Ben gave a soft snort. “Believe it or not, after that last message, I think Halli is actually okay. At least, until they show up tomorrow morning in Milan instead of us.”
And if they didn’t find her tonight. But the distress in Rachel’s expression told him he should’ve shut up before mentioning Milan, so he didn’t tell her there was a very real possibility the officers who’d handed them over to Alrigo would trace Halli’s call. All he could do was pray she’d borrowed a cell phone or used a public phone and then moved on.
“What do you think she has of theirs?” Rachel asked.
“I don’t know, but it must be pretty darn important.”
“Basta! No more talk,” Zucchi ordered in barely decipherable English from his chair by the door.
Ben moved further back in the room to sit at the table again, his back to Zucchi this time, and Rachel took the seat opposite him. Speaking in his lowest tone possible, Ben murmured, “I could try to get info from him.”
“You’re the reason he got hit. I doubt he’ll talk.”
Ben grimaced.
Her body shifted slightly to the right, her gaze focusing past his shoulder. “Do you want me to try?”
“Absolutely not.”
“But—”
“No.”
She sat forward. “I can help.”
“Rach, please, I know, but the less contact with these guys the better?”
Her gaze flitted over his shoulder again before meeting his. “Yeah, okay.”
“Okay.”
Relief that he’d stood his ground was evident in the droop of her shoulders and softening of her lips. Which only served to heighten his tension.
How the hell am I going to get us out of this?
He rubbed the back of his neck; exhaustion weighted his eyelids, making his eyes burn. Rachel had managed about an hour nap, but even so, she still looked as tired as he felt. He couldn’t think straight and didn’t even know what the hell he should be thinking about in the first place. If he could just find out what was going on; what kind of operation they were running from here. If he could avoid putting Rachel front and center, he might be able to figure a way out. The countless scams they’d run with their parents while growing up had to come in handy at some point.
He cast a surreptitious glance around the room and focused on the window behind Rachel. They were on the second floor, and there appeared to be a balcony along the side of the villa. It was something to consider should they get a chance to escape.
A knock on the door made Ben pivot ninety degrees, his forearm braced on the back of the chair. In his state of fatigue, it was best to face who was coming. Look him in the eye.
Zucchi swung open the door and a dark-haired woman carrying a tray entered the room. Ben blinked twice before making sure his jaw wasn’t hanging open. Beautiful, sexy, small, but with generous proportions in the hips and breasts, her skin-tight clothes showed every luscious, curvy line from her proud shoulders down to slim, stiletto-clad feet.
Zucchi’s gaze raked down the woman’s form, and crawled back up. “Ciao, Eva.”
The bombshell stopped and arched a brow, her chin thrust out in defiance. Whatever she replied to the man ended with Nino. Zucchi’s slimy smile disappeared fast. Ben got the distinct impression the studious-looking Nino was as feared in this house as Alrigo. He’d already determined the tall, solid-built driver shouldn’t be underestimated, but it was good to have his gut instinct confirmed.
Eva approached him and Rachel, and set the tray on the table. Hm, so the food was for them, not their guard. She served a plate and a glass of wine to each of them. His stomach grumbled, but he didn't trust a single person in this place.
“Thank you.” Rachel reached for the wine, her hand unsteady.
Ben beat her to it and held her glass out of reach. Before he could explain that she had no idea what was actually in the glass, a slim, tanned hand lifted it from his grasp. Eva took a sip. Her brown gaze locked with his as she lowered the glass. The tip of her tongue slid across her full, glossed lips to remove any remaining traces of wine. She cocked a challenging eyebrow and without breaking eye contact with Ben, handed the wine back to Rachel.
Reveal no weakness to the enemy. To show his complete indifference to her sexy demonstration of how harmless the wine was, Ben sat back, arms crossed over his chest. The woman shrugged her shoulders at his unyielding pose. Her gaze dipped to his throbbing mouth for a brief moment before she spun and exited the room. It took everything he had to keep his attention focused on the slightly distorted reflection of her departure in the window instead of turning to watch the real deal.
Once the door closed, he shifted his gaze to Zucchi’s reflection to make sure the guard kept his distance. Facing the possibility of an oncoming threat was one thing, but showing fear could give the guy a dangerous power trip. He now had plenty to prove to his boss and Ben didn’t intend to make anything easy for a single one of them.
“I'm hungry.” Rachel stared at the plate of pasta in front of her.