Chapter 95 Faces.
CHAPTER 95
Faces.
SCARLETT – POINT OF VIEW
We scrape all plans and spend the next couple of weeks in Sicily. Elena was displeased, but she understood the need for serenity. We all need this time, this respite.
Roman and I navigate the gears of our new relationship. We haven’t been in relationships in a while. He’s more used to control and calling the shots. I am used to pretending and hiding. This relationship demands that we both step into the light, which is something we struggle with, mostly me.
I spend the days with Adeline, Eve, Elena, Chiara and Francesca, while he spends the day working. Then, we spend our evenings together watching movies, cooking together, working out, or taking a walk. We stand firm in the need for a no-sex relationship. As much as I’d like to sleep with him again, which I really want to do, I can’t help but brace myself for chaos. I know something, somehow is going to pull the rug from under my feet, so I just wait it out.
This isn’t a healthy mindset, I know, but expect disappointment, and you’ll never be disappointed, right?
Maybe I’ve not grown. I’m still the same girl I was four months ago.
I lay by the pool with Adeline by my side. We’re sunbathing. Eve is off somewhere taking pictures. This is a wonderful scenery for her. I just worry what she’ll do with the pictures. No one is supposed to know where we are. It’s protection. Selling those pictures won’t end well, but I know she’ll make the best decision.
“Scarlett!” Roman calls.
I look at him through my sunglasses. He’s dressed, while I’m wearing a flimsy two-piece.
“I have to leave.” He announces calmly, but his clenched jaw says otherwise.
I get up and meet him halfway. “What’s going on?”
“I have to fly home. My insurance company needs my attention. There’s a scandal going on right now, something about fraud, and somehow, my name is at the centre of it. I don’t like that, so I need to straighten everything out.” He explains, running his fingers through my hair softly.
“I’ll come with you.” I say, but he shakes his head, “No, you should stay here. Enjoy your vacation. I’ll be back before you know it.”
I nod slowly, even if I don’t feel assured. What if this is a plan to lure him out? Can Emiliano attack him? OnAmericans soil? He did say he had a lot of people all over the world. My heart races as I think about it.
“Calm down, Scarlett. I’ll be fine. No one has to know. It’s a quick visit and a short meeting. You have nothing to worry about, my sweet girl. So, lounge, indulge and enjoy. You have my card with you. Rick can stay behind. Damian, Caleb and Elena have to come with me. Eve, too. She has a meeting in California with a studio. Why doesn’t she tell you herself?” He glances at his watch, running out of time.
I nod, feeling out of place, as if someone indeed pulled the rug from under my feet.
“I’ll be fine, I promise.” He avows, and I nod, hugging him tight, “Come back to me.”
“Always,” he kisses me softly, then he leaves.
I go to find Eve immediately. She’s excited as always. Two major studies in California want to discuss business with her and the possibility of displaying her work in their gallery. It’s huge, and she has been working on the perfect pictures to showcase. She has some pictures of me, taken in different lighting and angles. She makes me look more beautiful. She has some sunset pictures, pictures of food, and more. In none of these pictures does she reveal our location or put anyone at risk.
Everything happens too quickly.
An hour later, they’re leaving. They’re taking Luca’s private jet. Rick sticks to Eve.
After so many goodbyes and desperate hugs, they leave. I watch the jet take off and try to push off the dread from my shoulders, but it seems to stick.
“Let’s go out. There’s a restaurant about twenty minutes from here. We can take Alessandro and Stefano.” Addie suggests, grabbing my hand.
“I … I don’t know,” I whisper, already missing my friends.
“Aren’t you tired of being cooped up in here? Because I am. I’m going insane.” She scoffs, shaking her head.
“Taking too many men will attract attention, so maybe just Stefano will do, and we take a simpler car?” I cave in, and she beams, “Sounds like a plan.”
After a lengthy conversation with Luca, we finally get ready. Alessandro and Stefano are coming with us. Stefano will drive, and Alessandro will watch from afar. I strap a knife to my thigh, in case I need it. I have a Glock in my purse, with a silencer attached to it. We’re all set.
We get in the car and leave.
I exhale softly as we move into the city for the first time in almost a month. Protection and self-preservation can feel so much like restraint and restriction.
We walk into the cute restaurant, sit by the window and order lattes. Then, Addie walks me through some of her most exquisite native foods. I have a free palate, because of how much I travelled around as a child, so I enjoy every single meal.
We leave the restaurant and walk down the street. The men stick close.
We get Lemon Sorbets and visit the bookstore.
I stare at the cracked spine of The Invisible Life of Addie Larue and catch a reflection behind me.
A man.
I saw him at the restaurant too.
We’re being followed. How wonderful.
“Look at this,” I tell Addie, and she grins, staring at the book.
“We’re being followed, Addie. Man in a blue jacket and brown cap. How do you wanna play this?” I whisper, hand on a line as if I’m reading it out.
Something flashes in her eyes, and she counters, “How do you want to play this, because I want to have fun.”
“Keep them close. I’m going to use the restroom.” I smile at her.
She nods, grinning, her bloodlust apparent.
I walk down the aisle of books to the restroom. It will be so easy to kill him, but I want answers. How is Emiliano spying on us? Who’s he using? Do we have a traitor in our midst?
I step into the bathroom and go into a stall. I wait for him to follow and pull out my knife.
How easy it is to slip between personas.
How many more faces can I wear before I become utterly lost?