Amedeo, Her Italian Billionaire (20 page)

Madge left him, mumbling to herself that no, he wasn’t in love. Well maybe he was, but that wasn’t a concern for today. He could deal with those feelings when she was back and safe. Salvatore strolled in as if Amedeo’s wife wasn’t kidnapped. He wanted to snap at his brother, but Salvatore was the best. He’d find Violet.

“First thing, does she have location services turned on?”

“Yes. I insisted. Especially with the threats that have been happening,” Amedeo said.

Salvatore sat in Amedeo’s chair then clicked some keys. “I need her phone number.”

Amedeo gave it to him. Salvatore clicked the mouse a few times. “Okay. Found her.”

“Let’s go, then.”

Salvatore raised a hand. “We can’t go off half-cocked. I’ll need to check out the place and see what I need for an extraction.”

“You aren’t taking out a tooth.”

Salvatore gave him a grave look. “We’re saving your baby mama.”

“Wife.”

“Okay, wife. Trust me to do my job. I’m good at this.”

Amedeo nodded. Here’s where he didn’t have patience. If he couldn’t be in charge. Still, he had to trust his brother. “What can I do?”

“Wait here and don’t call me.”

Amedeo let loose a sardonic laugh. His brother knew him well. It would kill him to be out of the loop, but this was Salvatore. He did these things for a living.”

Salvatore left. Amedeo tried to concentrate on work. Madge brought him lunch without him asking. That woman needed a raise. He really hoped he’d find someone just like her for his next business venture. Whatever that may be.

An hour went by before his phone rang. Salvatore.

“Tell me the good news bro.”

“We can get her. He doesn’t have a lot of people here. She looks okay, but I didn’t get to see her for very long. She was eating so at least they’re feeding her.”

“Can we pin this on Juliano? Can we get him in jail for kidnapping?”

“If he’s still in the country when we go in. I saw him leave so he isn’t on the premises.”

“Damn.”

Amedeo wanted revenge. If he didn’t get it via the law, he might have to go above the law. That was a choice for another day.

“The important thing is that I can get her.”

“Please keep her safe, Salvatore.”

“I’ll do my best, Amedeo. I’ll call you when she’s out.”

They hung up. An hour passed with no word. Amedeo picked up his phone multiple times to make sure the battery hadn’t died. He’d charged it this morning. He sighed. Madge looked in the door. “You need company?”

“I might.”

She stepped into his office. “Your brother is the best, right?”

“He’s certainly very good at his job.”

“Then don’t worry until you hear bad news,” she said.

Easy for her to say. She didn’t know someone who had been kidnapped. His heart hurt. What if he lost Violet? This would take a long time to recover from. Would he ever feel this way again? Would the universe take her away from him when he just realized his feelings for her?

“You love her.”

Amedeo cleared his throat. “Yeah, I do. When did that happen?”

Madge laughed. “I’m going to say it was the first day when she came back her all wet and cold. The look you had on your face was priceless.”

“Do you have to gloat?”

“Nope, but I do have work to do,” she said.

She left him. He thought she was coming back when his door opened. There stood Violet. Amedeo couldn’t get out of his chair fast enough. He had her in his arms before she could say anything. He kissed her then stepped back to look at her.

“You’re okay.”

Salvatore stood behind her. “I told you I’d deliver her in one piece.”

Amedeo hugged her again. “Did they hurt you?”

“No. I’m fine, Amedeo,” Violet said.

“The baby’s okay?”

“Still in there,” Violet said.

Amedeo patted her stomach then turned to Salvatore. “Thank you.”

“No problem, bro, but take good care of her. She’s a gem.”

“I know,” Amedeo said. He led Violet to the couch in his office. His gaze roved over her. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

“I’m okay. A little shook up, but I think I’ll be fine.”

“Good.”

*

Violet was so excited for the ultrasound that she had woken up early that day. Hours early. The appointment wasn’t until ten in the morning and at five she was ready to go. Well, she hadn’t showered and dressed, but she could have been. Easily.

She stayed in bed, staring at a sleeping Amedeo. The man had been even sweeter since she’d returned from being kidnapped. He hadn’t said he wanted to change their arrangement, but she had a feeling something had shifted in him.

He snored slightly, his hair disheveled. Scruff dotted his face and made him look even sexier. Part of her wanted to wake him, but part of her enjoyed watching him in such an unguarded state.

He had one arm flung over his head. The other rested on his stomach.

“You’re staring.”

She jumped. “I am. Sorry.”

His eyes fluttered open. His gaze took her in. “You excited or something?”

“Yes. I feel like it’s Christmas.”

“What do you think you’re having?”

“A baby.”

He chuckled, then put a hand on her face. “I mean boy or girl.”

“I know. I think it’s a boy.”

“Really?”

Gwen had recently given birth to a boy and Violet thought it would be nice if the cousins were both boys. This wasn’t wishful thinking. She had a feeling it was a boy. “Yes. Gwen knew she was having a boy.”

“Pregnancy psychic powers.”

“I guess so.”

“You hungry?”

“Yes, of course.”

“What can I make you?”

His voice was rough from still being a little sleepy. She wasn’t usually awake before him, so this was neat to see him this way. He slept much less than she did. “What do you feel like cooking?”

“I’ll make whatever you want, Violet.”

He’d been this way since the kidnapping. As if he’d been truly worried about her. She was touched. Well, more than touched, but she wasn’t going to tell him how she felt. It would make things awkward. She didn’t want him to know that she’d fallen in love with him.

He showered then made her breakfast while she showered. She had to drink a lot of water and her bladder was full when they arrived for the ultrasound. She squirmed in her chair.

