Page 33 of Brazilian Revenge

Chapter Ten

“Who are you calling?” Satyanna asked, drumming her fingers on the car door handle.

Ever since they had left the mansion with Lyanna sleeping in the car seat—the one they’d been lucky to find in another vehicle in the garage—he’d been talking on the speakerphone while driving. The man was talking to another guy too damn fast for her to catch on. She understood a few words here and there, and assumed Leonardo was speaking to someone who would help them find Harry.

“My detective, Ulisses, has a contact at the airport. He will alert us if Harry comes back.”

“Is he reliable?”

“Hope so. We never know though…this is what’s happening. I’m driving to the airfield. I’ll drop you and Lyanna off, and you will both be inside the jet. I’ve already talked to the pilot. They won’t let anyone else in.”

“You’re not going to Rio with us?”

“I am. I just need to stop at Jacinta’s house again, and I’d rather do it without the baby being with us.”

“O-of course. Why would she be there, though?”

“She probably won’t, but I want to double-check her place before we leave. Maybe there’s something we missed.”

“Are you going to be okay?” she asked.

He frowned at her. “Of course. I will be back in one hour at most, the place isn’t too far from here,” he said as the car started to slide into a pathway. Looking up the sky, she saw a couple planes and lights. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Why did you kiss me earlier?” Sure, she initiated it, but he had been a more than enthusiastic kisser.

“Because I’m an idiot. I apologize.”

“This doesn’t work anymore, kissing and saying you’re sorry. It only works one time, tops. I want to know where we stand, you and I,” she said, even though deep down it was obvious they were nowhere near standing as a couple. At most, they fluctuated.

“We already discussed this.”

“A lot has happened since yesterday morning, Leonardo.”

“It has. Which is why I’ve been making one bad decision after another when it comes to keeping my hormones in check.” He brought the car to a halt and peered at her. “I want you, Satyanna. You’re sexy and vibrant. But you’re right, there is a child involved now and we can’t keep playing games.”

“What does that mean?”

He turned off the engine and arched his upper body in her direction, giving her his full attention. A spark of challenge flickered in the depths of his cinnamon eyes. “Let’s focus on Lyanna. I will be the best father for that little girl I can be. We’ll have to put our attraction on the back burner.”

She wrestled the need to sag her shoulders and wallow in self-pity. Who had the time for that? “I don’t think you understand… Once things are sorted and Harry is out of our way, I’m going back to the States.”

His eyes widened like she’d just told him she was about to join an orgy. “What? The hell you’re not.”

She glanced at the baby to make sure she still slept comfortably in her seat, before raising her eyebrow at him. “You promised you’d help me go back if I helped you with Harry.”

He shook his head. “That was before I found out we had a child together,” he said, impatience in his voice.

“She can visit you on vacations and you can come see her as often as you’d like. There is Skype and FaceTime. It’s not like I’m taking her to outer space,” she said. There was no way she’d let her daughter live with Leonardo full-time, without her. Not that she didn’t trust him as a father, but she couldn’t jeopardize Lyanna’s safety like hers had been. She had thought of Carol as her mother for years, but once she married, Satyanna’s life turned into hell. There was no way she’d allow the same thing to happen to her flesh and blood.

He gritted his teeth, and the atmosphere heaved around them. She could hear the sound of his heavy breathing. If he had been a dog, he would be a pit-bull. “I am not going to be a holiday father.”

She lifted her hands. “And what do you suggest?”

He ran his fingers through his hair. A uniformed man walked in their direction, but Leonardo waved him off. Good. They needed to finish this conversation once and for all. “I will set you up in a very nice apartment in the same building as mine. I can put the deed in your name once your situation is legalized. I’ll give you a generous monthly allowance.”

Her heart shrank to the size of a penny. But damn her if she’d show it. Later, she’d let the tears fall freely down her face. Now, she had to pull herself together. “What else are you doing, drawing up a contract?”

“As a matter of fact, yes, when we go back we’ll talk about it.”

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