Deception of the Heart (24 page)

She was too surprised to do anything but obediently turn the key and step in, his breath hot on her neck. Before she had a chance to do anything
else, his palms descended on her shoulders, turned her around, and pushed her against the wall. The hard, cool surface hurt her shoulder blades. She gasped, surprised by the unexpected attack.

‘Stop it
, Pete,’ she commanded, struggling to free herself. ‘What are you doing?’ Did he have too much wine? She couldn’t imagine him making such a mistake in the face of what he planned to do. Once she looked into his cool, resolved face, she knew he was absolutely sober. His eyes were lethally calm and focused.

‘Not until you listen very carefully and do exactly what I say,’ he said, the iron resolve in his voice freezing her blood. ‘
No screaming and no fighting, do you understand? Walk over to the bed, now.’ He pushed her forward, the gesture so unexpected and rough that she stumbled, her foot catching on the rug. She fell onto the floor only to be picked up right away, his fingers digging painfully into her armpits.

‘
No purposeful noises either,’ he barked as he dropped her on the bed, his hands imprisoning her wrists. ‘Be silent and listen, Melanie.’

She could only stare at him, her eyes wide open and frightened. Things were going terribly wrong
, and adrenaline rushed through her body at the speed of light.

‘I will make myself very clear
.’ From close up, his eyes were less blue and more steely grey, she noticed, cold like ice chips. ‘If you’re smart and listen, you might be all right. But if you try alerting one of those men that have been shadowing us for the last couple of days, things might not work out so well, do you understand?’

She
nodded mutely, her world falling apart into a million pieces. He knew he had been watched and, even worse, that she was involved. She watched him take off his jacket and start fumbling with his pants, her whole body frozen in panic. What exactly did he have in mind?

‘Good
.’ He nodded, satisfied, and produced a thin leather belt. He tied her hands together until it cut into her skin, the freshly healing cut on her palm pulsating with pain. ‘You see, I am not as stupid as you might think. Or rather, as stupid as Jonathan Davis thinks.’ He smiled grimly, lifting himself from the bed and going to the window. ‘I know he placed men to watch me, especially with you around. You should be grateful to him for being so gallant, Mel. Making sure you’re okay, isn’t he?’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she said calmly, determined to not let him terrify her. ‘Jon doesn’t care what I do, I should know…’

‘Oh, but he does.’ Pete tutted disapprovingly, his blue eyes cheerful. ‘You could say that you have been his undoing really. He cares enough to become desperate and careless. I can safely say that if he were thinking with his head and not his pants, he’d realize that he overdid it in the end.’ He laughed out loud, pleased with his joke. ‘But I am not complaining; quite the opposite. If not for his sudden Achilles’ heel, which is you,’ he nodded toward her, his gesture sarcastic, ‘if it wasn’t for you, I’d probably never notice the trap he’s set, Melanie. So in a way, I should be grateful to you for having sex with him and making him fall in love, dear.’

‘Jon doesn’t care what happens to me,’ she repeated, her throat burning as if she
’d inhaled fire. Why did it hurt so much to say out loud? ‘Whatever you think is wrong, Pete.’

‘
Maybe you’re right.’ He wasn’t allowing her to spoil his good mood. ‘Maybe he just feels responsible for getting you in the middle of our little ‘operation,’ Mel.’

He
walked over to the table, playing with her key. She listened to the metal click softly in his fingers as he spun it around, over and over again.

‘Because you know there is an operation,’ he stated the obvious, his eyes somber. ‘
Which is a pity, really. I was hoping to keep you out of it for as long as possible. Maybe even to let you walk away, none the wiser as to what had just happened.’ He sighed, the key stilling in his hand as he closed his fingers into a tight fist. ‘He spoiled it, you know. I can’t let you go now.’

‘What do you want to do with me?’
She figured she’d try to keep him talking, if only to gain some time. Not that she could do much with her hands tied together. But maybe if they spoke, he’d soften? He dashed her hopes with his next words, her heart tightening in premonition that she had hoped for the impossible.

