He watched her face, her expression. His cousin was considered a genius when it came to matching the perfect ring with his clients. And he’d done so for Vittorio’s woman, even before any of them knew she existed. She let her breath out slowly.
“Vittorio, it’s beautiful. It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.”
He slid it onto her finger. It fit perfectly. No resizing. That was Damian. Somehow, he knew exactly what to make long before the riders ever found their brides.
She held her hand up to look at the ring. “Seriously, I’ve never seen a ring so beautiful. I don’t wear a lot of jewelry as a rule. Earrings, but that’s all, and none of the gems are real.”
That was about to change, but he wasn’t going to say that aloud. She would be going to places with him that would require her to wear certain clothes, shoes and accessories. Maybe it shouldn’t be that way, but it was. He never wanted her to feel out of place. The women in his family would surround her with their protection, but he knew that she would meet many others just like Eloisa who would just wait for a chance to tear her self-esteem to pieces.
“I’m glad you like it, gattina. It suits you.”
Her eyes shone so brightly he couldn’t stop himself from leaning in for another kiss. This time, she kissed him back immediately, letting him take her over. Letting him deepen the kiss, accepting his going from gentle to a takeover without any reservation. Like before, she gave herself to him, surrendering, and this time he felt her tentative return, the foray of her tongue chasing his, sliding along his, sending spirals of heat down his spine, centering in his groin and racing through his bloodstream. She was the one. His only. He knew it with every fiber of his being.
Vittorio sat a distance from the two women, giving Grace space to conduct business and entertain her friend. He needed to be close enough to calculate just how tired Grace became during their conversation, or if she wanted out of the meeting. She didn’t realize just how much she’d done just by getting up, showering and getting dressed. She’d been up for several hours already.
This would be their first test. Grace had no idea it was coming, that she would have to make the decision whether or not to allow him to dictate to her for the sake of her health. He chose something big right out of the gate, because if she could find it in herself to trust him to look after her when she needed it, she would trust him on much smaller things.
Merry brought out a tray with fresh strawberry lemonade and then left them with a brief, friendly smile toward Grace. Katie glanced his way, but he sat close to the glass doors, giving them the view of the pool and lake while he had a good side view of both of the women.
“I was so worried, Grace,” Katie said. “I received an update every day, but not seeing you was very scary. There was so much false information.” She glanced again at Vittorio. “Everywhere I look I’m seeing headlines that the two of you are engaged. He spent two weeks straight at the hospital. Now you’re here. How would I not know?”
Grace looked at him a little helplessly. Immediately Vittorio got up and crossed to them, distracting Katie so his woman wouldn’t have to answer. He perched on the arm of Grace’s chair and lifted her hand, showing off the ring. “I asked Grace not to tell anyone at all, not even her closest friend. We would have been in the spotlight and you know how glaring and disruptive that is to a new relationship. I didn’t want to chance losing her.”
Katie gasped when she saw the ring, but when she lifted her gaze to Vittorio, he could see the wariness on her face. “I’m Grace’s partner, not just her friend. I look out for her. Not saying anything for a year certainly allowed you to be with whomever you felt like.”
“Katie,” Grace cautioned.
“No, bella, she has a perfectly good point. The tabloids write all kinds of things about my family. They make two acquaintances walking together down the hallway of a hotel seem sleazy. Having lunch with a friend can turn into a love affair. That’s what you’re facing being with me. Every moment of your day, everything you do, will be scrutinized. I wanted to keep you away from that for as long as possible, and I’m grateful you have a friend who looks out for you.”
Katie seemed to regard him with a little less suspicion and Grace hadn’t had to lie to her. He kissed her fingertips. “I’ll let you two get to it. I have some work to do, but I’ll be right over there, if either of you need anything.” He sauntered back to his spot, took out his phone and looked for all the world as if he was completely absorbed in what he was seeing on his screen.
