What the hell was she doing? Hayley found herself wrestling with the pillow and with her emotions long after she should have gone to sleep. In her fatigued, confused state there was no chance of her finding sleep tonight. And fatigue and confusion were not the only emotions interfering with her sleep. As much as the reality of it alarmed and confused her further, she was slightly aroused too.
What was it about this man that made her feel so confused? Hayley was no blushing virgin; she knew about men, she had experienced relationships before. But there was no one she had ever known who had stirred her the way Ethan did. Already, it was impossible to really believe that she had known him for less than a day.
She closed her eyes and cast her mind back to the way Ethan had looked when she first saw him. A large man, stretched out and looking lazy in the sun. Only now did she realise how much of an act that appearance of relaxation must have been. At all times as she approached and circled his house, Ethan would have been acutely aware of her. His mind would have been busily assessing who she was and what precise level of threat she presented to his home and to Katy.
She felt a shiver run through her as she thought of the way Alvaro Tomasi had been responsible for ruining Pearl MacDonald’s life. How terrified Ethan must be! The safety of his precious daughter was at stake. He had every right to be suspicious of intruders.
For the first time, she considered what tremendous insight he had shown — and more than that, what generosity — in realising that she, Hayley, meant him no harm. That she had come here under pretences that may have been a little dishonest but that she was not the sort of person who would allow someone like Alvaro Tomasi to dictate her behaviour. That she meant Ethan and his family no harm and never would.
No wonder she was so moved by him! Any normal man would have used her early connection to Tomasi as a reason to hate her, would have left her shot and bleeding by the road, would not have even realised she was there. Because the truth was that Ethan had only been able to save her from being shot because he cared enough about her safety to follow her to make sure she made it safely back to Siena.
Hayley rolled over and gazed towards the window. She had left the shutters open and now her room was dark and had a view of a sky that was countryside-rich, with a swathe of stars and, beneath them, the hills with their punctuation marks of trees black against a burnished silver sky. She realised only now that she didn’t know in which part of the house Ethan had his own bedroom. Was he looking out towards the same darkened view that greeted her eyes? Or was he, even now, still at work in his study?
As if in answer to her mute question, somewhere in the house a telephone began to ring. Hayley turned again, now looking towards the door. Where it had been all darkness, now there was a dim line of light visible beneath. She could hear footsteps. The ringing stopped.
The light stayed on, however. It brightened. Hayley sat up. There were footsteps again, coming towards her this time. She began to fear that on this particular night, when she probably needed a lot of rest to help her recover from the gunshot wound to her arm, she was not going to get any sleep at all.
Then the door was thrown open. Ethan stood there dressed in nothing but a pair of jeans. He must have thrown them on hastily; the top button was not done up. From there on up, his chest was a broad, sculpted marvel. If he didn’t often leave the villa then clearly he had exercise equipment around here somewhere. This was the body of a man that worked out.
‘Are you awake?’ he asked.
‘I am now,’ Hayley replied. ‘What is it? Has something happened to Katy?’
He nodded. ‘Get your things. We won’t be staying here after all.’
Hayley was confused. ‘You want me to leave?’ she asked. What could have happened so suddenly to make him change his mind?
‘I’m leaving too,’ Ethan said. ‘That was Katy’s headmistress on the phone just now. I need to go and get her.’
He turned and strode away as Hayley climbed out of bed and reached for her clothes. By the time she was dressed — carefully, because her injured arm seemed sorer now than it had before — and returned to the sitting room, he was standing by the window, staring out at the darkened world.
‘Has anything happened to her?’ asked Hayley. ‘Is she safe?’
He turned. His eyes were darkened with emotional pain.
‘She’s safe enough,’ he said. ‘There’s no one who can get to her there. That’s why I chose the school. Her headmistress says she’s been having bad dreams. Terrible nightmares. That she’s been waking screaming.’
Hayley pictured the small girl she had seen on the DVD an hour ago. Beautiful little Katy. Her mother dead, her father driven to this extreme defensive position. How the little girl must feel to be at a boarding school. How abandoned any child might feel. How much this could be intensified in the case of Katy, who had suffered such recent loss.
