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Kidnapped For Her Secret Son
Andie Brock
Kidnapped for her protection…Seduced for pleasure!Billionaire Jaco Valentino is furious when Leah McDonald leaves him without explanation. Yet when he discovers Leah’s given birth to his heir, he’s determined to shield them from his adoptive family’s criminal intentions! Jaco kidnaps Leah and his son, whisking them away to his remote Sicilian island for their own safety. Except the sinful flame still burning between him and Leah feels infinitely more dangerous…
Kidnapped for her protection...
Seduced for pleasure!
Billionaire Jaco Valentino is furious when Leah McDonald leaves him without explanation. Yet when he discovers Leah’s given birth to his heir, he’s determined to shield them from his adoptive family’s wicked intentions! Jaco kidnaps Leah and his son, whisking them away to his remote Sicilian island for their own safety. Except the sinful flame still burning between him and Leah feels infinitely more dangerous...
Escape with this breathtaking second-chance romance!
ANDIE BROCK started inventing imaginary friends around the age of four, and is still doing it today—only now the sparkly fairies have made way for spirited heroines and sexy heroes. Thankfully she now has some real friends, as well as a husband and three children—plus a grumpy but lovable cat. Andie lives in Bristol, and when not actually writing might well be plotting her next passionate romance story.
Also by Andie Brock (#u1f47df42-e3b1-5446-a4df-78875e402b17)
The Last Heir of Monterrato
The Sheikh’s Wedding Contract
The Shock Cassano Baby
Bound by His Desert Diamond
The Greek’s Pleasurable Revenge
Vieri’s Convenient Vows
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
Kidnapped for Her Secret Son
Andie Brock
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-07263-2
KIDNAPPED FOR HER SECRET SON
В© 2018 Andrea Brock
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
For Jo
Contents
Cover (#ueee73ed6-3d57-5777-8c82-8b4624ab5546)
Back Cover Text (#u14dc4725-a930-5a38-be3e-436b8b0b170d)
About the Author (#u6171c4eb-9ce7-5799-a0e3-0a9178ce0c8f)
Booklist (#u359737d3-a26d-5bf7-a796-67965dcfb77d)
Title Page (#u33e27ab2-dd54-5e44-a174-043d80601f66)
Copyright (#u1ef5ad84-85c2-5b5a-ad3b-4a665d86696b)
Dedication (#u27ecf7c1-0bbd-5a0c-9c68-bc238c51cb47)
PROLOGUE (#u74944f1b-3a44-599d-9c4e-f38bf819ad84)
CHAPTER ONE (#udc69afc2-496a-530e-9c1a-a2e5d75a0d5d)
CHAPTER TWO (#ubea75593-2768-52dd-884a-7d266c40d1ce)
CHAPTER THREE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
PROLOGUE (#u1f47df42-e3b1-5446-a4df-78875e402b17)
�BUONASERA!’
He was beside her in a couple of long strides. All towering height and dark, sexy masculinity, he was wearing expensively cut suit trousers and a white shirt tugged open at the throat. His black leather shoes were already sprinkled with a coating of dry Sicilian dust. Immediately his hands went to cup her face and he lowered his head to capture her mouth with a kiss full of possession and promise.
Leah leant in to him, her eyelids closing as she breathed in his familiar cologne mingled with his heat and scent after several hours’ travelling. She had been longing for this moment for weeks. But now...
�Mmm, that’s better.’ Pulling away, Jaco let his arms drop and, finding her hands by her sides, linked his fingers through hers. �You look...bellissima.’ His intensely dark brown eyes raked hungrily over her body.
�Thank you.’
�I’ve missed you.’
�I’ve missed you too.’ Leah focussed on keeping her voice steady. �It’s been a long time, Jaco.’
�Yes, too long.’ Running his hands over her cheeks, he kissed her softly on the lips again. �But now I am here I intend to make it up to you.’
He pulled her closer to him, the evidence of how he intended to do that already making itself felt.
Leah gently pushed him away. �So how long are you here for?’ She tilted her head to meet his.
�I should be able to manage a couple of days.’ Jaco held her gaze, stroking a seductive finger along her jawline as if reacquainting himself with her face.
�Two days?’ Leah rearranged her features to hide her disappointment.
вЂ?SГ.’ He smiled at her—the sort of smile that could break a thousand hearts the world over. вЂ?So we’ll have to make the most of the time while we have it.’
�Yes.’ She bit down on her lip. �I suppose we will.’
�Right, I’m going to grab a shower, and maybe something quick to eat, and then I am very much hoping we can pick up where we left off.’ The wicked gleam in his eyes left no room for doubt as to where that would be.
Where they’d left off. Leah’s stomach swooped at the memory of the last night they had spent together. The wonderful intimacy they had shared before Jaco had disappeared from her life yet again.
Jaco Valentino: tall, dark, ridiculously handsome, flirty, funny and sexy...knee-shakingly sexy... He was impossible to ignore or resist. Introduced to her by her twin sister, Harper, at Harper’s wedding to Vieri, it had been lust at first sight for Leah. A sledgehammer kind of attraction—the sort you never really recovered from.
So when Jaco had invited her to visit his vineyard the next day she had accepted right away, any ideas about being more cautious, more circumspect, somehow blown to the wind. He had described the Capezzana estate as his �Sicilian roots’, and his obvious pride in the place had made her fall in love with it before she had even seen it. She’d known she might fall for its owner too, if she wasn’t very careful.
And Capezzana had proved to be every bit as enchanting as Jaco had said. With its rows upon rows of neat vines against a stunning backdrop of dark mountains, not to mention an imposing eighteenth-century palazzo, it was picture-perfect. The few days they had stayed there had been wonderful—special—as they had begun to get to know one another, sharing stories, chatting, laughing, sampling the delicious Capezzana wine—probably too much of it in Leah’s case.
Although her light-headedness had been more likely down to the company than the alcohol. Jaco Valentino was like no man she had ever met before. Somehow he made her feel as if the ground beneath her feet was no longer quite solid, as if the sky was more intensely blue, the air suddenly in short supply. It was a dangerously exhilarating feeling, but Leah had sternly told herself to stamp it down, not to let herself get carried away.
Because Leah had learnt never to trust a man. Starting with her father, who had turned to drink when she’d needed him most, it seemed to Leah that the opposite sex had done nothing but let her down her whole life.
Okay, maybe she was partly to blame. She was impulsive by nature, and a series of bad judgements had landed her in trouble more times than she cared to remember. Act first and think later. The phrase might have been invented for her. And it seemed there were plenty of men only too happy to take advantage of that.
From the job interview in Morocco, when she had ended up slapping the guy’s sleazy face after she’d found out what was really involved, to stupidly losing all her money to a gambling addict in Atlantic City, she had managed to mess up all over the world.
