Treasured Secrets (12 page)

‘Which way?' Archer snapped.

‘This way.' Alessandro pointed in the same direction Archer had chosen.

‘Right.' Archer threw caution aside and strode along the passage with purpose. The light intensified with each step and an intersection became visible ahead. At the junction, Archer backed against the stone wall and held his breath to peer around the corner. The passage was empty, nothing but sparse hanging lights that barely illuminated the corridor.

With clenched fists, Archer stepped from his hiding spot.

Rosalina was a mere shadow of the woman who'd awakened that morning; her adrenalin was depleted, replaced with complete exhaustion, and she could no longer see out of her left eye. She was thirsty too, her tongue as dry as her oven-baked garlic croutons. Her back ached with built-up tension that had stacked higher and higher with each question the madman had fired at her. Her lack of answers to his barrage had been met with a mixture of threats and verbal abuse. Thankfully he hadn't slapped her again. Her cheek and eye were a throbbing constant right now.

She was alone at the moment, and although she'd told herself she wouldn't give up hope of a rescue, she didn't know how much more she could take before she literally crumpled to the floor.

Fortunately, the rat hadn't featured in her interrogation. So far, anyway. She glanced down at the cage and while she couldn't see it, she was certain the regular thumping noise she could hear was the rodent's tail banging against the wooden bars of the cage. She shivered at the horror of it. How much longer before he resorted to the hideous torture? He had repeated the same questions over and over until he'd had so many tiny red veins in his eyes that they resembled pools of blood. But it didn't matter what he asked, or how he asked it; she had nothing to give.

She closed her eyes, willing the nightmare to be over.

A rustling of keys startled her back to the present. She wrestled against the ropes binding her wrists to the chair, but it was pointless. The bolt in the door thudded open. Unable to move, her breath shot in and out. Staring at the door as it eased open, she swallowed loudly as she braced for who was about to step through it. But she jumped at the sound of a phone ringing. She jumped again when the door slammed shut. Through the dense wood she only heard a jumble of undecipherable words. The keys jiggled again. The bolt thumped back into place. Then, other than the thumping rat tail, she was plunged back into the eerie silence.

***

Archer froze at the sound of a ringing phone. With a forceful arm, he drove Alessandro against the wall and then edged back into the shadows himself. He heard a door opening and heavy footfalls on the cobblestones. He stiffened. The steps were coming towards them.

The element of surprise was in his favour. He had one shot. He squeezed Alessandro's trembling arm in an attempt to convey he would handle it. A dark robed figure materialised in the gloom, and despite the hood shrouding half the man's head, Archer recognised him immediately as the man from the church.

Fortunately, the priest's gaze was lowered.

Archer waited until the very last second, then he lunged. His first punch landed high in the man's solar plexus and Archer heard the breath burst out of him. The hooded figure doubled over with a groan. His second punch connected with solid jawbone. The force of Archer's blow dislodged his hood as the priest stumbled backwards and hit the floor. Archer did a double take at the hideous face now revealed.

A sudden movement caught his eye and Archer saw a second man in the shadows. He jumped over the fallen priest, and with a lowered shoulder, tackled him. They were briefly airborne, landing heavily before Archer drove a series of punches into the body beneath him. The man bucked violently, slamming his head into Archer's nose. A groan burst from Archer's throat as bright sparks dashed before his eyes.

The blow threw him off guard and the man wrestled him onto his back. As he tried to shake a fog from his mind, Archer caught movement. But was too late to avoid a lucky punch to his throat. He clawed for a breath and tasted blood as he struggled to his hands and knees.

The priest rolled to sit up and Archer knew he had to finish him, but a scream sent a chill up his spine.
Rosalina!
‘Get her, Alex.' Archer's voice was a brittle croak.

Alessandro ran into the corridor and vanished into the blackness. Knowing Rosalina was nearby gave Archer new strength. He scrambled to his feet, his brain still foggy. He shoved away from the wall, towards the crawling priest. To finish him off, Archer kicked him in the stomach and, as the priest barrelled over, his heavy robe swung in a roundabout arc.

