Revenge (11 page)

As they were getting in the car, Ruggero
caught Enrico’s eye. He leaned close and murmured, “I’ve never
known a Lucchesi who didn’t get what he wanted.”

“I assure you, this isn’t how I wanted to get
it.” When Ruggero turned to leave, Enrico caught his sleeve. “We
need to talk later.”

Ruggero nodded. “I expect my punishment to be
severe.”

“It will be,” Enrico said, though he wasn’t
sure of his course. Losing Ruggero, when he needed him most of all?
Unacceptable. Though neither could he accept such a serious
lapse.

They settled themselves in the car, Ruggero
up front with Pino. Antonio rode in the other car with Claudio and
Santino. Kate huddled against the door, cradling the plastic bag
that held her plant in her lap. When Enrico reached for her hand,
she allowed him to hold it only briefly.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“I hate this. I really hate this.”

“By ‘this’ you mean?”

She gestured around them. “The guards. The
need for them. The fact that I can’t go home to my husband or my
parents. The fact that my husband is trying to hunt me down, that
I’m relying on the kindness of a relative stranger.” She took a
breath. “Sorry, I’m ranting.”

Enrico nodded. “You are upset. I would be
too, in your position.”

“You
are
in my position.”

“Carlo Andretti has wanted me dead for most
of my life. I suppose I have grown used to the idea.”

“You’re awfully blasé about it.”

“I assure you, I am anything but blasé when
it comes to Carlo. At the same time, I cannot let him rattle
me.”

“So you think I’m overreacting?”

Madonna
. She was touchy. “No, I think
you are reacting exactly how one would expect.” He stroked her
hand. “There is nothing wrong with being frightened.”

She made a small sound. Would she start
crying again? But she swallowed it down and hastily wiped her eyes,
looking out the window. “So I’m finally going to see the famed
Lucchesi estate.”

“I do not know how famous it is. But I think
you will like staying there.”

“Whenever I tell anyone where I work, they
always ask if I’ve seen your place.”

“When my father moved the family here, he
wanted to establish a worthy home for generations of Lucchesis. He
gave the villa to me as a wedding gift.”

“Where did your family come from?”

Merda
. “Calabria.”

She raised an eyebrow. “And you told me you
weren’t part of the ‘Ndrangheta.”

“Not all Calabrians belong to the
‘Ndrangheta.”

“Just most of them?”

He nodded, wanting to change the subject.
“How did you meet your husband?”

“At a party in New Jersey. He knew my
cousins. They thought he was a good guy.” She snorted. “So did
I.”

“I am sure he has some good qualities. He
must care for you a great deal to be this upset.”

“Are you saying I should be happy he wants to
kill me?”

“In a way, I suppose.”

She shook her head. “Are all Italians so
screwed up?”

He laughed. “The stereotypes are not entirely
inaccurate. We are a passionate people.”

“I hope you’re not saying his behavior was
justified.”

“Not at all. Just… not unexpected. Southern
Italian men in particular are rather possessive and mindful of
slights to their honor.”

“And you—do you consider yourself southern or
northern?”

“Southern by blood, but northern by
temperament. I was raised here. My father is disappointed I am not
more like him.”

Kate looked at him, her eyes soft. “I’m
surprised he would feel that way.”

Enrico shrugged. “He has his reasons.” He
stared out the window. “Perhaps I would not be in this situation if
I were more like him.”

“How do you mean?”

“If I had been more prudent, more careful
about some of my choices….” He trailed off. That wasn’t really
true, except for the decision he’d made today about Kate. And it
was his father who’d gotten him in trouble in the first place, his
father who’d made the decisions that had bound Enrico to the
Andretti family. But he couldn’t fault his father. He’d probably
have made the same choices.

“What are you thinking about?” Kate
asked.

Enrico gave her a wan smile. “My father.”

“You love him.”

His throat tightened. “Very much.” He rubbed
at his eyes and swallowed hard. “He is a remarkable man. We do not
always agree, but we both know family is the most important
thing.”

Kate smiled. “I get the sense you are more
like him than you know.”

Enrico looked at her carefully. “Was that a
compliment?”

“I hope so.”

He smiled. “I am glad you no longer seem to
feel I have kidnapped you.”

“Oh, I’m not happy about any of this. But…
I’m grateful you offered to help me.” She glanced at him, then her
eyes darted away. “I feel I can trust you.”

Warmth radiated in his chest, as if the sun
had just come out. He touched her hand lightly, his fingers barely
lingering over hers. “You can.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment, then
she turned to him. “Does your father live near here?”

Enrico hesitated before forcing himself to
admit what he didn’t want anyone to know. “I do not know where he
is, and he does not want me to know. I have not spoken to him in
some time.” He heard the wistful tone in his voice and tried to
make it more neutral. “He had a heart attack when I was
twenty-nine. I took over the family business then. It has been
difficult for him since… the accident.”

“What accident?”

He hated lying to her again, but what else
could he do? “My mother and brothers were killed in a car crash
when I was sixteen. It nearly killed my father. He has not been the
same since.”

“I suspect you haven’t either.” She gave him
a concerned look and touched his hand. “I’m so sorry. I can’t
imagine how devastating that was.”

