Page 119 of When She Tempts (The Fallen)
“Allegra and Tommaso are dead. Polo killed them. He managed to get in touch with Sal. He’s going to bring me to him. He attacked me in the kitchen—”
“Martina.”
His sharp tone cuts through the blood rushing inside my ears. “Yes?”
“Are you hurt?”
My heart pounds. “I’m okay. A bit bruised.”
“Where is Polo right now?”
“In the staff house. Sophia and I got away from him, but I don’t know for how long.”
“Mari, listen to me. You need to get off the property. Run to the garage and take one of my cars. The keys are hanging on the wall. Drive to the airfield where we landed, and I’ll work on getting you out by plane.”
“Okay, okay.” I whip my gaze around. “Sophia!”
“Mari, you don’t have time—”
“She saved my life. I’m not leaving her. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have been able to get away from Polo,” I tell him as I run to the garage. My ears are peeled for sounds of footsteps, but there’s nothing. I see the keys, grab the first ones I find, and press on the button.
A car beeps.
“That’s the red Mercedes,” Giorgio tells me. “Go, Mari.”
My sneakers pound against the ground. I open the car, get Sophia into the back seat, and slide into the front. “Okay, I’m in.”
“You’re doing great,” he says, not a hint of panic in his voice. “There’s a remote clipped above you that will open the gate.”
Pulling out of the garage, I scan the courtyard, but Polo is nowhere to be found. I jam my finger on the remote as I approach the gate, and it swings open at a glacial pace.
“Come on, come on, come on.”
“What’s happening?”
“The gate is slow.”
“It’ll be just a second. There’s a camera right there. I can see you, Mari.”
I take a deep breath. It’s just a camera, but it gives me a bit of comfort knowing that he’s watching over me.
Finally, the opening is big enough for the car to squeeze through, and I slam on the gas.
“Drive fast but be careful,” he says. “Take a left when you reach the main road.”
“Then what?”
“You’ll see signs for the airfield. The exit is labeled clearly, you won’t miss it.”
I wish I’d seen it when we arrived here, but it was too dark. I keep my eyes peeled as I take the turn.
“I’m already in contact with your brother,” Giorgio says. “The plane was in the air on its way to pick up De Rossi, but he’s rerouted it to go to you instead. It will be landing at the airstrip in half an hour. It’ll take you fifteen minutes to get there. Park as close as you can andstay in the car. If you see anyone approaching, you’ll have to move.”
“Okay, I got it.” My clammy hands strangle the wheel as I race down the country road. The adrenaline pumping through me is like a mind-enhancing drug, and my vision tunnels on the strip of asphalt ahead. I’ve never driven as well or as fast as I am now. “I got it, Gio. I got it,” I repeat as much to him as to myself.
“That’s my girl. I’ll stay on the line with you until you’re on that plane, all right?”
Sophia whines from the seat behind me.
