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- Herausgeber: ID Johnson
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
Ella Verona wouldn't let her own death keep her from her husband, and she won't let anything else prevent them from being together either.
After Ella and Rome overcome all of the obstacles keeping them from being together, their struggle to start a new life together begins. Rome's father won't stop in his pursuit of finding his son and bringing him home where he can be controlled. The pair journeys across Europe, determined not to fall victim to Monty Verona ever again. Along the way, they'll rely on luck and a few new friends to help them stay together and away from Verona's thugs.
Ella's family has no idea she's alive. Keeping that secret continues to weigh on her mind, and she's tempted to tell her family the truth. But if her father learns she's alive, she knows he'll send his men after them as well. Once again, she could be torn from Rome's arms and faced with the possibility of marrying a man from Paris.
The odds are stacked against these star-crossed lovers, but they've already proved they'll do whatever it takes to stay together--even face death itself. As Ella and Rome run from those who would tear them apart, will she face the tomb again, or will they find their freedom, once and for all?
If you like high-paced drama with lots of twists and turns and plenty of opportunities to suspend reality, then you'll love Ashes and Rose Petals!
A contemporary retelling/mash up of Cinderella and Romeo and Juliet.
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
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Girl From the Tomb
ID Johnson
Copyright © 2020 by ID Johnson
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Book Cover by Sparrow Book Cover Designs
Created with Vellum
For Grandpa Lady
Contents
1. Escape From Italy
2. Don’t Trust Anyone
3. Bathroom Brawl
4. Chased
5. Crazy Adventure
6. Don’t Stop the Train!
7. Closing In
8. Rearrange Your Face
9. Ruse
10. Change of Plans
11. Meeting King
12. Safe House
13. Stewing
14. Safe and Sound
15. Breakfast of Kings
16. Find a Way
17. New Identity
18. Fly Away
19. Welcome to the Hotel Russia
20. Call to Life
21. Paradise
22. Calling Mom
23. Home For a While
24. Some People Never Change
25. A Decision
26. Texas
27. Cowboy
28. No One’s Coming
29. Last Resort
30. Getting Out of Dodge
31. Swimming Thoughts
32. California
33. Abalone Cove
34. An Unexpected Call
35. Ready to Face the Music
36. Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
37. Face to Face
38. Discovery
39. Surprises
40. Heading Home
41. Ella Gets Caught Up
42. Daylight
43. Moving On
44. Social Search
45. No Answers
46. Locked Away
47. Fate
48. Surprise Friendship
49. Meeting Fae
50. Fairy Godmother
51. On the Set
52. Falling Into Place
53. Revelation
54. Reframing
55. Emerging
A Note From the Author
Also by ID Johnson
Escape From Italy
One night. That’s all they’d had together. After being torn apart by their parents, Ella faking her own death, and Rome being drugged and taken overseas against his will, they’d spent one night together in a hotel in Italy before having to face the realization that they were still on the run, that Rome’s father was certain to have his men after them, and there was nothing they could do to guarantee their safety except for run as fast as they could and try to get lost in the nameless, faceless world Rome had never been a part of.
The morning light was just beginning to seep between the curtains when Ella pulled herself from bed. Rome was in the shower. She could hear the water running. Since she’d taken a shower the night before, she decided to skip that and stared at the costume Bart had dropped off for her the night before. A curly red wig, some darker, larger sunglasses than the ones she’d been wearing, and a fake mole. Could she work with this?
When Rome emerged from the bathroom, he also quite look like himself, though she could still recognize his strong chin and perfect nose. His hair was bleached blond, and he had a tuft of a beard in a similar shade attached beneath his bottom lip. She wanted to laugh at him but was pretty sure she would look just as ridiculous in her getup so she stifled it.
Once she had the wig on and the mole strategically placed, Rome stood behind her in the mirror, trying to hide his own laughter. “We don’t look anything like those two crazy kids who got hitched in Vegas a few weeks ago,” Rome said, his eyes fixed on hers in their reflection.
