I drew her in close to me. “It means you care.”
Her arms wrapped around me tightly, as if this was the last time she would ever hug me. “I more than care, Nic.”
My head pulled back. I wanted to ask her what she meant when she said she wasn’t sure how much more she could take, but I let it go. She was probably overwhelmed by my family. “Let’s go back to my place.”
She smiled. “I have to work in the morning. I’m leaving the next day for Italy and there is so much to do before I go.”
My gut cramped. Who was she talking to on the phone? “Are you looking forward to seeing anyone in particular when you go to Italy?”
Her body tensed. “Um . . . no. Why would you ask me that?”
Shrugging, I replied, “I don’t know, just wondering if there was a family member or someone you were excited to see.”
Gabi forced a smile. “No. It’s been so long since I’ve been there.”
I nodded. “Gabi, if there was something wrong, you’d tell me.”
She swallowed hard. Her eyes searched mine and I could see she wanted to tell me.
“This trip is about letting go, Nic. There is something I need to take care of and it’s . . . it’s complicated.”
I could easily ask her if it was Antonio she was letting go . . . but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t trust that she wouldn’t put up a wall.
“Let’s go back to your place so I can hold you in my arms tonight.”
Her body relaxed and she smiled. “I think that sounds like an amazing plan.”
Gabi stood at my truck and gave me a sweet smile. “I’ll miss you.”
A strange ache filled my chest.
“I’ll miss you too,” I said. All I really wanted to do was pull her into my arms and beg her to tell me what was going on.
Lifting my hand, I placed it on the side of her face. “I love you, Gabi.”
Her eyes filled with tears as she covered my hand with hers. “I love you too.”
She opened her mouth as if to say something else, but closed it.
There was no doubt in my mind, she was keeping something from me and I was hell bent on finding out what it was.
Why couldn’t I just ask her? Because I was afraid of the truth.
What good would come of me following her to Italy? Nothing, and I knew that. It said I didn’t trust her.
I forced out my next words. “I should probably head out.”
She nodded. I hated lying to her about having to go to work.
Leaning down, I kissed her. It started off slow and sweet, but she soon had her arms around me and her body pressed against mine.
She pulled her lips back some and whispered my name.
“Nic.”
Dropping my forehead to hers, I took in a deep breath.
“I’ll call you when I land,” she whispered.
I nodded. “Okay. If I don’t answer, I’m on a call.” With a sweet innocent smile, she reached up one more time. “Have a safe trip, Gabi.”
She swallowed hard. “Stay safe. I love you.”
My heart stilled. She said the words and I knew in my heart she meant them. I winked. “Always, and I love you too.”
Climbing up into my truck, I glanced back at her. I silently pleaded with her to tell me why her eyes looked so lost. When she lifted her hand in a wave, I did the same.
When I pulled away from her place, I took my phone out and hit Liam’s number.
“Hey,” he said.
“Anything?”
“Listen, Nic, I think you need to let this go.”
My heart jumped to my throat. “What did you find out from your friend at the FBI?”
Liam’ sighed.
“This sneaking behind her back doesn’t feel right, Nic.”
“No fucking shit. Neither does following her to Italy. I feel like a goddamn stalker. I want more than anything to believe she isn’t hiding anything, but she is. So what did he find out?”
“There’s nothing he can find on a Gabi or Gabriella Mandola before six years ago.”
“Nothing?”
“No. He checked the entire east coast for a five-year span on either side of her date of birth. It came back with nothing. It’s like she didn’t exist but up until six years ago.”
“What about her social?”
Liam grew silent.
“Liam?”
He blew out a quick breath. “When he typed it in it came back with . . . classified.”
My breath stalled in my chest.
“What?”
“Yeah. He’d have to get a different security clearance to get in. I’m sorry, Nic. He hit a dead end. But he did say she could be in some sort of witness protection.”
I scrubbed my free hand over my face and cursed. “What in the fuck?”
Holy fucking shit. What in the hell was going on?
“Nic, I’m really sorry. He doesn’t have any other information.”
I sighed in frustration. “It’s alright. Listen, I’ve got a flight to catch so I’ll be out of touch for about twelve hours.”
“Dude, I really wish you would rethink this. I have a bad feeling you’re not going to like what you see in Italy.”
I wanted to agree with him.
“I’ll see you in a few days. Thanks, Liam. Appreciate all you did for me.”
Hitting End, I tossed my phone on the passenger seat. I had to hustle to get to the airport in time to catch my flight. Somehow I’d managed to get on a flight that left three hours before Gabi’s. I’d beat her to Italy and get my plan laid out better.
All this trouble and what was I hoping to find out?
The truth.
The only problem was; I was beginning to think the last thing I wanted to know was the truth.
The ball cap was pulled low on my head as I watched people embark off of Gabi’s plane. When I saw her, my breath caught. She was wearing a free flowing long white dress. Her hair was down and she looked beautiful.
She also looked nervous as hell as she frantically looked around her.
