Lost in Italy

by Stacey Joy Netzel

  He struggled to summon the character who put emotions aside and got the job done. “I’ll do everything I can to keep Ben safe.”

  “I’m not just talking about Ben.”

  His heart lodged in his throat, but he managed a cocky smile. “Don’t worry about me, sugar, I can take care of myself.”

  He started to pull himself up onto the dock, but she grabbed his arm, right on the injury she’d rewrapped less than an hour ago. His breath hissed through his teeth.

  “Don’t do that,” she snapped.

  “How else do you expect me to get to the other boat?” He shook her hand from his arm.

  “I’m talking about the sugar and sweetheart crap.” Her words vibrated with anger. “You do that when you want to distance yourself, or pretend you don’t care.”

  “I do care. About you getting your ass down below and keeping your mouth shut. You want to help your brother so bad, don’t screw this up.”

  “Resorting to being a jerk again. Why am I even surprised?”

  “According to you, I’m a jerk all the time, so what does it matter?”

  Her gaze wavered, then held his with a glimmer of vulnerable hope. “You weren’t a jerk last night.”

  Behind them, his father cleared his throat. Trent ignored him and absolutely refused to let his character slip despite the crushing tightness in his chest. He crooked one corner of his mouth upward and let his hand brush Halli’s breast as he lifted it to run a knuckle along her jaw.

  “Don’t go reading anything into last night, sweetheart. We both know exactly what that was.”

  She paled beneath the flush in her cheeks. The hurt in her expression nearly did him in, but then she lifted her chin and her eyes chilled. Without another word, she spun around and walked below deck, her spine as rigid as the jaw he clenched to keep from taking the words back.

  One glance at the disapproval etched in his father’s face brought everything in Trent’s world back to normal and he climbed up onto the dock.

  “Let’s do this.”

  He pushed nagging thoughts of Halli from his mind and focused on the upcoming exchange as they motored toward the meeting coordinates near the less populated end of Isola Comacina. The sun had begun its downward decent in the cloudless sky, though it’d be at least another hour before the fiery ball slipped behind the snow tipped mountains on the west side of the lake.

  It was the perfect time, actually. Light enough to see someone face to face, but with enough shadows on this side of the island to camouflage their activities from any distance across the water. Clear evidence not to underestimate Lapaglia.

  They were a few minutes out when Trent spotted the man’s boat through a pair of binoculars. Five people on board. Damn, he didn’t like those odds. Seconds later, his cell phone rang. Expecting it to be Lapaglia, he frowned when he recognized a different number. “Simone?”

  “Trent, thank God.”

  He slowed the boat and raised a hand for his father to do the same, fifty yards behind him.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked Simone.

  “I have to tell you something. I should have said something earlier, but…” Her voice caught on a sob.

  Trent’s heart skipped a beat. “Is it Halli’s sister? Did something happen?”

  “No, no, Rachel is fine. It…it is Renzo.”

  Christ. He didn’t have time to console her right now. “Simone, I’m sorry, but I can’t talk right now. I’ll—”

  “No, you do not understand. He—” Her words cut off when a beep indicated another incoming call.

  A glance confirmed the first number he’d expected and Trent spoke over Simone when her voice reconnected on the line. “I’ll call you back when we’re done.” The phone beeped again and he clicked over to the other call.

  “Stop where you are, Tomlin. Who the fuck is with you?”

  “Relax.” Trent kept his tone casual, but slowed the boat even more. “I’ve got the video, he’s got the money.”

  “Where is Halliwell?”

  “Safe from you.” Bastard. “Once you and I conclude our exchange, and Ben and I are a safe distance away, your money will be dropped in a nice tight waterproof bag, and our business will be done.”

  “That was not our deal.”

  “You’re greedy, I’m suspicious. Anything happens with this first exchange and you can kiss the other half goodbye.”

  “I warned what would happen if you contacted the authorities.”

  Trent’s pulse jumped but he kept his voice steady. “The man in the other boat has no connection to the law. Don’t be too hasty now. It’d be a shame to give up all that cash when it’s only a few minutes away.”

