Free Charmed by Emily Jane Trent Page B

fanatical.”
    “Well, not me,” Adam stated. “My childhood didn’t include the sport. Now, surfing…you may have something there.”
    Ella knew that surfing meant as much to Adam as it did to her, but it wasn’t a sport that separated them. Actually, it was the opposite—it was how they’d met. She missed surfing, having been away from it since her mishap; not because she had any fear of it, no, just because of the trip to Brazil. But now that she had arrived, she’d be able to try out the South American swells. She was looking forward to that.
    “Can we go surfing?” she blurted out.
    Adam smiled. “Yes, amore mia. We are going surfing. Be sure of that. I will plan a trip for us.”
    Things were looking up. A surfing trip would be fantastic, and if they could do that, then things couldn’t be that bad; or so Ella thought.
    Once the meal was over, Adam took Ella out to sit on the porch. The calm, pastoral setting with mountains outlining the horizon painted a picture as lovely as any postcard. The tranquility was juxtaposed with the guards, visible among the trees, one even standing at the edge of the lawn.
    Ella looked at Adam. “We aren’t safe, are we?”
    “Oh, here, we are fairly safe. But I regret having to live in a guarded compound.” The joy drained from Adam’s face.
    “When Adrian said ‘what about…’ what was he starting to say?”
    Adam looked away and shifted in his seat. “I hoped not to involve you in all this,” he said regretfully. “But there is no choice now.” He reached out and took her hand, lifting it to his lips and kissing it sweetly.
    “I am glad you came,” he continued. “I missed you desperately. Yet I would have endured it, if only it meant you were safe. Now…you are here. I’d like to send you back, but it’s possible the damage has already been done. So it would do no good. In fact, it would be worse, as you’d be alone in Newport, possibly in danger there, too. And I wouldn’t be with you to watch out for you.”
    “Tell me, Adam. What is wrong? You are right, I’m here now. There’s no going back. Whatever it is, I need to know.”
    “You remember, right after we met, when I had to go to Los Angeles for a day?”
    “Yes.”
    “Well, it was a business trip, but while I was there my attorney contacted me. It was about my father, Claudio. You remember I told you all about him.”
    “Yes, I remember.”
    “Well, he is crazed. When I went away, he didn’t know where I was. At first, he didn’t care, as he doesn’t care about me—not as a son, anyway. Claudio was wealthy. He’d set up business structures from the time I was a child, and had money flowing into his accounts. All from software that rightfully belonged to me.”
    “Why is that bad? I would think that would be good, that he would leave you alone.”
    “Yes, if that were still the case, he might. But he is not a smart businessman. No, he thrives on the production of others, like all criminals do. And when those software programs ceased to produce money for him, or he spent faster than the money came in, he sought to bleed more from me.”
    “Why wouldn’t the programs keep making money for him, so he will leave you alone?”
    “Ah, that’s it right there. The advantage of the programs is that they can be used for profit. But there is a disadvantage.”
    “What disadvantage?”
    “They must stay current. That is the flaw in the technical field. What is hot today is yesterday’s news tomorrow. In other words, in the business of technology, one must continually update, continually come up with new products, more cutting-edge products.”
    “Can’t you do that?”
    “Yes, I can. But Claudio cannot. He relies on my ability and always has. So when the programs that had been like a golden egg for him became outdated, he was at a loss. What was he to do?”
    “What?”
    “I’ll tell you. Steal more from me, that’s what. That’s what he wants to do. Claudio needs some of my new