I’d known neither would still be there—we were divorced, our marriage had even been annulled by the bishop—but a hole opened up inside me just the same. I looked back at the woman he was intimately touching at his side, and my stomach pitched with the thought of him in Venice with someone else. Even though I knew it would only torment me more, I couldn’t stop from wondering if he’d taken her to the Gritti Palace. To the hotel where he’d taken me. To the place where I’d first realized I’d fallen in love with him.
The door at my side opened, and I flinched. Reaching for my laptop, I quickly closed the lid and swiveled toward my mother, standing in the doorway.
“Hi, Mom.” I plastered on a fake smile I hoped she couldn’t see through. “I thought you’d left already.”
“Not yet. I was finishing the payroll.” She eyed me warily, then came in and sat in the chair across from my desk without an invitation.
I drew a calming breath and met her gaze. In her early fifties, my mother was just as beautiful as she’d ever been, with very few lines on her face that showed her age. After I’d arrived in the South Pacific, I’d learned that my step-father had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer while Luc and I had been in Italy. He’d hung on for a couple of months but was gone by Christmas. My mother had stayed on the ranch in Montana until March, then finally caved and sold the property, taking a leap of faith to join me in the islands. She refused to live with me—said a woman my age needed my space—but I knew the real reason was because she wanted her space. She was single for the first time in her life. She’d bought a gorgeous house on the beach on Papeete and had made numerous friends. And even though she’d never admit it to me, I knew she was happy down here in the sun, away from all the old stereotypes and expectations of what a rancher’s wife should be.
In that way, we were alike. Both free. The only difference was, I still didn’t feel free. My fingers toyed with the thick band still on my left hand. I felt as if I were in limbo, waiting. For what, though, I didn’t know.
My mother tipped her head, her dark hair cut into a stylish bob falling against her jawline, and pinned me with blue eyes that were just like mine. “Any new news?”
I pursed my lips, hating that she knew I’d been searching for news about Luc. I’d told her about him—I’d had to, considering he’d left me the island and property and business—but I’d kept everything about the Entente secret. I didn’t want to put her in danger by revealing too much. Life was easier to handle if you didn’t know the world’s sinister secrets—I’d learned that the hard way.
“No.” I reached for the computer bag at my feet and slid my laptop into the pouch. “Do you want to come out to the island for dinner? I think Sela was making lasagna tonight.”
“No, thank you. I’ve got plans.”
“With who?” I stood and set my bag on the desk, grabbing the reports I needed to review tonight and sliding those into my bag as well.
“Sexy American retiree I met at the marina.”
I glanced up at her.
She grinned and crossed one leg over the other as she sat back and swung her foot. “His yacht is huge, and he has an extensive wine collection on his boat.”
I rolled my eyes and went back to grabbing my things. My mother was clearly not going to stay single for long. “And just how did he make his millions? Drugs?”
My mother scoffed. “You and your pessimism. Yes, drugs, but the legal kind. He was in pharmaceuticals.”
I was sure he had to be dirty, but I kept my opinion to myself. “Well, if you change your mind, you’re always welcome.”
“I won’t, but thanks.”
As I turned to grab my purse from the cabinet behind me, my mother’s voice softened.
“You really need to start dating, honey. It’s been a year and a half. This work, home, no-social-life thing you’ve got going isn’t healthy. It’s time you moved on.”
A familiar resentment churned inside me. My mother had been telling me to get out there and date for years—long before I’d met Luc—and while I’d put up with it before, I was tired of it now. I had no desire to date anyone.
“I’m fine, Mom.”
“But you’re not.” She pushed out of her seat and stepped to my desk. “You haven’t gained back any of the weight you lost, and anyone who looks at you can see you’re exhausted all the time. You’re working yourself to the bone for nothing.”
She’d always thought I was too heavy before. Now I was too thin? I sighed. “I like my job.”
