Betrayal (35 page)

But he also knew he had to be free to eliminate the threat of the Propovs and finish them entirely before they killed Nonna, and his brothers, and his sisters-in-law, and terrorized the town even more than they already had.

Noah had made the right decision.

But he didn’t like it.

Turning, he walked back into his office and kicked the door closed. Going to his computer, he found a clear shot of Hendrik on the security tape and sent it to all personnel with the notice that if this man was seen on the property, they were to call the authorities and have him removed at once. And take all precautions, because he was dangerous.

Sinking into his chair, Noah stared at the letter he had been writing to Penelope.

Was Hendrik telling the truth?

Noah and Penelope had made love over and over, more times than he could count, but they had used a condom every time.
Every
time.

Of course, Noah knew the stats on condom use weren’t perfect. With his casual lovers, he had always insisted on double protection—a contraceptive foam, or pills, or an IUD.

That was the trouble. Nothing about Penelope was casual.

The first time… well, the first time. Before he pulled his condom out of his wallet, it had been lodged in there quite a few months. Maybe the heat from his body had affected its strength. Maybe condoms had an expiration date.

Most important, Noah and Penelope had been in a hurry. In fact, they’d been downright violent. Maybe the condom had torn.…

Penelope.
Pregnant
.

He wrapped his hand around his stupid dog collar.

Hours left.

His whole life had played like a cosmic joke, but this was the worst. He’d made all the sacrifices, trying to ensure that no one was injured by his death. No wife to
mourn him. His family would remain alive. But now… he was leaving an innocent child? A child conceived one week from the day her father died?

It couldn’t be true.

Penelope would have told him.

But would she?

He’d walked out on her. Walked out because he’d done the wrong thing in loving her again. He didn’t want to toy with her. Walked out because he needed to spend his time searching for Massimo’s bottle of the damned… and failing.

Penelope wasn’t going to tell him about the baby. She judged him as her mother had judged Joseph Bianchin: as unworthy of fatherhood.

But no matter what she thought, he had the right to know.

Anger rose in him. He stood.

He needed to know.

He strode toward the door, yanked it open—

Penelope stood on the other side, fist raised to knock.

They looked at each other, both surprised.

Penelope glanced away as if afraid of the coming conversation, or maybe of him. “Hi.” She caught herself avoiding his gaze, and looked right at him. “I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure.” Was it true?

Had they made a baby?

He stepped back and gestured her in.

“I won’t bother you for long.” She walked inside and stood in the middle of the room.

He shut the door after them. “You could never bother me.”

“I guess I could. When I’m around, you disappear fast enough.” She caught her breath, shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to bring that up.”

“It’s fair.”

She flicked him a scornful glance. “Yes, of course it’s
fair
. But that’s not why I’m here.” She paused as if gathering her forces. “I just… I don’t know how to say this. It’s not what we intended—I mean, obviously—but for me it’s a miracle, a gift from God. But I do understand you’re not going to feel that way.”

He didn’t dare speak. He didn’t dare assume.… But it was true. She had a glow about her, and for all that she was nervous, she kept trying to smile; then, intent on being serious, she would wipe away her smile.

“I don’t want you to think I’m trying to get into your wallet,” she said. “I can take care of myself, and… and I thought about this for the last hour or so, what I should do. When it comes to me and our relationship, you’ve been untrustworthy and irresponsible. But I knew that; I knew I shouldn’t have gotten involved with you again; I can’t blame you for being who and what you are. It’s not like you’ve changed in the past nine years or anything.”

His gaze fell to her hands, hanging at her sides, clenching and unclenching.

She continued. “But last week, you were there at the right time, and I’ve always loved you, and I’m grateful for the time we spent together. You know, after you got me out of the bar.”

“Yes. I know what you mean.” The tight ball in the pit of his stomach eased as she spoke, and he began to feel almost… giddy. Light-headed. And for a man
condemned to die today, that was odd. To him, his voice sounded odd, too, as if it were coming from inside a seashell. “What are you trying to tell me?”

