Jason drove the sedan doggedly through the
autobahn. Finally receiving
confirmation that night that a partial match had been found on the plates. Also there had been some leak from Rosco’s
camp that made the address seemingly correct. He looked over at Elizabeth who
sat tensely in the passenger seat. “You
still shouldn’t have come,” Jason warned.
Elizabeth’s greyish blue eyes met his. “You know that I had to.”
Jason shook his head. He’d tried to explain that this was one of those dangerous
situations that she couldn’t come along on, but she was stubborn.
“Look Jason, I know you don’t like this, and you
don’t have to like it. But Jaime’s my
friend and you’re definitely not going to keep me from coming along. So you can stop the silent treatment,” Elizabeth
lectured.
Jason raised his eyebrows. “Silent treatment? I wasn’t giving you the silent treatment.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and shook her
head. “Yes you were. You don’t like the fact that I’m going…”
Jason interrupted her. “I don’t like the fact that you’re going, but you’re here
anyways and what would be the point in giving you the silent treatment?” he
finished.
“You’d better keep your eyes on the road.”
Elizabeth stated.
“I would if you wouldn’t keep talking,” Jason
teased.
Elizabeth looked at him uncertainly. She smiled and shook her head. “Fine.
But you used to like me talking.”
Jason smiled.
“And I still do.”
~~~
Jaime got up that morning feeling anxious. Something was different.
Jaime had
heard people talking downstairs. She
tried to ignore it, but it didn’t work.
All of the sudden, the voices ceased.
Jaime heard a slam of the main door and all was quiet. As she crept down the stairs she peered over
the banister. The usual guards that
stood in the hallways seemed to have disappeared.
“Hello?” she
called. Silence.
Jaime peered
into the living room and found it empty.
As Jaime continued her inspection of the house, she found the entire
place deserted. Had something happened? Then it dawned upon Jaime, I’m free!
Her heart
raced. How was
she going to get out? Where was she?
Jaime picked
up the phone to see if it worked. As
the dial tone hummed she jumped for joy.
“Yes!” Jaime proceeded to phone
Donnie.
“Hello?” the
older man answered. He seemed to sound
a little ragged. ‘How he must have worried!’ thought Jaime.
“Donnie?” she
exclaimed.
“Jaime?” he
cried.
Jaime felt
herself begin to cry, “Yes. Donnie,
it’s Jaime! I’ve missed you so much!”
“Bella! Are you okay? We thought you were kidnapped!
Why haven’t you phoned?” he demanded.
“I was
kidnapped, but it’s weird, they’re gone?” Jaime laughed.
It felt good
to laugh. It felt good to hear Donnie’s
voice.
“What do you
mean they’re gone?”
“They’re just
gone! I’ll explain later. Is Jason
there? Or maybe Elizabeth?”
“No. They’re in Rome. Where are you?” he asked worried.
“I don’t
know. I think I’m still in Rome, but
I’m not sure. Could you *69 this call
and find out from the phone company where I am? I can’t think of anything else…”
Jaime was distracted because of a creak of a door.
“Jaime?”
Donnie called.
“Just a
second. I think someone’s here,” Jaime
whispered.
“Jaime, get
out of there!” he cried.
“Just let me
check who…” her voice trailed off.
Jaime put down
the phone. Jaime wandered into the
foyer. The main door was opened but she
couldn’t see anyone. She crept up the
stairs and checked the first room.
Empty. Jaime quietly opened the
door of her former bedroom. Empty
again. She walked over to the second to
last bedroom when she heard a rustling in the room. Jaime looked around for a weapon of some sort. There wasn’t any. She could hear the whisper of voices.
“I don’t see
anyone here! Are you sure she’s here?”
a woman’s voice whispered.
“I’m
sure. My contacts told me that Rosco
was held up here,” a man replied.
Jaime took a
deep breath and pushed the door open as she leaned against the wall. Jaime called out, “Who’s there?”
There was
silence. Jaime could hear footsteps
moving towards the door. As she saw the
point of the gun, Jaime waited for the hand to appear and Jaime grabbed the
man’s wrist and struggled to wrestle it from his grip. The man grabbed her around the waist and
turned her body so that she faced him.
“Jason!” she
exclaimed.
“Jaime!” he stated.
Jaime wrapped
her arms around Jason’s neck and never wanted to let go. As she finally decided to release him, Jaime
spoke. “How did you find me?”
“I had a
couple of leads,” Jason stated.
Out of the
corner of Jaime’s eye she saw Elizabeth.
“Elizabeth! Oh, it’s sooo good
to see you!”
Jaime walked
past Jason to embrace the relieved Elizabeth.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m all right
now that you guys have found me,” she sighed.
Jaime knew she had this huge grin on her face.
“Where are Rosco
and his men?” Jason asked, looking around.
“I don’t
know!” Jaime exclaimed. “I was in my
room and I heard some voices and a door and then nothing. I came down the stairs and looked for the
guards and Rosco and they were all gone. I’m telling you, it was weird.”
Elizabeth
grasped Jaime’s hand. “Well, it’s over
now. Let’s go home. Donnie has been worried sick about you. He’s been calling Jason at least twice a day
for information about our search.”
Jaime gasped,
“Donnie!” She ran down the stairs and
into the living room. “Donnie? Are you still there?”
“Jaime? What happened? Was there someone there?” he asked worriedly.
“Yes, I mean
no. I mean, Jason and Elizabeth found
me,” she stuttered.
“They
did? Thank God! Come home safe now you hear signorina?” he
commanded.
“Yes. I’ll come home as soon as possible.”
