Kidnapped for Her Secret Son Read online

  But tonight he was here. And, even though he didn’t know it yet, she was about to get his full attention. Telling him he was going to be a father was huge—momentous. She had no idea how he was going to take it. She hadn’t begun to get her own head around the idea—yet.

  With a heavy sigh, Leah pushed back her chair and went inside, where the only sound was coming from the overhead fan circulating the warm air. Was Jaco still in the bedroom?

  Her bare feet made no sound as she crossed the old tiled floors towards the rooms she had occupied since moving in here. With their French doors, opening out onto a small terrace, she had picked them over the many other empty bedrooms upstairs, liking its cosy feeling of a small apartment inside this rambling palazzo. Liking, too, the way Jaco always automatically headed there when he visited—as if her space was his.

  Despite herself, her mind began conjuring up images of him still naked from the shower, of his smile when he saw her, of the way he would take her in his arms and make love to her, all thought of food forgotten. All thought of what she had to say to him forgotten—at least for a short while. She knew she had absolutely no willpower as far as Jaco was concerned.

  With her hand on the doorknob of the bedroom, she hesitated. She could hear Jaco speaking. Yet another business deal, no doubt.

  Silently turning the handle, she had only opened the door a fraction when some sixth sense kicked in, telling her that, no, this was not a business conversation. Through the crack in the door she could see him, sitting on the bed, his back to her, a laptop balanced on his knee. He was taking a video call, and the woman on the screen was dark-haired, dark-eyed...beautiful.

  A cold finger of dread traced Leah’s spine. Speaking in Sicilian, their voices were soft, Jaco’s little more than a whisper, but there was no mistaking the tone—tender, caring, the sort of tone that lovers shared.

  Leah forced herself to try and understand what they were saying over the deafening thud of her heart. Her command of the language was pretty basic, but Jaco seemed to be telling her not to worry, that everything would be all right.

  ‘Lo prometto, Francesca.’

  I promise.

  But it was their final words that left no room for doubt. Paralysed with dread, Leah watched as the woman touched two fingers to her lips and blew Jaco a kiss, smiling tenderly as she told him she loved him. And Jaco’s reply shattered Leah’s world into a thousand pieces there and then.

  ‘Ti amo anch’io...’

  I love you too.

  She turned away, blinded by tears, numbed by the shock that was slowing her heart, closing her throat.

  How could she have been so stupid? How could she ever have thought that she and Jaco might actually have a future? How could she have been taken for a fool by a man again—only this time a thousand times worse, a thousand times more painful?

  Retracing her steps, she fled back out onto the terrace, descending the steps that led down into the private garden, running through the archway in the yew hedge and out into the vineyard itself. Racing through the rows of vines, she just kept going, running and running, the heavy bunches of grapes swinging as she rushed past, her breath burning in her chest. She had no thought for where she was going. No thought for anything other than that she had to get away.

  CHAPTER ONE

  One year later

  ‘NO!’ JACO STARED at his friend in disbelief.

  ‘It’s true, Jaco.’ Vieri’s voice was deadly calm. ‘I wouldn’t be telling you this if it was just gossip. In fact, I’m not supposed to be telling you at all. But I thought you had a right to know. You have a child—a son.’

  ‘No!’ Jaco repeated, banging his fist down on the bar top, his eyes wild.

  Vieri picked up his drink, silently regarding Jaco over the rim, waiting for the shock of the revelation to sink in.

  ‘And what makes you think it’s mine?’ Dragging in a desperate breath, Jaco rounded on Vieri.

  ‘Leah has told Harper that the boy is yours. I see no reason why she would lie. Especially as, far from hounding you for maintenance, it seems she doesn’t want anything to do with you.’

  ‘So how old is he, this child?’ Covering his face with his hands, Jaco pulled them away again to reveal his horror.

  ‘Three months, apparently.’

  ‘Three months?’ He gave a low growl.

  ‘Yes. Does that seem...?’ Vieri hesitated, choosing his words carefully. ‘About right?’

