“Good job, sweetheart.”
Another honk. “Be careful, Tack. I know you’re on the move. Just be careful.”
“Always.”
I held a phone to each ear when Carson picked up. “Hey, Willow. My conference call got canceled, so I was about to head to the vineyards.”
“I need you to come to my room.”
My tone of voice obviously told Carson enough. “Okay, I’m on my way. What’s going on?”
I was amazed at how calm I sounded. Even though I felt anything but calm. Inside I was a frantic mess on autopilot. “I got a note. A threatening note.”
“Fuck.”
Carson’s face was intense as we talked to Trent on speakerphone. We’d switched to a secure line. The whole thing made my head hurt. When Carson had knocked on the door, I kept Tack connected but tucked the burner phone in my back pocket.
Who knew if he was still listening. I stayed rooted in place as I thought about how this person planned to get the money from me.
I was scared to the core.
Housekeeping had delivered hot tea. I sat holding it, which brought back memories of when I first found out Alex had died.
Would I ever be free of that vile man?
I needed to be strong. Letting these people break me wasn’t an option. No way.
I kept staring at the note, which was now in a plastic bag on the table. No amount. No directions. Nothing but a veiled threat.
Why play with me? Why wait all this time?
Trent’s voice broke through my thoughts. “I think you need to come back to the states as soon as possible, Willow. I’ll catch a flight and head back there, too.”
This was news. I thought Trent was in the states. “Where are you?”
“Following some leads.” Again, I studied his accent. Slightly there, but not as clear as Tack’s.
I wondered what leads he had followed. We were due to meet when we came back from Italy to see his proposal. Looked like things had escalated. “Have you found anything out yet, Trent?”
Carson looked at the speaker waiting for Trent to reply. “Yes, I’d prefer to go over everything in person, just in case.”
I looked at Carson and nodded. “I’ll be on the next flight.”
Carson added, “We’ll fly back via my private jet. I’ll let you know our ETA. That’s the safest option I know.”
“Agreed. Don’t let Willow out of your sight. I’ll have one security team escort you to the airport and another waiting for you when you arrive. I’ll follow the Whitmore Hotel protocol to have them cleared for now unless Ms. Russo wants me to do anything additional.”
Of course I had no idea what the Whitmore Hotel protocol was. I looked at Carson and shrugged.
Carson said, “That will work.”
In addition, Trent had spouted off quite a few changes that needed to be made to the house security immediately. I asked, “Can we make the necessary adjustments to the house security while we’re in transit?”
Some keys clicked on the computer from his end. “I’m on it, Willow. I’ll have everything in place by the time you land.”
I was certain whoever Alex owed money to wanted more than what he owed. Just how much… I wasn’t sure. Hopefully, it was only money they wanted.
“Hey, Willow, we’ve landed.” Carson’s voice woke me. I stretched. Even with all the stress, I’d slept like the dead.
I sat up in a rush. “I’m awake. Let me get my bag.”
His arm touched mine. “Take your time. Security is already in place.”
Sliding off the bed, I grabbed my bag and followed Carson off the plane. Trent informed us there would be men at the house. Men. I expected one bodyguard, not a team. Talk about escalating everything a few levels up. I knew it was serious, but having someone shadow me constantly was… intimidating to say the least.
Then there was the issue of telling Nonno and Carson’s parents what happened. It was all a fundamental fuckup. All because I married a lowlife, scummy, shit-eating dirtbag.
Yeah, I hated Alex. Even from the grave, he wreaked havoc on my life. Bastard.
Exiting in a haze, I thanked everyone for the flight. Trent had a car waiting for us. A member of my security team greeted me. “Ms. Russo, my name is Andre. I’m part of the security force. I’ll be escorting you to your home this afternoon.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Andre. This is Carson. He’ll be riding with us.”
“Trent briefed me. Shall we?”
Andre was intimidating with a capital I. The broad shoulders were tense with a large frame to support his stature. Shades covered his eyes. Anyone who considered crossing him had a death wish. Apparently, he was well versed in hand-to-hand combat and had served in the military. I imagined Andre would be able to pick me up by the shirt with only his index finger and thumb. No joke.
I crawled into the back seat and then leaned my head on Carson’s shoulder. “I hate that Alex is still haunting me from the grave.”
“Me, too, angel. I know the whole Trent thing with your dad still bothers you, but he’s the best I know. You made the right choice.”
While we were on the plane, I looked at the picture I took of the note Dad wrote. I’d taken it right before I put the note in the safe—in case I wanted to read it while I was away. “I’m sure I did. It just feels like Dad had this whole other life I knew nothing about. It bothers me. And I want to know what happened.”
Carson patted my hand. “Whoever this asshole is, we’re going to catch him.”
“I hope so.” This person was brazen enough to send flowers to my hotel. The confidence exuded by such an action terrified me. A chill settled over me.
When I looked up at him, Carson was wearing a troubled expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Francesca. She was short with me on the plane. I didn’t tell her what happened, so she thinks I left because she mentioned wanting to have a serious talk.”
My brows pinched together. “Do you know about what? She seemed pretty relaxed while we were all together.”
“No fucking clue.”
Sitting up, I watched Carson carefully as I asked the next question. “Do you love her?”
A million emotions flitted across Carson’s face—fear being the most repeated. “I, uh. I… uh.”
I placed my hand on his knee, which was jumping a million miles an hour. “It’s okay, Carson. I’m not asking you to propose to her.”
He visibly relaxed. “I do love her. It’s just… fast. I’m just not ready for more… yet.”
“Is she?”
Running his hand down his face, Carson emanated stress. “I think so. Maybe. I don’t know. Hell, this just came out of the blue and we have a lot to work out. First being where we would live.”
“If it’s meant to be, you’ll figure it out.”
“Maybe.” Carson wasn’t going down without a fight with regard to his bachelor lifestyle. But it was apparent he loved her. He needed time. Hopefully, Francesca wasn’t the type to suffocate someone, or she’d lose him for sure.
We lapsed into a comfortable silence as the car made its way closer to home. “Is Nonno meeting us at your place?” Carson asked.
“Yes. Did you want to fill your parents in on what’s going on?”
“I think that’s a good idea.”
It was time to get the family involved since things were now escalated. I dreaded the effects increased security would have on everyone. What would they think of me? It was because of Alex all this happened. If only…
Carson sent a text message to his parents while I gathered my thoughts. Trent was coming later this evening.
“I can give him the wine Francesca brought me. He’ll love it.”
He coughed and then looked my way. “Don’t mention Francesca to my parents yet. I’m not ready.”
“No worries. Won’t say a word.” I made a motion of zipping my mouth and throwing away the key. “Maybe she could come to my art show. That might be a nice venue to int
roduce her to your family.”
Carson’s mother was extremely anxious for him to settle down and give her grandbabies. That was one of the reasons Carson was conscientious of mentioning any relationships that were a little more serious than dating.
On his leg, Carson’s phone rang, and he picked it up. “Hey, Dad. Yeah, business went good. Florence hotel got the message. We should see a huge improvement. If not, I have contingencies in place. Yeah, it was good news about the new winery I found. I think so, too. Hey, I wondered if you wanted to meet me over at Willow’s tonight. Yeah, we came back early. She is. I know. I will. Sounds good. See ya in a bit.”
He hung up the phone. “They’ll be there by the time we get there.”
“I hate this, Carson.”
“I know you do. We’ll get this figured out.”