A Forbidden Love (Eligible Billionaires Book 9) (15 page)

“Thank you, Mrs.—”

“Please, call me Natasha. It’s L.A., no one uses last names.” She led the way up the front steps. “Come in, come in. Let’s start in the living room.” Natasha glanced over her shoulder at Ilana. “I’m afraid your uncle is caught on a call upstairs in his study. It’s Monday in Australia, and it’s taking longer than he expected. The boys are here.” She led them into the living room, where the twins Max and Vlad stood beside each other, all blonde hair and blue eyes and smiles. Nik and Alexi sat across from each other, scrolling on their phones. Alexi jumped up and walked toward them.

“Cousin!” He walked over and pulled Ilana into a hug. “And you’re Devon. We almost met not long ago.” He held out his hand and shook Devon’s.

Natasha took over, introducing each of her boys to Devon and Leo in turn. When she reached Nikita, he lifted an eyebrow toward Devon. “Have we met?”

The strangest feeling passed through Devon, a kind of deja vu. Nikita did look familiar, but he couldn’t place him. Business? Socially? The latter was entirely possible, since from the looks of this mansion, Ilana’s family was orbiting in the same social circles as his. “I’m not certain.”

“Dinner is ready, please, let’s go. Your father will be down soon.” Natasha walked them into the formal dining room, which looked out over the ocean. The view was even more spectacular than the one Devon had at his place.

“I thought I’d put you and Leo beside my husband.” Natasha trailed her hand along the back of a chair to indicate the spot. Leo and Devon each stood behind their chairs, waiting for Ilana and her aunt to be seated first.

Once the two women sat and started speaking, Leo leaned toward Devon. “That seems to be going well.” He leaned back as he was served his salad.

Devon nodded. Yes, Ilana and her aunt seemed to be chatting as though they were old friends. He wanted this for her. Family. People she felt connected to. She’d told him about her childhood, and while she and her mother had been close, Ilana had longed for
family
. She’d been a little girl with a big secret. What a relief for her to finally have her aunt and uncle and cousins. A family that she could visit and spend time with, to hopefully create deep connections and memories with as she got to know them.

Family meant everything to Devon. While it was difficult to be away from his brothers and the entire Travati family in New York, at the time of his departure Devon hadn’t felt he had a choice. He’d just been the key witness in putting a Russian mobster in prison. A mobster who had threatened and stalked both him and his family as the trial had gone on. Devon’s life had been at risk, and more importantly, he’d put his family’s lives at risk too.

He glanced at Ilana. She smiled as she spoke to her aunt. Now Venice was Devon’s home. He’d not only found a place by the ocean that he loved, but a woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Just like his sister-in-law Aubrey had said it would, it had happened when he wasn’t looking. She’d been exactly right.

A happiness and calm that he hadn’t felt since—since when? Since long before the trial—filled him. The feeling of peace that had begun when he’d settled in Venice now seemed to have deeply rooted and taken hold with his decision to go forward in this new life and future with Ilana. Yes, everything was perfect, ideal, exactly what he wanted.

“Sorry, I’m late. I got caught on a call.”

Devon pushed back his chair, rising and turning toward the voice that had to be Ilana’s uncle.

His heart stopped. His fingertips tingled and adrenaline flooded his body. His chest tightened, his breath frozen in his chest. My God…how was this possible? The deadly mobster Sergey Rashnikov, the man he’d helped put in prison, stood there…Devon looked at Ilana. He had to save her from this madman…

Ilana did not see the turmoil on his face. Instead, she smiled as Sergey leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

“What the hell are you doing here?” As Devon stood in shock, Leo had moved to stand beside him. A united front. The world fell away around him…how was Sergey Rashnikov not in prison? How was this dangerous mobster kissing the woman Devon loved?

Ilana’s uncle looked up, startled, and the smile dropped from his lips. “Ilana. You did not mention that your boyfriend was a Travati.”

Ilana glanced from her uncle to Leo and Devon, who stood side by side with shoulders squared. “Wait, what’s going on? Why would that matter?” She frowned. “I don’t understand. What just happened?” Confusion, a mask of bewilderment, covered Ilana’s face.

Devon looked at Ilana. “How do you know Sergey? He’s supposed to be in prison.” He could see a look of comprehension begin to bloom on her face, but before she could say anything, the man beside her spoke.

