“That’s right, it’s all on there. Now, let me speak to Ben, and we’ll set up the exchange.”
“That is impossible at the moment.”
Trent swallowed hard, his gaze cutting to Halli’s rapt expression. “He better be alive.”
Anguish clouded her eyes.
“He is,” Lapaglia said.
Trent nodded to Halli and relief flooded her tense features. “Give him the phone,” he demanded of Lapaglia.
“I am a business man, I have meetings to attend.”
“And I care, why?”
“I do not babysit,” Lapaglia snapped. “You must take my word he is alive, the same as I trust you will not try to make any more copies of Halliwell’s video.”
Trent wasn’t surprised they’d found the partial copy at his house, but he stood his ground. “I’m calling the shots here. Setting me up as Lorenzo’s killer gives me plenty of incentive to use that video to prove my innocence, so don?
??t give me a reason to rethink my offer. I’ll give you one hour. If you don’t call me back with Ben on the phone, I will release the video to a trusted source.”
“I need two hours to return where we hold him.”
“One.”
“Then release the video. Benjamin will end up as dead as your brother and your agente friend. And do not forget, I know where Halliwell lives.”
A broken sob shook Simone’s shoulders.
“Two hours.” Trent flipped the phone shut and slid it back into his pocket as Simone collapsed in his arms.
****
More than an hour and a half later, Trent sat with an arm around Simone on the edge of her bed while Halli shadowed the doorway. The older woman had fallen apart, but with Trent’s help, was slowly pulling herself back together.
Watching them grieve over the loss of his friend and her lover, Halli felt like she was reading Trent’s journal again. And yet, a part of her could care less. After what Trent said about using the video for himself, her confidence in him faltered. It’d shattered when she checked her camera and discovered the SD card missing.
It didn’t matter that she recognized the tactic for what it was, the moment he’d made the threat, it struck her that since Lapaglia and the rogue police officers had set him up as Lorenzo’s killer, the video was his only hard proof of innocence. Clearly, he was keeping it close, too. Her gaze strayed to his hips, wondering which pocket he’d slipped the digital card into.
With his own life on the line, he didn’t really owe her and her family anything. She hadn’t seen the video, damn it! Not that she believed for one second Trent shot his friend, but she didn’t actually see Lapaglia pull the trigger, either. Believing and seeing were two different things in a court of law. Both, she’d wager, in The United States of America and Italy.
When the choice came down to him or Ben, what would Trent do? Earlier, he’d tried to convince her to take Rachel to the consulate, insisting he needed to follow the plan alone. Was it really for her own safety, or so she’d leave the camera with him and he’d have sole possession of the video?
She hated the suspicion that ate at her earlier blind trust.
Simone raised red-rimmed, tear filled brown eyes to Halli. The woman was still beautiful.
“Please forgive me. I did not know—”
“Oh, please, no—don’t apologize.” She hurried over, and after a slight hesitation, leaned to hug the grieving woman. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
Fresh tears overflowed Simone’s lashes as Halli straightened, but she didn’t break down. “Thank you.” After a moment, she blew her nose and sniffed with determination. Looking from Halli to Trent, she said, “I will help any way I can. They must pay for what they have done.”
Instead of being relieved, Halli’s stomach churned. She clasped her hands together, her knuckles white. If they exchanged the video for Ben, there might never be a way to prove the identity of Lorenzo’s real killer. How would Simone feel about that? Would she try to convince Trent to turn the evidence over to the authorities no matter what?
“You’ve done enough already, we couldn’t ask for more,” Trent said.
“You do not have to ask. I freely offer.”