"It might be best if you go to the States and wait for me there."
She shook her head. "You can't get close to the Sorbacovs and you have no chance at all without me. With me, with both of us acting together, we can eliminate them and come out of this alive. I'm not about to let Luigi and his plan to rule Italy as head of two families ruin our chances to ensure your brothers and my sisters a peaceful, happy life."
His gaze moved over her face. Possessive. Still angry. Still upset, but loving her. She felt that. Loving her. He didn't say it, but she felt it.
"Kiss me, Casimir. Right now. I need to carry your strength with me when I go down to him. It's going to be a long night. Tomorrow I have to be the real me and go to the hotel as if none of this has touched me. The world doesn't know me as Luigi's niece. I'm the woman who sold him chandeliers. Everyone thinks he gave me my big break here in Italy and that we remained friends."
He didn't hesitate. He framed her face with both hands and brought his mouth down on hers. Gently. Tenderly. A haunting, evocative kiss that would stay with her for a long, long time, as he meant it to.
"I'll be in your bed, malyshka," he whispered against her lips. He kissed her again. A little harder. A little longer. A lot more aggressively.
A slow somersault started in Lissa's stomach. Little darts of fire streaked through her bloodstream. It didn't seem to matter what the circumstances were, his kisses got to her. Claimed her. Took her out of whatever horrible world she was in and brought her into a much better one.
She stepped away from him because she had to. She wasn't going to cling. If she did, he was in no state to let her go. He'd walk calmly downstairs and put a bullet in Luigi's head and take her out of there. She was certain of it. She didn't need that connection between them to know what was in his mind and what he would do if she hesitated.
Lissa walked slowly down the stairs, dread in every step. She'd told Casimir she could do this - and she would - but it wasn't easy and she didn't want him to witness her struggle. That definitely would be a disaster. She stood in the doorway of her uncle's study. He was on the phone, his back to the door, swearing at someone. She caught the name "Angeline" and she closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the doorjamb. Of course he would have to call his wife and tell her Arturo was dead. She would find out sooner or later, and it was better coming from him. He would give her the tale he'd given to Lissa - that Arturo and the widow were lovers and into kinky games.
"Tio." She didn't want to eavesdrop on his conversation. He spun around, and she shook her head. "Sorry," she mouthed. "I didn't see you on the phone." She made as if to leave, but he waved her inside.
"I have to go," Luigi said decisively into the phone, and hung up. "He was up there of course, or you wouldn't have taken so long."
"Tomasso liked Arturo. I had to tell him something since I went into his bedroom."
He nodded. "I called the hotel. He was there and very thorough. He familiarized himself with the layout before he even spoke to the head of security. I had them pull the tapes to see what time he arrived. He couldn't possibly have had anything to do with Arturo's death."
"I know this sounds horrible, Tio, and I don't want to speak ill of the dead, but if the widow was having an affair with Arturo while Cosmos was alive, could she have been carrying on with someone else? Someone who might have been jealous?"
"I don't know. I didn't hear any rumors about anyone else. Cosmos was pretty demanding. To get information, I had to become friends with him. I even had dinner at his house occasionally. That's how Arturo met her. I needed to know the layout of the house and the routine his bodyguards had so I could give it to you. Maybe Aldo thought an Abbracciabene shouldn't be spending so much time with a Porcelli soldier and he arranged to have Arturo killed in order to send a message. Who else, Gia?"
"Tio." She gentled her voice. "You have to call me Lissa even when we're alone. No one can know who I am. That was your order."
He sighed heavily, nodding as he did so.
"And you can't go to see Aldo Porcelli. You can't. Even to get more information. If he put out a hit on Arturo, then I have to take him out this weekend. In the meantime, you need to retire to your wing of the house and have the men you trust the most guarding this place. Don't get into your car, don't go anywhere. Don't allow even a cop to talk to you alone. Have your bodyguards in the room with you and have at least one standing behind anyone insisting on meeting with you at all times."
"Yes, yes, I'll do that," he agreed.
"I don't need a bodyguard. I'm nothing to Aldo. Keep Tomasso here with you. He's been loyal and now, with Arturo dead, you need someone good."
"Absolutely not." He stood up. "He'll go with you. Someone needs to watch over you. I'm not taking any chances with your life."
He was back to being Luigi, head of the Abbracciabene family. The man who had ordered the hit on his own brother. He wanted Aldo killed. He was too close to his goal to allow even the death of his oldest friend to delay his plans. He needed Lissa alive to take out his last obstacle.
Lissa nodded. "I'm exhausted, Tio Luigi. You must be too. You've been so sick and you don't want to have a relapse, so let's both go to bed." She didn't give him a chance to protest. She couldn't be in the same room with him, not for one more moment.
12
Luigi had purchased his home in a small town far from Ferrara, supposedly to keep his niece safe. If Lissa hadn't taken everything her uncle told her at face value, she would have realized that the Porcelli family would have kept tabs on the new head of the Abbracciabene family, no matter where he was located. Italy wasn't so huge that he could hide.
Polignano a Mare was a very small coastal town rising out of the cliffs on the Adriatic Sea. The population varied at times, but it rarely reached more than four thousand. The town offered breathtaking views over the sea, was magnificent with its white-washed streets and variety of old churches, and boasted a beach with stunning, warm, turquoise waters, and cliffs rising on either side.
Lissa loved the town and the people who lived there. They were friendly, waving and chatting when she wandered around town or stopped at Salvadore's, the little cappuccino bar. The town was one of her favorite places in the entire world. She looked forward to visiting it often.
Casimir told her that Luigi's wife and sons were in his much larger estate in the city of Bari, only about forty-seven kilometers from Polignano a Mare, a short enough drive. Bari had an international airport, making it easy for Lissa to fly in from the States. That also made it easy for Luigi to travel back and forth in forty minutes or less using the main highway. He could retire to his apartment feigning illness, sneak out, and be home in record time.
The hotel was beautiful, family owned and an enchanted retreat for celebriti
es that heard about the gem on the staggeringly beautiful cliffs. Lissa had been there a few times just for drinks and dinner. The food was always amazing and the views spectacular.
Tomasso reached around her to open the door of the hotel for her, his body brushing against hers. A shiver of awareness went through her, the way it always did when he was close. She leaned back into him for a moment and turned her head to look at him over her shoulder.
Casimir would be gorgeous to her in any role he assumed, but she was particularly fond of his bodyguard persona. "I inherit Luigi's house here in the village if he dies. He showed me the papers many times over the years. I love it here."
He dipped his head, his mouth brushing her ear, sending more shivers arrowing straight to her core, igniting a fire.
"Is that your subtle way of telling me Luigi's home needs to stay intact with no fire damage?"
His body crowded hers, forcing her to step inside the beautiful lobby. She laughed softly, grateful Casimir could make an attempt at humor when he'd been so quiet the night before. He'd held her all night, his body tight against hers, one leg between hers, the other over her thigh. His arms had wrapped her up, locking her to him. She hadn't minded being close - she loved it - but she hated that he was so quiet.