“Please. You can’t even get in a boat. We live in the tropics, and you zip around on a helicopter even though you run a company that builds speed boats.”
“Who cares? I’m good at this. Our sales have gone through the roof since I took over.”
“Yes, but you’re not working this hard for you. Or even because you enjoy what you’re doing. You’re killing yourself to grow this company in the hopes of impressing the man who started it. But he’s never coming back, Natalie. He has a new life in Europe. He’s moved on. If he still wanted you, he would be here, and he’s not.” Her voice softened. “He made his choice, honey. He let you go. Now, it’s time for you to let him go.”
Tears filled my eyes, blurring my vision. I reached for the ring on my hand again, twirling it with my fingers, blinking rapidly to keep from giving in to the misery.
She was right. I knew she was right. But there was a part of me that would never be able to let him go. I’d spent more time alone these last few months than I’d ever spent with him, yet he was imprinted on my heart, in my soul. How could I let go of that? How could I move on when everything I believed in told me we were meant to be together?
“I’m yours, and you’re mine. And we are unbreakable.”
I sniffled and swiped at the stupid tears on my cheeks. “I have to go. Haych is waiting with the helicopter.”
I made it as far as the door before my mother said, “I’m not trying to upset you, Natalie. I just want you to be happy. I hate seeing you like this.”
“I know.” I stopped in the doorway with my bag, but I couldn’t meet her gaze. “And I’m not upset with you, I’m just... I’m not you, Mom. I can’t turn off my feelings like a light. I know I have to let him go, but I’m not ready. That doesn’t mean I’m unhappy, though. I love my life. It might not be the life you wanted for me, but it’s mine, and I’ve worked hard for it. And even with all the pain I’ve been through, I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world because if I did, I wouldn’t have what I do right now.”
Here eyes softened, and she moved toward me. “I know that, honey. I just... I love you, Natalie. I want to see you smile again.”
I did smile. Every day. She just wasn’t usually around to see it.
“I’m fine, Mom. I’ll be fine. You and I are very different people, but I’m tough, just like you. I can get through anything. I had an amazing role model growing up.”
My mother’s red lips curled in a smile, and her eyes softened even more as she reached for me, hugging me tight. “Well, that’s true. You did.”
I rolled my eyes and hugged her back. “Go have fun with your millionaire yachter. I need to get home.”
“Good night, honey.”
I thought about our conversation as I left the building and climbed into the helicopter where Haych was waiting. I thought about it the whole way out to the island. My mother didn’t know this, but I’d been on a handful of dates the last few months with men I’d met through my business dealings for the company. It had been my feeble attempt at “moving on.” Every one had been a major disaster, though, and after the third one with a man who was as boring as the tablecloth at our dinner, I’d finally given up.
There was nothing wrong with being single. I had plenty to keep me busy. And I was happy, contrary to what my mother believed. In fact, just the thought of going home brought a smile to my face I’d been lacking all day.
It was dusk when I stepped into the house, bypassing the front and moving t
o the kitchen around back. The scents of Italian spices filled the air, and my stomach rumbled at the thought of Sela’s world famous lasagna for dinner. Closing the door, I called, “Sela?”
No voices answered my call. No sound echoed from anywhere in the house.
A note on the fridge drew my attention. Dropping my bag on the kitchen table, I crossed and read Sela’s message.
N—
We went back to my place to feed the dogs. They were barking up a storm. Come down when you get back. I have wine.
—S
I smiled and read the note again. Sela was crazy about her dogs. If they’d been barking like that, one of the native animals on this island must have wandered down toward the beach—a wild pig or goat. Her dogs were probably beside themselves with excitement.
I set the note on the counter and turned for the hall, moving toward the bedroom so I could change out of my slacks and sleeveless blouse and join her.
“Well now,” a very familiar voice said when I stepped past the living room archway. “Look who finally wandered in.”
