whispered in her ear.
‘What?’
He laughed. ‘Don’t worry, I convinced them you hate my bachelor pad so we need to find a place that’s ours rather than mine.’
Relief poured through her. ‘Thank you.’
He brushed a hand down her cheek. ‘You’re welcome. But I deserve a reward for my sacrifice,’ he said with a smile. ‘How about dinner on Monday?’
‘As long as it’s not a paparazzi-stalked spectacle of a restaurant, you’re on.’
‘Great. It’s a date.’ He kissed her knuckles, much to the delight of the guests, who thought they were witnessing a true love match.
Eva allowed herself to relax. She might find what they were doing distasteful, but she was grateful that Harry’s visit to Siren three weeks ago had ended up with him bailing her out, and not a calculating stranger.
‘That dress is a knockout on you, by the way.’
She grimaced. ‘It wasn’t my first choice, but thank you.’
The next series of firework displays should’ve quieted the guests, yet murmurs around her grew.
‘Omigod, whoever it is must have a death wish!’ someone exclaimed.
Harry’s eyes narrowed. ‘I think we may have a last-minute guest.’
Eva looked around and saw puzzled gazes fixed at a point in the sky as the faint thwopping sound grew louder. Another set of fireworks went off, illuminating the looming object.
She frowned. ‘Is that...?’
‘A helicopter heading straight for the middle of the fireworks display? Yep. I guess the organisers decided to add another surprise to the party.’
‘I don’t think that’s part of the entertainment,’ Eva shouted to be heard over the descending aircraft.
Her heart slammed into her throat as a particularly elaborate firework erupted precariously close to the black-and-red chopper.
‘Hell, if this is a stunt, I take my hat off to the pilot. It takes iron balls to fly into danger like that.’ Harry chuckled.
The helicopter drew closer. Mesmerised, Eva watched it settle in the middle of the garden, her attention riveted to its single occupant.
The garden lights had been turned off to showcase the fireworks to maximum effect so she couldn’t see who their unexpected guest was. Nevertheless, an ominous shiver chased up her spine.
She heard urgent shouts for the pyrotechnician to halt the display, but another rocket fizzed past the rotating blades.
A hush fell over the crowd as the helicopter door opened. A figure stepped out, clad from head to toe in black. As another blaze of colour filled the sky his body was thrown into relief.
Eva tensed as if she’d been shot with a stun gun.
It couldn’t be...
He was behind bars, atoning for his ruthless greed. Eva squashed the sting of guilt that accompanied the thought.
Zaccheo Giordano and men of his ilk arrogantly believed they were above the law. They didn’t deserve her sympathy, or the disloyal thought that he alone had paid the price when, by association, her father should’ve borne some of the blame. Justice ensured they went to jail and stayed there for the duration of their term. They weren’t released early.
They certainly didn’t land in the middle of a firework display at a private party as if they owned the land they walked on.
The spectacle unfolding before her stated differently.
Lights flickered on. Eva tracked the figure striding imperiously across the grass and up the wide steps.
Reaching the terrace, he paused and buttoned his single-breasted tuxedo.
‘Oh, God,’ she whispered.
‘Wait...you know this bloke?’ Harry asked, his tone for once serious.
Eva wanted to deny the man who now stood, easily head and shoulders above the nearest guests, his fierce, unwavering gaze pinned on her.
She didn’t know whether to attribute the crackling electricity to his appearance or the look in his eyes. Both were viscerally menacing to the point of brutality.
The Zaccheo Giordano she’d had the misfortune of briefly tangling with before his incarceration had kept his hair trimmed short and his face clean-shaven.
This man had a full beard and his hair flowed over his shoulders in an unruly sea of thick jet waves. Eva swallowed at the pronounced difference in him. The sleek, almost gaunt man she’d known was gone. In his place breathed a Neanderthal with broader shoulders, thicker arms and a denser chest moulded by his black silk shirt. Equally dark trousers hugged lean hips and sturdy thighs to fall in a precise inch above expensive handmade shoes. But nothing of his attire disguised the aura he emanated.
Uncivilised. Explosively masculine. Lethal.
Danger vibrated from him like striations on baking asphalt. It flowed over the guests, who jostled each other for a better look at the impromptu visitor.
‘Eva?’ Harry’s puzzled query echoed through her dazed consciousness.
Zaccheo released her from his deadly stare. His eyes flicked to the arm tucked into Harry’s before he turned away. The breath exploded from her lungs. Sensing Harry about to ask another question, she nodded.
‘Yes. That’s Zaccheo.’
Her eyes followed Zaccheo as he turned towards her family.
Oscar’s look of anger was laced with a heavy dose of apprehension. Sophie looked plain stunned.
Eva watched the man she’d hoped to never see again cup his hands behind his back and stroll towards her father. Anyone would’ve been foolish to think that stance indicated supplication. If anything, its severe mockery made Eva want to do the unthinkable and burst out laughing.
She would’ve, had she not been mired in deep dread at what Zaccheo’s presence meant.
‘Your ex?’ Harry pressed.
She nodded numbly.
‘Then we should say hello.’
Harry tugged on her arm and she realised too late what he meant.
‘No. Wait!’ she whispered fiercely.
But he was either too drunk or genuinely oblivious to the vortex of danger he was headed for to pay attention. The tension surrounding the group swallowed Eva as they approached. Heart pounding, she watched her father’s and Zaccheo’s gazes lock.
‘I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing here, Giordano, but I suggest you get back in that monstrosity and leave before I have you arrested for trespass.’
A shock wave went through the crowd.
Zaccheo didn’t bat an eyelid.
‘By all means do that if you wish, but you know exactly why I’m here, Pennington. We can play coy if you prefer. You’ll be made painfully aware when I tire of it.’ The words were barely above a murmur, but their venom raised the hairs on Eva’s arms, triggering a gasp when she saw Sophie’s face.
Her usually unflappable sister was severely agitated, her face distressingly pale.
‘Ciao, Eva,’ Zaccheo drawled without turning around. That deep, resonant voice, reminiscent of a tenor in a soulful opera, washed over her, its powerfully mesmerising quality reminding her how she’d once longed to hear him speak just for the hell of it. ‘It’s good of you to join us.’
‘This is my engagement party. It’s my duty to interact with my guests, even unwelcome ones who