by Kym Roberts
She didn’t hesitate. “The bald one on the right works for Marco Vanetti.”
“Your uncle?”
“Yes.”
“And I take it they’re coming for you?”
“Yes.”
He threw her over his shoulder, amazed at how much heavier she was from what he had expected from her trim waist. Even her baggy clothing in the alley wouldn’t have made him think she weighed as much as he was carrying. She struggled, angered by him throwing her over his shoulder and leaving her upside down along his back.
“What are you doing?” She screamed.
“Those heels are going to slow us down.”
The moment he said that, her squirming stopped. Khaos positioned her as comfortably as possible, took off down the platform, and across the tracks as a train was arriving on track two. He didn’t hesitate. His path took them right in front of it, the conductor in full view, if Khaos looked to his left. He was not about to look to his left.
From the gasp on his shoulder, he suspected Téa had. The horn blared, the breaks of the train screeched and a woman screamed. Was that Téa? He didn’t have time to process where the sound came from, but he was pretty sure there hadn’t been any vibrations reverberating through his shoulder from the ear splitting shriek.
Besides he had more important things to worry about, like the fact that they weren’t going to make it. He leaped for the walkway and heard a collective intake of breaths as the crowd scrambled backward to give them room. Just as his feet hit solid concrete, a crack of metal striking something solid throbbed through his body.
No. It couldn’t be. The only thing that had been behind him was Téa’s head over the backside of his shoulder.
“Téa!” He swung her over his shoulder, too scared to take it slow.
She glared at him and swung her leather bag at his shoulder. He took the hit and let out a sigh of relief. Images of her head being struck by the train because of his stupidity, made his knees want to buckle. Instead he just stared at her beautiful face all scrunched up in anger as she yelled at him in Italian. Women all around them were nodding their heads and throwing in their own two cents.
“Stupido!”
“Avere più rispetto!”
“Avresti potuto ucciderla!”
Khaos ignored the comments that he was stupid, that he should show some respect, and that he could have killed Téa. They were all true. Why argue when two members of the Vanetti la Cosa Nostra were hot on their heels? He bobbed his head down, and to the right, in order to look through the train windows. Both men were frozen and their gaze focused right back at him, with uncertainty written all over their faces.
He didn’t hesitate. He grabbed hold of Téa and threw her back over his shoulder. Her bag hit him in the head.
“Ow! What the hell do you have in that thing?” His hand rose to her ass to hold her in place, as he twirled around and looked for the best route out. More people joined in on the verbal assault of his character. As long as they didn’t attempt to stop him, he didn’t give a damn about their opinion.
“If you made me lose one of my rocks, so help me…” Her sentence was punctuated with a smack on his left butt cheek.
“You’re carrying a bag of rocks?” No wonder she felt heavier than he’d imagined. “Ditch the bag.”
“No.”
“Téa, get rid of the bag.” He tried to pull it from her grasp, but she clung to it as if it held her child inside. He was pretty sure that wasn’t the case, but he gave up the struggle and began running in the opposite direction their pursuers were running to get around the train.
Her ass under his palm squirmed and tested his restraint. Holy hell, but that was some mighty fine flesh he was gripping. Immediately, he wanted to take back those thoughts. Victim. Victim. Victim. He repeated in his head. Do not be a douche and think about what you could do with that hand. He ran away from the crowd that seemed to realize he was an American.
“Porca miseria!” Téa exclaimed.
“Pig misery is a new one on me,” he said.
“It means for goodness sake.” She growled, and any other time he would have laughed. At the moment, he was looking back toward the two men who were running down to the end of the platform they’d just vacated. He’d have to cross two more sets of tracks and two more platforms to exit out of the terminal, before they caught up to them. He looked behind them. Too many trains and too many tracks. Forward was the only way to go.
“Oh my, God. He’s kidnapping her!”
Khaos looked up at the three college students who’d pointed Téa out to him.
“I told you! It’s just like that movie!” The skeptical girl pulled back Trinity and her other friend.
No regrets, he told himself. He’d scared the holy hell out of them enough to make reality slap them in the face. “You should never trust a stranger.” He let his English flow without the fake Florentine accent, but didn’t wait to see their reaction. He jumped down onto the next track and heard a loud whistle, then yelling at the end of the platforms. Téa groaned as she bounced on his shoulder.
“Sorry. It can’t be avoided.”
“The police are going to catch you.”
“Not if I can help it.”
“Let me down.”
He plopped her butt down a little too hard on the next platform that was raised much higher than the previous platforms. She winced and an elderly train conductor exited off the last train and stepped up to assist her. Téa had just made it to her feet and turned away from him as he hoisted himself up.
“Grazie,” he told the man who was scowling at him. He didn’t hesitate. He grabbed Téa’s hand and began running with her down the platform away from the terminal. They’d have to exit out onto the tracks and then find some kind of exit in the rail yard. It was a risky move, but he was counting on the alarm that was now ringing through the station to stop any more trains from moving outbound.
