by Angel Sefer
“I have a headache,” she admitted and rested her head against the headrest.
“Try to relax,” Dan said. “I can stop for an aspirin if you want.”
“No!” Christina replied. “I’ll be all right.”
***
The drive back to Atlanta took several hours, and Dan kept quiet the rest of the way, trying to let Christina relax. When they finally made it to Atlanta, he turned on 285-East.
“I live downtown,” Christina mentioned and glanced at him inquiringly.
“I know,” Dan replied. “However, I’m going to take you to a safe place for a while.”
He drove to the intersection with I-85 and got on it, going north.
“Where are we going?” Christina asked, curiously.
“My sister lives up here,” Dan replied.
She sat back in her seat and didn’t ask any more questions. They went past Gwinnett Mall exit, made a right, and followed a country road.
Turning onto a private driveway, two black and white Siberian Huskies appeared from the woods barking and launched at the car. Dan slowed down, and the dogs followed them all the way to a two-story country house, with a wrap-around porch. They pulled up the front, and Dan climbed out of the car. As soon as he did that, the dogs jumped all over him.
“Hi, guys!” he said and patted them on the head. “Now, calm down!” he ordered them but the dogs were too excited to calm down.
The front door of the house swung open, and a teenage girl with a long black ponytail came outside.
“Uncle Danny!” the girl cried out and rushed down the stairs and into his arms.
Christina remained in the car, agitated. She loved dogs, but the close encounter with the Dobermans was too recent to forget.
The girl turned and gave Christina a big smile. “Come on!” she said.
Christina hesitated and glanced at the dogs.
“Oh! Don’t worry about them. They won’t bother you. They’re just big babies; all they want to do is play,” the girl said, smiling, and yelled at the dogs to sit down and be still.
Christina climbed out of the car, and the girl came around and gave Christina her hand.
“Welcome… Are you my uncle’s girlfriend?” she asked. Immediately turning to him, she continued, “She’s so pretty!”
“This is my niece Emily,” Dan said, coming next to them and wrapping his arm around the girl’s shoulders.
“And I’m his sister Janet,” a tall, brunette coming down the front steps said and extended her hand to Christina. “I’m so glad Dan finally decided to bring someone home.”
“It’s not exactly like that,” Dan said and hesitated for a moment.
Janet glanced at him and then at Christina but kept quiet as a man came outside the house.
“Welcome, Dan,” the man said. “Welcome, Miss Connors,” he added as he had spoken earlier that morning to Dan, who had explained to him the situation.
“Hello,” Christina replied.
“This is my husband, James Shoemaker,” Janet made the introductions and glanced from Dan to her husband questioningly.
“James is also a policeman. You’ll be safe here,” Dan whispered in Christina’s ear as they were going up the steps with the dogs following them all the way to the front door. They even seemed eager to follow them inside when Janet slammed the door in their faces.
“Those dogs! They’re so spoiled!” she complained, and Christina saw Emily roll her eyes.
“Come now,” Dan said and hugged his sister. “Don’t get upset with Emily. All kids are like that. You’re lucky they aren’t sleeping in the house.”
“You must be kidding me,” Janet protested, and Dan laughed, squeezing her even closer.
The Shoemaker family made Christina feel welcome immediately, and she had no reservations about Dan leaving her with them for a few hours. He had to go to the police station to catch up with Miles.
“No one will think of looking for you here,” he told her as he was leaving. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“I don’t want to get them in trouble,” Christina hesitated.
“Don’t worry! James knows how to take care of himself,” Dan reassured her. “Besides, we’re leaving tonight,” he added. “I’m going to take you to a safe house.”
***
James had the day off and spent his time working in the yard while Christina spent the day with Janet and Emily. The Shoemaker’s home wasn’t big, but it was comfortable and beautifully decorated. Christina was astonished to see paintings of Greek landscapes on the walls. A startling scene at Myrtos Beach, hanging in the dining room, left her speechless… It wasn’t just the beauty of the seascape, but the fact that the amazing beach was on the same island as her mother’s birthplace.
Seeing her standing in front of the painting, Janet approached her and put her arm around Christina’s shoulders. “It’s stunning, isn’t it?” she commented.
“Breathtaking,” Christina admitted.
“It’s called Myrtos Beach and is located on the Greek island of Kefalonia in the Ionian Sea,” Janet explained. “Myrtos is repeatedly voted as one of the best beaches in the world.”
“I can see why,” Christina commented, avoiding anything about her Greek origin. Moving to the opposite wall, she stood in front of the painting of a picturesque harbor—a scenic village built amphitheatrically around a sheltered bay with a narrow entrance. “Where is that?” she inquired.
“That is Vathy, the capital, and main harbor of Ithaca—” Janet explained.
“The island of Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca and hero of Homer’s epic poem Odyssey,” Christina cut in.
“Wow!” Janet stared at her amazed. “How do you know all that?”
“I love Greek mythology,” Christina commented and left it at that. “But how come you have all these Greek paintings in your home?”
“Dan and I were raised by our Greek stepmother, Aphrodite Drakatou,” Janet explained.