Her somber tone, the slight quaver in her
voice, took him back to that time-stopping moment of disbelief,
when he’d first heard of their deaths. And then to the moment after
that, when he’d first believed and the weight of the loss had
threatened to crush him. He closed his eyes for a second, the ache
in his chest nearly overwhelming. His family, Antonella… there’d
been too many deaths. He cleared his throat and opened his eyes,
but had to look at the ceiling of the car instead of her. “Thank
you.” He paused, then said, “I wish you could meet my father.”

“You have no way of finding him?”

“He wants to be alone, and I am trying to
respect that. He has earned his peace.”
Dio
only knew if he
had found any.

They were silent as the car turned down a
gravel drive, rounded a copse of trees, and Enrico’s home suddenly
appeared before them.

“You seriously live here?” Kate asked as they
pulled up before a huge palazzo on the lake. He’d called it a
villa, but that was far too modest a word for a structure that rose
three stories and looked like it could house at least a hundred
people. Stretching above them in the honeyed light of early sunset,
the ivory edifice seemed clad in molten gold.

Enrico looked up at the many windows and
balconies facing them and smiled. “Welcome to my home.”

He escorted her inside the foyer, which
opened into a soaring space that extended up two stories. She’d
never been in a private home so grand, not even when she’d dated
the doctor who had a place in the Hamptons. Two spiral staircases,
which led to the separate wings of the house, curved upwards on
each side. Marble was everywhere—on the floor, on the columns, even
on the walls as decorative moldings. Her steps echoed as she turned
around, trying to absorb what she was seeing. Old masters hung here
and there, and sumptuous fabrics and finishes shone from various
surfaces. The dark wood furniture was heavy and antique. Taken as a
whole, Enrico’s “villa” made her parents’ home in upstate New York
look like a shack.

Kate looked at Enrico.
Who
is
he
,
really
? “Looks like you crushed more than a few
competitors to get all this.”

Enrico shrugged. “It is mostly my father’s
doing.”

“You can’t maintain all this without a lot of
cash.”

Enrico surveyed her for a moment. After an
uncomfortable silence, he spoke. “Would you care for a tour?” His
tone was neutral, as if they both hadn’t been less than polite.

“I would love it.” She let his coolness slide
by unremarked.

Kate followed him through a series of rooms
on the first floor—a sitting room, a media room, a dining room, his
study, a solarium, and so on—and then he took her up the stairs to
her room on the second floor.

He opened a door midway down the hall, and
they stepped inside an opulent suite. The room looked like
something out of a museum. Steel-blue silk brocade covered the
walls, and a king-size canopy bed stood at one end, yards of space
around it. Heavy midnight-blue velvet curtains framed the two
windows, which overlooked a garden and a large swimming pool. A
delicate upholstered love seat and two chairs in silver damask
curved around a fireplace opposite the bed. All the wood in the
room was a dark, richly burnished mahogany that gleamed under the
lights. She was afraid to touch anything.

A maid materialized out of nowhere and
stepped inside, bowing her head to them. “This is Maddalena,”
Enrico said. “She will take care of your room and anything else you
need. Just press this button on the wall.” He tapped a finger
beside a small round black button above the light switch. He
pointed to his left at two doors. “The closet and a full bath are
through there. Please make yourself at home. Shall we meet
downstairs in my study in an hour?”

Maddalena bowed and left, and Enrico was
about to follow her when Kate said, “I hate to bother you further,
but I have only these clothes….” She gestured to herself.

His eyes swept up and down her body, and she
blushed at the scrutiny. When he looked into her eyes, a smile
crept across his face. “I believe there are some clothes here that
may fit you.”

“Will your wife mind?”

Enrico shook his head. “As I said earlier,
she is dead.”

“But didn’t you remarry? You’re wearing a
ring.”

He looked at the simple gold band. “I cannot
take it off.”

“Can’t or don’t want to?”

He froze, and she apologized, blushing
deeply.
Idiot
,
idiot
,
idiot
. “I’m sorry,
Enrico, that was uncalled for.”

He stared at the carpet. “When you have lost
a spouse you loved, then you will know how true that is.” He looked
at her then and gestured at her left hand. “And you? Do you still
love your husband?”

Kate looked at the wedding and engagement
bands on her ring finger. A mix of emotions closed up her throat.
She’d entirely forgotten about the rings, but she’d be damned if
she’d wear them for one second longer. Yanking at them, she found
they wouldn’t budge, and she cursed under her breath. By the time
she finally wrenched the rings off and tossed them on the carpet,
she was close to tears. One of the rings bounced up and hit the
wall, landing near Enrico’s shoe. He bent down to pick it up.

“Leave it,” she said, her voice thick.

He looked at her questioningly. “It is an
expensive ring.”

“I don’t want it.” Her chest heaved with the
effort not to cry. “I don’t want anything that reminds me of
him.”

He bent down and retrieved both rings. “Would
you like me to sell these for you? I know you could use the
money.”

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak
over the lump in her throat. The softness of his tone only
compounded it. How could he want to help her after what she’d said?
Can’t or don’t want to
? What a bitch she was.

He pocketed the rings, then turned and left.
She followed him into the hall and stared after him, her face
burning crimson. “Enrico.” She raised her voice to just below a
shout. He paused and half-turned. “I’m so sorry,” she said,
advancing toward him.

He nodded curtly, then turned and resumed
walking. She faltered and stopped.
Damn it.
She hadn’t
handled that well at all.