“I’m going to get back to your sister. Don’t worry—I’ll take care of her,” Enzo said, trying to reassure his friend.
“I’m counting on it.” Drake clicked off the call.
Enzo looked at his phone and scanned a couple of emails—nothing of major importance. He was retired, but still had a few irons in the fire. Nothing mafia-related, but still something. Sadly, those random emails didn’t keep him nearly as busy as he had hoped.
He headed back toward the dining room, glancing around at the crowd. Mostly well-heeled couples, a few families, and one woman sitting by herself at the bar. She shot him a smile. He gave her a nod but didn’t engage further. That wasn’t what he was here for. Besides, she was way too young for him.
He glanced over to Kathleen’s table and realized the table was empty. Restroom, maybe? He walked over to the table and sat down, just as Antonio came forward.
“Um, Signora Drake has decided to have dinner in her room,” the waiter said. “She asked that you let her be.”
Enzo grinned. That minx. He loved it. She was whip-smart, just like her brother, and she had a fiery temper to match. The red hair didn’t hurt either. Kathleen Drake was certainly… interesting.
“No, that won’t be necessary,” Enzo said smoothly. “If you could send mine up with Signora Drake’s, I’ll be joining her in her room.”
“Um…” Antonio hesitated.
Enzo switched to Italian. “Women,” he said with a shrug. “You know how they are. She’ll be fine once I get up there.”
The waiter gave a small shrug of his own and replied, “They are difficult creatures,” before nodding and walking back toward the kitchen.
Enzo got up and started out of the dining room. The woman at the bar caught his attention with a sudden flurry of motion. She looked almost panicked about something. Whatever it was, it wasn’t any of his business.
He headed out of the restaurant and moved toward the elevators. Whatever had rattled some random woman wasn’t his concern right now. His attention was focused solely on Kathleen Drake. A smile split his face. Oh, he was going to enjoy this evening with Kathleen. It was going to be the highlight of his week.
CHAPTER SIX
The elevator doors slid open into a small, quiet hallway. There were only two suites on this floor—hers was on the left. Kathleen turned and walked toward her door. Her fingers trembled slightly as she pulled her key from her pocket, exhaustion from the day still clinging to her. What a hell of a day it had been. She took a sip of her wine as the door clicked, and she pushed it open only for it to be wrenched violently from her hand.
Her heart leapt into her throat as her gaze snapped upward… straight into the face of the man from the alley. At least, she was almost sure it was him. A small, startled cry tore out of her, but before she could react, he lunged forward and slammed her into the wall, spilling her wine all over her as she dropped the glass to the hallway carpet.
Pain flared across her shoulder, but this time she was ready. She lashed out instinctively, her nails catching his cheek. He hissed and jerked away, shaking her off with frightening strength.
“Let go!” he snarled, his voice rough, urgent.
Kathleen tried to grab his arm, refusing to freeze this time, but he shoved past her like she weighed nothing. He ran down the hallway to the stairwell door. He banged it open and slammed shut behind him, the sound echoing down the hallway.
Kathleen took three steps toward the stairwell door, but stopped herself. Chasing him would be ridiculously dangerous, especially since she was in a dress and heels. For a second, she stood frozen, chest heaving, staring at the empty space where he’d been. Her pulse roared in her ears. She forced herself to turn back to her suite, picking up the wine glass from the carpet, noting that the red wine was soaking in. It would be a hell of a stain.And what a stupid, random thought that was, considering she’d just been attacked for the second time today, by the same man.
Straightening, she fumbled with the code again, shoving the door open and stumbling over the threshold. She paused to listen for any sounds coming from within, but the loud thump of her heart in her ears made it impossible to hear anything else. She took a deep breath, calmed herself, and cocked her head. No sound. All of her instincts said she was the only one in the hotel room.
She made her way across the living room and stopped to put the empty wine glass on the coffee table. Her hands were shaking so badly that she had to use both of them to steady the goblet. She grabbed the room phone and stabbed at the zero.
“Yes, Signora Drake?” a voice answered with a thick Italian accent.
“Someone was just in my room,” Kathleen blurted, her voice high and tight. “Hello? Someone was just in my room! They broke in, they’re running down the stairwell right now!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure!” she screeched, breath ragged.
“One moment. Hold, please.”
The line clicked, and fucking canned hold music grated on her eardrum. Kathleen stood there, vibrating with fury and disbelief, her grip white-knuckled on the receiver.
There was a knock at her door.
That was fast. Maybe things were improving. She set the phone down and crossed the room. She peered through the peephole, then pulled the door open in disbelief. “What are you doing here?” she demanded. She couldn’t deny the relief welling in her chest.
