Chapter Nine

I let the hot water comb its way through my thick hair, soothing the ache that radiates from where Enzo hit me to knock me out.

The plane ride home was a blur because I immediately fell asleep as soon as we took off. My head of security had told me we should go to a hospital to get me checked out, but I didn't listen. I just wanted to get back home to regroup.

However, the instant flood of motion sickness caused by the movement of the plane had been unexpected and unpleasant. I had taken some painkillers and laid down, only to fall right asleep.

Before I knew it, we were landing. At least I felt less like a corpse now that I had rested a little bit.

I gently start to wash my hair as I pondered the situation that I have been presented with.

I found Kate, but I wasn't able to convince her to come home with me. I see now that it should have occurred to me that she might not be missing me the way that I have missed her.

When I learned about Marco and Grazia's wedding, I immediately made a plan to get access to Kate, but I hadn't thought any further than being able to see her.

The fear and pain in her eyes when she saw me had felt like a knife to my heart. However, I hadn't missed the way she had looked at me when our eyes first met.

She still wanted me on a primal level, of that much, I was sure. Whether that would be enough to convince her to come with me of her own volition, I wasn't sure.

I have a son. The thought caused a fierce rush of pride to flood through me, followed closely by a pang of worry.

If I had known about Mateo, I would never have left him unprotected in Mexico. The firstborn son of any family in our business is immensely valuable, and not just because they are the heir to the family fortune.

No, the symbolism of a firstborn son still holds a lot of sway in mob circles.

Kidnapping the firstborn child of any influential man in our line of work is as good as a declaration of war.

It was bold of the Baldini clan to seize on this opportunity as soon as it was presented to them. However, I had to admit that I felt a grudging admiration for their willingness to seize the chance when it was presented to them.

I watch the soap residue run down into the drain and think about what my next move should be. I need to get Kate and Mateo out of the Baldini home, but I know all too well how carefully they have secured the place.

It would take an army to force one's way inside. It's good business practice to be aware of the security that other people in my line of work keep at their properties. Baldinis pay for top-class protection both inside and outside their home.

No, it didn't make sense to try and break into their compound with force.

I think again of Kate, who they are using as bait to get me to come to them begging and pleading for them to cut me a deal. I could try and steal her out from under their noses again, but I hate the idea of things going wrong.

The Baldinis are willing to kill for what they want, and they probably don't need my trade routes so badly that they will be willing to spare her life if I cause them too much trouble.

I'll need to get Kate out another way.

A sudden memory of the summer that I turned sixteen rises to the top of my mind. I had just come to Mexico for a vacation, eager to party with my brothers and cousins. I was happy for a break from the pressures of school and the various sports that my father insisted that I play. He always said that if I didn't turn out to be a good businessman, at least I would be able to play a sport for a living.

I had been allowed to drive the Porsche to the family gathering that my parents had arranged at the private club owned by their good friends, the Aguirres. I hadn't thought too much about Kate, the girl my parents had always told me I was going to marry one day.

It was summer and marriage felt as far away as the moon to me. I was more concerned about having fun with my cousins and brothers and seeing some hot girls in bikinis at the beach club than anything else.

I had jogged up the steps to the pool bar, looking back at my brothers and telling a dirty joke. I wasn't looking where I was going and I ran full force into someone. I reached out with my hands to grab the slender arms of the young girl I had run into, apologizing for almost knocking her down. I looked down into the most beautiful face I had ever seen, meeting a pair of lovely, haunting, caramel-colored eyes.

"Sorry about that," I said to the beautiful woman in my arms. I could feel the tips of her little breasts pressing into me, and my cock instantly had something to say about that.

"It's okay, Elio," she had said with a giggle. "I always forgive you, you know that."

I had frowned a little. "I'm sorry, but do I know you?"

She had giggled again, the sound causing my cock to jump eagerly in response. What would it feel like to be inside her when she laughed like that?

"Elio, don't you recognize me?" she had asked. I had just stared at her, not sure what to say. Another giggle had come out of her mouth before she said, "It's me, Kate."

