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  I knew that going with him was not only the right thing to do, it was the only thing I could do. Committed to this course of action, I gave one curt nod of my head.

  “Then move!” he instructed.

  I sprang into action.

  CHAPTER 8

  ONCE I STARTED MOVING, Anna did as well. I grabbed my small pack and stuffed my passport, wallet, Eurail pass, some clothes, my toothbrush and a few other essentials into it. Everything else was superfluous, so I left it. Anna was frantically jamming items in her daypack until it was bulging.

  Ready, I slung my pack on my back and looked at Chase expectantly. He eyed Anna critically as she put her pack on. She saw him looking at her and understanding dawned on her at the same time it did for me. They weren’t after her. She did not have to come with us.

  Anna glared at Chase. “There is no way you are leaving me here.” Her eyes were lit up with an inner fire as they sought mine. “You go, I go.” Her voice, like her friendship, was as solid as stone.

  Relieved that she wasn’t going to abandon me, I nodded once in acknowledgement. In this sea of chaos I was now navigating, she was the one constant. I knew Chase would argue to leave her, so I took the offensive.

  “It would be better if she came with us because if she stays here and they get ahold of her, they could use her to manipulate us. At the very least, she is in a little bit of danger if we leave, and at the worst it leaves us all in a lot of danger.”

  Chase grimaced but didn’t argue. The decision made, he switched off the lights before moving to the balcony.

  “Where are you going?” Anna asked in a squeaky voice.

  “We can’t just walk out the door, we have to leave the way that I came in.” Chase was matter of fact.

  Anna’s eyes found mine and I smiled encouragingly as I joined him outside. While Chase had been talking, night had fallen on the village, which was ideal for an escape but also made what we were about to attempt much more difficult.

  With one quick maneuver, he used the railing as a step up to grasp the roof ledge with his hands. He hung there for a moment before swinging his legs up over his head, hooking one over the top of the roof. As agile as a spider monkey, he pulled his whole body up and disappeared from sight. Seconds later, he hung his upper body back over the edge and motioned me over.

  “Climb up onto the railing, give me your hand and I will pull you up.” His voice was low so it wouldn’t carry.

  I was duly impressed with his athleticism. He had just done something difficult and dangerous, making it look effortless. As easy as he had made it appear, I knew that it was not so. I also had a tendency to do clumsy things at the most inopportune times.

  “You have got to be kidding me.”

  “I won’t let you fall.”

  Not having much choice, I moved over to the handrail, sizing it up as though it were an opponent on a playing field. I visualized what I would need to do and then started to move.

  Climbing up onto the railing, I stood up slowly, raising my arms out like a gymnast on a balance beam. Once I was steady, I reached up over my head so Chase could help me. His powerful hands got a good grip around both wrists and I barely had time to gulp in a breath before he gave a mighty heave and I was flying upward. Once I was clear of the overhang, I rolled onto my back so my face and belly would not get scraped on the tiles as Chase pulled me up to the peak of the roof.

  Once there, he helped steady me as I crab-walked a few feet away so he could help Anna up in the same spot. The sound of her scuffing her shoes on the railing was followed by a thud and a muffled yelp as her chin bounced off the tiles. Chase helped her sit up and she immediately rubbed her jaw, wincing.

  “That freaking hurt,” she said through gritted teeth. “Why aren’t you hurt?” She looked at me almost accusingly.

  “I rolled onto my back,” I said.

  She shook her head in resignation. “I’ll survive. Where to now?” She gingerly got into a half-crouch similar to my own.

  “We need to make our way to the northern corner of the roof. From there we can get down to a balcony on the neighboring building. Follow me.” He turned, moving silently and with greater ease than I thought possible considering the pitch of the roof and the smoothness of the tiles themselves.

  We reached the corner he had indicated without incident and without seeing anyone.

  “The polizia are parked in the front of the hotel across the street. They shouldn’t be able to see us, but they may hear us if we are not careful.” He gave us each a hard look to emphasize his point before he faced the edge.

  The alley separating the two buildings looked just narrow enough to jump across. The balcony across the way was several feet lower than the rooftop we were on. It was just a few feet wide, which was daunting. Without warning, he sprang forward, easily clearing the space between the buildings, landing on the small terrace across the way with almost no noise. Once he had his balance, he turned and pressed his back against the wall so he was obscured by a shadow. When he was satisfied no one had noticed his jump, he stepped forward.

  It was my turn.

  Chase looked at me with total confidence, which boosted my own, but I was worried about Anna. A glance over my shoulder showed she was struggling to appear composed.

  “You can go back,” I offered.

  She shot me a shaky smile and I could see the determination in her eyes. “You go, I go.”

  With a half-smile of appreciation I stepped to the edge, tossing my pack over to Chase. Inhaling, I eyed the distance and the drop angle, envisioning the trajectory and the amount of force I needed to make it safely. In this moment, I was committing myself to more than just an insane jump from a rooftop to a balcony. I was committing to Chase. I was betting my life on the fact that he was telling the truth, and that he could help me.

