Free Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire by Nina Croft

The place was huge, light, and airy with vast expanses of polished wooden floors and floor-to-ceiling windows. The furniture was sparse but beautiful, elegant and modern, uncluttered. Lia kicked off her shoes, and some of her own anger and bitterness drained from her. It was no good being angry. She never did anything sensible when she was angry, and she needed to be sensible now. But without the anger, she felt a little lost, with nothing to replace it.
    “I don’t know why I’m here. Not really.” She knew she sounded forlorn.
    “We’re going to find your father.”
    His tone was soothing as though he were trying to calm her. Lia didn’t want to be calmed, and she let her irritation rise. “I told you. I don’t want to find him anymore.”
    “But I do, and I need you in order to do that.”
    “And I suppose that’s what matters, isn’t it? That you’ve gotten what you want.”
    “I wouldn’t quite say that,” he said softly.
    She looked at him sharply, but his face was expressionless, bland except for the small smile that played around his lips. She sighed. “So here I am. What happens now?”
    “Now, we see if we can’t draw your father out.”
    “Can you at least tell me why you want to find him?”
    “No.”
    She glowered in frustration. “What’s the big secret? It’s unlikely that anything you can tell me is going to surprise me. I already think the worst about you anyway.”
    He studied her, his expression speculative. “I doubt that’s true. In which case, you’re going to have to trust me.”
    “And just how likely is that? The first time we met, you pretended you wanted to help me, got me drunk, and then seduced me. The second time you blackmailed me into coming here. Not much incentive to trust, now is there?”
    He shrugged. He obviously had no remorse at all about how he had gotten her here.
    “And I can only stay until my wrist is healed. After that, I need to get back into training. How long are you expecting me to stay?”
    “As long as it takes.”
    “As long as what takes? Finding my father? And what happens if he does turn up?”
    He regarded her curiously. “Do you care?”
    He didn’t wait for an answer, just moved into the room, and Lia stared after him. Did she care? She hated her father, but he was a dangerous man, and for some reason the idea of Luc confronting him made her feel weak and shivery. Perhaps Luc was more than a match for her father. Her father was a bully. How would he stand up to someone like Luc? She didn’t want to know. All she could hope for was that her father would stay away. After all, he had managed it very well for the last ten years. Why change now?
    Luc picked up her bag again. “Come on. I’ll show you where you’re sleeping.”
    She followed him out of the living area, along a carpeted hallway. He paused at a door.
    “That’s my room over there.” He nodded at the door opposite. “In case you need anything in the night.”
    “In your dreams,” she muttered. Luc smiled then led her into the room. It was beautiful, pale cream and dark blue with a huge king-size bed. She also had her own bathroom with an enormous whirlpool bath.
    “There’s no lock on the door,” she said as she trailed behind him. “How am I supposed to sleep at night with no lock on the door?”
    His eyes narrowed. “Don’t push it, Lia . ”
    She wanted to push it. Instead, she followed him around the building as he gave her a tour of the place, trying not to appear as impressed as she felt. The kitchen was amazing, enormous, state of the art, with every possible gadget, none of which Lia had a clue how to switch on.
    “Do you actually use this stuff?”
    “I can make coffee, but I have a housekeeper who comes in each day—Mrs. Blake—don’t upset her. She leaves a meal if I want it. Otherwise I eat out or get food sent in.”
    “What’s up there?” she asked, pointing at the elaborate wrought-iron spiral staircase that appeared to lead out onto the