“No, we don’t,” she agreed. It seemed like that had been years ago when in fact it had been less than a month. So much had happened since that day. So much had happened becauseof that day.
When Bart and Mary joined them later, her friend who used to clean her house didn’t look like herself either. Mary was wearing a black wig with a blunt cut and thick reading glasses. Her makeup was way over the top as well.
Bart, on the other hand, looked more like Rome than her husband currently did. He had his hair styled the way Rome usually wore it and was wearing clothing that was very similar to an outfit Rome wore often. “I sure hope this works,” Rome said, looking Bart over.
“Me, too. At least the hotel staff has agreed to help. Having the three of you sneak out the back door and get into a private car should make it very hard for your father to track you, even if he does have eyes on the hotel.”
“If he does, it will be great if they follow you to the airport,” Mary said, still staring at Bart.
“Unless they try to kidnap him.” Ella didn’t like the idea of Bart putting himself into harm’s way--again--trying to help them escape from Rome’s father’s men.
“I’ll look different when I get out of the car. I won’t look like myself, but I won’t look like Rome either,” he assured them.
“Bart is a master of disguise,” Rome said, chuckling.
“Clearly. He did a great job of making you look like someone else,” Mary noted.
“Well, I am heading to the airport now,” Bart said. “You guys have thirty minutes. Go downstairs, and ask for Gia. She’ll help you out.”
Ella had tears in her eyes as she stepped forward to hug Bart. “Thank you so much, for everything. We could’ve never done this if it wasn’t for you.” If it hadn’t been for Bart, she never would’ve considered faking her own death, and she certainly wouldn’t have been able to pull it off. She’d either be in California, held hostage at her father’s house again, or she would’ve been forced to go to France to marry Henry Caron, her father’s work associate’s son.
“You’re welcome, Ella,” Bart said, hugging her back. “Call me on the burner phone if any of you need anything.”
She let him go and watched as Rome wrapped his arms around what was clearly a lifelong friend.
Mary said her goodbyes to Bart, too, and then Rome’s look-alike disappeared out the door, hopefully leading anyone who might’ve been watching far away from the rest of them.
“Okay--so we are headed to Madrid, right?” Mary asked Rome, going over the plan again.
“Yes. This car will take us to the train station. From there, we’ll make our way to Madrid. We have a few changes to throw anyone who might be following us off. Then, once we get to the airport, we’ll fly to Budapest, then take another train. Eventually, we’ll end up in South Korea and then on to Mindoro. I can’t imagine my dad would ever think we’d be headed there.”
“How did you decide that’s where we’re going?” Mary asked him.
Ella stifled a giggle. “We chose randomly,” she replied, thinking about how fun it had been to chart their course with random blind pointing at Google Earth the night before.
“I guess that’s one way to make sure they won’t guess where we’re going,” Mary agreed.
“Once we get to Budapest, I’m going to call my aunts,” Ella reminded both of them.
“And I’m going to call a lawyer. Bart gave me the name of a guy he trusts.” Rome’s jaw was set, and Ella knew then that he was going to do whatever he could to reestablish them in LA so he could continue to pursue his dreams. It was an unsettling idea to say the least. She had no idea how she’d go about doing graphic design again. She might have to start her own company, but she definitely wasn’t ready to give up her dream either.
“I think we should head downstairs,” Mary said, gathering the bags she’d brought over when she’d come from her room.
“I sure hope this works.” Ella felt nervous tangles forming in her stomach.
“If my father’s men try to take us, we have to fight and scream,” Rome reminded the girls. They both nodded. “We can’t let them take any of us to a different location. There’s no one else here to save us.”
“I sure hope Bart knows that,” Mary said, shaking her head.
“Me, too,” Rome admitted. Ella could tell he was also nervous for his friend. She prayed they heard from him soon, that he was at the airport, through security, and safe.
For now, she had to worry about herself and Rome. They both knew his dad wouldn’t just let him go without a fight. Even though Milan was a big city, and there were plenty of hotels to be watching, she wouldn’t relax as long as there was a chance they were being followed.
