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But she was an addiction hewouldbreak.
He shrugged out of his coat, ignoring her budding frown when he draped it over her shoulders. ‘We’re landing in five minutes. And in case you haven’t noticed, the temperatures are still negative digits out there.’ Alessio couldn’t stop the mild punch of primitive satisfaction when her fingers gripped the lapels and drew them closer to her body. ‘And next time you decide on another identity-switching escapade, perhaps you should put your foot down about packing more sensible clothes?’
‘You have enough on your plate,Signor Montaldi. Let me worry about how I dress in future.’ The saccharine smile she tagged on made him want to kiss her mouth all the more desperately, then drag a promise from her that she would never put herself in a similar situation for her undeserving sister again.
But he suspected his tigress would bite his head off. She was fierce when it came to her family.
Just...ashewas.
He sucked another breath as that singular truth dug deeper into him. And for the rest of their transfer from chopper to plane and through the myriad phone calls he had to field while they flew to their destination, Alessio couldn’t dispel the notion that they weren’t so dissimilar after all.
Giada pressed her phone to her ear for the sixth time since she boarded Alessio’s luxury private jet. She’d wanted to be relieved that he’d barely waited until take-off before disappearing through a door at the rear of the plane. But all she’d felt was increasing anxiety and a harrowinglossas they flew towards Sicily.
She’d seen the looks the airport staff and Alessio’s employees had cast her in the VIP lounge and as she’d boarded his airplane. Now she was no longer playing a part and consumed with getting her sister out of trouble, she was even more aware of how out of his league she was. No amount of reassuring herself that she didn’t care worked any more.
And he was taking her to the heart of his existence.
As much as she knew he put up a formidable façade, Giada had seen enough cracks to glimpse the pain that resided beneath that front. Having accepted that shedidcare, she feared her heart had different ideas. The foolish organ wanted to shield him, maybe even herself, from the true torment his vendetta had and would cost Alessio Montaldi.
So she kept calling Gigi. Kept leaving messages.
She was in the middle of leaving yet another when she felt him approach. Her very skin tingled and shivered, and her heart leapt in such an alarming way, Giada was already dreading looking at him.
Just as she was dreading looking deeper into the depth of her heart’s desire when it came to Alessio. A desire she suspected had scaled the ultimate emotion...
But that same compulsive yearning made her lift her gaze to the man with his hands in his pockets, regarding her from a seat away. Whose gaze searched hers with an intensity she wanted to scream at.
When that gaze dropped down to the phone clutched in her hand, she was almost relieved. Until he spoke.
‘If you’re trying to reach your sister, don’t bother. She’s not going to answer.’
Anxiety tore through her. ‘Why not? What have you done?’ she snapped.
His features hardened. A muscle ticced in his jaw. ‘I see you continue to think the worst of me. Does it give you satisfaction to do so?’
The silky query was at odds with the censure gleaming in his eyes. Giada felt a momentary pang of regret.
‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have automatically assumed. But I still want an answer. What’s...where’s Gigi? How do you know she’s not going to answer?’ Fear crawled up her throat as the questions spilled out.
Alessio advanced and sat down opposite her. ‘She’s unharmed.’ His face twisted with that disdain she hadn’t seen since before Christmas. Seeing it again sent a pulse of dismay through her. It didn’t matter, she told herself. All she cared about was Gigi. But she knew it was a lie as the hollow widened in her belly. ‘She’s been seen with a particularly unsavoury group in the South of France, hired by two of my uncles. The initial report is that she isn’t there willingly.’
Giada jerked forward in her seat. ‘What? Why?’
Another twist of contemptuous fury. ‘It looks like she trusted the wrong people.’ He shrugged. ‘Or she’s clueless as to who they truly are. Who knows?’
‘And? What aren’t you telling me?’
For an age, he simply stared at her. ‘They, and not your sister, are in possession of my crest. I suspect she’s not answering your calls because she’s unwilling to be forthcoming about the true prospects of recovering what she took.’
‘But she can’t...she wouldn’t just...’ She shook her head. ‘You said unsavoury. Just how unsavoury and why don’t you look more worried about your chances of getting back your property?’
The look that entered his eyes left her without a doubt as to the true nature of the man she was dealing with. ‘The information is still coming in about your sister. As for worrying about my chances...’ He gave an expressive shrug. ‘You forget that I’m a fixer, Giada. Which means I always come out on top, especially where my own interests are concerned. My propertywillbe recovered.’
She didn’t doubt him for a moment. So far only the most extreme kind offorce majeurehad stood in his way. ‘And what about Gigi?’ She hated how her voice trembled. Hated how she feared his answer because it would break her heart.
His eyes turned into hard chips. ‘I suspect she’ll resurface when she believes the coast is clear. But our deal still holds,duci. You won’t leave my sight until the Cresta Montaldi is in my hands,se?’
Giada was certain she should’ve been more outraged than she actually felt. But a numbness was overcoming her. And it had nothing to do with discovering what her sister had been up to. Or even Alessio’s insistence on keeping her captive. No, it was more to do with how she felt about Alessio Montaldi. And the absolute certainty that he would shatter her before this was over. But her breaking heart still held enough concern and love for her twin. Enough for her to ask, ‘Is Gigi safe?’
