Chapter 6: Don't Stop the Train!

The train station wasn’t too crowded, which should’ve made Ella feel more comfortable because it meant it would be easier to see any of Verona’s thugs coming after them. It would also mean that there were less places to hide, though. It would be harder for them to try to blend into a crowd.

“What about the car?” Mary asked as they got their luggage out of the back. “Whose car is it?”

“It belongs to the hotel,” Gus explained. “I will call Gia and let her know where it is. There are more keys. I will lock this set inside.”

“God, I can’t believe you’re coming with us,” Mary said, putting her hand on their new friend’s arm.

“Me neither. I must be crazy! I don’t even have a change of underwear.”

“But you do have your passport?” Ella asked, slinging her lightest bag over her shoulder.

“I do. I never leave home without it. You never know when you might need it.”

“Do we have everything?” Rome asked, taking the heavy bags. Ella was so glad to have him there to handle her oversized rolling bag.

“I think so,” she said. Mary agreed, so Gus put the keys in the glove box and locked the doors. As they all swung closed, Ella hoped they hadn’t just made a huge mistake. If Rome’s dad or his men were there, they’d be in trouble.

The four of them hurried to the ticket counter and bought what they needed to make it to their next stop. A train was leaving in twenty minutes, which should work out well for them. The less time they spent standing around the train station where they could be spotted, the better. They checked all of their luggage so that it could be loaded on for them, except for Mary’s purse and Ella’s handbag. Then, they decided to split up. They wouldn’t be sitting together on the train either, so if the Verona henchmen showed up, some of them might have a chance of getting away. The only other person in the world who might be checking on them was Bart, so if something happened to all of them, it would be very difficult to get help in a timely fashion.

“I feel like I shouldn’t stand so close to you,” Ella said to Rome as they waited on the platform, far away from Mary and Gus who were chatting each other up far down the line.

“I know, but it’s awfully hard to stay away from you.” He winked, and she felt herself melting inside.

“I’m so happy to be back together with you, but I don’t feel like I can relax at all.” She continuously scanned the station, including the parts of the parking lot she could see from where she was situated.

“And it’s never gonna stop,” Rome noted, sort of under his breath. She wasn’t even sure he was talking to her.

“What do you mean?” Ella asked, glancing back at him but not for long until she was forced to look away again so she could continue to scan the crowd.

“I mean… we’ll always have to be looking over our shoulders. Until he’s dead.”

She didn’t like to think of it that way but supposed he was right. They’d talked about that fact already, and they were getting a huge taste of what it was like not to be able to relax. Ella didn’t like it, but their choices were limited.

The train pulled into the station a few minutes early, which was great, except it made Ella extremely nervous that she could no longer see what was happening around them with the train in the way.

“Let’s go,” Rome said, taking her hand.

An uneasiness settled around her, like something was wrong. She took his hand, but she wouldn’t feel comfortable until the train pulled away, and even then, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to relax.

They got on, had their tickets punched, and looked for their seats, all the while checking their surroundings. The train itself seemed fine, but then Ella looked out the window.

The sedan they’d seen following them earlier pulled into a spot in the parking lot. Two large men in suits got out. “Rome--look!” she said.

“Shit! We’ve got to make sure they don’t see us.”

“But we can’t take our eyes off of them either!” she reminded him.

They didn’t seem to be in a huge hurry, so Ella hoped that meant that they didn’t suspect they were already on the train. The two thugs sauntered over to the ticket booth and pulled out a picture. The man behind the counter started shrugging, like he had no idea what they were talking about. Then, one of the men slid something across the counter. Ella couldn’t see what it was, but she thought it might have been money.

The man behind the counter suddenly started singing a different tune. Had the ticket salesman actually recognized Rome in his disguise?

Now, it was Ella’s turn to curse. “Shit,” she muttered.

The train started slowly rolling forward. “Are we leaving?” Rome asked, looking around for the attendants.

One was coming their way. “Have a seat please. The train is leaving,” she said in Italian.

Ella sat down closest to the window and turned her face away from it so Rome could look through her long red hair. “They’re buying tickets and trying to get the train to stop,” he said.

The train didn’t seem to be slowing. “Now what?”

“One is running, signaling for the train to stop, pushing people aside.” He leaned over her and looked back, and Ella couldn’t help but turn her head and look, too.

She saw two men running after the train as it continued to head out of the station. “Please, don’t stop,” she said. “Please, please, please don’t stop.”

The train didn’t seem to be stopping, but it also didn’t seem to be gaining speed either. Could It be the engineer was getting ready to apply the brake and wait for the two men to catch up? Ella had to pray they wouldn’t stop, but until the train picked up speed, she wouldn’t be able to breathe.