‘What are you going to do?’
Ethan clenched the back of a nearby chair with his long fingers. Hayley watched as his knuckles turned white.
‘They wanted to send for a doctor,’ he said. ‘I can’t have anyone I don’t know going there. Who knows what games Tomasi might be playing?’
‘A doctor? For nightmares?’ What a terrible state the little girl must be in, if a boarding school headmistress, who would be used to the emotional dramas of young girls, thought she needed medical help!
‘I will never forgive Tomasi for putting my Katy through this,’ Ethan swore darkly.
Into Hayley’s mind there flashed a memory of the voice that had growled at her over the telephone. For one crazy moment, she wished she could go back in time, and slam the receiver down. But then she looked across at Ethan and realised that, had she not come here, she would never have met him.
‘What are you going to do instead?’ she asked Ethan now.
‘I told the headmistress to keep her awake. I’m going to go to her now. If I can’t be sure that she’s going to be happy there, then I will have to take her away.’
‘Bring her here, you mean?’
‘I don’t know. That might be the very thing Tomasi wants to make me do. Have you got all your things?’
‘I do.’
All her things just meant the handbag she had travelled with earlier, back when she had thought she would only be here a couple of hours at most and would only need her camera. Hayley picked it up and showed him.
Ethan seemed surprised that this was all she had with her. Perhaps he too was feeling that they must have known each other a lot longer than they had. Perhaps he had forgotten that Hayley was no normal guest.
‘We’ll be on our way, then,’ he said. He turned as if, now that he remembered who she was and why she was here, he wanted to get her out as soon as possible.
Hayley followed him towards the hall. Of course, he wasn’t trying to hurry her out of the house, she told herself sternly. He was anxious about Katy. That was all. And who could blame him for that?
‘Will you drop me in Siena on the way?’ she asked.
Ethan shook his head. ‘I’ve paid for your time, remember?’ he said. ‘You’re coming with me. Tomasi is up to trouble tonight.’
Hayley thought about that. ‘Wouldn’t it be easier if I wasn’t with you?’
‘I want everyone involved to stay right where I can see them.’ Ethan spoke decisively.
They had once more reached the door to his office. Ethan pushed it open and she followed him in.
‘Wait here for a moment,’ he said as he stepped through a door at the end of the room. It was not exactly camouflaged, but Hayley had not noticed it before.
She sat as instructed, thinking that she might as well; she was doing everything else he told her. What had gotten into her? It was not like Hayley to be so obedient. Normally, she liked to do her own thing and that was why being in business for herself so suited her.
But there was something about Ethan that encouraged her to trust him and to do what he suggested. Something about the way he understood the situation, understood her. Not to mention that he had saved her life! She certainly owed him something for that.
His computer screen was dark. So he must have been in bed when the phone rang.
There it was. And for the second time that evening, the phone began to ring as though it were answering her.
Who on earth would be ringing him at this time of night? Hayley looked towards the door through which Ethan had vanished. But he did not reappear.
What should she do? The phone was still ringing. It could be something important. It could even concern Katy. In fact, it was very likely to concern Katy. There were very few other reasons imaginable for calling someone this late at night.
As soon as she considered that, she reached for the phone herself. It was clear Ethan was not returning to this room. She might only be a guest here but if there were news of his daughter, he would certainly want to know.
‘Hello?’ she said into the receiver before remembering where she was. ‘I mean buongiorno.’
‘Who is this?’ The voice at the other end of the line was crisp and authoritative. It belonged to a woman who knew whom she was calling, and who had not expected to be answered like this.
‘This is Ethan McDonald’s phone,’ Hayley said smoothly.
Immediately, she was determined to give away no more information than someone ringing this number would already know. She had only been mixed up in this business for a few hours, but already she was becoming suspicious. Who knew which people were connected to Tomasi and to people associated with him? Hayley had to be more aware of that danger than almost anyone — after all, she had been involved with the Tomasis herself. She would keep her identity here secret. She had no particular desire to let anyone know that Ethan had someone staying with him.
‘I know whose phone it is,’ the woman said. ‘I want to know who you are.’