“It’ll be all right,” Ella, Rome assured her. “We’re back together, and I won’t let anyone ever tear us apart again. Ever.”
She nodded, believing him. Rome would die before he let anyone come between them. That was exactly what she was afraid of.
Don’t Trust Anyone
Mary went to speak to someone at the counter about meeting Gia while Rome and Ella hung back. He could see the lobby well from their position, and there were a few muscular men in suits milling around. One had a newspaper in his hands which seemed odd to Rome because not many people actually read those anymore, did they? Maybe Rome was just being paranoid.
A few minutes later, Mary headed back with a woman dressed in a hotel uniform black slacks, a black jacket, and a white button-down shirt. The brunette seemed nice enough, with a relaxed smile. Rome didn’t know exactly what Bart had told her--if she knew who she was helping, or if he’d just paid her off to help special guests get out the back door--but he was going to keep his mouth closed as much as possible.
Once she reached them, Gia said “Hello,” with a thick Italian accent. “Right this way.” She led them through a door marked “Staff Only.” Rome went last, carrying most of the bags.
They went down a long hall and then through another door before stepping into a garage. A sedan idled nearby. Behind the wheel, a young man dressed in the hotel uniform sat waiting. He gave a wave from behind the wheel and then popped the trunk.
Quickly, Rome tossed the bags inside the trunk as the girls got in the back seat. He thanked Gia and slipped her a few bills Bart had procured for them. She gladly accepted and wished them good luck before ducking back inside.
Rome got into the front seat and hooked his seatbelt, his eyes glued on the rearview mirror. If they were being followed, he wanted to know sooner rather than later.
“Ready?” the young man behind the wheel asked.
“Ready,” Rome agreed, and the car took off, headed toward an exit that would take them out into the back alley.
The car was silent. Rome watched out the back glass carefully, but he also kept an eye on the driver. The fellow didn’t seem nervous, which was a good sign. If his father had gotten to the hotel worker, he would probably be anxious about the situation. Unless he was a damn good actor.
They pulled out of the alley and headed down a side street. No cars fell in behind them. It seemed to Rome as if they were headed the right way, too, away from the apartment where his dad had been keeping him. Pulling into a place where his father could be waiting would be enough to make him punch the driver in the face and force him out the other door, so he wanted to be ready.
Mary’s phone buzzed, which was a distraction Rome didn’t need. His eyes continued to flicker around, looking for any signs that they were in trouble.
“It’s Al,” Mary said. That was their code name for Bart. “He was followed to the airport. He paid the driver to lose them, and they did. He’s at the airport now, his new disguise on. He’s not through security yet, though.”
Rome didn’t like the sound of that. If his father had discovered what hotel he was at, there was a chance he’d gotten to the driver. He searched the man’s face for any nervous tension and saw none.
“Everything all right?” the driver asked, narrowing his eyes slightly at Rome.
“I hope so,” he said. “I’m just trying to decide whether or not I can trust you.”
“You can,” he said with a nod. “Your man pays more than that other guy. Besides, I’m a big fan of Axes and Blades.”
Rome’s eyes bulged. Not only had this guy been approached by his father’s men, he knew who he was. While it seemed like a good thing that he’d chosen to be paid off by Bart and not Rome’s dad, that might not last. Depending upon what they’d asked, he may have helped them more than he realized. They might be back. The fact that this guy liked one of his movies was nice but not necessarily a guarantee.
Ella must’ve caught all of that, too. “So once we get to Portugal, we’ll catch our flight to Australia from there, right?”
“Yes, and then we’ll head to Belize,” Rome replied, catching her eyes in the mirror. Mary looked confused, but Ella reached over and squeezed her hand.
“Great. Because I’m tired of dressing like a woman,” Mary chimed in, almost making Rome and Ella laugh.
“Don’t worry. We’ll be on a beach in South America before you know it.” He turned and smiled at her but then resumed his mirror watching. There was a car a few back from theirs he wanted to keep an eye on. Something about it made him suspicious. He didn’t trust anyone right now, save the girls in the back seat and Bart, and he wasn’t even sure he could completely trust all three of them. He certainly didn’t trust the driver.
