Authors: C. De Melo
I smiled at my brother-in-law
for the benefit of my bodyguards. “You have my silence…and my help,” I said through my teeth.
He breathed a sigh of
relief and murmured, “Thank you.”
I stood up and took the cup from his hand.
“The only reason I want to help you is to prove that Michael is innocent.”
“Zoë…”
“I refuse to believe that Michael would willingly involve himself with a terrorist. There must be a reasonable explanation. Maybe he’s being blackmailed. For God’s sake, Lance, the man is a national hero,” I said before walking to the trash can and tossing out the paper cups.
Lanc
e followed me to the trash can. “I can accept that, and I hope you’re right. There’s nothing I would like more than to prove my brother’s innocence and have the CIA leave me alone. Let’s work together and see what we can find. Deal?”
“Deal.
”
***
The day had lost its magic after Lance’s disturbing confession. We continued walking around Rome and enjoying the historical sites, but there was tension between us now. Later that evening, we went out for a light dinner before saying goodnight to each other. I went to bed, but couldn’t sleep. The digital clock on the nightstand read two o’ clock. I tossed and turned for a few more minutes before deciding to get up and get some fresh air on the terrace. I grabbed a cashmere sweater to wear over my satin slip and headed for the door.
This is madness
.
There was no way
Michael was guilty. At this late hour, the lights were turned off and the terrace was closed to the public. The moon was shedding its silvery light upon the leaves of the potted trees making them appear metallic. As I looked up at the moon, I replayed the conversation I had earlier with Lance over and over in my head. And then it hit me.
Al Majed
...
“Mom,” I
gasped aloud with terrifying realization.
I flew
down the stairs, through my room and out the door. With racing heart, I stepped out into the hallway in my bare feet. I heard the door across from my room open and my name being called. The security team was aware of my every move. One of Michael’s men called out, chasing after me.
I looked over my shoulder, c
ompletely oblivious of my scanty attire. “I need to speak with my brother-in-law. It’s an emergency.”
I didn’t bother w
ith the elevator. I ran down the steps and stopped in front of Lance’s room. The security guard was watching from the open door of the stairwell. I pounded on the hotel room door until Lance opened it. He had a gun in his hand and I stepped back instinctively. He followed my gaze to the security guard, and gave the man an ‘okay’ sign by nodding his head. When the security guard turned his back, he pulled me into the room and locked the door behind me.
“You scared the hell out of me,” he said, placing one hand on the wall and allowing his shoulders to sag in relief.
“When the alarm went off that you’d left the room, I was up instantly. You almost gave me a heart attack.” He looked down at my bare feet and my clothing (or lack thereof) before demanding, “What are you doing wandering around the hotel at this ungodly hour?”
“M
y mother knew about Al Majed!” I blurted out.
He looked at me incredulously.
“
Of course
she knew about him. She worked for CAT.” He stopped short when he noticed I was trembling from head to toe. “Why are you so upset? What’s wrong?”
“
Al Majed made an appearance at the Christmas party!” I was beginning to hyperventilate. “He showed up without an invitation!” Lance put the gun down on the dresser and frowned. “You own a gun?” I asked, surprised.
He
led me to a chair. “Never mind about that now, slow down and breathe.”
I sat down and took a deep breath. “
My mother must have recognized him…she had no history of heart disease!”
He knelt in front of me. “I’m not
quite following you.”
“
I saw her leave Michael’s office!” I cried. “Don’t you see? I saw my mother’s face- she looked very upset before walking into the kitchen. A moment later she was dead!”
Lance gripped my
shoulders. “Are you implying that your mom may have been murdered at the party because she recognized Al Majed?”
I felt myself nodding.
“Maddy and I were so baffled by her sudden heart attack. She had been fine all day at the spa. She was as healthy as a horse and even drank martinis that night! She never complained of heart trouble.”
I felt
woozy and I placed my head in my hands. He walked to the bed and opened the drawer of his nightstand. I saw him remove a silver flask. There was a small glass on the dresser and he filled it with the amber colored liquid he poured from the flask.
“Drink this,” he said.
“What is it?”
“Good old fashioned
scotch,” he replied. “It’ll calm you down and help you sleep.”
I drank the contents in the glass.
It was like swallowing liquid fire and the heat radiated throughout my body until I felt deliciously relaxed.
“Better?” he asked.
I nodded and he added, “Good.”
“You do believe me, don’t you?”
“I do, but right now you need a good night’s sleep because you’ve had a long day. Nothing will get resolved in Italy, so I want you to enjoy the rest of your stay in Rome. We’ll deal with this when we get back to D.C.”
“Promise you’ll help me?”
“I promise.”
He was wearing nothing
but a pair of black athletic drawstring pants, and his hair was untied and disheveled. As my eyes roamed over his body, I noticed that every muscle of his chest was tense and hard.
“Come on, I’ll walk you to you
r room,” he said, helping me up and leading me towards the door.
We took the lift up to my
room. Once inside, he did a thorough check to make sure there were no lurking gypsy thieves, and then he stepped into the bathroom out of the camera’s range. I followed him and leaned my hip against the sink. In the back of my mind I wondered what Michael’s security team was thinking. They would have an interesting report for my husband the next day. Perhaps I should have waited to speak with Lance privately; I had raced to his room in panic.
