Chapter 58: Chapter 58

Ella’s sleep on the plane had been restless and full of unsettling dreams. About an hour before they arrived in Italy, her eyes flew open, and images of Rome’s face slid from her mind. It had taken her a few moments to remember everything that had happened, to recall where she was, just as it had in the crypt. But this was different. She could move right away. Her memories all rushed back to her, and suddenly she was fully energized and ready to go.

She needed to find Rome.

It had been too long since she’d seen her husband since she’d wrapped her arms around him and kissed his lips. At least Mary had found her rings in her drawer at home and brought those to her. She wondered if Rome still had his or if it had been taken from him. It was hard to imagine his parents could be so cruel as to take away his one memento of her, but anyone who would force their son to leave the country so that he couldn’t be with his wife wasn’t exactly Parent of the Year material.

Finding him would be one thing; getting him out would be another. If his father’s security was anything like Ella’s own father’s team of thugs, it would be difficult. Still, once she knew where he was, there was no question she’d find a way to get to him, no matter what. Inside, she felt a stirring that told her the closer she got to Italy, the closer she got to Rome.

A stewardess made an announcement that they were about to land, and Ella prepared herself not only for touching down but for stepping off of that plane and going out into the cities of Italy to find the man that she loved, the man she knew she was supposed to be with. Forever.

Mary was sitting next to her now that their first-class seats had been swiveled around and moved to the upright position. “Are you nervous?” she asked.

“No,” Ella said, her chin up. “I'm determined.”

Mary smiled at her. “We’ll find him. We haven’t come this far to give up.”

Ella nodded but didn’t say more. She wanted to concentrate on that sensation deep inside of her, the one that was trying to lead her to Rome. She remembered that saying, “All roads lead to Rome.” In this case, that wasn’t true. Only one did. But she’d find it. She had to.

It seemed to take forever for them to get off of the plane. The stewardesses seemed far too cheery as they exited, wishing them a pleasant visit to Italian. Ella wanted to tell them where to go, but she was too polite for that, so she only smiled.

Once she was off the plane, the nerves she’d felt at LAX began to resurface as she realized there would be another examination of her paperwork. She tried to look nonchalant like it was no big deal like her passport was legitimate. She managed to get through, though she thought they were scrutinizing her picture. Again, she felt as if she could check another difficult task off of her box. She was legally in Italy now--or so it seemed. Everyone had better get out of her way because she was going to find the man she loved!

Ella followed Bart and Mary through the busy airport, all of them walking at a brisk pace and trying not to look directly at anyone. At least she didn’t have her heavy bags to worry about. Always thinking ahead, Bart had arranged for all of their checked baggage to be taken to a hotel near the airport so that they could get a rental car and head straight to Verona. With any luck, they’d be back at that hotel later that night--all four of them. Then, they’d be close to the airport so they could figure out what their next move was. They wouldn’t be able to stay in Italy long with Rome’s dad looking for him.

They’d landed in Milan, so it would take a couple of hours to get to Verona. It was late afternoon, and traffic should be light. She checked the time and tried to settle down.

“I’ll go get the keys to the car. You two wait here,” Bart said. Mary nodded, and Ella tried to smile. But as she stood waiting for Bart to get the car, and the minutes ticked by, she couldn’t help but tap her foot nervously.

“I know it’s easy for me to say, but try to stay calm,” Mary said, flashing her a sympathetic smile.

“You’re right. It is easy for you to say.” Mary rolled her eyes at her, and Ella tried to be nicer. A thought had been weighing on her mind, though, ever since she’d awoken on the plane. “Didn’t Bart say that the Verona’s have an apartment in Milan?” Mary nodded her head. “Maybe we should check the apartment first.”

Mary shrugged. “He did say they have one, but he seems to think they’d want to keep Rome out in the middle of nowhere, which is where their family home is. It’s not even technically in Verona, just in the countryside nearby”

It seemed to her as if Mary was siding with Bart for no apparent reason, and she didn’t understand why. “Has he checked his messages? Maybe Antonio called. We don’t even know for sure if Antonio saw Rome at his house in Verona.”

“He said he checked and had a message from Antonio to call him but hadn’t been able to reach him yet.”

Mary’s voice was much calmer than Ella’s, and she knew she needed to take some deep breaths or something, but the longer she thought about it, the more she concentrated on trying to reach out to Rome, to find him, the more unsettled she became. Deep in her gut, she was beginning to feel like something was wrong. Until she saw Rome for herself, she wasn’t going to be able to calm herself.

After what seemed like two lifetimes, Bart came back from the car rental counter, keys in one hand, a few papers in the other. Unable to control herself, Ella blurted out, “We should check his apartment building first.”

Raising an eyebrow, Bart looked up from the paperwork for the car. “Why do you say that?”

“Because… we’re already here. What if he’s here? We’ll be driving for hours for no reason.”

“I really don’t think they’d be keeping him here,” Bart said with a shrug.

“Let’s check.”

“I don’t even know the address.”

“Surely, you can get it. You're resourceful.”

Bart opened his mouth to argue, but his phone rang. “Hold that thought,” he said, handing Mary the papers and pulling his phone out of his jeans pocket. “It’s Antonio.”

“Thank God,” Ella said, crossing her fingers that it would be good news.

“Hello?” She watched intently as Bart spoke to Antonio, doing her best to figure out what Antonio must be saying. “You saw him there. Yeah. So… did you give him the message? Are you sure? Okay. We’ll drive out there then. But… do you happen to know the address of his dad’s apartment here in Milan? Okay--can you text that to me? Thanks, man. Yeah, we do need to get together while we’re here.” He rolled his eyes at that as if to let the women know he was humoring his friend. “Let me spring Rome first. We’ll get back to you. Bye.”

“So… what did he say?” Ella begged, jumping up and down.

“He said he saw Rome in the window at the house in Verona and shouted the message to him just as his dad’s men were coming after him--Antonio. So Rome is in Verona.”

“He was in Verona,” Ella countered. “If his dad knows that people are trying to contact him there, maybe he isn’t now. Does he have the address in Milan?”

“He does. He’s going to text it to me. But I have no idea how we’d get up there and get Rome out if he is there. It’s on the seventh floor. If what you’re saying is right, then that means there will be guards there, too.”

“Listen, Bart,” Ella said, resting her hand on his arm, “I know you think he’s still in Verona, and I want to believe he is in the place where it’ll be the easiest to get him out, too. But in my heart, I have a feeling that’s not where he is at all. I think he’s here. It’s like I can feel him close by. Please, let’s go to the apartment first. If he’s there, I’ll figure out how to get to him, okay?”

Bart opened his mouth as if he might protest, but then he closed it abruptly. “Fine. You win. Let’s go to the apartment.”

Ella squeezed his arm. “Thank you, Bart.” She wanted to be happy because she knew Rome had to be at the apartment, but she was also worried. She had a feeling something wasn’t right. She needed to get to him--sooner rather than later.