  ‘About right?’ Jaco threw the words back at him, fury tainting his voice. ‘Trust me, Vieri, nothing about this seems right.’ He jerked himself to his feet, sending the bar stool rocking.

  ‘Calm down, Jaco.’ Vieri placed a steadying hand on his shoulders. ‘I know this has been a shock, but it doesn’t have to be so bad.’

  ‘Doesn’t it?’ Jaco glared at him, eyes wild. ‘And you’d know, would you?’

  ‘I have a son, and I know he’s the best thing that ever happened to me. That and Harper, of course.’

  ‘Well, good for you and your happy little family.’

  ‘Jaco!’

  ‘Trust me, Vieri, you have no idea how bad this could be.’

  Nobody did. Nobody knew anything—not even Vieri, his oldest friend. It was far too dangerous. Now this discovery could blow the whole thing sky-high.

  Vieri shrugged. ‘Okay, have it your own way. But don’t shoot the messenger.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Begrudgingly, Jaco nodded an apology. ‘So where are they? Leah and this son of mine?’

  ‘That I don’t know.’

  ‘Don’t give me that.’ Jaco’s anger quickly resurfaced. ‘You are lying.’

  Getting to his feet, Vieri squared up to his friend. ‘I don’t appreciate being called a liar.’ His voice was deceptively soft. ‘Especially when I’m trying to help you.’

  ‘Help me?’

  ‘Yes. I didn’t have to tell you any of this. I’ve had to go behind Harper’s back, and that’s not something I’m proud of. But, like I say, I thought you had the right to know.’

  ‘So Harper—she knows where Leah is?’

  ‘No, she doesn’t.’ Vieri glared at him. ‘So don’t even think about pestering her for information. She only found out about the baby herself very recently. Leah has kept the whole thing hushed up.’

  The two tall, handsome Sicilian men squared up to each other again, hostility simmering between them, until eventually Vieri put his hand on Jaco’s shoulder again.

  ‘Look, why don’t you sit down and have another drink—take a few minutes to calm down?’ He signalled to the barman to refill their glasses. ‘I take it from your reaction that you had no idea?’

  Jaco gave him a haunted stare, but accepted the glass Vieri held out to him, seating himself back down on the bar stool.

  ‘So when did you last see Leah?’

  ‘Ages ago.’ Jaco raked a desperate hand through his hair. ‘Last August, maybe? Yes, it was just before the grape harvest. It was then that she told me she was quitting her job.’

  ‘She didn’t say why?’

  ‘No. She disappeared for hours on the first evening I was back at Capezzana, and when I finally tracked her down she went all weird on me. It was getting late so I thought I’d leave her to it, try and get some sense out of her in the morning, but by then she had packed up and left—disappeared without a trace.’

  ‘And you didn’t try and find her?’

  ‘No, Vieri, I didn’t try and find her.’ He glared angrily at his friend. ‘She made it quite clear that we were done. The job...us...’

  ‘Hmm...’ Vieri stared into his glass. ‘So there was an us?’

  ‘Well, yes. We’d been seeing each other for a few months—nothing serious.’

  ‘Well, it has clearly had serious consequences.’

  Jaco pinched the bridge of his nose, then d
ragged in a breath. ‘I’ve got to find her, Vieri. I mean, right away. If Harper does know where she is...even if it’s just a guess...’

  ‘Don’t push it, Jac.’ Vieri’s eyes held more than a hint of warning. I’ve told you—she has no idea where Leah is.’

  ‘Then I’ll just have to find her for myself.’ Pushing himself off the bar stool again, Jaco started for the exit. But at the door he stopped and retraced his steps, pulling Vieri into a rough hug. ‘Thanks, Vieri. I can see this has put you in a difficult position. I appreciate it.’

  Vieri gave him a slap on the back. ‘That’s okay. I just wish I hadn’t been the bearer of such unwelcome news. I hope you manage to sort things out.’

  ‘So do I.’ Jaco jammed his hands into his pockets. ‘So do I...’