He let out a deep sigh and kept his eyes moving, looking for signs that they were in trouble. How long would he have to live this way? How long would he be able to?
Bathroom Brawl
The airport was crowded, and Bart couldn’t walk two steps without looking over his shoulder, afraid he was about to be snatched from the thoroughfare and carted away somewhere by giant thugs who were about to beat his ass.
He had on a disguise that should’ve made him unrecognizable to anyone who’d followed him from the hotel, but he’d have to take it off before he went through security so that he would match the picture on his passport at least a little better than he did now. He’d gotten in the car looking like Rome and gotten out with red hair and freckles. He had no idea if Rome’s dad would have people looking for him, too, or just Rome, but he didn’t want to find out.
Bart scoped out the line to get through security and saw that it wouldn’t take him too long to get through since he had no baggage and had pre-check to go through the shortest line. He found the bathroom closest to the line and looked around one more time before heading to the door.
He almost bumped into another man heading into the same room. He looked a lot like Rome. Clearly Italian, with the same build, his hair a similar shade of light brown. “Excuse me,” Bart said, gesturing for him to go first.
“No, excuse me. Please,” he said, his thick Italian accent letting Bart know he was a local.
Thanking him, Bart went into the bathroom first and headed for a stall where he could take his disguise off in relative seclusion. He’d just walked into the stall and locked the door when he heard a commotion outside of the door.
“What are you doing? Let go of me!”
It sounded like the same man Bart had just encountered on his way in. A nervous anxiety bubbled up inside of him. Afraid to peek out, he listened intently to the kerfuffle, wondering what was happening.
“Free ride is over, Verona. You’re going home now.”
“Verona?” the man repeated. “You are talking to the wrong person. My name is Marco Rossi. Let go of me!”
“You feel that piece of cold steel in your back? Shut up, or you’ll be feeling a bullet instead.”
“I no want any trouble,” Marco said, and the next thing he knew, Bart heard them dragging the man out of the bathroom.
Sweat beaded up on Bart’s forehead as he thought about what he’d just escaped. Would they have nabbed him instead if he’d still been dressed like Rome? Probably. With any luck, Marco would be set free before they could get him out of the airport. He felt horrible for the man but wasn’t sure what to do.
Fortunately, he heard another man on the phone in the stall next to him, and though Bart’s Italian wasn’t very good, he understood that the man was calling the police, letting them know he’d just overheard someone being kidnapped in the bathroom at the airport. Maybe they’d catch up to Marco before he was harmed. Certainly, Rome’s parents would recognize the error when they saw that the person their thugs had brought in was not their son, but that didn’t mean Marco wouldn’t get hurt. At this point, Bart wasn’t sure what Monty Verona was capable of.
Bart tore his disguise off and rushed out of the stall, washing his hands as if he’d used the bathroom, and shoving the plastic bag he’d carried in his pocket that now contained the costume deep into the trash can. He ran his damp hands through his hair, trying to style it slightly different so he’d look similar to his passport picture but not exactly the same in case some of Verona’s thugs were still hanging out at the airport and might be looking for him.
Satisfied it would do, he took off for the security line, thinking he’d need to hurry and get through before the thugs realized their mistake and came back after him. His scheduled flight wasn’t supposed to leave for two more hours. He’d wanted to give himself plenty of time in case he had to do a bit of running around like a wild goose so that he could be chased, but once he finally got through security and everything else he had to do to get to the plane, he decided to see if he could get on another flight. He didn’t care where it was headed to, as long as it was North America and it was leaving soon.
It cost him a pretty penny, but ten minutes later, Bart found himself standing in line to board a plane to Chicago. He was just about to board with the other first class passengers when he saw two large men in suits walking through the boarding area, closely looking at every face. With a deep breath, he turned and looked straight ahead, handing his boarding pass over to be scanned and then thanking the pretty Italian woman who ushered him in saying, “Enjoy your flight.”