But only once had she lost her heart, and that had been in her home town of Glenruie, in the wilds of Scotland. At the age of eighteen, finally fit and healthy after the years of kidney problems that had plagued her young life, she had fallen head over heels for a handsome young redhead called Sam, the son of the local Laird. The same Laird who owned the Craigmore estate, which employed her entire family. Leah and Harper had both worked at the lodge, and their father, Angus, was the head gamekeeper.
The whole thing had ended in misery. Several months into their relationship Leah had discovered that Sam was engaged to someone else—a titled lady, no less. And not only that, as employees at the lodge Leah and Harper had had to wait on the happy couple at their wedding.
When a bowl of cock-a-leekie soup had mysteriously ended up in the groom’s lap, Leah had been hauled before the Laird and told in no uncertain terms that if she and her sister wanted to keep their jobs—and more importantly if they wanted their father to keep his, a job he was only hanging on to by a thread anyway, because of his drinking—Leah had better change her ways.
And so she had. Simmering with the injustice of it all, while trying to hide her poor broken heart, she had vowed she was never going to be stupid enough to fall in love again.
Which was why, even though the sexual chemistry between her and Jaco had been off the scale from the start, she had done her very best to keep herself grounded, not to give in to her feelings. Concentrating instead on trying to work out exactly who this darkly handsome stranger was. To figure him out rather than let the explosion of desire knock her off her feet.
And it had seemed that Jaco felt the same way. Flirtatious and tactile from the start, he had never tried to hide his attraction to her, but at the same time he had tantalisingly held back from attempting to take it any further. Treating their relationship like an unexploded bomb, he had handled it so carefully that Leah hadn’t known whether to swoon or scream.
So when the time had come for them to leave—Jaco to fly back to New York, and Leah reluctantly to return to her family home—she had told herself that that was that. With no mention of their meeting up again, she had swallowed her disappointment and pasted on a brilliant smile, only letting it slip very slightly when Jaco had enfolded her in his strong, warm embrace to give her a tight hug.
Lord, he’d felt so good. Pulling back, he had looked into her eyes for a long, mesmerising moment, before turning to stride away, taking a regretful little piece of Leah’s heart with him.
However, twelve months later they had met again. On discovering they were both to be godparents to Harper and Vieri’s baby son, Leah hadn’t been able to stop the rush of excitement. And when, a week before the christening, she’d received Jaco’s text message, saying how much he was looking forward to seeing her again, her whole body had started to sing and dance in anticipation.
But she’d known she had to be sensible. That text had been the only contact she’d had with him in a whole year. She had no idea what he’d been up to, who he had been seeing. He might well have a girlfriend by now—a whole string of girlfriends for all she knew. He looked as if he could handle it.
Trying to grill Harper for information about him had proved frustratingly unproductive. Even though he was Vieri’s oldest friend, it seemed Jaco Valentino played his cards very close to his chest. Slowly it had begun to dawn on Leah that she actually knew very little about this man who had had such a powerful effect on her—that while he was so good at eliciting information from her, he’d given virtually nothing away about himself.
The more she’d thought about it, the more she had started to wonder who the real Jaco Valentino actually was. Just who lay behind that darkly handsome exterior.
But the moment she had laid eyes on him again those doubts had been knocked aside like skittles—washed away by the tidal wave of attraction that had all but taken her legs from under her.
So after the christening ceremony, when Jaco had pulled her to one side, saying that he had a proposition to put to her, Leah’s senses had gone into free fall.
Taking her by the hand, he had led her into one of the many echoing rooms of Castello Trevente, the grand property that was now her sister’s family home. But his proposition had taken her by surprise. Instead of pulling her into his arms and making mad passionate love to her right there and then, up against the hard stone walls of the castello—something that Leah had been fantasising about ever since she had met him—Jaco had calmly offered her a job at his vineyard. He needed a marketing manager with immediate effect. He thought she would be perfect.
Quickly hiding her surprise, Leah had jumped at the chance. All her good intentions, her vague misgivings, had been instantly forgotten. A job in Sicily was a dream come true after the tedious boredom of Glenruie, the small town where she had been born and bred and had spent most of her adult life trying to escape. Capezzana was warm and exotic and beautiful. And so was the man who owned it. The thought of working alongside Jaco, spending more time with him, had only made his offer all the more enticing.
So Leah had moved to Capezzana straight away, with Jaco joining her for the first few days to help her settle in. Showing her around the grand palazzo, he had casually told her to treat it as her home, to choose whichever rooms she wanted for her offices and accommodation—as many as she liked.
Because it was the vineyard that was Jaco’s real passion—that was evident in the way his eyes lit up when he discussed the type of grapes they grew, last year’s harvest, the quality of the wine they produced.
Leah had been left in no doubt about what Capezzana meant to him. And, in turn, how much faith he was putting in her by giving her this job. She had determined there and then that she wasn’t going to let him down. She would work hard, learn fast and prove to Jaco, and to herself, that she wasn’t the flighty airhead that some of her stupid decisions of the past would suggest. Show him that his faith in her had not been misplaced.
On his last night there they had been sharing a simple supper outside, watching the sun setting over the vines, when finally it had happened. Finally the storm of desire that had been steadily building between them for so long had broken.
Starting with a bruising kiss, they had been tearing at each other’s clothes within seconds, stumbling backwards into the palazzo in their haste to find a bedroom, breathlessly surrendering to their craving hunger with wild, reckless abandon.
And so it had started—their stop-start relationship. Blisteringly hot nights of passion interspersed with long periods apart when Jaco was jet-setting around the world.
A billionaire tycoon with the Midas touch, his packed portfolio meant that the demands on his time were enormous. Leah had learnt to accept that that was just the way it was. And, despite the passionate nature of their relationship, they had both kept it light, had concentrated on living for the moment, having fun.
For Leah’s part, it was all about self-preservation—trying to hold herself back, refusing to let herself fall for this enigmatic man. And Jaco... Who knew what lay beneath that darkly compelling charm? Sometimes Leah wondered if he was just too preoccupied, too mercurial, too damned busy with his own big-shot career ever to belong to anyone.
Yet as she looked at him now—the living, breathing embodiment of him, instead of just a heated memory in her mind—and he gazed at her with those midnight eyes, he managed to make her feel as if she was the most gorgeous, most treasured creature ever to set foot on this earth. As if she was all he could ever want.
The fragile hope that she had so carefully repressed bloomed into life. Maybe, in view of what she had to tell him tonight, their relationship could become a much more permanent arrangement. Maybe they could be a proper couple...a family.
There was one sure way to find out...
�Actually, Jaco...’ Leah took in a deep breath. �There is something I need to talk to you about.’
�S�’
But already Jaco was distracted, dropping his bag to retrieve the phone that was buzzing in his trouser pocket. Leah watched as, his head bent, thick dark curls gleaming, his thumbs flew over the keypad. That bloody phone. It was like an instrument of torture. She would wait weeks to see Jaco, only to find herself competing with the wretched thing. And if not that, some other form of electronic communication.
He looked up. �Sorry, what were you saying?’
