Stewing
The aftertaste of King’s stew lingered in Ella’s mouth long after she’d finished shoveling down a few bites, which had been hours ago. She lay in the dark on a small, twin bed, listening to Rome’s heartbeat and trying to be thankful that they were together, despite the fact that she was hungry and uncomfortable.
“It could be worse,” he whispered, brushing her cheek with his fingertips. “You could be Mary.”
Ella giggled and moved slightly so that she was probably facing him. It was hard to say since there were no windows in the room, and the only light came from underneath the door. The sliver of light did little to illuminate anything in the room, but she could still see his eyes. “I don’t think she minds as much as she let on,” Ella pointed out, thinking of what Mary had said when Gus had volunteered to sleep on the couch outside of the door, and she’d said he could share the small bed with her… she guessed.
Rome chuckled and brushed her hair back from her face, kissing her on the forehead. “I think we should leave tomorrow, as soon as King is done transforming us.”
“I agree. Do you still think we should head to the same location we were going to before, or should we go somewhere else?”
He let out a sigh, which made her think he’d had more on his mind lately than she’d been privy to. “I sort of want to see what the lawyer has to say before we head too far away from a flight or two to LA.”
She had a feeling that’s what he was pondering. “You want to go back?”
“I mean… I’m thinking about it. Bart’s home now, and as far as he can tell, no one’s looking for him.”
“He told his dad, though, right?”
“Yes, and he moved into his parents’ house just to give himself that extra barrier of protection. He said that, as far as he can tell, everyone still thinks you’re dead.”
Ella hated that she hadn’t gotten a chance to call her aunts yet, but King had been very hesitant to even let Rome call Bart back. He didn’t want any “pinging in his location” was how he’d put it. He didn’t even want them to leave their cell phones on, but he’d given in as long as they didn’t make “a lot of phone calls.”
“Tomorrow, we can reassess the situation, but I’m not crazy about the sleeping arrangements here, and I’m not even sure if the lack of exits makes us safer or more like trapped rats.”
Ella had thought the same thing when King was showing them the limited amount of ways to get out. “Hopefully, no one knows where we are, and we can get out of here without being followed.”
“Hopefully,” Rome agreed, kissing her on the head again. Ella closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep, hoping they could both get some rest despite the uncomfortable circumstances. As much as she wanted to believe tomorrow would be a new day, one where no one was chasing her, she had a feeling her luck wouldn’t allow that to happen, and she’d need as much rest as she could get. Rome’s dad wouldn’t stop coming after them, not until he got what he wanted. If he already thought she was dead and he was still trying to track down his son, that meant he just wanted control over Rome. As long as that was Monty Verona’s prerogative, she and Rome could never be happy together or left in peace.
Ella had dozed off and was in the middle of an odd dream when a noise woke her. She couldn’t quite place it at first, but after she was awake and heard it again, she knew what it was.
“Gunfire?” she whispered to Rome, who was sitting up in bed beside her.
“Yeah.” He was moving, putting on his shirt and his shoes.
“Where’s it coming from?” Ella asked. It didn’t seem like it was inside of the house, but with all of the walls around the compound, it was difficult to believe they’d be able to hear something that was coming from outside.
“I don’t know. Stay here.” Rome went over to the door and unbolted the large silver locks he’d put in place hours ago when they’d first gone to bed.
Ella was putting her shoes on. She was already dressed. Before Rome could close the door, she was out into the common area behind him.
“I told you to stay inside.”
“I didn’t listen.” she said with a shrug. There was no way she was letting him go without her. If she had her say, she’d never leave his side again.
The computer monitors were on, and they immediately caught Ella’s attention. She saw two men with rifles out in the woods, walking stealthily between the trees. One of them paused and fired his gun. Even though she should’ve expected to hear it a split second later, the noise made her jump.
“Hunters?” Rome asked.
“What time is it?” Ella couldn’t believe hunters would be out that time of night.
“I don’t know, but those guys don’t look like the sort of guys my dad would pay. They’re scraggly and dressed in old clothes.”
“Disguises?”
“No, they’re not here for us.”
Gus’s voice behind her had Ella spinning. How had he snuck up on her?
He continued. “They’re here for King.”
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