Every decision is made within a split second, even bad ones. I willfully choose to stop thinking about the consequences. Tomas isn’t the only one who needs to save others.
I leave the room on tiptoes. I hurry to the guest room. A second of regret passes before I rifle through Nathan’s things: first his suitcase, then his wallet, then the pockets of his pants. I find the folded piece of paper in the back pocket of Nate’s shorts. I quickly put it in my own pocket and run straight to my room.
Adrian’s penmanship is terrible, but I can just read the number. I get my phone out to locate the name of the village on Google maps. The villa is close to the village of Plomari, about an hour and a half from where I stand.
There’s no time to waste. If I am to do this, it has to happen before Nathan and Grace return from their walk and, most importantly, before Tomas wakes up. He’d never let me get away then.
I put a pair of jeans on and grab a dark colored sweater. There’s no sign of Grace or Nathan downstairs or in the front yard. I sneak to the car with a pounding heart. If they somehow spot me, I’ll tell them I’m going shopping.
They don’t see me or, if they do, I’m not aware of it. So I keep driving, focusing on the road and listening to a local radio station to calm my nerves.
It takes me a little longer than I expected to find De Luca’s villa but I do. The damned thing stands on a rocky hill and is surrounded by tall cypress trees. From a distance it looks like a huge hermitage with multiple balconies hanging over the precipices, as well as turrets and arches.
Pretty soon it becomes obvious that I won’t be able to drive all the way to the gate. The narrow, labyrinthine dirt road that wraps around the hill gives me the willies. There’s no way I’m driving up there.
Walking up the hill gives me some time to get lost in incoherent thoughts—almost as if I’m being rocked in a dream of worry. That’s not good. I need a cool head before I face De Luca. Instead, I’m sweating like a pig as the reality settles in that I have no idea what I’m going to tell him. Then another thought almost makes me turn and run back to the car. What if he figures out I know where Amelia is and forces me to tell him? What if he tortures me? I wouldn’t put it past him.
Darkness is falling around me fast which makes me speed up my pace. I wouldn’t want to be caught out here in the middle of the night.
I keep walking, rehearsing the first thing I’m going to tell him, which is a complete and utter lie. I’ll tell him that I’ve contacted the American Embassy to let them know where I’m going and what I suspect De Luca has been doing on the island. I’ll also let him know I’ve contacted a lawyer who will go to the authorities if I don’t show up at an agreed upon time, unharmed and in one piece—which I guess is covered by the unharmed part. I might skip that one.
If all that goes well, I will just have to convince De Luca to allow Amelia to move on and leave Tomas alone. I have no idea how I’m going to pull that off.
I’m only a few yards away from the villa’s front gate when a car approaches. I squat down behind some shrubs just in time to avoid being caught in the car’s headlights.
The car stops at the gate and a man comes out. He opens the back door and two more men step out, nudging a much smaller person forward. I can’t see very well in the dark but that person could either be a very small woman or a child. Two more men walk through the gate to receive the smaller person. The car turns around and drives off, right past me. The men vanish behind the gate with the newcomer between them.
With some delay I realize that the gate has not been properly closed. I don’t even know what I’m thinking when I allow myself to react instinctively. It was never my plan to sneak inside the villa’s grounds unannounced.
Admittedly, my plan sucked, but I am pretty sure it just got worse.
I sprint the few yards to the gate. The opening is wide enough for me to slide through without even having to touch the metal gate. I stay by the wall, observing my surroundings: a path in front of me that leads to what’s most probably the main house, a huge garage to the left with six doors, some sort of storehouses to the right, gardens in the back.
The place looks like a small town illuminated by lamps and lanterns.
As I take a deep breath in and begin walking toward the house, I’m startled by a hand taking my arm. My heart stops. How the hell am I going to explain the intrusion?
“What are you doing?” The voice is familiar—too familiar indeed. I turn slowly to face Adrian.
“You little weasel,” I say, shaking my head. “I should have known.”
He gives me an arrogant grin. “Talk nice to me if you want my help.”
“You work for De Luca, don’t you? This whole time.”
“I know you’re not smart but not so stupid that you come here,” he says, ignoring everything I have said.
I’m done with being manipulated. My turn. “Listen to me, you jackass,” I say in a fevered whisper, pulling my arm free from his clutch. “I’ve already contacted the police and the American Embassy in Athens. Tomas might not want to bring them into this but I don’t care. All I want is an out. You want to save your sorry ass, you better tell me what’s going on and then get the hell out of here.”
Doubt settles in his mind. He hesitates as his grin evaporates. “You make no sense,” he says, but I know I have him.
“You know what? You can kiss your studies and your future career and your reputation and your little charity work goodbye.” I reach for my cell phone, although I have no idea why that would be intimidating to him.
He seems confused. “Charity work?”
Is this the only thing that got his attention? Of course he’s not involved in any charity projects. Another one of Sophia’s lies. At this point, why would anything surprise me?
“It doesn’t matter,” I say. “You’ll be in jail tomorrow. The police are on their way.” I kind of wish I would have called the police for real. Except I wouldn’t know what to tell them, supposing they would even understand English, and then there’s always the problem of Irina.
