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Halli frowned in confusion at the gruff declaration. His brother committed suicide. It’d been all over the news. Here, in Italy, in Trent’s villa, almost three months ago.
“Once we’re out of here,” Trent continued, “I’ll take you to Milan, to the Consulate General. You’ll be better off there. Safer. Then they can deal with the consequences of what you’ve done and help you find your family.”
Tears threatened, even though he’d just told her he’d take her exactly where she wanted to go. She really was losing it, because though she knew now she’d been wrong to come here, knew she should’ve listened to him, his recriminations piled on the guilt.
Until indignation reared up and reminded her, what the hell had he expected her to do? Sit in his house like a victim?
“Deal?” he demanded.
She nodded.
“I’m going to move my hand. Don’t. Scream.”
She shook her head, assuring him she’d be quiet.
His gaze narrowed, holding hers for one last quiet warning. “Understand this, if you don’t trust me to get us out of here, if you choose not to believe me right now, then we’re both as good as dead.”
Trent watched Halli jerk her head in another nod and finally, slowly, removed his hand. He was still pissed as hell, worried as to how they’d even get out of the building, and not the least bit sorry for the fear he’d stirred up in her eyes.
He stepped back, paused briefly at the sight of her slim figure in the tight Wet &
Wild T-shirt, then spun to survey the contents of the closet. It was time to pull off the act of a lifetime. If he didn’t, it might be his last.
“How’d you find me?” Halli whispered.
“Where else were you going to go?”
“I might have gone to my hotel.”
“Supposedly, you had no money, and honey, you don’t strike me as the type to stick out your thumb on the side of the road. Not that it would’ve done you any good anyway, since your brother and sister never checked in.”
“What? How—”
He tossed her a frown. “Shhh.”
She moved closer and grabbed his arm. Lowered her voice to a desperate whisper. “How do you know? I never mentioned the name of the hotel we were going to stay at. How—”
“I found your travel itinerary with your passport and money and called to check. As of about an hour ago, neither of them had registered. Your brother isn’t answering his cell, either.”
The concern in her eyes told him he probably should’ve kept that information to himself until after they were on the way to Milan.
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
Tell him something he didn’t know. It had him a little worried, too, but it wasn’t his problem. Same as she’d no longer be a pain in his ass as soon as he dropped her at the consulate.
Trent grasped her shoulders, forcing her gaze to meet his. “Forget them for now and concentrate on us. You can’t find them if you’re dead.”
Fear flashed in her eyes again, but she stiffened her spine and determination overrode all else. Good. Maybe she finally understood the seriousness of the situation. He stepped over to a shelf with clothes items folded on it. He’d seen a janitor working during the day at Lorenzo’s station once or twice, so this might work. He shrugged out of his leather jacket and tossed it to Halli.
She folded it over her arm, against her stomach. “The female officer who was getting me a soda has probably found out I’m gone by now.”
“Yep.” He jerked a pair of coveralls out and held them up. Too small for him, too big for her. As he tossed them aside, he instructed, “Do something with your hair. Put it up. Something so it looks different.”
“I’m pretty sure there’s an exit just down the hall. That’s where I was headed when you grabbed me.”
Trent glanced over in surprise. “You were leaving?”
“I saw the guy from the villa, too. I think his name is Alrigo. At least that’s what the officer called him—”