  If I wanted to, I could return to the room right now to call Marcello and tell him all about what Chase had told me. I could avoid this insane escape plan with a guy I barely knew, who had admitted he was an undercover operative for a clandestine company that had sent him to spy on me. Part of me desperately wanted to believe that none of this was true and if I went back to the room it would all be okay in the morning. Despite all reasoning and logic that told me what I was doing was nuts, I knew that Chase had spoken the truth and that I needed his help, at least for now. I had chosen to trust him and now I had to literally take a leap of faith to prove it.

  It was time.

  I dropped into a half crouch and, with all the force I could gather, I leapt out into space. I cleared the few feet of empty air easily enough and Chase caught me before my feet hit. His arms wrapping around me, he took a big step back to put us both in partial shadow. A few seconds passed with no noise so he released me. I moved up against the wall as he went to help Anna.

  She threw her pack to him, took a couple running steps and then jumped. She misjudged slightly, so Chase leaned out to try to help her. He grabbed onto her just as her foot hit the balcony railing. He yanked her backward and there was a pop and she hissed sharply. They tumbled across the small space with Chase landing on his back and Anna on top of him right at my feet. He jumped up quickly and helped her up to where she could lean against the wall.

  “Where are you hurt?” he asked quietly.

  “Left ankle,” she replied. He touched the ankle. She winced.

  “I am fine, just gave it a good whack. Give me a minute and then we can go.”

  “We still have to get down to the next balcony and then the street. Can you make it?”

  “I’m ok, it just stings a little.” She stood up.

  “Alright, we’ll give it a go. Me first,” he said.

  Chase swung his legs over the railing and lowered himself to the balcony underneath. It was a short drop and he landed softly. I climbed over the railing and was beside him in a moment. Anna followed suit, flinching when her feet hit the terrace floor. She immediately shifted her weight so none of it was on her bad ankle.


  “One more,” he said.

  I looked down and saw that it was at least ten feet to the stone alleyway below. Chase climbed over the railing, stood with his toes between the balustrades, and leaned down until his hands were gripping the edge next to his feet. Once he had a good handhold, he hopped backwards, dropping down into a straight arm hang. He swung there for a second before letting go. He hit the ground on his feet without making a sound.

  Climbing carefully over the rail, I mimicked what he had done. When I hopped off the edge, the sudden pressure of my entire body weight on my less-than-perfect grip was instant and intense. My grasp was not solid enough and I strained to hold on. Instead of letting panic take over, I focused on trying to get my body to be as still as possible.

  A soft whistle from below told me to let go, which I did. Chase caught me around the waist to help guide my landing. I stepped away from him so I could see up and down the alley and be the lookout while he helped Anna.

  A muffled oath made me glance up to see Anna swinging from the ledge by one hand as if she was a drunken orangutan. Unlike my controlled fall, hers was twisted when she dropped. Even with Chase’s best effort, they both went down in a heap. I rushed to help him get her up and then the two of us carried her in the direction away from where Chase had said the cops were parked.

  The alley opened up to a wider road and we paused to make sure there was no one around before darting across to and down another narrow side street. Once we were halfway down this next passageway, we helped Anna sit down on the cold stones.

  “How is it?” he asked.

  “Not bad,” she said through clenched teeth. “I twist that ankle all the time. It’s more annoying than anything.”

  “Can you make it?”

  “Yes,” she grunted and stood up, only flinching a little. “Walking it out will help.”

  “You’ll be okay.” I tried to be encouraging. I knew when her ankle was bad, and this was bad.

  “If she can’t walk, she is a liability,” Chase said in a matter-of-fact tone.

  “She’s not a liability and we’re NOT leaving her here!” I glared at him.

  “This makes getting out of here more difficult,” he stated unnecessarily.

  “You haven’t even told us what the plan is, why not tell us and let her be the judge?”

  “We are going to catch the last train out of here tonight.”

  “She can make it to the station with our help,” I insisted.

  He cocked his head at me, measuring me with his eyes again. “We don’t have time for a debate. If she can’t keep up with our help, we leave her.”

  His seeming lack of emotion was intimidating, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from helping my friend. She could make it, I knew she could.

  He gestured for me to assist Anna while he led the way out of the second alley and into a small plaza where several side streets converged. Since it was a Sunday and after the big party the night before, the village was very quiet. This was nice for us because by sticking to the back alleys, it was relatively easy to avoid the few people who were around.

  It didn’t take long to make our way to the edge of the main plaza near the beach. Anna was moving with greater ease now, which meant her ankle wasn’t as bad as any of us had feared. Within sight of the tunnel that would take us closer to the train station, Chase signaled for us to stop and wait while he made his way closer to make sure it was clear. It was fascinating watching him moving ghostlike in and out of the shadows until he disappeared from sight.

  A couple strolled hand-in-hand down at the far end of the beach. A small group was walking on the other side of the main square. Other than that, the area was deserted. Chase materialized out of nowhere, making me jump.

  “We need to move now. Stay close and be ready,” he instructed.

  Cautiously, he led us out of the safety of the dark alley and into the open. He kept us close to the edge of the plaza until we were under the elevated rail tracks. There, he paused to see if our appearance had instigated anything. When nothing changed around us, he continued moving.