She looked at him, then away, then at him again. She gnawed her lower lip, braced herself, and said, “We’re having a baby.”

It was true.

It was true.

He took a breath.

It was true.

“Noah? Are you okay?”

He shook his head.

He was going to die. Literally. He was going to die, killed by his mother and her brutal family.

And he was having a baby with the woman he loved.

In the space of three minutes, everything had changed.

What seemed like the right thing to do before, was now wrong.

Three minutes ago, he could say farewell to his family, to Penelope, and know that because they knew him, they would believe the best of him. They would know he was a good man who had given up his life for them. And not without a fight. They might not approve—his brothers most definitely would not—but his choice had been clear-cut.

Now… eight days ago, he had created an innocent life. That child would never know him. That child would blame him for not living and being the father he should be.

Noah had to make a different choice.

He had to gamble with everyone’s life… for the sake of the child.

He walked like an automaton toward Penelope.

She backed away, her eyes wide, viewing him as if he were a madman.

He supposed he looked that way.

Reaching out to her, he enfolded her in his arms, pulled her close, and whispered, “Thank you. Thank you for giving me a reason to live.”

Chapter 56

F
ists in the air, Grieta swung her computer chair around in a circle and chortled. “I did it!”

“What did you do, dear?” Liesbeth’s hand trembled as she pulled the black thread in and out of her tapestry.

“I reactivated the microphone in Noah’s necklace,” Grieta said.

“About time,” Klaas said. “How about the camera?”

Grieta cast him a look of disgust. “You’re welcome.”

“That’s very good, Grieta,” Liesbeth said. “Once again, you’ve come through for us.”

Grieta beamed, pleased with Liesbeth’s praise.

They still valued her praise.

Yet they were cruel creatures. She had trained them to be proper Propovs, to despise the meek and the poor. They would kill her for any weakness.

Liesbeth’s thoughts shifted to Hendrik. Hendrik especially would kill her. He had enjoyed his time spent
stalking Joseph Bianchin’s daughter. Every night he talked about how pretty this Penelope was, how vulnerable, how unaware… how eight days ago, she had spent all night with Noah and then they had separated and not seen each other since.

Right now, he was after her again, watching her, plotting how he would use her to make Noah’s last hours miserable… and how he would hunt her after Noah was dead, and hurt her.

After all, this girl didn’t matter. She was one of the lesser beings they all despised. But Liesbeth didn’t like the way Hendrik gloated, as if he thought his intentions for Noah’s woman would disturb Liesbeth. Hendrik seemed to imagine Liesbeth had a fondness for her son. It was as if he could see within Liesbeth’s mind, and enjoyed watching her affection wash away her cruelty.

He viewed Noah as a weakness he could use against her.

“Grieta, you’ve made me happy,” Brigetta said. “I want to hear Noah whimpering as his hour of death grows closer.”

“You really are a bloodthirsty little thing.” Rutger admired that. “But so is our leader.”

Everyone faced Liesbeth in awe and admiration.

“Come, now,” she said in a steady voice. “You know I abhor violence.”

Klaas snorted.

She ignored him. “I thought up the bomb at Noah’s throat only because I believed it would never be activated. I imagined he knew the bottle’s location and all he needed was the incentive to produce it.” How could Liesbeth have so misread her own son?

“If it’s true that he knows, he’s one cool customer.”
Brigetta glanced at the clock. “He has four hours to hand it over.”

“He’s wetting himself,” Klaas assured her. “His dampness will probably short-circuit the bomb and he’ll die early.”

Their cruel laugher echoed in Liesbeth’s ears.

“We’ve got sound. Want to hear our little boy cousin sweating his last day on earth?” Grieta turned back to the computer.

Brigetta, Klaas, and Rutger rushed toward the computer desk.

Liesbeth followed, dragging her feet.

She didn’t often give credence to her forebodings, but… she had a very bad feeling that today would not turn out well.