Tossing my bag over my shoulder, I started to follow her, being sure to keep a good distance back as we all walked to the baggage claim. I couldn’t help but notice how since she left the gate area she had kept her head down and didn’t really look at anyone.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out.
It was from Liam asking if I had made it and how it wasn’t too late to turn this around.
I closed my eyes and cursed internally. I hated not knowing what was going on. My gut was telling me something was off . . . way off . . . and I wouldn’t rest until I found out what it was.
Gabi pulled out her phone and a few seconds later, mine buzzed in my hand. I sent it to voicemail. She glanced around again and then smiled. She must be listening to my message. Dropping her head, she left me a message, hung up, then waited for her luggage.
Gabi headed out of the airport with one suitcase. I’d already had Liam’s FBI buddy Jim Linde arrange to meet me at the airport. He was working over here on a case and was more than willing to help me out. We’d met earlier and he was waiting outside where all the Taxi’s lined up to pick people up.
When I stepped outside, I headed quickly over to his car while keeping an eye on Gabi.
Slipping in, he asked, “Is that her?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
He frowned.
“What?”
Shaking his head, he replied, “She looks really familiar that’s all.”
I looked at him. “Really?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I can’t place it though.”
Gabi slipped into a taxi and we hung back far enough so we wouldn’t add any suspicion.
“What’s her name?” Jim asked.
Turning to him, I answered, “Gabi Mandola. Do you think you know her?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure. Has she been to Italy before?”
“I believe she used to come a lot with her family before her pa
rents died when she was in high school.”
Jim simply nodded. “Where is she from?”
“New Jersey.”
He looked at me and narrowed his eyes. “Huh. Interesting.”
What in the fuck was that supposed to mean?
“You’re staying at the same hotel as her?”
“Yeah.”
“How will you know when she leaves?”
I felt like such an asshole. “I put a tracker in her purse.”
He laughed. “Want a job with the FBI?”
I gave him a polite chuckle. “Believe me, had you asked me that six months ago I’d probably be all over it.”
“You have military training, plus you’re SWAT. Trust me, we’d be all over you.”
This time I turned and really looked at him. “Seriously? Did Liam tell you I was in the Marines?”
“Before I agreed to do this for Liam, I ran a background check on you.”
Now I laughed. “I can’t say I don’t blame you. How long have you been here, in Italy?”
“Four years. I was in our New York office prior to that”
“Wow. You ready to come home yet?”
Jim let out a chuckle. “Sometimes.”
He pulled back and parked on the street. “There’s your hotel.”
We both watched as the bellman helped Gabi with her luggage.
I jumped when Jim started talking. Shit, my nerves were shot.
“Lynn, I’ve got a Gabi Mandola checking into the Grand Hotel Trieste. I need the room number and a room booked as close as possible to it.”
Damn FBI. I was going to owe Liam and Jim big time.
“Right. Put it under the name Nic Drivas, but I want it a private booking.”
A few minutes later he was hitting End. “She’s on the seventh floor, 723.”
I added the information to my phone.
“You’re a few rooms down. Room 718.”
“Jim, I don’t know how to thank you for your help.”
He smiled. “Liam told me what was going on and although he doesn’t agree with what you’re doing, I get why you’re doing it. Sometimes there are things we have to know first, before we deal with it head on.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Let’s hope I’m wrong.”
Reaching his hand out for me, he said, “I’m not far from here. If she leaves and you want to follow, give me a call. It will take me two minutes to get here.”
I shook his hand. “Thanks, Jim. I appreciate all your help.”
As I made my way into the hotel, I couldn’t shake the strange feeling I had. My world was about to be turned upside, and I had no idea how much so.
I SAT ON the balcony and stared out over the beautiful city of Padua. No wonder Gabi’s family returned here every year. It was breathtaking. A part of me ached that I wasn’t able to share this with her. It was my first time in Italy and it should have been spent with the woman I loved showing me where her family was from. Instead, I was hiding out in the hotel like some creeper waiting for her to leave.
As if on cue, my phone beeped. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. Was I really going to do this?
Yes.
Standing, I walked back into the room and picked up my phone. I sent Jim a text and he called me back in a few seconds.
“Wait for her to leave, then come down to the front five minutes later.”
I paced my hotel room for the five minutes before I finally headed down to the lobby and out to Jim’s car.
Slipping into his black BMW again, I showed him my phone that was tracking Gabi.
“She’s heading into Padua.”
Jim hit the gas and started following the same route.
“Any idea who she is with?”
My heart dropped.
“Why? Did she leave with someone?”
“I didn’t see her walk out with anyone, but a car did pull up and she got in. I got the plates and I’m having them run.”
I swallowed hard while giving a slight nod. A part of me wanted to tell Jim to turn around. That none of this mattered and that I trusted Gabi with my whole heart. The other part was screaming to stay the course. That I needed to know who in the hell she was talking to on the phone. For all I knew, she could have hired a driver.
Jesus, this was insane.
“It looks like it stopped,” I said.
“Address?”
