have compelled him to find her now, but he didn’t actually feel anything for her. He couldn’t feel anything at all.
‘Yes, they were. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Obviously. Unless you thought I’d escaped?’ He arched an eyebrow, smiled as if this were all so very amusing. ‘Stage-managed some sort of breakout?’
‘I...I don’t know what I think.’ She walked slowly past him, to the small sitting room at the front of the house. Larenzo followed her, watched as she sank onto the sofa, her head in her hands.
‘How did you find me here?’ she asked after a long, silent moment, her head still bowed.
‘This was the address you gave on your employment application.’
She glanced up at him, her eyes widening once more. ‘And you came all the way to America to give me six months’ pay? If you really possessed such a conscience to see me adequately recompensed, you could have just deposited it in my bank account. You should have my details from when I was in your employment.’
Larenzo’s mouth tightened. ‘I was in America anyway.’ She shook her head slowly, still dazed. Larenzo let his gaze rove over her, remembering her golden skin, her laughing eyes that looked so serious and dark now. She looked different, he realised. More womanly. She must have gained a little weight, and yet it suited her. Her breasts were fuller under the soft pink sweater she wore, and her face was a bit rounder. Her skin was as golden as he’d remembered, her golden-brown hair wavy and tousled about her face. His golden girl. What a joke.
‘Why are you in America?’ she asked and Larenzo snapped his gaze away from her.
‘I’m relocating to New York.’
‘New York—’
‘Is that a problem?’ he enquired coolly. ‘I only came here to give you your pay.’
‘I know, but...’ She glanced up towards the stairs once more, and Larenzo’s gaze narrowed. That was the second time she’d done that. What was upstairs? Was Emma hiding something from him? God knew he’d learned to become suspicious of everyone and everything. Trust was a concept he no longer even remotely considered.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said quickly, as if coming to a decision. She rose from the sofa. ‘Thank you for the six months’ pay. That was...kind of you, considering.’
‘Considering?’ he repeated, his gaze narrowing. ‘Considering what?’
Colour washed Emma’s cheeks. ‘Just the situation...’
‘You mean considering I’m a criminal? Is that what you mean, Emma?’ He didn’t know why he was pushing her, only that he was. That he wanted her to say it, admit what she thought of him. Perhaps it would be like lancing a wound.
Emma lifted her chin, her eyes flashing in challenge. ‘And what if it was?’
‘I thought you knew me better than that.’
‘I didn’t know you at all, Larenzo. You were my employer, and I saw you a few times. We never even had a proper conversation before—’ She stopped abruptly, the colour deepening in her cheeks as she looked away.
‘Before what?’ he demanded, his voice low and insistent. He was punishing himself as much as her by raking this all up, bringing the memories he’d tormented himself with to the fore. ‘Before I made love to you? Before you wrapped your legs around my waist and—’
‘Don’t.’ The single word came out in a suffocated whisper. ‘Don’t remind me.’
Larenzo’s lip curled. ‘You don’t want to remember?’
‘Of course I don’t.’ She glared at him, her golden-green eyes full of misery. ‘I don’t know why you were released from prison, Larenzo, or why the charges against you were dropped, but I just want you out of my life.’ She pressed her lips together as she held his stare. ‘I trust that won’t be an issue.’
‘An issue?’ he repeated. Fury beat through his veins, fired his blood. ‘I came here as a matter of courtesy. Clearly the effort was wasted.’
‘I think it’s best if you go now.’
‘Fine.’ He nodded curtly and curled his hands into fists at his sides, not trusting himself not to grab her by the shoulders and demand to know what he’d ever done to make her think he was a mobster. A Mafioso. Mio Dio, how could everyone he’d ever known have judged him so harshly and completely?
Because the evidence had been there, thanks to Bertrano. Because he’d confessed, even if he’d felt he had no choice.
She held his gaze, her chin still lifted, her shoulders thrown back, standing proud and defiant even though he knew she was afraid. Of him.
He opened his mouth to say something of his innocence, but then he closed it. Why claim something she would never believe? ‘Goodbye,’ he said instead, and turned towards the hallway.
A child’s cry suddenly echoed from upstairs. From the corner of his eye he saw Emma freeze, her face drain of colour. He wouldn’t have thought anything of the cry, considering he knew Emma was living with her sister and her family. And yet...
The child cried again, the plaintive wail of a baby. Emma didn’t move. Neither did Larenzo. Every sense he had was on alert, although for what he could not say.
‘Aren’t you going to go to the child?’ he asked, his voice deliberately mild as the baby continued to cry, the sobs becoming louder and more urgent.
Emma swallowed, and he watched the workings of her slender throat. ‘I will. When you leave.’
He gazed at her for a taut moment, saw how her eyes had become huge golden pools in a face drained of colour. ‘Is it your sister’s child? Why is she not going to fetch the bambino?’
‘She’s not here.’ Emma licked her lips, and Larenzo thought he saw panic in that wide gaze. ‘Please, Larenzo. Just go.’
‘I will.’ He cocked his head towards the stairs. ‘But maybe you should get the bambino first.’
‘No.’ The word came out like a gunshot, fast and loud. Larenzo raised his eyebrows. Emma stared him down. ‘I told you, I don’t want you here. Now go.’ Her voice rose in a raggedy edge of terror, and Larenzo took a step towards her.
‘What are you hiding from me, Emma?’
‘Nothing—’ But it sounded feeble. He took another step towards her.
‘Tell me the truth. You’re hiding something. I don’t know what it could be, but—’
‘What do you think I’m hiding from you?’ she cut him off scornfully. She nodded towards the stairs. ‘A baby?’
The words hung there, seeming to echo through the sudden silence of the room. Larenzo stared at her, saw how bloodless her lips were as they parted soundlessly.
The thought hadn’t fully formed in his mind until she’d said the words. He’d sensed she was hiding something, had felt her panic and fear, had
