No Escape by Julie Moffett

 

Chapter Thirty

 

Lexi Carmichael

 

When I got back to the room, Slash was already there. “We did it!” I said, jumping into his arms and nearly knocking him over onto the bed. “I survived the pool, although barely. What about you?”

He dropped me onto the bed and sat down next to me. “We successfully completed our challenge as well. Your parents were incredible. They played an integral role in solving our puzzles, and most were complex. I couldn’t have done it without them. I’m beyond impressed. After the challenge, your dad pulled me aside. He said I’d done a great job leading the team through the puzzle. He also apologized for insinuating I would hurt you. It all seemed quite genuine and not like your mother had forced him to say it. I was actually at a loss for words.”

“Even my mother couldn’t force my dad to say something if he didn’t want to. That’s great, Slash. Wonderful progress. And while we’re speaking about our parents, yours are totally the bomb. I mean it. Oscar found the first walkway, and your mom solved the one critical obstacle I couldn’t by telling me an old Aesop’s fable. Tito saved me from falling into the pool, and Stefan and Vittoria came through with solutions and answers when I needed them. They were all invaluable partners.”

He smiled, twirling a piece of my hair around his finger. “I can’t wait to hear all the details.”

“Likewise, but first I really need a shower to get the scent of chlorine off me.”

After the shower, I put on a simple dark-green dress that I’d bought online a couple of weeks ago. It was the first time I’d tried it on, so I hoped it fit okay. The length was right, just a little past my knees, which wasn’t always a given, since I’m tall. It had a modest slit along the right leg to give my legs some more mobility. The belt around the middle fit perfectly and highlighted my high waist. I put on a pair of low-heeled black pumps and the diamond studs Slash had given me. My brown hair hung loose around my shoulders, although I preferred it in a ponytail. Makeup was not my thing, but I swiped on some mascara, lipstick, and a little cream blush. That was as good as it was going to get.

After Slash got out of the shower, he dressed in navy slacks with a light-blue shirt and no tie. He looked and smelled amazing, as usual.

“We still have fifty minutes until dinner,” I said as he enfolded me in a hug. “What do you want to do?”

“Sit by the fire and drink wine,” he said. “And get caught up on all the details of your challenge.”

He placed his suit jacket over the back of one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. He added a few pieces of wood to the fire and lit it. “Let me go see what wine I can find for us. I’ll be right back.”

I sank into the chair, relaxing and watching the sparks dance on the wood. After a few minutes I heard a soft knock at the door. I opened it, expecting to see Slash with a bottle of wine, but instead, Mia and Alessa stood there, giggling and looking guilty.

“Lexi, have you thought about our offer?” Mia said.

I looked at them, wide-eyed. “Ah… I haven’t.”

At that moment, Slash appeared in the hallway holding a bottle of wine. “Hello, ladies. What’s up?”

Alessa smiled sweetly at him. “Hi, Slash. We’d like to borrow Lexi for a little girl time before dinner, but I can see we’re interrupting something.”

Slash shrugged. “The wine can wait. If Lexi wants to go with you, I’m fine with that.”

He probably thought he was encouraging family interaction. I wanted to correct him, but I couldn’t see a way to gracefully extract myself from the situation. So, girl time it was.

“Okay, but just for a few minutes,” I finally said. “I don’t want to be late for dinner.”

Slash smiled, stepping past me, giving me a pat on the shoulder. “Have fun,” he said before disappearing into the room. I really wished I could follow him.

“Come on, Lexi, we want to show you something,” Mia said, tugging on my arm.

I followed them down the hallway. They both wore long-sleeved mini dresses, Alessa in a red one and Mia in electric blue, both with ridiculously high heels. It looked like a dangerous combination to me, but they seemed unaware of the potential risk and walked on them like they were pros.

I followed them down the marble steps, holding onto the banister, and we exited the front of the castle. I had no idea what was happening. It was cool and I wished I had a sweater. The girls led me to the left of the castle, where a small oval courtyard had been tucked away. Several marble benches, flowers, and bushes surrounded a pretty fountain with flowing water and a three-foot statue of a woman.

“Do you know who that is?” Alessa said when we all arrived at the statue.

Dusk was falling, so the lights from the front barely reached the area, but I took a closer look. “It looks like the Virgin Mary.”

Mia pumped her fist and turned to Alessa. “See, I told you she’d recognize her. It’s all up the hill from here.”

“It’s downhill,” I corrected. “Mia, I know you’re trying to sound like an American teenager, but trust me, most teenagers don’t speak exclusively in slang phrases.” I looked to Alessa for some backup, but she’d averted her gaze and was, wisely, staying out of this.

