I began to sob with sheer terror.
The silhouette stretched out his hand.
“Sienna,” the man called, and I knew instantly I was safe, but I couldn’t stop sobbing. The tears came from deep inside me. They were fear, terror, fury, confusion, shock.
“Sienna,” Angelo called again. “It’s okay. You’re going to be all right. Come on out.”
My heart lurched in my throat. I immediately crawled forward on my elbows and knees. When I reached the edge of the van, I leapt into his strong arms. He caught me and held me against his warm, hard body as I struggled to control the wave of hysteria that had overcome me at his appearance. I’d never felt relief so absolute and overwhelming.
“We need to get out of here,” he whispered urgently into my ears.
I immediately nodded.
In the distance came the sound of sirens as they drew nearer and nearer with every passing second.
“Do you have any belongings in the van?” he asked.
I was about to shake my head when I remembered my purse. “My purse.”
He dove into the van. A second later, he had retrieved it and was jumping out, landing as lightly as a cat. He grabbed my hands and rapidly moved me down the road. As we hurried along silently, I saw the bloodied bodies on the ground, and the Toyota that had crashed into a streetlamp. There were men inside, but they were unmoving. I noticed people starting to arrive. They looked shocked at the carnage. Then it occurred to me that he had caused all this damage by himself. The sound of police sirens sounded from not too far away.
“Hey,” someone called out.
“Don’t stop, keep your head down and don’t look around,” Angelo muttered. He had his face lowered, so his cap covered almost all his face.
I could feel the tension coming from him in waves. I knew then the danger wasn’t over. We had to get out of here as soon as possible before the police arrived.
Self-preservation kicked in then, and together we ran, so fast I felt as if I was flying, my feet barely touching the ground. No one followed us. We turned the corner and I saw my car.
We ran towards it. I jumped into the passenger seat and before I could even put my seat belt on, he had put the car in motion. The Benz screeched backwards in a flash, then he spun around as though he were a race car driver and sped off.
His powerful hands were closed around the steering wheel and I could see the veins popping through his skin then disappeared underneath the sleeves of his jacket. He said nothing, but he seemed calm, the rise and fall of his chest even, his gaze laser-focused on the road ahead.
My mind quickly went to thoughts of Christine. I needed to call her straight away, but I had no phone. “I need to use your phone.’’
He glanced at me. ‘’Why?’’
‘’I’m worried about my friends and I have to check that they are okay. Please?’’ I was aware it was the first time I’d ever said the word to him.
He reached into his pocket for his phone, unlocked the screen, and passed it to me. ‘’One minute,’’ he said abruptly.
I took it gratefully and nervously dialed Christine. ‘’Christine?’’ I shouted when she answered.
‘’Oh my God, Sienna, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I’ll tell you everything later. I just called to make sure you guys are safe?’’
‘’We’re fine, a little shook up, but in a taxi on the way home.’’
I sagged with relief. “Thank god.” I couldn’t live with myself if anything had happened to Christine and Mandy due to my family and me. ‘’Ok, I have to go now, but I’ll call you when I’m at home.’’ I swiped the phone. ‘’Thank you,’’ I said and held the phone out to him.
He took it without a word or even a look in my direction.
I let my eyes travel to the lustrous hair that fell in soft waves around the base of his neck. Something seemed faintly vulnerable about the way the ends of his hair ended up in those adorable baby curls.
I swallowed hard and returned my gaze to the road. I knew I was in all sorts of trouble and the last thing I should be doing was lusting after him. I wanted to apologize and thank him and ask him how he had found me so quickly, but the words were stuck in my throat. All I could do was stare straight ahead.
He said nothing and we drove home without a single word being exchanged.
By the time we arrived home, I was as mentally prepared as I could be to meet my father. As I walked into the massive foyer, I couldn’t believe the relief that washed through me at being able to return, when just a few hours earlier, this was the one place I would have given everything to escape from.