AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What happened?”
“I’ll have to take a look but if I had to guess, I’d say the radiator’s busted.”
“No, no no no.” Panic built up in Mira’s voice with each denial. “We can’t be broken down. We are in Emilia-Romagna. It’s not safe.”
“Tell that to the car,” I said as I climbed out and shut the door with a little more force than was needed.
I rounded to the front of the car and popped the hood. After several minutes of looking around, I closed the hood and went around to Mira's window.
“It’s the radiator. We’re not going anywhere until we can get that fixed.” My expression fell further, and I rubbed my hand down my face in frustration as another realization struck. “And it’s Sunday which means none of the shops are open.”
“What are we going to do?”
“I guess we are staying here until morning.”
Mira’s eyes widened and her voice rose. “Until morning?”
“I can’t see another way.”
“Well, we aren’t going to sleep here in the car, are we?”
“I suppose not. We passed an agriturismo just a little way back. We can see if they have a room available.”
“Okay.”
“Just let me grab my bag.” I rounded to the back of the SUV and pulled out my large duffle.
“What’s that?”
“It’s my emergency bag.”
“What’s in it?”
“A gun, a couple of changes of clothes, first aid kit, some extra cash, a snack or two...”
“Wow, did you plan on breaking down here?” Mira chuckled as she grabbed her purse and shut the car door.
“You never know what might come up in my line of work. I’ve found it helpful to be prepared.”
“You’re definitely more prepared than I am.”
“We’ll make it work. Come on.”
I led her to the quaint little agriturismo where an elderly woman behind the desk checked us in.
“Benvenuto.”
“Grazie. We were hoping you might still have a couple of rooms available for tonight.”
“Why, yes. I have three vacant rooms. Each has a queen bed, stocked minifridge, and an ensuite bathroom with a shower.”
“We will take two rooms closest together for the night, please?”
“I’m sorry. None of them are very close together, I’m afraid.”
I looked at Mira with uncertainty and leaned in so that only she could hear. “I don’t feel comfortable with the rooms being far apart while we are in Fabbri’s territory.”
“Me either.”
