Bought: Destitute Yet Defiant (6 page)

‘I don’t understand why you’re so upset.’

‘I don’t understand why you’re not
more
upset,’ he countered in an aggressive tone. ‘Don’t you ever feel angry with Johnny for leaving you in this situation?’

Jessie blinked rapidly, her hands balled into fists. ‘Yes,’ she whispered. ‘Sometimes I feel angry. And then I feel guilty, because I know a lot of it was my fault.’

Silvio’s face hardened. ‘None of it was your fault.’

‘You’re wrong.’ The words clogged her throat. She was torn between the urge to confide in him and the urge to walk away. ‘There was so much more I could have done. I made mistakes.’

‘We all made mistakes,’ Silvio said dismissively, unconsciously demonstrating the blistering confidence that had helped earn him millions. ‘And Johnny made the most mistakes of all.’

‘You have no right to blame him.’

‘I have every right.’ He prowled over to the window,
turning his back to her, everything about him screaming tension. ‘He was selfish and weak and he should have taken better care of you. He behaved like a boy when he should have stood up and been a man.’

‘Well, not everyone is as tough as you are!’ She flung that observation at his back and saw his powerful shoulders tense.

‘You’re in this situation because of him. If I hadn’t come tonight—’ The words were cut off abruptly and he turned suddenly. ‘It ends now, Jessie, this life of yours. Let’s stop pretending you have a million options to choose from.’

She was frozen to the spot by his words. ‘You’re blaming Johnny for everything,’ she whispered, ‘just because he isn’t here to defend himself.’

‘I wish he were here.’ Silvio gave a vicious growl, his thick, dark lashes framing blazing eyes. ‘One of the things I regret most is that I didn’t make him face up to the truth.’

Jessie felt the colour drain from her face. ‘You were supposed to be his friend.’

‘If I’d been a better friend I would have forced him to remember his responsibilities instead of giving him what he asked for. I failed him. And do I regret that?’ His tone held the bitter notes of self-recrimination. ‘Yes, I do. More than you will ever know. But there’s something I regret even more than that, and that’s not reminding him of his duty to you. He should have protected you!’

‘He loved me.’ Instinctively leaping to her brother’s defence, Jessie backed away. ‘Johnny loved me.’

‘
Sì
, he loved you.’ Silvio’s tone was contemptuous. ‘He loved you the way that suited him, not the way that was best for you. But all that is going to change. You’re not going back to that life, Jess. It’s over. I should not have left you alone and from now on I’m doing what your brother should have done. I’m taking you away from that place. And if being with me
makes you feel guilty, deal with it.’ He was merciless and unyielding and Jessie backed away a few more steps, her heart pounding.

‘I’m not your responsibility. I don’t want your help. I hate you.’ She glanced around the sumptuous apartment, feeling disloyal to Johnny just by being there. The contrast between this and the desolate place where he’d spent his last few hours was painful to think about. ‘Why would you even want to help me, knowing the way I feel about you?’

A muscle flickered in his lean cheek. ‘You lost your brother. I don’t blame you for the things you feel about me.’

It was emotion, and Silvio Brianza didn’t do emotion.

‘Well, I blame you, Silvio!’ Her voice shook with enough passion for both of them. ‘You gave him the money. Without that he wouldn’t have been able to do it.’

His eyes darkened and he seemed about to say something, but then changed his mind. ‘I know what I did.’ His tone was flat. Neutral. He made no attempt to dodge her accusations or excuse himself. ‘And I know you blame me.’

‘Is that why you’re helping me? Guilt? I thought you never looked back. I thought you always look forward.’

He took so long to answer that she wondered if he’d heard her question.

And then he inhaled slowly. ‘I’ve already lost him,’ he breathed. ‘I won’t lose you, too. That’s looking forward.’

His words sent a shiver of awareness through her body and a deep, heavy sadness because she knew they’d lost each other years before.

It was all too late. The blame and recrimination had eroded their relationship as surely as the weather eroded rock. It had been reshaped into something she no longer recognised.

‘I can’t pretend to be…’ it was difficult to say the words ‘…your woman.’

‘Yes, you can. Johnny would have wanted you to do whatever it took to keep yourself safe.’

