At ten past midnight, a young red-haired man stumbles through the door. Niamh gets up and goes to speak to him. She returns a moment later and sinks onto her chair.
"Nico's been arrested," she says. There's a stunned silence as everyone considers what that means for our operations. Nico isn't some low-level soldier. His arrest could spell disaster. I'm about to ask what happened when a smile breaks on Niamh's face. "Seems he forgot we're in France. He was driving on the wrong side of the road and was arrested pending results of a drug test."
As people make various comments about Niamh worrying us like that and Nico being a fucking idiot, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I take it out and look at the incoming message from Simone. It's short but to the point.Trouble with Bruno. Taken care of. Eliza okay. Ran but came back.
What the hell? I nudge Benito and get to my feet before announcing to the room "We need to go home."
"Is everything okay?" Niamh asks.
"It will be." As soon as I get home and check on Eliza everything will be fine. At least, it better be. I read the message again as we head for our car.Ran but came back.What the hell was she thinking?
NINETEEN
Adriano
When we arrive at the house, Benito drops me at the gate. He claims it's because he has somewhere to be but it would take less than a minute to take me to the front door so I know that's bullshit. He wants to give me time to compose myself. It's not likely to happen. If I didn't calm down during the six hour delay before we could take off or on the plane after hearing the full story of what Bruno did to Eliza, the three minute walk up the driveway isn't going to do the trick.
One of our newer recruits, Tomasso, opens the gate for me. I'm glad to see it's shut now but I'll be having words with my security team about how Bruno was able to get in here last night and how Eliza got out. I still can't believe she ran. More to the point I can't wrap my head around the fact she almost made it to the safety of the village and chose to come back. People down there don't like me much. Someone would have helped her. When I realize how close I came to losing her, my chest tightens.
The house is quiet when I get inside. I find Simone in the kitchen, sitting at the table with Rosa. He stands when he seesme and she makes a discreet exit, no doubt thinking I'm about to punish him for last night's failings. I'm not. He saved Eliza, dealt with Bruno and brought her back. I'm grateful for that. Actually, I'm not entirely happy he put Bruno down. I've wanted to do that for so long I feel like I've been robbed of a moment that would have brought me joy. Still, it couldn't be helped. Bruno grabbed a gun and Simone had no choice.
"The doctor confirmed nothing's broken," he says.
"I know. You already told me."
"But the bruising is significant and it's worse this morning than it was last night."
"Yeah, that happens. You said she was in her bare feet?"
"Her socks. They protected her feet a little but they're still torn up. The doctor bandaged them."
"Did she give you any trouble about seeing a doctor?" Knowing Eliza she probably tried to tough it out.
"No, actually." Simone sounds surprised so I guess he's got the measure of her fast. "She wanted pain meds and we only had ibuprofen on hand. She was quite sassy about the whole thing. She called me a snitch several times."
"She didn't want you to tell me?"
He shakes his head. It makes sense. Eliza probably expects me to redden her ass for running but I won't punish her for that. I was a bastard to her before I left. She had no good reason to stay here. That's something I intend to rectify.
I look at Simone for a moment. He's been with me for four years and this is the first important task I entrusted him with. Considering how he handled himself, it won't be the last.
"You did well," I say.
He nods and I turn and go upstairs.
When I get to Eliza's room it's in semi-darkness. The curtains are closed. She's sitting up on the bed propped up by pillows.
"Can I put the light on?" I ask.
"No, but you can open the curtain an inch or two. The natural light should be fine."
I cross the room to open the curtains a little then sit on the edge of the bed and look at her face.
Knowing about the bruising and seeing it are different things. The bruising has come up badly across her left cheekbone and there's a cut at the edge of it that's been closed and dressed. Her nose is swollen. I want to dig up Bruno's worthless corpse and kill him all over again for daring to slam her beautiful face into a door.
I want to make this all better but I don't know what to say to her. I’ve never been shy about expressing exactly what I’m thinking but I can’t find words for this. There’s nothing that will convey the depth of anger and regret I feel right now.
"Are you angry with me?" she asks.