I froze, and my heart jerked into my throat. Wide-eyed, I whipped around and stared at Giovanni, sitting in a chair across the room, his hands clutching the armrests, his long hair—longer than it had been the last time I’d seen him in that dungeon eighteen months ago—hanging around his face.
“It’s been a long time, bella.” His light eyes were as cold and soulless as they’d been that last day. And they were pinned solidly on me. “You have no idea how hard I’ve been looking for you. My brother was smart to hide you. But not all that smart to leave you unprotected. Pity.” He slowly pushed to his feet. “I really would have liked for him to be here for this, but I promise I’ll take pictures.”
He stepped toward me, and my adrenaline surged. I grasped the closest thing I could reach, a native stone carving of some South Pacific deity, and hurled it toward him. He dodged the object. It crashed into the coffee table, sending glass shattering over the floor.
“Dumb move,” he growled as he lurched around the couch toward me.
I turned to run, but he slammed into me before I could get two steps away. My body struck the hall table. Objects went flying. Glass cracked. I hit the ground with a thud and kicked out, but he wrapped a hand around my ankle and pulled, jerking me back toward him.
“You can’t run from me,” he screamed. “Not any more! I’m going to make you pay for what you’ve done. Exactly as I made that slutty friend of yours pay.”
My throat closed, but I fought and clawed and kicked against him. He was going to rape me. Kill me. There was no way he’d let me live this time. And if he found the others on the island...
Panic squeezed my lungs until I gasped. But somehow I managed to nail him in the balls. He grunted and fell back. Scrambling to my feet, I raced into the kitchen, threw the back door open, and screamed when Giovanni grabbed me by the hair and hurled me into the counter.
Canisters went flying. The wooden cutting board flew up and hit me in the cheek. I bounced off the counter and smacked against the tile floor with a grunt. Pain ricocheted through my body.
Dazed, I tried to get up, but my vision wavered, my head grew light. The room seemed to swirl around me. A looming shadow drew close. I managed to sit up, to scoot back against the counter and look up. Blinked several times.
Giovanni stalked toward me, his hair a wild tangle around his face, his chest rising and falling with his deep breaths. “I didn’t realize this was going to be so fun,” he sneered, glaring down at me. “My brother probably never told you I like a good fight. He knelt in front of me, and his lips curled in a sinister smile when he whispered, “Nothing gets me hard faster.”
I stared at him, my breaths fast and shallow, my vision coming and going. And out of nowhere I heard Luc’s voice whisper, “You are my salvation.”
It was time for me to be my own salvation.
“You like a good fight?” I asked in a low voice, knowing I was out of chances.
He chuckled.
“Then you should love this.” Grasping the handle of the knife that had fallen off the cutting board, I swung out.
The blade sliced through Giovanni’s cheek, sending blood spraying across me and the kitchen.
The moment he howled and jerked back, I scrambled to my feet and ran.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Luc
“Porca troia,” I growled, tugging the cell away from my ear. “Answer the damn phone!”
The helicopter pilot I’d hired in Tahiti glanced my way with worried eyes. “Everything okay?’
No, goddammit, it wasn’t okay. Haych wasn’t answering. Natalie wasn’t answering. Sela wasn’t even picking up my call. It was as if none of them were there.
“Just hurry,” I said, trying to keep the panic at bay. “I need to get there as fast as I can.”
The pilot looked back out the windshield. As the helicopter cut through the air, I tried to convince myself everything would be okay, that I wasn’t too late. But every instinct inside me said Lady Luck had never been on my side.
I’d been tracking Giovanni for eighteen months—eighteen long, fucking months—and I’d nearly had a heart attack when he’d recently surfaced in Australia. My brother had no allies in Australia, none that I knew of anyway, and Australia was too freakin’ close to Natalie and the island for my comfort. I’d dropped everything and flown to Sydney to find out what he was up to. But when I’d arrived, I’d been horrified to discover he’d already left. And that his next stop was Tahiti.