The phone buzzed again and, pulling an apologetic face, Jaco started to tap out another reply.
�Scusa.’ He was still concentrating on the screen. �I have to reply to this.’
Of course you do.
�I’ll tell you what...’ Leah sighed with exasperation. �Why don’t I fix us some food while you finish what you have to do?’
�Buona idea.’ He picked up his bag again and slung it over his shoulder. �I’ll have a really quick shower.’ That wickedly slow smile put in another appearance. �Unless you want to join me, of course? In which case it could take a bit longer.’
The phone in his hand buzzed again. Leah scowled.
�Ten minutes.’ He dropped a kiss on her lips before turning away, putting the phone to his ear. �Then I’m all yours.’
Leah stared after him, at his arrogant height, the broad set of his shoulders, the play of muscles beneath the handmade shirt. And somewhere inside her she felt her heart twist. Because deep down she wondered whether that could ever be true.
The ten minutes stretched into fifteen...twenty. Sitting out on the terrace, watching the golden sun lengthening the shadows of the vines as it started to sink below the horizon, Leah pushed aside her bowl of untouched pasta. Picking up a piece of bread, she absent-mindedly threw a few crumbs to the sparrows pecking around her feet.
This was typical of Jaco—always so busy, always clinching one deal or chasing after another. Always keeping her waiting. Even though her job kept her occupied, and even though she loved it, it still felt to Leah as if her time at Capezzana was time spent in limbo—just waiting for Jaco to reappear.
But tonight he was here. And, even though he didn’t know it yet, she was about to get his full attention. Telling him he was going to be a father was huge—momentous. She had no idea how he was going to take it. She hadn’t begun to get her own head around the idea—yet.
With a heavy sigh, Leah pushed back her chair and went inside, where the only sound was coming from the overhead fan circulating the warm air. Was Jaco still in the bedroom?
Her bare feet made no sound as she crossed the old tiled floors towards the rooms she had occupied since moving in here. With their French doors, opening out onto a small terrace, she had picked them over the many other empty bedrooms upstairs, liking its cosy feeling of a small apartment inside this rambling palazzo. Liking, too, the way Jaco always automatically headed there when he visited—as if her space was his.
Despite herself, her mind began conjuring up images of him still naked from the shower, of his smile when he saw her, of the way he would take her in his arms and make love to her, all thought of food forgotten. All thought of what she had to say to him forgotten—at least for a short while. She knew she had absolutely no willpower as far as Jaco was concerned.
With her hand on the doorknob of the bedroom, she hesitated. She could hear Jaco speaking. Yet another business deal, no doubt.
Silently turning the handle, she had only opened the door a fraction when some sixth sense kicked in, telling her that, no, this was not a business conversation. Through the crack in the door she could see him, sitting on the bed, his back to her, a laptop balanced on his knee. He was taking a video call, and the woman on the screen was dark-haired, dark-eyed...beautiful.
A cold finger of dread traced Leah’s spine. Speaking in Sicilian, their voices were soft, Jaco’s little more than a whisper, but there was no mistaking the tone—tender, caring, the sort of tone that lovers shared.
Leah forced herself to try and understand what they were saying over the deafening thud of her heart. Her command of the language was pretty basic, but Jaco seemed to be telling her not to worry, that everything would be all right.
�Lo prometto, Francesca.’
I promise.
But it was their final words that left no room for doubt. Paralysed with dread, Leah watched as the woman touched two fingers to her lips and blew Jaco a kiss, smiling tenderly as she told him she loved him. And Jaco’s reply shattered Leah’s world into a thousand pieces there and then.
�Ti amo anch’io...’
I love you too.
She turned away, blinded by tears, numbed by the shock that was slowing her heart, closing her throat.
How could she have been so stupid? How could she ever have thought that she and Jaco might actually have a future? How could she have been taken for a fool by a man again—only this time a thousand times worse, a thousand times more painful?
Retracing her steps, she fled back out onto the terrace, descending the steps that led down into the private garden, running through the archway in the yew hedge and out into the vineyard itself. Racing through the rows of vines, she just kept going, running and running, the heavy bunches of grapes swinging as she rushed past, her breath burning in her chest. She had no thought for where she was going. No thought for anything other than that she had to get away.
CHAPTER ONE (#u1f47df42-e3b1-5446-a4df-78875e402b17)
One year later
�NO!’ JACO STARED at his friend in disbelief.
�It’s true, Jaco.’ Vieri’s voice was deadly calm. �I wouldn’t be telling you this if it was just gossip. In fact, I’m not supposed to be telling you at all. But I thought you had a right to know. You have a child—a son.’
�No!’ Jaco repeated, banging his fist down on the bar top, his eyes wild.
Vieri picked up his drink, silently regarding Jaco over the rim, waiting for the shock of the revelation to sink in.
�And what makes you think it’s mine?’ Dragging in a desperate breath, Jaco rounded on Vieri.
�Leah has told Harper that the boy is yours. I see no reason why she would lie. Especially as, far from hounding you for maintenance, it seems she doesn’t want anything to do with you.’
�So how old is he, this child?’ Covering his face with his hands, Jaco pulled them away again to reveal his horror.
�Three months, apparently.’
�Three months?’ He gave a low growl.
�Yes. Does that seem...?’ Vieri hesitated, choosing his words carefully. �About right?’
�About right?’ Jaco threw the words back at him, fury tainting his voice. �Trust me, Vieri, nothing about this seems right.’ He jerked himself to his feet, sending the bar stool rocking.
�Calm down, Jaco.’ Vieri placed a steadying hand on his shoulders. �I know this has been a shock, but it doesn’t have to be so bad.’
�Doesn’t it?’ Jaco glared at him, eyes wild. �And you’d know, would you?’
�I have a son, and I know he’s the best thing that ever happened to me. That and Harper, of course.’
�Well, good for you and your happy little family.’
�Jaco!’
�Trust me, Vieri, you have no idea how bad this could be.’
Nobody did. Nobody knew anything—not even Vieri, his oldest friend. It was far too dangerous. Now this discovery could blow the whole thing sky-high.
Vieri shrugged. �Okay, have it your own way. But don’t shoot the messenger.’
�I’m sorry.’ Begrudgingly, Jaco nodded an apology. �So where are they? Leah and this son of mine?’
�That I don’t know.’
�Don’t give me that.’ Jaco’s anger quickly resurfaced. �You are lying.’
Getting to his feet, Vieri squared up to his friend. �I don’t appreciate being called a liar.’ His voice was deceptively soft. �Especially when I’m trying to help you.’
�Help me?’
�Yes. I didn’t have to tell you any of this. I’ve had to go behind Harper’s back, and that’s not something I’m proud of. But, like I say, I thought you had the right to know.’
�So Harper—she knows where Leah is?’
�No, she doesn’t.’ Vieri glared at him. �So don’t even think about pestering her for information. She only found out about the baby herself very recently. Leah has kept the whole thing hushed up.’
