Page 49 of Under Her Skin

Peter dragged in a long breath. “You think I could killHero?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I’masking.”

“Jesus, Arturo.Jesus H. Christ…” He got up now and began to pace. “You really think I would…I take it this breakup is a rusethen?”

“Yes. We wanted to smoke Galiano out, but he’s not picking up thebait.”

“George is no killer, and just for the record, neither amI.”

Arturo believed him. “I’m sorry. I had to ask, and I owed it to you, to be honest. You didn’t answer my question about the business. Do you wantit?”

Peter, his handsome face creased in anger and betrayal, leaned on the desk, blowing out his cheeks. “I don’t want anything that would mean me murdering an innocent woman, Arturo. Do I want to move up in the business world? Of course. One day, I would like to be my own boss, but I’ll do thatbecauseof your patronage, not despite it. Fuck, Arturo…you really think that little of me? After all theseyears?”

“No. But I had to know, I had to hear it from you,” Arturo replied. “I’m sorry, Pete. Really. But Hero is everything to me. If I had to give up my business, every penny of my money to keep her safe, I would. I had to ask, my friend, because we’re running out of ideas as to who is threatening her. Her sister is missing, and the police have no leads. Nothing. We are at our wit’send.”

“I understand that.” Peter’s tone was softer now, understanding. He sat back down. “Look, I’m going to do everything I can to help you find this asshole, Turo, but looking at the people who you’re closest to won’t help here.” He gave a wry smile. “Not even George. Do you really think he has the balls or the intelligence to pull this thingoff?”

Arturo half-smiled. “No. I’m just desperate. He calls her, you know, the killer, and he tells her what he’s going to do to her, how he’s going to kill her. The most depraved stuff. She’s so strong, Pete, but I’m scared he’ll get toher.”

“We won’t let that happen. No psycho is going to kill her, Turo, I promise.” Peter sighed. “We should go see your uncle. He has people at the highest echelons of government who might be able tohelp.”

“We will…but not tonight. Tonight…Peter, I’m driving to Milan, and Hero and I are going to City Hall. We’re going to get married. Officially.Legally.”

Peter didn’t argue for once, and Arturo went on, “It’s just something we have to do for ourselves. Some kind of sanity in the midst of thiscraziness.”

His old friend cracked a slight smile. “Marrying a woman you’ve known what, a month, maybe? Maybe that doesn’t qualify assanity…”

Arturo grinned. “Fair point. She makes me crazy in the best possible way. So, she and I will get married, and then we’ll talk to my uncletomorrow.”

Peter nodded. “I’ll call him and ask him to get his people onto Imelda’s case tonight, and we’ll go see him in themorning.”

In the caron the way to Milan, Arturo thought about his conversation with Peter. He believed his friend when he said he would never hurt Hero…but there was still something niggling at the back of his mind. “What is it?” He murmured to himself as he parked the car outside the AmericanConsulate.

His mind cleared though the instant he saw her walking down the steps to meet him. Hero’s smile was wide, her eyes shining, and his heart began to beat out of his chest. Did she have something to tellhim?

He got out and went to her. “What isit?”

Hero had tears in her eyes as she smiled at him. “It’s Imelda. They’ve foundher.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Run that by me again.” Arturo was trying to make sense of what Hero was telling him as they drove to CityHall.

Imelda was safe…in Rome, Hero told him, and in fact, had never been abducted. On a whim, she had decided to take the train from Milan to Rome to spend a week or so ‘off-grid.’

“She was really annoyed when she found out we’d all been looking for her. She said something to the effect of ‘I’m a thirty-eight-year-old woman, and I can do what I like.’ Apparently, the police who went to where she was staying were terrified ofher.”

“And she didn’t think to callyou?”

“She was pissed atme.”

“Still.”

Hero gave a soft laugh. “Who cares? She’ssafe. God, Turo, I feel a billion timeslighter.”

He took her hand. “It’s fantastic news. So, we know your tormentor was bluffingnow.”

“But he knew she was missing, or at least that we thought she was missing. Whichmeans…”