“I see,” Christina commented simply, not meaning to pry.
“She was a sweet lady,” Janet said, with a nostalgic expression on her face.
Christina stared at her as Janet went on. “Our biological mother died giving birth to me. Our late father married Aphrodite when I was two and Dan was ten years old, and she turned out to be a kind and loving mother for us. She stood by us, loving us and supporting us, even after our father died a few years later.”
“She sounds like a wonderful person,” Christina commented, feeling a lump in her throat, thinking of her own mother.
Janet sank into a blue velvet armchair by the window, and Christina sat in the armchair next to her, wanting to find out more about Dan and his childhood.
“Aphrodite was from Ithaca,” Janet continued. “We had the chance to visit the island on several occasions while we were very young, and we will always cherish those memories. We also visited Kalamata—the capital and main port of Messinia, one of the most scenic areas of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. Our father’s parents were from there.”
“Oh, how interesting! I wish I had a chance to visit beautiful places like that,” Christina commented. “Was your biological mother Greek, too?”
“No, our mother was from New York. So was our father. His parents had come from Greece before our father was born,” Janet replied. “How about you? Where are you from?”
“I’m from Birmingham, Alabama,” she mumbled, feeling bad for having to lie to Janet, who was so sweet and had welcomed her in her home. But what else can I say? she wondered. That I am not Christina Connors but Sophia Rosetti, daughter of Paolo Rosetti—Antonio’s dead brother? That my mother, Natalie Daliani, took me and ran away from her mobster husband, and before she was tracked down and killed, she left me with her best friend, Alicia Connors, who changed cities and my name, trying to hide me from my father and his dangerous, vindictive family? How could I possibly say all that to Janet? How could I possibly say all that to anyone?
“I’ll make some sandwiches,” Janet replied, and Christina breathed out, relieved at the interruption.
“Sounds good to me,” Christina said. “I’ll help you.”
She helped Janet make the sandwiches, and they all had lunch on the front porch, enjoying the beautiful countryside.
Afterwards, they took a walk around with the dogs following them everywhere. Emily was right, Christina thought. Those dogs are really sweet. They got used to Christina pretty quickly and followed her everywhere. They were jumping all over the place, bringing sticks for Christina to throw for them, so they could run and fetch them back.
“What’s for dinner?” Emily inquired, as soon as they came back.
“Hungry again? Where do you put all this food?” her mother asked teasingly, giving her daughter an adoring look.
Staring at Christina, Emily rolled her eyes and climbed the front steps two at a time. “I’ll be in my room,” she yelled over her shoulder. “Call me when dinner is ready.”
“Do you like Greek food?” Janet asked Christina. “I didn’t know you were coming and have prepared some moussaka for tonight.”
“I love moussaka,” Christina admitted spontaneously, thinking of the delicious Greek casserole with eggplants, potatoes, and hamburger-meat topped with creamy béchamel sauce.
“You’re full of surprises,” Janet stated, staring at Christina puzzled.
“We had a Greek diner close to our house when I was growing up, and we used to go there every chance we had,” Christina explained, thinking that this was the first truthful statement she had made so far. There actually was a Greek diner close to their house in Birmingham, and since Alicia and she loved Greek food, they used to have lunch or dinner there, at least once or twice a week.
“We love Greek food,” Janet said. “Aphrodite was a great cook and I learned a lot of Greek recipes from her.”
“I like cooking,” Christina admitted, “but I don’t know any Greek recipes. I can help with the salad, though.”
“That’ll be fine,” Janet said, and Christina followed her inside the house.
***
They were sitting at the dinner table, enjoying the mouthwatering moussaka, when the phone rang. James answered it, and after a few words, he listened carefully. When he hung up, everyone at the table was quiet, waiting for him to talk. Christina felt a shiver caressing her spine. Something had happened; she was sure about that.
James came back and resting his hands on the back of his chair, he said, “It was Dan.”
“Well?” Janet asked, and Christina was glad because she felt unable to talk.
“Collins is dead,” James said, glancing at Christina.
“Who is Collins?” Janet asked, surprised, staring from her husband to Christina.
Christina’s blood turned ice-cold in her veins. They found him, after all, she thought. On the way back to Atlanta, Dan had told her about the first attempt on Collins’s life. Now what? she wondered. What about her? Was she next?
“It’ll be all right,” James said, but his voice didn’t sound reassuring at all. “Dan is on his way, and he wants you to be ready to leave as soon as he arrives.”
“Leave? But why?” Emily cried out.
However, her question was left unanswered.
Christina could feel the electricity in the air. Everyone remained silent as James walked out of the room.
“Emily, you better go downstairs,” Janet said.
“Downstairs? In the basement?” Emily asked, surprised. “But I haven’t finished my dinner yet.”
“Do as your mother says,” her father’s voice yelled from the back of the house, and Emily sprang to her feet. She turned and glanced at Christina, puzzled, and then left the room without saying another word.
Christina liked those people and felt sick at the thought their lives might be in danger because of her. Immobilized by anxiety and fear, she watched Janet cleaning up the table.