She was no longer a ‘stupid' awkward little kid. She was a vision, all the sudden. A gorgeous woman.

I had spent that summer chasing her, eager for her attention, while she was just as eager to withhold it to tease me.

It had taken me a month to be able to take her virginity on the beach at sunset with the sound of the waves crashing behind us as the accompaniment for her little cries of pleasure.

I had planned to go home to school and forget about her again, but that was not to be. Ever since the moment that I ran into Kate Aguirre on the steps of her family's beach club, she had been the only woman I ever wanted.

The memory faded away, and I realized with some amusement that my dick had enjoyed the memory as much as the rest of me.

I decided I had better take care of this distraction before turning my mind to matters relating to the Baldinis. I had learned long ago that trying to make business plans with a cock stand was almost always a mistake.

Ten minutes later, I get into clean clothes and brush my teeth. I feel human enough now to start to think about what I am going to do about the Baldini family and their demands. My head still feels fuzzy, so I decide to call my brother, Gabriel.

Two heads are often better than one, and Gabriel has always been a creative thinker like me.

"Elio?" Gabriel had one of the deepest voices of anyone I had ever met. It feels good to hear the sonorous tone of his voice over the phone. "Everything all right?"

I realize it's pretty late at night. "Did I wake you?" I ask.

He coughs out a short laugh. "Nah. I was just watching a movie. Jess always snores really loud when she's getting close to the end of a pregnancy."

I smile a little. My brother already has three sons, and his wife, Jess is pregnant with their fourth because she desperately wants a daughter.

I always joke with him that he should have been the eldest brother because he already has three sons, and I don't have any kids. My chest feels tight as I realize that this isn't the case anymore.

"So, I just got back from Mexico," I say. I turn the ring bearing the La Rosa family crest around my finger as I speak. Family. I have family of my own now, just waiting to be rescued.

"Was the weather nice?" Gabriel asks me idly.

"I don't really know. I wasn't there very long. I got knocked out and told to come home."

"Wait, what?" Gabriel says, sounding more alert.

"I found out Kate would be at the Baldini and Rodriguez wedding, so I decided to crash the party."

"Oh, shit," Gabriel says.

"Correct," I agree. "And I'm deep in it now."

"Is Kate there with you?" Gabriel asks. I can hear the smile in his voice. He always liked Kate. He told me once that if I was stupid enough to let her go, he would snap her up and make me jealous for the rest of our lives.

"No," I say, my voice tight. "The Baldinis have her. They want me to give them some of our trade routes to Russia in return for handing her over."

Gabriel snorts. "Fuck that," he says flatly. "You aren't going to do that for them, even if you do love that girl too much."

I sigh. "There's a complication," I say.

"Oh?"

"They also have my son."

There's a small silence as Gabriel processes this. "Your son…Elio, what the fuck are you on about? It's late, and I haven't slept for three weeks now because my wife is determined to give birth to a girl."

I laugh in spite of my worry at this. "Sorry, sorry. It's a long story, but Kate had a baby after Marco hid her away. He told the world it's his, but the Baldinis say it's mine."

"And you believe them?" Gabriel says, a skeptical note in his voice.

I sigh. "Yes. It might explain why Kate took off and ran to Marco, although I haven't ever really figured out why she thought she needed to get away from me. We were really good together, and she grew up in the life. She understood me and what her role in my life would be."

"Women," Gabriel said dismissively. "They get these ideas, and you can't convince them of anything else."

"Spoken like a married man," I say with a little smile.

"So, the Baldinis were brave enough to kidnap your betrothed bride and your son." Gabriel whistles. "What are you going to do about that?"

"Well," I say, flopping back onto my bed. "First, I'm going to sleep off the headache that Enzo Baldini gave me when he knocked me out at the wedding reception."

"And then?" Gabriel says.

A slow smile curves my lips as I look up at the ceiling of my bedroom. "And then, I'm going to get Kate to fall back in love with me."