Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Why had she run? The question was there even as he gained ground on her. He heard the van slam into the parking lot behind them.
But he heard another sound. Sirens. Theo had called the police, and that meant Levi would either have to show his hand or slink away.
Or he could try to talk them into handing over the American who didn’t have real papers.
He couldn’t stop. He kept running, even as he made the turn that would take him to the fort. It was a steep grade to run up, but he simply kept following her. He couldn’t let her get away because if he did, he might never see her again.
His lungs ached as he kept up the pace. He ignored the glances of the tourists trying to make their way down to the ground. He lost sight of her as she made another turn and then he was at the top. The battlement.
“To your left,” Theo shouted over the rain.
Kim was moving onto a narrow path that led up to a gate.
He managed to catch her as the gate came open.
Her eyes went wide as he pulled her back.
“He’s still coming,” he shouted to her.
She tried to pull away from. “Let me go, Beck. I’ll be safe inside. They can’t come inside.”
She thought Levi would let her hide away?
The gate ahead of them had come open, and an elderly man in shorts and a Hawaiian shirt stood there, his eyes narrowed and what was left of his hair plastered to his forehead. “Kimberly?”
“Stay back, uncle.” She turned to Beck. “Please let me go.”
He hated that she was begging him the way she’d begged Levi. He wasn’t the bad guy here. He tugged her under the cover of the trees that lined the path to the private part of the fort. “He’s on his way. He’s not going to let you go.”
“I’ll be safe inside.”
Theo stepped in. “He’s talking to the cops. I think he’s trying to make a case for them arresting her and letting the government sort things out.”
She shook her head. “No. They can’t come in here. Past that gate isn’t their jurisdiction.”
“We’re not completely sovereign,” her uncle yelled over the storm. “It might take some time, but they will get in. I can stall them, but I have no way to get you all out of here.”
Maybe he was dealing with the wrong person. He turned to her uncle, certain the rest of his crew wouldn’t let Kim get away. “I do. I have a chopper coming. I can get her out and we’ll be off the island by tonight. I have a jet waiting.”
He shook his head. “No jet. They’ll go to the airport first. Tell me where you’re heading and I’ll send a boat to pick you up and take you to Sicily. From there you can fly. I’m not without my own resources. Kim, it’s time.”
She closed her eyes and when she opened them there was a deep desperation there. “Levi knows. I have to get Roman out of here, uncle.”
Who the fuck was Roman? What did Levi know that he didn’t?
“Hey, Levi’s coming up the hill and he’s got the cops with him,” Tucker shouted. “Owen’s almost here.”
Her uncle stepped back and allowed them in.
Kim took off again even as he heard the thud of the chopper. It would be coming from the south, hooking around to approach by sea.
He started to walk in. It looked like he would have to drag her away from whoever this Roman person was. He couldn’t assure the safety of some random man. Maybe it was a dog. He would be the bad guy if he made her leave her dog behind.
Her uncle stopped him, and for a moment he worried it was all a trick to keep them on the outside.
“You will take care of them, Mr. Kent?” Francis Bruno asked.
Shit. He was going to have to take them all. “Yes.”
The brother nodded and allowed them all to enter. “You must hurry. Despite what many believe, Maltese law is in force here. I can keep the police at bay for an hour at most, but they will and can come in.”
“I’ll have her out of here in five minutes,” he promised. “We’ll be in Sicily tonight.”
“Ezra will know where to go,” he said.
“What?” Did her uncle think he still went by Ezra’s name? He’d never met the man, but he was sure Kim had talked about him.
Theo pressed through before he could ask another question. “He needs to get that gate closed. We need to go.”
Tucker shook his head. “Rob and I are going to stay. We’ll see what he has to say. They won’t find anything on us. If we get taken in, Tag’ll send someone to get us out.”
Theo pulled his gun and pressed it into Rob’s hand. “He’s right. We’ll deal with the authorities. You get her out of here. Call Ian when you get wherever you’re going.”