Read Online Lost in Italy by Stacey Joy Netzel - Free Book Online Page A

with disbelief.  How had her carefully planned life spun so out of control in just a few hours?  Not to mention, away from Trent, the whole nightmare was supposed to go away.  Instead, it’d gotten worse.
    Her mind raced.  Working in television, living vicariously through movies, her mind immediately went to the worst case scenario.  But maybe they weren’t all in on whatever was going on.  Surely Officer Greco wouldn’t have left her alone if she knew what Halli had filmed?  She waivered in indecision.  Could she risk trusting her?  Would the woman help?  Would she believe the real story after Halli’s initial lie?
    The day fast-forwarded in Halli’s mind and her shoulders slumped.  Who was she kidding?  No one would believe what had all happened to her today.  Heck, there wasn’t even a single incidence by itself that stood a ghost of a chance of being plausible, let alone the whole of it together.
    What she needed right now was a new plan.  What did she need to focus on after she got out of here?  One step beyond escape was crucial to give her a goal to work toward.
    The embassy.  No, the consulate.  Or the hotel?  Ben and Rachel might assume she’d go there, but she quickly decided the consulate was closer and probably safer than finding her way along the lakeshore by herself.  Plus, though Trent’s wallet appeared well-stocked, she had no idea how far the money would take her.  A taxi to Milan was her best plan.
    At the door, she took a deep breath, trying to work up the courage for her second bathroom escape in two hours. The thought startled a hysterical laugh.  She bit it back before her nerves escalated the reaction out of control.
    Focus on the consulate .
    Her next breath shook only half as much with a goal set in place.  She eased the door open, then quickly stepped back when a visual sweep of the hall revealed a door opening at the end of the corridor.  A split-second glimpse of daylight and a green sign imprinted on her mind before the bathroom door shut with a soft hydraulic sigh.  That green sign contained a white stick figure running toward a doorway with the word USCITA underneath— USCITA must mean exit.
    Voices reached a crescendo in the hall and then waned.  Flattened against the wall, between the door and the paper towel dispenser, Halli prayed Officer Greco didn’t locate a white soda anytime soon.
    Another quick scan revealed the hall empty.  Halli took a second to get her bearings.  Left was back to the offices where she’d been held.  No hope of escape there.  To the right beckoned the exit.  Only the hall didn’t end at the exit, but T’d in each direction, and between her and freedom stood two doors on either side, the last ones offices with nameplates and windows. 
    Didn’t matter, she had to move.  With her first step, the theme music from Jaws began to play in her head.  Each step forward increased the tempo, just like in the movie.  God, she was losing it!
    She made it past the first door.  Her sigh of relief was cut short, however, when the second door, not ten feet in front of her swung open, and a short, fat bald man stepped out.  The air seized in her lungs.
    The man turned to waddle toward the exit sign, reading a document in his hands.  Halli watched in amazement as he turned the corner without even glancing in her direction.
    Could it be her luck was changing?
    A soft noise registered directly behind her just as fingers fisted in her shirt and yanked her backward into a small room.  Her instinctive scream was curtailed by a large hand over her mouth.  The door clicked shut and a solid wall of muscle forced the air from her lungs.  A wall that smelled like leather.
    Alrigo .
    The distinct, heavy scent assaulted her senses, turning her queasy stomach.  Frantic clawing to remove her living steel gag proved futile.  Tears stung her eyes when they confirmed the arm holding her was indeed encased in leather.  She screamed again, but the