Penelope stood in Noah’s embrace, limp with relief. Of all the reactions she’d imagined, that Noah would be glad had never crossed her mind. “You believe me, then?”

“Of course I believe you.” He laughed. “Why would you lie?”

“To catch a Di Luca.”

“You caught me,” he replied with easy amusement.

“I thought you might accuse me of going home from the bar every night with a different guy.” She tensed, waiting for an answer.

“If I had thought such a thing—and I hadn’t—a quick fact check would have changed my mind. Like, Arianna Marino would have thrown you out. Like, if you had been a regular visitor at the Beaver Inn, Primo wouldn’t have called me about you, would he?”

“Right. But do you realize… I mean, have you
thought about the fact that the baby’s grandfather is going to be Joseph Bianchin?”

Picking her up, he sat in one of his office chairs and held her in his lap. “I’ve got some relatives who aren’t so hot, too. You’ll meet them at the…” He looked suddenly grim. “Well. My current plan is that you will meet them at the wedding.”

“Um. Well. I don’t think we need to rush into anything.” She didn’t trust him not to run off as soon as things got tough. She believed in the wedding vows; she wasn’t about to have a five-minute marriage. “As I said, I can raise the baby on my own. I
have
done all the research already.”

“Hm. We’ll talk about it. If we have a girl… would you want to call her Mia?”

Ready tears sprang to Penelope’s eyes. “No, I couldn’t. That’s the name of my first child. I was thinking maybe… Sarah? For your grandmother, who has always been so good to me.”

“And me.” He put his forehead against hers and smiled into her eyes. “And me.”

“Plus the name is from the Bible, so it will always be in style.” She smiled back at him, and thought how very much she liked him when his eyes gleamed green and gold.

“I think Sarah is a wonderful name.”

Penelope should have been totally relaxed, sheltered and warm in Noah’s arms, but something niggled at her mind, something he’d said. “Noah, what do you mean, I gave you a reason to live?”

He released a breath that sounded like the first gust of an oncoming storm. “I have a story to tell you.”

She tensed. “Is it really long and boring, like
Moby-Dick
?”

“No, actually it’s incredibly exciting. At least, it was when I lived it. But it
is
long enough that I only have time to tell it once.” Standing, he deposited her in the chair, then paced across the room to his phone. He made two quick phone calls, one to Eli and one to Rafe, telling them to meet him at Nonna’s, and then he held out his hand to Penelope. “Come on. There’s no time. We’ve got to hurry.”

Chapter 57

N
oah looked around the table at his brothers. At his sisters-in-law. At Nonna. At Penelope. It had taken all of them two hours to assemble here in Nonna’s kitchen, always the setting for the most important moments of his life. How appropriate that here they should all be, together again, while he bared his soul and confessed his shame.

He was out of time, less than two hours left before his head left his shoulders, and yet with all the people he cared about here and all their attention on him, his voice failed him.

No, not his voice. His nerve.

Taking Penelope’s hand, he tried to smile.

She squeezed his fingers.

The tension ratcheted up.

Eli said, “C’mon, Noah. Chloë’s got an appointment to get her body cast off, and she’s been looking forward
to this for weeks. If you make her late, you’ll be wearing a body cast, instead.”

“No kidding,” Brooke said. “If you’re finally going to tell us who’s after Massimo’s pink diamonds, do it in a hurry, before I have to go to the bathroom again.”

The way they teased him, supported him, made him smile—and hope they would still support him when the story was finished.

Or at least, that they would rescue him from his folly.

Noah’s high school graduation present was a year spent trying to find himself, enough money to travel the world, as long as he stayed within his budget, and the freedom to do it alone (as long as he checked in with his grandmother once a week).

He waved good-bye to his family on a sunny day in June, excited and scared, and not realizing that when he returned, he would be a man who had left all remnants of his innocence behind.

He flew directly to Amsterdam, guilty about keeping a secret from his grandparents and thrilled to embark on the adventure his mother had promised him.

She met him at baggage claim. “Darling boy.” She kissed him on the cheek. “I’m so glad you could come.”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”