I called out the address and Jim pushed a little harder on the gas.
He turned the corner and found a parking spot. “There’s the car, and it looks like she’s still in it.”
My mouth dropped open as I stared at the Maserati. I pointed. “She got into a Maserati?”
He nodded. “And it looks like she’s waiting to get out.”
“Why? What is she waiting for?”
“Or who is she waiting for?” Jim added.
Glancing his way, I frowned then glanced back to the car. “This is crazy. I trust, Gabi. What the fuck am I doing?”
Jim let out a harsh laugh. “If you trusted her, Nic, you wouldn’t be thousands of miles away from home sitting in my car reaching for my binoculars to get a better look.”
I looked down. My hand was out stretched as I waited for him to hand me the binoculars.
“Fuck,” I whispered.
He handed them to me and I could see into the car better. There was an older gentleman in the car. Gabi was facing him, her smile big and bright.
The driver’s side door opened and the older guy got out.
“Money,” Jim said. “Whoever this is, he has a shit ton of it. Look at how he’s dressed.”
I didn’t answer him as I watched the guy look around. I put the binoculars down when his eyes swept our way.
“It’s like he is looking to see if they were followed or if someone was watching,” I said.
Looking over to Jim, I added, “He’s also carrying a gun.”
He smiled. “Nice observation. Who do you think he is?”
I shook my head and looked back over at the driver. “I have no fucking clue.”
“They’re parked outside of Giovanni’s.”
“You’ve been there?”
“Sure, lots of times. It’s a nice place, one of the nicest in the city.”
The driver put his finger to his ear.
“He has an ear piece in,” Jim said.
I scrubbed my hands down my face. “What in the fuck is going on? Who are these people she is with?”
Pushing off the side of the car, the driver walked to the passenger side and opened the door.
The first thing I noticed was her beautiful leg, then the other. Reaching his hand out for Gabi’s the guy helped her out of the car. She had on a black dress and black high heels. A coat was draped over her arm and the driver motioned to put it on her.
“Seems to me she is used to this kind of behavior. Does she come from money?”
I shrugged. “I have no fucking clue. Gabi told me her parents died when she was in high school. She owns a bakery in Colorado Springs, drives a normal car and doesn’t act like she grew up with money. She doesn’t talk about her past at all, so I have no idea. She told my family she doesn’t have any real close family over here, so who is this guy?”
“Maybe a family friend or distant uncle. You said they came here every summer.”
“Yeah, maybe. She mentioned her parents owning a bakery over here that an uncle I think runs now.”
“Giovanni’s isn’t a bakery, I can tell you that.”
Another Maserati pulled up and parked behind the one Gabi had gotten out of. Two guys got out of the front, both looked like cops.
“Know them?” I asked as I handed him the glasses.
Jim grabbed the binoculars. “What in the fuck?”
“What?” I asked.
“Yeah, I know them. They’re police officers.”
“From the US?”
He shook his head. “No. They’re um . . . they’re Padua officers. Looks like they’re working part-tim
e or undercover.” He looked over at me and gave me a look that said shit just got real.
My stomach dropped. “What? W-why . . . how does she . . . fucking hell.”
The one guy opened up the back door and a guy stepped out. He was dressed in a long black coat and had his back to us.
“Can you see his face?” I asked.
Jim cursed. “No, he is looking directly at Gabi.”
Gabi smiled and her face lit up so bright I felt sick. Whoever this guy was, she was happy as hell to see him.
Then it happened.
She ran to him. The smile on her face clearly showed how much she longed to be in his arms.
My heart slammed against my chest when her body crashed into the stranger. Her arms swung around his neck as his wrapped her up tight. When he leaned down to kiss her, I looked away.
It felt as if someone was sitting on my chest and I couldn’t breathe. How could she do this to me?
This is exactly why I never wanted to fall in love.
Jim was staring at me, and I couldn’t take the pity in his eyes. “Another man,” he said more than asked.
“Appears to be,” I said, forcing myself to look back at them. Anger and betrayal swept through my body. When he spun her around in his arms and her head flew back, my throat tightened. I couldn’t take looking at them. “Let’s go.”
“You don’t want to know who he is?”
I shook my head while trying to keep my voice from cracking. I’d never felt pain grip at my chest like it was right now. How could she do this to me? How could she lie? “Does it really matter at this point?”
The knife in my heart couldn’t possibly go in any deeper.
Jim pulled out and as we drove by the restaurant he slowed, they both turned and headed into it. It was like she had sensed I was there. Glancing over her shoulder, our eyes met.
Looking away, I took in a slow deep breath. “You wouldn’t mind swinging by the hotel so I could get my things and then taking me to the airport would you?”
“That’s it? You see her hug one guy and you’re out of here?”
A cold rush of air raced across my body. “I’ve seen enough. It has to be Antonio.”
He cleared his throat. “What? Who is Antonio?”
“The guy I heard her talking to over the phone.”
Jim ran his hand through his hair. He was deep in thought.
I stared at him. “You okay?”