The Redemption of Rico D'Angelo

by Michelle Douglas

  Was Chris responsible for this? A lump lodged in her throat. Not in a million years would she have thought he’d go so far.

  The flames surged higher. What a mistake she’d made. Her search for love had blinded her.

  The firemen trained their hoses on the flames and eventually the fire started to sputter and die, leaving behind blackness and destruction.

  She’d made a mistake, but did she really deserve this?

  ‘Neen?’

  The concern in Travis’s voice reached her. It was the only reason she managed to tear her gaze from the scene in front of her.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  The poor kid looked worried and completely out of his depth. For heaven’s sake, he was only seventeen! ‘I’m shell-shocked, that’s all.’ From somewhere she dredged up something she hoped would pass for a smile. ‘The unit and everything inside it are just things. Things can be replaced.’

  The photographs of her grandfather! She swallowed a sob. Don’t think about that now.

  ‘As long as we and our neighbours are safe, that’s the important thing.’

  She stared at the two boys and the hole inside her grew so big it threatened to swallow her up. She’d put Travis and Joey in danger. By bringing them into her home, she’d put them in danger. What on earth had she been thinking?

  ‘Neen! Travis! Joey!’

  They all swung around. Rico strode down the driveway, his shoulders broad and his body strong with purpose. Her knees trembled and the darkness inside her backed up a couple of steps.

  He didn’t hesitate. He encompassed both her and Joey in a hug, his arms strong and reassuring as he pulled her against his chest and pulled Joey into his side. Freeing one hand momentarily, he reached out and briefly clasped Travis’s arm. ‘Thank God you’re all all right.’

  For a moment she just clung to him. She breathed him in and her heart-rate settled and the hole inside her started to shrink.

  Stupid girl! This is what landed you in trouble in the first place—wanting someone to love you—wanting someone to look after you.

  She stiffened. She didn’t want Rico to love her.

  She glanced up, took in the line of strong, masculine jaw, the even features and thickly lashed eyes, and her mouth dried. One by one she unclenched her fingers from the material of his shirt and carefully eased away from him. His eyes, full of concern, turned and surveyed her.

  Concern for his café, she tried telling herself. But she couldn’t make herself believe it.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  She nodded, but for the life of her she couldn’t find a smile. ‘I can’t tell you how glad I am you’re here.’ She couldn’t lie about that. ‘But...’ She gestured to her now smouldering apartment. ‘There’s not much you can do.’

  ‘I intend to speak to the firemen and find out how this fire started.’

  She sighed. They all knew who’d started it. Proving it, though, would be the challenge.

  The firemen eventually started packing up their hoses and equipment. The fire chief spoke to the police, who’d arrived on the scene at the same time as Rico, and Rico moved over to confer with them. Neen didn’t join him. She didn’t want to hear what they had to say. She stayed with Travis and Joey, leaning against her car and staring at her destroyed unit. Thankfully the other units in the blocks had only suffered minor damage, but hers...

  She forced herself to look away.

  ‘Where are we going to sleep tonight?’ Joey asked.

  She blinked and straightened. Where indeed? ‘I...um...’

  ‘We can go back to Mum’s,’ Travis mumbled.

  Joey didn’t say anything, but he huddled in closer to her side.

  ‘I don’t think that’ll be necessary.’ She met Travis’s gaze so he knew she meant it. ‘Your mum is getting treatment, and it’s probably best to not distract her from that at the moment.’

  His shoulders loosened a fraction.

  She bit back a sigh. ‘We can stay with my parents.’

  ‘Are they nice?’ Joey whispered.

  ‘Sure.’ But the word came out high and tight.

  This would provide them with exactly the ammunition they needed. It would make her beholden to them. It would give them the opportunity to present every argument under the sun as to why she should hand over Grandad’s inheritance. They would do everything they could to wear her down. And she was so tired.

  She closed her eyes and swallowed back a lump.

  ‘Okay, you lot. You’re coming home with me.’