Adrian starts to accept his fate. “What do you want to know? I know very little. De Luca isn’t here.”
I have a sudden epiphany or a flash of satori or whatever you call those solutions that pop in your head out of the blue without you actually having to think about them. “I want to know where they keep Irina,” I say. “That’s all.”
Adrian furrows his brow. “You don’t know? Then why are you here?”
“What do you mean?”
“They brought Irina to the villa just now. I don’t know why.”
“Just now?” I repeat, finally getting it.
He nods. “Yes. Now I can go, right?”
He looks so pathetic with his pleading eyes trained on me I feel something between pity and disgust. I should have known he’d spill right away. Only cowards backstab their friends. I need more from him though.
“How can I get to her?”
“You can’t,” he says, shaking his head at me as if I were crazy.
“Maybe I will force you to take me to her,” I say, trying to sound as confident as I can. I’m not. How the hell am I going to force him to get himself in trouble? He’s like ten times stronger than me. All I have over his head is a vague threat of the police showing up. Or is there something more? His expression changes. I see pain in his eyes. Maybe he is actually a little bit infatuated with me.
“We will both be killed,” he says. “I don’t go with you but I will tell you. There’s a panic room in the house.”
***
If ever there was a time when I should do the right thing, this one right here is it. I should call the police for real and I should just get the hell out like Adrian did but what if there isn’t enough time? What if Irina was brought here to be executed? Adrian could not say for certain why she was here.
All I can do is pray the instructions he gave me to enter the house unnoticed and find the panic room are accurate. I go around the house l
ike he told me instead of walking up to the front entrance, looking for a trapdoor that will take me to the basement.
I spot the trapdoor but then hear voices behind me. I move away from the building and get behind a tree. Two armed guards walk by only a few seconds later. They’re big, mean-looking thugs.
Sweat runs down my temples and onto my upper lip. Painful memories resurface from the time two different thugs broke into my small shop and grabbed me from behind. My skin gets chilly, goose bumps form on my arms and legs. I can’t shake the images of how they punched, kicked and pulled me by the hair until there was blood everywhere.
The pain was so overwhelming, my vision got screwed up. Things in the store lost their real dimensions and they became gigantic instruments of terror: the phone wasn’t the phone anymore—it was a sadistic reminder that there was still life outside—life I could not reach. The cash register was a trap waiting to bite off my fingers. The little fragrant bottles were sharp glass they could cut me with.
My whole body and mind return to the agony of that day.
I take in a deep breath, feeling the pulse in my chest accelerate. I’m not ready to be faced with violence and terror all over again.
But then I think of that poor girl that’s being held against her will. I think of Amelia and the panic she must be feeling, knowing that her own freedom from her tyrants could come at the expense of her sister’s life. It’s their terror that puts strength in my heart. The strength I need to free them both and, in the same breath, save Tomas.
I spring up to open the trapdoor and climb down to the basement. As my determination grows stronger than ever, I follow Adrian’s instructions without hesitation: up to the second floor through the staircase that is used by the cleaning staff, acting all casual if I run into a maid going up or down.
That was the easy part. I made it. Now I have to pray the door to the control room is open. I close my eyes as my hand turns the handle. A second later, I’m in, looking at the feed of various security cameras. According to Adrian, no one really pays attention as life at the villa is pretty uneventful, especially when De Luca is away on business.
“Bingo,” I say to myself as I locate what Adrian called the panic room. To me it looks more like a cell with a bed, a chair and a table. In the corner, on the floor, I spot a small contorted body in a fetal position. I swear, if Irina is a child, I might kill someone tonight.
I scan the area for guards. Nothing. I get the keys I found in a drawer just like Adrian said and walk out of the control room to find the cell.
How long am I going to stay that lucky? Hopefully until both Irina and I are far away and safe.
When I manage to open the cell door, my shirt and pants are so damp, I could have been swimming in a pool of sweat.
I walk over to Irina and hug her. She coils away and I have to try several times before she lets me see her face. My heart sinks. The girl is in terrible condition. Her lips are badly chapped, probably from dehydration. Her eyes are bloodshot and her hair hasn’t been washed in a long time. Not only is she young, she also has Down syndrome. I bite my hand hard so I don’t scream out in anger. What kind of monsters are these people?
When I help Irina to her feet, she smiles. “Home?” she says with big eyes.
I lean and kiss her forehead, tears running down my cheeks. “Home,” I say. “Now quiet. No talk. Shush.” I bring my index finger to my mouth to show her she should be silent.
She nods and I stick my head out to make sure the coast is clear. Good. I have to get her out the room, down the stairs, up the trapdoor and through the main gate which will be locked by now.
It’s our only chance, though, so that’s what we do. I hold Irina’s hand, stopping at every corner to make sure no one’s around. When we make it to the basement, I almost collapse as the stress of the escape is finally released upon my entire body.
Irina offers me her hand to keep me on my feet.
“We have to go up now,” I say, pointing at the trapdoor above our heads.
She nods but at the same time I realize I have no way of knowing if anyone’s outside. Yet another chance we have to take.
