Rome had to keep his head down, even though he wanted to peek out the window and see where the cars that had been following them were. “What’s going on?” he whispered to Ella as she approached the toll booth. He could see her behind the wheel without lifting his head far enough to be noticed by anyone in other vehicles.
“They’re two back from us,” she said, rolling down her window and crushing a twenty dollar bill into the person’s hands. “Keep the change,” she said.
“Howdy!” Ella shouted out the window at the bewildered man next to her. “Y’all from around here?”Beside her in the passenger seat of the SUV, she felt Rome’s nervous energy. Maybe she was taking a huge gamble engaging the enemy--assuming that’s who these people were there to try to kidnap Rome and take him back to his father.
Two towns over from the exit Ella had taken somewhere in the middle of New Mexico, they found a hotel off the beaten path. It wasn’t bad, though it was nothing like what Rome was used to. It would do for one night, though.She drove the SUV around back and parked it in the shadow of the building, despite the fact that the room he’d gotten them was on the other side. This way, maybe his dad’s men wouldn’t see the vehicle, but even if they did, they wouldn’t know what room the two of them were in.
Over the next few days, Ella had plenty of time to ponder what her new life on the beach in California would be like. Staring out the window while Rome drove, or letting her mind wander while she was behind the wheel and he dozed in the passenger seat, there were lots of opportunities for her to daydream about all of the possible outcomes if she tried to stay hidden away in the house, versus letting her parents know she was alive.In the end, she couldn’t imagine how guilty her father would make her feel when he found out the truth, that she’d faked her ow
It was late afternoon when Rome pulled up to the fence at the end of a long winding drive that led up the hillside toward the new house. They’d stopped overnight, as Ella had assumed they would, and driven into LA slowly, in a roundabout manner, never quite entering the city. Instead, Rome had taken back roads and side routes to Abalone Cove, and now, here they were, going through the gate and sneaking up the driveway, as if they might have to turn around and drive back out again. The gate closed with a sharp snapping noise behind them. At least they could be certain no one would be following them in unless they knew the code.
The beach wasn’t as beautiful as the one she’d left behind. Ella walked along the shore, trying to concentrate on the positives. The water was beautiful, even if it wasn’t a teal blue. The beach was warm, even if it was rocky and the sand wasn’t as white and soft. Some interesting foliage grew in the cracks, even if they weren’t large palm trees.“What do you think?” Rome asked, walking along behind her. “You don’t like it here, do you?”
Four days after they arrived back in LA, Rome stood in front of the full-length mirror in the bedroom, tying his tie. In the mirror behind him, he could see his wife, anxiously chewing her bottom lip, her bare feet sliding along the wooden floor, back and forth, her fingers digging into the floral blue bedspread.“It’ll be fine,” he assured her, catching her eyes in the mirror. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
The hum of the wheels riding the road drowned out almost all of Rome’s thoughts as he stared out the passenger window of Bart’s car, watching the suburbs turn into cityscape. The sun was setting, casting the world in a soft orange glow, reflecting off of the metal surfaces of cars and buildings, creating a warm ambience that might’ve been a comfort to Rome if he was headed anywhere else.Neither man spoke much at all as they made their way toward the restaurant where Rome’s parents would meet them. He’d already spoken at length to Bart ab
Amelia’s was a five-star restaurant where the Hollywood elite mingled with LAs movers and shakers in nearly every industry. It was fair to say not a single person dining in the Italian restaurant was worth less than a few million dollars, except for maybe Bart. Rome wasn’t sure what photographers were making these days, but he didn’t think it was that much. As he stood on the threshold of the impeccably decorated establishment, he took a few deep breaths and tried to still his raging heart. He could do this….“Ah, Mr. Verona. It is nice