“He was Stephano then, but yes,” Vincent said, eyes sparkling with amusement at her words.
“Not that he was too pleased at the time,” Jackie added dryly.
“Well I am now,” Jake said quietly, moving forward to greet the pair. He hugged Jackie first, murmuring, “I’m sorry I didn’t say it then.”
Hugging Vincent next, he added, “But thank you for my life.” Stepping back, he added solemnly, “And for giving up your one turn. I realize what a sacrifice it was, especially since you already knew Jackie was your life mate and that you couldn’t turn her once you turned me.”
Vincent smiled crookedly. “Well, if I’d stopped to think at the time, I might not have done it and risked losing Jackie,” he admitted wryly. “But it all worked out in the end, so you’re more than welcome.”
Jake smiled, understanding exactly what he meant. Each immortal was allowed only one turn in their life. It was meant for, and usually reserved for, a life mate, but Vincent had given up his one turn to save his life seven years ago. Jake didn’t know if he could do the same for anyone now that he’d met Nicole. He wanted to turn her, if she was willing. To keep her with him for always.
“Ah, Jackie, Vincent, what a nice surprise to see you,” Elaine said with true pleasure, appearing at his side to hug the pair in greeting. Roberto was right behind her, greeting the couple like family.
Jake knew they’d been grateful for what Vincent had done back then, but it appeared obvious from this greeting that Jackie and Vincent were now considered part of the family. There were probably a lot of changes that had taken place since he’d run away, he acknowledged wryly. But he was glad of this one.
“So,” Neil said after he and Tomasso had greeted the couple as well. “What was that about Nicole being right?”
“Oh.” Jackie grimaced. “Rodolfo isn’t behind whatever is happening here.”
“At least the last two attempts,” Vincent added, and explained, “Dante told us about the hot tub and car accident, and Rodolfo definitely isn’t behind those. At least not personally.”
“He’s in Italy,” Jackie added.
“Are you sure?” Jake asked with a frown.
“Positive,” Vincent assured him, and then added, “We just came from there. He’s bought a house with the money he got from Nicole and is already romancing an heiress with heavy pockets.”
“Poor thing,” Nicole muttered and when Jake glanced her way, shrugged and said, “Rodolfo can be as charming as hell in the short term. He’ll romance her, sweep her off her feet, promise her the world, and then, once he has her, treat her like a dog, go through her money, and hate her for letting him.”
“Yeah,” Jackie agreed with disgust. “That’s what I got when I read him. He hates women, especially any woman who gives him the time of day. He knows he’s worthless, so any woman he fools enough to succeed in making fall in love with him must be even more worthless than he is in his eyes.”
“I wouldn’t feel sorry for the heiress though,” Vincent added with amusement.
“Yeah,” Jackie agreed with a grin. “Rodolfo may have bitten into the wrong apple here.”
“Why’s that?” Nicole asked with interest.
“Because the heiress’s uncle is neck deep in the mob and very fond of the niece he’s raised since his brother’s death when she was “just a bambina,” Vincent said with a wicked grin. “I guarantee if he treats her like he did you, he’ll wind up with a fine new pair of cement shoes.”
“Does he know about the mob ties?” Jake asked with interest, and smiled when the couple grinned and shook their heads. His gaze slid to Nicole to see that she was biting her lip, looking slightly concerned. Jake slid his arm around her waist and murmured, “You reap what you sow in this life, Nicole. Whatever happens, he will have brought on himself . . . and who knows, maybe Uncle will give him a warning to be good to his niece, or else.” Jake shrugged. “He may be a better man for it.”
“He’ll have to be,” Dante said with amusement.
Jake nodded, but then frowned as his mind shifted back to the matter at hand. “So . . . Rodolfo isn’t behind this, but could he have hired someone?”
Vincent shook his head. “I read his mind pretty thoroughly. He did take something out of the furnace, thinking she’d have to have someone in to fix it. It was a nuisance act. As for the wood in the doors, that was to prevent break-ins.”
Jake raised his eyebrows at this news. It seemed the guy really was a moron if he thought putting the wood outside would prevent someone outside from getting in.
“I told you he wasn’t bright,” Nicole muttered with satisfaction.
“Well, to be fair,” Jackie said, “He was aware that he was putting it outside, and that it could be lifted from the outside. His thinking was that they’d never look to see that it was actually there on the outside. He seems to think most people are stupid.”
“The kettle calling the pot black,” Dante murmured.
“And the grill?” Jake asked. “Did you find anything about that?”
“He put the foil there at the same time as he put the foil in the oven and never used it after that. There were no thoughts about pulling the tubing out of its housing,” Jackie said, almost sounding apologetic.