Chapter 17
Rowan opened one eye, the other pressed into his pillow.
Was someone kicking the door?
He sat up in bed, taking in the single beam of sunlight that shone through the crack in the mostly closed drapes.
Where was Becky?
Two more sounds, like a knock, but they were definitely kicks. He threw back the covers and went to the door, spying Becky through the peephole. He opened it, standing behind it so he wouldn’t flash the hotel hallway with his naked body.
“Breakfast!” She was carrying two trays of food, each laden with several plates and glasses. “There’s a free buffet. Everything looked so good!”
He smelled bacon and something sweet, maybe pancakes, and his stomach roared to life. “Awesome. Coffee?”
She put the trays down on the dresser and reached for a mug. “Coffee.”
He walked to the window and opened the curtains, standing naked before them.
Becky made sure to swallow what was in her mouth before she spoke. “You’re an exhibitionist.”
“No one can see me.”
“You mean no one’s looking, but if they were, of course they could see you, and you like it.”
He shrugged.
“You ever have sex in public?”
“What, like outdoors? Sure.”
“Not just outdoors. Someplace you might get caught.”
He thought about that and she laughed, gesturing below his waist. “I think he likes that idea.”
“Huh. I guess he does.”
“Another time. When does the FBI open?”
They had come to Boston to return the real Madonna Fornirà to the Gardner Museum, but to do it, Rowan had to be recognized as an FBI agent instead of some guy off the street.
A quick stop at the local FBI office in Center Plaza should take care of that.
“Eight fifteen, but the Gardner doesn’t open until eleven.
” He kneeled on the bed and began crawling toward her. “So we’ve got time.”
The ringing of his cell phone stopped him, and Becky handed him the phone.
He glanced at the caller ID. “It’s Tamra!”
The first time Becky laid eyes on Rowan’s wife, her shirt and hands were covered in blood. Even then she was beautiful, her movements at once efficient and graceful, and Becky felt a stab of adolescent envy.
The man she loves is in a heap on the floor, and I’m back in junior high school.
“I can’t get the bleeding to stop,” Tamra said, pressing hard on a towel over the gaping wound in an unconscious Gianni’s belly.
Rowan knelt down to explore Gianni’s wound. “He needs to get to a hospital, Tamra. Now.”
“It’s a gunshot wound! They’ll have to report it, and then they’ll find us and put Gianni in jail.” She turned around and noticed Becky. “Who is she?”
“A friend. At least in a hospital he’ll be alive, Tamra, which he’s not going to be for much longer if he stays here.”
Tamra stared at Rowan for a beat, then nodded her head.
“I’ll call 911,” said Leonardo. He’d been hovering near the doorway, rocking baby Anthony, who was half asleep in his arms.
“Tell me what happened,” said Rowan.
“Enzo fought with Leonardo. We were nearby, listening. We were supposed to leave this morning, but the baby was sick with a fever and I didn’t want to put him in the car, or we would have been gone.
” She shook her head, as if she couldn’t believe it had happened.
“He pulled the gun on Leonardo just as Anthony woke up and started screaming. Then everything happened so quickly.”
“Do you know where Enzo went?”
She nodded, her eyes wide. “I told him about the storage unit we rented.”
Rowan got to his feet. “When did he leave?”
“Right before I called you. But you can’t go. Just let him have it. Who cares? It’s not worth your life…”
“I have to.” He turned to Becky. “Stay with them. I’ll meet you at the hospital.”
“Okay.” Becky understood why he needed to go. It was his job to protect the Madonna Fornirà and she trusted him. “Be careful.”
Tamra scooted in closer to Gianni, resting his arm on her abdomen as she tried her best to staunch the bleeding.
“Can I help you?” asked Becky. “I could take a turn.”
Tamra eyed her wearily, then nodded, showing her where to press, and Becky did as she was told. The smell of blood was thick and sweet and she wanted to gag, so she spoke instead. “I’m Becky.”
“Hi.”
“I’m really glad you and the baby are okay.”
Tamra frowned and rested her head on Gianni’s, effectively ending the conversation.
Becky and Tamra rode to the hospital in the back of the ambulance that carried Gianni, the paramedics working to stabilize him as they flew down the rural road. Leonardo had stayed home with the baby. It was frightening to watch them work, the monitors beeping frantically.
“Is he going to be okay?” asked Tamra.
“He’s lost a lot of blood, ma’am. But he’s young and healthy. Let’s hope for the best.”
Tamra nodded, tears slipping down her cheeks.
It seemed they’d been driving forever, but still the landscape was anything but metropolitan. Gianni seemed to be stable, and the paramedics had calmed considerably.
Becky desperately wanted to make small talk, but they only thing they had in common was Rowan, and she figured that would get awkward pretty quickly.
It was Tamra who finally spoke. “I never meant to hurt Rowan.”
It didn’t seem like the proper time to call the other woman a stinking liar, so Becky didn’t say anything at all. How the hell did you decide to convince some man he was the father of your baby so he would marry you, and not intend to hurt him?
“My father forced me to do it.”
Keeping quiet didn’t come naturally to Becky, and there were only so many times she could bite her tongue before the words came flying out of her mouth. “Your daddy made you?”
“It’s more complicated than it seems.”
“So explain it to me.”
Tamra glared at her. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
“Rowan got stuck in the middle. I guess I should have been stronger. Fought harder for what was right, but I didn’t. I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
Becky heard the regret in the other woman’s voice and believed it was genuine. Still, it was difficult for her to empathize with someone who took so little control of her own life. “I hope you find happiness. I really do,” said Becky.
“I wish the same for you.” She smiled lightly. “Rowan’s a good man. He always deserved better than I could give him.”