Inbound was another story.
“I can’t run in these heels!” She complained.
Khaos stopped, picked her up and threw her over his shoulder once more.
The curses exploding from her mouth this time weren’t in Italian and weren’t as polite. He couldn’t help but grin.
Chapter Six
For some reason, his touch didn’t repulse her. Nor did it frighten her. It should’ve unhinged her. Any other man touching her in this manner would’ve sent her into an all out panic.
Agent Artino had had his hand almost up the crack of her butt, and she was calm. Okay, not calm, but not upset either. He’d thrown her over his shoulder like a duffle bag and she hadn’t freaked out. It was as if her body trusted him, when her brain told her she should be running in the opposite direction. It didn’t make any sense.
How was she supposed to process this bit of information? Just like the first time they’d met, her body melted into his touch and his enigmatic personality made her drop her guard. It was an amazing experience to talk to another human being without questioning his motive. Eight months ago he’d said he was looking for his baby sister, and she’d immediately believed him. Except, he didn’t have a baby sister, did he? He’d fooled her and it’d taken Sister Francesca to make her see how much risk she’d taken by talking to a complete stranger.
Yet he’d been so attractive. So nice and non-threatening. She’d been amazed at her reaction to a man well over six foot tall, blond hair and the most unique eyes she’d ever seen. Gray wasn’t a prevalent eye color anywhere, but in Italy, in a food bank, it was like finding a museum quality geode in the middle of the street in Rome.
You just didn’t see them. Until Daniel Artino came to the food bank and gazed at her with those dove grey eyes. They were gentle and tranquil on a face that was equally so. The women working in the kitchen that day had watched his every move from the safety of the kitchen. She hadn’t been any different when he’d focused on her. He captured the attention of every woman within a f
ifty-meter radius. For eight months she’d believed fate had literally graced her with someone she could fall in love with.
She should’ve known better. Yet once again, she was putting her life in his hands, as they made their way down dark railroad tracks, with her on the back of a man who was probably just as evil as Marco Vanetti. How did she know he wasn’t competing for bragging rights, a promotion, or a big bonus from their boss? She shuddered at the thought.
“Are you cold?” He asked.
“No, I’m about to hurl every last bit of food I’ve eaten today.”
He stopped so quickly she was certain he was falling. Instead, he put her down on her feet. Téa wobbled in the gravel.
“Sorry. I was trying to put some distance between us and them.”
“Can we go up to the street?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea just yet. We don’t know if they have someone waiting in a car or not.”
She nodded. “Listen, I appreciate you helping me get away—”
“Yeah, about that…” He rubbed the back of his neck as if the muscles were strained and she wanted to apologize for giving him a stiff neck. “It’s my fault they found you.”
She froze. She tried to see his face, but at this location, the tracks had little light to show any of his features. “What do you mean?”
“They wouldn’t have recognized you, if I hadn’t pointed you out.”
“You recognized me.”
“Actually I didn’t. The three American girls at the station pointed you out.”
She thought about the weird conversation he’d had with three teenagers who’d gawked at them and yelled something about him kidnapping her. For a moment, she’d almost grabbed onto that line to use as an escape, but she honestly didn’t know if they weren’t some part of a plot to get her back to Marco, and that scared her more than he did.
Go figure. A man twice her size who’d thrown her over his shoulder with ease was safer, than three girls she’d seen in the bathroom while changing into the clothes that would introduce the new Téa Bello to the world. He’d known how to find her for the past eight months, and the fires of hell had not rained down upon her. In that instant, she’d known he was her best bet for survival.
But now he was telling her that he was the one to expose her. How could she have screwed up so badly? Flashbacks of a small windowless room crowded her head. She was naked. Her clothes stripped from her body as she fought the three middle-aged men who grinned at her fear and groped at her innocence. She’d cried and screamed. Fought and yelled. But no one came to help her. No one stopped them from hurting her. Damaging her. Making her wish for death a thousand times over.
And this man had exposed her to her past once more.
She turned and ran, oblivious to everything but her need to run. She couldn’t go back. Wouldn’t go back. This time she would make sure she died fighting anyone who tried to own her again.
She heard him yelling, but his voice disappeared into the white noise and blinding light of her fear. Her ankle rolled and she nearly fell onto the tracks that seemed to be her only path of escape. The noise in her head was deafening and the past threatened her sanity. She wouldn’t go back. She wouldn’t go back.
A force so powerful, that it stole her breath, struck her from behind. The ground came up to meet her with astonishing clarity. The rocks were dark, jagged and fierce. She should collect one of those. They were a testament of her journey, like the other rocks in her handbag. Each one from a different place she’d been. Like when she was a child and her parents—
Pain and noise collided with her memories. She was rolling on the ground. Except her skin wasn’t always in contact with those bloodthirsty stones. Sometimes the ground felt cushioned. Still as hard, just not tearing and ripping at her clothes, or bruising her flesh. Until the churning stopped and Téa found herself staring down into the angry gunmetal gaze of Agent Artino. She could see his eyes, in the middle of nowhere. How was that possible?