Mia’s expression immediately fell, and I felt terrible for even mentioning it. “Are you being a wet bedspread about my attempts to improve my language skills, Lexi?”

“No. I’m not being a wet bedspread… I mean, a wet blanket.” I tried to backtrack, realizing I’d hurt her feelings. “I think it’s great that you’re trying, Mia. Soon, you’ll be a pro.”

“Can I practice on you until then?” she asked hopefully, her eyes lighting up again. “Please?”

Oh, jeez. No, no, no. Why me?

I sighed inwardly and forced a smile. “Sure. Of course, Mia. You can practice on me until then.”

“Great!” A smile crossed her face, and her arms dropped from her chest. “Thank you so much. Now, where were we?”

Resigned, I pointed to the Virgin Mary. “The prank. The statue.”

“Oh, yes. The Virgin Mary,” Mia explained. “You recognized her and you’re not even Catholic…at least, that’s what Vittoria said Gio told her.”

I tried to figure that out, but Mia had already moved on. “What that means is that everything is as perfect as spaghetti on, well, any day. Just kidding, Lexi. You don’t need to correct me. I just made that one up. Anyway, my family has been teasing Vittoria because she got pregnant before the wedding. I said she should have told our parents the baby was the result of an immaculate conception to preserve their perception of her as an innocent one. All has turned out for the best with Gio, of course, but it’s the perfect way to prank her. It’ll be so much fun.”

I didn’t think it would be fun at all, but I didn’t want Mia to accuse me of being a wet blanket again, so I kept my mouth shut.

“It’s going to be brilliant, Mia,” Alessa said, confirming my suspicion I was clueless regarding fun pranks. “Let’s carry on.”

Mia and Alessa kicked off their shoes, climbed into the fountain, and began tugging on the statue.

“What are you doing?” I asked, flabbergasted.

“We’re going to nick the statue,” Alessa said. “To be more specific, we’re going to temporarily relocate the statue to Gio and Vittoria’s bedroom. Then we’ll hang a sign around the neck that says in Italian, ‘This is the church-approved way to get pregnant before marriage.’”

“Won’t that be so funny?” Mia asked, giggling.

Alessa must have noticed the horrified expression on my face, because she sought to reassure me. “We’ll put it back. We discovered the statue is hollow, so it’s light enough for Mia and me to carry it. It will be just a bit unwieldy. We’re going to take it up to Gio and Vittoria’s room after everyone has gone down to dinner. We’ll bring it upstairs through a side door away from the main entrance. Mia has already propped open the door there. We’ll use the elevator to the second floor and haul it down the hallway to their room. Once the statue is on their bed, we’ll put the sign around the Virgin’s neck, and we’re out of there. We’ll all be a little late to dinner, but no one will suspect us because we’ll come in through the kitchen toward the back of the room. If anyone asks what we were doing in the kitchen, we’ll just say we were seeing how the cooks prepare the wonderful food.”

I thought for a moment, trying to find a flaw in their thinking. “How are you going to get into their room?”

Mia grinned and reached into the pocket of her dress, holding up a key. “I stole it from Vittoria. We’ve already made the sign, so we’re in execution phase right now.”

“Right now?” I yelped.

“Right now,” Alessa confirmed. “So, let’s not cock this up, ladies.”

I held up a hand, a small kernel of hope blossoming in my chest. “If you already have this all planned out, you don’t need me, right?”

“Wrong,” Mia said. “We need you to be our lookout and let us know when Gio and Vittoria have left their room to go to dinner, then make sure no one comes back upstairs while we’re moving the statue into their room. It’s super simple, just a little thing. Will you help us? Please, Lexi.”

“You want me to tell you when Gio and Vittoria have gone down to dinner and make sure no one else comes back upstairs?” I asked. “That’s it in terms of my participation?”

“That’s it,” Alessa confirmed. “Go back to your room, and when you and your handsome husband head down to dinner, I’ll intercept you again. Tell him to go on ahead and you’ll meet up with him shortly. Then wait for Vittoria and Gio to go down to dinner. When they’ve left their room, take the elevator down and we’ll be waiting there to load up the statue. You keep watch while we get the statue from the elevator, down the hallway, and into their room. Then we go down the elevator one more time and come into the dining room through the kitchen. Simple, awesome, and funny.”

I had to admit they weren’t asking too much from me, and maybe it was a little funny. Plus, if I cooperated, it might be the start of a closer friendship with Mia and Alessa. Slash might even have a laugh and commend me for going out of my comfort zone to interact with the other women in the family and participate in a silly girls’ prank.

A lookout. How bad could that be?

“Okay, I guess I can be a lookout,” I finally said. “That doesn’t seem too difficult.”

