A FLY BUZZED through the cool morning air, darting between the bars of the stable door to zigzag above Jess’s head. Slumped against the stone wall, sitting on a cold wooden bench, she watched the fly climb toward a spider’s web bejeweled with dew drops that dazzled in the slanting rays of sunrise.
One wrong zag, and the fly ensnared itself in the web, ejecting a spray of droplets. The spider appeared, darted forward and sank its fangs into its hapless prey. In a moment, the struggle was over, the spider wrapping its prize to eat later at its leisure. The fly never realized a predator lurked in its midst—not in such a beautiful, quiet space.
Metal scraped against metal. Ancient hinges groaned. The stable door opened and Giovanni’s grimacing face appeared. “I am very sorry, I must apologize—”
“I told you never to apologize.” Grabbing her crutches, Jess stood. “I would have done the same if I were you.”
Even so, relief washed through her. And it was the truth. If she'd been him, she might have done worse—if someone stole her child in the middle of these strange coincidences piling up. How would she react? Violently, if she had to guess.
Giovanni tried to offer her a hand. “Yes, but…”
Jess ignored him and swung forward on her crutches, letting the brown woolen blanket Nico had given her an hour before fall to the hay-strewn floor. Exiting the dark and damp into bright sunshine, Jess shivered. What a relief to get out of the overpowering stench of horse manure. Two nights in these clothes. She stank, her hair a matted and tangled mess.
His head hung low, Giovanni backed away. He took off ahead of her and jogged up the stairs to the main building. “This way. Your mother is waiting.”
“So you believe me now?” Jess followed and grabbed onto the stair’s railing to hop up. “What about the text messages? You didn’t send them to me?”
“No, I didn’t.” Giovanni stopped at the top of the stairs. “My phone was stolen. It must be Enzo.”
“And that must be how he found me.”
“How he found you?” Giovanni frowned.
“I texted you the address where I was staying,” Jess explained.
A part of her could see how Enzo might be angry. Jess would be angry too, if someone hid a deadly danger and lied about it. She’d want to lash out. Maybe that’s what this was. It made a certain sense. Jess hopped the last step onto the patio, straight into the arms of her waiting mother.
“Are you okay?” Celeste hugged her, pulling a woolen sweater around Jess’s shoulders. “This has all been a terrible misunderstanding. Enzo must have taken Hector, and—”
“I know.” Jess gently pushed her off, smelling strong soap and perfume. Her mother hadn’t quite gotten the same treatment she did. She smelled like she just got out of a shower, and that was just what Jess needed.
Behind Celeste, under an oak tree on the stone patio, was a picnic table laid out with a red-checked tablecloth, its surface filled with breads and cheeses. Her mouth watered. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was. Food before shower.
Giovanni followed her eyes. “Do you want to eat first? I’ll run you a hot bath in one of the guest rooms, and after that I have a little surprise.”
Jess swung forward three paces on her crutches, leaned onto the table and sat heavily. She stuffed a lump of cheese into her mouth. “Not sure I want any more surprises from you.”
She chewed. The cheese was incredible, a pungent burst spreading across her tongue. She stuffed another wad into her mouth and sighed. Glancing over the table, the valley below glowing green, the sky painfully blue, the lines and angles sharp and detailed. Everything felt sped up, all her senses amplified and sharpened. Every breath became more precious now that every breath was numbered.
Celeste came up behind Jess, put her hands on her daughter’s head. “Oh, I think you’ll like the surprise Giovanni has for you.”
“What kind of car is this again?” Jess asked.
“Maserati.” Giovanni coasted to a stop on the gravel road beneath the spreading branches of a thicket of juniper trees, their trunks knotted like muscles. Downshifting into neutral, the high performance engine whined high.
“Why don’t you show me what it can do?” She loved cars, and despite the ordeal of the night before, she’d struggled to contain her excitement when Giovanni turned on the lights in the downstairs garage and illuminated two rows of glittering machines. Even with the convertible’s top down, the interior oozed the scent of polished leather.
A dusty cloud enveloped the car as they crunched over the gravel to a stop at the intersection. Giovanni revved the engine, glancing left and right on the main road. “What do you want to see?”
The sun was hot on Jess’s skin. She couldn’t see Giovanni’s eyes through his dark sunglasses. “Fast, show me fast.”
Giovanni revved again, glanced left up the road and nodded. “Okay.”
Stomping on the accelerator, the car lurched out of the intersection, tearing up gravel, then rocketed off in a blue haze as it hit the pavement. Squeezed against her seat, Jess smiled, the wind ripping at her hair. A tiny thrill was just what she needed.
Giovanni still hadn’t revealed where they were going.