Lina
My phone registers 9am. It's two hours before my flight.
I gotta get moving , I think as I shove my phone in my handbag before stepping out and exposing myself to the warming sun rays.
Today is a beautiful day.
Too beautiful to be feeling so terrified.
I stride towards my waiting car,cool as fuck. It's only when I'm behind the wheel that let out a sigh of relief.
Gosh, this is already so nerve wrecking and I haven't even done anything yet. Can I really do this? I ask myself.
Yes, You can, my brain answers. The alternative is too crazy to think a about.
With that, I turn on the insert the key into my car for the engine of to roar to life. I pull out of my driveway and head to my destination.
Sure enough, I spot my tails almost immediately.
Bastards.
Don't they know how this makes me feel as a woman?
They 're all monsters without consciences ,just like their boss. Exactly why I have to escape all of them.
I stop the car as the traffic light registers red. Up ahead, I spot a sign that points the direction of the Mylari international airport to the right. When the traffic lights finally blinks green, I head in the opposite direction with a rueful sigh.
Not yet.
I gotta stick to the plan.
I head towards the mall.
After about five minutes, I park my car in the parking lot of my favorite café. I discreetly watch as the two SUVs park soon affer I did.
Seriously, they didn't think I'd notice. Honesty, I'm insulted. These guys underestimmate me way too much. I think Bruno must've omitted from telling them that I was onto them. Either that or they didn't listen.
Whatever.Their mistake.
Without further ado, I go meet my publisher inside.
Our meeting really does create a nice diversion.
Grabbing my bag,I leave my car,making sure to lock it as as it might be here for a while. Then I make my way towards the entrance. I try to walk as slowly as possible, praying that they take in my appearance which consists of loose hair , a purple maxi summer dress with floral prints and matching sandals. Hopefully they'll be on the look out for a woman with these features.
I spot my publisher, Mirabel as soon as I enter the premises. She gives me a friendly smile as sshe notices me coming her way. We're more like close acquaintances than friends.
She and I share a quick hug before sitting down and ordering . We both have a coffee and croissants, a combination which takes us to culinary heaven.
Two minutes after we lapse into small talk, I can't help but notice the two casually dressed individuals that enter the place. They seat at an empty table at the far corner of the room. These guys are followed by another pair who also take a seat at an empty table.
Hello, there assholes, I think taking a bite of my croissant.
After Mirabel and I get past the small talk, she asks me how my new "best-seller" was coming along. I tell her that it's almost done whilst watching in amusement as one of the spies glances at me from behind the menu.
Nothing to see here.Just a normal meetimg between a woman and her publisher.
"I just need a bit of time," I tell Mirabel seriously. To be honest, this novel had been the furthest thing from my mind since Bruno reappeared in my life. I'm just buying myself time. Hopefully I'll make more progress when I'm out of the country.
She tells me how thrilled she is to here this and then we toast to that.
I keep on smiling while I'm silently freaking out. I seriously can't believe four men are following my every move.Bruno must not be messing around. What he didn't understand was that neither was I. He and I were so not happening.
He's a complex person with a clearly much more complex life. We'd never work because I doubted that I'd ever get used to him or all of this. I look at my watch and it tells me that it was nine thirty. Shit, I was gettimg late. My flight left in an hour and thirty.
Mirabel makes thimgs easy for me by announcing that she couldnt stay long as she had another urgent appointment. As understanding as ever, I told her I didn't t mind and it was okay. I decide to make my move as soon as she walks out he door.
I pretend to spill my coffee on my dress before grabbing my bag and making my way to the ladies room. When I'm inside, I know that I have to work fast.
Quickly, I lock my self in one of the toilet rooms and open my bloated looking bag. It's a bit heavy since I've stashed much more tham make-up and a purse in it. I unzip the bag and reach for my clothes. I tried to fold them so that they wouldn't crease to much but it couldn't be avoided it seemed.
Laying them on top of my bag, I start taking off my dress and sandals. Once I've done that, I begin the long process of putting on a light green shirt, a hoddie and a old pair of black jeans.
I then replace the clothes that I'm currently putting on with the one's I've removed. I then tie my hair in a low ponytail before taking out something that would simply transformed me into a new person:spectacles.
Sophie thought it was a ridiculous idea but I knew better as I'd watched a dozen movies that told me different. I chose to believe the latter as movies were incapable of lying to me.
I tick the mental checklist in my mind to make sure that I haven't forgotten to do anything. I nod to myself in satisfaction when I conclude that I've taken care of everything.
I think that it's time to begin phase 2. Assuming of course that the shady young guys Sophie hired from her dance class had gotten in position while my tails kept an eye on me.
With that in mind, I open the toilet door and step out, half expecting to find four bulky men looking at me with pitying expressions. Instead I step into a quiet and empty room save the middle aged woman washing her hands in the wash basin. I move to do the same thing while I gaze at my reflection in the mirror. I smirk as I don't even recognise myself. What'd I tell you Sophie darling? Spectacles were a game changer. I was about to take a picture and send it to her if but I didn't as It suddenly occurred to me how risky that idea was.
