We reached the first floor and I couldn’t see him anywhere. Tristan squeezed my hand, and I turned to face him. “Nina, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I forced a smile, not wanting to ruin our museum tour. “It’s nothing. I thought I saw someone.”
“The man in front of us a second ago?” he asked as he looked left and right for the man.
“It’s nothing. It’s just that last time I was here—remember you were supposed to come with me and I had to go with that giant bodyguard instead? Well, I met a man here who said he knew my father. That man we just saw looked like him.”
Tristan took me by the shoulders and stared down into my eyes with an intense look that frightened me. “Nina, I need you to think about this. What did that man say to you?”
I hesitated for a moment and he repeated his question. I didn’t want to say what that man had told me and bring up all the terrible things from the past, but finally, I said, “He told me he thought it was a shame the people responsible for my father’s death were never charged.”
“And you think that man was the same person as the one who just nearly ran away when he saw us?”
I didn’t know. It could have been him. He did look similar to him, especially his tanned skin. I wasn’t sure, though. “You’re scaring me, Tristan. I don’t know if it’s the same man. It could be. I just don’t know.”
“I’m not trying to scare you, but I think we need to get out of here. Something’s wrong. I feel it.”
We hurried back down the stairs and out the museum doors. Tristan didn’t say anything, but I knew he was far more worried than he wanted me to believe. We walked along the Grand Canal for as long as we could with him looking behind us every few feet. Finally, I realized that we weren’t going back to the hotel.
“Where are we going? The hotel is back there.”
“Just keep walking,” Tristan said, his tone serious.
“What’s going on?”
He pulled me into a dark corner and shook his head. “I thought they had him. I thought we’d be safe. Nina, no matter what happens, I won’t let anything hurt you. Trust me.”
His words were meant to calm me, but I saw fear in his eyes. “You’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
The sound of footsteps on the stone walkway told me someone was coming. Tristan’s hand tensed on my arm as they came closer, and he pushed me behind him. A large man came around the corner and for a moment I held my breath until I heard a familiar voice.
I peeked around Tristan and saw Varo standing there. “I’ve been looking for you. You lost me at the museum. We need to get you out of here. The plane’s ready to go.”
Tristan held my hand tightly. “What’s happened?”
“Daryl called me. He’s worried about Karl. He’s been released.”
“Released?” I asked as I moved to Tristan’s side. “Is he here?”
Varo looked around and shook his head. “I don’t know. We need to leave here.”
Tristan didn’t question my bodyguard’s order, which told me he believed we were in danger. If I had any doubt, the gun in Varo’s hand put any uncertainty to rest. As Tristan asked him if he remembered something or another, I began to get scared.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Tristan
Varo followed us as I led Nina and him along the streets of the city looking for a water taxi to take us to Marco Polo. As long as we got to the airport, we’d be safe, at least until we got back to the States. There I knew I could protect Nina much better than in Venice.
As we walked quickly back toward the Grand Canal, we ran into crowds of people flocking out into the night, making it harder to look out for Karl and whoever he had with him. I hadn’t seen his face yet, but I knew he was there. I’d taken everything that mattered to him, and now he planned to do the same to me.
My heart raced as we weaved through tourists and Venetians, all out to enjoy a beautiful night. They had no idea that among them was a man who wouldn’t think twice about killing two people just like them.
Nina held my hand like she was afraid I would let go, squeezing it harder when she heard a loud noise or when someone pushed against her as they passed by. My eyes scanned the crowds as we wound through them, every person appearing guilty as the minutes ticked by.
“We should try to find a water taxi,” Varo said behind us. “The sooner we get to the plane, the better.”
I saw a taxi coming in our direction, but it was on the other side of the canal. To catch it, we’d have to cross one of the bridges. Pointing toward the nearest one, I tried to make Nina believe everything was going to be okay. “What’s the name of this bridge? You know all about Venice.”