‘You see
, I had to sit down there and eat that damn lunch and pretend to be oh so happy.’ He laughed, the sound menacing. ‘I knew a man was watching us, making sure I acted very normal. I think I did a pretty good job, don’t you agree?’ He stood in front of her, his eyes going over her huddled body. ‘You, however, looked rather miserable, Mel. I wonder if it’s just the pain of failed romance or your jitters about tonight?’ he asked, his voice dripping with irony. ‘If you’re worried, I can assure you there is no reason to worry. Everything is under control, darling. I imagine you’re worried about the presentation, right? A stray bullet perhaps? It could get messy if I really planned to get to our dear Daniel.’

She listened
, speechless, realizing he was boasting to her about her plans. Which could only mean one thing: He was confident she couldn’t ruin those plans. He probably had plans to dispose of her one way or another.

‘
And this is where the story gets really sad,’ he continued, running a hand over his hair in a leisurely gesture. ‘Because you will be there with me, and you will realize there is no danger whatsoever. Nothing will happen, Melanie. If you’d stayed out of the whole mess, you’d just have a normal evening listening to our dear, boring old Spitieri and come back to the hotel to start packing for our trip home.’ He sighed, his eyes regretful. ‘I really wish it could be like that, Mel.’

‘I don’t understand,’ she whispered, watching his face in disbelief. ‘
If you have no intention to hurt Daniel, why this whole charade?’

‘I never said I wasn’t planning on hurting him
.’ He smiled good naturedly as if he was talking to a child. ‘You can hurt people in many different ways, Melanie. I think you’ll agree with me that psychological damage can be much worse than physical pain?’

It
took her a second to figure out what he meant. He watched her face with a hawkish smile that told her better than any words he knew exactly when she finally put two and two together.

‘I believe you know what I mean?’
He smiled again, the tight-lipped grin more of a grimace. She thought of the carved masks of ancient monsters.

‘You want to hurt his family,’ she whispered, her voice quivering. ‘
That’s the plan, isn’t it? Daniel isn’t more than a convenient distraction, a smokescreen of some kind. It is about Sophia and the rest of his clan showing up for the party.’ She recalled the older woman telling her worriedly about both their children deciding to come to surprise their father. She couldn’t tell them not to, even though she was worried sick about the outcome of the operation. She could only hope that by nightfall, everything would be sorted out and they’d have a true reason to celebrate, both their son and daughter unaware of what really transpired.

‘Bingo
.’ Pete smiled appreciatively, his eyes blue flames of icy fire. ‘This should be far more… spectacular than just getting rid of him, don’t you think?’ He noted her horror and shook his blond head in a mocking apology. ‘I know, that is not the word you’d use, but this is my hour, so bear with me a moment longer.’

He opened her
wardrobe. His hands skimmed over the few neatly hung garments. She watched him passively as he finally picked one, a simple sleeveless white dress with embroidered bodice. She had bought it on an impulse before their trip, trying to be ready for a more formal occasion.

‘That should do
.’ He nodded, turning to her and throwing it on the bed, the fabric gliding over her shaking body. ‘You’ll look beautiful tonight,
cara mia
.’

‘
You want me to come?’ she asked in disbelief, her eyes huge. ‘Why?’

‘
For once, if you didn’t come, it would be noticed right away.’ His wry response did little to calm her down. ‘You may think whatever you want, but I think that Jonathan Davis would go just about crazy if you were missing. I want him calm and confident, Mel.’ He laughed quietly, noticing her furious expression. ‘Come on, you must understand it’s necessary? I need to keep them all cocky and sure they’ve got me in their hands, don’t I? Only then will things work out. We wouldn’t want to mess up this joined effort all across the globe.’

She understood then. None of the attacks would be directed at the men the Brigade
had picked as examples of the society it detested. Instead, their families would be attacked, sending the shock waves of misery much deeper and in a broader circle.