Natalie’s business was in Tahiti. It and the property—everything was registered under shell corporations—but it wouldn’t take Giovanni long to find her if he looked. If she was going back and forth from the island to the warehouse as my reports had verified the last few months, then people had seen her. Any local Giovanni showed a picture to would recognize her. It wouldn’t take him long to figure out where she was hiding.
I’d already checked the warehouse, only to learn she’d already gone home for the day. I was sure I was about to have a heart attack by the time the helicopter landed on the grass not far from the house.
I thanked the pilot, slammed the chopper’s door, and raced toward the Balinese villa. Taking the porch steps in twos, I shoved my hip against the heavy wood door, bursting into the house as I yelled, “Natalie!”
No answer met my ears. Nothing but silence. But terror gripped my chest when I spotted the broken table in the hall, the objects littering the ground, and the shattered glass coffee table in the living room.
“No, per favore, no.” I rushed down the hall, only to skid to a stop in horror as I stared at the ransacked kitchen and the blood trailed across the floor.
Footsteps sounded on the back porch. I looked in that direction just as Haych appeared in the open doorway to the deck.
“Mister Luc!” His wide-eyed gaze shot from me to the mess around me. “Wh-what happened?”
“Where’s Natalie?”
“I... She was here. A few minutes ago. I flew her back to the island. Sh-she came into the house while I went to check on Sela. What...? Who did this?”
Fear threatened to pull me under, but I couldn’t let it.
“Giovanni.” I glanced over the kitchen and moved to the window. The blood trailed out the door and across the deck. “He’s here.”
“Your brother is here?”
I’d warned Haych all about Giovanni after I’d sent Natalie away from Italy. I’d told him to be on the lookout for Gio. Haych knew full well what he was capable of.
I raced to my office, where I pulled the cabinets behind my desk open and knelt to key in the combination to my safe. Once it was open, I pulled out two handguns and handed one to Haych, already standing at my back. “You didn’t see any sign of her when you rushed up here from your place?”
“No. I heard the helicopter and came right over. There was no sign. No blood like in the kitchen either.”
“She must have ran into the jun
gle.” Smart girl. She’d know the terrain of this island after a year and a half here. Gio wouldn’t.
I pushed to my feet and turned toward him, fighting to keep from panicking. “We need to find her. Before he kills her.”
Haych nodded, eyes as focused as I’d ever seen them. “We’ll find her.”
I followed him out into the jungle. Dusk was quickly turning to darkness. The island wasn’t big, only twenty or so acres, but there were many places to hide. I tried to think like Natalie. Would she hide and wait for help? Or would she try to lead Gio someplace where she had the upper hand?
She wouldn’t hide. She wouldn’t risk Gio finding Sela and Haych, putting them in danger. My stomach tightened when I realized my fighter would lead Gio to one of two places—either to the blowhole on the south end of the island where the tides were unpredictable and caused water to shoot up like a geyser a hundred feet into the air, knocking an unsuspecting person off their feet and into the ocean if they weren’t careful. Or she’d lead him to the highest point on the island where the cliffs overlooked the ocean and the ground dropped a hundred feet to jagged rocks below.
“Haych.” I grabbed him by the arm before he got too far ahead of me. “Go south. To the blowhole. I’ll check the cliffs. Those are the only two places she’d run to. She has to be at one of them.”
“Aye, Mister Luc.” He quickly shifted direction and raced off into the trees.
Heart in my throat, I headed in the other direction, pushing my muscles as hard as I could to reach the cliff before it was too late. Sweat slicked my skin. Darkness gathered around me. Wind whipped my hair back from my face. Just as I neared the peak, I heard voices arguing.
A slap and a scream echoed on the wind. Followed by a thud. My pulse pounded harder. I ran faster. Bursting through the foliage onto the cliff, I spotted them, standing near the edge of the cliff in the dark, Natalie’s hair wild around her face as she wrestled against Giovanni’s hold.