Twist of Fate (15 page)

“Oh, all right.” Kate sighed. “I still think I should. Maybe all I need is a name anyway. No harm, no foul.” Thinking ahead to have cash ready for the valet, Kate reached for her purse strap on her shoulder, only it wasn’t there. “Ugh, Jill, I must have left my purse upstairs. Do you still have the room key? I’ll be right back.” Kate snatched the plastic keycard from her friends hand and zipped through the lobby.

Chapter Nine

Dante placed his hand on the small of Francesca’s back and guided her out of the café. His sister pulled her cashmere sweater around her shoulders when a cool breeze rushed in from across the lobby. He dropped his hand and stopped abruptly in front of the elevator doors and sniffed.

“Dante?” She turned to stand beside him, a worried expression painted on her face. “What’s wrong?”

His voice strained when he answered. “Do you smell that? It’s her. She’s here.”

Francesca placed her hand on his shoulder. “What? Oh, darling, don’t do this.”

He pointed to where they stood. “Smell, Francesca. It’s so strong, right here.” Dante felt a surge of energy he hadn’t felt in over a month. All along he’d been waiting for his men to find Kate, and she’d been foolish enough to venture back into the city. Their city.

“Dante, no.” Francesca cupped his cheek in her palm. “We don’t know where she is or if she’s even alive.”

His eyes burned into hers while the fragrance of lilies assaulted his senses. “This is her scent. She used to call it her signature fragrance.”

“Do you know how many women in this city wear perfume like this? You’re grasping at straws. Besides, why would she be here and not contact you? You know she would want to see Hope.”

At the mention of his daughter, he pounded the elevator door with his fist. “Every day I think of the fight we had when she walked out.” He clenched his jaw. “No one leaves me. They were only supposed to scare her.”

“What are you saying?” Francesca’s finely manicured hand gripped his forearm.

“I sent them after her. I wanted to prove a point. She is not in charge, I am.”

“What have you done? Dante, please tell me you didn’t kill her.”

“Katrina is very much alive. I have done nothing but to show her she cannot run from me. I am her husband. She should be loyal. We are a family.”

“She was always loyal to you. I don’t like this side of you any more than Kate did. She doesn’t want to be your wife anymore, can you blame her? How can you look at Hope every day knowing you took her mother away?”

Dante balled his fists at his side. He knew his sister spoke the truth, but just like Kate, Francesca didn’t understand the life he was trying to provide his family. Once Kate was back where she belonged, and he was as powerful as Carlo, they would see and they would be grateful to him for all of his efforts.

“Joey and Paulie told me she met some man at that bar.” He didn’t know why he said it, but he felt his sister should know the woman he’d married was not as innocent as they all thought. He clenched his jaw as he ground out, “If she planned that little rendezvous, then she got what she deserved after all.”

“Don’t talk like that. I pray they will find her.”

His hands relaxed as he thought of the finer days of his marriage and how much he truly did love Katrina. He’d play hardball if he had to in order to ensure everything went as planned without any more hiccups. “So do I, Chessie, so do I. My men are on it now, and they are getting close. The longer she stays away, the harder is it to keep this from Carlo. I need to find her before Carlo does. He will not be so forgiving. That is why I felt so strongly that perfume was Katrina’s.”

“Maybe you need some time alone back home until this is settled. Mama would enjoy having you and Hope all to herself.”

Dante exhaled, pushing his anger into the depths of his soul. Returning Katrina to their penthouse was top priority, but the stress of everything had been taking its toll. Lifting his chin up, he smoothed his mustache with his thumb and index finger down along the outer corners of his beard. “Perhaps you are right. Some time in
Milan
might do us all good.”

“
B
ene
. Let us hurry and tell Hope the good news. Then we can call Mama.”

He knew his mother would be pleased they were coming. They hadn’t been home since before the separation. This trip might look good in the eyes of the court, and Carlo would certainly approve, especially if he said Katrina was meeting them there to work on some new items. In truth, the trip would be different without his wife, but Dante knew he could make all the proper appearances and smooth any rough waters within the family. Soon they would be that family again, and everything would be as it should. No lies and no misunderstandings. She would see things his way, and they would all move forward.

