AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ellis steps closer. Dark-skinned, he has short black hair and a broad face, and his smile is bright and happy. “Can I?” he asks, holding his arms out to hug me.
“Sure.”
I’m swallowed under his body, my face peering out above his shoulder. “Thank God,” he says in a Canadian accent. “Thank. You. So. Much.”
In silent companionship, I hold him tighter. But it also drives home my involvement in this reunion. A necessary tool.
“I’m desperate to see her. Where is she? Neither Max nor Ben has texted her room details.”
“I’ll show you,” Jeremy offers. “You coming?” he asks me.
Itiscold out, but I want them to reunite as a family. It’s long overdue and well-deserved. “I’ll follow in a couple of minutes. You go and say your hellos.”
“I’ll be back in two minutes then,” Jeremy says with clinical precision. “Don’t go anywhere,” he orders.
Rolling my eyes, I nod, and then they disappear through the main doors, leaving me to incomprehensible conversations and clouds scuttling past the moon. I pull out my phone, texting Jonas.A drink would be great. Will get in touch in the new year.
There’s a lot to tell Jonas. And he’ll want to know about my recovery. He’ll want to know what happened to me too. We might not know who beat him as he lay out for the count on the ground, but there will be some relief in knowing Luca will be caught.And I need to apologise. Jonas and I had a tough few weeks after I was found, and it wasn’t easy for him to know how to handle me. I wasn’t always kind or patient as we navigated an unnavigable path.
Changing tack, I write a message to Tilly. And as I do, I realise that apart from Ellis’s arrival, I’ve not heard one English voice, which surprises me. But then Idohear someone speak English.
My body turns rigid with fear as I register a voice that will haunt me forever.
Luca Russo.
My heart drums. Fumbling, mis-hitting buttons on my phone, I find Max’s number and type a message.Luca is here.I hit send.
I text Paula.Luca is at hosp. Help!
I’m scared,I add in a second message.
And then I sit there, breaking out in a cold sweat as I will strength into my limbs. Too cowardly to look behind me, to turn and face him, I hold up my phone with the front-facing camera and try and see him that way. My hand shakes so violently it’s a pretty useless exercise. And then, so quickly I don’t even get a chance to protest, my phone is snatched and thrown away into a nearby bush.
A needle pricks my neck and I bat it away. But I’m too late. I felt the ice-cold liquid snake into my body. Woozy, I try and stand, to shove Luca away. My mouth opens, but nothing solid comes out.
“Knew I’d find you here. My friend in the police tipped me off.”
Underfoot, the syringe crunches as I’m dragged away.
“Did you think I wouldn’t recognise my prize girl? You’ll earn me ten times what you did before. Your rich boyfriend will pay millions more for you now.”
Through the fog, I hear my phone buzz. It’s the last thing I hear.
CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT
MAX
It’s beginningto feel like a proper Christmas gathering—with a twist—when Ellis walks in to Sabs’ room, immediately going in for a killer hug, a speciality of his. While he speaks from the heart, reiterating a multitude of tearful words that we’ve all confessed today, I listen in and pinch myself in case this isn’t real.
Today has been utterly surreal, but despite the euphoria, I’m still living in hell. Ava is pulling away.
When Ellis mentions her name, I snap out of my inner turmoil. The whole family owes her so much, and Ellis says as much before deciding to lighten the heavy atmosphere by teasing me—another speciality of his. “I saw your girl, outside.”
“You did?”
The whole family knows I came across Ava in a disused pig farm. Naturally, I’ve kept them abreast of my search for Sabine, Ben and Jeremy alongside me at almost every turn. They all know that I re-found Ava, the sole purpose to finally have her for myself, hopeful that it wasn’t just her heart that she’d give up, but eventually her memories.
They’ve all been invested in the evolution of that relationship, to offer advice. But after Ben gave me an earful in the car that unforgettable night, I’ve not allowed anyone to comment on what is, or isn’t, right for Ava.
