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
