‘So who do you think he’s stalking—you or me?’ She laughed. ‘Look, somewhere like Italy, everyone goes the same places. There’s probably loads of people here who were in Rome and Florence.’
He was exaggerating, ignoring the fact that this was hardly one of the most obvious stops on the tour of Italy. And yet he was probably still right; in Thailand last year she and Susie had kept bumping into the same people as they’d traveled around the country, some of them in the most unlikely places.
She looked at the man again, annoyed that it was troubling her, finally making an effort to dismiss it altogether.
‘It’s nice here, isn’t it? More relaxed.’
‘Doesn’t seem as hot either. Maybe we should stay here a few days, take in one of the spas, chill out.’
‘Suits me,’ she said. ‘Venice can wait.’ She looked back across the street. It took her a moment or two to pick him out again and when she spotted him she noticed he was looking agitated, an edginess that rubbed off on her. He was looking up the street, and she looked in the same direction, unable to see anything, nobody standing out from the crowd.
She glanced back and jumped nervously. He was staring directly at her now, getting out of his seat. She began to panic, thoughts crashing into each other. A group of kids walked in front of her and by the time they’d passed he was halfway across the street and looking up it again.
He was reaching under his shirt for something as he walked and then it was there in his hand: a gun. This couldn’t be happening. This guy had been following them, she knew it, and now he was heading towards them with a gun. Her heart stalled and for a second she couldn’t speak. The words finally burst out.
‘Shit! Chris!’ She didn’t have time to say any more. She heard Chris respond but couldn’t make out what he’d said. The man was almost on top of her and then she heard the gunshots, deafening, followed by screams, shouts, panic.
He was standing in front of her, his back to her. He’d fired two shots, and a few yards away in the street two men had fallen. He looked around quickly, took two steps forward, aimed at the head of one of the men and fired again. Another shocked chorus from the crowd.
Ella heard Chris again, some garbled expletive, and the man was back with them, his face close, no longer edgy but calm and authoritative.
‘Come with me.’
Ella got to her feet but heard Chris saying, ‘No fucking way.’
‘Come with me or I’ll kill you right now.’ He was pointing the gun at him.
‘Do what he says, Chris.’
They were walking quickly now through the panicked street and it took her a while to notice that the gunman was leading her by the arm. They were all mute, a tight ball of silence moving swiftly away from the chaos behind them. She looked at Chris a couple of times but he wasn’t taking anything in, lost in the shock and confusion of the moment.
They’d just seen two people killed and now they were walking away with the killer, a man who’d threatened Chris too, and yet they were going quietly, unquestioning, putting up no resistance. They were all moving with a shared sense of urgency because somehow in the time-lapse nightmare of the last few minutes it had seemed like he was protecting them.
‘You get in the passenger seat. Ella, in the back. Lie down.’ They got into the car he’d led them to and Ella lay down as he drove away, the movement of the car adding an extra layer of disorientation to the mix. She could hear sirens now, and this man knew her name.
‘What the fuck is going on?’ It was Chris, his voice too loud, burning off the adrenaline. ‘And who the fuck are you? And what . . . Just . . . What’s going on? Fuck!’
At first it seemed like he wouldn’t answer but after a brief pause he spoke, his voice still calm and low, sounding subdued after Chris’s shock-fueled rant.
‘Probably an attempted kidnap. I’m Lucas. Mark Hatto asked me to watch Ella in case of something like this.’
‘So I did see you in Rome and Florence.’
‘You can get up now.’ She sat up. They were away from the town and it was darker.
‘Where are we going?’
‘Florence for tonight. I’ll call your dad from there.’
Chris turned in his seat and looked at her, his features shadowy and indistinct. ‘Why would someone wanna kidnap you?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘And a bodyguard?’ His tone was accusatory. ‘I mean, what the hell is that all about?’
‘I don’t know, Chris! I don’t fucking know, okay?’
‘Okay! Jesus!’ He turned forward again but after a few seconds he said to Lucas, ‘What about you? Care to enlighten us?’
‘They’re rich.’ It sounded like he’d go on to say something else but he didn’t and in waiting for him to finish they fell into silence by default.