The two tall, handsome Sicilian men squared up to each other again, hostility simmering between them, until eventually Vieri put his hand on Jaco’s shoulder again.
�Look, why don’t you sit down and have another drink—take a few minutes to calm down?’ He signalled to the barman to refill their glasses. �I take it from your reaction that you had no idea?’
Jaco gave him a haunted stare, but accepted the glass Vieri held out to him, seating himself back down on the bar stool.
�So when did you last see Leah?’
�Ages ago.’ Jaco raked a desperate hand through his hair. �Last August, maybe? Yes, it was just before the grape harvest. It was then that she told me she was quitting her job.’
�She didn’t say why?’
�No. She disappeared for hours on the first evening I was back at Capezzana, and when I finally tracked her down she went all weird on me. It was getting late so I thought I’d leave her to it, try and get some sense out of her in the morning, but by then she had packed up and left—disappeared without a trace.’
�And you didn’t try and find her?’
�No, Vieri, I didn’t try and find her.’ He glared angrily at his friend. �She made it quite clear that we were done. The job...us...’
�Hmm...’ Vieri stared into his glass. �So there was an us?’
�Well, yes. We’d been seeing each other for a few months—nothing serious.’
�Well, it has clearly had serious consequences.’
Jaco pinched the bridge of his nose, then dragged in a breath. �I’ve got to find her, Vieri. I mean, right away. If Harper does know where she is...even if it’s just a guess...’
�Don’t push it, Jac.’ Vieri’s eyes held more than a hint of warning. I’ve told you—she has no idea where Leah is.’
�Then I’ll just have to find her for myself.’ Pushing himself off the bar stool again, Jaco started for the exit. But at the door he stopped and retraced his steps, pulling Vieri into a rough hug. �Thanks, Vieri. I can see this has put you in a difficult position. I appreciate it.’
Vieri gave him a slap on the back. �That’s okay. I just wish I hadn’t been the bearer of such unwelcome news. I hope you manage to sort things out.’
�So do I.’ Jaco jammed his hands into his pockets. �So do I...’
* * *
Leah awoke with a start. There was a faint sort of scratching noise coming from the front door. Heart racing, she slipped out of bed and glanced into the crib, where Gabriel was sleeping peacefully, before moving silently into the living area of the tiny apartment she had called home for the past few months.
The noise was coming from the other side of the front door and now, as she strained to listen, she could just make out whispered male voices. Oh, God! Someone was trying to break in.
She turned, stumbling back towards the bedroom, where her phone was on the bedside table. But it was too late—she didn’t have time to get there. With the force of a tornado suddenly they were in, beside her, their terrifying presence filling the small room.
Her scream was instantly muffled by a large hand clamped over her mouth, pulling her back against a body built like a brick wall. She fought wildly, kicking out behind her, desperately flailing her arms to try and attack him until he easily pinned them to her body with an arm of steel around her chest.
Panic surged through her, and the powerful instinct to protect her baby son overwhelmed every other thought. Somehow she would get rid of these thugs. Somehow she would talk her way out of this.
It seemed there were two of them—one holding her prisoner, the other shutting the door behind them, then moving over to the window and pulling back the curtains a couple of inches to look out onto the street. Only then did he switch on the overhead light and come to stand before her.
Jaco! Leah stared at him in utter astonishment.
A relief of sorts washed over her, but it was short-lived. One look at his harshly drawn face, the cold determination in his eyes, and her worst fears came crowding in. He must have found out about Gabriel. He had come to claim his son.
�Yes, it’s her.’ Jaco nodded, speaking in Italian to the brute who still had his hand clamped across her mouth. �The boy must be in there.’ He looked over his shoulder.
Leah squirmed wildly, making the vice-like grip around her tighten still further.
�Don’t fight it, Leah.’
He swung his gaze back to her, finally making eye contact. Leah gasped beneath the restraining hand. The familiarity of those eyes, now emanating such chilling intensity, was almost enough to stop her pounding heart.
�You and the baby are leaving with us. Right away.’
Leah roused herself, widening her eyes, shooting him as much poisonous venom as she could possibly muster. No way was he taking them anywhere.
�I will instruct Cesare to remove his hand, but only once I know you are going to be sensible.’ He waited, his gaze fixed on her face, coldly assessing her. �Can I trust you?’
Leah nodded frantically, and after a second’s pause Jaco gestured to his minder.
Leah screamed. As loudly as her panicked lungs would let her. It was an ear-piercing shriek that echoed off the walls and saw a hand clamped firmly over her mouth again. Only this time it wasn’t the minder’s—this time it was Jaco’s.
�Big mistake, Leah.’
His face was only inches from her own, and his powerful frame was pressed up against her so that she could feel the heat emanating from him, sense the barely leashed rage that held him so taut, shone in his eyes.
�If you want to do this the hard way, we will. But for all our sakes I suggest that you do as you’re told. It will be far simpler in the long run.’
Leah glared back at him, blinking against the hot, seductive whisper of his breath fanning across her face, using her eyes to impart as much anger and determination and bravery as was possible when she was sandwiched between two muscled men.
She stared into Jaco’s deep brown eyes—eyes that had mesmerised her from their very first meeting. The memory of them had haunted her for weeks after she had fled Sicily. But now those eyes stirred something else in her—something gut-wrenchingly deep and primal. For it was like looking into the eyes of her son—the exact same shape, the same colour.
Gabriel was a miniature version of his father. And it was that that made her lungs, already struggling to keep her alive, threaten to give up altogether.
�I am going to give you one more chance.’ He delivered his ultimatum softly. �When I remove my hand you are going to remain silent while I tell you what is going to happen. Is that understood?’
Leah nodded. What choice did she have?
Very slowly, Jaco peeled his hand away from her mouth.
�There—that’s better.’
He still stood within a couple of inches of her, watching her intently, his eyes fixed on her mouth as if willing it to stay closed. Leah felt the burn of his gaze on her lips, felt them swell as the blood returned to them, twitch with something other than fear.
�You can let go of her, Cesare. Go and stand by the door.’
With a grunt of obedience her captor released her and moved away.
Leah let out a gasping breath. �What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
The words came out in a torrent of fury, but Leah kept her voice low, mindful of Jaco’s warning, and even more mindful of the fact that he was standing between her and the bedroom where Gabriel was still sleeping. With her mind racing in all directions she desperately tried to figure out a way of distracting Jaco so that she could go to Gabriel, scoop him up and run away with him—and keep on running until she woke up from this nightmare.
But this was no bad dream. This was horribly real. As the heavy breathing of the man mountain who was guarding the front door behind her reminded her. Not to mention the arrogant specimen of manhood who had planted himself before her.
�I’ve told you—you and the baby are leaving. Go and pack a bag.’
Leah shook her head in disbelief, furrowing her brow as she stared at him. �Jaco, this is ridiculous. Have you taken leave of your senses?’
