“Just meet me today, and I will tell you what I know. This involves you, otherwise I would not be bothering you. It’s imperative that we meet. If not, I can come to your office.”
Alex narrowed his eyes. He absolutely did not want Caprice Belmonte showing up at his office. And she knew that, he was sure. “I can meet you today at noon, St. Fredrick’s Tavern.”
“Perfect. Thank you, Alex.” He could hear the relief in her voice.
Alex hung up without another word. Shit, he thought, sitting down. He knew this day would come. His past finally catching up with his present. Alex just didn’t think it would come in the form of Caprice Belmonte.
He cast his mind back, recalling the week he spent with her. At the time, it was great. Alex was in Rome, Italy, on business. He was bored one night, decided he’d spend an evening at a gentlemen’s club –just killing time with some tits and ass.
Caprice Belmonte was there, dancing. Every man in the club was drooling all over themselves watching her. Alex was mildly interested, her gorgeous body a pleasure to admire, her fantastic breasts certainly captivating enough to keep him entertained for a few hours. Caprice made a beeline for him. They spent the entire night together, she pushing her tits in his face while he showered her with bills. Caprice left the club with him that night, and spent the rest of the week with him. They talked some, but mostly fucked. At the end of the week, Alex kissed her goodbye, and returned to London.
Alex never thought about Caprice Belmonte again. Until now.
Caprice couldn’t have popped up at a worse time in his life. Just when he thought things were turning around for the better, when he finally meets a woman who he can be serious about - Katherine - Caprice Belmonte turns up.
Alex would meet with Caprice, find out what she wanted, and send her back to Italy. No one was going to get in the way of his and Katherine’s happiness. No one.
Antonio Berra drove back to Katherine’s flat, glancing in the Range Rover’s rearview mirror. He spent a lot of his driving time checking the rearview mirror, mostly out of habit.
Antonio pulled up to Katherine’s building and parked the SUV. Before he got out, Antonio pulled a tiny security camera out of the glove box. He examined the camera, made sure it was functioning properly and was connected to Alex’s personal smartphone and computer systems. Antonio had a knack for technology, and had extensive knowledge of security systems. In fact, it was he who had installed all of Alex’s security systems at McCall Enterprises and in Alex’s own home.
Antonio enjoyed working for Alex McCall. They went way back, having met at MI-5. Alex was an undercove
r field operative and Antonio worked in the technology department, a computer and security systems analyst. The two had worked together over the years on various cases and investigations. Antonio had been sorry to see Alex quit MI-5, but knew it was what Alex needed to do to get on with his life.
He hadn’t seen or spoken to Alex in years, when, out of the blue, he’d gotten a phone call from him. Antonio had been happy to hear from his old friend and co-worker, and glad that Alex seemed to have been able to move on from Michelle’s tragic death. They met up at a pub, had a couple of beers, caught up on each other’s lives. Alex had just started McCall Enterprises and was looking for someone who could basically be his right hand man. Alex asked Antonio if he would be interested.
Antonio went home that night and thought about Alex’s offer. He awoke the following morning knowing he would take the job. Antonio had put in almost fifteen years at MI-5 working for the British government – he was tired and burned out. It was time for a change. That was five years ago – Antonio had been working for Alex ever since.
He got out the Range Rover, slipping the tiny camera into his jacket pocket. Antonio scanned the area, looking for anyone or anything. Just like Alex, he had been trained to always assess your environment. The white washed brick building appeared just as calm and quiet as when he had arrived to collect Alex this morning.
Antonio looked up at Katherine’s window. Her window drapes were closed. Good, he thought. He walked to the front door of the building, stood under the blue awning and punched in the code to the building. The door buzzed allowing for entrance. Antonio skipped the elevator, and instead took the stairs to Katherine’s flat. He walked down the hallway, looking for security cameras the building already had installed. He didn’t see a single camera anywhere.
Antonio stood outside Katherine’s door, listening. He thought he heard the sound of the shower running. Antonio quickly looked over his shoulder – no one in sight. He reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out the security camera. It was the size and shape of a tiny screw. Antonio worked fast, installing the camera into Katherine’s door. He screwed the camera in tightly, fitting it just below the door handle, where it was not visible.
Stepping back from the door, he could see the tiny pinprick of a camera, just barely. He tapped on his smartphone, and then suddenly he saw himself on the screen, crystal clear. The camera was working properly.
Antonio exited the building, returned to the Range Rover. He sent a text to Alex with a link to log into the security camera system. A few moments later Alex text back with “Well done.”
Fifteen minutes later, Katherine steps outside, walking towards the SUV. Antonio hops out to open the door for her. Katherine smiles and says hello to Antonio – he could understand why Alex was so smitten with her. Kind and genuine, with a kind of beauty that was warm and approachable. Antonio could also understand why Alex would do everything he could to protect her.
Chapter 36
The dreary hotel room was making Caprice depressed. She was ready to return to Naples. Now. Caprice frowned – seemed like she had been thinking that a lot lately.
She hadn’t slept well the previous night. Who would on this horrible, piece-of-shit bed? Caprice was very particular about the bed she slept in, even more so than whose bed she slept in. She just wanted to get back home to her own apartment, in her own bed, in beautiful, sunny Naples, Italy. When she did return home, she knew what she was going to do.
Sergio was gone now. She was beginning to fully comprehend what that meant for her. It meant she didn’t have the perks that came along with being a Mafia boss’ girlfriend. Plus, she knew Mario and the rest of the Mafia gang would be determined to track down Sergio’s killer. If they knew she had withheld certain information – like knowing Alex McCall, for instance – Caprice could be in serious shit. The Mafia would come after her. She shivered at the thought.
She stood up, walked to the door to make sure it was locked. The digital clock on the bedside table blinked 10:27 am. She would leave in thirty minutes to meet Alex. Caprice had mixed feelings about seeing him. Perhaps it would have been different under better circumstances. She didn’t even feel a twinge of excitement in her pussy at the thought of seeing him.
Stress, Caprice thought. Nobody could get turned on under these circumstances.
She would get back into her stride once she returned home, Caprice assured herself. Then, the first handsome, sexy stranger she laid eyes on would have the ride of his life. That would make her feel better. For the first time in days Caprice smiled.
St. Fredrick’s Tavern was quiet, with no one else there, other than a handful of employees. Caprice sat down at a corner table, waiting for Alex to arrive. She had gotten there early, unable to stand another second in the dingy hotel room.
Caprice ordered a drink – a vodka martini –and was grateful when it arrived. She knew it was a bit early to be drinking, but she didn’t care. She needed something to calm her nerves.