He didn’t know what to do with Arturo’s head and limbs at first. He had it in the trunk of the car he rented for almost two days while he searched for Ari. When he found out who had picked her that day, and gave the order to kill him, he decided to wrap Arturo up in a box and leave it on Pasquale’s porch.
It didn’t take long for him to get the location of the villa and headed straight over there to get his girl back. The job he took had shifted into getting the girl his heart couldn’t let go of, and kill the man she had desperately tried to get away from. If he was going to die trying, he was sure it was his fate.
He spent days and nights living in his rented car thinking of what was happening to Ari. Did Armand find out about what she had done? He could hardly sleep. If he was to leave the country and start a new life without rescuing her from Armand, he would never be able to live in peace.
Was it an accident? Did she do it on purpose? She had been quiet throughout the car ride. She was staring blankly into the dark of the night. She wasn’t ready to say anything about it. He only glanced at her once in a while through the rear view mirror.
She broke down and cried, then she stopped. She would cry again, and then silence. He felt a little uneasy with jealousy. She was crying for him. Of course she did, he had to let her grief for him, let it all out. To top it all off, she caused his death. That might leave a damage she didn’t consider before.
Once they find out about Armand, they will put her face all over the news again. They’re still not in the clear yet, the airport will be one of the toughest points they have to pass through.
“We have to make a quick stop … get into a disguise, let’s hope we can pass the airport security,” he interrupted her thoughts.
She wiped the tears from her cheeks, and nodded, “Okay.”
He had brought all of her stuff that was left at the Inn, that’s why the police has yet to connect the discovery of the mutilated body with her kidnapping. He took out the hair dye she bought and didn’t have the chance to use. The bathroom at the rest area was unoccupied, he went inside with her and blocked the door.
They changed into a new outfit, put their clothes inside a trash bag to throw away at the dumpster later. She started dying her hair on the sink. He checked on their papers, he still had her new identity and bought two tickets to Barcelona the day after she was picked up. He had thought it through.
She pressed her lips to hold the cry that was coming again as she was looking at herself in the mirror.
“Hey … hey … it’s alright … you can’t keep doing that, we are officially on the run now, Ari, keep it together,” he held her arms.
“I killed him … it was horrible … he’s dead …” she said out loud what she had been repeating in silence to herself.
“I know … and it’s not gonna go away that easily, you’ll remember this incident for the rest of your life and it will take a big part of you away … I’m not gonna lie to you, it will eat you up if you let it … but you’re not alone, okay? It’s probably the worst thing you have ever done in your life, and it will feel like shit for a long time … it will haunt you in your sleep, it will haunt you in your waking hours, … but you did what you had to do … right?” he stared deep into her eyes.
She looked at him, covered her mouth, she realized she was looking at a man who had done it hundreds of times.
“Do you know what I had to do to get to you?” he added.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. She didn’t want to think about it, but the mutilated body was his doing.
“I had to do it, Ari, it was either him or me … right now, we have to keep it together to do just one more thing, if they catch us before we leave ….” he didn’t have to finish his sentence, she knew exactly what would happen.
She took a deep breath, and nodded.
“We can’t think about that for now. We have to focus to get out of this country, and then we’ll feel like shit together … okay?”
She nodded again.