Defying his command to stay put, she followed Enzo down the stairs, and when he opened the door to admit Antonio, she almost groaned aloud. She’d forgotten all about dinner, and now she’d completely lost her appetite. She did spot the bottle of wine on the cart, though. She could definitely use a glass of that.
Antonio shot her a strange look but said nothing as he set up the meal on the dining table. She wanted to tell him to take it all back to the kitchen, but she knew doing so would cause an argument with Enzo. No reason to cross that bridge while she was so emotionally weak.
When had she started thinking of Valardi as Enzo? She needed to be more on her guard. That’s why all of this had happened. She’d relaxed. Let down her defenses. Thought she was finally free of the past and that nothing could hurt her, and here she was again. Hell, she’d even gone to Italy a few times, something she’d been deathly afraid of since her ex was Italian American with serious mafia ties. She stole a look at the man… It was time to be on her guard and maybe even be on her way.
Antonio left without saying a word. He hadn’t made her sign a bill either. She imagined they were all worried heads would roll since she was the boss’s sister and she’d been attacked in his hotel.
“Shit,” she said.
“What?” Enzo asked as he opened the wine.
“My brother. I’m going to have to tell him about this, aren’t I? God, he’s never going to leave me alone now.”
Enzo poured wine into two glasses and handed her one, and then gestured for her to sit at the table. “I am certain he already knows. Have you ever known him to be in the dark about oneof his properties?” His sardonic grin hammered home his point. “Let me deal with your brother. For now, just tell me about this statue…Ernie, did you call it?”
Kathleen took a sip of wine and then set her glass down. Her hands were still a little shaky. “I first noticed it on the plane when I was looking through my purse for something.”
Enzo’s gaze snapped to hers. “Say that again? Your purse wasn’t yours?”
Kathleen sighed. “At the airport, I noticed a small rip on the handle of my bag. I didn’t think much about it. Then I got on board the jet, and we decided to come here instead of Paris, due to all the strikes. We hit some turbulence, and my bag fell over. I saw the handle, and there was no rip. So, I searched my bag, but it had everything in it, my wallet and passport, everything. It just also had this little gnome-like statue standing about this high,” she gestured with her fingers, “and a fat little belly. Quite ugly, but almost so ugly it was cute. I named him Ernie.”
“I see,” Enzo commented. “And you brought Ernie here to Lugano with you. Did anyone ask you anything at customs?”
Kathleen frowned. “Er, no. Why would they?”
“Exactly, why would they?” He shook his head, but his gaze had gone icy. “And then what happened?”
“Nothing. I came to the hotel and then got up this morning and went shopping.”
“Where someone boosted your bag.”
“Yes,” Kathleen agreed.
“Tell me,” Enzo growled, “did you have to get a new room key?”
Kathleen blinked. “Er, yes. The original was in my purse.”
Enzo swore. “Someone used you to smuggle that statue into Europe. You were supposed to land in Paris, but let me guess, you changed your plans once you were already on the jet?”
She nodded.
“Right, so it took them overnight to find you. Today they stole the purse, hoping to retrieve the statue, but when it wasn’t in your bag, they had to come looking for Ernie.”
Kathleen’s heart slammed double-time. Could that be true? She thought about it for a few seconds as the reality of the situation sank in. She’d been such an idiot for not seeing it before. She’d been used as a mule to carry the statue here, and now whoever slipped it into her bag wanted it back.
Enzo sighed. “The good thing is, they’ll leave you alone now that they have their statue back.”
Kathleen jolted upright in her seat. Then she got up and started up the stairs toward the bedroom.
“Kathleen?” Enzo questioned as he followed her.
“Well, I didn’t know what to do with Ernie. I didn’t want the hotel staff to think it was mine because it really is ugly. So I wrapped it in a towel and stowed it under the vanity in the bathroom, figuring I would deal with it later. I was exhausted from the wedding and the flight and the jet lag, and I just forgot about Ernie altogether.”
She walked into the bathroom and immediately bent down to retrieve a rolled-up towel from under the marble vanity. She straightened, set the bundle on the counter, and then unrolled it.
Ernie stared up at them with his weird little gnome-like face.
“That is the ugliest thing I have ever seen,” Enzo commented.