Jaco gave a low growl. �I can assure you my senses are perfectly intact. Now, do as you’re told.’
�But—’
�Five minutes, Leah. You have five minutes to gather your belongings.’
�And if I refuse?’
�Then you will be leaving with nothing. Because you and the baby are coming with me, either way.’
�So you are kidnapping us? Is that it?’ Her voice shrieked with rising hysteria.
�I prefer to call it removing you to a place of safety.’
�Safety?’ Astonishment stiffened her spine. �We were perfectly safe here, until you crashed in.’
�No, you weren’t, Leah.’
�What do you mean? Of course we were.’
�I am not prepared to discuss this now. You are under my protection and you will do as I say. Go and pack.’
Putting his hands on her shoulders, he turned her in the direction of the bedroom, the touch of his fingers burning against her bare flesh.
�And hurry up about it.’
Leah stood in the dark room, listening to the sound of her baby’s soft breathing and the thud of her own heart. This was complete madness. Her eyes quickly darted around, but there was no escape from here. The apartment was on the fourth floor of a high-rise tower block, and the only window offered nothing more than a view of the sleeping London skyline.
Working on autopilot, she pulled a suitcase from the wardrobe and started to stuff in some of her clothes. Then opening a drawer, she took out Gabriel’s baby clothes, plucking more little vests and sleepsuits off the drying rack beside her and shoving them in the case too.
In truth, she had very few belongings. Since coming to London nine months ago she had moved more times than she could remember, going from one dank and dingy room in a grotty shared house to another, finding jobs wherever she could to try and make ends meet, before finally swallowing her pride and signing on for state benefits.
When the council had found her this flat—literally days before Gabriel had been born—she had wept with relief. It wasn’t much, but it was a home, and that meant everything to her.
�Are you done?’
She turned to see Jaco silhouetted in the doorway, all dark, menacing authority.
�Jaco, why are you doing this to us?’ She walked towards him, keeping her voice calm, firm. If there was one last chance to stop this madness she was going to seize it. �If you will tell me what’s going on I’m sure we could work something out between us.’
�Could we, now?’ Sarcasm scored his voice.
�Yes—why not?’
�Because I have no interest in working things out with a woman who has been so deliberately deceitful...’ his gaze fell on the sleeping baby in the crib �...that she has kept from me the fact that I am a father.’
�Jaco... I...’
�Save it, Leah.’ He raised his hand. �You will have plenty of time to explain yourself later. First we are getting out of here.’
�But where are we going?’ She was pleading now.
�You’ll find out soon enough. Give me your passports.’
�Passports?’ A fresh wave of panic washed over her.
�That’s what I said.’ Jaco fixed her with a punishing stare.
�No—you’re not having them.’
�Hand them over, Leah.’
�No.’ She squared up to him. �You can’t make me.’
�Keep me waiting any longer and you will find that I can.’
Leah glared at him in desperation. Whatever had happened to the charming man she’d once thought she knew?
�Jaco...’ She tried again. �Why are you behaving like this?’
�Passports.’ He held out his hand impatiently. �Now.’
With no alternative but to do as she was told, Leah ducked past him and, going into the tiny kitchen, opened a drawer and took out two passports, holding them against her chest. Too late she realised she could have lied—told Jaco that Gabriel didn’t have a passport. The only reason he had one was because she had wanted to be prepared for any eventuality—including fleeing the country to get away from Jaco if necessary.
Over the past twelve months Leah had spent far too much time thinking about Jaco Valentino—he had crowded her head, pervaded her thoughts day and night as if there was no escape from him. Finding out he was a cheating, two-timing bastard had broken her heart, and if that wasn’t enough a darker worm of doubt had begun to eat away at her. About his background, his business dealings, the sort of people he associated with.
She had found herself remembering things that had barely registered at the time. The skilful way he had avoided talking about his past, for example, and the set of his jaw—just a little too firm—when she had threatened to pry too much. His obsession with work—constantly checking his phone, working late into the night...
On more than one occasion she had come across him at two or three in the morning, having stealthily removed himself from her bed, his fingers flying across the keyboard of his laptop, a look of grim determination on his face. With the laptop hurriedly closed at her approach, she had politely but firmly been ordered back to bed, any attempt to ask him what he was working on dismissed with a kiss on the lips before she had been shepherded away.
In retrospect, his need for privacy had been excessive, and now Leah had another word for it—secrecy. Jaco was a man with secrets. She didn’t know what they were. But something told her they were bad.
Which was why she had made the decision to flee to the anonymity of London, to keep her pregnancy a secret, to tell no one about Gabriel. The more she’d examined Jaco, the more convinced she had become that she had to protect Gabriel from him at all costs. As long as he didn’t know of his son’s existence, Jaco could do him no harm.
Doing it alone had been so hard, but keeping the secret from her twin sister had been the hardest thing of all. Harper was used to Leah packing up and leaving on a whim—usually chasing a dream that never materialised. So she hadn’t been that surprised to hear her sister was on her travels again.
Keeping it deliberately vague, Leah had rung her every now and then, assuring her that she was fine, that she was having the time of her life, in fact, and then ending the call and sobbing her eyes out.
Somehow she had managed to keep the pretence going through all those long, lonely months. But deep down she had always known she would crack in the end—and crack she had. Just recently, after yet another mind-numbingly sleepless night with the baby, she had reached for her phone, scrolled to her sister’s number and, taking a shuddering breath, called and confessed to her about Gabriel.
Fending off the barrage of concerned questions, Leah had kept the details to a minimum, saying that he was Jaco’s child, but that she wanted nothing whatsoever to do with him. That under no circumstances was Harper to say anything. She had sworn her sister to secrecy.
And look where that had got her.
Leah’s eyes travelled from the passports in her hand to the implacable face of the man who was waiting for them. With a shaking hand she passed them over to him.
�There. Happy now?’ She tried for defiance as she watched Jaco flick through the pages, his grim features hardening still further as he found the grainy photo of his baby son.
�Gabriel McDonald.’ He spat out the name in disgust, barely leashed anger holding him taut. He looked up, thunder clouding his face. �This is my son, my flesh and blood—’ he jabbed at the photo with his finger �—and yet not only did you not see fit even to tell me of his existence, but he bears your name.’
�Yes, he does.’ Leah flinched beneath his furious scrutiny, but she refused to show her fear. �And that’s because I don’t want you to have anything to do with him.’
Jaco gave a hollow laugh. �That much I had worked out for myself.’ He speared her with his eyes. �But let me assure you, Leah, your solo rights over this child are very much at an end. The child’s name will be changed—this passport will be changed.’ He held it aloft. �My son is a Valentino and that is the name he will bear.’
Leah felt a wave of panic surge inside her. This was exactly what she had been dreading—Jaco storming in, taking over. As a proud Sicilian man, family meant everything to him—she knew that.
