Journey to the Lost Tomb (Rowan and Ella Book 2) by Susan Kiernan-Lewis Read Free Book Online Page B

much as wave that stick in my direction, I will have the
American Embassy down here to shove it up the south end of your ungreased burka . Capice ?”
                The
woman with the stick looked from Ella to Maddie. Except for her eyes, her face
was covered, but her eyes were lethal. She regarded Ella with a combination of
fierceness and fear. Ella guessed the latter was for what the old girl was
imagining would be in her future when Gupta got home. The taxicab honked and
Ella, who never let go of Maddie’s arm, backed away from the angry women in
black as they stood guard to the portal of the jail without its prisoner.
     
                Later,
Ella would admit that she had been way too optimistic about the aftermath of
rescuing Maddie from her future in-laws. It became very quickly clear that she
and Maddie would never be able to look back at it as a colorful chapter in a
life well lived. It had been absurd to think it.
                When
Ella brought Maddie back to the hotel, her friend cried most of the way there
until she fell into a sort of stoned silence that worried Ella more than the
crying. She had already been confused by Maddie’s initial resistance to
leaving, feeling more like a kidnapper herself, and now instead of debriefing
about what a bastard Gagan was, Maddie had literally spent an hour weeping about
how much she loved him and didn’t deserve him.
                Ella
ordered room service, made sure the doors were locked, informed the hotel
security that she felt she was being stalked and to please take special care
that no one was sent up to her room, and drew Maddie a bath. She threw the long
dark abaya on the foot of the closet
and laid out a tracksuit and slippers from her own suitcase for Maddie after
her bath. She waited patiently for Maddie to emerge from the
bathroom—checking on her twice to make sure she didn’t try to drown
herself—and then set a slice of pizza and a Coca-Cola in front of her
friend.
                “Let’s
talk,” she said gently. “Tell me from the beginning.”
                Maddie
looked up at her and her sadness filled up every inch of her gaze. Her left eye
was dark purple and she was bruised from her temple to her jawline. It looked
pretty clear to Ella that ol’ Gagan wasn’t just hitting with his open hand. As
if that mattered. When Maddie pulled up her sleeve to reach for the Coke, Ella
saw that both wrists were red and swollen. It looked as if she had been bound
and, for the first time, Ella felt a sliver of fear.
                Would
he really let her go so easily?
                “Everything
was fine until we got to Cairo,” Maddie said, pushing the pizza slice away. “He
was perfect. You only met him the one time, El, but he was.”
                “I
know,” Ella said. “He sounded perfect.”
                “He
was.”
                Except he wasn’t, Ella thought as she
waited patiently for Maddie to continue.
                “He
brought me home and that was it.” Maddie shrugged and stared out the hotel
window, seeing nothing.
                “ What was it, sweetie? What happened?”
                Maddie
refocused on Ella in the room as if surprised to see her.
                “His
mother and sister just kind of took me,” she said quietly. “At first, because
they said they were training me to be a good wife to G-g-gagan, I thought it
was like how they say you get broken in at boot camp?” She looked at Ella and
Ella nodded warily. “How they break you, so they can build you back up their
way?”
                Ella
let out a breath. God, those two psychos
were even worse than Carol.Probably.
                “And
when I complained to…to…G-g-gagan…” She put her hands to her face to muffle the
sobs. Ella rushed to her friend and put her arms around