  Trent powered down to an idle. The rental boat bobbed in the water as he waited for the man’s greed to gain the upper hand.

  “If you attempt to fuck me over—”

  “Human life is worth more to me than money, Lapaglia. All I want is Ben.”

  And revenge for Sean, but right now Halli’s family took precedence.

  In the ensuing silence he wished he’d kept his mouth shut. Last thing he needed was to give the guy more leverage.

  The phone beeped for an incoming call, but returned to Lapaglia in time for Trent to catch his clipped, “Proceed.”

  Trent throttled forward and checked the phone. Simone again. Knowing Lapaglia watched him, and unwilling to rouse the man’s suspicions even more by answering, he shut the damn thing off and slid it into his pocket.

  Chapter 24

  Alrigo’s anger simmered at a dangerous level as he watched the two boats approach, a good thirty to forty meters apart. Tony had confirmed the driver at the helm of the cabin cruiser was in fact the famous elder Tomlin, but who might lie below the deck still had him uneasy.

  All along, Alrigo figured luck played a big part in the past couple days. Now, he understood the Hollywood playboy was smarter than he’d anticipated. To get the money—and Tomlin was right, it was too close for him to say ‘fuck it’ now—something else was going to have to give.

  Nino stood directly to his right. Tony covered Eva; who covered the American at the back of the boat. Eva didn’t know she was being watched, but Tony had his orders. Alrigo’s gaze flicked back to find her watching him. Same as Benjamin. The ring of a cell phone split the silence and Lapaglia noted all eyes shifted to Nino.

  Nino dug the phone from his pocket and turned his back to answer. Alrigo’s gaze narrowed at the action. Though Nino’s body language said casual, his hushed tone made it obvious he wanted no one to overhear. Not even Alrigo.

  Instinct told him something was off. His control strained, but held. Nino’s time was coming.

  Tomlin’s boat drew closer and Alrigo focused on the first order of business. His plan to verify the video and money and then eliminate the Americans and Nino would no longer work with the money on another boat. If he chose revenge, he’d forfeit the money. Unfortunately, the bulk of his savings was tied up in off-shore accounts and he needed this cash to disappear fast. His inside connections hadn’t reported hearing so much as a whisper on their side, but that didn’t mean Tomlin hadn’t managed to contact someone on the right side of the law.

  He decided right then to screw the shipment of animals due in tomorrow night; this was over today. Once he had the money in hand, he’d deal with Nino, give Tony a cut, and head into Switzerland with Eva. Or without, depending on her cooperation.

  Nino sidled up on his right. “We’ve got a problem.”

  Damn right you do.

  Trent’s boat slowed for final approach.

  “Can it wait?”

  “Eva’s been acting strange,” Nino answered, his voice low so it didn’t carry. “And the other day, something she said got me to thinking…so I—”

  “Get to the point,” Alrigo bit out.

  “Her real name is Evalina Gallo.”

  The name slammed into Lapaglia like a sledgehammer. Frank Gallo’s daughter. Fuck. He was screwed all over again. />
  ****

  Ben straightened in his seat as Trent Tomlin’s boat drew alongside theirs. Alrigo tossed a rope across to lash the boats together as Ben took stock of the situation. Halli wasn’t with Trent, and even at a distance in the evening light he could tell the figure at the helm of the second boat was too big to be his little sister.

  Good. He’d worried when Alrigo asked about his sister, but at least some things could still be counted on; like Halli’s fear of the unknown. Without a guaranteed outcome, she’d stay far away.

  Far away and safe.

  “Keep your hands where I can see them,” Alrigo ordered Trent in his accented English.

  Ben shifted. Somewhat reassured Halli was safe, now he battled mixed feelings about what would go down in the next few minutes. Strangely enough, Eva was his guard, but then he’d noticed the red-faced blond guy, Tony, watching the both of them. His suspicion that she was in danger intensified and he hated the thought of leaving her on the boat with these men.

  Nino’s phone call and his subsequent whispered conversation with Alrigo didn’t help matters. Alrigo had noticeably stiffened as if jolted with electricity.

