She worked late three nights a week for two reasons. One, she earned a little more money working after five and two, she didn’t really have anything else to do in the evenings. It wasn’t as if she were a party animal. She’d left that brief period of her life way in the past.
Pulling her keys from her purse, she walked toward her trusty four-year-old blue Toyota Corolla. Just as she neared her car, two men stepped in front of her. They both appeared to be in their twenties and they looked so much alike they could have been brothers.
“Lilli McCall?” one of them said.
The one man looked vaguely familiar, although she couldn’t recall his name. One of Tony’s friends? She tensed. “Why do you ask?” She backed away.
Both men took a step toward her. “We’re hoping you can help us.”
She bit her lip and took another step back. “I—uh.” She cleared her throat. “How could I possibly help you?”
“We’re here about Tony,” one of the men said with a shrug. “He left some unpaid debts. We knew you two were close and we were hoping you could help us.”
She shook her head. “I broke up with Tony a long time ago.”
“Not before he knocked you up,” the other guy cracked. “That baby’s gotta be worth something to the De Luca family. Tony must have left you something.”
“He didn’t,” she said, even though her throat was squeezing tight with fear. “Look at my car. It’s four years old. I’m working as a dental hygienist. Do I look like someone who is loaded?”
The men frowned.
“Maybe you’re hiding it.”
Frustrated and afraid, she shook her head. “I’m not. Just leave me alone.”
“It would be a lot easier to leave you alone if we got our money.” One of the men pulled a card out of his pocket and walked toward her.
She wanted to run, but her feet seemed to grow roots into the pavement. The man pressed his card into her hand. “Call me if you find something. We’ll check back in case you forget.”
Her heart racing, she watched the two men leave and felt sick to her stomach. How much longer would they harass her? And how many more of Tony’s so-called business acquaintances were going to show up at her door?
Taking a deep breath, she walked quickly to her car and got inside. Maybe she should move out of town. That could be expensive, though, and she’d like to keep the few friends she’d made over the last couple of months. The idea of being surrounded by strangers after she had her baby unsettled her.
She mulled over a dozen different options as she drove through a fast-food restaurant and ordered a milk shake. After she got home, she sipped on it and changed into a tank top that covered her pregnant belly and a pair of terry cloth shorts. Then to drown out her disturbing thoughts, she turned on the television to watch a rerun of her favorite medical drama.
Five minutes later, her doorbell sounded. She sighed, hoping it was her best friend Dee, off early from her second job as an aerobics instructor. The doorbell rang again before she could reach it. She looked through the peephole, but her porch light wasn’t on. She could only make out the shadow of a man.
Fed up, she pounded on her side of the door. “Go away! I don’t have Tony’s money. I—”
“Miss McCall,” a male voice cut in.
Lilli immediately recognized that voice. Mr. Steel, she’d named him. She bit her lip.
“Lilli,” Max De Luca said again. “Can I come in?”
She glanced down at her outfit. It was far from swimsuit bare, but she knew she’d feel more comfortable wearing something else. Armor would work. “I’m not really dressed for visitors.”
“This won’t take long,” he insisted.
Swallowing a groan, she opened the door. “I don’t think we have anything else to—”
Max walked past her. He was dressed in a black suit that probably cost more than her car. Meeting him again, she could see why Tony had resented his older brother. Max was taller, his shoulders were broader, and he oozed enough confidence for a dozen men. Lilli suspected he was the type who would command any situation no matter how he was dressed. Despite the hard edges of his face, there was something sensual about the shape of his mouth. His thick black eyelashes gave his dark eyes a sexual cast.
If he were inclined, she would bet he could reduce a woman to melted butter with just a look. There was nothing boyish about him. He was all man and he would want a woman as tough and confident as he, a raving beauty. Lilli knew she would never make the cut.
Max stared at her, his dark eyes flashing. “Why do you keep talking about my brother and his money?”
She met his hot, hard gaze. “Since Tony died, some of his business acquaintances have been asking me to pay off his loans.”
He frowned. “You? Why you?” His expression turned cynical. “Were you involved in some of his business dealings?”
