The Liberation of Alice Love - Abby McDonald [89]
“She must have mentioned it in passing.” Alice shrugged. “You know how these things work: subconscious triggers, and all that. Now, could you let me past?”
He wagged his fingers at her. “Not so fast, missy. I want to know what you’re playing at.”
“Missy?” Alice had to smirk. Nathan grinned back.
“Better than madam, I think.”
“Given your record, definitely,” she agreed. “And I told you, I’m just off for some sightseeing. I thought I’d rent a car, drive down to the coast…” Alice knew as soon as she’d spoken that she’d said too much. Nathan’s eyes lit up.
“You’re going to Positano!”
Alice paused. “What do you know about that?”
“Plenty,” Nathan replied, smug. “I made some calls before getting you out. That’s where they say she went.” He frowned. “Is this what you’ve been doing—running around, trying to track her down? Because you won’t find her, I told you, she’s long gone by now. A professional like this—she’d cover her tracks.”
Alice gave an impatient look. “I know that, I’m not stupid.”
“Yet still you’re here, playing Nancy Drew.”
Alice bristled. “I suppose that makes you a Hardy Boy then.” She was tempted to tell him about everything else she’d discovered: Ella’s schedule, the volunteering, and every other tiny detail she’d found in her search for answers. She’d been nothing if not thorough. But Alice caught herself just in time.
“This has been fun, but I better leave you to that schedule of yours.” She took a step to the side.
“No, you can’t.” Nathan mirrored her with a step of his own, blocking her way again.
“Come on,” Alice chided him playfully. “Even Nancy Drew managed to get around in that sports car of hers.”
He looked down at her, all humor disappearing from his brown eyes. “I’m serious, Alice. You can’t just go running down there. For all you know, she skipped out on those bills too, and you’ll get arrested all over again.”
Alice paused. She hated to admit it, but the man had a point.
“You’re right.”
Nathan nodded. “I know I am.”
“Which is why you better come with me.”
He blinked. “Me? No, Alice, I said—we have flights booked, and I need to take you—”
“Again, with the taking!” Alice sighed, before remembering that exasperation probably wasn’t her best tactic—not when she wanted him to drive her a few hundred miles or so and question local hoteliers on her behalf. She beamed at him instead. “Face it, I need you. I’m going to Positano no matter what you say, so you can either let me go get in trouble all over again or come along and make sure I don’t.”
“I could kidnap you and force you on that plane instead,” he muttered darkly.
“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Alice sidestepped him, patting him lightly on the chest as she went. “I bite.”
The desk clerk was efficient, checking her out in a matter of minutes. They offered to comp her room, as penance for the inconvenience, but Alice insisted on paying her bill, as well as Ella’s. She didn’t know what panic had made the other woman leave without paying, but she knew this much by now: Ella didn’t steal from small businesses if she could help it, and neither would Alice, whatever the expense. Thanking Pascal profusely for his attentions, she picked up her shoulder bag and strode happily for the exit and the possibilities that awaited in Positano.
Nathan followed, as she knew he would.
***
The drive was smooth and swift, and with a soundtrack of classic Motown playing low on the stereo system, Alice found herself slipping in and out of sleep, drifting through the hours as the muted green and gold tones of the countryside slipped past. In what felt like no time at all, she was being gently shaken awake—Nathan’s hand soft on her arm.
“Mmmneh,” she yawned, her voice thick with sleep. “Are we here?”
“Almost. I thought you’d want to see this part.”
Alice opened her eyes fully and looked out of the car. They were driving on a twisted road, set into the side of rocky cliffs. Above them, a jumble of whitewashed houses rose, lodged on the hillside at a perilous incline, while to her right, the cliffs fell away to a crash of blue water, patches