Ash tapped the steering wheel and I couldn’t help staring at his hands. Everything about the man was beautiful. At least those thugs hadn’t hit him in the face. I wondered about that.
I tried to force myself to stare out of the window into the empty night, but my gaze kept being drawn back to Ash. His eyes were narrowed in concentration and pain, and a muscle jumped in his cheek.
It occurred to me that staring like that was probably making him uncomfortable. I tried to think of a way to break the tension, but it was Ash who spoke first.
“Do you mind if I turn on the radio?”
“Sure! What sort of music do you like?”
“I like most music,” he said, some of the tension loosening in his body. “Anything I can dance to.”
“Oh, of course,” I murmured.
Ash glanced at me for a second before he turned the radio on, passing over several Country music stations until he found a late night rock station.
“From ‘Copacabana’ to ‘Hotel California’?”
Ash shrugged, and a tiny hint of the beautiful smile that lit up the stage tugged at his lips. “I guess. I listened to a lot of American music growing up.”
I was relieved by the relative normalcy of the conversation after the horrors of the past hour.
“Where are you from?”
“Slovenia.”
He glanced at me to see if I’d heard of his country. I was mortified that it didn’t even sound familiar, but I guess he was used to that because when he saw me looking confused, he continued.
“Part of the old Yugoslavia. We gained our independence in 1991.”
“Sounds like you’ve had to say that a few times.”
He nodded. “Yeah, a few.”
“Wow, somewhere younger than America,” I teased.
“The Carmine Rotunda church was built in the eleven hundreds,” Ash countered, raising his eyebrows.
“Oh,” I said, feeling ignorant.
Ash shrugged.
“We’re a small country. Only two million people.”
There was an uncomfortable pause while we each thought what to say next. Inevitably we started speaking at the same time.
“Oh, you first,” I said awkwardly.
Ash’s eyes flickered to me and he licked his lips, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
“There’s a girl . . .”
Of course there is, I thought sadly. “Okay?”
“She’s in trouble,” Ash said quickly, as if the faster he spoke, the easier it would be.
I frowned, not sure what to make of his words. “Pregnant?”
Ash seemed puzzled. “I don’t think so. It’s possible, I don’t know, but she’s in trouble. She’s being used to . . . sleep with men, you know?”
“She’s a . . . prostitute?”
“No. Yes, but she doesn’t want to be. She’s a dancer, like me. I met her the day I arrived here and only once more until last night. They’re holding her at a place out of the city. I don’t know where exactly.”
His voice was frustrated, becoming desperate, almost pleading with me.
“It’s a farm, I think. She said they had guns, that they were watching her. I have a car now—maybe we could find her?”
So many emotions tumbled through me. I felt horrible for being jealous when I thought that Ash had a girlfriend; then shocked by what he said had happened to the poor girl; then horrified that Ash could think we should take on the Russian mafia who had guns.
It was all such a nightmare. More than ever, I wanted to call Dad. I needed to hear his calm advice when I was so scared and my nerves jangled. I needed his clear-headed judgment. I surreptitiously checked my phone while I replied.
“Um, Ash, that doesn’t sound like a great idea. I mean, you said they have guns and they’re watching her. I’ve seen one gun already this evening, and I’m still shaking. I’m not sure what we could do. But she’s being held against her will, so we should definitely tell the police.” Dammit! No signal. “What’s her name?”
Ash shook his head helplessly.
“Marta. I don’t know the rest! I don’t know anything! I promised I’d help her!”
And he slammed his hand on the steering wheel making me jump, so I dropped my phone into the car’s footwell.
Ash glanced at me again before fixing his eyes back on the road.
“I’m sorry. I just . . . can . . . will your father . . . can he help her?”
I touched his arm gently.
“When you meet him, tell him everything. He’ll help you. That’s my promise.”
Ash frowned and nodded jerkily.
The road unfolded black and velvety in the night. The stars were bright pinpoints of light far away, so very far away. The car’s headlights were consumed by the night and it felt as if we were alone in the universe.
There was a long silence before either of us spoke again.
“Thank you,” said Ash.
When I woke up, it wasn’t a slow, groggy coming to the surface of a misty dream, but a sudden, sharp intake of breath, feeling like my body was on fire. The sudden swell of pain startled me instantly and fully awake.