He would enjoy his flight, once it took off. Landing, on the other hand, would be another story. He prayed no one would be waiting for him at the airport. Surely, Rome’s dad wouldn’t be checking to see if Bart landed in Chicago.
Chased
From the back seat, it seemed as if something was bothering Rome, and Ella could only assume that it was the fact that he thought someone was following them.
She couldn’t see the mirrors as well as he could and didn’t want to turn around and stare out the back of the car the way that he was, but she was nervous. What would happen if they got out of the car at the train station and Rome’s father’s men were there waiting for them? She could see herself throwing elbows and screaming, doing her best to get away from them, her red wig coming off. People might see her face and recognize her. If that was the case, her dad would figure out that she was still alive, and then he’d be after her, too.
“We’re about two blocks from the train station now,” the driver said. “I see that car back there. I am hoping we are just headed to the same place, but just in case, I’m going to go around the block and see if he follows, okay?”
“Thank you,” Rome said, but his shoulders were still up, indicating he wasn’t relaxing due to the man’s offer to do his best to lose the other car.
Ella couldn’t help but look out the back now as they went past the main entrance to the train station. She saw the car now. It was a black sedan, which probably made it look more ominous than, say, a light colored minivan. The driver headed past their intended target, and the sedan stayed with them.
“Great. Now what?” Mary asked, having observed the same thing.
“Now, we lose them.” The driver had a bit of a glimmer in his eye as he spoke, as if he had always wanted to be in this sort of a situation.
He hit the gas and changed lanes quickly before darting over into the turning lane and hanging a left on a yellow light. The sedan must’ve run a red because it followed.
“They’re definitely following us. Damn,” Rome muttered. “How do they know where we are?”
“They did a lot of asking at the hotel,” the driver said with a shrug. “Maybe someone said more than they should’ve.”
“You said my guy paid more,” Rome reminded him.
“Paid me more. By the way, I’m Octavius, but my friends call me Gus.”
“So what should we call you?” Mary asked, leaning up to look at him through the space in the seats.
“Gus, of course,” he said with that twinkle in his eye again. “Don’t worry. I won’t let them get you, pretty lady.”
Mary’s cheeks turned a little pink as she sat back, and Ella almost smiled, but the serious expression on Rome’s face wouldn’t let her.
“We need to come up with a plan,” Rome said. “Eventually, we are going to have to get on a train.”
“I can drive you to a different station, once I lose these assholes,” Gus suggested. “If they heard that was the one you were leaving from, they might not figure out that you’re actually going to another one.”
“Where?” Ella asked.
“I don’t know. I can drive you to Grenoble.”
“But that will take you hours,” Mary reminded him.
“Yes, but they will not expect it. Besides, I made plenty of money today. Who wants to go back to work? It’s boring there. This is an adventure.”
“First, you’ve got to lose them,” Rome reminded him.
“I’m working on that.” He checked his mirrors, and then Gus said, “Hold on!” He cut across three lanes of traffic and caught an exit just before he passed it. The sedan didn’t have the chance to do the same and had to continue on to the next exit.
Ella kept her eye on the sedan for as long as she could. “Now what?”
“Now, we do the thing they’d least expect,” he said. “We get back on.”
“Won’t they take the next exit?” Mary asked him.
“Yes. They will be in a hurry to get there, to come back this way, so we will go slowly at first until I am certain they have had the chance to double back, and then I will get on and drive like lightning to Grenoble.”
“Are you sure you haven’t done this before?” Ella asked with a smirk on her face.
Gus laughed. “Only in my dreams.” He crawled through the intersection and then sped up, getting back on the speedway they’d just exited. Ella held on, praying she didn’t die--again.
Crazy Adventure
When Gus came back onto the freeway, headed out of town, there was no sign of the car that had been following them. Rome kept his eyes glued to the mirror anyway in case they reappeared. He didn’t think his dad would think of sending people to Grenoble. It wasn’t a station that would’ve been on his dad’s radar, especially not if he thought there was a chance his father thought Bart had been Rome going to the airport.