  But what could he do? Halli and Rachel depended on him to return with Trent. Eva made her own choices, and she’d assured him she could take care of herself, hadn’t she?

  “Eva.”

  Alrigo commanded their presence with one word, never taking his eyes off Trent. Ben rose to his feet without any prompting from Eva or Tony.

  Trent Tomlin looked rougher than Ben had ever seen him in the movies, even when playing Shain West, the Robin Hood gunslinger of the Wild West. If he didn’t know the man was on his side, the murderous glint in his eyes would scare the hell out of him. The intensity of his gaze dimmed a bit when Trent made eye contact with Ben and gave a barely discernable nod.

  Alrigo motioned with his fingers. “Show me the video.”

  Across the small expanse of water between the boats, Trent faced the camera toward Alrigo and pushed play. Ben watched the video Halli had shot of the villa across the bay where they’d parked their first day in Italy. Thirty seconds later Alrigo nodded his acceptance. The Italian had a strange look on his face as Trent stopped the video and hit eject.

  Ben’s stomach gave an uneasy twinge. If Trent noticed Alrigo’s expression, he gave no indication in the gaze that flicked to Ben and back to Alrigo.

  “Send him across and I’ll toss it over. We leave, you get your money.”

  Alrigo’s hand jerked up in denial with Ben’s first step forward. Ben sensed increased tension in Eva’s body slightly behind him, and his own edginess multiplied.

  It was never that easy, was it?

  He held his breath as Alrigo backed up a few steps. Color rose in the man’s face and calm disintegrated in an explosion of rage. For the first time, Ben understood the saying, “he just snapped”.

  Alrigo’s arm flung toward Nino. Two muted discharges registered as Eva shoved Ben aside so hard he stumbled against the side of the boat. Alrigo’s body jerked violently. Ben surveyed the stunning reality before him, time suspended in slow motion.

  Alrigo crumpled to the ground and lay bleeding on the deck of the rocking boat. Eva and Tony had their guns trained on each other, and Nino bent to retrieve Alrigo’s gun.

  Eva and Tony yelled at each other in Italian, but Trent’s English overrode their words. “Nobody move!”

  Ben blinked at the sight of a gun in the movie star’s hand.

  Movement registered to his right. He swung his head back to the others in time to see Nino’s weapon leveling out—straight at Eva. His heart stopped. This is it.

  He didn’t think twice; just shouted her name and threw himself in front of her. Another muffled discharge. Pain exploded in his chest. The bottom of the boat rose up to meet him in a dizzying rush.

  Muffled popping noises collided and merged with shouts of his name. One sounded far away. Like Halli. He had to be hallucinating. Nothing made sense in the confusion. Darkness crowded the edges of his vision.

  Eva’s face wavered above him as an excruciating pressure bore down on his chest. He narrowed his focus on her beautiful brown eyes and fought to stay conscious.

  ****

  It was like a scene on a movie set Trent had been on countless times; only none of this had been scripted, and the blood was real.

  Halli screamed her brother’s name from the Scappare. Lapaglia wasn’t moving. A grotesque hole in his head said he wouldn’t move again. The dark haired man who’d shot Ben slumped on the back bench, face ashen as he gasped for air while blood spread across his gray button down shirt in two different spots.

  Halli’s scream tore into Trent’s heart, but he forced his attention to her brother, trusting his dad to take care of her. He had to make sure Ben was alive. Had to make sure he stayed alive. At all costs.

  Tony, the blond guard from the coffee house, surged forward at the same time Trent vaulted from his boat to theirs. The vessel rocked, throwing Tony off balance as he reached for the wounded man’s gun. Ben groaned as the woman named Eva leaned over him. She had one hand pressed to his chest, the other trained on Tony, gun steady as she shouted in Italian.

  Translating her frantic speech proved difficult as Trent debated who posed the most risk to Halli’s brother.

  “I’m a police officer, Eva, like you,” Tony said. He spoke in English and shifted his gaze to Trent. “I’m on your side. It’s over. We can all put down our weapons.”