  * * *

  Leah awoke with a start. There was a faint sort of scratching noise coming from the front door. Heart racing, she slipped out of bed and glanced into the crib, where Gabriel was sleeping peacefully, before moving silently into the living area of the tiny apartment she had called home for the past few months.

  The noise was coming from the other side of the front door and now, as she strained to listen, she could just make out whispered male voices. Oh, God! Someone was trying to break in.

  She turned, stumbling back towards the bedroom, where her phone was on the bedside table. But it was too late—she didn’t have time to get there. With the force of a tornado suddenly they were in, beside her, their terrifying presence filling the small room.

  Her scream was instantly muffled by a large hand clamped over her mouth, pulling her back against a body built like a brick wall. She fought wildly, kicking out behind her, desperately flailing her arms to try and attack him until he easily pinned them to her body with an arm of steel around her chest.

  Panic surged through her, and the powerful instinct to protect her baby son overwhelmed every other thought. Somehow she would get rid of these thugs. Somehow she would talk her way out of this.

  It seemed there were two of them—one holding her prisoner, the other shutting the door behind them, then moving over to the window and pulling back the curtains a couple of inches to look out onto the street. Only then did he switch on the overhead light and come to stand before her.

  Jaco! Leah stared at him in utter astonishment.

  A relief of sorts washed over her, but it was short-lived. One look at his harshly drawn face, the cold determination in his eyes, and her worst fears came crowding in. He must have found out about Gabriel. He had come to claim his son.

  ‘Yes, it’s her.’ Jaco nodded, speaking in Italian to the brute who still had his hand clamped across her mouth. ‘The boy must be in there.’ He looked over his shoulder.

  Leah squirmed wildly, making the vice-like grip around her tighten still further.

  ‘Don’t fight it, Leah.’

  He swung his gaze back to her, finally making eye contact. Leah gasped beneath the restraining hand. The familiarity of those eyes, now emanating such chilling intensity, was almost enough to stop her pounding heart.

  ‘You and the baby are leaving with us. Right away.’

  Leah roused herself, widening her eyes, shooting him as much poisonous venom as she could possibly muster. No way was he taking them anywhere.

  ‘I will instruct Cesare to remove his hand, but only once I know you are going to be sensible.’ He waited, his gaze fixed on her face, coldly assessing her. ‘Can I trust you?’

  Leah nodded frantically, and after a second’s pause Jaco gestured to his minder.

  Leah screamed. As loudly as her panicked lungs would let her. It was an ear-piercing shriek that echoed off the walls and saw a hand clamped firmly over her mouth again. Only this time it wasn’t the minder’s—this time it was Jaco’s.

  ‘Big mistake, Leah.’

  His face was only inches from her own, and his powerful frame was pressed up against her so that she could feel the heat emanating from him, sense the barely leashed rage that held him so taut, shone in his eyes.

  ‘If you want to do this the hard way, we will. But for all our sakes I suggest that you do as you’re told. It will be far simpler in the long run.’

  Leah glared back at him, blinking against the hot, seductive whisper of his breath fanning across her face, using her eyes to impart as much anger and determination and bravery as was possible when she was sandwiched between two muscled men.

  She stared into Jaco’s deep brown eyes—eyes that had mesmerised her from their very first meeting. The memory of them had haunted her for weeks after she had fled Sicily. But now those eyes stirred something else in her—something gut-wrenchingly deep and primal. For it was like looking into the eyes of her son—the exact same shape, the same colour.

  Gabriel was a miniature version of his father. And it was that that made her lungs, already struggling to keep her alive, threaten to give up altogether.

  ‘I am going to give you one more chance.’ He delivered his ultimatum softly. ‘When I remove my hand you are going to remain silent while I tell you what is going to happen. Is that understood?’

  Leah nodded. What choice did she have?

  Very slowly, Jaco peeled his hand away from her mouth.

  ‘There—that’s better.’