~ * ~
As the plane
landed in Venice, Jaime couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to
Rosco. I hope he’s not hurt.
Jaime shook
her head. What was she thinking?
“Jason,” she called
over the aisle, “Do you know what day it is?”
It had been so long since she had bothered to look at a calendar.
“It’s the 18th
of March,” he replied softly as Elizabeth’s sleeping head rested on his
shoulder.
“So how long
have I been gone?”
“11 days,” he
stated.
“Wow.” Jaime never expected time to fly by so
fast. It seemed to go by too slowly at
the house.
“Are you sure
you’re okay? You haven’t talked about
what happened there.”
“I don’t know,
“ Jaime whispered. “I just can’t think
about it right now. I just want to
forget you know?”
Jason smiled
and nodded. “Yeah... just promise to
let me know when you want to remember.”
Jaime nodded.
~ * ~
She’d been
back in Venice for several days now.
Jaime felt everything seemed to go on exactly as it did when she had
been here. They seemed worried when she
wouldn’t eat, leaving trays of food untouched during the days and
evenings. She would pick at them, but
never eat an entire meal. Everyone
seemed to dote on her and want her to talk about it. Jaime didn’t even want to think about it. Everything seemed surreal. Sometimes Jaime wondered if it ever really
happened.
Jaime wandered
out from the living room into the garden out back. She sat at the garden table under the cherry blossom tree. Everything was too normal. Nothing had changed except her. Jaime felt out of synch with each and every
person in the house. Even Jason and
Elizabeth seemed to have changed. They
seemed to spend a lot more time together.
Each invited her to join them on their hikes or jaunts to the city, but
she always declined. After declining
Jason and Elizabeth offered to stay, but Jaime shooed them away. Jaime just couldn’t manage it all.
Her memories
seemed to flash before her in the garden.
Jaime remembered waking up in that dank basement, Rosco’s menacing face
squeezing her throat. She shivered at
the memory of Ben’s body on hers. How
could she feel normal again?
Unexpectedly
her thoughts turned to the kiss. There was so much horror in that experience,
yet something so unexpected. How was she supposed to deal with
that kiss? Apparently it had been
nothing. Rosco had gone. Part of her praying that it was for good,
but a tiny part of her wished she might speak to him again. Maybe ask him why he kissed her.
Jaime felt a
hand on her shoulder, which made her jump.
She found Donnie standing behind her, looking on in concern. “Signorina, what can I do for you?” Donnie
asked, his eyes pleading for some way to help.
“Nothing
Donnie. Nothing. I seem to have lived
this horror by myself and now I have to heal by myself,” Jaime sighed, looking
beyond the distance of trees.
“Not by yourself daughter.”
The voice that
spoke chilled her blood. Jaime felt her
body tense and everything in her just wanted to run away. “Father,” Jaime spoke without turning around
to acknowledge his presence.
“Jaime,” Lee
stated, almost seeming to choke on the name.
“Are you okay?”
Jaime felt
Donnie leave her side and another un-welcomed presence take its place. She stood rigid, not ready to face her
father yet.
“I’m fine, as
you can see.”
Jaime took a
few steps forward and turned around, facing her father. “I think you can leave now,” Jaime said
sternly.
The softness
that appeared on her father’s face, hardened into creases. “I need to know where Rosco is.”
Jaime
swallowed hard. “I don’t know.”
Her father
took a step forward and reached out to grab Jaime’s shoulders. “You need to think. I need to find him. We have unfinished business.”
Jaime clenched
her teeth and pulled out of her father’s grasp. “I said I don’t know,” Jaime repeated.
She didn’t
know why, but Jaime felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “I don’t know and I don’t care!” she yelled,
but somewhat in control.
“Jaime, you
know this cannot be left alone,” Lee hissed.
“He must pay.”
It was all
that Jaime could do, not to scream and pound on her father’s expensively
dressed chest. “Oh YES! He must pay. You monster! YOU are the reason I was kidnapped. YOU!” Jaime screamed.
Jaime swirled
around and threw her hands up in the air.
“You don’t get it!
Do you?”
Her father
stood silently, as if letting a five year old have her temper tantrum. Jaime stood bewildered. “It doesn’t even faze you. Does it?
DOES IT?”
Lee
swallowed. “I was worried about you
Jaime. Of course I was. Everyone in the family was. And we will make the person who put you
through it, pay.”
Jaime shook
her head in amazement. The control, the
malice – all was hidden under a $1000 suit.
“You make me sick. Don’t come
here again. And don’t kill him in my
name. I washed my hands of you so many
years ago and I can see it was the best decision of my life. In some way, I thought there might still be hope for you. I thought to myself, ‘he couldn’t be so focused on himself and
the hurt it caused him.’ I though you did love me and that when you walked through that door,
even though it made me cringe, that it meant somewhere deep inside, you cared.”
Lee nodded his
head. “And it does. The family cares.”
Jaime
chuckled. “The family cares all
right. Cares that someone dared to dishonour one of their own. The
family cares that it has been humiliated. The family cares for all of those
reasons. And NOTHING else!”
She’d had
enough. Jaime felt a little
light-headed and breathless, leaning a moment on a nearby tree. She swallowed, trying to catch her breath. Jaime felt her father’s hand take hers in
his. She waved him off
dismissively. “Don’t.”
“Jaime, are
you all right?” a familiar voice called.
Jaime looked
up and saw Jason and Elizabeth rushing to her side. “I’m all right,” she smiled.
Taking a deep
breath Jaime stood up and began walking towards the house. Again light-headedness passed over her and
Jaime looked over to a concerned Jason before passing out.