Park Avenue (Book Six in the Fifth Avenue Series)

by Smith, Christopher

  Mario paid the driver. Leana stepped out of the cab, quickly followed by him. As they were about to enter the store, a hail of gunshots rang out behind them.

  Leana lost her bearings and stumbled forward.

  She saw the store’s glass front doors and windows explode in front of her. The falling shards covered her and she became aware of being shoved down onto the sidewalk, her hands reflexively reaching out to break her fall.

  Mario slammed on top of her, shielded her, and told her to keep her head down. She tried to catch her breath as others on the sidewalk scattered in the unfolding chaos.

  There was a second round of gunfire. Other windows blew apart above them, and people started to either rush deep into the store or down into the subway for protection. Sheets of glass crashed down around them. She heard a child cry out for its mother. Then came the sound of tires screaming against asphalt as the offending car sped away.

  Leana was bleeding from her face, arms and neck. She could feel the blood dripping off her. Mario gently helped her to her feet, which was a challenge because, for Leana, only half of the world was there, which made no sense to her.

  He gently touched her face. She saw the look of concern that crossed it, and then he lifted her into his arms and hurried her away from the store to safety. He rounded onto Eighty-Sixth Street, held her in his arms and they remained there with others until it was clear that they were safe.

  “Why?” one woman was saying. “Why?”

  “I’m so sorry,” a man said to her. “I’m so sorry.”

  Her body was numb. Her mind was fogged. Was she in shock? She had to be in shock. Something wasn’t right. She could feel blood dripping off her chin. There was a reason he said he was sorry.

  Horns sounded in the street. She was aware of movement all around her. She tried to blink, but couldn’t. It hurt too much. Something was in her right eye. Something was wedged into it. She reached up to pull whatever it was out but Mario quickly grabbed her hand and lowered it.

  “Leana, look at me. You’re bleeding.”

  The world started to turn inward. She shook her head in an effort to clear it, but her head didn’t feel right. Her balance was off. She couldn’t see properly—everything was cut in half. Her face felt warm and wet. She blinked again and the pain was excruciating.

  “Don’t blink. You have a shard of glass in your right eye. Here. Lift the lid with your thumb so you don’t cause any further damage. Give me your thumb. Do it like this.”

  “Mario—”

  “I need you to do this. I know you’re in shock, but whatever part of you is still with me, please just lift your eyelid while I get help.”

  She did what she was told. Now, she realized why only part of the world was there. She only could see out of her left eye. “I don’t understand,” she said. “I just wanted to buy a new phone. Why can’t I see? What happened?”

  “You’re in shock.”

  “I can’t see out of my right eye.”

  “Don’t blink. Keep the pressure on your upper lid. You’re doing great, honey. Keep holding the lid open with your thumb. I need to get you to a hospital.”

  Their night ended at Lenox Hill Hospital, which specialized in eyes, ears and throats. It was located just off Park on Seventy-Seventh Street, which fortunately was just down the street from the shooting. When she arrived at the emergency room, Leana was admitted, assessed and rushed into surgery.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  The next morning, she remained in the hospital. It was early when she woke. Mario was in a chair next to her bed. His shirt was covered with dried blood, and she saw that he was awake and watching her.

  “Good morning,” he said. He stood and took her hand in his.

  She was startled by the blood on his shirt and confused by the situation. She looked around the room, could only see half of it, and lifted her hand tentatively to her right eye. Mario stopped her. “It’s bandaged,” he said. “You’ve had surgery.”

  “Surgery?” Her words were slurred.

  “Six hours’ worth. Don’t touch your eye.”

  She lowered her hand and thought back. It took her a moment, but then she remembered the windows exploding and the glass letting loose upon them like spears. She remembered the ambulance that took them there the night before, the ER doc who met them at the hospital in a flash, as if her wounds were urgent, and how he taped her eye open before a specialist was brought in to review the damage. It was an older woman. Serious looking, but her face was kind.

  “You suffered a corneal laceration when a piece of glass cut through the cornea and caused a ruptured globe,” Mario said.

  She only half-listened to him. She remembered being rushed down a hallway with bright lights overhead and then being given an injection. Everything went dark, including her memories of what happened next. Now what time was it? Morning? Late morning? She searched Mario’s face. “Where am I?” she asked.

  “Lennox Hill.”

  She didn’t trust her memory. She wanted confirmation. “What happened to me?”

  He told her.

  “So, someone really does want me dead.”

  “I don’t want you to focus on that now.”

  “That’s a little difficult to do.” Her mouth was dry. She paused to lick her lips, but it was worthless. Mario offered her an ice cube.

  “Drink?” she asked.

  “Not yet.”

  She took the cube. “They operated on my eye?”

  He nodded.

  “Couldn’t see out of it last night. Will I be all right?”

  She could sense his hesitation. “The doctor is hoping for the best.”

  “That’s not the answer I hoped to hear.”

  “She thinks there’s every reason to believe you’ll see again.”

  “There’s a chance that I won’t?” She couldn’t keep the alarm from her voice. She felt panic rise up within her. She thought of Celina and her mother, and wished they were here with her. Celina would be working the hospital staff and demanding answers while Mario and Elizabeth would be keeping her calm.

  “We don’t know, Leana. The bandage needs to stay on for five to six days, then the doctor will examine you and we’ll have a better idea of where you stand. Either way, after the bandage, you’ll need to wear an eyepatch for the next several weeks.”

