Chapter 35 #2
The darkening edges around my vision start to disappear as I focus. I swallow hard, nodding my head. I keep my gaze away from the bodies.
“Okay. Okay.” I nod, concentrating on Leo. Come on, Autumn, escaping is your specialty. “Down the stairs to the second floor, then we find a backway to the cars. Not the main entrance, it’ll be a bloodbath with everyone.”
Leo takes my hand, rushing us down the stairs where there’s leftover carnage from the stampede, more bodies. There’s shouts and another blast, lights flickering as glass shatters. We get to the landing, and Leo suddenly raises his gun and shoots. I look as a mercenary goes down.
“Get behind me,” he says, keeping the gun up.
I follow closely as he slowly goes down the stairs, and then checks both sides of the hall when we get to the next floor.
He starts to take us down one of the halls, and I flick my gaze over the balcony down to the grand foyer.
It’s anarchy as people shove to get out, fighting each other, everything in disarray.
The mercenaries I see aren’t stopping them, instead focused on Vincenzo’s men and destroying the villa.
Leo leads us down the hall, and I see a shadow of someone coming. He pushes us back against the wall, surprising the mercenary and punching him, then stabs him in the chest and then neck. The knife is yanked out, and he starts to keep going, but I grab his arm.
“Something’s wrong,” I whisper. He gives me a “no shit” look. “Meaning they’re not stopping people from leaving. And they weren’t stopping them when the blasts first started..”
His brows scrunch.
“Why bomb this place and have it still standing? Think like Gabriel.”
Leo flicks his gaze towards the main entrance, and then back where we came. His gaze comes backs to me. “He rigged the cars.”
And like a damn movie, a blast occurs from out front, which causes bloodcurdling screams to erupt.
“They were forcing everyone outside,” I whisper.
“He’s trying to trap us here.”
I grab his hand and yank him back where we came.
He doesn’t question me as we go back up the stairs to the terrace.
I ignore the bodies and destruction, weaving through them as I continue past where he’d killed those other men.
I don’t stop, putting all my energy into my instincts and to fucking follow them without second thought.
We get to one of the other terraces, and I see billowing smoke from the front of the villa.
“What are you looking for?”
“Back service entrance. Servers kept coming from this area, so there’s gotta be a stairwell that goes directly to the kitchens. Another backway.”
Leo glances around with me, and then nods towards the stone railing at the far end. We run that way, and sure enough there’s stairs down along the side of the building. More blasts rumble, likely every car going off if they start the engine.
We get down to a back courtyard, one side is the entrance for the kitchen and the other to the back gardens.
Hand clutching his, I run over the stone gravel through the archway and into the barely illuminated gardens.
It’s almost peaceful back here, untouched by the destruction as we pass fountains, stone paths, and trees.
Finally, we come upon the maze entrance and there’s shouts behind us.
Leo takes the lead next, taking us into the dark maze.
Our feet barely crunch over the pebbles as we go further and further into the dimly lit winding paths.
Men shout, not far from behind us. Leo suddenly grabs me, putting me into a corner as he covers me with his body, ducking his head.
It’s dark enough, I can’t see his face as I grip his shirt.
His breaths are quiet, but ragged as I concentrate on keeping mine soft.
His arm slowly snakes around me, holding me close as we listen to the men inside the maze.
Panic begins to curl its way around me again. Every crunch of their boots deafening. The murmur of their voices. My corset squeezes around me as I press my face against his chest. Leo silently pushes us further into the scratchy bush walls, trying to remain hidden in the darkness.
I concentrate on the compression of the corset, fighting to remain calm. Every soft exhale feels damning as their voices echo in the night. Every second stretching forever.
Their voices are quiet, but I catch one of them saying, “Stupid maze. Should’ve stashed our shit closer.”
“I ain’t letting my bike get caught in that mess.”
“You’re the—”
Something beeps, and their footsteps quicken as their voices disappear.
We don’t move, even as another blast comes from the villa. Distant yelling.
“Find the bikes,” I whisper.
“Autumn—”
“I know how to hotwire. We need to find the bikes.”
