Rise by Via Mari

Author:Via Mari [Mari, Via]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Via Mari
Published: 2020-03-21T18:30:00+00:00

Serena

The driver lets me out in the downtown community and tells me that I’m only to go into the shops and come directly out. While all the shops appear upscale and nothing like the ones in the back alleys of Naples, I appreciate their watchfulness and caution.

I walk into one of the boutiques and browse around, then spend some time talking to one of the salesclerks before selecting a souvenir and moving on to the next shop. I glance around, and it’s not exactly ideal for what I have planned either, so I meander around and eventually pick out a bauble to add to my purchases before moving on.

The next store is perfect. It’s filled with gorgeous handmade dresses and skirts and I spy a dressing room in the back. I take my time rummaging through the display racks before picking out a few dresses, and then select a hat sitting on a shelf on the way to the dressing room. As soon as I’m changed and have pinned my hair up with a clip from my purse and situated the hat, I walk out to the cashier. “Miss, I have a thing to go to and these clothes are perfect. Here are the tags. Are you able to just ring them up? I left the other items in the dressing room.”

The cashier’s dark brown eyes widen as she realizes the clothes I’m wearing are her merchandise, but nods her head as she seems to reconcile I’m not trying to steal from her shop. “Okay, surely,” she says, taking the paper tags from my hands that I’ve carefully ripped from the garments. I let her ring me up and know that the security team probably have my phone under surveillance.

“I hate to ask, but my service is not working, and I need a driver that can take me a bit farther down the coast. Would you be able to call someone for me? I will make it worth your time,” I say, pulling out bills that I had saved to pay off the men that were terrorizing my nonna and me, and lay them on the counter.

Her eyes go wide again, and she nods. “Of course, I’m happy to help you,” she says, her hands moving over the tabletop to grasp the bills.

I place a hand over hers. “With a condition. No one knows. If someone walks into the shop and asks about me, you know nothing.”

She looks me up and down as if memorizing my face, and I have a feeling that as soon as I walk out this door she’ll spill her guts to the first person that asks about me and puts money into her hands, but at this point, I’m left with no choices.

“I know you don’t owe me anything, but I’m not a criminal. I’m a victim, just trying to find my way home without being found,” I say, peeling off a few more bills in hopes that she won’t give me away to anyone that questions her.

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