Too late to worry about that now.
“Are you okay?” he asked, looking at me intently.
“
I just need to know the truth about my mother’s death.”
“And you will,” he assured. “It’s on my priority list.”
I sighed. “Sorry for waking you in the middle of the night…I reacted without thinking.”
He shook his head. “You did the right thing. Let’s get some sleep
, okay? Big day tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
He nodded, satisfied.
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Lance.”
But he did not leave. He eyed me steadily with a questioning look on his face. I took a step towards him and opened my mouth to speak, but he suddenly leaned forward and silenced me with a kiss. The feel of his lips were warm, firm. He pressed his body against mine and I did not pull away. My hands crept up his muscular arms and around his neck.
When he pulled away, h
is eyes were troubled. “I’m sorry- I need to go.”
He said nothing more as he opened t
he door and left the suite. I stood frozen with my fingertips upon my slightly throbbing lips. I closed my eyes; I could still smell his scent.
***
I received a message from Lance during breakfast stating that he could not accompany me to the Vatican Museum. For some absurd reason, tears welled up in my eyes. It was time to be honest with myself. I was falling for my brother-in-law and he was obviously mortified by our kiss last night.
I dressed in the bathroom and left my suite to further explore Rome. The Vatica
n itself was as opulent as ever and its museum was overwhelming. I enjoyed the Sistine Chapel with Bill and Drew (who took turns looking up at the ceiling in awe), and tried to ignore the fact that Lance had not called me once throughout the day. Nor had he bothered to invite me to dine with him that evening. I was forced to eat my last dinner in Rome alone.
The next morning
when I called the bellhop to carry my luggage down to the awaiting limo, I toyed with the idea of calling Lance. I decided against it, however. Since it was no longer a secret that Lance and Michael’s security team were spying on me, we all boarded Michael’s private jet at the same time.
“Good morning, Zoë,” Lance said pleasantly, passing my seat to take his own a few rows behind me.
“Good morning,” I replied quietly.
The security team members were discussing something with
him and he tore his gaze away from mine. The flight home was smooth and Michael was waiting for me at the airport with an armful of white lilies.
“How lovely,” I said, accepting his kiss on my cheek.
“Welcome home, princess. I’ve missed you,” he said.
“I’ve missed you, too.”
Michael shook his brother’s hand. “Thanks for keeping an eye on her for me.”
“There is no need to thank me,
” Lance replied with a smile.
“If you’ll excuse us, I have a wonderf
ul evening planned for Zoë.” Michael turned to look at me and added, “That is, of course, if you aren’t too tired.”
“Not at all,
” I assured.
“I have reservations at Babette’s and theater tickets to see
Othello
.”
“Sounds great,” I said
.
“You two have fun,” Lance said
, looking at me.
Michael led me to the car. When I looked over my shoulder, Lance was watching me with an expression akin to misery
.
***
The day after my arrival from Rome, Michael informed me that he was going to London.
“
Again?” I blurted out, causing him to raise an eyebrow at me. I quickly added, “You’ve been going there a lot lately. When do you leave?”
“In a couple of days,” he
replied.
“Weren’t you
there recently?”
He looked at me
blankly for a few seconds. “Oh, yes, but I need to go back for another reason.”
“I see.”
“If you’ll excuse me
, I need to get some work done.”
“
Okay.” I looked out the window. “It’s nice out…I think I’ll go for a run.”
“Be careful,” he warned.
I drove to the nearby park and jogged over to a private bench. Making sure there was no one around, I called Lance. “Can you talk?” I asked as soon as his face appeared in the screen.
His eyes lit up at the sight of me, and then he composed himself.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Michael is leaving for London in a few days…or so he says.”
“I haven’t heard anything from the CIA so his trip may be legitimate.”
“Oh.”
“But we can take advantage of his absence. I want to take a look at that trunk.”
“You haven’t told anyone about it, have you?”
“No, but I do need to bring a lock specialist with me.” At the sight of my worried expression, he added, “How else are we going to open it without Michael knowing?”
“I guess you have a point.”
“A pro will be able to pick the lock so we can relock it afterward.”
“I’
ll call you as soon as Michael has gone.” There was an awkward pause of silence. Finally, I said, “Okay, well, I hope you have a good day.”
“Zoë?”
“Yes?”
“Everything is going to be all right. Don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried about that,” I said pointedly.
He sighed. “I’m sorry about what happened in your room. I didn’t mean to
kiss you and I’m so ashamed. I can’t even face you.”
“You’ve been blowing me off ever since,” I
retorted, my pent up frustration finally released.
“
I’ve been avoiding you, yes, but not because I don’t want to be around you,” he explained quickly. He ran a hand through his hair and looked down. “The truth is I want to spend all my time with you, but I can’t. The day we went to the Galleria Borghese was the best day of my life…and I have to continually remind myself that I spent it with my brother’s wife.”
“Lance…”
“You deserve respect and admiration, which is what I have for you, Zoë. I never meant to overstep the boundaries by kissing you. I just couldn’t help myself and I’m truly sorry.” He stopped speaking and I could only stare at him with my mouth agape. Finally, he said, “I’m going now before I make an even bigger ass of myself. I’ll see you soon.”