He nodded. “Alright. I’ll get my team organized. I’ll meet you out front.”
She gave him a small smile and sipped her coffee. Enzo walked back to his office with a strange heaviness lingering in his chest. He’d caused her fear, her distress. It twisted him in ways he didn’t like.
He should have left that stupid statue. Then he would be out of this now. He cursed. No, he argued with himself, he wouldn’t.Vitale would have come after him anyway and told him to get the map back. That fiend had Bianca and wanted the map. He wouldn’t have just let Enzo off the hook.
No, it was a good thing he had the map, but it had brought danger to Kathleen’s door, and he was heartsick over that.
He sent quick texts to his men about the plan, tidied his desk, and locked down anything he had to leave behind. He wasn’t sure when he’d be back. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure he’d be back at all. When you were dealing with Alessandro Vitale or Rocco Rinaldi, life became uncertain. Enzo put feelers out to find out exactly what play Rocco had. That was all he could do at the moment, so he set that worry aside.
A few minutes later, he walked to the front door. Kathleen was standing on the steps, his man was already loading her bag. Two SUVs waited at the curb. Kathleen climbed into the first SUV. The security team piled into the second.
Enzo drove. When they pulled out, another SUV slid into line ahead of them, a lead car. Danilo was driving. He wasn't taking chances. Danny was the best he had, after himself. They’d both taken a lot of driving courses and done some racing, so they were more familiar with fast speeds and evasive driving than anyone else. Which reminded him that he needed to ask Danny why Matteo had been driving the other day. He’d done well enough, but it could have ended very differently.
They wound through the streets of Milano toward the airport. He checked in with his team. No tail. That didn’t comfort him. If Vitale wanted a tail, Enzo would never see it.
They pulled into the departures area. Kathleen turned to him.
“Well… thank you.”
A short bark of laughter escaped Enzo, surprising them both. “For what? I think I’ve only gotten you into more trouble.”
She smiled, a hint of her usual spark returning. “Maybe. But at least we had fun doing it.”
He nodded, a tight ache in his chest. “Take care of yourself.”
“I’ll do my best.”
He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. She caught his face in her hands and deepened the kiss, taking him by surprise. Then she broke off the contact and offered him a quick smile before reaching for the door as one of Enzo’s men opened it for her. They flanked her immediately as she slid out. At the last second, Enzo made a decision. He hopped out of his door and quickly joined her. He didn’t want her to go, but more than that, he needed to be sure she was safe.
“I’ll walk you in,” he said. “At least as far as I can.”
He scanned the area. Nothing seemed off. Which only made the ache in his chest tighter.
They walked into the airport with his security team close behind. Most travelers here were used to people with bodyguards; no one paid attention.
Kathleen had already checked in. She carried only a small bag. She’d left most of her stuff with Aldo and had asked that he ship it to her since she didn’t want to bother with checked luggage. Enzo appreciated her efficiency. Most women he knew wouldn’t part with all of the new clothing they’d just purchased.
As they approached the passport control line, Enzo’s spine prickled. Something was wrong. He scanned the terminal. Nothing. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He scanned again.
Two men were loitering near the wall on their left, near the passport queue. It was hard to tell for sure because they were wearing ballcaps, but hefeltthey watched too closely. Paid too much attention.
He continued to scan. One more on the right. A woman this time. Still on this side of security. He alerted his men.
At least they were on this side. He could get her through security, but then what? She would be on her own. Maybe he should go back and buy a ticket so he could walk her right to the door of the jetway.
Enzo continued his sweep. His stomach dropped. Just ahead, right before the security lane, were four men he recognized immediately as Vitale’s men. They stood in a cluster, boldly staring.
“We have to—” He broke off as Dominic, one of Vitale’s right-hand enforcers, approached. Enzo’s men immediately encircled him and Kathleen.
Dominic smiled, sharp, amused, deadly. “Enzo. Good to see you. But we have a request… Mr. Vitale prefers Miss Drake remains with you.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck what Vitale prefers?—”
Dominic held up a hand, still smiling. “If Miss Drake goes through security, my men on the other side will grab her. If you call in a jet, we have men stationed there, too.”
Despite the conversation being conducted in Italian, Kathleen stiffened beside him.
“Vitale prefers,” Dominic continued smoothly, switching to English, “that you stay together.”