Jessie’s heart was pounding against her chest. ‘So you’re going to move me into your fancy apartment, dress me up in some shiny new clothes and kiss me in public, is that it?’

‘You’ll go where I go.’ His eyes dropped to her mouth. ‘And I’ll kiss you when I want to kiss you.’ He was self-assured, strong and more of a man than anyone else she’d ever met.

And the mention of kissing knocked the strength from her knees. ‘It’s a crazy plan.’

‘What’s crazy about it?’

‘Well, for a start your current girlfriend is likely to object that you’ve moved some lowlife into your apartment.’

‘Don’t speak about yourself like that. And—I’m not in a relationship at the moment.’

Jessie looked at him in disbelief. ‘Oh, sure. A man like you must really have to scrabble around for a date. I’m not naïve, Silvio. Women have always found you irresistible. I know you get thousands of offers.’

He didn’t smile. ‘Just because I have the opportunity to sleep with a woman, it doesn’t mean I do,’ he said softly, his words a subtle condemnation of the life he believed she led. ‘I’ve always been extremely selective.’

Jessie looked at him warily and then glanced around her. Nothing but the best for Silvio Brianza. Apartment, car—
women
. ‘All the more reason why no one is going to believe I’m your woman. I wouldn’t be convincing. I don’t know how to live in this world.’

‘This world is easy.’ His wry tone was tinged with humour. ‘It’s yours that’s the hard place to live.’

‘Life is hard, Silvio. That’s how it goes.’ She twisted the ends of her hair, aware that it had dried fluffy. ‘And how long do we keep this charade up for?’

‘Until I say it can stop.’

Jessie looked at him in exasperation. ‘They’ll never believe you. No woman involved with you would work in a seedy bar.’

Silvio gave a grim smile. ‘You no longer have that job.’

‘You lost me my job?’

‘You don’t need a job that requires you to dress like the centrefold of a pornographic magazine.’

‘It paid well!’

‘For all the wrong reasons. You’re not going back there.’ His voice harsh, he made it clear that there was no room for negotiation on that point.

Outraged and suddenly frightened, Jessie paced across the pale wooden floor. ‘You shouldn’t have done that, Silvio.’

‘Did you love the job that much?’

She stopped pacing and stared straight ahead of her. ‘No,’ she croaked. ‘No, of course I didn’t. But I don’t want you taking control of my life! How am I supposed to earn money? How am I supposed to pay them back? And whether or not we go ahead with this charade you’re proposing, I’m going to need a job when it finishes.’

‘I’ll give you a job.’

Jessie glared at him. ‘I don’t want your charity.’

‘It isn’t charity. It’s employment.’

‘How can you offer me a job?’ Fraught and exhausted, Jessie gave a hysterical laugh. ‘You build hotels.’

‘Once they’re built, my hotels are run by a team of people. Live music is one of the entertainments we offer.’

‘You’re offering me a job as a singer?’

‘I’m certainly not expecting you to lift bricks.’

Pride warred with practicality. She wanted to tell him she’d rather die than accept a job from him. The problem was, if she didn’t accept it, dying might well be her fate.

She stood still, aware of his unwavering scrutiny, knowing that this was a turning point for her. She had to make a decision.

Her survival instincts proved stronger than her principles.

It wasn’t really charity, was it, if he was paying her to do a job?

And the opportunity to move away, somewhere miles from here, was too tempting to reject out of hand.

‘Where would I go?’

‘To start with, Sicily. My flagship hotel opened last month and we’re hosting the celebrity wedding of the year in a few days’ time. Gisella Howard is marrying Brentwood Altingham the Third.’ The name brought a faint smile to his hard mouth. ‘Old money. Very old money.’

Trying not to look impressed, Jessie shrugged. ‘Do they know you were from the streets?’

‘That’s why they’ve chosen my hotel.’ His eyes gleamed with irony. ‘They’re confident I can handle security.’

And they were right, Jessie thought, remembering the bold, fearless way he’d extracted her from danger. ‘And you’ve employed all your dangerous friends to keep the paparazzi at a distance.’

‘Something like that.’

‘So you’re offering me a job in a super-smart hotel?’ Impossibly daunted, Jessie suddenly wished she had the confidence to take it. ‘I’m really going to fit in there wearing my gold dress.’