  Her eyes flew open to find Rico standing in front of them, jangling his car keys.

  But...?

  Beside her Joey straightened. No longer huddling. No longer scared. The shadow of a smile lit Travis’s face.

  ‘We’ll sort you out some longer-term accommodation tomorrow.’

  She moistened her lips. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Of course I’m sure. What? Did you think I was going to leave you on the street?’

  They weren’t his responsibility, regardless of what he thought.

  ‘It’s what friends are for, Neen.’

  Friends? She smiled, then. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘C’mon—I think you could all do with something warm inside you.’

  She tapped her car. ‘I can follow you.’

  ‘We can come back and collect your car tomorrow, Neen. You’re dead on your feet. And you’ve had a nasty shock,’ he added when she opened her mouth.

  She closed it again, hauled in a breath and nodded. ‘Okay.’ She’d let him take care of them tonight, but she wouldn’t get used to it. She wouldn’t let it go on indefinitely. She wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

  Tomorrow she’d look after herself again.

  They walked out to the street and then Rico slammed to a halt. ‘Where’s Monty?’

  Her eyes filled with the tears she’d been fighting all evening.

  ‘He must’ve got out somehow,’ Travis said. ‘The fire must’ve spooked him and...’

  He trailed off. Neen blinked fiercely. ‘The neighbours are going to keep an eye out for him.’

  ‘He’s all on his own,’ Joey blurted out.

  Rico pressed Joey’s shoulder. ‘He’s a smart dog. He’ll be okay.’

  Who was Rico trying to kid?

  Joey stared up at her. ‘Is Rico right?’

  ‘Monty will be fine,’ she said, with more conviction than she felt. ‘He’s a dumbass dog, but they’re the ones who always land on their feet. He’ll find some poor sucker to look after him.’

  Joey started to laugh. ‘A dumbass dog. You hear that, Travis? Monty is a dumbass dog!’

  * * *

  ‘Spill it. How are you really doing?’

  Neen sat curled into one corner of Rico’s leather couch. He sat on the floor on the other side of the coffee table. There’d been an unspoken agreement between them this evening to keep a physical distance, even if they couldn’t prevent their gazes from incessantly straying to the other.

  Rico had fed and watered them. He’d lent them clothes and provided them with toothbrushes and toiletries. He’d given them a roof over their heads. She couldn’t begin to thank him.

  Travis and Joey had not long retired to the spare bedroom. Joey to sleep and Travis ostensibly to keep him company. She had a feeling Travis was trying to be tactful and leave her and Rico alone.

  One glance at Rico—casual in tracksuit pants that somehow managed to heighten the length and strength of his legs, and a T-shirt that had her constantly reassessing the depth of his chest—and she had a feeling ‘alone time’ with him was the last thing either she or her pulse needed.

  She glanced down at her hands. ‘I want to thank you for everything you’ve done tonight—for taking us in l
ike you have. You’ve gone above and beyond.’

  ‘You don’t need to keep thanking me,’ he said quietly. ‘I did this because I wanted to. I was happy to.’

  Behind the dark glitter of his eyes she recognised something more than duty and a sense of responsibility. Maybe it was friendship and a need to connect. Or maybe it was desire. All she knew was she’d never seen Rico more at ease. It made him all the more potent and enticing. And she ached to go to him, to lose herself in him. To find respite and rest in his arms. And pleasure.

  She shivered and tried to bury that thought.

  ‘What I want to know, Neen, is if you’re okay.’

  She closed her eyes and counted to three. She opened them again. ‘I’m worried about a couple of things.’

  He leaned forward, completely alert. ‘Yes?’

  ‘I never thought Chris would go this far.’

  ‘Neen—’

  ‘I know I’m jumping to conclusions, but it’s a fairly logical conclusion to jump to—right?’

  He hesitated and then nodded.

  ‘I’ve unknowingly put Travis and Joey at risk by taking them into my home. What if they’d been there when the fire started? What if they’d been hurt or—?’

