Chapter 14
Emma lay still on her side and feigned sleep when Nikos kissed her softly before rolling out of bed to start his day. She didn’t stir until she heard the door close and watched the clock tick off ten more minutes. Quickly, she showered and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. She pulled the note from her pack and left it on the kitchen counter. Forcing her feet to move and brain not to think, she walked out of the townhouse and headed for the bus station.
An hour later, she stared up at the train schedule and tried to decide where to go. She wanted to get across the border and get lost in a decent sized city until she could procure new documents. It was too dangerous to do it here in Athens. Right now, she just needed distance.
It would take over 24 hours to get to Budapest, but she had the option of ducking off the train in Belgrade. Either of the cities would suit her needs. She hated that she only had one passport to use, but for the moment, it would have to do. Fortunately, it was one of her false ID’s so at least she wouldn’t be leaving a trail using her real name.
She joined the que for tickets. There was only one window open and progress moved at a snail’s pace. To pass the time, Emma let her gaze wander over the crowd. She almost didn’t see him, but there was something about that mess of dirty blond hair that caught her eye. She vividly remembered him slouching against a light pole on the street. Quickly, she moved her eyes past him, but kept him in her peripheral vision.
Who the Hell is he, she thought wildly. Definitely not one of DeLaney’s thugs. Emma chewed her lip and forced her grip to relax before she tore into the fabric of her bag. She took a step forward as the next passenger moved to the window. The urge to bolt coursed through her, but the key to anonymity was blending in. If she ran through the station like a mad woman, she might as well scream at the top of her lungs, “Look at me! Remember me!”
So she stood, slowly shuffling forward in the line. Emma was immediately aware when he moved from his position in the corner. She had been keeping tabs on him from the corner of her eye. She only had three more people in front of her. Stoically, she faced forward and glancing around with a bored expression trying to monitor his movements. She lost him in a crowd of people and after a moment or two of surreptitious observations, she began to frankly scan the crowd looking for him.
“Looking for me,” a voice said from just behind her left shoulder. Emma swallowed a scream but couldn’t contain the jerk of surprise. She whirled around, ready to lower her shoulder and push past him.
He stood a pace behind her with his thumbs lazily hooked into the pockets of his jeans. His blue eyes were sharply scrutinizing her, but held no threat. If she had met him on the street a year ago, she would have put on a flirty smile and been flattered by his attention. Now, she just wanted him to disappear.
“I can’t say that I was,” Emma answered in a dismissive tone before turning back to take another step forward in the queue. She pretended to be analyzing the train schedule, but could sense him right behind her.
“Where are you heading, Emma Wilcox?”
Her mouth went dry as her stomach plummeted and twisted. Sweat broke out across her forehead and upper lip. She pulled in a deep breath and focused on not throwing up. How does he know? What does he know? Emma took another deep breath and swiped a hand over her face. She schooled her features into a look of quizzical confusion and turned again to face the blue eyed stranger. “Who? I’m afraid you’ve got me confused with someone else.” Once again, she turned forward and willed the man to go away.
“Well, that’s too bad. Ruth and David sure would like to know that their daughter is alright.” His easy Midwestern speech gave Emma a pang of homesickness. She had spent the last year studiously not thinking about her parents. They would be in danger if they knew she was alive or her whereabouts.
The man in front of her stepped up to the ticket window. Emma stepped forward. The blond man was still standing behind her. The moment spun on, and it was obvious he wasn’t going to go away. The man at the ticket window stepped away with his freshly purchased ticket. The agent beckoned her forward with an irritated jerk of his hand.
“Ticket to where, please,” the agent asked in English after his query in Greek had gotten no response.
Emma licked her lips and tried to slow her breathing down. The man was still standing just behind her shoulder. “DeLaney knows you’re here. Are you going to run away after you’ve left a trail of breadcrumbs straight to your boyfriend and his daughter?”
Ice filled Emma’s veins at the thought of DeLaney’s goons even looking at Abby. “Ma’am? Ticket to where, please,” the agent asked again impatiently. When Emma continued to stand mute, he said, “If you are not going to purchase a ticket, I must ask you to stand aside.” Switching to Greek he addressed the next customer who stepped around Emma. She felt the man’s hand close gently on her elbow and pulled her to the side. Reflexively she jerked her elbow out of his grasp and her mind snapped out of its paralysis.
Emma narrowed her eyes and stepped close to the man so they were face to face. He had several inches on her but she glared up at him with every ounce of the fury surging through her. She wouldn’t let DeLaney hurt Nikos or Abby. If what this man said was true, then the time for running was gone. She was only a little surprised at the sense of relief of knowing that it was all going to finally end.
“You tell that twisted fuck of an uncle of mine that if he dares to even breathe in the direction of Nikos or Abby, he will regret it. I saw it all. The drugs, the body, the money. I will take him down,” Emma ground out the words between clenched teeth.
She had always remained adamant that she had seen nothing. Through all the beatings, threats, and pain, she never slipped. It was the only thing that had kept her alive. As long as her Uncle Malachi thought she was ignorant of what had happened in the garage and just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, he wouldn’t have his only niece killed. Tortured to discover what she knew and terrorized into silence, yes, but not killed. Uncle Malachi had a soft spot for his sister and her daughter.
Emma held blond man’s gaze and when he opened his mouth to respond, she brought her knee up swiftly between his legs. She didn’t land a solid blow, but it was enough to make him step back and draw in on himself. She sprinted toward the exit and pushed her way into the crowd. The train station was full as the 10:15 from Tripoli disgorged its passengers and Emma thanked her lucky stars for the crush of people to lose herself in. She spilled out the exit with the masses and ducked into the first available cab, earning a few nasty rebukes in a variety of languages.
Emma clasped her shaking hands in her lap and tried to gather her racing thoughts. She clung to one thought- that she had to protect Nikos and Abby. After a series of cabs, buses and several long aimless walks, she cautiously returned to the townhouse. She still lacked a solid plan, but the first step seemed fairly obvious. It was time to tell the truth.