From the few scraps of information he’d thrown her she had managed to piece together the fact that his parents had died when he was five, that he’d lived in a children’s home for several years, along with Vieri, and then been adopted at the age of eleven. She knew he was estranged from his adopted family, but any attempt to find out why had been met with a chilling refusal to say any more, Jaco’s urbane mask slipping, ever so slightly, to reveal a darker, more shadowy side.
But his heart was firmly embedded in the small Mediterranean island that he called home—that much was obvious. She had seen it in his eyes when they had been at Capezzana, heard it in his voice. And Leah had no doubt that with such lineage came the primitive sense of possession, the unilateral decision that his child would live in his country and obey his rules. To him blood ties were the strongest tie of all—binding. Impossible to break.
�Jaco...’ In desperation she cast about, looking for some reason. �Can’t we at least talk about this?’
�No.’ He closed the space between them. �The time for talking has passed. I have no intention of standing here listening to your pathetic excuses. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. From now on we are going to do things my way.’
He towered over her, backing her up against the kitchen cabinets, the passports still held aloft in one hand as his eyes raked over her body.
Leah swallowed. Everything about the taut strength in his powerful body, the glint of steel in his eye, the granite set of his jaw, told her there was to be no reasoning with this man. And yet still his nearness provoked a reaction in her that was wholly inappropriate, tightening her nipples, tensing her core.
And, worse still, Jaco could see it. As his hot eyes darted over her defensive figure, lingering on the swell of her breasts beneath the skimpy vest top, they left a shuddering trail of havoc in their wake and Leah could sense his masculine satisfaction. His realisation that he could still do this to her, that his control over her took many forms.
But maybe she could use it to her own advantage. With a wild surge of adrenaline Leah imagined reaching out to him, linking her arms around his neck and pulling him closer, finding his lips, kissing him, having him kiss her back. Because despite everything she still wanted that kiss. Despite everything she had gone through in the past twelve months, everything she had so sternly told herself, she still wanted Jaco.
For a moment he gazed at her—as if reading her thoughts, as if he knew exactly what was going on in her head. Then with a slight curl of his lip—a gesture so deliberately dismissive that it curdled Leah’s stomach—he looked away.
�Get some clothes on.’
Leah watched as he stowed the precious passports in the inside pocket of his jacket.
�We are leaving.’
Fleeing to the bedroom, Leah pulled on a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, picking up her phone and slipping it into her handbag. Then, bending over the crib she gazed down at her baby son, still sleeping soundly through all the drama. Her heart swelled with anxiety and pride.
With his arms flung out on either side of his head, his little fists closed, he looked as if he was ready for a fight, ready to take on the world. But Leah knew that was her job—that she would do absolutely anything to protect him, to keep him safe. Even if right now that meant scooping him up and taking him God knew where, obeying the orders of a man who, she now realised with dread in her heart, was far darker and far more than dangerous than she could ever have imagined.
Reaching for the baby sling, she slid it over her head, holding Gabriel against her shoulder as she lowered him into it, tucking him in so carefully that he barely even stirred.
�You are ready?’
Jaco had silently come to stand beside them—the closest he had ever been to his son. Leah held her breath, waiting to see how he would react, expecting him at least to want to take a peek at the small, dark head pressed snugly against her chest. But instead he turned away, checking his watch and then picking up her case before leading them out of the room.
As Leah closed the door to her apartment behind her she realised she had no idea what was happening or where she was going. No idea when she would ever be back here again.
CHAPTER TWO (#u1f47df42-e3b1-5446-a4df-78875e402b17)
LEAH LOOKED DOWN at her baby son’s head. The furious suckling of a few minutes ago was easing off now as he had almost had his fill. She rocked him in her arms—more to comfort herself than him. Gabriel was perfectly happy. He had his mother and a convenient source of food and that was all he needed.
He didn’t have the slightest concern that the two of them had been abducted, spirited away in the night. Bundled first into a limousine that had driven them to an exclusive apartment block, then whisked up to a helipad on the roof, strapped into a waiting helicopter, piloted by Jaco himself, and finally landing several hours later at wherever on earth it was that she found herself now.
Exhausted by shock, she had dozed off on the flight, only waking as the helicopter had banked steeply in preparation for landing. Peering through the window, she hadn’t been able to make out anything at all in the darkness, and it had been clear that Jaco had no intention of telling her where they were, so she’d had to let herself and Gabriel be helped into a Jeep and just watch in stupefied silence as Jaco got into the driver’s seat and navigated the steep and twisty road that had led to the residence she now found herself in.
But at least now it was daylight. Once she had Gabriel settled she would take stock of her surroundings and work out where on earth she was. The GPS on her phone should tell her that—when she managed to find it, that was. She had searched everywhere for it last night, with no success.
From looking around her, all she had managed to ascertain was that they were staying in some sort of luxury single-storey dwelling. Her bedroom was all cool elegance, with exposed stone walls and polished hardwood flooring, and a bed big enough to accommodate a small family. The en suite bathroom was of grey marble and had a sunken tub and succulent cacti growing behind a glass wall, while the floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view of a carefully landscaped garden, with ancient olive trees and time-worn granite boulders left in situ, but not much else.
A sharp tap on the door made her jump.
�Yes?’ She hugged Gabriel closer to her.
The door opened and Jaco strode in. Wearing faded jeans low on his hips and a sleeveless black vest, he was all masterful authority. That was until he caught sight of Leah holding Gabriel to her breast.
�Oh...my apologies.’
Leah fixed him with a haughty stare. She wasn’t going to look away. Breastfeeding a baby was the most natural thing in the world. And besides, she was perfectly decent. �What do you want, Jaco?’
Jaco hesitated, then moved into the room, towards the chair where Leah sat with Gabriel. Leah noticed that his eyes did not quite meet hers, or move to the bundle of baby in her arms, but hovered somewhere over her shoulder.
�I came to see if you had a comfortable night.’
�Huh!’ Leah snorted. �Like you care.’
Her sharp voice made Gabriel’s eyes flicker beneath the paper-thin skin of his closed lids. When his mouth fell from her breast Leah adjusted her clothing, and then moved to settle him in the crib by the side of the bed.
She had no idea how that crib had got there. She couldn’t imagine it being the sort of thing Jaco would have had stashed away for the convenience of his guests, but miraculously it had been there when they had arrived last night, along with disposable nappies and other essential baby equipment.
�I obviously care enough to be asking you now.’ A muscle twitched beneath his eye. �Do you have everything that you need?’
�Oh, yes, everything.’ She flashed him a combative stare. �Everything apart from my freedom, of course.’
�You will have your freedom.’ Jaco matched her glare. �All in good time.’
�And when might that be?’
�A couple of weeks.’
�A couple of weeks?’ Leah advanced towards him like an impending storm. �You really think you can keep me and Gabriel hidden away here for two whole weeks?’
�I don’t think—I know. I can keep you here as long as I like.’
�And you believe that’s acceptable behaviour, do you?’ Leah inhaled a furious breath. �Gloating over the way you can hold us prisoner?’