  He was at her side in one swift movement, his hands at her shoulders, halting her flow of words. ‘Chris doesn’t want to hurt you. He wants to scare you so you’ll go back to him. He’s had multiple opportunities to burn the unit while you were inside it—with or without Travis and Joey there.’

  ‘But the threats are escalating. It’s getting worse. I can’t guarantee the boys’ safety any longer. I—’

  She broke off to drag a hand through her hair. He tried to pull her against his chest to comfort her, but she resisted. She disengaged herself from his grip and moved to an armchair.

  He stared at her, his eyes unreadable. ‘Do you think I’m going to take advantage of you?’

  Her heart clenched at the flash of pain that underlaid his words. She had to swallow before she could speak. ‘I can’t... It’s not you I don’t trust, Rico. This...’ She waved her hand about the room. ‘Being taken care of. It’s what I did with Chris.’

  His chin jerked up. ‘I’m not like Chris! Is that what you think?’

  ‘No! God, no! It’s me. I wanted him to love me for me.’ She gripped her hands together. ‘I wanted someone to look after me because...’ Her throat threatened to close over. ‘And look what a mess I got myself into. I need to look after myself, not rely on someone else to do that. I won’t make the same mistake again.’

  ‘You just want what everyone wants.’

  The warmth in his voice caressed her. She had to harden her heart against it. ‘You don’t.’

  The silence filled with a tension that made her teeth ache. She forced her mind back on track. ‘Travis and Joey—I can’t risk them getting hurt. I...’

  ‘I’ll look after them.’

  Her head came up.

  ‘Travis turns eighteen next week. He and Joey can stay here till then. After that they can go into the public housing I’ve organised.’

  ‘You mean tha—?’ She bit the words back. ‘Thank you.’ She wanted to hug him.

  ‘You’re welcome to stay here too.’

  ‘Thank you, but no.’ The fewer people whose lives she risked the better. Tomorrow she’d find somewhere else to stay.

  ‘Why did I know you were going to say that?’

  He didn’t, however, frown or glower at her as he would have done two or so months ago. He didn’t try to argue with her or change her mind. He gave her the courtesy of respecting her decision. For some reason that made her feel better than her self-defence classes ever had.

  She wanted to tell him how grateful she was for that, but every time she looked at him the words jammed in her throat and all she could think of was how solid and warm he’d been when he’d pulled her against him earlier.

  And how much she wanted to hurl herself into his arms now, drag his mouth down to hers and forget about everything but touch and sensation.

  ‘Neen—’

  Her name scraped out of his throat, raw with control, and she snapped away, realising she’d been staring at him with so much naked hunger he couldn’t possibly mistake what she wanted.

  Raising shaking fingers to her temples, she pressed them there and tried to bring her mind back to the things they needed to discuss.

  She pulled in a breath. ‘Would you like me to resign?’

  ‘Why on earth would I want that?’

  One glance told her his glower was back in force.

  ‘No way, Neen! We have an agreement.’ He stabbed a finger at her. ‘You signed a contract.’

  ‘Fat lot of good that’ll do either one of us if the café becomes the next target.’

  ‘I will not let you quit.’

  A tiny thread of relief trickled through her. She didn’t want to leave the café. She loved working there.

  She shifted on her seat. She didn’t want to leave the café yet.

  ‘There’s a vacant “safe house” apartment in North Hobart that you can use for the time being.’

  Her shoulders drooped. ‘But that’s on the other side of the harbour from Bellerive.’

  ‘Why’s Bellerive so important when—?’ He broke off, his face gentling. ‘Monty?’

  She nodded.

  ‘The neighbours will keep an eye out for him, and we can check with them every day. I’ll contact the local pound...and we can scout around tomorrow to see if we can find him.’

  The big doofus of a dog was out there alone. She bit her lip. He’d never spent a night outside before, let alone one on his own.

  ‘He’ll turn up, Neen.’

