Lost in Italy (43 page)

“Hungry?” he asked.

Before he could pull away, she wound her arms around his neck with a shy grin.  “Very.”

His pulse leapt, but he avoided the temptation of her mouth for a peck on the tip of her nose.  “That’s Italy Halli talking.  And while I look forward to speaking with her again tonight, right now I need Wisconsin Halli’s attention.”

Her smile faded and she pulled her arms down.  He gave himself a mental kick in the ass and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.  “I didn’t mean—”

She pushed away, shaking her head.  “No, you’re right.  Here I told Rachel we had a plan and we haven’t even talked about anything yet.  Coffee’s made, and it’s sponge cake for breakfast, so—”

“Halli…”

She paused in the middle of handing him a clean mug.

“Will you have dinner with me when this is all over?”

Trent’s question was the very last thing Halli expected.  He’d been in a strange mood since sneaking up on her earlier and she was still trying to read him.  The ‘morning after’ situation only made things more awkward because, from the moment she’d woken up next to him, she’d wanted  thousands more ‘morning afters’ with him.

For a speechless moment she simply stared at his serious expression.  Her heart said yes, but common sense pointed out when this was over, she’d be Wisconsin Halli no matter where her feet were located, and he’d see she really
was
boring.

Thrusting the mug into his hand, she reached for the cake with her other hand and tried to make light of his question.  “Let’s get through breakfast and the rest of the day before talking about dinner.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

Cake on the table, she opened the small refrigerator door to get the fruit and whipped cream and spotted the antibiotics bottle from Simone on the door.  Thankful for the distraction, she grabbed the bottle.

“You need your second shot of antibiotics.”

He poured himself a cup of coffee and leaned back against the counter as he took a drink.  “So that’s the way it’s going to be?”

“That’s how it has to be,” she confirmed.

Last night had been a great distraction—the best distraction of her life—but if she continued down that road, she’d start looking beyond the next twelve, twenty-four, and even forty-eight hours…and that would only lead to heartache.  She was pretty darn sure heartache was in her near future anyway, no sense magnifying it with a voluntary dinner that would only highlight how completely different their lives were.  Plus, he could say she wasn’t her parents, but the tabloid press would have a field day with Trent Tomlin’s girlfriend’s parents residing in federal prison.

She almost laughed a second later.  Listen to her.  Assuming she’d be his girlfriend with one dinner.  Talk about setting herself up.

After retrieving the syringe, she faced Trent.  “Ready?”

He set down his mug and reached for the button of his jeans.  “Just remember, this is not fun for me.  It bites like a sonofabitch.”

Halli couldn’t hold back a smile as she filled the syringe and then coaxed the air bubbles to the top like Simone had done.  Trent bent over slightly, presenting her with one bare ass cheek.  That’s when the nerves struck, and she hesitated.

“Simone pretty much just jabbed it in, right?”

“That’s what it felt like,” he confirmed between clenched teeth.

“Okay.”

The hand she braced on his back trembled.  So did the one holding the syringe.

“Is your hand
shaking
?” he asked incredulously.

“I’m a little nervous.”

“
You’re
nervous?”

“I’ve never done this before.”

He jerked to his full height.  “Christ, gimme the damn thing!”

“I got it.”  She held the syringe behind her back and met his gaze as he faced her.  “I can do it, just give me a minute.”

“I appreciate that you’ve been looking forward to
jabbing
me with the needle, but I prefer not to have it broke off in my ass.”

He had a point.  She carefully set the syringe in his extended palm and then watched him pull a contortionist act to give himself the shot.  He’d pulled his pants down further so they didn’t slide back up and she got a good look at his firm muscles as he stuck the needle in.  Heat warmed her face as she recalled running her hands over them last night.

Trent glanced up and caught her staring.  He pulled the needle out with a grimace and set the syringe on the counter so he could refasten his pants.  His teeth flashed as he cut his gaze back to her.  “Enjoyed that anyway, didn’t you?”

There was no use denying it, so she simply smiled at his egotistical grin and then laughed when he waggled his brows and asked if she’d rub his butt for him.

Yeah…heartache definitely lurked right around the corner.

The cell phone rang with a sobering dose of reality.  Halli followed Trent’s gaze to where he’d left it on the bed.  He crossed the space in three strides, checked the number, and flipped it open.  The rigid line of his jaw told her it wasn’t Simone.

“I’m working on it.  You gave me ‘til six…don’t worry, you’ll get yours as long as we get Ben.”  He paced to the bar counter and yanked open a drawer to pull out paper and a pen.  Then he wrote while repeating out loud a set of GPS coordinates and the time.  He ended that call and immediately began dialing again as he faced Halli.

She started to speak, only to have him hold up a silencing hand.

“Figured you’d be up,” Trent said without any other greeting.  “Where are we at with the money?  Good.  Don’t forget, waterproof bag, and tell him to meet me at the Villa Melzi gardens at four, on the steps leading down to the waterfront.  Can’t miss ‘em.”

His gaze shifted from Halli to the gun on the counter.

“You’re absolutely sure I can trust this guy?  Thanks, Brad, I owe you one.”

After an abrupt disconnect, he slipped the phone into his pocket, his mouth set in a grim line.  Halli blew out a shaky breath when he picked up the gun and tucked it in place against the small of his back before meeting her gaze.

“Time to make that plan.”

****

Numerous ideas had been suggested and discarded, and Halli was beginning to think they’d never figure out how to pull the whole thing off.  They had about an hour before meeting the guy delivering the ransom money.  Three hours before the exchange with Lapaglia.  Time was running out.

