Trigger Page 9

  “Oh?”

  “I was with Chase.”

  She literally pounced on me. “What?”

  Shoving her onto her bed I plopped down onto my own. “Calm down!”

  She backed off to perch on her bed, looking at me expectantly.

  “There was this weirdo by the beach and he kept getting closer to me like he was stalking me until Chase showed up and scared him off. Then he basically dragged me away from the beach into a dark alley, planted the most incredible kiss on me, freaked out, and then ran off.”

  She was staring at me with her jaw hanging open. “Well that is definitely interesting. Details!”

  In short direct sentences, I expanded on the story until she had all the particulars. She made me repeat the part about the kiss and what he said before he ran off so she got every speck of information. When I was finished, she sat with a puzzled expression on her face.

  “Well that is really wild,” she said as she started to get ready to go to bed.

  “What do you think it all means? First we are having this incredible moment and then he can’t get away fast enough!”

  “Maybe he’s just so worked up over you it scares him.” She sounded uncertain as she climbed under the blankets.

  “He said he would make sure I was safe until he comes to find me tomorrow. What do you think that is about?” I asked as I went to brush my teeth.

  “Beats me.”

  “Why do men have to be so infuriating?”

  “Guys are always aggravating, especially if you’re in love with them,” Anna said, snuggling into her pillow.

  “Who said anything about love?” The shock on my face echoed in my voice as I walked across the room to my bed.

  Already asleep, Anna didn’t answer.

  CHAPTER 7

  THE MORNING DAWNED bright and beautiful. I was beginning to think days couldn’t be anything else in the Cinque Terre. After a lazy few hours in the room, we wandered down to a new café, lingering over a meal while we enjoyed the weather and watched the people passing by.

  Neither of us was in a hurry, so after lunch we headed toward the beach with no set agenda. Together we strolled along the walkway by the sand, discussing what to do with the rest of the day. At one of the narrowest parts of the sidewalk, we paused to take a look around. Anna was right next to the fence that separated the walkway from the beach and I was on her right closest to the road.

  As we talked, I noticed a Euro-style minivan racing out of the tunnel toward us. The side door slid open and a man wearing dark clothes and a ski mask leaned out. He had on what looked like a rock climber’s body harness. A length of nylon rope that was attached to the back of the harness disappeared into the van. Processing everything instantaneously, I knew that we were in danger.

  I did not know what was going on, but I knew I had to act now. The world around me slowed, and faded into the background as the seconds stretched into what felt like minutes. My thoughts and my actions coalesced; I started to move.

  Dropping into a half crouch, I shifted my weight and sprang up while swinging my left arm up and out. The van was parallel to us now and the man in the mask was reaching out as though he meant to snatch us up off the sidewalk. Inside the van was another person dressed the same as the first. I could see that the nylon rope anchored the first guy to the inside of the van.

  Before I could piece together all of these bizarre things, my outstretched arm struck Anna squarely in the chest. She was knocked backward while my feet left the ground, putting both of us just out of the reach of the assailant.

  While I was airborne, something hit me like a ton of bricks. With my body already arcing over the fence, the added force carried me into Anna, pushing us both well clear of the barrier.

  Arms wrapping around me indicated that it was a person that had struck me. That person spun us in midair so that I actually crossed over Anna and watched her hit the sand on her back. I continued to rotate until I was looking up at the sky when my body went limp just before hitting the ground.

  With the other person cushioning my fall, landing wasn’t as painful as I had expected, but was still forceful enough to knock the wind out of me. I gasped for oxygen and to make sense of what had just happened. Whoever was underneath me grunted a harsh curse, having taken the brunt of the impact.

  The arms holding me tightly pushed me away and into a seated position on the sand. Hands spun me one hundred eighty degrees so I was looking into a concerned pair of blue eyes.

  “Are you ok?” Chase’s voice was tightly controlled.

  “I’m fine, I think,” I managed to wheeze out, still short of oxygen.

  In the distance the van was speeding out of town with the side door shut, causing me to question what I had just seen.

  “What happened?” I asked, confused.

  “How’d you do that?” He was eyeing me warily.

  “Do what, fall down? I do that all the time.”

  “How’d you manage to get you and Anna over the fence like that?”

  I tried to pull my thoughts together. “I jumped and pushed her at the same time.”

  I couldn’t believe he was so interested in my accidental acrobatics when there were much more important questions to be answered.

  “You went limp before we hit the ground.” It sounded like an accusation.

  “What’re you talking about?” I was exasperated and starting to feel jittery, probably from shock.

  His blue eyes were uncertain, and it looked as though he was about to question me more when I heard Anna cursing behind him.

  “What on earth?” Anna groaned as she got up, rubbing her backside.

  Chase stood up, reaching down to pick me up and set me on my feet.

  “Are you sure you’re ok?” His voice was gentler now.

  “I think I’m fine,” I said slowly.

  “Isn’t anyone going to ask if I’m ok?” Anna huffed as she brushed herself free of sand. “First, I get smacked backward by the kangaroo queen, and then Superman flies in out of nowhere to help knock me all the way over onto my butt!”