Leo finally steps away, taking my hand and we make a run for it. I’m not sure how Leo is able to easily navigate the maze, but I’m guessing it’s not his first time in here. We start to get to the end, and he slows us down.
“Stay here. Stay down.” He hands me a gun, and then disappears into the darkness.
I crouch against the bushes. When I hear a grunt, I close my eyes and wait.
There’s a soft thud, and then another one.
When I hear footfalls on the gravel, I snap my eyes open as Leo returns.
Quickly, I get up and follow him to where several vehicles are parked.
There’s a driveway that leads to here, probably for the gardeners.
We search through the vehicles, and then I see them. Three motorbikes.
“I need a knife,” I tell him, and he yanks one out from his belt. I rush over, debating which one, until I see the Ducati. Perfect.
“I’m going to make sure they can’t follow us.” Leo strips his jacket off, walking away.
I get to work on the wires, hoping I remember everything Isaac has taught me about the motorbikes.
It’s hard with the lack of light, but there’s just enough moonlight to see.
Low popping sounds, and I briefly glance over my shoulder to just make out Leo puncturing various tires.
Right when I’m sure I’ve got it, I stop hotwiring, not wanting the engine noise to attract anyone until we’re ready.
“Do you know how to ride this?” I ask when he comes back as he tugs off his dress shirt, revealing his undershirt.
“Yes.” He pulls his shoulder holster back on. “Bond and I used to race in California, because it pissed off Jameson.”
“Should turn on.”
He walks past, stabbing the other two bikes to deflate their tires. When he comes back, he gestures for me to turn around. “Don’t move.”
Swiftly, the laces for my corset are cut and tossed into the bushes.
“Shirt off,” he instructs.
Knowing what he’s doing, I take it off and pull on his dress shirt, buttoning it up.
He tosses the rest of our clothing into the darkness.
He then grabs two of the three helmets, and thankfully they fit.
Leo gets onto the bike, straddling it as I finish hotwiring. Thankfully, the engine roars to life.
I get on behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist as he touches my knee. “Good girl.”
The bike’s engine rumbles beneath, but nowhere near what any of the Harleys feel like.
Within moments, the bike is moving as dirt and gravel kick up behind us.
The path is bumpy as I hold onto him, until we finally get to the main driveway and speed off.
Leo races us away from the carnage as I look back, seeing only fire and smoke.
The wind stings at me as he speeds on, heading for Rome.
Briefly, he touches my knee, stroking it a little as I loosen my grip slightly and adjust to the high seat.
My entire body is flush against his, leaning with him like one body.
The countryside zips past us, and it’s not long before we’re back in the city and he’s weaving through traffic at breakneck speed.
Breath catching, I have to close my eyes a few times as he takes tight turns and zips around vehicles.
It’s a stark difference from when I raced out of New York City.
I hadn’t been going nearly as fast. Nor had I used such tight turns at dangerous speeds.
Leo does it with ease, maneuvering like a pro.
I hold onto my husband, the biker of more than fifteen years, as he navigates us through the streets of Rome.
It takes me longer than I care to realize that he’s zagging through the city to throw off anyone who may be following.
My heartbeat finally starts to calm, even as we leave the main part of the city and head towards the outskirts.
He opens the throttle suddenly, picking up speed as I try not to shiver against the wind.
After a while, he starts to slow, and I peek over his shoulder to see us coming upon an airport.
We take a quick corner, going a back way, and weave through vehicles until we come upon some buildings and chain link fencing.
I half expect him to ride us directly onto the runway, but he stops, and shuts the bike off within the shadows outside of a hanger.
He takes off his helmet, putting the kickstand down, and then helps me off as I take my helmet off next.
Leo starts to move carefully along the wall towards the fence that separates us from the airfield.
I stay behind him in the shadows and then follow his stern gaze to where a private jet sits with a couple of cars around it.
A few men stand around, seemingly waiting.
“Back up plan?” I whisper.
“In case something happened, a plane was chartered ready to leave tonight.”
“A plane that’s not yours,” I add.
“Correct.”
We watch quietly, and I’m unsure of what he’s waiting for until another car shows up on the airstrip.
It almost happens too quickly. A shootout occurs, the sound of gunfire ricocheting, almost not audible from the roar of the plane’s engine.