Head buried on her crisscrossed arms, she mumbled under her breath, brainstorming to herself about the lake, boats, meeting on the water.  Trent had insisted a minute ago he was
not
pacing, but since then he’d resumed wearing a path in the carpeting.  He didn’t even see her glare, so she dropped her head again.

Stupid boat.  They needed more space.  For the first time since yesterday, she actually wanted to be separated from—

Halli stiffened.  She lifted her head from her arms.  “I’ve got it.  We need a second boat.”

Trent paused in his pacing.  “A second boat?”

“A second boat,” she repeated, smiling.  “That way we can keep our bargaining chips separated and stack the odds in our favor.”

His gaze narrowed as he considered her suggestion.

She got up from the table and went to stand in front of him.  “Think about it.  The money on one boat, the video on the other.”

“They get one when they release Ben, and the other when the boat with Ben is a safe distance away,” he expanded, nodding, warming to the idea.

“Exactly,” she agreed.  “You asked for a waterproof bag, so we hold that back until we’ve got Ben.  Since there’s no way for them to know for sure if we’ve made another copy of the video, I think the money’s the better incentive.”

“Good point.”

Excitement pumped up her pulse. 
Finally
they had a workable plan the two of them could realistically pull off.

Trent reached past her to grab the notebook she’d been using at the table and turned toward the bar area.  “Renting a boat shouldn’t be too much of an issue around here, but the driver is a whole other matter.  We can’t just ask anyone—”

“We don’t have to ask anyone,” she interrupted.  “I’ll drive it.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Yes, I will.  If I can drive this one, I can drive—”

“I said
no
.”

Gaze fixed on his back, she waited for him to face her and explain his reasoning.  A full minute passed, during which he didn’t even bother with a glance over his shoulder.  As if he’d said “No,” and that was it.  Disbelief combined with rising anger.

“There is no way you’re leaving me—”

He banged a fist on the counter and swung around so fast she took a step back before she could help it.

“Damn it, Halli, I knew this was going to be an issue.  Why the hell do you think I wanted you to stay at Simone’s?  You are not going, so let’s end this argument right now.  I’ll ask Giovanni to drive the boat.”

“You can’t drag him into this.  It’s not fair to Concetta or your friend George and you know it.  Or me for that matter, because if something happens to him...”

The flexing of muscle in his jaw told her she was right.  She crossed her arms over her chest in satisfaction.  “You got no one but me to drive that boat.”

“I’ll call Simone’s cousin.”

She shook her head.  “That was my choice, and I’m not risking Ben’s life by involving any police.”

“Then I’ll find someone else,” he vowed.  “I’m not taking you in that close to these guys.”

“And I’m not letting you go in to rescue my brother alone.”

“Because you still don’t trust me, do you?”

“That’s not it at all,” she shot back, annoyed he’d play that card.  “And after last night, you should know that.”

That made him pause.  Emotion flared in his eyes but he quickly turned back to the bar and pulled the cell phone from his pocket.  “No.  End of discussion.”

Determination ground her teeth together before she forced a deep breath and said calmly, “Doesn’t matter how many times you say the word, short of tying and gagging me,
I’m going
.”

He braced his hands, hung his head and regarded her with a rigid sideways look.  The unwavering force of his piercing gaze bored between her shoulder blades on her way up the stairs to the deck.

An hour later, Halli sat on a sun-warmed wrought-iron bench, a nameless book in her hand that did no more to hold her interest than the splendid view of Lake Como and the lush, colorful gardens of Villa Melzi surrounding her.  She only had eyes for the tall, dark haired man some twenty yards away.

Trent could insist she stay behind all he wanted, didn’t mean his decision was final.  She was here now, wasn’t she?  Not back at the boat like he’d also tried to dictate.  Lack of trust wasn’t the issue any longer, like he’d accused in an attempt to guilt her into complying.  No way she’d let him go into such a dangerous situation without any form of back up.

Besides the fact he needed her, it was her responsibility to help rescue Ben.

Trent didn’t look around as he sat with a newspaper and a to-go cup of espresso on the stone wall by the steps some twenty yards away, but Halli would bet he hadn’t read any more than she had.  Beneath that tattered baseball cap, behind those mirrored sunglasses, she knew his razor-sharp hazel gaze scanned the garden’s visitors, locals and tourists alike, searching for the man who held the key to her brother’s survival.

Somewhere in the distance, church bells chimed the four o’clock hour.  Halli looked around for anyone with a bag that could be holding cash.  Her unsuccessful gaze doubled back to Trent as he flicked down one corner of the paper.  After a casual glance, he returned his attention to the newspaper.

Amazing how he blended in with the other Italians in the area despite being U.S. born and raised.  An air of sexy mystery surrounded him, and she forgot she was mad at him.  She knew she’d never look at a magazine picture of him clean-shaven without imagining the shadow on his jaw and the look in his eyes as he made love to her.  Would looking at those pictures in a few years hurt as much as the live version now, knowing their time together was almost over?

She forced the question from her head and wondered about the man delivering the money.  Anxiety ate away her outer layer of calm as the minutes ticked by.  Worry mushroomed when Trent gave up all pretense of reading to openly scan the area.  No one approached, and he gave no indication of recognizing anyone.

Halli shut her unread book with a thud and headed in his direction.  The tilt, hang, and slight shake of his head conveyed his annoyance at her deviation to this supposed simple plan, but she didn’t care.  The stone warmed her hip and palm as she leaned against the wall next to him.

“What if he doesn’t show?”

“He’ll show,” Trent ground out.

“You’re that sure you can trust your buddy Brad?”

“I’m that sure.”

Was the taut line of his jaw conviction or doubt?