‘You won’t be wearing your gold dress. And it’s not open to negotiation.’ Silvio glanced at his Rolex. ‘It’s really late. You’re obviously exhausted so go and get some rest. Do me a favour and don’t try and escape because my team have instructions not to let you pass. Use my room. I’ll take one of the others. I have to go out for a while.’

‘Go out?’

He was leaving her?

The warm cocoon of safety that had surrounded her since she’d slammed into him in the alley evaporated and suddenly she wanted to beg him not to go. ‘W-where are you going?’

‘Out.’ Without elaborating, he strode towards the door, leaving Jessie immobilised with panic.

What was so urgent that he had to go out in the middle of the night?

And how was she going to keep herself safe without him?

‘Silvio…’ Her tone was urgent and he turned, a frown in his eyes, his mind clearly on something else.

‘What?’

Jessie tried to ask him not to go. Her mouth opened but the words wouldn’t come. What was the matter with her? Why was she being so pathetic? ‘Nothing,’ she croaked finally. ‘I’ll see you.’ It required a monumental effort to hide how bad she felt, and for a moment she thought she’d failed because he stared at her, his gaze sharpening.

‘
Non ti preoccupare
. Don’t worry. You’re safe here, Jess. This place has state-of-the-art security.’

‘I’m not worried.’ She snapped the words, hating herself for showing her insecurities and reminding herself that she’d been coping on her own for the past three years. Watching her own back.

But in the last few hours she’d tasted safety and she didn’t want to let it go. After three years of sleeping with one eye open and living her life on a knife edge, she’d suddenly been able to relax, safe in the knowledge that he was the one in control.

Aware that he was still watching her closely, Jessie managed a casual shrug. ‘Have fun.’ Where else would he be going at this time of night but to see a woman? And why should that thought make her feel so miserable?

Silvio checked his watch again. ‘Get to bed, Jessie.’ As the door clicked shut behind him, Jessie flinched.

Suddenly she was aware of the enormous space around her and felt terrifyingly vulnerable. Looking around her, she wondered what he meant by ‘state-of-the-art security’. Presumably not her, holding a saucepan, ready to bash an intruder.

How were you supposed to know if anyone was lying in wait in a place like this?

It was full of dark, hidden spaces.

Having worked herself into a panic, Jessie tried telling herself that any apartment he’d built was bound to be secure but she knew it wasn’t the building that had provided that security blanket.

It had been the man.

And he’d gone.

It was hours later when Silvio arrived back at the apartment.

Grimly satisfied with what he’d achieved, he dismissed the hovering staff and poured himself a drink.

As the first streaks of dawn split the night sky, he stared sightlessly through the glass, trying not to think what would have happened to her if he hadn’t chosen to return when he had. What he’d learned about her life over the past few hours had turned his insides ice cold.

He’d asked questions, called in favours, exploited contacts, all the time spreading the same message:

That Jessie was his and no other man’s
.

He’d been unable to think of any other way of ensuring her protection.

Draining his drink in a single mouthful, he reflected on the irony of the situation.

It was a good job that both of them were private people,
he thought grimly as he stared into his empty glass, otherwise everyone would know that an emotional involvement between the two of them was impossible.

The apartment was silent as he walked towards one of the guest suites but he paused outside the master bedroom, unable to resist the impulse to check on her.

Opening the door quietly, he looked at the bed and saw it empty.

There was no sign of her.

Preparing to fire his head of security, Silvio was about to leave the room and create hell when he noticed that the velvet throw from the bed was missing. Frowning, he strolled into the room, a suspicion forming in his mind.

He checked the bathroom and then moved across to the dressing room. It was in darkness. Rubbing his hand over the back of his neck, he stilled for a moment and tried to think like her.

Her childhood fear of being trapped had never left her and he hadn’t needed to witness her performance earlier to know how much she hated being on the top floor. A penthouse to Jessie wasn’t real-estate heaven—it was hell. Knowing that, he also knew that there was no way she’d shut herself in a dressing room.

Turning his head, Silvio narrowed his eyes and rejected the possibility that flew into his head.

No, she wouldn’t—

Or maybe she would.

Silently, he moved through the bedroom and paused outside the door that concealed the escape slide. It was open a crack and he slid his fingers into the gap and widened it.