  As long as he wasn’t flattened on the side of the road somewhere.

  ‘There’s nothing more we can do tonight.’

  That much was true.

  ‘You must be beat. Why don’t you head off to bed?’

  He’d given her his bedroom. He was sleeping on the couch. She knew further argument on that subject was pointless. ‘Rico, I want to say again how much I—’

  ‘If you thank me one more time I’ll kiss you.’

  She stiffened.

  He watched her.

  She moistened her lips. All she had to do was say thank you again and he’d...

  Her heart pounded against her ribs and her skin prickled with a sudden rush of heat. Fire. Emotional. Don’t be stupid.

  Very slowly she rose and backed away. ‘Uh...goodnight, Rico.’

  ‘Night, Neen.’

  She closed her eyes against the disappointment that threaded his voice and bolted for his bedroom.

  * * *

  ‘Bloody hell!’ Rico turned his back on the television monitor to drag a hand down his face.

  ‘You know who they are?’

  Rafe, the owner of the security firm Rico had hired to kit out Neen’s place, stared at him, his expression grim. Having a security camera fitted to Neen’s carport had been a last-minute decision. Rico hadn’t actually expected it to bear fruit.

  He glanced at the screen one last time and nodded.

  ‘I won’t be able to keep this from the police, Rico.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘From the look on your face, though, this isn’t a welcome discovery.’

  ‘Neen’s going to be gutted.’ He didn’t doubt that for a single moment. ‘Can you give me two hours before you take that to the police?’

  ‘Can do.’

  ‘Thanks, Rafe. I owe you.’

  ‘Just doing my job.’

  Rico started for the door.

  ‘Hey, Rico, you wouldn’t be interested in joining a baseball team by any chance, would you? Me and the lads are puttin
g a team together for the summer comp.’

  Rico turned and blinked. ‘Me?’

  Rafe shrugged. ‘You look fit.’

  He started to refuse, to say he wouldn’t have the time, but Neen’s voice sounded in his head; he saw her finger wagging at him. ‘I...uh...’ He shifted the weight from one leg to the other. ‘I haven’t played since school.’

  ‘Join the club.’ Rafe shrugged. ‘I know you work in a field where the odd emergency comes up at a moment’s notice. We can work around that.’

  Rico suddenly saw the offer for what it was—a gesture of friendship.

  His stomach started to churn. How many like offers had he not recognised in the past? He forced his chin up. ‘In that case I’m definitely interested. Shoot me through the details.’

  Rafe grinned. ‘Talk soon, buddy.’

  As he left Rafe’s office, Rico found himself grinning too.

  Until he remembered what he’d just seen on the security video.

  * * *

  Rico’s heart burned as if a thousand needles spiked through it as Neen watched his copy of the security tape. Tears filled her eyes and spilled over, but she wiped them away without a sound. When the tape finished she eased back in her seat and breathed in deeply. Her pallor made the needles spike through him harder and fiercer.

  Eventually she glanced round at him. ‘You recognised them from the photo on the hall table?’

  ‘Yes.’

  She swallowed. ‘They must really want Grandad’s money, huh?’

  He sat beside her and squeezed her hand. ‘Neen, I’m really sorry.’

  She nodded, but she didn’t say anything. He wanted to pull her into his arms and make everything right for her. The way she’d pulled out of his arms last night stopped him.

  Neen didn’t want any complications.

  He frowned. Neither did he.

  ‘I’m shocked!’ The words were blurted out, as if she couldn’t hold them back...and as if she loathed their obviousness. ‘I mean, not in ten million years would I have ever thought... I mean, how on earth could they do that to anyone...let alone their only child?’

  Her pain cut at him.

  ‘But...’

  ‘But?’

  She was silent for several long moments. She pulled both hands back through her hair. Eventually she met his gaze again. ‘If Chris didn’t start the fire, then maybe he didn’t throw the paint on my house or slash my tyres or...or any of those other things.’