Chapter 20: Chapter 20

“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.

The two men exchanged glances. “N--no, miss,” the passenger said.

“Too bad. Me and my cousin just got here from North Carolina, and we’re a little lost. We’re looking for the stockyards. Any idea which way we might need to go?”

“Sorry,” the passenger said, shaking his head. “Maybe try an app.”

“Oh, right. Good idea. Unfortunately, my cousin’s sufferin’ from PTSD from his time in the service, and he’s gettin’ anxious about everythin’. Includin’ getting lost. So I thought y’all might be able to help. It’s okay, though. We’ll figure it out. Y’all have a good day.”

“You, too,” the would-be kidnapper said. Ella gave him a little wave and then rolled her window up. Apparently, the ballcap, glasses, and change in her skin tone thanks to so much time on the beach hadn’t clued them in to her true identity.

“The light,” Rome said, and she glanced up to see it was green. The car ahead of her had already gone and someone behind her was honking. Ella hit the gas and powered ahead, trying not to change the way she had been driving since she wanted the men in the sedan to assume she wasn’t trying to outrun them--she just always drove like a maniac.

“Are they following us?” she asked, switching lanes in preparation to take a turn at the next light, despite the fact that she was fairly certain that wasn’t the way to get to the stockyards or to California.

“No, they switched lanes. They look like they’re arguing. Maybe they’ll head back to the airport.”

“Any signs of the other vehicle?”

It took him a moment to answer. “No, I don’t see it--wait!”

Ella was in the middle of her turn and had to assume he didn’t mean to stop turning. Rome turned around and looked over his shoulder. “What is it?”

“Yeah--the other vehicle just came from the other direction. They’re pulling into that gas station back there.”

He was basically up on his knees now, peering through the back glass. “Both cars?”

“I think so. It looks like they’re regrouping.”

Ella breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe she really had fooled them after all. “All right. Should we actually start following the directions to California then?” she asked as the phone chimed at her that they were going the wrong way, there was a car on the side of the road ahead, and a cop was nearby.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Rome said, seeming to relax slightly. He had turned back around now. She reached for his hand, and after he adjusted his seatbelt, he took it. Ella felt her heartbeat beginning to return to normal. “I guess Gus and his strategy of facing the enemy works.”

“Yep, we’re two for two,” she said with a smile. Letting go of his hand for a minute, she took the ball cap off and dropped it on the console, running her hand through her hair before re-lacing his fingers with hers. Getting used to this short hair had taken a while, but for once she didn’t expect her fingers to keep going after she hit the end.

Rome’s hand wasn’t sweating anymore, a sign he was also calming down. “How many hours do you think we should drive today?” he asked.

“I don’t know. But I think we should take a detour off of the main route. Just in case they decide to follow us at a distance. I’d rather stay at a hotel a town or two away from where they might think we would stop, you know?”

“Definitely,” Rome agreed. “Once we put some distance between us, I’ll start looking for a place that should give us some buffer room. They can’t possibly have eyes on every single hotel between Dallas and California.”

“God, I wouldn’t think so,” Ella said. Thinking about the possibility that Mr. Verona could infiltrate every hotel so easily made her stomach twist. Was this what reality would be like for them from now on? Running? Hiding? Sneaking around? She knew Rome could eventually get back to normal because he’d have the protection of his bodyguards and lawyers, not to mention he could film his movies on private property. But as long as Ella’s dad thought she was dead, this would be her life.

She wasn’t sure she could continue with it, even if getting away from the henchmen had been a lot easier than she’d expected. It might not always be that way. And if it had been her father’s men, they would’ve recognized her for certain. Then, what would she do?

“Are you all right?” Rome asked, squeezing her hand.

Finding a smile, she turned to look at him. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she assured him.

Rome nodded, but she could see in his eyes that he didn’t believe her. He knew her well enough to see when she was being less than honest with him. They’d have to find a time to talk about this, to figure out if this was the best course of action for both of them, but now was not that time. Now, she just needed to drive.