  He still stood within a couple of inches of her, watching her intently, his eyes fixed on her mouth as if willing it to stay closed. Leah felt the burn of his gaze on her lips, felt them swell as the blood returned to them, twitch with something other than fear.

  ‘You can let go of her, Cesare. Go and stand by the door.’

  With a grunt of obedience her captor released her and moved away.

  Leah let out a gasping breath. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’

  The words came out in a torrent of fury, but Leah kept her voice low, mindful of Jaco’s warning, and even more mindful of the fact that he was standing between her and the bedroom where Gabriel was still sleeping. With her mind racing in all directions she desperately tried to figure out a way of distracting Jaco so that she could go to Gabriel, scoop him up and run away with him—and keep on running until she woke up from this nightmare.

  But this was no bad dream. This was horribly real. As the heavy breathing of the man mountain who was guarding the front door behind her reminded her. Not to mention the arrogant specimen of manhood who had planted himself before her.

  ‘I’ve told you—you and the baby are leaving. Go and pack a bag.’

  Leah shook her head in disbelief, furrowing her brow as she stared at him. ‘Jaco, this is ridiculous. Have you taken leave of your senses?’

  Jaco gave a low growl. ‘I can assure you my senses are perfectly intact. Now, do as you’re told.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘Five minutes, Leah. You have five minutes to gather your belongings.’

  ‘And if I refuse?’

  ‘Then you will be leaving with nothing. Because you and the baby are coming with me, either way.’

  ‘So you are kidnapping us? Is that it?’ Her voice shrieked with rising hysteria.

  ‘I prefer to call it removing you to a place of safety.’

  ‘Safety?’ Astonishment stiffened her spine. ‘We were perfectly safe here, until you crashed in.’

  ‘No, you weren’t, Leah.’

  ‘What do you mean? Of course we were.’

  ‘I am not prepared to discuss this now. You are under my protection and you will do as I say. Go and pack.’

  Putting his hands on her shoulders, he turned her in the direction of the bedroom, the touch of his fingers burning against her bare flesh.

  ‘And hurry up about it.’

  Leah stood in the dark room, listening to the sound of her baby’s soft breathing and the thud of her own heart. This was complete madness. Her eyes quickly darted around, but there was no escape from he
re. The apartment was on the fourth floor of a high-rise tower block, and the only window offered nothing more than a view of the sleeping London skyline.

  Working on autopilot, she pulled a suitcase from the wardrobe and started to stuff in some of her clothes. Then opening a drawer, she took out Gabriel’s baby clothes, plucking more little vests and sleepsuits off the drying rack beside her and shoving them in the case too.

  In truth, she had very few belongings. Since coming to London nine months ago she had moved more times than she could remember, going from one dank and dingy room in a grotty shared house to another, finding jobs wherever she could to try and make ends meet, before finally swallowing her pride and signing on for state benefits.

  When the council had found her this flat—literally days before Gabriel had been born—she had wept with relief. It wasn’t much, but it was a home, and that meant everything to her.

  ‘Are you done?’

  She turned to see Jaco silhouetted in the doorway, all dark, menacing authority.

  ‘Jaco, why are you doing this to us?’ She walked towards him, keeping her voice calm, firm. If there was one last chance to stop this madness she was going to seize it. ‘If you will tell me what’s going on I’m sure we could work something out between us.’

  ‘Could we, now?’ Sarcasm scored his voice.

  ‘Yes—why not?’

  ‘Because I have no interest in working things out with a woman who has been so deliberately deceitful...’ his gaze fell on the sleeping baby in the crib ‘...that she has kept from me the fact that I am a father.’

  ‘Jaco... I...’

  ‘Save it, Leah.’ He raised his hand. ‘You will have plenty of time to explain yourself later. First we are getting out of here.’

  ‘But where are we going?’ She was pleading now.

  ‘You’ll find out soon enough. Give me your passports.’

  ‘Passports?’ A fresh wave of panic washed over her.

  ‘That’s what I said.’ Jaco fixed her with a punishing stare.