There was a certain note of bellicose aggression to the other woman’s voice now. A certain sense of ownership, as though she somehow sensed that her territory had been invaded by this woman that was answering Ethan’s phone when he was meant to be here on his own.
Hayley couldn’t understand it. The woman sounded too old to be romantically involved with Ethan and, in any case, the way he had spoken of being alone with Katy, Hayley was fairly certain he was on his own in the world. He said his mother had died. His sister was too frail looking and also too young to be the woman on the other end of the line.
‘I think he’ll be at the phone in a second,’ Hayley said, hoping she sounded as though she didn’t understand the aggressive tone. This seemed the easiest way of not having to respond to it.
A moment later, the door was still closed and Hayley was still standing there. She had moved the receiver away from her ear. But Ethan still wasn’t coming.
She moved the receiver back to her mouth. As much as she had the sense that it would be better to avoid this woman, she had to speak.
‘Would you like me to take a message?’ she asked.
The woman snorted. ‘Tell him Elspeth called.’
‘Elizabeth?’
‘Elspeth.’ The woman swore. ‘That boy doesn’t get to liking them any brighter. I said Elspeth. E-L-S-P-E-T-H. Tell Ethan — that’s if you know his real name — that I want to hear back from him as soon as he…finds the time.’
Carrying a small black fabric bag, Ethan re-emerged from the other room almost as soon as Hayley hung up. He looked surprised to see her standing and her hand on the receiver.
Surely he had heard it ringing? Hayley wondered if he had trouble with his hearing.
But she was unable to stop herself stepping back quickly, as though she did feel guilty about something, although such an idea was ridiculous.
‘A woman named Elspeth rang,’ she said, just to make things perfectly clear. ‘She wants you to call her back straight away.’
There was something in his eyes that was almost laughter at the mention of Elspeth’s name. Which at least meant that this particular woman was not someone to worry about.
‘We’ll call her from the car,’ Ethan said. ‘Let’s go.’
***
Ethan drove a long, low, sporty Italian car of the kind that Hayley had only ever seen before on televised car races. He opened the passenger side door for her then sprinted around to his side and was speeding out of the garage while she was still fastening her seatbelt.
Hayley took a deep breath. The night had taken on a weird feeling of unreality. It wasn’t just the way Ethan insisted on pretending she was beautiful. It didn’t seem as though anything here could really be happening. She had been shot at. She and Ethan were rushing off into the Italian nighttime to rescue a potential kidnap victim from her nightmares.
None of this seemed like it could possibly be part of the sensible, organised life of Hayley Wolfe, wedding photographer. Perhaps she would feel a bit more like herself if she returned to the hobby she usually buried herself in when there was anxiety in her life. Thankfully, her camera bag was in her lap. She patted it and that gesture itself was comforting.
‘Do you mind if I take photos?’ she asked.
His hand on the gearstick, Ethan looked across at her. There was a puzzled expression on his face. ‘Why would you want to do that?’ he asked.
She shrugged. ‘I find it relaxing, I suppose.’
His eyes back on the road, Ethan shrugged. Hayley watched as a muscle in the side of his jaw twitched, then his arms softened. He was obviously making some attempt to keep himself calm as well. After all, it was Katy’s nightmares that had precipitated this nighttime ride. Hayley knew that nightmares are often the result of anxiety and stress. It would not do the little girl any good for her father to turn up looking worried and tense.
‘I won’t take any photos that could possibly give information to Tomasi,’ Hayley promised.
What she really wanted to do was take a photograph of Ethan’s profile right now. With his eyebrows as thick, straight lines and his jaw clenched, he was the living picture of a strong man keeping himself under closer control. The look was dangerous and sexy.
‘We won’t be passing many weddings out here tonight,’ he observed in a deep voice.
Hayley laughed. ‘That’s how I earn a living. I take interesting photos as well,’ she said. ‘It’s just hard to get anyone to pay for those.’
‘Hell, we all make livings any way we can,’ Ethan said. ‘My own work can get dangerous I’m told. Some of my colleagues have been in really tricky situations. SO far I’ve been okay.’