“I didn’t want to freak out too soon, but I didn’t have any of your notes for the Midnight Madness—Locals Helping the Elderly fund-raiser,” Katie said. “We’re three weeks out and I need to know if we still have room for a couple more sponsors. I was contacted by three big restaurants just a few days ago. Have all the sponsors submitted their logos for the event program?”
Grace nodded. “Of course we have room, but we’ll need their logos immediately. The print deadline is the day after tomorrow. I double-checked that the sponsors have turned their logos in, that’s taken care of. Have Audrey personally get the logos from the three restaurants. We’ve kept the budget down to allow more of the funds to go to the organization and I don’t want any last-minute glitches like a late printing.”
Vittorio liked the way his woman spoke with complete assurance. She had complete confidence in herself and it was there in her voice. He managed to keep his expression blank and continued to feign interest in his phone.
“How many programs are we printing?”
“Mrs. Ferraro insisted this be kept small and intimate, as in five hundred invitations went out. Each person invited could bring one guest, so we’re printing up one thousand fifty programs to be safe. Few people ever turn down a private invitation from the Ferraros. I do have extra security coming, but that was budgeted in. The programs are numbered, and we can use those numbers for the live silent auction.”
Katie typed into her notepad. “What about the auctioneer? Has he been hired?”
Grace nodded. “I’m using the same one we did last year. He was a big hit and didn’t charge nearly as much as that pompous Fred Manson. That man spent more time eyeing the women than he did working.”
Katie flashed a smile. “I have to agree there. The more he drank, the more handsy he got. How many live auction items do we have?”
“We have seven very nice packages, one huge one, very attractive, that will command quite a bit of bidding, and two smaller ones that are still going to bring in a nice amount. We’ll have the smaller two go first, building to the largest last. We want them to spend their money, Katie. That’s why they’re there.”
“They’re there to rub shoulders with the Ferraros,” Katie whispered. “And now, because of your engagement, they’ll want to go just to see you with Vittorio.”
“Well, they won’t. I’ll be working. On the day of the event, I have to be ready to take care of all the problems.”
He knew both women were looking at him, so Vittorio kept his gaze glued to the screen of his phone.
“Have you seen Eloisa?” Katie’s voice dropped even more.
Grace shook her head. “No.”
“She called me multiple times and I know it wasn’t about the fund-raiser. I managed to avoid talking to her, but I can’t forever. She’s going to want a confirmation that you’ve been seeing Vittorio.”
“If she does ask, just tell her that we kept things secret to avoid the tabloids.”
“I don’t envy you having to deal with her on a daily basis. I’m afraid she’s going to be really ugly to you at the event. You know how she loves to publicly rip someone to shreds. She’ll do it, Grace. You know she will.”
“Vittorio isn’t going to let that happen,” Grace said.
Vittorio liked the confidence in her voice, but she was beginning to sound tired. He looked up. There was a bit of sheen on her skin. She was sweating. Her face had gone from pale to an almost grayish tinge.
&
nbsp; “Eloisa is his mother. Boys always stick up for their mothers,” Katie said, absolute conviction in her voice.
“I made certain to talk to the various donors about each item already, so I have confidence that there is interest in the items and we can get some lively bidding going,” Grace said, trying to get Katie back on track. “And all the table items are numbered and ready to be laid out in order.”
“We have to talk about the possibility of Eloisa making a scene in the middle of our event and how we’ll handle it,” Katie insisted. “You can’t just pretend it won’t happen. She can be vicious, and it will ruin our fund-raiser.”
“It’s her fund-raiser. If she ruins it—”
“She’ll blacklist us, Grace. No one will care that it isn’t our fault.”
“We have so many things to discuss, Katie.”
Vittorio stood up and pocketed his phone. “Katie, Grace is tired and needs to rest. I’m sorry we’re going to have to call it a day, but you can come back tomorrow if you’d like. Give Merry a time and we’ll fit you in.”
“We’re nowhere near finished,” Grace said.
