The first real terror struck me half an hour later when we had been turned down by at least three cars, asking for a lift. There was nothing unnatural about that. People didn't help people these days. I looked over at Silas who looked like he had had enough.
We didn't walk from the gas station. It was too risky to take everything and march out of here. Besides, there would be places far away from the civilization in the way where we could see not even a soul. Then again we needed a place to stay the night.
Silas raked a hand through his hair, exasperated, and then stole a glance at me.
"I'll go insane," he muttered under his breath.
I thought of saying something but nothing good came to my mind.
If you have only bad things to say, then say nothing. Had that been Jared or June who said this?
I backed away when another vehicle passed us, air hitting our face, making Silas curse for the hundredth time. When had I last thought about Jared and June? A week ago? A month? I was the one with cynicism and June had always said in bad times to speak good, manifest good and let the universe do its work. Oh, how I missed her 'law of attraction' references! A bitter smile curved my lips when I thought about what I wanted. I wanted to be in New York, with my husband, safe and sound.
Was there a way to reach an airport? Oh, yes. There was always a way but I just didn't know.
"Silas?"
He turned to me, his eyes wide and for a while I felt his irritation myself.
"We can't go to Naples anymore," I said, not even aware why I chose to.
"I know. The airport is burnt. They'll be looking for us there," he admitted what I had been dreading.
"Do you think we should go back to the coast? If we could rent a boat or something..."
"We need a car first. We can't walk all the way."
Silas looked away as if to hide his agitation. Then it all came back... and now I stood here, with the sun setting behind us, cool breeze making me shiver as helplessly as a homeless man. But it wasn't the breeze, it was the thought of Silas and his occasional display of exhaustion and anger.
Could I help him now?
"Silas, I need to use your phone."
"Now?" He raised both his eyebrows at me.
"I think I might have a way out of the country."
"What?"
"I'll tell you in a minute. I need your phone."
He looked convinced, frantic nonetheless. Setting the duffel bag on his knees, he shoved an arm inside and groped around without looking.
"Does it cover transatlantic?" Taking the burner phone from him, I waved it to emphasize.
"You'll have to reverse the charges," he shrugged and rubbed his chin, looking as I dialed the number.
When the line clicked, the cool air on my face seemed to actually cool me down a little.
"Wayne?"
"Dawn?" His voice sounded drowsy. "What happened?"
Of course, he knew I wouldn't call to know how life was.
"I'm sorry. I'll have to keep this very short. Do you think you can send the jet to Italy as soon as possible?"
Silas rose his eyebrows at me, suddenly curious. I flashed a tiny smile at him.
"In such a short notice? I'll call you in five minutes. Should I try this number?" As he spoke, I watched Silas waving an arm as a car approached. I had given up my hopes when the vehicle halted, surprising me.
"Yes. Sure." I sighed, my hand shotting up to press down on my temple, a poor attempt of soothing my headache.
Silas had sauntered towards the car already. Now he was leaning towards the window to the driver's seat, the glass rolling down.
As I hung up and pushed my fingers into my hair, I realized Silas was smiling at me. He signalled me to come. I couldn't help smiling when I strolled up to the car. Silas opened the door for me and as I climbed in, I noticed the man in the driver's seat. He was not less than at least fifty. His bald head gleamed in the light which fell through the windshield. His eyes were kind, a glowing sea green.
"Thank you," I smiled at him. "We had been standing here for God knows how long."
He had only turned when Silas reached behind his own back and took out the gun. Next five minutes happened like sone sort of time lapse. I watched as Silas's left arm went forward and jerked the man's head back, making it hard for him to breath.
"Silas!" I heard my shriek, mad with disbelief. "What are you doing?"
He pointed the gun behind his head and gritted out, "Give me the key."
The man did.
"Now get out of the car. File a report for this in the morning and you'll get it. Go!"
The man listened to him once again, leaving the car to us. Nevertheless, I only stared, impassive, my eyes turning stones. My husband didn't notice when he clambered out to slide into the driver's seat. I sat there at the back, my back hitting the leather upholstery, my hair tickling my face. I didn't have any strength to move now. It was enough.
"Dawn?" Silas's voice was distant. "Dawn?!"
"Huh?" I jumped in my seat.
"The phone. It's ringing." He frowned at me and I realized that we had been in here for at least ten minutes.
I stretched my hand out to take the phone from my lap and noticed that it was trembling.
"Dawn?" Wayne spoke quick. "I'm sorry. The jet is unavailable. But I think I can help you guys with this. Is Mr. Dale there with you?"
"Yes." My eyes flicked to the back of Silas's head. "He's driving."
"Where are you at this moment?"
"An hour or so away from Naples."
"Do you have enough time to go to Florence?"
"I guess we do," I paused. We were about to spend the night in Italy anyway. It wasn't a big deal.
"I will give you an address. Martin Roux, he's a friend of mine and he owes me."
"Wayne, is this Roux a good enough friend? Can we trust him?" I spotted Silas staring at me briefly before going back to driving.
"I like to think that he's trustworthy." His voice was doubtful.
"What does that mean?" I frowned.
"Can you give the phone to Silas?" He said, probably aware of my distress. I held the phone to his ear and closed my eyes, my left hand covering them.
"Okay." Silas nodded. "Condotta?... well, yes. What do we tell Roux?... Oh, okay. Thanks, Wayne. I owe you one."
Silas held the phone and gave it to me, quietly, offering a smile. I tried but couldn't return one. All I could think about was Silas, the gun in his hand and the terror in that man's sea green eyes.
I lay back in the seat, my hair fanning out in the process. At the thought of sleep, I couldn't calm down. So, I fixed my gaze on him as he drove. There was that speedy roaring sound and the sound of air, buzzing in my ears and I wondered if we were the only one on the road. From here, I couldn't see.