“Great!” Mia said. “That makes me happier than—”

“Stop, Mia,” I interrupted. “I seriously can’t handle any more stress right now.”

Alessa must have sensed I was on the edge, because she linked arms with me. “It’s time for Lexi to head back to her room. Remember, don’t say a word to Slash.”

I was having serious doubts about the whole thing as I returned to my room. Slash was just finishing up his glass of wine in front of the fireplace. I envied him.

“How did girl time go?” he asked, an amused look on his face.

“Honestly, I’m not sure.”

He pulled on his suit jacket and buttoned it in the front. “Well, it’s nice that you’re trying. I’m proud of you.”

“I had a talk with Mia, you know, about the slang thing.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“And I tried to explain that American teenagers don’t really speak in slang phrases.” I threw up my hands. “Sure, they use a few words here and there, but it’s not an entire language separate from English.”

“There might be some parents who’d disagree with you,” he said, amusement flashing in his eyes.

I pursed my lips at him. “Not helping. Anyway, she got upset until I told her I’d let her continue to practice on me.”

“You caved?”

“Of course I caved. I couldn’t figure out a way to say no without hurting her feelings even more.”

Slash grimaced. “So, we’re subjected to this for the rest of the week?”

“Apparently. But you can’t fault me. I tried.”

“I don’t fault you at all. You did your best.” He offered me his arm. “Ready for dinner?”

I wasn’t and wished I had stayed in the room with him drinking wine. But now, instead of a quiet dinner, I had to take part in a crazy prank on my sister-in-law. I’d promised Mia and Alessa I’d help them, so no matter how much I didn’t want to, how could I change my mind at this point?

I took his arm, and with my anxiety increasing, we headed toward the dining room. We were almost there when Alessa stepped out of the shadows of the corridor, nearly scaring the crap out of me.

“There you are, Lexi. Hey, Slash, can I borrow her again for just a few minutes more? We’ll be in shortly.”

Slash looked at me, raising an eyebrow. I wanted to confess everything right then, but apparently, he thought more girl time was okay, because he nodded and strolled on into the dining room without me.

“Go on,” Alessa whispered to me, pushing me toward the staircase. “Head back upstairs and watch for Gio and Vittoria. Take the elevator down and we’ll see you shortly.”

She disappeared, so I dutifully climbed the stairs and waited for Gio and Vittoria. My mom and dad came out of their room, both laughing. It occurred to me I hadn’t seen them this relaxed in a long time. They were really enjoying themselves.

“Lexi,” Mom said when she spotted me. She and Dad walked over, and she kissed me on each cheek. “You look lovely.”

“You and Dad look great, too.”

She smiled. “Thanks, sweetheart. What are you doing?”

“What am I doing?” I guess it was weird I was just loitering in the hallway by myself. I hoped I didn’t look guilty. My dad could see guilt with his eyes closed.

“Yes, why are you standing in the hallway?” Mom repeated.

“I…forgot something important. I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Lexi, what’s going on?” Dad said studying me. “You look like you’re ready to kidnap the pope or something.”

“Ha-ha!” I said a little too loudly, worried that his guilt meter had gone off. But neither of my parents pressed it, and, to my great relief, they headed downstairs without further comment.

At that point I decided standing in the hallway was way too conspicuous. I returned to my room, left the door ajar, and waited. I stood just inside the room, listening for Gio and Vittoria. Finally, I heard them come out, laughing and chatting in Italian. I crept after them, ensuring they headed down the stairway and disappeared into the corridor leading toward the dining room.

As soon as they were out of sight, I hightailed it to the elevator and got in. When the doors opened on the first floor, Mia and Alessa were already standing there barefoot with the statue between them. Mia had the sign hanging around her neck.

“Good timing,” Mia whispered as she and Alessa muscled themselves and the statue inside, smooshing me up against the elevator side.

“What happened to your shoes?” I asked.

“We left them down by the elevator. It’s too hard to carry a statue in high heels.”

At this point, I was sincerely wishing I hadn’t agreed to any of this, but here we were, the three of us and the Virgin Mary crammed into the small elevator. It seemed like the start of a very bad joke.

Ugh.

When the doors opened on the second floor, I stepped out first, checking the hallway. “Clear,” I hissed.

“Did you check to make sure everyone has gone downstairs?” Mia asked.

“No, was I supposed to?”

“Yes, go check,” Alessa said impatiently. “We’ll wait here, but hurry.”

I walked up and down the hall tapping on doors, reminding everyone that it was dinnertime. When I heard no response, I headed back to the elevator, passing the top of the stairs.

“Cara?”

I almost had a heart attack on the spot. “Slash?”

He stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at me. “Is everything okay?”