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“I promise,” I said, then kissed her.
67
The trek into town was unpleasant, to say the least.
We didn’t have a car, so we had to walk about six miles in the rain. Because the muddy backroads were so difficult to travel, we left the cabin at 9 AM and finally reached Padola around noon.
The distance was less than what we normally hiked in a day… but we were going to have to walk back, too. Maybe even farther, depending on how easy it was to find a suitable place to stay.
Poor Lucia was wiped out by the time we got to town, but she kept up a brave face and didn’t utter a single word of complaint.
I promised myself that once we got out of Padola – and once I no longer had to deal with Fausto and Aurelio’s vicious plots – I would take her someplace wonderful and show her the time of her life.
I hid the hunting rifle in a thicket on the outskirts of town. Couldn’t exactly go traipsing around with it slung over my shoulder.
Then we continued into Padola.
The first thing we did was buy cups of hot cocoa from a coffee shop. Lucia sipped hers and happily ate three apple Danishes.
While she did that, I made a call from one of the few pay phones in town.
I inserted change I got from the coffee shop and dialed Niccolo’s cell. We had a protocol where I would text him a code if I was calling from a strange number – but that only worked for cells. I was on a pay phone, so texting was out. Instead, I would leave a voice message and call back every five minutes until he answered.
Surprisingly, he answered on the third ring.
He didn’t say anything – also protocol if we broke the rules – so I spoke first. “It’s me, and things are outstanding.”
‘Outstanding’ was part of the code. It let him know there wasn’t anybody forcing me to make the call at gunpoint.
“Thank God – we were worried you were dead,” he said, and I could hear real concern in his voice.
“I came close three weeks ago when we ran into some of Aurelio’s men. Lucia actually saved my life.”
“REALLY.” I could tell he was impressed.
“Yeah, but we had to get out fast. I left my cell phone behind because I was afraid we might have been tracked. And we didn’t go into town again until we absolutely had to get more food.”
“You’re alright?”
“A few pounds lighter, but a diet never hurt anybody.”
Niccolo chuckled. “We’ll fatten you up when you get back home.”
“Speaking of which – ”
“I still don’t trust any of the private jet companies, but I can send Lars and some men to get you by car. He’s getting back tomorrow morning – ”
“From where?”
“All over. He’s been hunting for that assassin who took a shot at Dario.”
“Why?!” I asked, shocked. If Lars hadn’t been able to kill the gunman outright, there was no good reason to go chasing him all over Italy.
“It’s a long story. Things have been… interesting since we last talked,” Niccolo said grimly. “Roberto’s still in Hong Kong and Valentino’s in Sicily – ”
“What?! What do you mean, Roberto’s still in Hong Kong? And why’s Valentino in Sicily?!”
“I can’t go into detail, but let’s just say it’s been a whirlwind the last few weeks.”
