Page 137 of Disarming Caine

Samantha

Twodayslater,Antonioand I sat in my truck at the Departures door. His right arm was bound in a sling and he’d rearranged his flights to depart from Detroit instead of Lansing, so we had more time together before he left again.

“Life is never boring with you around, bella,” he said.

“Me?” I laughed. “My life was plenty boring before you came around. Just the way I like it.”

He kissed my hand and reached over to brush his knuckles along my cheek. “I’ll miss this face. So much.”

“Just four more months. We’ve already done it once.”

“I have a small parting gift for you.” He dug into his breast pocket and retrieved a few folded pieces of paper and handed them to me. “I know you said no more stuff, so it’s… notstuff.”

Taking the papers, I opened them, and my heart did a cartwheel. Airline tickets to Naples.

“You can come with me.” He winked. “You’re on leave anyway and when you get home, it will only be three and a half more months!”

I closed my eyes and sighed. “You know I can’t. I promised Cass.”

“This is your only defense?” He waved a dismissive hand and dug into the pocket again, producing a passport. “Who do you think gave me this?”

My hand shook as I reached for it. My passport, which had been safely tucked away at Cass’s house with all of my other belongings. “How did you get this?”

“Your sister’s exact words to me were: ‘You had better not fuck this up.’”

I stared at the passport and the tickets and just laughed.

“Your suitcase is already in the truck. Just bring that with you.”

Could it really be that simple? “Are you serious?”

He put his hand on mine and dipped his head, fluttering his eyelashes. “What was it you said when you showed up on my doorstep in August? ‘I only want to be with you.’ That was it, sì?”

It was. The butterflies hit me, and my heart started pounding.

“I don’t want to say goodbye so soon. Come with me.” Grinning, he added, “My arm hurts a great deal and I need a nurse.”

I clutched the passport and tickets to my chest. “There is nothing on Earth I’d rather do.” I reached over the center console and grabbed his neck, kissing him. I would not cry. “But I have a condition. We have to spend at least one night in that hotel in Naples with the amazing bed.”

He separated from me only far enough to rest his forehead against mine. “Anything for the woman who loves me.”

Istoodatourgate, waiting for Antonio. They’d called first class, so it was time to board. I felt eyes on me from behind and turned around to see Elliot approach.

“Hi, Sam. Heading to New York?” he asked, nodding at the departure sign.

I shook my head. “Just one stop on the way. New York, Rome, then Naples.”

He looked at the leather duffel bag on the floor next to me. “Going with Dr. Ferraro?”

“Yeah. He’s buying a book.” I gestured to the store he’d disappeared into. “You’re not heading to Rome already? What about the Scotts and the Constable?”

“It’s just a quick check-in with the team. I’ll be back to wrap up my involvement with the Scott case and hand it over to the local police, then deal with the paintings.”

“Art Crimes work is never done, is it?”

“Very true. By the way, we recovered the Constable painting and the other two from the Los Angeles theft—you were right about where they came from—plus a few from a different theft. All told, the reward for information leading to their return totals $50,000.”

“Really?”