“I know that, gattina, but you’re finished.” He circled her waist. “Put your hand on my shoulder. When you stand, it’s going to hurt like hell.”
“Vittorio.” There was protest in her voice, but she obediently put her hand on his shoulder.
Close to her he could see beads of sweat running down her skin. She looked close to tears. He should have intervened sooner. “Next time, bella, we won’t have you up so long before you take your meeting. If you’ll excuse us, Katie, I’ll have Merry show you out. I’ve got to get Grace to bed.”
Katie stood, really looking at her partner for the first time. “Yes, of course. I’ll give it a day before I come back.”
“Katie,” Grace protested again, but her voice was weak.
Vittorio kept her walking along the patio. Inside the house, he swept her into his arms and carried her back to her room.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Phillips sent Grace a series of text messages, each more threatening than the one before,” Vittorio told his family. He passed Grace’s phone to Stefano, wanting his brothers and sisters to read the texts for themselves. He waited patiently until the phone was back in his hands.
“He’s definitely unraveling,” Stefano said. “I don’t need a psychiatrist to read those in order to assess his condition.”
“I agree.” Ricco slipped his arm around Mariko’s shoulders. “He’s losing it, and that means he’ll make mistakes.”
“But it also makes him more dangerous,” Mariko pointed out.
Emmanuelle picked up the glass of water in front of her on the table. “I admire Grace so much, Vittorio. She’s had to live with this monster all these years. She must be terrified to close her eyes at night.”
Vittorio smiled at his sister. She was so important to all of them. She’d always been their personal ray of sunshine when they were growing up and Eloisa had made things so difficult for them. She had compassion and empathy for others and they all loved that about her. “I have that same admiration, Emme. She’s an amazing woman.”
“Have you convinced her the engagement is real?” Giovanni asked.
“The ring is on her finger, but we’ll see. She wants to take her time making her decision. I don’t blame her for being afraid. I’m moving her way too fast, but I’m not taking any chances. Phillips can’t touch her here, so I want to keep her here, and I don’t want to risk losing her by giving her too much space. Also, before I forget, Phillips put a tracking device on Grace’s phone.”
“Of course he did,” Stefano said. “He can’t watch her every minute of the day and he’d want to know where she is, who she’s talking to or texting. He’s likely cloned her phone as well.”
“We can use that against him,” Vittorio said.
“Has there been any sign that Phillips has visited Grace’s apartment?” Taviano asked.
Vittorio nodded. “Emilio found his way in. The apartment building has a parking garage and one of the grills over the vent on the lowest level was loose. When he examined it, there were scratches around the screws holding the grate in place. He was too big to fit, so he sent Leone in. He’s one of the Palagonia boys, doing his early training with Emilio, but he’s only sixteen. Tall, gangly, hasn’t hit the wide shoulders yet. He found all kinds of evidence that Phillips spends time spying on the occupants of the apartment building. He’s left wrappers and other items behind.”
Stefano scowled. “Leone’s just a kid. Why the hell is Emilio using him for such a dangerous assignment? Phillips could have been anywhere in those ducts. If the kid had run into him, Phillips would have cut him to pieces.”
“I said the same thing to him,” Vittorio agreed. “He claimed he was certain Phillips wasn’t there. Something about the way he puts the grill back on to cover when he’s inside. We either trust Emilio to know what he’s doing, or we don’t. He’s never let us down. Not once.”
“I’ve got more bad news,” Stefano said. “We just learned that Lando Gori was found dead, sliced to little pieces, his eyes and nose removed, most likely while he was alive. This little bastard is one sick fuck. How your Grace managed to survive when she knew about him is beyond me.”
There was a short silence. Lando Gori was considered a top enforcer. Brutal. Dangerous. A very scary man. Phillips besting him, even getting near him, and then torturing him before killing him, would have been considered impossible.