We climb out. The beautiful, quiet night is somehow terrifying. We walk slowly, my eyes darting in all directions as we approach the gate. There’s someone in front of the gate, a big man smoking a cigarette.
“Shit,” I whisper, “oh shit. Goon squad.”
“Shit,” Irina repeats like an echo. “I want that.”
I’m not sure what she’s saying. She wants shit? But then I get it. She’s pointing at the cigarette in the man’s hand.
I work out things in my head faster than lightning. “If that’s what you want, that’s what you’re going to have,” I say. I have her sit on the ground, behind a tree. “You stay here,” I say. “I will get that. No move. No talk.”
She nods. I yank the front of my shirt down to reveal some cleavage. I take two steps before I decide to go back to Irina. “You should know that smoking is very, very bad for you,” I whisper before I go again.
The guard eyes me suspiciously as I get near him, swaying my hips and throwing my head back.
“Can I have a smoke? Such a boring night,” I say to him as soon as I reach the gate. “Where in fucking hell is Mr. De Luca? I was promised a good time?”
He relaxes, putting his hands in his pockets to produce a packet of cigarettes. “Some dough, too?” he says, chuckling.
“Who? Me?” I say, batting my eyelashes.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re all the same,” he says, offering me a cigarette. “All you want is to have your little pussies fucked and get some money in your pockets. You’re all whores, aren’t you?”
That guy’s a genius, his talents are wasted here. “Well, I don’t know. Why don’t we test your theory?”
“What do you mean?”
“Second floor, third door from the right, five minutes.”
His eyes are getting hungry now. “Five minutes? I can fuck you for hours.”
What a dumbass. “No, not that, meet me in five minutes.”
He takes my arm. “Let’s go together.”
“No way, I’m supposed to be here for your boss. I can’t be seen with you. He doesn’t like his things touched.”
Bingo, I guessed right. The idiot gives me a smile as he walks past me. As soon as I exhale all my terror out, he turns around and sneaks a hand under my shirt, squeezing my breast. It takes all that I am to keep a straight face. Irina, I keep thinking to myself, think of Irina, Taylor.
The thug grabs my ass with his free hand, grinding himself against me. I’m not sure I can take one more second of this when he finally lets go of me.
“You’re one hot slut,” he says. “Two minutes, not five.”
“Asshole,” I whisper behind his back as he rushes to get to the building.
The true significance of everything I have done tonight hits me hard when Irina and I lock ourselves in the car after an excruciating descent down the hill. I shiver so hard my body nearly goes into convulsions. Parts of me died tonight. Other parts thrived. My comfort zone exploded and my fears became weapons I used to get down that hill.
As soon as I drive off with Irina lying down to sleep in the back seat, I call Tomas. My heart beats so loud, I think I might have a heart attack. “I have Irina.” I yell loudly into the phone as soon as he picks up.
“What?”
“Irina is here with me in my car. Amelia will be safe. They can go back to their country. They can go home.”
I stop talking, only now realizing the voice I’m hearing on the other end doesn’t belong to Tomas. It’s Nathan.
“Taylor, you have to listen to me. Tomas was attacked again tonight when he went out looking for you. We’re at the local medical center but they want to fly him to a hospital in Athens as soon as possible. You have to come as fast as you can. Bring the girl with you.”
He hangs up before I have a chance to ask anything.
My body disappears fro
m me, floating up above the car. My heart seizes and chokes. I’m not real. This moment is a dark dream. Strange logic. A girl in the backseat. No one drives the car. This is the past or the future. None of this is really here in the moment.
The car keeps racing down the road even as our bodies go backward, getting further away instead of closer. We’ll never make it to the medical center like this. Darkness rushes in on us from all sides.
Chapter 24
The doctor shakes my hand before leaving to see one of his patients. Tomas is still unconscious, that’s all the doctor was able to tell me. They’re running a number of tests to determine the extent and severity of his head injury. I might be able to see him when they return him to his room.
The KAT Hospital in Athens specializes in acute trauma and injury which is why Tomas was brought here. I repeat it to myself in an effort to overcome my state of denial. The last twenty-four hours have all blended in a thick mass of uniformity and waiting.
I wish Nathan and Grace were here to talk to the doctor and ask the questions that need to be asked. I’m useless right now, wallowing in relentless pangs of guilt.
The least I could have done was leave a note or give Grace a plausible explanation for my absence. I should have told someone I was going out. But I didn’t. I couldn’t think straight and let my impulses guide me.
Grace returns to the waiting hall with coffee and bagels. My stomach’s a big knot with smaller knots tied all around it but I manage to produce a smile for her and take a sip from the coffee.
Grace sits next to me, giving me a small hug and kiss. “Any news?”
“Still unconscious,” I say. “Not much progress.”
“It’s only been a few hours,” she says. “And he did regain consciousness for a while.”
I nod even though neither of us knows what that could mean.
“I have some news,” Grace says.
“I hope it’s good,” I say, my words barely audible.
“Irina will be fine, her tests are back. No permanent damage.”
Magnificent Ruin (Everlasting Series Book 2) Page 18