Dissapointed, I quickly dry my hands with a hot air dryer. Then I take a breath and leave the room with the confidence of someone with nothing to hide.
All four men gaze my way when I do this and I try by all means to appear unaffected. They quickly loose interest and look away.
I smirk inwardly. I'd totally fooled them.
Sophie who is drinking coffee at a table in the middle of the room , is wearing a relieved expression. She couldn't resist coming could she? I think with gritted teeth.
She takes in my spectacles with a glance and a raised eyebrow. Sophie then flashes me a quick smile of approval before looking away hastily. Just for that I forgive her.
I told her the spectacles were a good idea.
When I exit the café without incidence, I can hardly believe it. I mean Sophie and I did spent two whole days planning this but I wasn't sure it would work- they were just too many things we couldn't control. But we'd somehow done it, I think excitedly.
I reprimand myself mid-smile. It wasn't over yet. I still had to get to the airport. On time too.
I start to feel nervous once more but I reign it in firmly. I can do this. I know that I can.
What I can't do though is use my car again. They'll spot me trying to leave so Soph had parked her Toyota Yaris in the café parking lot earlier today, with her keys inside. All I had to do was get inside and drive away as the guys did their thing.
I board the red Toyota and get behind the wheel. I gaze through the windshield of the car until I finally find what I'm looking for: two guys wearing black masks near the rides of my tails.
They are looking at my car,waiting for it to drive away before they did their part of the plan.
Without another thought, I turn the key of the car and pull the car from the parking lot in the direction of the airport.
I'm a good driver so I drive quickly to get to the airport on time. Also, those guys were going to get suspicious in a few minutes and try to come after me. I wasn't worried about that though.Why? Because the two guys Soph and I hired were slashing their tyres at the moment.
Still, I wasn't taking any chances since I wasn't in the clear until I got on a plane. So I navigated through the traffic of Mylari like the devil himself was after me. Because he was.
****
When I get in a line the airport security gates, I start to smile from ear to ear. I know I said that I wasn't going to get excited until I was on a plane but I didn't think it was necessary anymore. I had escaped Bruno and the crazy plans he'd had in store for me.
But why did a large part of me feel so... devastated? I've been trying to push this feeling inside of me for a while but maybe I should just stop for a moment and...
My wobbly smile falls from my face as I spot a most shocking scene in front of me: Five men in black attire walking around the airport with purposeful steps.
Uh oh.
I pull my hoodie on my head. It looks like I spoke too soon.
How in the world did they...
I don't have time to ask questions as it's my turn to pass through the security gates. I send a small prayer to the heavens above that they don't recognise me and stop me from leaving. When the the security guy gives me the all clear, I can hardly believe it .Then I try to walk normally to board my flight.
When I'm finally seatedin the plane, I take a deep breath, thinking how lucky I was.
When the pilot announces that we're about to take off, I could weep with relief.
I had actually done it!
****
Chase
"You had one fucking job! How the hell did you mess that up?" I yell into the phone while in the Mylari city hospital corridor.
A nurse who is passing by is about to say something when I gave her a look that communicates that she should fuck off if she knows what's good for her.
"She slashed our tyres Chase. It wasn't our fault," Marcello told me grumpily.
"Why don't you come and tell the boss that when he wakes up? I'm sure he'd love to hear your explanation," I suggest blandly.
I hear the guy audibly gulp at the other end of the line before he speaks again.
"From one of the guys we caught slashing our tyres, we've know that she's went to got in a plane st the airport but we're still waiting to find out exactly where she's headed." he explains.
Great. Just what I want to hear.
"Well, call me when you do have confirmation," I tell him before hanging up.
I breathe out loudly. This was the biggest fucking disaster I had ever had to deal with.
The boss was in the hospital recovering from an accident and his woman had made a run for it. This was all my fault. It was my job to stay on top of these things and I didn't. Now look at what was happening.
I had to do better from now on.
"Excuse me, Mr Simpson?" a middle aged nurse in uniform saysto me.
"Yes," I tell her ,snapping my head up. They'd long ago told me that boss didn't suffer much more than a broken arm and that he'd wake up soon but I still feared that some kind of complication may arise.
"Mr Rossini is awake now and asking for you," she explains to my relief.And fear...
"Okay thanks," I say dismissing her.
I automatically make my way to the door, not wanting to keep the boss waiting. When I enter the private hospital room, he's sitting upright in his bed staring outside the window. At once I take in boss's bruised face and his arm which was now had a cast.
Well, it could've been worse, I think in relief and slight amusement. I bet he'll think twice before driving at those speeds again during a rainy day.
"You called for me, boss."
He turns to me slowly and croaks out the name Lina.
Shit.
Someone please pray for me.