Then she pulled out her camera and took the photo she had wanted. Ethan, captured forever on the memory card inside her camera. Something for her to look at when she got back home. Hayley was already sure that this whole adventure was going to come to seem like one long, unlikely dream.
They reached the end of the narrow road that only led to Ethan’s villa and turned onto one of the wider country roads. At night, the trees that had shaded her scooter ride earlier seemed almost black.
‘Weddings are work,’ she said. ‘You have to earn a living doing something. Weddings are one of the few things that people will pay to have photographed these days.’
‘You’d rather do something else?’
‘I’d rather do just about anything else. I don’t even like weddings.’
Ethan tapped the steering wheel. ‘A photographer that doesn’t like weddings? I bet the brides all love you.’
‘It’s not something I tell very many of them,’ Hayley said. She turned towards her window and took a photo of the scenery speeding by outside. It was beginning to be early morning and there was a beautiful orange glow along the horizon.
‘What’s wrong with weddings?’ Ethan asked. ‘Most married people have had one.’
‘It’s more the marriage than the wedding I’m sceptical about,’ Hayley confessed. ‘I mean, weddings are fine as an excuse for a pretty dress and a big party. But marriage…’
‘Marriage…? What were you about to say?’
‘Oh, I don’t know. I just don’t think marriage is a very good idea.’ Hayley slid the camera back into its case. ‘I suspect it’s for people who can’t cope with life on their own.’
‘You said you were only married for a very short while.’
‘It was long enough for me to form an opinion about it,’ Hayley insisted. ‘The reality is that sometimes, we all just have to be lonely.’
‘Maybe it’s not so hard to be on your own if you have someone special waiting for you at home,’ Ethan said.
Hayley shook her head. ‘Being lonely is sometimes better than being with someone else. I know. I saw it with my own parents.’
Ethan accelerated further as the road broadened and the vision out the front window brightened. ‘One marriage not working out doesn’t damn the whole institution,’ he said.
‘It’s not just that,’ Hayley said. ‘People go on and on about fate, that sort of thing. I don’t believe in fate.’
‘Neither do I. That’s something we can agree about.’
‘Anyway, you’ve been married. I’m sorry to say this, but you don’t make it sound like being married to Erica was the happiest time of your life.’
Hayley stopped suddenly, her hand over her mouth. She had said too much. She was always either asking too many questions or offering too many of her own opinions.
‘I know I shouldn’t have said that!’ she wailed.
Ethan turned to smile very briefly at her. ‘No, you’re right. My marriage wasn’t a great success. But I was happier then than I am now.’
‘That doesn’t mean anything. It’s worrying about Katy that makes you miserable now.’
‘I still believe people can be married and be happy.’
‘I’ll have to see someone do it before I have any belief,’ Hayley said.
‘Your own parents?’ asked Ethan.
‘Divorced when I was very young. My father brought me up on his own.’
‘Your father? That has to be unusual.’
‘It is.’
Hayley fell into silence. She did not like to talk about her mother. The glow along the horizon brightened and extended as they drove. Hayley had new questions she wanted answered. She wanted to know who Elspeth was. Was she the PA that Ethan said babysat Katy sometimes? What sort of personal role did she have in their lives? How long would it take them to reach Katy’s school? But she was acutely aware of the way Ethan had mocked her about all her questions.
Instead of asking, she stuck to her camera. This was a beautiful part of the world and there was some new scenic wonder that would make a wonderful image at every turn in the road.
‘Come on,’ Ethan said, when it was finally bright enough outside for it to be called day rather than night.
‘What do you mean?’
‘I said come on. I mean, spit it out. You have something you want to know. Questions you want to ask.’
‘You’re very perceptive.’
‘You’re not exactly subtle,’ Ethan observed. ‘Sitting there like that. What is it that you want to know?’
‘I was wondering about two things,’ Hayley confessed. ‘Since you ask.’
‘I suppose I should be surprised it’s only two. You’re in the wrong profession. You should have been a reporter.’
Hayley had actually considered this from time to time. But this was not the right moment for a discussion about career decisions. ‘How long will it be until we get there?’ she asked instead.
Ethan looked at his watch. ‘I’d say about twenty minutes,’ he said.
