Page 111 of The First Taste

I turn and look at Ella, who is red as a beet right now. “What?”

She bites her lip. Hesitates for a second, then shakes her head. “Nothing. I just kind of don’t want her energy around me today.”

Isla appears in the doorway, ending the conversation. “I’m ready!” she yells. She does a half turn, showing off her backpack. “I brought sunblock!”

It’s an awkward little group, that’s for sure. Isla is literally just yammering on and on, fact after fact about the ruins.

“Did you know that men used to fight each other at the Colosseum? The men are called gladiators and they fought in front of an audience of up to eight thousand!”

“I think the guidebook actually said eighty thousand, darling,” I tell her.

“Oh, yeah. Eighty thousand. That’s a lot! Isn’t that a lot of people, Ella?”

Ella nods, but she doesn’t take her eyes off of Natasha for a second. “It is, Isla.”

Natasha has given Ella the occasional smirk, but otherwise says absolutely nothing.

Isla prattles on, none the wiser. I’m honestly sort of relieved when we get to the Colosseum itself. It’s gigantic, easily half a football field high and a full field wide. Its walls are visibly crumbled in some spots, these areas clearly marked with yellow caution tape. Isla is so excited about everything, especially the guide I booked to give us a private tour.

He walks us around the site, trying to go through a rehearsed speech. But he is interrupted approximately every two minutes by the ever-inquisitive Isla.

Meanwhile, I’m watching the simmering tension between Ella and Natasha. I’m not sure what’s been said or done, but something is definitely going on with the pair of them.

As the day wears on, the sun starts to get hot. When we climb to the top of the ruins, our tour guide suggests a break in the shade. I try to pull Ella aside, letting the others wander as they will. But Ella is quick to snap at me.

“You can’t leave Isla alone in a place like this. She could get hurt!” she says. But the second she says it, her gaze returns to Natasha.

“Is there something that you want to tell me about my assistant? Or do you just have the world’s largest stick up your ass right now?”

Her face contorts. “Ask Saffron about it. It’s really not my story to tell.”

She walks away, standing right beside Isla, looking around like she expects danger to come at any moment.

I whip out my phone and send Saffron a text.What do you know about Natasha? Why is Ella acting so strange about it?

I slip my phone into my pocket as the guide leads right to the edge of the topmost tier of the ancient seats. The wall crumbles away, revealing a lovely view of Rome. Isla edges closer to the edge, in awe.

Natasha follows her, Ella in lockstep.

“Isla… come back,” Ella says.

“She’s fine,” Natasha says, glaring over her shoulder.

“I’m not really comfortable with her being so close to the edge,” Ella gripes.

Our guide mumbles something, stepping away to take a phone call. I look down to check my phone, almost missing it.

In a flash, Natasha steps closer to Isla, stomping on her foot. Isla rears back, her fiery temperament showing. She moves backward, almost losing her balance.

For a second, she teeters. She makes a simple noise of pure fear as she scrabbles for balance.

I look up right as Ella grabs Isla, hauling her back onto sound footing. She gapes at Natasha, screaming in the other woman’s face.

“Are you insane?! You nearly killed her!”

Natasha’s expression turns black. She shoves Ella and Isla, even as I lurch toward her.

“No!”

All I can hear are the twin screams as the girls tumble over the edge.