Dante and Francesca passed through the lobby and out the door to their awaiting limousine. He needed to get a report from his men before firming up any travel plans. All the better if Katrina could join them on a little holiday. Pulling the phone from his pocket, he prepared to set the wheels in motion.

**
*

Kate rushed from the elevator, triumphantly holding up her purse. Jill pointed toward the doorway, and she nodded in acknowledgement.

“This place is hopping.” Jill said when Kate reached her side. “There’s some convention this week. Every room that becomes available gets sucked up by someone stupid enough not to make reservations.”

Kate giggled. “Jill, we were one of those stupid people.”

“Real funny. Now let’s get going.”

Kate noticed the large white limousine parked a couple cars ahead of Jill’s. Her jaw dropped when she laid eyes on her dark man. He looked like he was helping someone into the vehicle. His back was turned slightly toward her, yet she could see the faint smile on his face. Her own face lost its smile when he got inside and the driver closed the door.

She had to react. She couldn’t let him get away again. Running to the back of the car, she pushed the bellhop out of the way, threw their bags inside and slammed the trunk closed. Jill looked about ready to protest so Kate shoved a wad of bills in the poor boy’s hand and ran for the driver seat.

“Get in. I’m not going to lose him this time.” Kate started the engine, leaving Jill no time for questions. Jill flew into the seat and had just buckled up when the car squealed from the curb.

“Take it easy with my car. What’s gotten into you?”

Kate quickly checked the mirror then weaved her way through traffic. “He’s in that limo, Jill, and I’m not going to lose him.”

“Oh no, not again. C’mon, I thought you were giving this whole thing up?” Jill grabbed the dash as the car shifted lanes. “Slow down, will you!”

“I can’t. I thought long and hard when I went to get my purse. Something very real went on between this guy and me. I thought I’d lost all opportunity to find out. Then I saw him get into that limo.” She zigzagged again, sending Jill slamming into the door. “I’ve got to try.”

“Can you try a little slower? If they look back and see us so obviously following them, they’re going to call the police and then we’ll be arrested. If you don’t kill us first.”

“Don’t worry.” Kate steered the car into another lane, and the limo did the same. She was gaining no ground. On the other side of the tunnel, a piggyback tractor-trailer merged beside her. She had no choice but to back off and let him in. By the time her view was clear, the limo was nowhere to be seen.

“Damn.” She pounded the wheel with her hand. “Look around, Jill. Do you see them?”

“Kate.”

“Look, will you?”

“No, I don’t see them.”

“C’mon, it’s a humongous limo. It can’t just disappear.”

“Well, it looks like it did. Maybe this wasn’t meant to be. Maybe you had the wrong guy after all. Maybe it’s time to move forward.”

“No, I don’t think I can. He’s real. I know that was him, Jill, I know it.”

This wasn’t like her to be so determined when all her life she’d been so accepting to change and just forced herself to adapt. Now, the one time she decided to take a chance, be assertive, and her actions got her nowhere. Kate felt totally defeated.

Jill’s right. This wasn’t meant to be.

She didn’t really believe it, but somehow she was going to have to keep reminding herself until she did. “Fine. You win, Jill. Let’s go home.”

**
*

Sam paced until he saw the little red car coming down the drive. What could have happened last night? Why was Jill so peeved? Well, he was about to find out.

“Hiii!” Jill called in a high-pitched voice until she was close enough to squeeze him in a bear hug.

“How was shopping?” He hugged her back but she wouldn’t let him step away.

“We’ve got some talking to do jerk-off. You are not going to believe what I’ve gone through,” she hissed into his ear and then changed her tone for Kate’s benefit. “Oh, it was fan-tastic. Did you miss me, baby?” She pinched his cheek a little too hard.

“Always, Jilly,” he said between clenched teeth while rubbing the pain away. As he brushed past, he said only to her ears, “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Damn right we will.” She followed him back to the car to help unload.