The first priest lay motionless. With mixed feelings, Archer noticed his chest rise and fall.

‘Archer…keys.' Alessandro sounded a long way away.

‘Okay.'

The second priest was curled in a foetal position, groaning.

‘You're lucky I didn't kill you,' Archer growled as he fished a bunch of keys from the man's robe pocket.

He straightened and nearly ran into Alessandro, who was running back to him. Pushing past Alessandro, he rushed towards Rosalina's cries for help.

‘I'm coming, Rosa,' Alessandro called through the door.

Archer finally found the right key and the door opened. Rosalina was sitting on a chair on the far side of the room. When she didn't move, he knew her hands were tied behind her back. She cut a forlorn figure, and even in the dim light he spied the swollen lump over her eye.

Alessandro raced to her, fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around her body, but she locked eyes with Archer. Her chin dimpled and tears streamed down her face. Archer wanted to cast Alessandro aside, to embrace her, to show her his love and tell her how scared he'd been for her. But all he could do was look into eyes that tore his heart apart. He'd do anything to make the pain go away.

‘You're bleeding,' she said.

He huffed.
Typical Rosalina
.
Putting her own well-being behind that of others.
‘You should see the other guy.'

***

As Alessandro clutched her body to his, tears fell upon her cheeks. Through her bleary vision she spied Archer standing at the door; a trickle of blood ran from his nose to his lips. His look of relief brought more tears. She wanted to run to him, to have his arms wrapped around her, but with the straps biting into her wrists she could do nothing more than look into his troubled eyes. Finally Archer strode to her. He reached behind the chair and squeezed her hand before he unravelled the ties. The moment she was released, she stood and wrapped her arms around him, deliberately avoiding Alessandro's glare.

After a while she let him go and Archer placed his warm palm on her already burning cheek. ‘He hit you.'

She leaned into his hand. ‘I'm okay. You're bleeding.'

‘He got a lucky head-butt in. That's all. I'm fine.'

His gaze dropped to the floor and he stiffened.

‘What's that?' He pointed at the caged rat.

‘He called it a rat dungeon.'

Alessandro gasped. ‘It's a torture device.' His eyes bulged. ‘Did he use it?'

‘No. Thank God.' She shook her head.

Archer reached for her hand. ‘Let's get out of here. You ready, Alex?'

Archer didn't wait for an answer. He clutched her hand in his and Rosalina followed him through the door. There were two directions they could go. She assumed Archer knew which way would lead them out, but when he hesitated she wasn't sure. After a second or two, he'd made up his mind, they turned left and began running along the darkened corridor.

They arrived at an intersection. Archer settled her back against the wall before glancing around a corner.

‘Oh no, wait!' Rosalina tugged on Archer's hand.

‘What?' He met her eyes.

‘I meant to show you something back in the room. It's important.'

‘Nothing is as
importante
as rescuing you.' It was Alessandro who spoke, and when she looked at him and noticed the fear defining his features, she felt terrible for putting him in this situation. And holding Archer's hand at that moment made her feel even more terrible. If she weren't as scared as Alessandro looked she would have let Archer's hand go.

‘Alessandro's right. Our first priority is to get out of here.' And with that, Archer tugged her forward again.

But the sound of running made him snap his head back and he dropped Rosalina's hand. She noticed him ball his fists as if preparing for a fight. For several tense seconds they waited in the darkness, but the footsteps began to fade in the distance. Rosalina released the breath she didn't realise she'd been holding.

‘Ready to run?' he whispered.

‘Yes.' She'd run like hell if she had to.

‘Here we go.' Archer tugged Rosalina into the corridor and ran, fast. With each loud footstep she expected someone to jump out at them. A stone wall in the distance looked like a dead end, but as they approached, she spied a doorway cut into the side wall.

They had no alternative but to go through it.

‘I can't hear anything. But you stay here —' Archer whispered.

‘No.' Rosalina spoke through gritted teeth. ‘We go together. Three of us will be harder to attack than you by yourself. Alessandro?'

