No Escape by Julie Moffett

 

Chapter Thirty-One

 

Lexi Carmichael

 

I froze, guilt plastered all over my face. I was glad for the distance, because I was sure I would have been totally busted if he had a better look at my expression.

“Fine. I’m fine. Everything is fine, of course. I’ll be down in a minute. I just have one more thing to take care of, okay?”

“Okay, just don’t get carried away trying to make everything perfect.” He headed back toward the dining room.

My heart pounding, I ran to the elevator, where they were trying to keep the doors from closing. I kicked off my own shoes, figuring I needed the mobility as well.

“The coast is clear,” I said. “Hurry.”

The two girls hefted the statue between them and started shuffling down the hallway. I stood near the staircase, but out of sight so no one would spot me. I watched as Mia opened the door of Gio and Vittoria’s room with the key. Together they lifted the statue over the threshold of the door, setting it down in the room with a thump so loud it made me jump.

Why did I ever agree to this?

They disappeared into the room with the statue, but the door was still ajar. I checked the stairway, determined it was clear, then sidled down the hallway, peeking in to see how it was going.

From what I could see, the two of them had wrestled the statue onto the far side of the bed. Alessa was trying to prop it up while Mia tried to get the sign off her neck and onto the statue.

Just then I heard someone laugh from the vicinity of the stairway and crept back to see what was going on.

I almost passed out when I saw Vittoria and Gio headed toward the stairs.

Crap!

I ran back to the room, flipping off the light and nearly knocking over Alessa. Mia was fixing the sign on the statue, making sure it wasn’t crooked.

“What are you doing?” she said in surprise.

“They’re coming,” I hissed. “Gio and Vittoria.”

“What?” Alessa said, her face turning pale. “Why are they coming back up so quickly?”

“How am I supposed to know?” I whispered frantically. “I didn’t ask them.”

I peeked out the door again and saw Vittoria turning down the hallway. Gio wasn’t with her. Either he was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs or he’d been delayed by someone. I closed the door as quietly as I could and pressed back against the door, my heart pounding.

“Hide.” I breathed.

Mia and Alessa dove into the bathroom, closing the door. Before I could move, I heard the doorknob rattle. I darted to the side of the bed, the farthest away from the door, scooted myself under the bed, and lay still.

Vittoria shouted Gio’s name from the other side of the door, and it occurred to me that she must not have been able to find her key since Mia had stolen it. She yelled his name a few more times. Apparently, he couldn’t hear her, because her footsteps faded, presumably as she went to find him and get his key.

That was my cue to leave. As I wiggled out from beneath the bed, I heard the bathroom door open, light footsteps, and then the room door open and close. Mia and Alessa must have made their escape.

I had just gotten to my knees and crawled around the bed when I heard voices approaching the door.

Oh, no! Too late.

I dived back under the bed just as the door opened and the light snapped on. Vittoria and Gio were talking in Italian until they stopped abruptly. There was a gasp, some possible swear words, and then a lot of laughter. Vittoria said something to Gio, and I heard his footsteps heading for the door and the door open and close.

Vittoria said something to herself, perching on the side of the bed and laughing some more. I figured she must have read the sign. Minutes later, the door opened with a cacophony of voices as the other guests presumably crowded into the room to get a look.

I just hoped no one looked under the bed.

There was a lot more laughing and shuffling around before I finally heard my dad ask, “What’s that sign say?”

Gio translated, and the room erupted into laughter again. There was more talking and joking until finally it seemed as if things were winding down.

I started to think that I was going to survive this disaster, when I felt a sneeze from the dust under the bed coming on. I tried all sorts of techniques to suppress the sneeze, including reciting various math theorems. It seemed to be working, when suddenly I sneezed so hard, I hit my head on the underside of the bed.

The room fell deadly silent, until the bed skirt was abruptly lifted. I saw Gio’s face peering at me. “Lexi, what are you doing under the bed?”

Obviously, there was no good answer. I crawled out from under the bed, barefoot, my hair a mess, my green dress covered with dust. “This isn’t what it looks like,” I said, my cheeks burning. I tried to brush the dust off my dress, to no avail.

“Lexi?” my mother said in surprise. “You’re a part of this?” I couldn’t tell if she was appalled or impressed, and there wasn’t really any way for me to ask.

Tito stepped forward, slapping me on the back and laughing. “Ha, ha, ha. So, you were the trickster behind this joke, jah? Good on you. Never knew you had such a wicked sense of humor. Excellent work on the sign, too. Your Italian is impeccable.”

Gio stepped forward, narrowing his eyes. “You didn’t write that sign, did you, Lexi? Who helped you?”