“You going to be okay?” Amedeo said.

“As long as this happens in the next half hour, I’ll be fine.”

They were called in minutes later. Violet lay on the exam table. Amedeo stood next to her, holding her hand. The technician came in. “I’m Josey. I’ll be doing the ultrasound today. I can’t do any diagnosis. If there are any problems the radiologist will talk to you. Do we want to know the sex of the baby?”

“Yes,” Amedeo said before Violet could. She smiled at him.

“Okay. Let me do the diagnostic pictures then I’ll turn the screen so you can see the baby.”

“Will it look like a baby?” Amedeo said.

“Yes, very much so. We’ll even put the pictures on a cd for you,” Josey said.

Amedeo nodded. Violet couldn’t wait. She looked at the ceiling as the tech uncovered her stomach. The gel was warm when she squirted it out.

“I have to take a bunch of pictures. Relax and I promise you’ll see your baby today.”

Fifteen minutes later Josey said, “Okay. I can show you the baby now.”

She turned the screen for them to look at. Violet smiled. Amedeo gasped. “Wow.”

“That’s your baby. Let me see if I can get a good look.”

“Are you ever wrong?”  Amedeo asked.

“Well a boy can be hiding his junk or have it tucked in and we think it’s a girl. If we see his penis then we know for sure. Some babies are shy and don’t show us.”

The technician moved the wand around Violet’s tummy. “Anything?”

Josey laughed. “Okay. I got the right angle. This one is not shy.”

Amedeo leaned over Violet. She nudged him out of the way. “I can’t see.”

“Sorry.”

She looked and clear as day was a penis and testicles. She was right. Amedeo squeezed her hand.

“You are having a boy,” Josey said.

Violet laughed. When she looked at Amedeo, she thought he had tears in his eyes. She didn’t want to point them out, but they made her happy. He wanted this baby as much as she had grown to want it. Him.

“Any names picked out?” Josey said.

“We have it narrowed down to a few. Most likely something Italian to reflect Amedeo’s background,” Violet said.

“Vincent. After my father who died when I was a kid.”

Josey smiled. “That’s great. Let me put this on a cd and they’ll have it at the desk.”

Amedeo had not stopped looking at the screen. He had a silly grin on his face. “I’ll have a son.” He leaned down and kissed Violet. “A son.”

She nodded. “Now we can buy clothes and order the stuff for the crib.”

“Yes.”

Josey pulled a CD out of her computer then slipped it into a sleeve. “Now you can look at this anytime you want.”

She handed it to Amedeo. He held it as if it were gold. Josey handed Violet a paper towel to wipe off her stomach. “Thanks. Now I have to go to the bathroom.”

“I’ll show Mr. Killiano out to the lobby.”

Violet ran to the bathroom. She found Amedeo leaning against a pillar in the lobby of the medical building. He was staring down at the CD in his hand. Wow. He really was touched by all of this.
What a sweet man. God, she loved him.
Her heart could not be fuller with emotion. He spotted her then smiled. “Hey. You ready?”

“I am.”

“You mind if I bring this into work and show it off?”

“Sure.”

Everyone knew she was having his baby, but there had been no real talk of it. Guess that was going to change.

***

Amedeo watched Violet as she explained how she tracked down the hacker and the identity of the hacker. He had to tell her how he felt. He had to get it out or he would burst.

“Are you listening? You need to initiate charges against this man,” she said.

He still had the CD of their child’s ultrasound in his desk. He showed it to anyone who came into his office. He was probably annoying everyone in the office. It was his company and he could do that if he wanted. “I get it, Violet. I’m pretty excited that you sorted this out. Especially since I’m selling the place soon. I don’t need anything getting in my way.”

She looked at him. “Has the sale gone through?”

“Not yet, but soon,” he said.

Why was she so concerned?

“Will I be out of a job?”

“No, I told you that. Everyone has a job for a year. Or you can follow me to my next venture.”

“Which is?” she said.

“Not sure.”

“Well, I can’t afford to be out of a job, like you can.”

He didn’t want her to leave. “I know. Don’t worry about it.”

She rolled her eyes. “Amedeo, I know you’ve taken care of the baby, but I still need to have a job. Can we get back to this hacker?”

They sat in his office. Him behind the desk. Violet looking over his shoulder. She’d brought up what she’d done to find the hacker. Now he had to make a decision about charging this person. Well, he had to. This was not acceptable.

“Okay. I don’t need the specifics. Tell me who we have to call and how do we prevent this in the future.”

“I’ve been working on the prevention, also. You’re system wasn’t nearly as secure as Carl thought.”

“Carl doesn’t have the raw hacking knowledge that you have,” he said.

“True. Not a lot of people do,” she said.

“Did this person cause any damage?”

Violet shook her head. “Not that I can see. I guess he was laying low to see if anyone discovered him in there before he did his mischief.”

“I don’t even know this person.”

She shrugged. “You may have been picked at random.”

“No viruses or anything like that?”

“No. That’s what I thought he might have done, but none. Let’s see what the FBI will say about it. It was only a breach. No damage.”

He nodded. “Can this wait until tomorrow?”

She stepped away. “You don’t seem too concerned.”

“I am. I really am and I appreciate what you’ve done, but I have other things on my mind.”

She glanced down at her belly. “Not sure we can do it on the desk in my current condition.”

He kissed her stomach. “No, I wanted to go see my mother.”

She sighed. “I guess that’s overdue. Does she know the situation?”

She knew he’d married, but he told her that he was going to have another wedding. A real one because he wanted Violet to be his real wife. He wanted to ask her in front of all the important people in their lives. He’d been planning it for a few days.