The Redemption of Rico D'Angelo

‘The slashed tyres aren’t an isolated incident. The police are aware of the situation but there’s not much they can do.’ She pulled in a breath. ‘Four months ago I broke up with a man who, it appears, can’t take no for an answer.’

‘And he’s persecuting you? Threatening you?’

She lifted one shoulder. ‘I have no proof that today’s tyres are his handiwork.’ But she knew in her gut it was. ‘I’ve taken a restraining order out on him.’

And she still couldn’t believe she’d left her front door unlocked!

CHAPTER TWO

‘NEEN?’

Rico touched her arm and Neen started. He immediately backed up, his eyes darkening. She wanted to reach out and tell him it wasn’t him, but...

But what? Was she going to let Chris turn her into a timid mouse? Was she going to let his behaviour rule her life?

She leaned across and clasped Rico’s arm. ‘I’m sorry. I was a million miles away.’

Beneath the crisp cotton of his business shirt, his arm was firm and warm, vibrant, and her fingers were curiously reluctant to release him. For a few precious seconds the solid feel of him reminded her there was more in this world than her worries and troubles.

And while she continued to focus so closely on her troubles she was missing out on a lot of those other things—on laughter and friendship and...and simply being young. She’d applied to manage Rico’s cafе hoping it would provide her with some much-needed distraction. Eventually Chris would get bored and give up. She crossed her fingers.

In the meantime she would not sit around and spin her wheels while she waited to see what the outcome of Grandad’s will would be. She’d get experience, she’d become even better at her job and...

She swallowed. And she wouldn’t focus on her sense of betrayal. That was what.

Rico watched her through narrowed eyes that saw too much. She tried to find a smile. ‘It’s been a while since there’s been an...incident. I’ve obviously become careless.’ She frowned. ‘But...’

‘But?’

In the spring sunshine his hair gleamed dark, but she could pick out the deep auburn highlights that threaded through it. While he’d shrugged out of his business jacket, his tie was still perfectly knotted at his throat. She shoved her hands into her pockets to stop herself from reaching out and loosening it.

‘Let’s walk for a bit,’ she suggested, because standing there staring at him seemed suddenly absurd. Besides, the sand was packed tight from the outgoing tide. He shouldn’t get too much sand in his beautifully polished leather shoes.

He fell into step beside her. ‘What were you going to say?’

She shrugged, trying to replay that moment when she’d returned home from the supermarket. She’d unlocked the door...Monty had barrelled into her...she’d pulled the screen door shut so he couldn’t escape and...

‘It’s just that I’m pretty certain I did lock the screen door.’ It was an action that had become second nature.

‘How certain?’

‘Ninety per cent.’

A second passed. Rico’s hands clenched. ‘You think someone picked the lock?’

Her mouth dried. ‘I’m probably being paranoid, that’s all.’ She pressed her hands together and prayed that was all it was. ‘About a week after Chris and I broke up I came home after work one night to find my entire apartment open—front door, back door and every single window. He must’ve still had a key. That was the first time I moved. The second time was after I woke one morning to find the house I’d rented splattered with red paint. I don’t want to run like that again.’

She would not be turned into a fugitive.

Rico’s right hand formed a hard, tight fist. She stared at it for a moment before glancing back out at the water.

‘I have deadbolts on all the doors and windows, but not the screen door. Normally I don’t leave the doors open, but it was so lovely and sunny today, and I...’ For heaven’s sake—it had been the middle of the day and broad daylight!

‘You should be able to leave your front door open without fear of reprisals.’

He spoke fiercely and a lump lodged in her throat. She closed her eyes, counted to three and then shoved her shoulders back before turning to face him.

‘I have been distracted today, though. I was offered the job.’ She flashed him a smile that was meant to reassure him, but it didn’t seem to do the trick. ‘And I have a dinner this evening that I’m really stressing about. I need it to go well.’ If it didn’t... Her gut clenched. ‘It’s why I banished Monty to the courtyard. I just needed thirty minutes to get the dinner preparations sorted. I was trying to work quickly and I was focused on chopping and quietening the dumb dog.’

‘And after the slashing of the tyres you were understandably jumpy.’

He didn’t make reference to her over-the-top reaction. He didn’t have to. It hung in the silence between them. But for several terrified seconds this afternoon she’d thought she’d have to fight for her life. Her mouth dried all over again at the memory. She hadn’t realised how spooked she’d become.

She clenched her hands. She would not allow Chris to do this to her. She might not be able to control his actions, but she could control her own. She had no intention of letting her guard down again, but she’d allowed her life to shrink. That had to stop.

There was just one last thing...

‘The incidents had become fewer and fewer. I thought perhaps Chris had finally given up. And, honestly, it’s illegal for him to come within twenty metres of me. The moment he does I can throw the book at him, and I doubt very much he’d risk that. However, as he obviously hasn’t given up would you prefer it if I stood down as your cafе manager?’

He halted and planted his hands on his hips. ‘Why would I do that?’

She didn’t say anything, just let him come to the same conclusion she had.

He frowned. ‘You think he might start targeting your place of work?’

‘I don’t pretend to know what goes through his mind. It’s a possibility, though, isn’t it?’

‘I’m not letting some sociopathic freak of a bully determine who I will or won’t employ!’

Just for a moment she glimpsed something in him beyond the self-possessed, preoccupied executive. Something dark and dangerous that should have had her backing away but actually had her wanting to edge closer.

‘I know you’re the right person for this job.’

She stared at him, at the fire in his eyes, and the weight of his expectation slammed down on her shoulders, making them sag.

‘But for heaven’s sake, Neen, what possessed you to go out with a jerk like that in the first place?’

She hugged her arms about her waist and started walking blindly up the beach again. She’d been searching for love. She’d ached for it. That was why she’d fallen for Chris. He’d focused all his attention on her in a way nobody in her life had before—except for Grandad—and she’d lapped it up like a starving woman. Like the stupid, weak woman that she was.

It was only later that his possessiveness and jealousy had come to light. Or at least that she’d recognised them for what they were. If she hadn’t been so needy she might have realised sooner and she could have ended the relationship then. But she hadn’t, and now she was paying the price.

‘I made a mistake,’ she said when she was sure of her voice. ‘Haven’t you ever made a mistake?’

She glanced up, but his face had frozen into a dark mask.

He gave one hard nod and a curt, ‘Yes,’ and then swung on his heel and set off back the way they’d come.

She glanced around—Monty was still splashing in the water beside them—and then dashed to catch up with Rico. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make that about you.’