Chapter Fifty-Five Ella
Chapter Fifty-Five
Ella
Tiero is in Lucerne.
The blood drains from my face as my pulse spikes.
Lex’s words keep echoing in my head. For a moment I can’t move. My Tiero alarm was right earlier.
Did I jeopardize everything by not getting out of here then?
But spending time with Rhia was more important than everything else, especially when the alarm bells had fallen silent.
I had wanted to believe I was safe, that I could spend this time with my best friend without consequences. Now that choice might cost us all.
My heart trips over itself as I wait for that old familiar pull, the one that tells me when he’s close.
Nothing.
No tingling under my skin, no flutter racing up my spine, no trace of the invisible current that ties me to him.
It’s quiet, almost too quiet. Yet deep inside, something stirs, faint and uneasy, like a storm waiting beyond the horizon.
Tiero is near, but not close enough for the signal to wake completely. Still, I can feel the shift in the air, the pressure of it, like he’s pressing against the edges of my world.
Rhia’s worried eyes meet mine. “You have to get out of here, El. Now.”
Before I can answer, Lex is already in motion. “Garrett’s bringing the van to the back entrance, and our helicopter is ready a few towns down.”
“You came by helicopter?” I ask, needing something ordinary to focus on.
“Yep,” Rhia says, her voice too bright.
She adjusts my wig and takes a makeup remover wipe from her bag to clean my face. I cried so much that I probably look like a mess.
“And Lex was flying it. It was kind of hot. Made me forget I was angry with him. I wanted to unzip his pants and—”
“Rhia!” I choke out as I find my sunglasses in my backpack. “Too much information.”
Lex groans. “You really shouldn’t have told me that. Now that’s all I can think about.”
“Good,” she says with a little shrug. “My work is done.”
“Ella.” Lex focuses back on me, his tone firm. “Time is of the essence. Let’s move.”
“What about Miranda?” I ask, remembering that Garrett’s wife was meant to do my makeover.
“You’ll collect her further down the road,” Lex says, ushering us out of the room that no longer holds a trace we were ever here.
He leads us down the narrow hallway. Rhia grabs my hand, her fingers trembling. The contact steadies me and breaks me all at once.
“I don’t want to leave you,” I whisper, squeezing her hand as we approach the stairs.
She’s blinking fast, holding back tears. “I don’t want you to go either. But you have to.”
“I’ll be okay,” I tell her… and me, though I hardly believe it. My throat burns with the effort of keeping my voice steady.
Her eyes glisten, and Lex signals for us to move faster. Neither of us realized we had slowed down to drag out this inevitable goodbye.
“You’ll call me the second you get to Atlanta, right?” she asks, her voice choked.
“I promise.”
A tear escapes, rolling down my cheek. The tightness in my chest builds until it’s hard to breathe.
Rhia pulls me close when the hotel’s back door comes into view, hugging me fiercely.
“Girls, please,” Lex urges. “I know this is hard, but we have to keep moving.”
We cling tighter. I bury my face in her hair for a heartbeat, memorizing its jasmine scent, afraid I’ll never breathe it again.
A second later, strong arms come around both of us, and I feel Lex’s steady presence at my back. For a fleeting moment, I’m cocooned in the safety of their love, and it hurts even more.
I close my eyes and fight the sob clawing its way up my throat.
Lex presses a kiss to the top of my head.
“You’re gonna be all right, El. Once you get to America, he won’t be able to reach you.”
I turn my head just enough to meet his eyes, forcing a faint smile. He believes that. I wish I could.
Tiero vowed to follow me to the ends of the earth, and I know he meant it. He’ll stop at nothing.
I pull away with a shaky nod. “Please be careful. Both of you.”
Lex taps my nose lightly. “Always.”
A white electrician’s van pulls up outside. Garrett jumps out, all brisk movement and no words.
I turn to Rhia one last time. Her eyes are glassy and her lips tremble as she fights to hold herself together.
“I’ll see you in a few weeks,” I say to Rhia, forcing a smile I don’t feel.
“Yes,” she whispers, pressing her forehead to mine. “I love you, El. Never forget that.”
The words undo me. I nod quickly, not trusting myself to speak.
Wiping my eyes, I climb into the van, and Garrett slides the door shut behind me with a hollow thud that echoes in my chest.
Thankfully, there are no windows. It would destroy me to see her standing there, watching me disappear.
There’s no guarantee I’ll ever see her again. We can promise all we want, but promises mean little when death and fate are both circling.
I’ll never be safe as long as Tiero is alive. And yet, I can’t wish him dead. Even thinking of it feels like something inside me would die with him.
It’s a lose-lose situation.
As the van jolts into motion, I fasten the seatbelt and lower my head. My whole body feels heavy, my bones made of lead and regret.
What is the point of running?
Sooner or later Tiero will find me.
Realistically, he already has.
Maybe I should have accepted my fate and stayed. Because now I’ve dragged people I care about into the fire.
If anything happens to them because of me, I’ll never forgive myself.