Thinking of Bart made him want to call his friend and see if he’d gotten through security yet, but he didn’t want the distraction of having his phone out, even though he was extremely worried about Bart. Gus had slowed down to a manageable speed now, and they were headed out of town. The urge to relax was tempting, but he still couldn’t take any chances.
They were a few miles out of Milan when Rome’s phone started buzzing. He pulled it out. “Yeah?”
“Hey. I’m on the plane. Getting ready to take off. I think I’m clear.”
Rome let out a sigh. He was certainly relieved to hear that from Bart. “Good.”
“Listen, man. Something awful happened in the bathroom, though.”
“What’s that?” He felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck.
“Two men in suits jumped a guy who looked a lot like you. They thought he was you.”
“Seriously? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, they called him by your name. I guess they followed me, but when they saw the guy who looked more like you, they grabbed him instead.”
“Damn. Thank God they didn’t get you.”
“I heard someone else calling the police, so hopefully they got to the guy before he gets into too much trouble.”
“I hope so.”
“I felt bad for him, but I didn’t know what to do. Trying to help him would’ve just ended up getting us both into trouble.”
“No, I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t have done anything either”
“I gotta go. We’re taking off. Be careful.”
“Let me know when you land.”
“Will do.”
Rome hung up and turned to look at the two girls. “He’s on the plane.”
“Thank God,” Ella said. “And he’s okay?”
Rome nodded. He’d tell them what happened with the other guy Bart had encountered in the bathroom later, not now, not in front of Gus or anyone else.
They drove on, and Rome went back to staring out the window, looking for anything suspicious. Mary and Gus were chatting, and the more they talked, the more trustworthy Gus seemed to be, but he still couldn’t be certain his father and his goons wouldn’t show up back at the hotel later and try to make Gus talk.
“Listen, Gus, there’s something you need to understand,” Rome said. “These guys that are after us are bad news.”
“I sort of figured that out,” Gus said with a nod.
“I mean… they could show up at your work and mess you up, man. I don’t want that.”
The driver turned and looked at him for a second, his eyes widening, before he looked back at the road. “I hadn’t thought about that. You think?”
“I know.”
“I thought it was just your father, and he wanted you to stay at home--or something.”
“More or less, but he’ll do just about anything to figure out where I am and make me come back.”
Gus swallowed hard. “A little danger is a bit of fun, but now I am worried.”
“Do you have family back in Verona?” Rome asked, even though he was pretty sure he’d just overheard Gus telling Mary his family was in a different town, a smaller one near the heel of the boot.
“No, just a roommate. He is a, uh, what do you call it… douche, though.”
Rome couldn’t help but laugh. That wasn’t what he was expecting the young man to say. “You wouldn’t happen to have your passport with you, would you, Gus?”
Gus was contemplative for a moment. “What are you asking me, Rome Verona?”
“I’m asking you if you want to come with us?”
“To the Caribbean?”
“I think we both know that’s not where we’re going.”
“Where are you going?” Gus asked, and Rome could see him considering his options.
“I’ll tell you if you want to come with us. But only once you’re on the train.”
Mary leaned forward and put her hand on his shoulder. “Come on, Gus. Come with us. It’s a crazy trip. But you only live once.”
It didn't take too long for him to be convinced after Mary’s statement. “Hell, you got it. I’m in.”
Don’t Stop the Train!
The train station wasn’t too crowded, which should’ve made Ella feel more comfortable because it meant it would be easier to see any of Verona’s thugs coming after them. It would also mean that there were less places to hide, though. It would be harder for them to try to blend into a crowd.
“What about the car?” Mary asked as they got their luggage out of the back. “Whose car is it?”
“It belongs to the hotel,” Gus explained. “I will call Gia and let her know where it is. There are more keys. I will lock this set inside.”
“God, I can’t believe you’re coming with us,” Mary said, putting her hand on their new friend’s arm.
“Me neither. I must be crazy! I don’t even have a change of underwear.”
