Carpathian 10 - Dark Symphony

yacht exploded. You were blinded, Antonietta.
    It was only luck that a fisherman was in the vicinity and got to you before the sea swallowed you."
    "An accident." It came out a whisper when she wanted to sound certain.
    "You want to believe it was an accident, but you know better." There was a distinct bite to his voice. She had the impression he wanted to shake her.
    She would not talk about the explosion on the yacht that had blinded her and left her an orphan. There was guilt and fear and too many other emotions. She kept that door firmly closed in her mind. "Who is he?" She knew her assailant was dead. It should have frightened her that Byron bad killed so swiftly, so efficiently, but truthfully, she was grateful.
    "I have no idea, but he could not possibly have done this alone. Someone had to have drugged you both, someone within the palazzo. And it would take two people to bring you both up here. It isn't that far, but the path is steep, and with both of you drugged, it wouldn't have been easy. It would have made better sense to heave you both into the sea. One of them must have been in a hurry to do something else."
    "What of my family, Byron?" Antonietta's fingers plucked at his sleeve. "They are perhaps helpless, drugged in their beds, awaiting their fate as we speak. Please go to them."
    "It is more likely they are searching for something, not intending to murder your entire family."
    Antonietta gasped, one hand going to her throat. "We have many treasures. Priceless art.
    Jewels. Artifacts. Our ships carry classified cargo, the manifest is usually kept in the offices at the palazzo rather than in the offices on the dock Dark Symphony because the security system is so much better. They could be after anything."
    "Go, Byron," Don Giovanni encouraged. "You must see to it mat my family is safe.
    Scarletti is an old and revered name. We can't have any doubt on our reputation. Make certain nothing has been taken from the office."
    "You want me to leave you both here, unprotected on the cliffs? That would be far too dangerous." Byron simply stood, lifting the old man, drawing Antonietta up as he did so. "I will take you both to the palazzo with me. Put your arms around my neck, Antonietta."
    A protest welled in her mind. She was too heavy. He couldn't carry both of them. He had to hurry. Sensing his impatience, Antonietta remained silent and did as he in-structed, circling his neck with her arms. Her body pressed close to his. Byron's muscular body was as hard as a tree trunk. She had never felt more feminine, more aware of how curvy and soft her form was.
    She simply melted into him.
    Antonietta was thankful it was night and the darkness hid the faint blush stealing under her skin. She should have been thinking of the honor of her family name; instead, she was thinking of him: Byron Justicano. She clung tightly to him. One of his arms wrapped securely around her waist. Almost at once she felt her feet leave the ground. Her grandfather cried out in fear, thrashing against the restraint. Byron mur-mured something softly to him, something she didn't catch, but his tone was commanding. Her grandfather subsided, go-ing so quiet she thought he must have fainted.
    She turned her face up to the wind, relaxing, wanting to savor every moment. She was blind, but she was alive. She lived in a world of sounds and textures, rich and wonderful, and she wanted to experience everything life could offer. She was moving through space, across the sky, with the sea boil-ing and thundering below her and the clouds roiling above her. And she was safe in Byron's arms.
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    9/13/2007

    Dark Symphony
    Page 10 of 188
    What should have been the worst night of her life had turned into the experience of a lifetime. "Byron." She whis-pered his name, an ache in her voice, thinking the wind would take the sound far from them, out over the ocean where no one would hear her most secret desire.
    Byron buried his face in the fragrance of her hair as they soared across the sky. There was no fear in Antonietta. He rarely detected fear in her. Because her brain patterns were so different, it was difficult to read her mind, where he could most humans. Now that his heart had settled back to a natural rhythm, he could admire the way she fought for her life there on the