  The woman named Eva demanded to see a badge. Trent’s hand wavered between them, gun still ready. What the hell was going on?

  “Trent—call for help,” Eva ordered without looking away from Tony as he slowly reached into his pocket. “Have them send medical teams to the dock at Via al Lago off Via Statale.”

  Ben’s head lifted toward Eva. “You’re a cop?”

  Tony flashed an official looking badge and Eva immediately lowered her gun to focus solely on Ben. “Nino and I were undercover. Alrigo Lapaglia’s been under investigation for years.”

  He dropped his head to the boat with a thud. Groaned as he sucked in a breath. “So many things make sense now.”

  Slightly stunned by the news he stood in the company of two police officers, Trent reached for his phone, but Tony held one to his ear, already dialed. His own weapon still raised, Tony fixed his pointed gaze on the gun in Trent’s hand.

  Trent cast a glance at Alrigo’s prone body, tucked the gun away in his back waistband, and dropped down next to Eva. “What can I do?”

  “Give me your shirt.”

  Trent stripped off the T-shirt and handed it over. Eva efficiently folded the material into a square and placed it and Trent’s hand over where Ben had been shot.

  “Keep pressure on it, like this.”

  Trent leaned his weight onto his hand. Ben’s breath rasped between his lips, but he still sounded better than the man Tony tended while he spoke in rapid Italian on the phone. Didn’t look better, with the multi-colored bruises on his face, slightly swollen black eye and split lip, but at least he wasn’t coughing up blood like the Italian guy.

  Staring down at Ben, he knew Halli was probably sick with worry. As Eva shifted to check on Alrigo, he dug out his phone and turned it on to see he’d missed four calls. All Simone.

  Something wasn’t right. If Rachel was fine, why did she keep calling him when she knew what was going on right now?

  He hesitated, then dialed his father’s cell number, programmed into his phone less than an hour ago. As it rang, he noticed Ben’s gaze shift to Eva.

  “You’re okay?” Ben asked in a low, hoarse voice.

  “Si. Thanks to you.”

  Relief flashed in Ben’s eyes before they closed and his body relaxed.

  Eva clasped Ben’s hand, leaning closer. “You should not have done that. I am supposed to protect you.”

  Trent’s father still hadn’t answered. He checked the cell before glancing over his shoulder at the boat. He had servi
ce. Had he programmed the number incorrectly? Why wasn’t his dad above deck?

  “Ben? Ben. Stay with me.”

  Trent jerked back around at the sharp concern in Eva’s voice. Ben had yet to respond and Trent’s stomach lurched. Had he failed Halli like he’d feared all along?

  Eva leaned closer, a sheen of tears in her eyes. “Benjamin?”

  Ben’s eyelids fluttered and one corner of his mouth tugged up. “Where would I go?”

  She smiled until his eyes closed again and he groaned in pain. Eva’s mouth trembled before her lips firmed and she glanced around.

  “What the hell happened to our backup?” she demanded.

  Trent wondered at the connection the two seemed to have formed during Ben’s captivity as Tony spoke over his shoulder from where he still attempted to stem the flow of blood from the other man’s wounds.

  “They’re on the way. Nino relayed the wrong coordinates.”

  “Warned you not to trust him,” Ben whispered as Trent hit ‘send’ again to try to reach his father and Halli.

  “I know.” Eva watched Tony for a moment but made no move to help. “How’s my partner?”

  “Not good.” Tony shook his head, helpless frustration evident. “You stupid son-of-a-bitch.”

  Blood from Nino’s wounds spread in ever-widening stains on his shirt. Gurgling noises came from between his red-stained lips.

  “Drive us to shore if you can’t do anything for him,” Eva ordered.

  Clearly she didn’t intend to leave Ben’s side again. Unease over his second unanswered call collided with a sudden spurt of anger inside Trent.

  “How the hell did we get to this with three undercover cops in the mix?”

  “We were one shipment away from an arrest when Lorenzo Roselli was shot,” Eva said. “Your video would have put Lapaglia away for life, but the only way to make sure it didn’t fall into the wrong hands in the system and disappear was to go through with this exchange.”