The blast of a horn sounded through the night sky and they were plunged into darkness once more.
“What the hell was that?” He yelled as he pushed her from his body none too gently. “We’re in a goddamned rail yard and you nearly got us hit by a train!”
For the first time, Téa saw the train leaving them in its wake. Had it been a train that filled her head with fear? She sat up and searched around for her bag. She couldn’t lose it.
“Where’s my bag?”
“What?” His voice sounded incredulous, but she didn’t care.
“My bag. Where’s my bag?”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass about your bag. We need to leave. Now.” He grabbed her by the elbow and began leading her away. Her ankle gave once more and he had to yank up on her arm to keep her from falling.
She immediately pulled away and continued her search. Frantically she felt around the ground, crawling on her knees while ignoring the pain the rocks inflicted. When she couldn’t find it in her immediate vicinity, she stood up only to fall back down as pain echoed through her ankle. “Shit!”
“What’s wrong?” His voice was no longer angry even if his breathing was still coming fast.
“My ankle, I twisted it.”
“It’s those damned heels.”
“You liked them in the train station!” She spat back at him, because he had. Before she’d taken off running, she’d seen the way his gaze had traveled the length of her body. It’d been pure male appreciation covering his face. Every woman in the world would recognize that type of attention.
“It was a stupid choice for a disguise.”
“It was working…until you came along.” If there was guilt to be had, it was his. Not hers. His confession moments ago had said it all. She reached down and rubbed her ankle and nearly hissed when her touch seemed to light up the pain.
“Let me see it,” he said as he bent down in front of her.
“I can’t see a bloody thing, how can you?”
She watched him reach into his coat pocket, and for a moment, fear encompassed her. They were in the middle of a dark rail yard with no one around. If this man wanted to kill her, he could. A light illuminated her feet and the breath she’d inhaled, exhaled loudly.
He gazed up at her face. “Does it hurt that much?”
Yes. “No.”
He nodded as if he didn’t believe her and slowly pulled off her heel.
“I may not be able to get that back on.”
“That’s almost certain.”
“Then give it back.” She reached for her shoe, but he held it beyond her reach.
“I’ll have to carry you from here.”
“To where?”
“My hotel.”
“Don’t you think they’ll be waiting for us there?”
“Probably.”
“Is that the plan? Have them shoot me while you look like you’re protecting me?”
He snorted and shook his head as he reached for her other foot. Before she could react, he grabbed her ankle and removed her other heel. The shoes had been almost new. Sister Francesca had not only met her at the hydrochronometer, with the address to the beauty shop, but she’d found out exactly who Agent Artino was and had passed it along. Then she gave Téa the leather bag containing her rock collection and her gently used new outfit that had been donated by someone, who had a lot more money than Téa. At the time she wondered what the previous owner did for a living to own such nice clothes and give them away when they looked brand new. Now those shoes undoubtedly looked as if they’d had years of wear and tear. It only took her a whopping thirty minutes to destroy them.
Agent Artino threw one, then two of her shoes over the fence.
“Hey! I need those!”
“They’ll only slow us down.”
“I think bare feet might slow us down even more.”
He didn’t argue. There was no argument to be had. The shoes were gone. It wasn’
t as if she could just hop over the fence and get them back. She’d have to scale a six-foot stone wall that had a chain link fence on top of it to get to the shoes back. She had to face it. Her rock climbing skills sucked.
“Can you stand?”
“Of course I can stand. I just don’t think I can walk on these rocks.” She lifted up a particularly sharp black stone that had the appearance of a piece of coal. Obviously, it wasn’t coal, since the whole area was covered with similar rocks. She looked at it closer. “Obsidian.”
“That’s great. You found a rock created by a volcano. Let’s see if you can stand.”
“Wait! My bag. It’s over there.” She pointed to her brown leather bag that she hoped looked better than her shoes. It was lying on its side with the contents spilling out of it.
He helped her stand and Téa found herself favoring her right foot more than she wanted to.
“Forget the bag.”
“I won’t forget my bag. I need my bag.”
He heaved a heavy sigh and walk away from her to retrieve the bag. As he shoved everything back inside, she saw him examining the contents.
“What are you doing? That’s my bag.”
“I’m making sure you don’t have any weapons.”
“Like you?” She asked with enough snark to make him turn around.
“It’s my job.”
“You’re in Italy.”
“I’m working in Italy.” He corrected.
“You’re not working now.”
He didn’t argue the point and she felt like their score was even now: one to one in the argument column.
“Don’t miss any of my stones.”
“You don’t need them.”
“I need every single one of them.”
He ignored her and picked up the bag, but Téa wasn’t backing down. She limped in his direction.
“Your rocks are just more weight for me to carry.”
“Are you saying I’m fat?”
His eyes bugged wide for a moment. “I didn’t say that.”
“You implied you couldn’t carry me and my bag.”