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I groan inwardly. Another person involved is far from ideal.
I take a deep breath to calm my rising frustration. “Please tell me you didn’t confide in her.”
She’s quiet. Dammit.
“Ella, you can’t trust anyone,” I scold.
“Claudette wouldn’t betray me. She’s on my side.”
Fuck. She can’t know that.
“How much have you told her?”
Again, I’m met with silence.
“Ella?” I demand, my voice stern.
“She knows everything, but I only told her this morning.”
I let out an audible breath, anger boiling up inside. Does she not understand how much danger she’s in? She trusts too easily.
“We’ll talk about it later,” I push out, trying not to let my frustration with her show.
Judging by Ella’s tone, I’m not successful. “Don’t judge Claudette when you know nothing about her.”
Now Ella sounds angry. Well, it’s better than the anxious tone she greeted me with.
“Anyway, Claudette went to check out the terminal for me and noticed the same thing as Marni… Italians everywhere. But how can you be sure these are Tiero’s men?” she asks, still sounding annoyed. “They could be Molinaro’s.”
“Molinaro is dead. De Marco killed him two days ago.”
The police report came in yesterday. Molinaro’s body was found on a deserted farm in Lichtenstein, his body riddled with bullets, turning him into Swiss cheese. It was a bloodbath with at least a dozen casualties.
“Oh,” is all she says, shock now evident in her voice.
“And it was Tiero who killed him?” Sounds like she doesn’t want to believe her ex-lover would do this.
“He was seen in the area. We both know he was hunting Molinaro to eliminate the threat to you. De Marco is a ruthless killer. Surely, this doesn’t come as a surprise to you.”
She’s silent again, and I wish I could see her face.
“Prepare for takeoff,” the captain announces over the intercom, as he taxis the plane onto the runway. I need to get off the phone for now.
“Ella, listen to me. Stay exactly where you are. Marni is monitoring the situation as best as she can. I’m less than an hour away. Do not move from where you are unless absolutely necessary. Keep the phone with you and turned on at all times. Make sure it’s charged and put it on vibrate. De Marco undoubtedly has his men already on board searching for you. Lie low and stay out of sight until I get there, okay?” I fire off instructions.
“Yes, okay. We’ll stay here till I hear from you.”
“Ella, I promise you, I will get you out of there. He will not lay a hand on you again.”
I have no idea what I’m up against once I reach Halifax, but this is a promise I intend to keep.
As soon as we’re in the air, I dial Carl’s number. He answers on the second ring.
“What’s the status?” I ask, not bothering with a greeting.
I hear the shuffling of papers on his desk. “Marni has assessed the terminal. She’s reported three black SUV’s with drivers in black suits parked close by the entrance. She counted fifteen Italians who were readily visible. Two of them later changed into maintenance uniforms in a bathroom and disappeared through the terminal staff entrance. All are suspected of being armed.”
It’s more men than I expected De Marco would bring. But am I really surprised? He seems obsessed with Ella.