“Absolutely not. I told you I stopped seeing Tony over six months ago because I realized we didn’t share the same values.” She remembered that terrible last night and closed her eyes, trying to push it from her mind. “We were only together for about four months.”
“Long enough for you to get pregnant,” he said.
Offended by his tone, she glared at him. “Just in case you weren’t paying attention in your high school biology class, it doesn’t take four months to get pregnant. It takes one time. One slip.” She shook her head. “Listen, I didn’t ask you to show up at my home, insult me, offer me a big check and threaten to take my baby away if you don’t approve of how I’m raising him.”
“Him,” he said. “So it’s a boy.”
“Yes,” she said and felt her baby move inside her. Cradling her belly, she watched as Max’s gaze raked over her from head to toe. After lingering on her br**sts and legs, his eyes moved back up to her mouth. The intensity in his eyes made her feel as if she’d stayed out in the sun too long.
He finally lifted his gaze to hers. “How many men have come asking for money?”
“Five or six,” she said. “They usually come in pairs. I stopped answering if I don’t recognize who’s ringing the doorbell.”
“So this has happened, what three, four times?”
She bit her lip. “More like seven or eight,” she admitted. “And two men showed up in the parking lot of my office after work tonight.”
He paused one moment then nodded. “You shouldn’t stay here by yourself any longer. You can come and stay at my house. I have ten bedrooms with staff and security.”
Stunned, she stared at him. “Whoa, that’s kind of fast. Don’t you think they’ll stop coming around when they realize I really don’t have anything to give them?”
“But you do,” Max said. “You have a De Luca growing in your belly. Did any of them give you contact information?”
“One of the guys tonight gave me his card.”
“Please get it for me,” he said in a voice that was so polite and so calm it made her uneasy.
“Okay,” she said and went into her bedroom to retrieve the card from her purse. She gave it to Max.
“I’ll have Jim find out about this guy by morning.” Max looked at her intently. “You got involved with a De Luca. We’re a powerful family and there are people who resent us. There are people who want to hurt us. If you really care about the safety of your baby, then you need to come home with me.”
She immediately shook her head. “I just met you. Why in the world would I leave my apartment to go to your home?”
“Because you’ll be safe there,” he said, impatience threading his voice. “Do you really trust that door against someone determined to get inside?”
Her mouth went dry at the image of an intruder, but she refused to be intimidated. “You’re deliberately trying to scare me.”
“No, I’m not,” he said. “I’m merely protecting you and my nephew.”
His words rocked her. He seemed to take the responsibility for granted, where Tony had been just the opposite. She shook her head. Could two brothers be so different? “How do I know you’re not like him?” she had to ask.
His eyebrow creased in displeasure. “Like who? Tony?” He gave a harsh laugh. “I’m nothing like my brother. Or my father, for that matter.”
She wondered what that meant, but from his expression, she suspected there was a world of history in his statement. A world she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She felt his shimmering impatience, but she resisted the pressure. “The only thing I know about you is what Tony told me.”
Max gave a slow nod. “And that was?”
She bit her lip, reluctant to repeat the insults. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea for me to—”
“Okay, then let me guess. Tony said I was heartless and unforgiving, straitlaced, boring, power-hungry and greedy.”
She winced at his accuracy. “I’m not sure he used those words. He did refer to you as a man with a steel heart and steel mind. And he said you were ruthless.”
“Ruthless,” he said with a nod. “That was the other word I forgot. Not that far off the mark. I can be ruthless and I guard my heart and mind. I’m not distracted and I won’t be tricked or deceived. But tell me, if I were completely cold and ruthless, why would I give a damn about you and your baby’s safety?”
Good point, she thought, but the man still made her nervous.
“What do your instincts tell you about me?” he demanded.
She bit her lip again, and felt a flash of disappointment in herself. “My instincts got a little off-kilter after my mother died. I’m not sure how much I can trust them.”
His expression was enigmatic. “Then you have a choice to make. You can either trust your door to those thugs who have been showing up and who aren’t going away. Or you can trust me.”