Taking Hold {ON HOLD}

Chapter Two

Adam had been her last resort but he was an option that she had to take. Mario's men arrived fifteen minutes after the pair had left, rifles at the ready.

Adam occasionally found it strange that Ana didn't speak a word about Mario or the past months that she had spent in his company. Most agents wore missions, even those which didn't go completely according to plan like medals around their neck. They would boast to their heart's contents about gun fights and interrogations. None of this had ever been Ana's style but there was a time when she would have disclosed at least how she was feeling to a select group of trusted individuals.

Adam had long since been expelled from this privileged few, nevertheless he didn't think her behaviour was particularly healthy but perhaps it wasn't his place to judge.

"She rang you didn't she?" Tom asked. "When she up and left in the middle of the night? Doesn't that seem strange to you?

"What do you mean?" Adam had begun to watch Ana once more, a sudden twitch of her muscles demanding his attention.

"I mean, it isn't the most obvious of choices is it? The two of you weren't exactly friends."

"She needed help, I was in the country. It was pure logistics, nothing more."

"And how did she know that you were in Italy given that she was knee deep in the Mafia with no outside contact?"

Adam didn't have an answer for that, at least not one that made logical sense. He had assumed at the time that Ana must have somehow known that he was in the country, he wasn't sure how she would have got her hands on that kind of information but he had no doubt that she could be resourceful at the best of times.

Now of course, that option appeared to be less feasible. Ana had been dark for a few months back then. She had entered the Mafia with the knowledge that to back out at any point would be to commit suicide. With no method to issue a distress call Adam was mystified as to how she had even managed to get her hands on the mobile phone and yet somehow she had managed to evade the Mafia's detection for a little over six hours.

"Do you know what I think?" Tom asked without waiting for a response from his friend before offering his opinion. "I think that she had no idea that you were in Italy. I think that she called you because you were someone that she trusted. She trusted that you would come and find her despite the fact that she had just shredded the ARC rule book and spat on the Mafia. She trusted you to keep her safe."

Adam shook his head, refusing to allow the fanciful thoughts to take hold.

"I think she likes you, man." Tom teased earning a soft chuckle from Adam as they turned into the driveway of their new home and the car pulled to a stop.

After more than a little bit of coercion Adam had managed to convince Ana to choose the house with the swimming pool and now that they were back with the keys in hand ready to unpack all of their earthly goods he was more than pleased that he had.

The red brick house stood behind the gated driveway, the tall white framed windows reaching into the sky to allow natural light to blanket each of the rooms. Around the back there was a garden, downstairs a games room beside the swimming pool, upstairs eight bedrooms each with en-suites. It was paradise.

Indulging in a moments more admiration for the beautiful house Adam dragged his gaze away to open the back door of the car and rouse Ana.

"Rise and shine Sparky."

He only touched her briefly, his fingertips brushing against her skin but it was enough to jolt her out of her nap and sharply back into the land of the conscious.