Page 70 of Twisted Obsession

Time to worry about all the what ifs.

What if my hastily thought up plan didn’t work, and I couldn’t get off the boat?

What if I found him and he didn’t care what I had to say?

What if I was caught, and Salvatore was once again involved?

But mainly, what if my past refused to let me go; if I found out I still loved him, and I had nowhere to go with that love.

Because I understood only too well how much it hurt when you know you must let go of someone, but you can’t, because inside the depths of your heart you’re waiting, wishing, and hoping for the impossible to happen. The agony of lovingsomeone who had been using you for their own ends, knowing that your love would never be reciprocated, was almost too much to bear.

But I had to ask him the questions I wanted answers to, and he owed me the truth, even though I doubted I was strong enough to live through it all over again.

Chapter Ten

Dante

‘I’m expecting a visitor,’ I imparted as I walked across the gangplank, loosening the tie I was wearing.

‘Yes, boss.’

‘A female. She’ll be on her own.’

‘Boss.’

Holding on to the rail next to me, I jumped down onto the deck. Instantly, I exhaled and stilled as my body relaxed. The boat I’d taken possession of seemed to give me peace, and it hadn’t gone unnoticed to me that it was the only place these days where I found any sense of quiet. Nearly seven years before, I’d been banished from my homeland. And during my time in the army, back in London, at my place of birth in Calabria, and now even here in Malta, I understood that none of them gave me the comfort a home was supposed to offer.

‘Good evening.’ Juan, the chef I kept for my own personal use, appeared in front of me. ‘I have prepared a cold supper as you instructed… meats, cheeses, bread, olives and tomatoes.’ I watched as he dried his hands on the towel he was holding and nodded just the once at him.

‘And the wine?’ I questioned.

‘A non-alcoholic one, as you requested.’

‘Thank you, is it good?’

‘For something with no alcohol, it’s passable.’ He waved one hand in the air, as if what I was asking him was sacrilege, and I couldn’t help the grin that began to pull at the corners of my mouth. I moved past him and into the saloon behind him.

‘You’ve done well.’ To the side of me I saw the spread he’d created. ‘That looks and smells amazing. Thank you.’

‘It would be even more magnificent outside. It’s a warm night, and the moon and stars are brilliant this evening.’

I didn’t reply, but glared at him, giving him my silent answer.

‘Of course, Mr Giordano. I’ll say goodnight.’ I watched as he backed out and then disappeared.

Immediately, I walked my way over to the walnut drinks’ cabinet, and pulling out a bottle of beer I discarded the top and drunk the liquid straight down. When I’d righted my head, I cast another look over my shoulder at the simple fare I’d requested. He was right, it was a lovely evening and if I was any normal man, I would share the meal he’d created with a beautiful woman on the deck of my boat. I’d pull her down and hold her tightly in my arms as I pointed up at the many constellations above us.

There was no doubt that Giovanna had matured into a beautiful woman. I’d seen and felt her beauty as I’d followed her through the streets of Malta, knowing I had to contact her, but at the same time not wanting to end something I’d dreamt about for what felt like an eternity. So, from a distance, I’d stalked her for as long as I thought was possible without being brought to the attention of her lax security. Following behind her, I’d watched her every movement and had instantly seen the very second she became aware I was somewhere nearby. She’d stopped walking and had slowly turned around, giving me the opportunity to take her in. Her tall, willowy gracefulness had remained, but with it came a new air of confidence that had mycock stirring. When I couldn’t stay away from her any longer, I crossed through the veil of tourists and joined the group. As I came up behind her, I could smell the perfume that had been imprinted on my soul. The light, floral scent that perfectly complimented her, and I’d been taken right back to the last place I’d smelt the scent rising on the heat from her skin. The church inside the Tower of London. St Peter ad Vincula, the place where we’d taken our vows before God, right before Salvatore had arrived.

Her beauty would never be in any doubt in my mind.

But I wasn’t what the English, nor most Italians, would call a normal guy. Being who I was, meant that someone, somewhere, would always have money on my head. Being moored at port came with its own risks. I knew, and now Salvatore was aware, that we were under attack, and sitting out on deck would leave me vulnerable to someone taking a pot shot at me from the concealment the darkness offered. While I wasn’t concerned about myself, I wasn’t going to risk her being killed.

Added to that, I discerned that my meeting with Giovanna had to be held in private. In that knowledge, I hadn’t even brought Marco with me this evening, he’d been sent instead back out to our casinos. So, I would conceal Giovanna and myself inside the saloon, and I would hold myself back. She would ask what she needed to know, as would I. Then somehow, after maybe getting some answers, we would hopefully be able to salvage what was left of our lives.

We would walk away, because our lives had gone in the different directions her brother had stipulated, and it was what we needed to do, whether it was what we wanted or not.

I dropped the tie I was still holding onto the chair next to me and after removing my jacket, I folded it and placed it down beside it. Then I reached to the back of the silver tray and picked up the bottle of Macallan Oscuro Scotch, the odd shapedbottle that I kept for when a few bottles of beer just didn’t cut it. Pouring myself two fingers into a cut glass tumbler, I turned the glass around in my fingers a few times and watched the amber liquid rise and fall on the glass, before downing it in one. The burn hit my oesophagus almost instantaneously and as it travelled downwards, I banished with it all my preconceived ideas of how our meeting was going to go.

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