  In the distance the high-pitched wail of sirens caught Chase’s attention.

  “I’ve got to go. Promise me something. Don’t mention me to the police.” He was intense as he looked at me.

  “You’ve got to go where?” I was bewildered. “Don’t mention what?”

  Anna looked perplexed as well.

  “Don’t mention me at all or if you have to say something just say that I was someone you don’t know who tried to help and leave it at that.”

  People were starting to gather around us and the increasing loudness of the sirens indicated that the polizia were moments away.

  With a quick look to Anna, who bobbed her head, I acquiesced. “You will explain later,” I said pointedly. It was not a request.

  He gave a sharp nod before he melted into the growing mass of curious bystanders.

  A few people started asking what had happened in a mix of Italian and English. Both of us tried to assure everyone we were fine as the local police parked on the road nearby.

  “What’s going on here?” Anna asked under her breath.

  “I don’t know, but follow my lead,” I mumbled back.

  She grimaced as she shook her head. She wasn’t sure what had happened any more than I was, but we could tell that whatever was going on wasn’t trivial. Even though it was hard not to talk about it, now wasn’t the time for an in-depth discussion.

  A dark, unmarked vehicle pulled up behind the police cars. Marcello and Francesco got out of it and headed toward us.

  “Great,” I groaned, not sure if this would help or hinder us. “Look who’s heading this way.”

  The police had surrounded us and were asking what had happened. Francesco looked worried as he jogged over, with Marcello a step behind. They inserted themselves between us and the local authorities. They gave quick orders to the officers who looked annoyed at being told what to do but moved people back and start
ed taking statements.

  “Jordan, are you ok?” Marcello asked.

  I forced a shaky smile and told him that I was fine, while Francesco helped Anna over to some nearby beach chairs so she could sit down. With Marcello shadowing me, I followed her, wanting to stay close so we could keep our stories straight.

  “Tell us what happened,” Marcello instructed.

  I glanced at Anna who gestured that I should speak first. “We were standing there by the fence trying to decide what we wanted to do and this van came out of the tunnel. It was going very fast and was all over the road. I was afraid he was going to hit us so I shoved Anna over the fence and then jumped over it myself.” I kept it short, and mostly truthful.

  Anna sat silently sipping from the water bottle she had taken from her bag.

  “The van was out of control?” Francesco asked.

  “It looked like it was.”

  “Do you think he was drunk?” Marcello asked.

  “I’m not sure. It all happened so fast.” I was purposefully vague.

  Marcello and Francesco turned to Anna.

  Anna took a drink from her water bottle before responding. “I was facing the other direction so I didn’t see much. All I really know is that suddenly I was flying through the air and then I hit the sand. I saw a van speeding away up the road, but that is about it.”

  “I think we were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” I offered.

  The two Italians spoke to each other and then went to converse with the local polizia officers. They returned a few minutes later.

  “Some people said they saw someone knock you over?” Marcello was looking at me intently.

  I focused on maintaining a neutral expression as I nodded. “Whoever he was, he must have been right behind me. Afterward, he asked if we were ok, which we were.”

  “Where is he now?” Francesco glanced around.

  I looked around, pretending to search for someone I knew wasn’t there.

  “I don’t know where he went. He must’ve gotten lost in the crowd or something.” I wished they would stop asking me questions.

  “What did he look like?” Marcello asked.

  “Everything was so chaotic, I didn’t really see what he looked like.” I felt a little bad about the lie, but it was necessary. Of course I remembered what Chase looked like. I could also recall every detail about the van from its license number down to the dent in the front fender. I couldn’t share that though, and not just because it was my lifelong habit to hide my dirty little secret.

  “Did you see him? We would like to question him and see what he knows,” Marcello said to Anna. She shook her head.

  “I see.” Marcello exchanged a glance with Francesco.

  “One witness said it looked like the side door of the van was open and there was a man in dark clothes and a mask.” Marcello was watching me steadily as he spoke. It reminded me of the measuring look Chase had given me on multiple occasions.

  “I’m just not sure.” I stuck with the confused tactic.

  “Yeah,” Anna piped up. “The only thing I know for a fact is that it was completely scary.”

  I nodded my head in agreement.

  They didn’t seem to know what to make of our anticlimactic story. “Why don’t we take you to get checked out, make sure you are ok?” Marcello finally said.

  I assured him we were fine but he insisted on escorting us to an ambulance so the paramedics could give us the once-over. The paramedics didn’t speak any English, so Francesco stayed to act as translator while Marcello went back to speak with the local police and some bystanders. I hoped that no one had gotten a good look at Chase, or mentioned that he had actually tackled me, and then talked to me, before running off.

  Once the paramedics were satisfied that we were fine, Marcello rejoined us. He and Francesco spoke quietly off to the side.

  “We will take you to the local station now to get your official statement,” Francesco said.

  “Is that really necessary?” Anna asked. “We’ve told you everything we know.”

