It was truth time. She would never want this man. Not the way a woman should want the man who hoped to share her bed. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how she attempted to lose herself in David’s embrace, some part of her remained remote and untouched. That secret part of herself flinched from allowing any other man to hold her. Touch her. Kiss her. Only one man had that right. She closed her eyes, caving to the inevitable. There wouldn’t be a private weekend in New York. Or a romantic suite at the Ritz, not to mention an engagement.
Nor would she ever share David’s bed.
“I have given us a chance,” she told him as compassionately as she could manage. She fought back another yawn. The fog returned, relentless, rolling toward her at breakneck speed. “It’s not working.”
“I’ll make it work.” He turned a knob on the console which put the Jag in gear and fishtailed away from the curb. “Lean back and close your eyes, Gia. We’ll be there before you know it.”
She shook her head, but it didn’t help. The fog descended, consuming her, and she tumbled into its cold gray embrace. “What’s wrong with me?” she murmured.
“Put your seat back and go to sleep. When you wake it’ll all be over.”
What would be over? But it took too much effort to ask the question. And she slept.
Three
“She’s not at her house and she’s not answering her cell.” Constantine paced up and down the sidewalk for the umpteenth time. After twenty endless minutes, he knew every crack and stain by heart. “That can only mean one thing. D’Angelo has her. There’s no other possibility.”
Luc sighed. “He doesn’t have her. They’re simply out together. I hate to say this, Constantine, but they’ve been dating for a couple of months. She’s a grown woman. If she isn’t answering her cell it’s because she doesn’t want to talk to you. I’m sure she’ll be in touch in the morning.”
“No,” Constantine snarled into his cell phone. Every instinct he possessed screamed in protest. He had to find her. Now. “If we wait until morning, it will be too late. He knows I am on to him. He’ll have to move tonight if he has any hope of keeping her from me.”
“What the bloody hell are you talking about?” Luc snapped.
Constantine forced himself to explain in a calm, crisp manner that didn’t sound like he was the deranged one, rather than d’Angelo. “D’Angelo has drugged at least one other woman in the past in order to take advantage of her. Attempted to take advantage of her. I stopped him in time.”
“Dear God. That’s what he meant about your timing leaving something to be desired?”
“Yes.” Constantine checked his watch, also for the umpteenth time. “If d’Angelo wishes to do this to Gianna…if he wishes to drug her and take advantage of her, where would he take her?”
There was a brief silence and Constantine could practically hear Luc mentally sorting through the possibilities. “He’s renting a suite at one of the hotels here in the city while he waits for escrow to close on the mansion he’s purchased. I don’t remember which hotel, though I could probably find out. One of the pricier ones, I’m sure.”
Constantine considered for a moment, then shook his head. “No, he wouldn’t take her to his hotel. Too many witnesses. It would be someplace private.”
“Let me check around.” Sick tension bled across the airwaves. “I’ll get back to you.”
“Make it fast,” Constantine advised. “The clock is ticking.”
“Romano—” Fear ripped apart Luc’s voice.
“Remain calm. I’ll find her. And I’ll be in time.”
For the sake of his sanity, he didn’t have any choice.
Gianna stirred, slowly surfacing, vaguely aware that the Jaguar was slowing. The wipers were on, swishing softly while rain pelted against the windshield. Were they home? She must have fallen asleep during the brief drive, she realized groggily. How strange. Her head lolled toward the window and she squinted at the darkness that consumed the car. No, not home, she realized. They weren’t even in the city.