Having lost track of time, she was startled by the dogs barking and a car pulling up. Springing to her feet, she rushed to the window.
“Stay away from the window!” James yelled at her, rushing into the dining room with a gun in his hands.
Christina stopped dead in her tracks.
Chapter Five
HER BREATH CAUGHT in her throat. Christina watched James as he carefully approached the window from the side and lifted the curtains just a bit to take a peek outside.
“It’s okay. It’s Dan,” he said and let out a deep breath.
When Dan came inside, Christina ran into his arms. He hugged her and held her against him for a minute.
“It’s going to be all right,” he reassured her.
“What happened?” James asked. “I thought we had him in a safe house.”
“We did,” Dan replied. “It was probably an inside job. They must have paid someone off.”
“Now what?” James asked.
“I’m going to take her away from here,” Dan said.
“To a safe house?”
“No, not after what happened to Collins. She’s a valuable witness, and right now, I can’t trust anybody.”
“You’re going to put her on the stand?” James asked and glanced at Christina, puzzled.
“We’ll see,” Dan replied. “For now, my only concern is to keep her alive.”
Christina didn’t even have a chance to say good-bye to Janet and Emily or thank them for their hospitality before James and Dan hustled her to the car. She smiled at her thoughts. There she was in grave danger, and she was thinking about been polite.
They drove back the way they had come from, and Christina watched Dan, surprised as he took I-85 north.
“Where are we going?” she dared to ask.
“I have a small place up on Lake Lanier,” Dan replied. “No one knows about that; it’s my hideaway. Every time I get too frustrated and fed up with everything, I take a couple days off and go up there to relax.”
***
Half an hour later, they reached a road that circled around the lake, and Christina gawked at the beautiful houses built on both sides of the road. Some of them were built uphill and some downhill, all the way to the banks. This way, they all have beautiful views, she realized. Everything appeared so nice and calm as if on a Sunday drive. She could almost forget the danger she was in… Almost.
Silently, she kept gazing at the calm waters, reflecting the lights shining from the residences, as it was already dark. A few minutes later, they turned into a steep driveway. The light blue wooden structure was built on the banks and was hidden by tall, thin pine trees.
Dan opened the two-car garage door with the remote control he had in his car and pulled inside. Christina climbed out of the car and walked outside to the driveway. She let her eyes wander over the lake, stretching out in front of them, and then stared at Dan’s hideaway. It was a one-story in the front, two-story in the back with a big porch overlooking the water.
“Come on!” Dan said, and Christina walked back inside.
Closing the garage door behind them, he opened the trunk and took some bags and a small suitcase out. Recognizing her suitcase, she drew a deep breath, surprised.
“I stopped by your apartment and brought you some things,” he explained. “I had to break into your apartment since your purse was found empty in the trashcan, and I had no keys. I hope you don’t mind,” he added apologetically.
“Of course, I don’t mind,” Christina replied, feeling grateful to have some clean clothes to change into.
“Now, do you want to give me a hand with these?” Dan inquired.
Christina walked over and took two grocery bags out. In the meantime, Dan had opened the door leading inside the house from the garage.
Following him inside, Christina found herself in a cozy family room with ceiling-to-floor w
indows overlooking the water and French doors leading to a back porch. An enormous stone fireplace took up the wall opposite the windows, and a wooden staircase led up to the main floor of the residence. She followed him upstairs to a living room and an adjoining kitchen and placed the bags on the kitchen counter.
Dan brought in the rest of the stuff while Christina took a look around. The house wasn’t big, but it was comfortable. Besides the living room and the kitchen, there were also two bedrooms and a bathroom on the main floor.
Downstairs—where they had first come in—was a big family room, another bathroom, and the garage. The residence was built in such a way that half of the family room had a two-story ceiling and the staircase lead to a balcony overlooking the family room.
Dan locked the door to the garage and brought her suitcase to one of the bedrooms.
“You go ahead and take a shower if you want,” he said. “I’ll make us something to eat.”
Christina went to the room he indicated and opened her suitcase that was lying on the bed. She saw he had brought her some underwear, two pairs of jeans, some T-shirts, shorts, blouses, a pair of tennis shoes, and a jacket. Heat spread over her cheeks, thinking of Dan going through her personal stuff. However, she felt dirty and in desperate need of a shower. Taking some clothes, she rushed to the bathroom. Hearing a knock on the door, she jumped, surprised.
“You can find a new toothbrush in the bottom drawer. There are also combs, brushes, and anything else you might need,” Dan said from behind the closed door.
“Thank you,” Christina yelled from inside.
“Oh! And you’ll find clean towels in the linen closet,” he added and walked away.
Christina stood still until she heard him making a noise in the kitchen. Then she undressed and climbed into the shower, letting the hot water run over her aching muscles until she felt all stiffness and tension leaving her body.
Feeling relaxed and refreshed, she stepped out of the shower and used a soft, wonderful-smelling towel to dry her body. She brushed her teeth and used a blow dryer she found in the cabinet underneath the sink. Then she put on her underwear, a pair of jeans and a shirt, and checking herselt in the mirror, she smiled, feeling wonderful to be in her own clothes again.