“Because you put him there.”

It was Devon’s turn to be confused. “If you’re not Sergey, then who are you?”

The man put his arm around Ilana’s shoulders. “I’m Ilana’s uncle, Dimitry. Sergey Rashnikov’s twin brother.”

*

An hour later, Devon paced the living room floor in his townhouse. Ilana watched him move back and forth, barely able to breathe. Her heart still beat an incredible pace, as it had all the way home after their hurried departure, the furtive good-byes she’d given her aunt and family as she’d followed Devon and Leo out to the car. My God, how was this happening?

He wheeled around at last to face her. “But your last name is Reynolds.”

“My mother changed it,” Ilana sighed. Leo handed her a glass of water. “Thank you. When we left my father, my mother changed our name. It was a way to protect us from my father and”—her eyes flashed toward Devon—“his work. To make it harder for him to find us.” Ilana rubbed her fingers over the bridge of her nose. How was this happening? She closed her eyes. The man she loved had testified against her father. “I…this is beyond words.”

Devon glanced at Leo and then back to Ilana. “So you’re saying that you didn’t know. Had no idea who I was or what happened at your father’s trial?”

Heat flamed across Ilana’s face. She glared at Devon, her sadness burned away by anger. “If you’re suggesting I knew and didn’t tell you, then you’d be absolutely wrong.”

“It’s”—Devon flashed a look toward Leo—“this entire thing is hard to believe. The trial was public, and there was a great deal of press.”

“As you can imagine, I’ve spent my life distancing myself from my father. I made a conscious effort
not
to follow the trial when I heard about it.”

Devon nodded slowly. Did he believe her? If he didn’t, then he was a much different man than she’d originally thought he was.

“He was the man who used to hit my mother. Following his trial wasn’t high on my list. I didn’t even look at the coverage. I didn’t talk about it, and I didn’t want to know. You might have figured out that Venice isn’t such a bad place to hide from the rest of the world.” Ilana stood up and set her water on the table. Perhaps her uncle was right when he’d warned her, as she was leaving, to be cautious. She needed to be vigilant, and she definitely needed to rethink her relationship with Devon Travati. “Besides, I could ask you the same question, couldn’t I? What better way to torture the man you put in prison than by finding his daughter and making her fall in love with you.”

“Please.” Devon shook his head. “You think I’d do that?”

“I don’t know. You have security at your fingertips. You’ve got the Greystone agent that surfs with you and—”

“Greystone agent? What the hell are you talking about?”

Ilana lifted an eyebrow. “Really? You’re telling me you don’t know about the security posted across the street from your house that follows you almost everywhere you go?”

“What the hell are you talking about, Ilana?” Devon’s eyes shot to Leo, who sat on the couch studiously looking elsewhere, his lips pressed together. “Wait? Are you fuckers having me tailed?” Devon glowered at him.

“Tailed isn’t the right word. We’re…we were just concerned about your safety. I mean for fuck’s sake, you put the leader of the New York Russian mob into prison.” Leo glanced toward Ilana. “But it seems you found trouble on your own.”

“This is insane.” Ilana stood and grabbed her purse. “I never wanted to be near my father, and I certainly don’t want to be near anyone who thinks I’m a part of the Russian mob or that I planned this little scenario for what reason I don’t even know. Maybe revenge? Or to get you? Yes, I deliberately face-planted on the pavement in front of your house to trap you, and made up the entire Enrichment Center as one big ploy, Devon. How astute of you. You don’t even realize you have security tailing you, but you’ve discovered my plot to lure you in with the children of Venice and then off you, what, by paint poisoning? Un-fucking-real.”

“Ilana—”

“No, just no. You insinuated that I knew what happened between you and my father.” She shifted her eyes from Devon to Leo, then back again. “He thinks it too. I swear, I had absolutely no knowledge. But I do now. And I can’t…not now.” She lowered her voice and her eyes glistened. “And maybe not ever.”

Heat filled her eyes. Dammit. She wouldn’t cry. Not now. Not in front of Devon, not in front of his brother Leo, not until she got home. No she wouldn’t cry. Not now and hopefully not ever.

