“Why haven’t you been answering your mobile?”
“I turned it off to enjoy the evening with Angelina. I didn’t want anything to interrupt us. Which you are doing right now. What do you have for me?”
“Big news. ESP Motors is having a press conference tomorrow to announce a new engine design that they are putting into production on all of their cars.”
“You called me for this? We leaked the wrong plans, you know that. All that Barty Eastburn has is a revamped version of a V-8. He’s going to look like an idiot.”
“No, he’s not. Dominic, he has your plans. The real plans for the Vallerio Incorporated engine. The one that Emile worked so hard to design.”
Dominic sank into the leather chair next to the desk. How the hell had this happened? “That’s not possible. We kept the plans under lock and key. No one knows about the new plans except me and Emile Vallerio. That’s it.”
“One other person knows, Dominic.”
“Angelina?”
“Yes, she has access to your office,
and
you’ve been living with her for the last six months. I consider her a prime suspect.”
“Dammit. That’s impossible.”
“I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I called Emile’s office, and he said you have the only copy of the plans. I’ve got enough evidence to go the local authorities. But all they will do is set an injunction against ESP Motors. Do you want me to do that?” Ian asked.
“Who did you talk to in Emile’s office? Emile himself?”
“No, he was in a meeting. His assistant, Belle, answered my questions, and then Emile called me back.”
“Go to the authorities, then. Do you have evidence against Angelina?” he asked. He couldn’t imagine that she’d betray him again. For one thing, he just didn’t believe she could have faked being in love with him.
“Yes. The tape clearly says that De Luca is bringing the plans on the Eurostar from Paris. I met the train in St. Pancras station and Renni was on it.”
“Renni’s not Angelina. Are you sure she gave him the information?”
“Not a hundred percent, but he works in your factory…do you think he got it himself?”
“I have no idea. Let me talk to Angelina and I’ll call you back.”
What if she had betrayed him again? What if she were playing him for a fool? But he knew she wasn’t. He’d had her watched. Had been careful not to leave any proprietary information in his own office. How would Renni have known where to go?
Deep inside where he’d always feared that he was like Lorenzo Moretti, he was afraid he had the confirmation he’d been looking for. His love for Angelina had brought the Moretti curse down on him.
His love had made him weak, and if not for Ian would have cost Moretti a fortune.
“Dominic?”
“Angelina, come in please. We have a lot to discuss.”
“Yes, we do. I believe you were going to tell me,” she said.
“Before we get to that,” he said, “I need to talk to you about something very important.”
“Okay,” she said, moving slowly into the room.
She looked uneasy and he knew his attitude wasn’t helping. But if there was a leak and it involved her brother, then that meant Renni was in trouble again. That her brother was back to making the same stupid mistakes he had in the past. And this time Angelina wasn’t going to be able to bail him out, because he wasn’t about to let her sacrifice herself and their happiness for Renni’s.
Yet a part of him believed that she might not want to be with him if he put her brother in jail. But he couldn’t continue to let De Luca steal from him.
“Are you okay, Dominic? Did Ian give you bad news?” she asked, coming farther into the room.
“I’m fine. Everything is fine. Ian finally got the break he was searching for at ESP Motors.”
“Good. Did he find a way to connect Barty to the espionage?” she asked.
“
Sì,
he did. Angelina, I’m not sure how to say this, but the information came from our office.”
She blanched. “Do you think I did it?”
He shook his head. How could he have thought that for even a minute? She simply wasn’t the type of woman to lie that way. “No, but I think someone close to you did.”
He was trying to figure out when Renni could have gone to London to deliver the plans to Barty. Dominic had been in the office for twelve to fourteen hours a day. As he ran over the past week in his mind, he remembered that Renni had driven Angelina to work last week when she’d been too sick to accompany him to the Grand Prix race in Monza in Italy.
“Does ESP Motors have more information from us?”
“They have the new Vallerio engine design.”
“How did they get it? I thought Emile kept them,” she said.
He had lied to her and everyone else, making sure that the plans were safe in his office. “I had the only copy locked up in my office. Though I know that Emile and his assistant knew this, I don’t think the Vallerios would sell us out now.”
“No, they wouldn’t,” she said. She crossed her arms over her stomach, and he’d come to know her well enough to realize she was upset. Really upset. He wondered if her mind had gone along the same path as his to Renni.
“Has your brother had any access to your office?” Dominic asked.
“I didn’t let him into your office, Dominic,” she said. “Do you think I’d do that? I didn’t take those plans and give them to Barty Eastburn. I didn’t even know you had them in the office.”
“I know that.”
“Then how would Renni know?” she asked.
Dominic closed his eyes and reran every encounter he’d had with Renni De Luca. He remembered catching him in the production facility with a woman—a woman who was French. He wondered if she worked for Emile. It made sense.
“What was the name of the woman Renni was with at our reception?”
“Um…I can’t remember. Beatrix or Brigitte? Something with a
B.
”
“Belle,” Dominic said, realizing he’d just found the answer to how Renni had known that the plans were in his office.
“Yes, that’s it. Why?”
“I think I know how your brother knew where to find the plans.”
“I…what are you going to do?” she asked.
“What I should have done the first time,” Dominic said, getting to his feet. “Put him in jail.”
“To ask Gennaro to call me a cab. I can’t stay here while you plan to arrest my brother. He’s going to need a lawyer and my help. I don’t want to listen to any more of your accusations.”
“I can’t let this go,” Dominic said.
She saw the anguish in his eyes, and that did make her cry. “I know.”
His mobile rang before she could say anything else and he answered it.
“Moretti here,” he said. “Send the cops to arrest Renni. We need to call Emile. He has a leak in his office.”