  The tunnel loomed ahead and I felt like a mouse eyeballing a piece of cheese in a trap. Chase entered the passageway with us close on his heels. I didn’t dare breathe. It wasn’t very long, so we were able to walk out of the other end in under a minute. The entire way, Chase stayed a few feet in front of us. He may have looked nonchalant to the casual observer, but I could tell from the way he held his head and the set to his shoulders he was poised for anything. Beside me, Anna was definitely moving better on her ankle, which was a relief.

  It was eerily quiet. An uneasy feeling started to spread through my body as I glanced around. To the left was the drop-off to the ocean and on the right was a sheer rock wall. There was no place to run other than back the way we had come. Luckily, the train station was just up ahead on the right.

  As Chase approached the first building in this part of the village, two men emerged from behind it. Either Chase had known they were there or his reaction time was incredible because he met the first one with fists flying and knocked him back a few feet.

  The second assailant was on him in a flash. There was a rapid exchange of punches and kicks with no one gaining the advantage. It all happened so quickly that I had barely taken two steps by the time the first attacker was down and the second was struggling with Chase. As the fighting continued, I regained my thought process and looked around to see if there were any more of them. When nobody else appeared, I started to frantically search for some kind of weapon, to no avail.

  The first man was back up and had joined the melee. The fighting was intense with both men circling Chase, taking turns coming at him. He successfully beat them back each time. It looked like they were getting frustrated with their lack of progress. One backed off a little bit, letting the other move in again while he reached in his pocket, keeping an eye on Chase, ignoring Anna and me. Chase and one assailant circled each other until the man leapt at him and there was a flash of hands and arms. They separated abruptly, continuing to stalk each other. By this time, the second goon had a cell phone out and was trying to make a call.

  Without thinking, I charged forward, my arms raised at the elbows so they were parallel to the ground. The palms of my hands were facing out to form a battering ram. Fumbling with the cell phone and keeping one eye on the fight, he never saw me coming.

  Right before I crashed into him, I thrust my arms out, catching him squarely in the chest with all the force I could generate. Completely unprepared for my assault, he went sprawling onto the ground, the phone flying from his hand.

  My actions startled the other assailant. His momentary distraction was all Chase needed to land a solid blow to the head. After he hit the ground, Chase kicked him a couple of times to make sure he would stay down. Meanwhile, the man I had hit stood up with menace in his eyes as he faced me. I had stopped several feet away from him and he started to close the distance between us. Not sure what to do, I waited for him to get close enough for me to kick him.

  With the first man dispatched, Chase tackled the second one from behind. Wrapped together, they landed on the ground inches away from me. He had his arms locked around the bad guy, who struggled to break away as they wrestled. Chase was more athletic and had the better position, but the thug had at least fifty pounds on him. After a few tense moments, Chase had him on his back and pounded his fists into the man’s face until he was rendered unconscious. When the bad guy went limp, Chase was up and moving toward us in a flash.

  “More will be coming.” He wiped the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

  Not needing any further motivation, Anna and I circled around the unconscious men and followed Chase as he headed for the train station at a jog. The steps to the train platform were just ahead.

  Suddenly, I heard the sound of screeching tires followed by the revving of a powerful engine as it picked up speed. A black BMW sedan rounded the corner d
own the street from the station and was barreling toward us. Even though the windows were tinted, three occupants were visible. The one in the front passenger seat had his entire upper body out the window. The gun in his hand glinted in the street lights.

  Seeing the weapon, Chase shouted for us to duck into the doorway of the building next to us. He pulled a pistol from under his shirt and opened fire at the oncoming vehicle. Without hesitation, the passenger returned fire. Another thug with a weapon leaned out the back window on the driver’s side. I dove for the relative safety of the entryway, pulling Anna behind me. Crouched in the corner with Anna huddled next to me, I could see the second shooter was the pockmarked guy from the night before. I didn’t have time to dwell on it as gunshots rang out and Chase took up a position in front of us.

  The sound of multiple weapons being fired rapidly in such close proximity was jarring, both physically and mentally. I hunkered down, trying to make myself as small as possible. Anna was doing the same while Chase continued to use the edge of the entryway as a shield as he took aim at the vehicle.

  His next shot found its mark and, with a loud noise, one of the BMW’s tires exploded. The driver lost control and the car veered toward the guard rail that separated the road from the drop to the ocean below. The men inside were shouting as it hit the metal barrier twenty feet away from us. The car ricocheted off the railing with a deafening impact, spinning three hundred and sixty degrees before finally coming to a stop in the middle of the road.

  Chase cautiously approached the crumpled car. When he was a few feet away, the rear door on the driver’s side opened and someone half fell, half crawled out onto the pavement. He was covered in blood and still had his gun in his hand. Chase walked up to him with his weapon pointed at the injured man’s head.

  Before he pulled the trigger, the man mumbled something in Italian and then collapsed on the pavement with blood pooling around him. Chase quickly checked the two bodies in the car. When he was certain they were all dead, he turned to where I was crouched with Anna beside me. In the midst of the chaos, Chase appeared completely controlled and totally detached. Every part of his demeanor was that of a consummate professional, and the harsh reality of it shook me deeply.