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‘So she’s a man hunter? Is that it?’
‘More of a husband hunter, to be honest. And with me that was never going to happen. It became a bit of an issue between us.’
She gave a derisory little sniff and he cocked a curious brow. Her eyes, turned up to him, were full of clarity, deserving truth.
‘Is that something you’d struggle with?’ It was as well to know. It had been a deal-breaker before. More than once.
‘It’s not something I’ve ever given much thought to.’
He felt his phone vibrate.
‘Is that you stating your position, Rocco?’
She’d framed the question carefully, but it would have to wait. He whipped his phone out, saw the screen ablaze with messages and one missed call. Dante.
Dammit.
‘What’s wrong? Is everything okay?’
‘Nothing. Just a call I need to return. Give me a moment.’
He stepped away from her on the terrace, which was glazed with more firefly golden lights. Tried to press Redial. The call wouldn’t connect. He pressed again. And again.
He strode along the terrace, checking the phone for a signal. Chatter from the house and music from the marquee clouded the air. Still no connection.
He paced away from the clubhouse, took a flight of stone steps down towards the tennis courts. Nothing.
There was a couple necking in the shadows—he took a path to their left. A gravel walkway narrowed by high hedges studded with flowers, their petals closed in sleep. The trail of party voices was now dimmed, the lights less frequent. Only occasional glimpses of moonlight and his frustratingly inept phone gifted him any real visibility.
He tried one more time.
The phone lit up as a message came through.
Dead end. Sorry. Be with you shortly.
A peal of laughter sounded above the strains of dance music. A breath of wind rose and fell. Around him leafy bushes puffed out like lungs, then sank back. He stood staring at the message.
It couldn’t be. He had been so sure. So sure. Had felt it so strongly.
He had thrown everything at this. Years of patience. Every favour called in. How much longer was it going to take? How could thugs like Martinez hide their tracks so well? He’d known even as a child that the Martinez brothers were in deep with Mexican drug lords. Why hadn’t the police ever caught up with them? Surely not every cop was bent? But they’d evaded everyone, and every effort he had put in had hit a dead end.
But they were out there somewhere. And they were not invincible. He was not frightened of them. Not anymore.
He would find him—Chris—the one who had fired the shot.
His day would come.
He stood. Drew in a deep, deep breath. Squared his shoulders. Slipped the phone away again. Looked back at the clubhouse, the party.
Frankie. For a fleeting moment a knot loosened inside him. Like a drop of black molasses slipping from a spoon. Peace. Another strange, unbidden thought.
He banished it. He was getting sentimental—that was all. He needed to get his head clear, keep his focus.
He started back up the path. Dante couldn’t be too much longer. He listened for a helicopter, but the wind was rising and the party was beginning to throb as parties did.
He got to the terrace, caught sight of the spill of people all staring inside, through the French doors. Strode inside.
He might have known.
There she was. Carmel and her circus. And pinned in the middle, like a church candle in a blaze of fireworks, was Frankie.
Carmel was working her red dress as only she could. Fabulous breasts up and out, tiny waist twisted, hair tumbling like a waterfall of silk. She would have dwarfed Frankie anyway, but right now she looked just as she had in the bathroom mirror—a pale ghost of who she really was.
She made his heart melt.
‘I’m sorry to take so long.’ He reached out for her.
‘Rocco—darling.’
At the sound of his voice Carmel swirled, pouted her glossy best, offered him her cheek. He had no time for her games. But she was quick.
‘I was looking after your date. You left her all alone, baby! Were you looking for me?’ she added, stage-whisper loud.
Over Carmel’s shoulder he caught a glimpse of Frankie’s inky eyes trained straight at him.
‘Did you get your call made?’
He nodded.
Carmel manoeuvred her way between them. She turned her back on Frankie, rubbed her breasts against him.
‘Rocco, baby … Have you missed me?’
She pouted and preened.
A camera flash went off.
She never missed a moment.
He opened his mouth to put her in her place, but Frankie suddenly rounded those sequined hips and stood at his other side, shoulders back and determined little chin tilted.
‘Miss you? How could anyone miss you?’
Cool, understated, but strong. Rocco’s eyes drank her in.
Carmel did an uncharacteristic double-take. ‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Subtlety, honey. Try looking it up.’
Rocco smiled and raised an eyebrow at Carmel. He’d never seen anyone take her on before—never mind trump her.
Frankie slid her arm around his waist, swivelled back to Carmel. ‘And, for the record, my date has all he needs right here.’
Carmel put her hands on her abundant hips and stuck her head forward, looking for all the world like a turkey in a burlesque show. She started gabbling in Spanish, clearly thinking Frankie wouldn’t understand, and she was totally unprepared for the volley that was fired right back at her. Even he was surprised at the colour of the words Frankie was using.
‘Come. Enough,’ he said, putting his arm around her and dragging her outside as she continued to sling one shocking insult after another.