She listened while he talked to Antonio catching him up on everything that had happened. As he talked she tried to piece everything together. How had Renni gotten plans that were only in Dominic’s office?
She leaned back against the wall, wrapping her arms around her waist. She was so tired. She really was. The men in her life wore her out.
Damn, Renni. How had he taken the plans and given them to Eastburn? The night of the reception he’d been in an unauthorized area, so she knew he would have no problems getting into any part of the Moretti Motors building. In fact, he’d visited her office a number of times…and when she’d come back from lunch the other day, her keys had been in the in-box.
Had that been it? She needed to find Renni and talk to him. If he’d taken her keys and broken in to Dominic’s files, she was never going to forgive him.
Dominic had turned his back on her and she knew that staying here wasn’t going to help anything.
She walked out of the library as quietly and as quickly as she could.
She dialed Renni’s number. “Hiya, Ang,” he said, answering on the first ring.
“Where are you, Renni?”
“Back in London. I really missed my old life,” he said.
“Angelina?” Dominic asked, coming into the hall.
“Gotta go, Ang,” Renni said, hanging up.
“Who was that?” Dominic asked.
She shook her head. She couldn’t do this. She was trapped between her brother and the man she loved.
“Renaldo?” he guessed.
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
She shook her head again.
“I’m sending you back to Milan,” Dominic said. “After this is resolved, I’ll call you.”
She nodded stiffly. There was no way she could deny him, but would her love change if he had her brother arrested?
Dominic stayed with her until the cab came.
As the cab drove away, she rooted around in her purse for a tissue and blew her nose. Then she took out her mobile phone.
The plans for the new engine had just been finalized and she guessed that Renni would have taken them with him to London. She would have to book herself a flight, but she
was
going there and she
was
going to confront her brother and Eastburn.
She needed to confront her brother and this time prove her loyalty to Dominic.
He knew why he’d jumped to conclusions, blamed his own fears of not believing she could really love him and that they could have it all.
He had expected to be betrayed by love, and in a way it had betrayed him and more than likely cost him the only woman he’d ever loved.
He finally realized that she must have gone to London in the hope of confronting Barty. He called his private pilot and had him ready the corporate jet.
He dialed her mobile number, but she still wasn’t answering his calls. He called Ian instead.
“This is Stark.”
“Ian, I think Angelina is on her way to London. Where are you?”
“I am tailing Eastburn, and he just entered Renaldo De Luca’s London flat.”
“I’m on my way to London. I don’t know where Angelina is, but if she shows up, keep her away from her brother and Eastburn. I don’t want her getting hurt,” he said.
At least not any more than he had hurt her already. The flight wasn’t a long one, but it felt like forever. Dominic tried to work but in the end realized that without Angelina his life would be nothing—his successes were hollow. Now he realized the truth about the Moretti curse.
The truth was that his grandfather and even his brothers to some extent had all cursed themselves. They’d believed they couldn’t have love and success, and so had sabotaged their own relationships so that they never had a chance at having it all.
He realized, too, that he’d never told Angelina he loved her, and he regretted that.
As soon as his plane landed he was in the car he’d had waiting and was speeding across London. Well, that wasn’t accurate. The traffic was horrific and he had to stop to buy a congestion ticket to get through London proper to Renni’s flat.
When he arrived he found Ian waiting outside with two policemen. “We have a warrant for the arrest of Barty Eastburn and Renaldo De Luca.”
“Good. Let’s go inside and get them,” Dominic said.
“Have you seen Angelina?”
“No, but I had to leave to get the warrant. Let me ask Steve,” Ian said, going to check with one of his men. He returned a minute later. “She might be inside. A woman matching her description entered a few minutes ago.”
“Dammit,” Dominic said.
He realized he didn’t care about arresting Barty or Renaldo. He just wanted to find Angelina and hold her in his arms again. He wanted to tell her he loved her and beg her to forgive him for believing she’d betray him.
They climbed the stairs and knocked on Renaldo’s door. They heard voices arguing and then the door opened. Barty stood off to one side with a bloody nose and Renni was seated on the couch. Angelina was standing in front of the open door.
The police rushed in and arrested both men. Neither of them said anything as they were cuffed and led away. Ian followed them through the door.
“What about me?” Angelina asked.
“I’m not having you arrested,” Dominic said.
“Why not? I thought you believed I was in on it, too.”
He shook his head. “Deep inside I didn’t believe it.”
“Don’t do this to me again, Dominic. I love you and that makes it too easy for me to believe the things you say. But now I know you can never trust me.”
Dominic drew her into his arms. “I trust you, Angelina. It’s myself I’ve never been able to trust. I’ve always been afraid that if I loved a woman I’d lose myself, and that was the one thing I didn’t want to do.”
“Are you saying you love me?” she asked.
“I do love you. More than I ever thought I could love any woman.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am.”
“How did you know to come here?” she asked. “Did you have proof of my innocence before you came to London?”
“No. When you took my car and left Lake Como I realized that you were hurt and angry and then I started to calm down. Once I did I realized you’d never betray me again.”
“Because I was afraid of you?” she asked.
“Because you loved me and you aren’t the type of woman who would ever betray someone she loves.”
“You’re right about that,” she said.
He kissed her and held her close to him. “I love you, Angelina.”
“I love you, too, Dominic.”
Dominic didn’t let go of Angelina for the rest of the day even when they went to the police station to talk to her brother. Renni hadn’t taken the plans out of spite, but to set up Barty so that the other man would leave both of the De Luca siblings alone.
After they got everything straightened out, Angelina and Dominic checked into the Ritz-Carlton and he made love to her in their suite. Only then did the panic in his soul cease. He held her in his arms and looked down at her face. “I do love you.”
“I know you do.”
“You’re going to marry me and give me lots of sons.”
“Am I?”
“Will you?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, I will.”