They had been travelling for over an hour already. The beautiful countryside looked different now that she was aware of some of the contemporary feuds being carried out. Machiavellian, almost.
‘Aren’t there any schools closer to your house?’ Hayley asked.
Ethan shook his head. ‘Well, there would be. I wanted Katy in the safest place. And not necessarily one that would be easy to find. That was your second question?’
‘No.’
‘Yes, it was. You asked how far the school was. Then you asked if there weren’t schools closer.’
‘I didn’t mean that to be my second question.’
‘Nevertheless…’ Ethan began. But when he looked at her, his eyes were crinkling and she knew he was joking. ‘I only agreed to two.’
‘I’ve been wondering who Elspeth is,’ Hayley insisted. ‘I mean, you said you’d call her from the car. But you haven’t. Don’t you think she’ll be worried?’
Ethan shook his head. ‘She probably got news about Katy too,’ he said. ‘She probably just wanted to make sure I had the message.’
‘If she’s worried, shouldn’t you call?’
Ethan seemed to consider it. ‘She’ll understand,’ he decided.
‘What’s her connection to Katy?’
‘Four questions!’ Ethan raised his hands in a characteristic gesture of surprise. ‘I certainly did not agree to that.’
Hayley raised her camera and took a close up photo of his fingers. Despite his jaunty tone and the light-hearted nature of what he was saying, his hands were so still they were an honest expression of how he was feeling.
‘Elspeth is my personal assistant,’ Ethan explained. ‘She helped me a lot with Katy after Erica died. A young girl needs a woman’s influence.’
‘She sounded a bit old to be a secretary.’ Hayley did not mean for her tone to sound as sceptical as it did.
‘She would be. Don’t ever mention the ‘S’ word around her,’ Ethan said. ‘It’s personal assistant or nothing. She used to work for my father. She’s a good woman but she still feels somewhat maternal towards me I think.’
‘So you do have someone who cares for you!’
‘Someone I need to escape from would be a more accurate assessment,’ Ethan said. They had reached an intersection and he turned onto a smaller road. ‘Elspeth has been warning me about women who are just interested in money since I was about ten years old.’
Hayley nodded. So that was why the woman had sounded so suspicious of her. She did not trust anyone that Ethan might have at his place. The suspicion was probably intensified because Ethan could not have mentioned her to Elspeth before.
‘Here we are,’ said Ethan as they pulled up beside another Tuscan style building, this one even larger and more grand than his own.
Hayley opened her door and climbed out from the low seat. She could hear gravel crunching as Ethan walked around to join her.
How odd it felt to be back near a school. Hayley had walked away from her own at the end of her final year with a feeling of relief and gladness that she would never had to go back. She hadn’t liked it there, where there were too many people around always telling her what to do. As no doubt happened to the poor girls who lived and studied here.
There were two wide, tall green doors before them, both of them locked. Ethan went up to one and pressed the intercom button beside it before announcing himself.
‘Signor MacDonald!’ a voice crackled back at them. It was rich with a heavy Italian accent. ‘I will be right down.’
Ethan stepped back and looked at Hayley. Once again, he was showing all the signs of tension. His shoulders were square and high, his hands clutching a wallet to one side, his mobile phone to the other. More than anything else, she hoped that when the door was opened it would be Katy herself who was there, a happy little girl excited about seeing her Daddy who would come running through and throw herself into his arms.
But when the door opened, it revealed a tall and iron-haired woman in a long green dress. ‘Signor MacDonald,’ she said, and then nodded at Hayley. ‘Signora. But you are back very soon. Was something forgotten?’
‘I told you I’d be coming,’ Ethan said. His voice betrayed the kind of confusion that Hayley felt. The two of them were quite clearly not expected.
‘You told me someone would come for her,’ the woman said. Now she was also looking confused. And not a little worried.
Why was this all taking so long? Hayley wanted to scream at the woman to tell her to hurry up, to explain what was going on. Beside her, the same emotions were radiating from Ethan.
‘And her aunt,’ the woman continued, ‘Signora Pearl. She was here to pick her up just half an hour ago. She said you sent her…’