Alessandro looked terrified, but he met her eyes. She saw him wrestling with his fear. ‘Absolutely. We stick together.' The way he said it, with forced conviction, confirmed he wasn't comfortable with the plan.

Archer squeezed her hand one more time before he let go and turned the doorhandle. To her relief, the door opened silently and they stepped into a hexagonal-shaped room. The way the room was furnished, it wasn't hard to picture the Knights of the Round Table holding meetings here. A chunky wooden table was the main feature, surrounded by thirteen chairs, each one a work of art on its own. An ancient candelabrum, complete with years of dripping wax, dangled by a chain from the ceiling.

The sound of people running made her jump and Archer dragged her towards another door. As he put his ear to the wood, all she heard was her own ragged breathing.

He pulled down on the handle and it opened onto a set of steep, narrow stairs. They struggled up them in the gloom. At the top was another door. Light streamed beneath this one. She prayed it was the exit. A long minute passed as Archer again listened for noises beyond the door. Eventually he reached for the handle and opened it. They stepped into what looked like a normal household kitchen. The room they'd just left and the room they now entered were centuries apart. This room was modern, bright and airy. No one would suspect what lay beyond the doorway.

Archer reached for her and moved a little faster towards yet another door. A window framed the blue cross of a distant church and she hoped they were nearly out.

‘Hey.' A voice boomed from the back of the room.

Archer yanked Rosalina behind him and held his fists up, ready to fight. A young man entered the kitchen carrying a tray of dishes. He looked harmless, but Archer didn't hesitate. He lunged at the man and with a swinging fist, knocked him off his feet and sent the dishes shattering across the tiles. Before the man hit the floor, Archer was dragging Rosalina out the door.

They raced into the fresh night air with Alessandro right behind them, but Rosalina couldn't shake the feeling that they'd escaped the church too easily, as if they'd been set free on purpose.

Street lamps lit up every corner of the Piazza del Limbo, exposing them as they dashed across the courtyard. Rosalina expected someone to shout at them at any moment, but no one did. Her entwined fingers suffered in Archer's strong grip, but she wouldn't let go.

It was twenty minutes before they reached Alessandro's car. The car lights flashed as Alessandro triggered the key and Archer opened the back door. She climbed into the seat and Archer slipped in beside her. Moments later Alessandro sped along the streets of Florence, spiriting them away.

‘Are you okay?' Archer caressed her cheek.

Alessandro stared at her in the mirror. The love and care from these two men was a bond she hadn't appreciated. Especially with Alessandro. She felt horrible for dragging him into this.

With reluctance, she pulled back from Archer. ‘Thank you. Both of you. I'm fine. They didn't really hurt me.'

‘But
mio dolce,
your eye looks —'

‘It's okay, Alessandro. Just a bruise.' She reached up and touched the swelling over her eye. It was the size of an orange.

‘It's a wonder it didn't knock you out.'

‘It did.' A shiver ran up her spine as she pictured being unconscious with that hideous man around. The stench of him was imbedded in her sinuses. ‘That man was —'

‘It's okay. You're safe now, with us.' Archer ran his hand over her leg.

‘He didn't seem human. There were things about him that weren't right.'

‘Like what?' Alessandro looked at her in the mirror as he stopped at a red light.

She remembered the priest towering over her. ‘His skin was so pale, as if he'd been living in a dungeon his whole life — not like an albino, more like the pigment had been sucked from his skin somehow. And his body odour was disgusting. I thought I was going to throw up.'

Archer squeezed her leg. ‘I caught a glimpse of him. He's a freak, that's for sure.'

‘What did he do with the rat?' Alessandro asked.

‘Nothing. Thank God. Just threatened to use it.' She chewed on her bottom lip.

‘Do you want me to take you to the hospital?' Alessandro asked.

‘No.' She sighed. ‘I just want a hot shower to get this smell off me.'

‘I think we should go to the police.' Alessandro blinked at her through the mirror.

‘No…Alessandro, we can't. If they find out I was trespassing and you were with me…it may ruin your career. I couldn't live with that.'