Page 41 of Under A Sicilian Sky
Mitch said, ‘I think you had better stop whining and open the gate, pal.’
Clark’s stare moved to Mitch and he snapped, ‘I was going to. Gimme a damn chance to move.’ He stepped towards the wall-mounted exterior panel and hit the button to open the gates.
When the gap was wide enough, Ruby lurched forward and Mitch grabbed her arm, tugging her through the space as Nero jumped into Jacopo’s arms.
Mitch folded her in his embrace. ‘You’re safe now. I’ve got you. Let’s get you out of here.’
Once she knew she was safe, she turned to face her captor. ‘You’ll be hearing from my lawyer. And I would suggest you delete that godawful excuse for journalism from your laptop. I felt nothing when you kissed me, so we were going nowhere regardless of what you thought was going to happen.’
Something akin to hurt crossed his face. ‘You keep telling yourself that, Ruby. You might convince yourself it’s true, but I know we had something. I could tell when we kissed. I know you feel something.’
Empowered, she straightened her spine. ‘Oh, I feel lots of things for you right now. But, believe me, none of them are positive.’ And with that she gave him no chance to respond further, turning to walk away with her three guardians.
Mitch kept his arm around her as she walked. The effects of whatever had been put in her drink were thankfully beginning to wear off and she was relieved she hadn’t drunk more.
‘I can’t believe you kissed him,’ Mitch said with a hint of disdain in his voice and a scowl on his features.
She peered up at him, his face was still a little blurry, but she found her feistiness again. ‘Not that it’s any of your business, buthekissedme. He took me by surprise. Anyway, what is that you’re gripping?’ She nodded towards the newspaper.
Mitch stopped in his tracks and handed it to her. ‘I don’t think you’re going to like it.’
She took the paper from him and looked at the front page.
La star del cinema, Ruby Locke, baciaun altro uomodurante la sua vacanza in Sicilia.Non c’è fine allo scandalo!
The picture accompanying the article showed her and Clark, the man she now knew to be Hamilton, in what appeared to be a passionate embrace, as they danced at the ristorante.
Her stomach roiled. ‘What does that mean?’ she asked with a wavering voice.
Mitch sighed. ‘It says you were kissing a new man and there’s no end to the scandal around you. Then the article goes on to the say that the man pictured, journalist and blogger, Hamilton Harlow, confirmed that the two of you were in love and planning your future together.’
She gasped. ‘Shitty, shitty shit! You were right. I’m so stupid.’
Mitch reached out and touched her cheek, it was a tender action that took her by surprise. ‘Hey, I never said you were stupid.’
‘No, but you thought it. And I am.’ Her eyes welled with tears and her stomach knotted. ‘People will read that and think I don’t care about what’s going on. They’ll think I’m a cold-hearted bitch on the rebound. Do you think it will be in other tabloids too? In the US and the UK?’ She sniffed as her vision blurred.
He pressed his lips together in a slight grimace. ‘I’m afraid so. I’ve already spoken to Veronica and Valerie. They’ve both tried calling you.’
‘Oh dammit! I haven’t even looked at my phone. I had it on silent while I was at Clark’s… Hamilton’s… whatever the hell the barstool was called.’ She pulled her phone from the pocket in her dress and, sure enough, there were a gazillion missed calls and texts from pretty much everyone she knew.
Her stomach knotted yet again as she lowered her head and burst into tears.
Mitch pulled her into his arms and held her as she poured out all her anguish, fear and regret into his chest. The warmth of his body against hers was such a comfort, and for a moment she wished she could stay there forever. But this wasn’t her reality, and she knew at some point she would have to face the music.
17
Once back at the Villa, Jacopo and Luca fussed around Ruby, checking her for injuries. Jacopo kept repeating, ‘Sono cosi dispiaciuto,’ and the expression on his usually hard features told her he felt entirely responsible. Mitch rattled off to him a lengthy reply that seemed to appease him and then both guards returned to their posts. Mitch informed Ruby that they had to report the incident, so they needed to go and file the paperwork. She worried about them getting into trouble, or, worse still, losing their jobs through no fault of their own and she felt physically sick with remorse.
The local polizia came to the villa to interview Ruby and, with the help of Mitch as her translator, she told them what had happened at ‘Clark’s’ house. They made copious notes and chatted amongst themselves, whilst Mitch smiled at her in encouragement, making positive nods and winks. Eventually, the officers informed her that, by the time they had arrived to speak to Hamilton Harlow, he had fled, no doubt knowing he was going to be in trouble for false imprisonment and drugging, or whatever the equivalent law was in Italy. The place he had falsely called hisfamily homewas locked up and cleared. They had searched the area in case he hadn’t gone far, but to no avail. There was a ‘be on the lookout’ instruction circulated to the police across the island and also the mainland. Clark, aka Hamilton, was being treated as, and considered to be, a stalker – something which had been illegal in Italy since 2009.
When they were finally alone, Mitch handed Ruby a glass of brandy as she was still shaking whenever she thought about her ordeal; reliving it all for the officers hadn’t helped. The pair sat in the library on leather chairs either side of the fireplace, Nero curled up on Ruby’s lap, unwilling to leave her after their shared experience. After noticing Ruby was shivering, Mitch wrapped a blanket around her that smelled of him and lit the fire, despite the mild temperature outside. For a while, Ruby held onto the glass and watched the flames dancing around the logs that had been piled up in the grate, as she absent-mindedly stroked Nero’s soft fur. Mitch fielded calls that came in to her mobile and his own, telling people things had been ‘handled’ and that Ruby was fine but understandably upset.
‘Did he… you know,hurtyou?’ Mitch asked through clenched teeth.
She shook her head but continued to focus on the flames. ‘Not really. Well, not seriously. Thankfully, he didn’t have time. I drank a glass of the juice that was spiked, but I stopped when I began to feel peculiar. He can’t have put much in it because the effects have worn off now. But I have a headache, like a hangover. Apart from that, he bruised my arms and scared me, but that’s all.’
Mitch balled his hands into fists. ‘Bastardo!’