My arms went around me instinctively, my knees coming up as well.
"Cold?" Silas's voice felt like an echo.
"Mm?"
Then, his jacket dangled in front of me, inviting, looking warm as hell. I didn't think twice before taking it.
"Thank you."
We fell quiet once again, and through the silence, some kind of restlessness kicked in. I just wanted to get rid of this feeling. It was like being caught in a cobweb of torment. Just because he threatened the man, he couldn't actually push the trigger and take someone's life. He was not that kind of person. I didn't like the notion of it. So, I closed my eyes and listened to the gushing wind, to the faint music from the sound system, my consciousness ebbing and transitioning into some sort of dream that I wouldn't remember when I'd wake up.
"Dawn?" The whisper was mellow and I liked it. There was warmth drifting into my skin, a movement that tickled me and I smiled, with my eyes still shut. "Babe?"
"Mmm." I rolled onto my back, my head lolling back in indolence. Silas was looking at me, his face inches away from mine, his forehead right across my chin.
"Hey," he smiled, his eyes crinkling, his face pale and wary.
"Hmm," I moaned, sitting up. My throat felt dry. Instinctively I checked the pocket with the drive before putting it on. It was big compared to my size, of course. The drive was still there, thankfully. "Where are we?"
I looked around when I climbed out into the dark. There was a bridge above our head and trees surrounded us like a veil. I shoved my hands into the pockets of the jacket I was wearing and rubbed my palms on the fabric.
"We are ditching the car here."
"But we are in the middle of nowhere." Suddenly sleep eluded me.
"There's a motel just ten minutes away. We'll stay the night there." He held out his hand which looked pale in the dark.
"And in the morning when we'll be needing a car?" I raised my eyebrows, sticking my chin out.
"I'll figure something out. Come on." The hand now went around my arm and for a while, I noticed the goosebumps forming on his skin. He only wore a thin tee shirt.
"You'll not flash a gun again," I spoke before thinking. He looked surprised but recovered fast.
"I won't. Come on, it's freezing out here."
My idea of a motel was a claustrophobic place with grimy walls and unwashed tiles. But as we went forward, I noticed what looked like a villa of some sort. The metal gate creaked when we entered. The porch was well-lit, the light falling over the brown tiles ahead where two tables stood along with chairs. The woman behind the counter was reading a book, her gray hair pulled up into a messy bun, her reading glass looking as if about to drop anytime.
Inside, it was very lovely for a motel. Perhaps, it wasn't one. The walls were a rich cream in color. Yellow curtains were covering the windows, the color matching with the velvet of the sofas. There was a rocking chair by the fireplace. A man, most probably in his late fifties sat there, his eyes closed, his pink cheeks glowing from the fire.
"We need a bedroom for the night." Silas's voice brought me back.
The one that we got after flashing our well-forged identity cards and showing my diamond ring (supposed wedding ring) to prove we were spouses, was unexpected. The walls were stark white and the pieces of furniture were cherry. It was a little cramped but I appreciated the efforts. Nothing was out of place. The floral bed sheet made the bed look more inviting.
I took a shower first and changed the dressing of my hand, finding another bundle of money under the pile of medicines in the firstaid box along with our IDs. This was his 'go' bag.
We had dinner downstairs with the woman behind the counter and her husband who was sleeping on the rock chair. Vittorio and his wife and son were very hospitable. They spoke mostly Italian and were extremely nice and talkative, eager to share their stories. Silas eagerly joined the conversation, speaking fluent Italian. I only watched him, my eyes darting over his lips once in a while to see how they moved along with the foreign words.
There was no shame in saying that it was absolutely beautiful and sexy. The villa looked close to the highway but was a good 25 minutes since we had to take an exit and take backroads, according to my husband.
Silas hopped into the shower when I sat on the edge of the bed, my shoulders tensed, my eyes looking out at the foggy night through the white silky curtain. I didn't fathom out how long I was staring until Silas walked out, dressed in only black pants which looked uncomfortable. But we had to wear what we brought.
I passed him by, with a towel in hand to wash my face, leaving the door ajar. He sat on the spot I had been in and kept his eyes fixed on me while I towel- dried my face and reached for another tee-shirt from the duffel bag. He watched me shrug it off, his expression impassive.
Once dressed, I walked out and sat on another edge, my back to his face.
"How is your hand?"
I turned my head almsot immediately to see him gaze intently. "It's fine. Doesn't hurt."
The next second, he sat on his knees before me, holding my hands in his. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have faced all this. It's my fault."
"It's okay," I said mechanically.
He smiled up at me, his hand floating up to push my hair from my face, the back of it caressing my chin.
"Would you have killed that man if he hadn't given you the key to his car?" I murmured.
"What are you talking about?" He was half-tempted to frown.
"You looked pretty serious when you threatened him," I only shrugged. "Have you done something like this before?"
"Well, yes, I had," he nodded, his jaw hardening. "And no, I haven't killed anyone if that's what you're asking."
I remained mute. I didn't have anything to say until something finally crossed my mind. I didnt say it right away.
It was probably an hour later when I lay in bed, with my back to Silas, still wondering. Then I finally spoke, "You'll not take out that gun unless it's a matter of life or death."
He didn't response for which I naturally assumed he was asleep. Warmth engulfed me when an arm snaked around my waist abruptly, his lips tender against my shoulder.
"I won't," he whispered.
Before I drifted into sleep, I held his hand in mine, mouthing 'I love you' silently.
____________
Going slow, is it?
I'm not sure myself.
What do you think about this chapter? Where do you think it's going?
Probably have ten more chapters to go. Are you excited? Because I am. Hahaha.
Have a lovely day. ❤