“I think that Australian woman was a scout for the people who murdered my parents. My father had lost his leg and was using a wheelchair the night he was murdered, but both he and my mother were excellent at self-defense,” Geno said. “When I sayexcellent, I mean that in every sense of the word. My mother was facing my father. She wouldn’t have been so frightened she suddenly froze in place. She would have reacted in the manner she had trained in for years. There had to be a reason she didn’t. Patrick, we believe this killer isn’t acting alone. We believe there are two of them.”
Geno was watching the detective’s eyes, and he realized Patrick had already come to that same conclusion. “We also think the second killer is using a drug to incapacitate the second victim so they can’t move. We’ve asked our cousin to help us identify what might be used in such a scenario.The drug would have to be very fast-acting but then disappear from the system so the medical examiner wouldn’t find it.”
Patrick finished chewing and then sighed. “I’m going to have to remove myself from this case. I didn’t want to. I thought because we hadn’t seen each other in years our connection wouldn’t taint evidence for a conviction. I can’t take that chance.”
“You also can’t take chances with your life. I think that woman contacting you means you’re in danger,” Geno said. “You’re most likely on their hit list. We need to get you to a safer environment.”
“I’m a police detective, Geno,” Patrick reminded. “I can’t turn tail and run. And I can’t just disappear.”
“Sure you can,” Terence said cheerfully. “You have enough vacation time coming to you for fifty people. We can make it happen by tomorrow morning.”
“My wife will be flying home in our personal jet. You can stay at the hotel and help keep watch over her and my family. I’d take that as a personal favor,” Stefano said. “She’s an excellent cook, which is the upside, but she never does what she’s told. I’ll warn you ahead of time, she smiles sweetly, and you think she isn’t going to go visit that sick woman down the street, but she is. Take extra bodyguards and insist on going with her whether she says you don’t need to or not.”
Geno could have kissed his cousin. Stefano made it seem as if Patrick were doing him a huge favor by looking after Francesca, who just laughed without one ounce of remorse. Geno felt better now that he knew Patrick would be safe. He had no idea why Lyna was targeted, but at least Patrick would be alive and well when all this was over.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Amaranthe didn’t know how to seduce her fiancé. She wasn’t good at that kind of thing. Moreover, she was very nervous. Things hadn’t gone that well the first time around, but she knew he was a man who enjoyed sex and wanted it often.
They slept in the same bed, and she could feel—and see—his body reacting to hers, so she knew he wanted her. It wasn’t that he didn’t find her attractive. He was worried he’d hurt her. She had been sore after that first time. She couldn’t deny that. She hadn’t achieved an orgasm, and that had really bothered him. She tried not to feel like a failure, and she hated that he did.
Francesca had left New York as soon as Patrick Bowden had arranged with his boss to take personal time. He went with her, and Geno was noticeably relieved. She found herself falling more in love with him when she realized just how much the detective meant to him. Lyna Marchel had no family, and the Ferraro family claimed her body, makingthe necessary arrangements to take the body when it would be released. She knew the Ferraros made a habit of caring for the people in their territory, but seeing it in action emphasized that care.
Amaranthe wanted to be a part of Geno’s family. Mostly she wanted to be a part of him. She looked out the thick glass that made up one wall of the room. She loved that the master bedroom was open and spacious. The platform bed sitting at the top of the spiral stairs gave them a great view of the river. There was a library and an enormous master bath with soaking tubs and a double shower. The walk-in closet could have been a small apartment. At the far end of the floor was a grand piano. She thought it had been there for show. Now she knew Geno could play.
Geno was a wonderful man. Kind and caring. Much more so than he believed he was. He had admitted, in front of his family, and in front of Patrick Bowden’s partner, that the man mattered to him. Geno thought of himself as impassive, unemotional, with a heart of stone, but he wasn’t. He had a marshmallow for a heart. He just protected it, and with good reason.
