“Sí.”
Frustrated, she said, “I need to speak to Señor Casale, please.”
“No disponible,” she rapped out.
Thanks to the Spanish she’d learned from one of her tutors, Lanza realized that meant Stefano wasn’t there and squeezed her phone tighter. “This is Señora Casale. Will you ask him to call me when he can?”
She could have sworn a half minute passed before she heard the woman say, “Sí.”
After that one word there was a click that cut them off.
It had to be the shortest phone call in history. Beside herself because she still had no information, Lanza clicked off. The woman hadn’t been of any help and probably didn’t know English or Italian, but maybe the situation there was as desperate as Lanza had feared.
/> She hardly slept that night. If she didn’t hear from him tomorrow, she would see if her father could get answers she couldn’t.
* * *
Lanza’s prayers had eventually produced results.
Six days after the cave-in, all three men had been rescued to cheers and tears. They would soon be released from the hospital.
Stefano got the cleanup underway and wound up his affairs. At last, he was able to fly straight to Rome to pick up his wife. Six days away from her was too long. He’d gotten used to being with her. Nothing or no one would ever take her place.
En route to the jet he phoned her. “Lanza?”
“Stefano!” she cried. “I’ve been out of my mind with worry. Thank goodness that woman in the office got my message to you.”
“What do you mean? What woman?”
“I phoned last night and a woman answered, but she said you were unavailable. I asked her to tell you to call your wife.”
Alicia...
He knew she’d been around, but he’d avoided her. She’d paid him back by not giving him the message from Lanza.
“I would have been difficult to find, but none of it matters. I have the best news! The men are all out and safe. I’m on my way to Rome.”
He heard a break in her voice. Hopefully, she was glad he was coming for her. After a minute she said, “How soon do you expect to land?”
“At six-fifteen p.m. your time. Can you meet my plane at the airport?”
“Of course.”
“Our families will never know we weren’t in the tropics all this time.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have a tan like yours,” she murmured.
“Your ski tan is enough for everyone to be fooled.”
She was being too quiet. He imagined she was nervous about them returning to the palace to begin their life together. The best thing that could have happened had been for them to be alone at the chalet. He wished they had another two weeks of freedom ahead of them.
“How’s your aunt?”
“Amazing. We’ve always been close.”
“One day you’ll have to invite her to the palace to spend some time with us.”
“I’d love that.”