Chapter Forty Two
Isabella walked down the well-lit hallway. She had Elizabeth's dress in hand.
"Signora!" Adam, her servant called.
"Yes, what is it?" she asked curtly.
"Signor Ross is delayed. He called and sends his apologies," the frightened man explained.
Isabella gritted her teeth. She wanted her dealings with Rosco over with. Isabella shook her head and motioned for Adam to leave.
As she approached the guest room, Isabella gathered her composure and affixed a smile to her darkened face.
***
Elizabeth heard voices outside her door and realized she was holding her breath as Isabella came in with her dress. "Isabella!" she exclaimed.
The older Italian woman smiled warmly at her. "The dress is ready. Now, my girl…are you?" Isabella winked.
Elizabeth arose from the vanity table and took a deep breath and smiled. "Of course."
***
Jason had made his way down the busy kitchen corridor unnoticed. There were many workers frantically preparing the evenings meal in the kitchen. As he stole into a storage closet, Jason waited until three men speaking Italian passed by with a tray of empty champagne glasses in hand. Then he made his way to an almost unnoticeable door hidden in the shadows.
He slowly opened the unlocked door. Jason felt a cool breeze waft into the stifling hallway. It apparently led outback. He propped a pen in the doorway so the door wouldn't lock behind him.
The air was refreshing as Jason stood outside while waiting for his eyes to adjust to the change in lighting. It took Jason a second and then he studied his surroundings. It was a dark, heavily wooded area. There was a grid road that led almost up to where he was standing. Jason recognized the place from Sonny's men's descriptions. This is where Rosco met Andre.
***
Jaime had managed to convince Mason one of her guards to take a stroll into the garden. Throughout her occasional hours of freedom in the garden, Jaime had made the most of her time. Each opportunity, which was given her, Jaime, would memorize each and every nook and cranny of the garden.
Jaime had made mental notes of possible hiding spots and escape routes. The guards seemed lax in their duty to guard her, which was fine with Jaime.
Finally Jaime made her great escape. She knew it would have to be in the evening, so she would have the added advantage of darkness. Jaime had night vision – 15/20 sight, which allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness more quickly than the normal person.
As she coaxed Mason out into the garden whispering promises of an interlude, Jaime made her move and struck him hard in the solar plexis, which left him on his knees and gasping for breath. She then, karate chopped him across the neck. Jaime bent down to check if he was subdued. Then when Jaime was positive he was out cold, she made her way through the thick sharp branches of the overgrown bushes and trees that enclosed the garden.
She had to stop several times, a few because of passing guards and another to orientate herself and figure out what direction she was heading. Jaime knew that she'd spied a road just across the countryside, outside her window. Now her window faced east and the garden, north. Jaime figured at the angle she had made her way through the garden, she needed to head in at a 45° angle southeast to reach the road.
Just as Jaime had made it out of the bushes, she'd heard a loud shout from the house. They had realized she'd escaped. Jaime had hoped she'd put some distance between the guards and herself, and as she strained to run towards the darkened road, Jaime tripped. Just as Jaime got up, she found herself face to face with two of Rosco's men. Try as she might, Jaime lost and was overpowered by the huge guards.
"Let me go!" Jaime screamed as she approached the familiar bright lights.
Jaime cringed as she heard a foreboding voice command the two men.
"Bring her inside," Rosco growled.
***
Rosco had been set to leave the house when there was a sudden commotion coming from the outside. He had called Arlo, one of the perimeter guards to him as he stood outside the main door. "What's happening?" he asked. Rosco hated when his plans went awry, and this one had gone just about as awry as it could.
"Boss, she's escaped!" Arlo had reported.
"What?" Rosco yelled, startling the overgrown oaf before him.
"She's somewhere on the grounds," Arlo explained.
Rosco's mind raced at hundreds of miles a minute. She was gone. His stomach lurched at the thought.
It's a good thing thing. The plan was messed up in the first place.
Rosco clenched his jaw at the thought. Everything was getting out of control. Rosco had planned to release Jaime in his own time, but now with her disappearance, it seemed Rosco was royally screwed.
Rosco had been planning for days, a way for her release, a way, which wouldn't set up an entire manhunt for him. If he had just left without a trace, Rosco would have had enough time to get away safely.
Now everything was messed up…
"Let me go!!!" a woman's voice screamed.
Rosco's head jerked up at the sound. "Who's there?" he demanded as he put his hand on the holstered gun.
Appearing out of the darkness, Rosco's eyes fell upon a struggling Jaime. She was bleeding; there was leaves and grass in her hair and on her jeans. Dirt stained her face.
They had found her.
'Thank you God!' he mumbled.
"Bring her inside," he rumbled, trying to hide his relief.