  “It isn’t like I have a description of the driver or the license plate.” I cringed on the inside over the blatant lie. I just wanted to get out of there because I had a feeling once we were away from the police that Chase would appear, and I was impatient to talk to him.

  “This was reckless driving that almost resulted in injuries. We’ve got a good description of the van and a partial license plate from an eyewitness who was sitting in a restaurant up the road,” Marcello explained.

  “Well, if you really need a statement from us then let’s go,” I said.

  The Italians led us over to their car and I got into the back seat. It didn’t take long to reach the small police station. Like the other buildings in the town it was narrow, several stories tall and had an ornate door. If it weren’t for the large “Polizia” sign hanging in the front, it could have passed as someone’s house.

  They parked in front and helped us out of the car. My goal was to get in, give a brief statement, and get out. Marcello and Francesco were talking animatedly to Anna as we walked. Before stepping into the station, I shot a look over my shoulder in order to scan the surrounding buildings. I knew that Chase was out there, watching.

  With some fast talking, I was able to keep the two of us in the same room even though they tried to separate us. Anna told them her version and then it was my turn. When I repeated my earlier rendition, verbatim, Marcello shot a furtive glance at me but didn’t say anything. I mentally kicked myself for wanting to stick to my story so badly I didn’t vary it enough to make it sound normal. I needed to be more careful. They had us read our statements over before signing them.

  Our task complete, I told Marcello I wanted to get back to the hotel. At first he tried to convince us to move to the hotel where they were staying in the newer section of town because it would be safer to be close to them. I assured him it would be easiest and best to stay where we were. He then talked about the two of them moving to our hotel. It took some cajoling, but I finally got him to agree to take us back to our hotel and leave us there, alone.

  It was late in the day by the time we left the station. Francesco insisted on going to get food for us so we wouldn’t have to leave the room again. Marcello waited with us for the short time Francesco was gone. When he finally returned, he not only had some sandwiches, he also had a bottle of local red wine and a selection of pastries.

  I couldn’t just kick them out but I was eager for them to go, so when they started making gestures that they should take off, I didn’t protest. They lingered for a few minutes more, but Anna made a loud comment about needing a shower, and they got up to leave.

  “Ciao, bella,” Marcello said kissing my cheek, “I will check in on you tomorrow.”

  “Ciao,” Francesco said to Anna, kissing her quickly on the lips.

  “See you tomorrow,” I said, trying to hide my edginess behind a plastic smile.

  “Keep the door locked. If you have any problem, call me,” Marcello directed firmly.

  “I will,” I promised, about to explode with impatience.

  He was very nice, and I liked him a lot, but the mere thought of Chase overshadowed Marcello to the point that he almost didn’t exist. However, he did keep popping up with his sweet smiles and chivalrous demeanor, making it impossible to eradicate him from my thoughts completely.

  “We’ll be careful. Don’t worry,” Anna added.

  “I will come by in the morning,” Marcello shot over his shoulder as they headed for the door.

  “That really isn’t necessary,” I protested, but he shushed me.

  “It is not a problem. I will bring you a cappuccino,” he insisted, flashing a charming smile that lit up his caramel-colored eyes.

  Anna coaxed them out the door and then locked it. I went and flopped down on the bed, exhausted. It had been an interesting afternoon.

  “What an interesting afternoon,” Anna echoed as if reading my thoughts. She cross
ed the room and poured us each a big glass of wine.

  “I’ve no idea what actually happened.” I chose a pastry and took the glass she handed me.

  “What do you think the van was all about?” Anna voiced the question I had been pondering for hours.

  “I think I know what they were trying to do, but I don’t know why,” I said.

  She looked at me expectantly.

  “There was a guy with a ski mask tied to the inside of the van with a rope. I think he was trying to kidnap us.” It sounded crazier out loud than it had in my head.

  “Kidnap us? Why didn’t you tell Marcello and Francesco that?” She sounded alarmed.

  “I didn’t want to make an international incident over it. Think about it. We would have been questioned more. They would have found out about Chase, and they would have wanted to question him. Who knows how long we would be in lockdown dealing with what has to be a random event. Trust me. Not telling them was the best choice.”

  I could tell from her face that she was still decidedly uneasy. “I don’t know. Maybe you are right and it wasn’t a big deal. Maybe it was some college kids playing a prank.” She visibly relaxed as she worked through different possibilities aloud.

  She took a big gulp of wine and I did the same.

  “What was up with that crazy maneuver anyway?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Leaping over the fence and knocking me over it as well. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad you did it, but what was that?”

  “I was just trying to get both of us out of the way of that van. I didn’t plan it or think about it. I just did it.”

  “Well, thanks.”

  “Where did Chase come from? You were looking in his direction. You must have seen him.”

  “One minute there was no one nearby and the next minute he was coming at us in a dead run. I wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He looked totally panicked, which freaked me out even more. I was about to shout at him to slow down, when you went all Cirque de Soleil on me. Then it was one big ball of insanity flying over that fence.”

  “It’s strange that he didn’t want to talk to the police,” I muttered.

  “Do you think he’ll show up again?”