well.”

  Colleen pressed her cheek to his chest and hugged him fiercely.

  Floodgates of love opened, filling him to overflowing. He lifted her chin with the crook of his finger until their gazes met. “Will you do me the honor of marrying me and becoming a mother to Mia?”

  “Only if you’ll kiss me again,” she teased and pulled him closer until their lips met.

  A little girl’s giggle came from the doorway. Colleen murmured against his lips, “Our daughter’s watching.”

  A soothing peace filled Alessandro’s soul as he and Colleen turned and opened their arms to Mia.

  “Now we can be a real family,” Mia declared with a huge grin as she ran to their embrace.

  The three-way hug dissolved into laughter and tickles as the Donato family began their new life together.

  EPILOGUE

  Several weeks later, in a small, rustic cabin hidden in the woods outside Colorado Springs, Baltasar Escalante gripped the society page of the Sentinel with clenched fists. The article and accompanying photo stirred hatred and rage in his soul like molten lava waiting for the precise moment to explode.

  The article announced the impending nuptials between Alessandro Donato, nephew of Mayor Maxwell Vance, and Colleen Montgomery, daughter of former mayor Frank Montgomery. The event would take place the following month and the couple, along with Alessandro’s daughter, would be returning to live in Italy. The photo showed the two clans posing for the camera with smiles of joy on their faces.

  Escalante growled low in his throat. He couldn’t wait to wipe those grins off their faces. He might have been thwarted in Italy by Interpol agents, but he wouldn’t allow that to happen again. They would pay. All of them. Time was growing short. But now he knew when and
how to strike down the Vances and Montgomerys. He’d get them in their hearts. He’d make it very personal.

  He laughed, a rusty sound that echoed in the silence of the cabin.

  But first he had one little detail to see to.

  Dahlia.

  He should have guessed she was Alistair Barclay’s half sister. No one played him for a fool and got away with it. Her double cross would be the end of her.

  He crunched up the newspaper and threw it into the brick fireplace. The flames attacked the wad with gusto until nothing but ash remained.

  The hypnotic dance of the blue, yellow and orange fire eased his tension and solidified his plans. He couldn’t wait to attack his enemies with the same enjoyment as the flames. And when he was done…when he triumphed, there’d be nothing left but ash.

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed book five of the FAITH AT THE CROSSROADS continuity series, I had fun writing the story of how Colleen and Alessandro worked together to find love and faith amid murder, mystery and mayhem.

  I want to thank my sister Love Inspired Suspense ladies, Lois, Val, Sharon, Marta and Margaret. You all are an inspiration and a wonderful blessing to my life.

  I have to say thank you to my family for your support and to Leah and Lisa for cheering me on.

  The verse I chose for this story’s theme is such a basic concept to faith. If we draw close to God, He promises to draw close to us. It’s a reciprocal relationship that takes action on our part because God gives us free will to choose to reach out to Him. I hope that you will reach out to the One who loves you beyond all measure.

  May God bless you all your days,

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  What made you want to read this book? Did you read the previous books in the continuity series? Did this book live up to your expectations?

  Did you think Colleen and Alessandro were believable characters? What did you like about each one? What did you dislike? Did the characters grow through the story? Did the romance build believably?