Run To Rome

Simone was all business as they entered the kitchen. Trent and Halli followed her instructions to help Rachel sit on the blanket-covered kitchen table and stretch her legs out. He made very brief first name introductions then hurried outside to move the car to the side of the house. Not completely out of sight, but out of the way for now.

When he made his way back inside, Simone had just finished cutting away Rachel’s red-stained pant leg. Halli held her sister’s hand. If she thought he’d bled a lot last night, how was she handling this?

He studied her face, but she seemed to be holding up okay.

Simone kept up a running commentary as she worked. “Bullet went straight though. That is good. And it is not near the femoral artery—also good.” She glanced up from the wound toward Rachel. “Or you would be dead right now.”

Trent winced. Halli drew in a sharp breath. If possible, Rachel paled even more as she leaned back against the kitchen wall.

“How long ago did this happen?” Simone asked.

Trent looked to his wrist, only to remember he’d removed his watch for his shower last night and it was still sitting on his bathroom counter at the villa. So he guessed. “About a half hour.”

“Maybe forty-five minutes,” Halli added.

“Good job stopping the bleeding.” Simone worked quickly to clean and bandage the wound.

Silent tears trickled down Rachel’s face, and more than once Trent noticed Halli switch hands and flex her freed fingers. Finally, Simone handed a couple of pills to Rachel with a glass of water and a professional, reassuring smile.

“This will dull the pain. You will recover, with antibiotics to prevent infection and much rest. This bandage is temporary, until I return from the ospedale with adequate supplies.”

Trent tensed at the Italian word for hospital. “Simone—”

“I know.” She rubbed Rachel’s arm, then walked over to deposit the empty glass on the counter next to Trent. “Discretion is of upmost importance, si?”

“Si. Lives depend on it.”

“So be it.” She picked up a set of keys from the counter and glanced at Halli on her way to the back door. “We are close in size. Choose some clean clothes from my room and use the bathroom down the hall to clean up, if you wish. Rachel, wait for my return. I will hurry, but do not expect me sooner than at least one hour.”

“Grazie.”

Trent’s thank you was lost under Halli’s, “Trent was shot, too. Last night.”

She might as well have shined a spotlight on him.

Rachel’s eyes widened. “You were?”

He threw Halli a dark look as Simone pinned him with a frown. “Why do you not tell me this?”

“It’s just a scratch and Halli already patched me up.”

“It’s more than a scratch,” Halli contradicted. “If Rachel needs antibiotics, it stands to reason you do, too. Especially after being dunked in the lake water.”

“Show me this scratch.”

Simone’s tone brooked no argument so he reluctantly unbuttoned his shirt to shrug free of the sleeve. He’d gotten used to the constant ache, but with nothing else to claim his attention, the sharp twinge that accompanied the flex of his bicep made him grimace.

Simone unwound the Ace bandage, and clucked in disapproval. “Si. Antibiotics, idiota.” Her gaze shifted. “And what is all this?”

Trent didn’t have to look down to know she meant the large black and blue blotch about the size of a boot print in the middle of his chest. More bruises colored his left side where his ribs had taken his full weight when he slipped on the side of the boat. He slid his arm back in his sleeve and pulled the shirt edges closed. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

She rolled her eyes and departed without another word.

After the click of the door, Trent buttoned his shirt and prepared to meet Halli’s I-told-you-so expression. But she’d already moved on. “You should try the phone again.”

His second call to her brother’s phone went straight to voicemail. Either the battery had died, or it’d been turned off. If it was the latter, someone had listened to his message. He didn’t want to speculate why they hadn’t called back, but hoped they heeded his warning.

The worry on Rachel’s face read like an open book, while Halli’s was more subtle. What struck him was an inner strength he saw today that hadn’t been there yesterday. Amazing considering her obsessive compulsion for order and control in this situation where chaos reigned.