I watch as one of the men duck into a car, speeding off as the men who showed up get out.
They’re dressed like the other mercenaries.
“Gabriel’s predictable,” Leo mutters, pulling out his phone from his back pocket.
“Leo, did you know he was—”
“Renaldi and I knew he was in Rome, which is why we were shipping Matteo out tonight,” he interrupts, flicking his gaze to me as he puts the phone to his ear. “I didn’t want to worry you and hoped to be out of Italy before he found us.”
“I think I already knew anyways,” I murmur.
His jaw tightens, about to say something, but then focuses on his phone call.
“We got out. Update.” There’s muttering on the other side, and I’m pretty sure I hear Enigma or Jameson. “Airport is compromised.”
More mumbling, and Leo’s face darkens.
“Cut all communications with Renato. Shut it all down.”
My stomach sinks. That’s where Gabriel got the funds to hire those men. All those explosives. Knowing where we’d be. I stare at the runway as the men who arrived get on the plane. Or Giovanna told him.
Leo’s face contorts into concentration. “We’re down three men. No, all dead.”
Dread fills me. More mumbling and muttering.
“Where’s the rest of the Crew?” I ask.
“Another airport. They were attacked right after Matteo’s plane took off. Their gunmen are dead, but our chances making it there without being tracked is too slim.”
The plane’s engines turn off.
“Were they mercenaries?”
“All of them worked for the Salvadori organization,” Leo answers bluntly.
My body feels numb. I hear the ricochet of gunfire. My throat tightens, knowing they just killed the pilots. I knew they’d retaliate, but holy shit, they’re killing people left and right.
“We need out of Italy. Now, Enigma. An airport to fly out where they can’t track us.” His brows furrow as I look away from the plane, a shiver running down my spine. “Latina’s airport is all military; he may have people…”
Leo keeps talking low with Enigma and whoever else is on the phone. The past hour or so tugging at me as it sinks in how fucked we may be.
“Autumn.” I blink, coming out of my thoughts. The phone is at Leo’s side as he glimpses past me to the plane. “Can you stay awake for a few hours more?”
“If I have to.”
“We can ride to either Naples or Pisa. Naples is shorter, but Renato may have people waiting if he’s willing to go that far. Pisa is further, but the Renaldi family mostly owns that city.”
“What about the Crew?”
“They’re already going in opposite directions. Decoys. They’re splitting, and then heading directly back to the states.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat. “We’re not going home…are we?”
Leo shakes his head. So, the running continues.
“Whatever you think is best. I’ll stay awake.”
Leo brings the phone back up to his ear. “Pisa. Set up a vehicle switch. Use Eleanor to wipe everything on our routes and those that could coincide so they can’t track us. Shut down parts of Rome for all I care.”
He hangs up, stalking towards the bike and I follow. I feel sick again, glancing over my shoulder as the men now stand around to wait for us.
“Dear Watson.” My foggy brain, ragged with uncertainty and fear, tries to focus on Leo. He cups my cheek, stroking his thumb over my skin. “We will make it home. I promise.”
Gabriel’s voice echoes in my head. “How long will Leo last before I break him?”
“He’s coming for you,” I whisper, tears finally brimming my eyes. “Gabriel. He’s…”
Leo gently hushes me, pulling me into his arms he presses his face against my hair. “I know. He won’t win, Autumn. Don’t let him into your head…not when we’ve come this far.”
Trembling, I nod and hug him back.
“We need to go. If you think you may fall asleep, tap three times.”
“Okay.”
He kisses my forehead, and then dips his head to place one on my lips. He hands me the helmets, then kicks up the stand to roll it further down the way we came. We get to the far end before he straddles it and tries to start the engine. It doesn’t turn on.
With shaking hands, I go back to the bike’s wiring. Hoping it’ll turn on, fearful it won’t, the engine finally roars to life again. Relief fills me as I give him his helmet and put mine on. Leo then helps me onto the seat behind him again.
“Good girl. You know your bikes,” he says loud enough for me to hear.
A fragment of pride flashes as I hold him tight, and he rides us out of the airport and into the night.
Once more, I feel the pattern of my life click into place, shadowing me—fleeing a city. Again.