“But you do have your passport?” Ella asked, slinging her lightest bag over her shoulder.
“I do. I never leave home without it. You never know when you might need it.”
“Do we have everything?” Rome asked, taking the heavy bags. Ella was so glad to have him there to handle her oversized rolling bag.
“I think so,” she said. Mary agreed, so Gus put the keys in the glove box and locked the doors. As they all swung closed, Ella hoped they hadn’t just made a huge mistake. If Rome’s dad or his men were there, they’d be in trouble.
The four of them hurried to the ticket counter and bought what they needed to make it to their next stop. A train was leaving in twenty minutes, which should work out well for them. The less time they spent standing around the train station where they could be spotted, the better. They checked all of their luggage so that it could be loaded on for them, except for Mary’s purse and Ella’s handbag. Then, they decided to split up. They wouldn’t be sitting together on the train either, so if the Verona henchmen showed up, some of them might have a chance of getting away. The only other person in the world who might be checking on them was Bart, so if something happened to all of them, it would be very difficult to get help in a timely fashion.
“I feel like I shouldn’t stand so close to you,” Ella said to Rome as they waited on the platform, far away from Mary and Gus who were chatting each other up far down the line.
“I know, but it’s awfully hard to stay away from you.” He winked, and she felt herself melting inside.
“I’m so happy to be back together with you, but I don’t feel like I can relax at all.” She continuously scanned the station, including the parts of the parking lot she could see from where she was situated.
“And it’s never gonna stop,” Rome noted, sort of under his breath. She wasn’t even sure he was talking to her.
“What do you mean?” Ella asked, glancing back at him but not for long until she was forced to look away again so she could continue to scan the crowd.
“I mean… we’ll always have to be looking over our shoulders. Until he’s dead.”
She didn’t like to think of it that way but supposed he was right. They’d talked about that fact already, and they were getting a huge taste of what it was like not to be able to relax. Ella didn’t like it, but their choices were limited.
The train pulled into the station a few minutes early, which was great, except it made Ella extremely nervous that she could no longer see what was happening around them with the train in the way.
“Let’s go,” Rome said, taking her hand.
An uneasiness settled around her, like something was wrong. She took his hand, but she wouldn’t feel comfortable until the train pulled away, and even then, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to relax.
They got on, had their tickets punched, and looked for their seats, all the while checking their surroundings. The train itself seemed fine, but then Ella looked out the window.
The sedan they’d seen following them earlier pulled into a spot in the parking lot. Two large men in suits got out. “Rome--look!” she said.
“Shit! We’ve got to make sure they don’t see us.”
“But we can’t take our eyes off of them either!” she reminded him.
They didn’t seem to be in a huge hurry, so Ella hoped that meant that they didn’t suspect they were already on the train. The two thugs sauntered over to the ticket booth and pulled out a picture. The man behind the counter started shrugging, like he had no idea what they were talking about. Then, one of the men slid something across the counter. Ella couldn’t see what it was, but she thought it might have been money.
The man behind the counter suddenly started singing a different tune. Had the ticket salesman actually recognized Rome in his disguise?
Now, it was Ella’s turn to curse. “Shit,” she muttered.
The train started slowly rolling forward. “Are we leaving?” Rome asked, looking around for the attendants.
One was coming their way. “Have a seat please. The train is leaving,” she said in Italian.
Ella sat down closest to the window and turned her face away from it so Rome could look through her long red hair. “They’re buying tickets and trying to get the train to stop,” he said.
The train didn’t seem to be slowing. “Now what?”
“One is running, signaling for the train to stop, pushing people aside.” He leaned over her and looked back, and Ella couldn’t help but turn her head and look, too.
She saw two men running after the train as it continued to head out of the station. “Please, don’t stop,” she said. “Please, please, please don’t stop.”
The train didn’t seem to be stopping, but it also didn’t seem to be gaining speed either. Could It be the engineer was getting ready to apply the brake and wait for the two men to catch up? Ella had to pray they wouldn’t stop, but until the train picked up speed, she wouldn’t be able to breathe.