Jaco shrugged. �I believe the bounds of acceptable behaviour have already been crossed. Not bothering to tell me I am a father, for example.’ His eyes held hers.
Leah scowled. �You are not fit to be called a father—not in the true sense of the word.’
A couple of angry steps brought her right in front of him, but her bare feet gave Jaco even more height advantage than usual.
She threw back her head to look up at him. �You try to make out that being a father is so important to you, and yet you haven’t even looked at Gabriel. Not once.’
Jaco ground down on his jaw. �I will make my son’s acquaintance when I feel the time is right.’
�Make his acquaintance?’ Leah openly mocked him. �You don’t make your baby son’s acquaintance, Jaco, you pick him up, hold him—love him.’ Her voice quavered with unwanted emotion. �Something you know nothing about.’
�Is that right?’
His fingers curled possessively under her chin, holding it firmly so she had no choice but to look into his eyes.
�And what leads you to that conclusion?’
�I...I just know.’ Caught in the spell of his gaze, Leah couldn’t think straight. All she knew was that no matter how badly Jaco behaved, how much she despised him, her heart still performed a crazy little dance whenever he touched her. �Call it instinct.’
�Instinct be damned.’ Jaco dropped her chin in disgust, moving a step away. �You and I both know the real reason I am not at ease with my child is because up until a week ago I didn’t even know of his existence.’
�And you still wouldn’t if I had any say in it.’
�Esatto.’ Jaco’s voice fell to a deadly low tone. �Which is why you no longer have any say in it, mia cara. From now on I make the rules, and I call the shots. What I say goes.’
�And I’m supposed to accept that, am I?’ She glared at him incredulously.
�You have no choice.’ He was chillingly calm. �You can try and fight this all you like—kick and scream to your heart’s content. But the outcome will be the same. You will not be leaving this island until I say so.’
An island. They were on an island. Amid the bubbling rage Leah stored away that piece of information, though she had no idea what good it would do her.
She tried to steady the anger that was coursing its fiery path through her veins. No mean feat, given the outrageous barbaric behaviour of the man in front of her. Hot-headed by nature, her instinct was to do all the things that Jaco had just described so dismissively. Kick and scream and beat her fists against this heinous man’s chest. But she was also clever. And she was a fighter. If it was clear that raging against Jaco was going to get her nowhere she would have to try another tactic.
Squaring her shoulders, Leah met his gaze full-on, cursing the kick of desire that he still triggered in her, that refused to die, no matter how much she tried to kill it.
�Well, at least you could do me the courtesy of telling me why you have kidnapped us—what we are doing here. You owe me that.’
�I owe you nothing, Leah McDonald.’
Leah bit down hard on her tongue. In her book this arrogant, hateful man simmering before her owed her everything. Her life as she knew it, her aching heart—her sanity, come to that. Everything that had been destroyed when their paths had so fatefully crossed. When he had seen fit to blow her world apart.
�So what is going to happen after this so-called two weeks, then?’ She fought to stay calm, not to rise to his bait, plumbing the depths of a composure she hadn’t known she possessed. If she wanted to find out any information she had to keep her head. �How do I know that you won’t keep me and Gabriel here for ever?
�Because that would serve no useful purpose.’ Jaco’s infuriatingly penetrating gaze burned into hers. �And, despite what you might think, I am not doing this solely for my own entertainment.’
�Well, what am I supposed to think?’ The tide of anger rose fast again, creeping up her neck, flushing her cheeks. She looked away, snatching in a breath to try and compose herself before returning her eyes to his again.
�Frankly I couldn’t care less what you think. Your opinion of me is of zero interest. But you have my word that your stay here will only be for a couple of weeks.’
�Your word?’ She gave him the full force of her contempt.
�Yes, Leah, my word.’
Leah hesitated. �And then what?’
�Then I will be putting plans in place for the future.’
�And what does that mean?’ A curl of dread unfurled inside her.
�You’ll find out soon enough.’
�So I was right.’ Blood rushed to her head. �You are never going to let us go, are you? You are going to keep us captive for ever, move us around from place to place, keep us locked in some squalid basement so that we never see the light of day—like those horror stories you read about in the papers.’
�For God’s sake calm down, Leah.’
Jaco closed in on her with a single step, catching her against him and restraining her hysterical rant with two hands placed firmly on her bare shoulders. Leah felt the heat of his touch sear into her skin, branding her flesh, causing her nipples to tighten.
�I will not calm down.’ She went to twist away but Jaco held her firm, coming closer until the minuscule gap between them disappeared completely.
�Well, get some control over your vivid imagination, then.’ He moved one arm around her shoulder in a blatant display of masculine dominance. �Getting yourself worked up is not going to help anyone. There will be no moving around, and no basements. Circumstances mean that unfortunately it is necessary to keep you here for a short period of time...’
�Circumstances?’ Fighting to free herself from his arms, Leah threw back her head so that her auburn curls rippled down her back. �What circumstances?’
�But while you are here,’ Jaco continued, as if she hadn’t spoken, �you will be offered every convenience to make your stay as pleasant as possible.’
�Let me assure you, Jaco Valentino, there will be nothing remotely pleasant about my stay.’ Her reply whistled through the air like a bullet.
�No?’ Jaco let his eyes slowly drift over her face, watching as she blinked to try and hide her reaction to him.
Her muscles twitched beneath her heated skin...her mouth pulled into an unconscious pout. She hated the way he could do this to her. Hated even more the way he revelled in his power.
�You’re sure about that, are you, Leah?’
�Yes—yes, I am.’ She stepped away from him, backwards into the room.
�Well, I guess I will just have to take your word for that.’ His tongue pushed against the inside of his cheek. �Anyway...’ He turned an arrogant shoulder. �I just came to see if you needed anything. There is plenty of food in the kitchen if you would like to join me for breakfast.’
�I would rather boil my head in oil.’
�Suit yourself.’
She watched, breathless with burning impotence, as Jaco moved towards the door, deliberately rolling his shoulders as if to be rid of her, the tanned olive skin stretching over his muscled torso.
Reaching the doorway, he stopped, leaning against the doorjamb to address her again. �Oh, by the way...’ He feigned a casualness belied by the intensity of his stare. �If you are looking for your phone, I have had to requisition it. Just for the duration of your stay.’
�You have done what?’ Speechless with anger, Leah could only gape at him. He must have come into her room and stolen it from her. This was unbelievable.
�I can’t afford for you to give away your whereabouts and I don’t trust you to keep quiet.’
Too right she wouldn’t keep quiet. She had already planned to GPS her location and ring Harper, the police, Interpol—anyone that would listen to her. Now all those options had been snatched away from her.
As she watched Jaco stride away it hit her like a blow to the head how utterly defenceless she was. How totally she was under his command.
* * *
Jaco marched down the corridor, intent on putting as much space between him and Leah McDonald as quickly as possible. He needed to get some air into his lungs, clear his head.