Her feet shuffled to keep up as he quickened his pace, and then he spun her right round, framing them in the French windows.
‘Stop, now. Enough! Where did you even learn those words?’
He held her possessively, and when she still poured forward mouthfuls of cheek he had no other option. He gripped her jaw and angled her mouth just where he wanted it. Heard the swell of gasps and gossip, saw the flashes of cameras as he lowered his head and kissed her quiet.
She gripped onto his arms, wavered on her tiptoes, until he felt the anger and fight ooze out of her. Fury died in her mouth to be replaced by the soothing heat that only they could build.
He pulled back and smiled at her. ‘Finished?’
As her eyes fluttered open there was a lull in the music and he heard the noise of a helicopter’s rotors in the distance. He looked up. Dante? He trained his eyes on the lights from its belly as it loomed closer.
What had he found out? Surely they were closer? Surely someone knew something about Martinez? He desperately wanted to know the details—still couldn’t believe it was completely a dead end—but that would have to wait until they were alone. Right now he owed it to Frankie to soothe her tension and get her well away from Carmel and the rest of this circus.
He led her down through air thick with pulsing music and events that were yet to happen.
‘Is there anyone you won’t take on, hermosa?’
He smiled softly at her. She was still tense and tight-lipped, rigid shoulders still not relaxed under his arm.
She shrugged. ‘She deserved it.’
He couldn’t disagree with that.
‘I mean—is it a party in her honour? Because that’s how she was acting!’
He ran his hand up to her neck, rubbed softly, his fingers bumping against the heavy earrings that even in the gloom caught scattering light.
Suddenly she swung round. ‘Are you mad at me?’
He frowned. ‘Why would I be mad?’
She swung away. ‘I don’t know—for running my mouth off? But I can’t take those kind of women. Acting as if they’ve got a mandate on life just because they’re every man’s fantasy.’
‘You believe that? Even if I tell you that some of those curves feel like leather balloons and they’re no more real than the those fake emeralds you’ve got hanging from your ears.’
She fired her hands up to touch them and framed her own face in shock. ‘Are you serious? I thought these were legit! I’ve been terrified all night that I’d lose one.’
He laughed out loud. Put his hands on her shoulders, pulled her in and hugged her.
‘I love that about you,’ he said. ‘Of course they’re real. Totally genuine. Just like you.’
She mock punched his chest and he held her close. There was so much about her that he loved. Even apart from the way she felt in his arms and in his bed. He loved her total lack of artifice—seeing her next to Carmel had been such a startling contrast, suddenly making him see her own Achilles’ heel, making him feel so protective of her.
Maybe there was more than sex between them.
Maybe they should talk it through—cards on the table.
Or maybe that would just get her thinking in ways that wouldn’t be all that helpful. And he had so much of his own thinking to do now.
He lifted his head to the helicopter that was now thundering closer, recognised it as Dante’s. Its lights lit up the lawn, the tennis courts and finally the helipad itself.
‘Here comes Dante.’
They stood on the terrace, watched as he jumped out under the copter’s whirring blades in a black tux, white shirt and black tie, blond hair slicked back. His moviestar looks were striking. He jogged up, hand raised in greeting, but as he climbed the steps and got closer Rocco saw the usual million-dollar smile was slightly subdued.
Dante glanced to Frankie in acknowledgement and in question.
Rocco shook his head—a warning to say nothing.
Dante nodded. ‘Hey! How’s the party?’ He was an expert, slipping right into charm mode. ‘May I say how beautiful you look?’
He took Frankie’s hands, scanned her, kissed her cheek. Rocco tried not to care.
‘Well said. There’s a whole crowd of women in there, waiting for you to say that to them. Starting with Carmel. We’ve got more important things to do.’
Dante looked mildly amused.
‘Of course you have. Life just keeps getting in the way, doesn’t it?’
‘Take it easy in there, handsome.’
‘I’ll call you. Later.’
They grabbed hands, slapped backs. Then Rocco watched him go. Straight back, easy stride, head high, holding knowledge he burned to know.
Three girls—tiny dresses, long legs—threw up their arms and ran to him. Dante slid them all under his shoulder, not missing a step. Rocco slid his own arms around Frankie, pulled her flush against him. Stood there. Just held her.
Once more the lure of music and dancing and hardcore partying held no interest. He couldn’t wait to get himself and his toxic thoughts away—to lose himself in this woman. To mindlessly make love to her until he didn’t feel any pain, until he had cleared a path to what he had to do next.
‘You want to stay much longer?’
He nodded to the valets and cars crawling slowly by, dropping, parking, leaving.
‘I think Dante’s got it covered.’
He nodded, tucked her in close again, slid his hand up through the soft skein of her hair.
One thing and one thing only was clear to him now. He was going to tell her that she’d better arrange a leave of absence for a while, because he needed her here. He wanted her in his bed and in his life. He wanted to wake up beside her and come home to her for longer than just this weekend.
And, just like Martinez being held to account, it was non-negotiable.