Amelia’s studio sat behind her mom’s house, a garage that Regina had converted into a studio for Amelia during college, which Amelia had turned into an apartment plus an art studio when she moved home to Venice. Ilana slipped into the side door. Canvases lined the walls and leaned against a long farmhouse table. Amelia sat on a high stool in the center of the room, a blank canvas in front of her. She stared at the empty white space. Amelia’s breathing came in a deep slow rhythm as she sat motionless. Her consciousness hovered somewhere between wakefulness and meditation. Amelia always fell into this creative trance when she began a new canvas. Ilana’d seen this level of concentration before today, and even though her friend had said to come by at this time, Ilana started to slowly back out of the studio—

“Don’t go,” Amelia called. A slow smile spread over her face. Amelia’s gaze was heavy-lidded still, like she was stoned, but she wasn’t, she was simply on the return trip from wherever her mind went to capture the visions for her art. Her eyes brightened. “This”—she waved at the blank canvas—“isn’t happening today. Haven’t seen a damn thing to put on that canvas.”

Ilana nodded. Every artist had a different process that helped them complete their work, but each of them spoke of flashes of insight. Visions. Voices. Feelings. Words. Tunes. These bits of brilliance popped into their brains as though dropped into their gray matter by some outside force.

“How are you?” Amelia stood and walked toward the kitchenette.

“I’m…” Ilana’s bottom lip trembled. She’d been fine…well, fine enough to be in public until just this moment when her best friend had asked. Now she wasn’t fine, she was quickly dissolving into a blob of quivering tears. She pressed her fingertips to her eyes. “I can’t believe it. I simply can’t believe this is happening. How is it that the man I’ve fallen in love with is the same man who testified against my father? What are the odds? And my uncle and my cousins? Oh my God. You should have seen how everyone looked at each other.” This was truly a nightmare. She’d stumbled into a nightmare.

“Have you talked to Devon?” Amelia turned on a burner to heat the kettle for tea. “Since that night?”

“No.” Ilana’s voice chilled. “He practically accused me of planning the entire thing. The way he and his brother looked at me? Like I was some kind of common criminal or a disease? I mean”—Ilana’s bottom lip trembled—“I mean, I…” Her voice broke. “I don’t know what we’d talk about. What I’d say. I…I really feel like…” She looked at Amelia. “I can’t see a way through this.”

Amelia turned from the cups and the kettle and leaned against the kitchen counter. “This entire thing had to be a shock. I mean, you said that your uncle and your dad are identical twins. If your dad actually threatened Devon’s life and the lives of his family—”

“Whose side are you on?” Ilana asked sharply.

“Wait, what?” Amelia looked at her incredulously. “What are you talking about? There aren’t sides…and if there were, you can be damn certain I’d always be on yours.”

Ilana nodded and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. Of course Amelia would always be on her side. They were best friends, like sisters.

“We’re talking about the man you’re in love with and a father your mother ran away from to keep
you
safe because he
hit
her.” Amelia turned to the singing kettle and poured the water for tea. “We both know that your dad was doing some pretty horrible things before he was sentenced to prison.”

Ilana crossed her arms and closed her eyes. Yes, yes they did know that her father was a horrible man. A vicious criminal. A person who’d threatened, it would seem, every person she’d ever loved, herself included. What was this inexorable pull toward him? A pull she denied and tried to ignore and yet…was it the idea of what a father could and should be? Was it a strange hope that she might discover that her father did indeed love her, even while he couldn’t be the father that she’d always wanted?

She’d spent her adulthood trying to avoid knowing anything about her father, but she hadn’t been able to avoid reading or hearing a little about what he was involved in. None of Sergey Rashnikov’s business dealings seemed to be good.

“But why would Devon condemn me or my entire family because of what my father did? I don’t even know my father. I don’t have a relationship with him…I don’t understand how this is happening.”

“Maybe the shock? The surprise? He saw a man that looked just like the man that threatened to kill him, and the woman he loves is the one who took him to that man’s home.” Amelia set the two tea cups on the table in front of the couch and sat beside Ilana. “I know it doesn’t make much sense, but maybe the entire thing overwhelmed him.” Amelia shook her head. “I think you need to take some time and get some distance. Try to sort through all that’s happened. I mean…it feels like this entire thing is triggering some deep emotions for you.”