‘How can you do it?’ she asked, her throat tight with both anger and disgust. ‘
Those people didn’t do anything to you or any of your friends. Especially their families; they have absolutely nothing to do with you, Pete.’

She might as well
have talked to the walls. His blue gaze was absent as he shrugged and pulled her to her feet.

‘
You will get ready now,’ he commanded, not even attempting to answer. ‘You’ll dress and make yourself look beautiful, Mel.’ He smiled at her outraged face and added, his voice dangerously low, ‘You won’t try doing anything stupid, will you? If I have to, I will dispose of you right here and now.’ He gestured to the belt still wrapped around her wrists. ‘There are many ways of silencing a person, not all of them noisy. It would be unfortunate, but I could work around your absence if needed. It’s important you know you’re replaceable, darling.’

‘Why should I do anything you tell me?’ she challenged, her voice quivering with fear and anger. ‘
In the end, you are planning to kill me anyway. So why should I help you?’

‘Well, let’s see
…’ He was in no rush, his gaze leisurely inspecting her features. ‘For one, it’s human nature, I believe. We all like to think miracles happen and you’re no exception, Mel. Deep down, you hope something will happen and you’ll make it, don’t you? Being dead is such a definite state. You’d do anything to postpone it even a bit, I think…’

He
was right, of course. But she’d be damned before she admitted she harbored even the slightest hope of being saved.

She didn’t have to, because he knew it already.

‘Plus, if everything goes very well, I just might be gracious enough to offer you a way out.’ Pete smiled at her again, his eyes warmer. ‘You’ve grown on me over the last few months, Mel. More than I like, for sure. If you play nicely, you might be spared. You would be smart not to go and make any noise, given the circumstances. For once, we’ll always know where you are, so it wouldn’t be in your best interest. Plus,’ he paused, pulling a strand of her hair from her eyes and tucking it behind her ear, ‘I allowed myself to add some funds to our charity from your account a few days ago. You were too busy to notice right away, and by now you’d have a really hard time explaining to anyone that you weren’t involved in our… operation. So I’d think you would think hard before running to the police with your little story.

‘I might overlook your involvement with Jonathan and his agency, if I feel like it,’ he added. ‘
You know, we could always forgive you for this one indiscretion. After all, they lied to you too.’

‘
So what will happen to Daniel afterward?’ she asked with stiff lips, her head reeling. ‘You want to keep him alive to be miserable, I believe?’

‘Absolutely right
.’ Pete nodded, a ghost of a smile returning to his handsome mouth. ‘Someone needs to be alive to talk about it, right? The rest of the men, including your Prince Charming, won’t be so lucky. By the time they realize they made a mistake, it will be too late. I think that should clear the air for us, don’t you?’

‘You were pretending all this time, Pete
,’ she whispered, her eyes on his face. ‘You knew from the start the agency was watching you, and you let them believe they had the upper hand.’

‘As I said, not from the beginning.’ He could spare her a few seconds, his self
-satisfied smile extinguishing any shreds of hope she might still possess. He was sure of himself and his success, not an ounce of doubt to be found in his ice blue eyes. ‘I knew, of course, that I had to be careful, but I wasn’t too sure what kind of “guardian angel” they had planned for me, if I may describe our Jon this way. Even when we met him, I still had no clue.’ He shook his head in disbelief. ‘But I watched him, of course. Had to, if only to make sure he wasn’t in the way… He was surprisingly eager to hook up with you, my sweet. That made me wonder: why?’ He glanced at her, his apologetic smile meant as an insult. ‘Not that you aren’t pretty and worth pursuing, Melanie. Still, he seemed disturbingly adamant about being with you, so I dug deeper. That’s what friends are for, right? Didn’t take that much research after we knew where to look.’ He stepped closer, lifting her hand to his lips and overpowering her weak resistance. His mocking kiss felt like he was branding her with a hot iron, her skin raw and painful under his lips.

‘As I said, I owe it to you, my pretty assistant. You made it easier to figure things out.’ In an instan
t, he stepped back and pointed to the dress.