I glanced at the door, but Mia and Alessa were nowhere to be seen. As I wasn’t sure of the proper protocol for throwing fellow pranksters under the bus, I said nothing. Slash leaned against the wall, his dark eyes assessing me. I had no idea what he was thinking or how upset he’d be that I’d embarrassed him and myself in front of his family.

Vittoria sidled up to Gio, slipping her arm through his. She seemed amused rather than mad, but I wasn’t always the best judge of people, so how could I be sure?

“Confess now, Lexi,” she said with a smile. “Who else helped you?”

“I… I—”

“I did.”

I blinked in surprise as Slash stepped up next to me, putting an arm around my shoulders. “Lexi helped me. But you surprised us by returning to your room so quickly.”

“I’m pregnant,” Vittoria said, cupping her stomach. “I have to go to the bathroom…a lot.”

There was more laughter, but I stood staring at Slash in shock. Had he just covered for me, Mia, and Alessa?

Gio said something in Italian and good-naturedly punched Slash on the arm while Stefan mussed up his younger brother’s hair. Slash didn’t seem to mind, and everyone seemed so cheerful, I thought maybe all was okay.

Maybe.

But just to be on the safe side, I kept my mouth shut.

Their merriment was cut short when Juliette stepped forward, tugging on Slash’s ear. Her eyes narrowed, but I thought I saw a twinkle in them. “Romeo, is it kind to tease your little brother on his forthcoming nuptials?”

Slash looked duly chastised. “No, Mama. It just seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up.”

“Your prank did not involve just your brother. You will apologize to Vittoria.”

“Of course.” Slash turned to Vittoria, who had a huge smile on her face. She seemed to be enjoying every minute of this. He bowed slightly to her. “Ti prego perdonami, Vittoria.”

“Sei perdonato,” she said and then noisily kissed both of his cheeks. “You, too, Lexi.” She hugged me and gave me kisses, too. “But both of you put the statue back before bedtime, si? There won’t be room for Gio, me, my stomach, and the Virgin Mary in the bed.”

There was more laughter, and everyone started filing out of the room.

“Stefan, please wait a moment,” Juliette said. “I need to speak with you about something. Seeing the statue of the Virgin Mary reminded me of it, and I’d almost forgotten all about it. It involves Father Rainaldi and something he told me many years ago.”

Stefan froze midstep, and to my surprise, so did Gio. Puzzled, I glanced over at Slash, but he, too, had paused in motion.

It was like Juliette had dropped a bomb in the room.

“Gio?” Vittoria said, tugging on his arm impatiently when he didn’t move. “Come on.”

He murmured something to her in Italian, and she shrugged and left the room, leaving Juliette, Stefan, Gio, Slash, and me. Gio’s expression had paled considerably.

Juliette looked at Slash and Gio in exasperation. “Are you two Stefan?”

Slash smiled easily. “Mama, we all remember Father Rainaldi, and seeing as how he passed decades ago, we’re curious as to what he might have said about Stefan all these years later.”

“Si,” Gio said with a forced smile, slapping a friendly arm around Stefan’s shoulder. “What did the father have to say about Stefan?”

The room fell silent, and I realized something was going on that I had no idea about. But I was an extra wheel. My cheeks heated for not realizing it earlier. “Ah, I’m sorry. I’ll leave now.”

Juliette tore her gaze away from her boys and glanced my way. “Lexi, please stay. You’re family now.”

As uncomfortable as it was, a part of me was secretly glad I could stay, because I was dying to find out what was going on. I perched on a corner of the bed and tried not to look too interested in the situation.

“Many years ago, Father Rainaldi pulled me aside and told me when our family gathered for the first wedding of one of you boys, Stefan would have an important announcement to confess to me that involved the Virgin Mary. Seeing the statue just reminded me of that conversation.”

“Oh…really?” Stefan said, looking increasingly uncomfortable and oddly…guilty.

“Father Rainaldi said the confession would be necessary for your soul, but he was quite insistent I wait until at least one of you was married. Romeo, you are the first to marry—although not yet in the church. Gio’s wedding is in a few days, so I believe we are close enough for that confession.”

Stefan visibly winced, while Gio shuffled his feet. My usually unflappable husband rubbed his stubbled chin, a pained expression on his face. Fascinated, I abandoned all pretense of not listening and leaned forward, not wanting to miss a single word.

“Juliette?”

We all turned to look at the open door. Oscar stood in the doorway trying and failing, to straighten his tie. “Dinner is served. Can whatever this is wait until after we eat?”

Juliette gave Stefan a pointed look. “We will resume this conversation after dinner. I look forward to it.”

She swept out of the room like a queen, linking arms with Oscar.

As soon as she was gone, Gio sat on the edge of the bed next to me, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Damn,” he said. “After all these years, it’s coming back to haunt me.”

“Haunt us,” Stefan corrected and then pointed a finger at Slash. “And it’s all your and Lexi’s fault.”