His problems had started the moment he had walked into her bedroom—a big mistake, as it turned out. The sight of Leah nursing the child had broken his stride, made him falter. Something about the way her head had been bent, her auburn curls tumbling over the baby’s face as she rocked him very gently from side to side, had had a visceral effect on him, striking him like a blow to the chest.
They had looked so natural, so perfect, so innocent. The tender scene had captivated him for a split second, before quickly solidifying like cement, weighing him down with bitterness and anger. Because Leah wasn’t innocent. Far from it. She was manipulative and clever. She had used those skills to hide the fact that she was pregnant with his child. To keep him from his son.
Jaco had no idea why she would do something so cruel, so heartless. Clearly he had got her wrong.
From the short time they had spent together he would have described her as many things: funny, intelligent, strong, sexy, unpredictable. But not manipulative or underhanded. And certainly never cruel. It was true that his friend Vieri had warned him she was trouble, but Jaco had laughed it off, preferring to make up his own mind about people. But it seemed Vieri had been right. Ms McDonald was not who she appeared to be.
But she was the mother of his son. And, as such, Jaco intended to use this time to find out everything he could about her. He would be keeping a very close eye on her—both now and in the future.
Breakfast forgotten, Jaco picked up his laptop and headed for the terrace, settling himself under the shade of the sail-shaped awning. He scanned the view only briefly before settling down to work. He wasn’t here to admire the scenery.
Although this island was supposed to be his own personal piece of paradise, so far he had spent no more than a handful of days here. The villa had been finished more than a year ago, but somehow he’d never managed to find the time to enjoy it. Not that that bothered him. It was a sound investment—as was the island itself.
One of several islands he owned off the north coast of Sicily, this was the one he favoured most. Dramatically beautiful, it had fine, dark-coloured sand—a result of centuries of volcanic activity. One day he would take the time to enjoy it, but not yet. Right now he had other things on his mind.
He scrolled down the long stream of new emails, scanning them quickly for information. Everything appeared to be progressing as planned. Proceedings would soon be reaching the most critical stage. Everything he had been working towards for so long was finally about to come to fruition. Finally—finally—his vile adopted family were going to get what was coming to them.
The organisation, the meticulous planning, the months of painstaking work that had gone into this scheme were finally going to pay off. His legal father, his so-called brothers, his uncles—the whole damned lot of them—were going to get caught. No mistakes, no one slipping through the net. It was all or nothing.
Jaco had masterminded the whole plan, and his determination to bring his abominable corrupted family to justice coloured his every waking moment. Luckily he knew their biggest weakness—greed. He also knew that to stand any chance of winning he had to play them at their own game. So, with the backing of international drug enforcement agencies and the Italian police, who had been trying to bring the Garalino family to justice for years, Jaco had set up a daring sting operation.
Using the dark web and bitcoin—the preferred currency of the underworld—he had come up with a deal his family couldn’t refuse: a massive cocaine smuggling operation. Under the cover of exporting olive oil to South America, and importing coffee beans to Europe, the cocaine would find its way into Sicily to be distributed around Europe. It was a massively risky strategy—not least because only a few carefully prepared and positioned sample sacks would actually contain cocaine. Something his family wouldn’t discover until they had fully implicated themselves.
The stakes were so high that if the sting went wrong—if they found out Jaco was behind it, which they undoubtedly would—he had effectively signed his own death warrant. But Jaco had calculated it as a risk worth taking. Francesca was safely in hiding. He was a single man with no dependents, so at least he would be their only target. And he could take care of himself.
But now everything had changed. He had a son. And Jaco knew he had to take immediate steps to protect him.
As far as he was concerned you didn’t cross your family—or if you did you could expect reprisals of the very worst kind. Family on family. With no mercy. And, like an unprotected baby bird in its nest, Jaco Valentino’s infant son would be seen as a prime target.
Behind him he heard Leah walking down the corridor towards the kitchen, the angry slap of her sandals on the marble floor. Even though she was clearly ignoring him, he instinctively closed the lid of his laptop. Sitting back, he spanned one hand across his forehead.
If the Garalinos ever discovered he had a son, Gabriel would be in immediate danger—even without the sting operation. Merely by virtue of being Jaco Valentino’s son he would be of great interest, seen as a possible weakness in Jaco’s armour, a way of paying him back for leaving the firm.
Jaco had had nothing to do with his adopted family since the age of eighteen, when he had finally managed to escape their clutches. His only regret was that he hadn’t been able to take his younger sibling with him—not then.
Leaving Sicily, he had moved to New York, started a new life, and successfully built up a business empire that had rapidly made him a billionaire. A combination of astute intelligence, an unerring nose for a great deal, plus more than his fair share of good looks and easy charm, had got him far.
But beneath the urbane exterior and the effortless manners lay a very different man. Although he had made his home in many different countries his heart had always remained in Sicily, and slowly he had returned—anonymously at first, but then, as his wealth and power grew, with more authority, buying land, property and, most significantly of all, the Capezzana vineyard.
Capezzana had been in the Valentino family for generations. It had been Jaco’s family home until the age of five, when his world had imploded. When both of his parents had died when their car had plunged over a cliff. Jaco and his younger brother, who had been only a toddler at the time, had been taken into care, and finally adopted by the evil Garalino family when Jaco was eleven.
Although Capezzana had been left to Jaco in his parents’ will, he’d had no claim on it until he was eighteen, so it had been run by a co-operative trust for several years—as the Garalinos had known it would be. This had been their chance to infiltrate the business and put into practice the nefarious schemes that Jaco’s parents had so steadfastly refused to comply with.
Their bravery had eventually led to the �unfortunate accident’ that had seen their car plunge over a cliff.
The co-operative had been no match for the notorious Garalino family, and soon the prized Capezzana wines had been adulterated by harmful chemicals, and inferior wines had been relabelled and sold to investors at vastly inflated prices. The Garalino family had got rich quick and their greed had known no bounds.
Luigi Garalino had decided that to have total control over the vineyard he would need to do something about the Valentino boys before the elder one came of age. So he’d come up with a master stroke: he would adopt the two of them. As their legitimate parent he would be able to oversee Capezzana legally for the next few years—plenty of time to induct them into the ways of the Garalino family. And a couple of healthy young boys were always useful in his line of business. The elder one in particular, a strong lad of eleven, had looked to him as if he might be a useful asset.
Wine production at Capezzana had gone into overdrive, with the Garalinos churning out hundreds of gallons of adulterated wine—far more than the land could ever produce. But their greed, as ever, had been their downfall. The government had got suspicious and eventually requisitioned the estate. But with friends in high places the Garalino family had never been prosecuted, and Capezzana had been left to fall into ruin.
That was until Jaco had got involved. After lengthy negotiations he had finally managed to buy the estate back from the government and his inheritance had finally been his. It had taken years of hard graft, but now it was prospering again, its reputation restored. And of all the businesses in his packed portfolio Capezzana was far and away the one of which he was most proud.
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