Run To Rome

“What do you say we go see your brother?”

Unwilling to lose contact, Halli anchored one hand against his back and pressed close as Trent started the boat and Tony joined them on board. She watched the blond man, still a bit dazed to realize he was an undercover agent. “Is Ben…?”

“Eva—Officer Gallo—called a few minutes ago from the ospedale in Menaggio,” Tony said. “Your brother is in surgery to remove the bullet, but the doctor did not foresee any problems. He should be fine.”

Halli’s relief was short-lived when another bit of information bobbed to the surface of her mind. “Oh, my God, Trent, Rachel is still with Simone! She—”

“Moved Rachel to a friend’s house after Lorenzo called her this morning.”

“But …Luca is Lorenzo’s cousin Simone mentioned…isn’t she in on it?”

Trent shook his head and explained how Simone got scared after Lorenzo’s call that morning, so she and Rachel left the house, and then she tried to call in the afternoon to warn them.

“I can send someone to pick up your sister and meet us at the hospital,” Tony offered.

The tears on Halli’s face dried in the wind as Trent followed the other boats. By the time they reached land and were transported to the hospital, she’d talked to her sister, arrangements had been set in motion, and Rachel was on her way to Menaggio by police escort.

Halli tried to relax, tried to convince herself it was truly over, but until she saw them both for herself, she couldn’t quite believe it. Trent remained by her side; Greg Tomlin in the background. Though she knew she should start to distance herself and prepare for when they went their separate ways, she couldn’t help leaning on Trent’s strength.

At the hospital, when told Ben’s surgery went well and he’d been transferred to recovery, she sagged in Trent’s arms with relief. The doctor then took one look at Trent and his father and insisted they all get treated while waiting for her brother to wake up. Greg was ushered into one room, but Trent insisted he and Halli stay together.

The shock of everything that’d happened began to fade. She could breathe again. Rationalize. Take stock of the situation and figure out where to go from here.

The female doctor who gave them their physicals spent twice as much time examining Trent. Halli moved to the window, out of the way. Given the obvious physical injuries he’d endured, the attention didn’t strike Halli as strange until she noticed the doctor had three attractive, earnest female assistants to help bandage his chest and check his injured arm. Two other nurses bustled in to stock the already overflowing medical cabinet.

Trent offered appreciation to each one with that famous smile of his, and Halli found herself fighting a wry grin as she crossed her arms over her chest. He requested a shirt of some sort, and the doctor spoke in Italian to one of the nurses. The woman, at least twice Halli’s age, nodded, but Halli saw a look of comical regret pass between her and one of the other assistants.

In a brief moment alone, Halli shook her head in mock disapproval at Trent. “You just dashed the fantasies of all the women on this floor.”

He twisted around on the edge of the hospital bed, wearing both a frown and smile. “What?”

“Oh, please. Like you didn’t notice them all coming in for a peek at you without your shirt? Clearly, word spreads just as fast in Italian.”

Surprisingly, a hint of color stained his cheeks. He pushed off the bed and came around to where she’d leaned her butt against the windowsill. Her heartbeat picked up. One corner of his mouth twitched, though the look in his hazel gaze remained serious.

“Does it bother you?”

Truthfully, she was amused and jealous. But it was time for that distance she was going to need. She pasted a smile on her face and gave him a careless shrug.

“Why should it? It’s not like I have any claim on your body.”

A firm bite on her tongue kept the hopeful, pathetic “…do I?” off the end. He might be acting protective and caring since the rescue, but acting was the key word. He’d made things pretty clear back on the boat prior to the exchange.

Something akin to disappointment flashed in his eyes. He lifted one hand toward her. “Halli—”

“Ms. Sanders?”

Trent stepped back as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. Halli straightened, giving him one quick glance before focusing on the figures in the doorway. Greg Tomlin waited behind the doctor.

“Yes?”

“Your brother is awake. He is asking for you.”

Sensing Trent had been about to say something important, she hesitated. He placed a hand on the small of her back, urging her forward. She ignored her disappointment and followed the doctor.

“Everything went okay?” Halli asked as they walked.

“Si,” the doctor assured her.