THE STORY SO FAR: Midwife Becca, who has moved into a houseshare with her ex-boyfriend Sam, is in Rome trying to find her father Adrian, who she has lost contact with. Sam has joined her and their search becomes urgent when they learn Adrian has fallen into the clutches of a con woman. At the Castel Sant’Angelo, a waiter tells them Adrian proposed to the woman on the kissing bridge. They also find out Adrian’s plans for the next couple of days and their search takes them to the Colosseum. There, they see Adrian with the woman and give chase, only to lose the pair at the metro station. Knowing they are headed for the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Sam and Becca dash towards it on a hired Vespa. But when a van pulls out in front of them, the scooter is sent into a spin, which leaves Sam motionless on the ground.
Becca scrambled to her feet, stumbled past the stricken Vespa and knelt down beside Sam. She couldn’t lose him! Not now! Not like this!
He looked up at her and started taking his helmet off.
‘Don’t move!’ she instructed as relief washed over her. ‘Wait for the paramedics to get here. Did you lose consciousness?’
‘I’m just winded,’ he said.
He grinned and the last of her fear drained away as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.
‘How about you?’
‘Couple of scrapes,’ she said shakily. ‘Nothing major. I feel more shaken up than anything. We could have been killed!’
Becca noticed the