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.

They hadn’t seen anyone suspicious since they left Dallas-Fort Worth hours ago. The whole time he’d been pumping gas into the vehicle at a gas station, while Ella was inside using the restroom and grabbing some snacks, he had his eyes glued to the surrounding area, looking for anyone who might try to jump out and grab either of them. But even if those men had worked for his dad, they were long gone now.

Grabbing their bags, the two of them went to their room on the second floor. Ella popped the door open with the electronic keycard she’d been given, and they walked into the scent of recently used cleaner and a bit of must. There was one large bed, a TV, and a couch off to the side. It wasn’t a five-star resort, but it would do.

Rome made sure the door was completely secure in every way possible. They’d eaten dinner on the drive, so there was no reason to go out again until they were ready to leave, which would likely be about the time the sun came up so that any spying eyes would have more difficulty finding them.

After showering together, the two of them fell into bed, exhausted, and ready to get some sleep. Jet lag, uncertainty, adrenaline rushes, and the unknown had them both beat. With Ella’s head on his chest, Rome tried to go to sleep, but even though his body was beyond tired, his head wouldn’t stop swimming. What would they do if they ran into more of his dad’s men? What if they recognized him this time? What would happen when they got to California? What if his dad caught wind of the transaction and found out he’d bought a house? There were so many things still up in the air… his mind just wouldn’t turn off.

Ella was restless, too. He could tell by the way she was breathing that she wasn’t asleep. He lightly brushed his fingers across her arm, and she looked up at him. “Rome, we’re doing the right thing, aren’t we?”

“I think so,” he said, his fingers tangling in what was left of her hair. “Don’t you? I mean… we had to go back eventually.”

“I meant… maybe I should tell them.”

“Tell them? Tell your dad and stepmother?” He thought there was no way he could’ve possibly understood her correctly. “That you’re alive?”

Ella was quiet, and then he thought she must’ve meant exactly that, and he’d offended her. She turned and folded her arms on top of his chest, resting her chin on them, and stared at him with a look in her eyes he was having trouble reading. “I guess I’m just nervous,” she said. “I’m afraid I’ll be found out. Then what will I do?”

“They won’t be able to prove anything,” Rome reminded her. “Only a few people in the world know you’re alive. Gus and Mary won’t be back anytime soon. Bart won’t talk. Neither will King. Your aunts aren’t going to say anything or else they would have by now. Obviously, I’m not telling anyone.”

“Yeah, but I look like me, Rome.”

“Not to anyone else.”

“My dad will recognize me. If he sees me at all, he’ll know it’s me. Then what? Do I just deny it?”

“I don’t know, baby. I really don’t. But… if you stay in the house for a bit, and no one sees you, then we can figure it out later. He won’t see you if you don’t go anywhere.”

She opened her mouth, like she wanted to say something else, but then closed it. “Okay,” she whispered. “You’re right. I’ll just lay low for a bit.”

“You’ll be on the beach. You can go there. I didn’t mean you’d actually have to stay in the house.”

“I know.” She moved so that she wasn’t looking at him anymore, though her head was still on his chest.

Rome felt like a jerk, like he’d said something she didn’t want to hear for selfish reasons. He continued to play with her hair, but he could tell by her response that she was still upset. Exactly what it was that was bothering her, he wasn’t sure, but he knew he’d have to figure it out on his own soon enough. Or else, he’d hear about it when she couldn’t take it anymore, and that was no way to start a marriage--again.

With a deep sigh, Rome closed his eyes, the same questions from before still swirling, but now he added to it--were they making the right decision about not telling Ella’s family the truth?

He thought so; she clearly didn’t.

If they told Lloyd Sinders the truth… they were asking for the same sort of trouble Rome was in the process of running away from now, and of all the decisions he was trying to make, he was most confident that telling her father the truth would be a bad one.