Daughter of the Mafia

Elopement: Part 15

The Internet café was nothing more than a Starbucks, which made Jaci laugh out loud. "Serving coffee and Internet since 1971. I should have known." She settled down at a table and opened up her laptop, already searching for the hotspot.

"Would you like a drink?" Finn asked.

She waved him off, her nerves kicking into high gear as her computer booted up. The Internet connected, and she opened her app.

Ricky wasn't online. It didn't even look like he'd gotten on yet today, which meant he hadn't seen her earlier message.

She exhaled and leaned back in her seat. Her fingers caressed the keyboard anxiously, desperate for him to get online. She opened up her email and quickly typed out a message.

Hey Ricky, I really need to talk to you. Please let me know when you will be online. I don't have Internet, so I will have to go somewhere to use my computer. Whatever you hear, don't be mad at me.

That was all she could say. She couldn't reveal any more in an email because she and her father were both fairly certain her email account was being monitored by the FBI, and they needed to believe she'd fallen madly in love also.

That same knot tightened in her stomach, and she understood Finn's kiss from earlier. They had to make it believable that she had gone off on her own free will. She looked over at him, sitting across the table from her and slurping on an iced coffee while he checked something on his phone.

"Hey," she said, "we need a selfie."

He glanced up at her, then scooted around the table and pressed his check to hers, grinning as she held her phone up and snapped a picture. Jaci sighed, then pulled up the media account Amanda had helped her set up just days ago. She'd been posting pictures of their trip every hour, just so her new behavior would seem more real. She uploaded the picture.

Having the time of my life in Switzerland. You'll never believe what I found. She added a series of hashtags and hesitated one moment before pressing the final button. This was putting it out there. Not only would she fool her mom and the police, but she would fool everyone she knew.

She hit Submit and then put her face in her hands.

Finn made polite conversation as they left the café, slurping on his iced coffee and pointing out different stores and restaurants and landmarks to her. The wind picked up as the afternoon grew later, and Jaci was quite relieved to duck inside a boutique and look for clothing. Finn busied himself by a waiting table piled high with magazines, leaving Jaci alone while she tried on clothing. The tailored cuts and neutral colors were very different from her usual style. She checked herself out in the mirror with her short bob haircut and the form-fitting button up blouse tucked into dark pants. She looked more like an office employee than a high school student. Very different from the track star she had been up until she sprained her ankle.

She changed out of those clothes and tried on a pair of dark jeans with a gray T-shirt. Even these were much classier than anything she would wear back home. They would have to do.

She selected two more pairs of pants in a similar style and several more long-sleeved shirts, as well as a few sweaters. She felt a little guilty, dropping so much money on clothing, but if she was going to stay with her father for several more days, she needed something to wear besides what she had on.

"Come on," she said to Finn, jerking her head at him as she grabbed her purchases.

Finn stepped up to her and took two of her bags. "Looks like you found something you like."

She shrugged, a bit self-consciously. "This is not my usual style."

"But it's good quality."

She lowered her voice as they left the store. "It was so expensive."