“Lando had guards outside his apartment. He had one inside, in his living room, personally appointed by Miceli Saldi,” Stefano continued. “Somehow, Phillips managed to get inside the apartment and into Lando’s bedroom while the guard inside watched his porn. The detectives say Phillips took his time, took a good portion of the night and at no time did the guard hear a thing. Bradshaw mentioned the Saldis were nervous as hell.”
“Shit.” Giovanni shuddered and rubbed at his arms. “That man gives me the creeps. He’s like a little rat, getting in and out of places without a sound.”
“Have you talked any more to Grace about him?”
“No, but she did tell me the photographs he sent her were often of the people he was staying with. I’ve sent the photos to our investigators in order to run facial recognition and to ascertain if there are any clues in the pictures to help identify where he is. Or if the digital stamps will give location.” Vittorio slipped Grace’s phone back into his pocket. “If we can do that, we can go after him. Right now, we’re dead in the water.”
“I took a look at Lando’s apartment,” Ricco said. “Mariko and I thoroughly went through the ducts there. Unfortunately for Lando, the largest cooling duct led straight to his apartment first. Phillips was very comfortable there and left evidence of having spent the day there. He has life living in the crawl spaces, attics and ducts down pat.”
Emmanuelle held up her hand, wrinkling her nose. “Ew. I don’t want to hear any more. I know what you’re going to say. That’s disgusting. He must leave that when he’s going away, otherwise the stench would lead to an investigation immediately.”
“The point being, he’s casual about his kills. He isn’t nervous in the hours leading up to them. He’s patient,” Ricco said.
“Did you warn Eloisa?” Vittorio asked.
Stefano nodded. “I talked to her in person. She was livid over your engagement and practically accused Grace of knowingly harboring a criminal. She’s gotten worse, not better since I married Francesca. After her last attack on Francesca, I completely banned her. I don’t want Francesca upset in any way, and Eloisa has made her the primary target now that we’re grown and won’t put up with her crap.” He looked at Vittorio. “I suggest you do the same, at least until Grace is on her feet.”
“They’ve already met. I overheard her conversation with Katie Branscomb. As it turns out, Grace and Katie are partners.”
“We just received that information,” Giovanni revealed. “It’s in y
our phone if you paid any attention.”
“I’ve been getting so many updates so fast, I haven’t had the time to read every report thoroughly. At first, I thought maybe Eloisa called Grace to spew her anger at her, because otherwise she would have known she was capable of producing the children she so desperately wants.”
Stefano shook his head. “No, Vittorio. She wouldn’t have told any of us.”
A tendril of something red drifted through the tranquil colors in his mind. Vittorio had known all along. He was hoping his older brother would reassure him that wasn’t so. “Why the hell would Eloisa not inform us there was an untrained rider, capable of giving us children? What the fuck does she have to gain by not telling us? It makes no sense at all. None.”
“She made Francesca feel awful for not producing children,” Emmanuelle pointed out.
“I could have met her sooner and protected her from all of this.” Vittorio had watched Grace suffering. She hadn’t complained about the pain in her shattered shoulder, but he could see the agony etched into her face. She’d been so white her skin was nearly gray. He could see silent tears tracking down at times. She hadn’t been able to sleep lying down, and pain woke her intermittently. “She would have been safe from Phillips and the Saldis.”
“We don’t know for certain if Eloisa knew she is a rider, Vittorio,” Emmanuelle cautioned. She put a hand on his arm. “She’s so lost right now. She can’t take Stefano banning her. It’s a really big deal to her.”
“She knew,” Vittorio said with absolute certainty. “She met her in person. She knew. The big deal to her is that she no longer has Francesca as her whipping post.”
Mariko ducked her head for a moment and then she lifted it. “Your mother is in pain. Not just lost, but in pain. I see it in her eyes. She lashes out at everyone because she’s hurting. It’s sad.”
Ricco leaned over and brushed a kiss on the top of her blond head. “You are so forgiving, farfallina mia.”
“We are not,” Stefano said.
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