“Where’s my favorite girl?” Sam opened the door to help her out. He’d missed her, and done nothing but think about kissing her. The moment she was out of the car she flew into his arms.

“Home where I belong.”

He peeked over Kate’s shoulder, and Jill’s glare nailed him in the face.

“I’d love to stay and chat, but Rusty’s waitin’ on me. We’ve got to do this again, Kate.” She gave Kate a hug and kiss. “Talk to you later, pin-head,” she announced to Sam as she slid behind the wheel.

Sam saluted her in reply. “Tell me what you did,” he encouraged as he and Kate walked through the door after waving their good-byes.

“Gee, there’s so much. I don’t know where to begin.”

“Start anywhere.” He stoked the fire he’d started earlier to ward off the spring chill. It had rained the night before, bringing in a cool front which seemed to hover over the lake. He’d had to bring in a stack of wood from the shed to warm the house. Kate seemed uneasy about something, and he wondered if it was related to Jill’s issue. “Hey, how ‘bout one of those Irish Coffees you like so much? I bought more whiskey.”

“Sure. That sounds great. Make it a double.” He noticed her rubbing her temples and decided to try to lighten the air a bit. A little humor might quell both their anxieties.

“A double, huh? In need of a little ‘hair of the dog’?”

“Ha, ha, very funny. My hangover is actually gone if you must know. I want something to warm me up. The clouds seemed to get darker the closer we were to home and the heater in Jill’s car wasn’t working very well.” Sam noticed the faraway look in her eyes as he left the room to grab their coffees.

“Shopping with Jill must have taken a lot out of you,” he called from the kitchen. “You don’t seem like a woman who had a great time spending money.” Within seconds he appeared, and Kate perked up as if catching herself.

“I had a fabulous time!” She met him by the oak liquor cabinet. “You know Jill. We had way too much to drink with dinner, that’s all.” She took the steaming mug Sam offered.

“Oh really? I never would have guessed.” He chuckled over her confused expression. “You don’t remember calling me, do you?”

“Vaguely. Why? Did I say something stupid?”

“No. You passed out before I answered the phone. I talked to Jill instead.” Sam watched for any signs that something went wrong during their trip as she blew across the mug to cool it.

“W-what did she say?”

He felt his insides tighten. “She told me you were passed out. Too much wine, I think is what she said. Oh yeah, you tripped over some waiter and that you missed me so much you wanted to hear my voice.” He grinned proudly.

“That’s it?”

“Is there more?” He hoped by asking he’d find out from Kate why Jill was in such an uproar. Jill wanted his head on a platter, and he’d be damned if he’d go in front of her firing squad unarmed. Any detail from Kate would be most helpful at this stage of the game. Unfortunately, Kate had nothing to offer. She shrugged, sipping more coffee and tucking her legs beneath her as she sat on the buffalo checked sofa.

“No. We got a little silly at the table. No big deal.”

He still didn’t buy it.

“Sam, I’ve got to tell you something.”

The color had drained from her face, in spite of the spiked coffee. This couldn’t be good. He should’ve left well enough alone. “Spill it.”

“There was this guy.”

The mere mention of a ‘guy,’ made Sam catch his breath. He never should have let Jill convince him the trip was a good idea. His thoughtful silence had her scrambling to continue.

“Nothing happened, really. I got a little crazy from all the wine. Oh, Sam, I thought he was the dark man I’ve been having visions of. I wanted to talk to him. I needed to talk to him.”

Sam felt the beads of perspiration on his forehead.

“I tried several times, but he always got away.”

Inwardly Sam breathed a sigh of relief. He needed to make sure she didn’t see how jumpy he was. The guilt was making him crazy. He’d fielded a few more anonymous calls in her absence. Not to mention the fact that it wouldn’t take those thugs long to find them. She’d escaped a close call, and he hadn’t been there to protect her. He couldn’t even focus on what she was saying as visions of his happy world with Kate were about to tumble down. No, it wouldn’t be long at all.