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“What’s happening?” she muttered as he carried her down the hall to the closest guest room.
“You hit the wall,” he replied, sitting her on the edge of the bed.
“What does that mean?”
“You’re exhausted. Bianca, look at me.”
“I don’t feel so good,” she mumbled, staring at him with half-lidded eyes.
“I know, you need to sleep. Can you take off your wet clothes?”
“Uh… yeah… I think so.”
“Do it, then get into bed,” he said, bending down and removing her soaked sneakers and socks. “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.”
Straightening up and heading into the hall, he paused to look back at her. Watching her slowly lift her sweater over her head, his heart melted. The tough, confident young woman he’d driven up the canyon was now vulnerable and weak. The image of Matteus Anderson suddenly flashed through his head.
“Bastard,” he grunted under his breath as he strode away to lock the front door.
Marching to his bedroom, he stripped, wiped off with a towel, dressed in warm joggers, a pullover, and thick socks, then returned to check on her. Knocking gently but receiving no response, he poked his head in. She was between the sheets and her clothes were in a heap on the floor. Quietly entering and picking them up, he stared down at her pale face. Her breathing was deep and even. She was sound asleep.
Heading to the laundry room and tossing her clothes in the washing machine, he moved to the living room and poured himself a splash of whiskey. As he downed it in one gulp, he could feel his mind and body start to settle. But he also realized it wouldn’t be difficult for Matteus Anderson to track down Nick Vincelli Security Services.
Quickly returning to his bedroom, Nick grabbed his phone, and using a secure number, he sent a message to his assistant telling her to be on orange alert. It was code. She would know all calls were to be sent to his burner phone. With nothing more to be done until Bianca gave him the details of her kidnapping, he undressed, but left on his T-shirt and boxers, then slipped into bed.
He’d rescued her from the beach house, driven the coastal road through a wild storm, and made it safely up the canyon to the hacienda. But the days ahead would be even more perilous. He was about to be immersed in the world of organized crime, and he’d have to deal with Lorenzo Albertini, one of its kings.
CHAPTER4
Ashrill scream piercing the sound of the heavy rain jolted Nick from sleep. Leaping from his bed and racing to his closet, he snatched his weapon from its hiding place, dashed to the door, cracked it open, and peered up and down the short passage. With no sign of life, he slipped from the room, crept to the end of the main hallway, and poked his head around.
A single lamp burned on a narrow table against the wall. Seeing no one and with nothing disturbed, he wondered if he’d been dreaming, but a second cry from Bianca’s room sent him quickly but stealthily forward. Glancing up at the alarm box in the foyer as it came into view, he saw the tiny green light.
He paused.
The alarm was operating and would have been activated if any of the doors or windows had been opened.
“No, no, no!”
Bianca’s third wail sent a chill down his spine.
His pulse racing and his senses on high alert, he cautiously opened her door and peered inside. To his great relief she was in the throes of a nightmare and flailing her arms in the air. Hurrying to the bed and placing his gun on the nightstand, he leaned over her, grabbed her wrists, and held them down.
“Wake up, Bianca, wake up, it’s just a dream.” He heard her sharp intake of breath, then her eyes popped open. “You’re safe, it’s okay. Do you understand? Nothing happened. You had a nightmare.”
“M-Matteus, he was here,” she stammered. “He-he had his knife.”
“It was just a dream. He’s not here, and no one has any idea where you are.”
“He has a switchblade,” she continued, sitting up and holding the bedcovers across her chest as Nick released his grip. “He c-carries it everywhere. He was leaning over me and holding it against my neck. It was so real.”
“Hey, I get it, I’ve had my share of lucid dreams,” Nick said reassuringly. “Take a deep breath, you don’t have to worry. This house has an excellent alarm system. I know, I installed it myself, but it’s irrelevant. Matteus wouldn’t even know where to start looking, and even if he did, he can’t in this weather.”
“Thank God,” she mumbled with a heavy sigh. “I’m almost grateful for the wild storm.”
“I certainly am,” Nick said with a grin. “There’ll be mudslides for sure. Even if he wants to start cruising through these canyons when it blows out of here, he won’t find us. Do you think you can go back to sleep now?”
