Chapter Fifteen: Looking For Revenge
Antonio seemed to feel that tracking down Don Jose might be risky, or even dangerous. His dark looks and clipped commands made his displeasure quite clear when Catherine insisted on joining him bright and early the next morning.
"If we find your uncle, he's likely to be feeling hurt and humiliated after what that woman has done to him," Catherine reasoned, carefully putting on her lip gloss while Antonio waited impatiently. "Don't you think he'll be more likely to come along quietly if he sees me smiling sweetly instead of you scowling and growling?"
"I think Don Jose will die of old age before you grow tired of studying your pretty face in that little mirror," Antonio growled. "Come on, my car is waiting. Let's get started. Vamos!"
Catherine bit back a smile as Don Jose's tall, deeply tanned nephew carefully fitted his great big paw into the small of her back. In spite of his gruff manner, he was worried about her. She'd only been on her feet a few days since the accident, and her ankle was still sore and tender. It couldn't hurt to let such a sexy young man baby her just a little. Antonio was already helping her climb into his shiny red sports car, a sleek Lobini H1 with an open top and a set of low and deep-cushioned leather seats.
"So where to now?" Catherine asked, watching as her gorgeous companion's big strong hands turned the key and popped the clutch and the powerful engine came roaring to life.
"Breakfast first, I think." Antonio gave her a sidelong look, his dark eyes twinkling with amusement. "Have you already eaten?"
"No, I have not." Catherine felt her cheeks turning red. She was not an early riser. Worried about Don Jose, she'd managed to crawl out of bed early. But not early enough for breakfast.
Antonio took her out to eat, but it was not a fancy tourist spot. Squawking noisily, live chickens were running around the yard. Inside, there were just two shaky tables and they were tiny. Catherine's knees kept bumping into Antonio's while they drank their morning coffee. The closeness got her nerves thrumming, but he was clearly more interested in interrogating the waitress, a big, sleepy-looking girl with a kind face and friendly brown eyes.
"Carmela worked here for a few weeks after she got out of prison," Antonio explained, refilling Catherine's coffee cup while the waitress served her a simple breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs and fried potatoes. "She didn't stay long, but Theresa here says she left behind some personal things, a notebook or a diary. The family let her stay in one of the cabins out back. I'll take a look."
"So you're a friend of the family?" Catherine didn't mean to sound snarky, but the way Antonio and Theresa chatted in Spanish together made her feel unwanted and left out. When the two of them left the room, it was hard not to think about the missing girl. Clearly Antonio had a history with her, as did his kindly old uncle. Catherine pictured Antonio rejecting Carmela, sending her off to prison. And then she pictured Antonio making love to her.
"Now we've got something to go on," Antonio proclaimed, coming back into the hot and stuffy little cafe a few minutes later. "Carmela left a notebook with a list of clubs and club owners. Some of these men have criminal ties."
"Evidently being a waitress didn't appeal to her." Catherine had finished both her breakfast and her coffee. Without thinking, she pulled out a cigarette and tried to light it with the very expensive gold lighter Don Jose had given her as a present.
"No, she was more interested in working as a dancer in one of the sexy tourist clubs along the beach." Quick as lightning, Antonio had taken the cigarette from her fingers and crushed it into pieces. "I said no smoking, remember? You must watch your health, Catherine. And you must help me to persuade my uncle to go on a diet. Don Jose is no longer young and is really far too fat!"
"It doesn't matter how fat he is if Carmela has him trapped somewhere, or if one of her gangster friends has had him killed!" Catherine jumped to her feet and jabbed her fingers into Antonio's solid chest. "You think you have everything figured out, but you're not any smarter than your uncle when it comes to women. Carmela wasn't looking for a job. She was looking for revenge!"