He’d been deserted by his parents and forced to grow up almost overnight. He’d been thrust into a position of immense responsibility, and he’d taken that very seriously. He was an adult for years before he’d become one biologically. He learned not to trust those closest to him. Like all children, he blamed himself for his parents’ desertion. He thought something was wrong with him. He believed he wasn’t lovable. He was certain he did things wrong. Now he believed he’d let Amaranthe down.
Amaranthe found herself drowning in love for him. She told herself it was too soon. She shouldn’t fall so hard—so fast. It didn’t matter. She saw him. Into him. Into the heart of him, and everything she was immediately fell in love. She was protective and loyal. She wanted to care for him. Make certain he had everything he ever wanted or needed. She wanted to be the one person in his life who hecounted on, who he talked things over with and knew he could rely on. She wanted to be his home.
There was just this one hurdle she didn’t quite know how to overcome yet, but she was determined that she would. Geno loved sex. She knew he did. It wasn’t just up to him to see to it that they had a good sexual relationship. It was up to her as well. She wanted to be his partner in every way. Not just an adequate partner, or good—she wanted to be fantastic. One didn’t become fantastic without experience, and she wasn’t going to get that if they didn’t have sex.
She did her research. That was the only way she knew how to proceed. Step one was study the subject, and she studied. She went online to every site that gave tips on how to best have sex when she was smaller and he was larger. She got lots of great advice, much of it the same. She was determined to put it all to use—if she could do so without being too shy. The advice called for her to be the seducer. She felt she wasn’t going to be good at being the one directing the evening, but she was going to try because Geno was worth it, and she wanted to enjoy sex with him.
Foreplay was important. Very important. Lots and lots of foreplay. Toys, even. Orgasms would be excellent. Even for Geno prior to penetration. Lube was extremely important. Positions mattered so she could control entry and how deep he penetrated. She blushed thinking about what she intended to do, but she was no shrinking violet. This was important for both of them.
Amaranthe was determined to give Geno everything he could ever want if it was in her power to do so. She wanted him to feel loved. Deeply loved. She wanted him to know, the moment he laid eyes on her each day, that he had one person who built her life around him.
She put on her ballet slippers—not her pointe shoes, this wasn’t a formal ballet, but one of her nicer pairs and took out the chain she had purchased to go around her hips. It wasn’t diamonds, but when she looked at the price of a diamond chain, it was outrageous. No way could she affordit, not even if she wanted to spend the majority of her savings, which she didn’t.
She laid out the toys and lube in plain sight so Geno couldn’t fail to see them when he came out of his office. She put on music and wrapped the fine gold chain around her hips. The music immediately put her in the mood to dance. It always did. The moment she heard music, it would play through every muscle and cell in her body urging her to move to the rhythm. It had always been that way for as long as she could remember. She could lose herself in the beauty of the rhythm, her mind in complete harmony.
She shed the little robe and went to the open space where she’d chosen to dance. The room was purposely dim, with just a faint light shining on that section. It had taken her some time to figure the lighting out. She’d even set up her phone to record a couple of short dance moves to see how the lighting played over her body. She liked the way her hair moved, one moment covering her and the next revealing her slight curves. Geno had been right about the diamond chain. It would have glittered beautifully in the light.
“What is my sexy littledanzatrice ombraup to?”
Geno’s rasp was more of a growl than a rasp. The sound sent goose bumps erupting all over her body. She turned to him, suddenly feeling very seductive. Very provocative and surer of herself than she ever had. She hadn’t even gotten started, and he was reacting exactly as she wanted him to.
She flashed him a smile. “I’ve got a surprise for you. You have to strip though. No clothes for you.”
His gaze dropped to the toy and the lube she’d laid out and then to her naked body. “You’re certain, Amaranthe? This could be dangerous.”
“Dangerous for you. I have a plan. We followed yours, now we’re going to follow mine. I wanted to give you something special. It’s going to take a while, but I promise you, you’re going to have a very good time.”
“I did buy you a diamond chain, Amara, in the hopesthat you’d dance for me,” he said. “My cousin Damian made it for you.”
He shrugged out of his shirt, his back to her, and she couldn’t help but admire the way his muscles rippled as he walked toward the raised platform. Pulling open a drawer, he took out a rectangular case.