  “The hotel is opening soon. There’s too much to do. I haven’t told you about my talk with my father last night. I can’t blow it.”

  “Several days of rest and then, if you’re well enough, the doctor said you can do light work. But only with the patch, not without it.”

  She turned away from him and, in that moment, saw that they weren’t alone. Standing across from them, near the exit, was Sean Scott, her head of security. His hands were clasped behind him. He was staring straight ahead, hearing every word but professional enough to appear as if he heard nothing.

  “Should have listened to you,” she said to him.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Redman?”

  “Should have listened to you.”

  “No one could have anticipated this.”

  “You did. You offered to shadow me. ”

  The credit was there for him to take, but he didn’t. “Everyone at the site wants you to know that they’re concerned about you and thinking of you.”

  It was difficult for her to form words, but she fought through the challenge and managed in spite of how weak she sounded. “Tell them I appreciate that. Tell them I’ll be fine. Did Mario give you my phone?”

  “He did, Miss Redman.”

  “Was it broken?”

  “All in one piece. It’s with my contact at the FBI and it’s being looked into now.”

  She nodded her thanks to him, and looked at Mario. “I am going to be OK, aren’t I?”

  “You will.”

  “Don’t lie to me.”

  “I’m not lying to you. The doctor says we have a good chance—”

  “Chance?”

 
; “We need to wait this out for a few days, Leana. See how the surgery went. Listen to the doctor.”

  “Did you call my father?”

  “I did.”

  “Did he come?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “I feel sick,” she said. And then she was.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  By afternoon, her head started to clear and bouquets of flowers began to arrive by the dozens, most of which Leana asked the nurses to deliver to the children’s ward. She kept only those from Mario, Michael, her crew, Anastassios and Zack Anderson.

  Nothing arrived from her father. He hadn’t called or stopped by.

  “Have you called him again?” she asked Mario.

  “I have.”

  “Did he say if he was coming?”

  “He told me to look after you. He said he’d come by if he could.”

  * * *

  On the afternoon news, the shooting that took place at the Best Buy on Lex was the lead story. Not one station left out the fact that George Redman’s daughter was among those who were hurt.

  She hadn’t seen the papers yet, but Mario told her that, yes, they covered the situation and that, yes, they used photographs of her on the front pages of the Times, the Post and the Daily News.

  “Did the papers mention the hotel?” she asked.

  He furrowed his brow at her. “They did.”

  “Did they mention the date we open?”

  “I don’t remember, Leana.”

  “I need you to do me a favor,” she said.

  “What’s that?”

  “Ask Zack Anderson to stop by today.”

  “Your brother’s coming by. The doctor warned against too many visitors. How about if Zack comes by tomorrow?”

  “I need to see him today. The sooner the better.”

  * * *

  Against Mario’s better judgment, Zack arrived an hour later.

  When he came through the door, he wasn’t wearing a suit, but jeans and a black T-shirt, each of which was smudged with dirt, sweat and dust.

  “Sorry I look like hell,” he said. “We’re in the middle of it. Every hand counts.”

  Mario nodded at him and stepped out of the room while Zack moved to the side of Leana’s bed. Sean, however, remained.

  “Leana, I’m sorry.”

  “There’s nothing to be sorry about, Zack. I’ll be fine.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know, but Sean and his team are on top of it. So are my fiancé and his family. The reason I asked you to come by is because we have an opportunity to discuss.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You of all people have a handle on what’s happening in this town. Who is being talked about and who isn’t. What’s been the reaction to what happened to me?”

  He shrugged. “You’re everywhere. Everyone is talking about it. This morning, you were news on the morning talk shows—even some of the national ones. Today, you’re on the front page of the Times. And by the way, just so you know, they used a knock-out photo of you.”

  “Which photo?”

  “You were in jeans and this incredible rope of diamonds. You looked on trend and hot.”

  “Well, thank God for that.”

  “The AP picked it up. The press was outside when I came in. Everyone wants a piece of you.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll give them.”

  “Leana, I may be wrong, but from what I’ve heard, I don’t think you’re in shape to see anyone.”

  “Actually, to be honest, I can only see half of anyone. But here’s what I have in mind, Zack. When I leave here in a few days, do you think the press will still be outside?”

  “Are you joking? It’s not just the Times waiting for you. It’s bloggers, TMZ, television, radio, and other newspapers, some of which are international because Redman International is, after all, international. I have a feeling you don’t like being associated with your father’s business, but like it or not, you are, Leana, particularly after what happened to your sister. They’re all drawing connections between Celina’s death and what just happened to you. ‘Is Leana Redman Next?’ That sort of thing. They’re making a story out of it, so you need to be prepared for that. They all want that first shot of you when you come out of the hospital and they’ll stay because they heard it won’t be long before you’re released.”

  “So, here’s what we do,” she said. “And please trust me when I say that I asked you here because only you will get it and do it right. But you’ll need to act quickly. This is something we can’t blow.”

  “What is it?”

  She told him.

  “Are you sure?”

  “It needs to be subtle.”

  “This isn’t subtle.”

  “Try.”

  “Are you on medication right now?”

  “Why?”

  “I’ll do my best,” he said.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Michael arrived just after three. He looked tall and handsome, not unlike a younger version of their father, only somehow more refined and without a trace of the arrogance.

  When the door started to swing shut behind him, Leana turned and noted a huddle of nurses and doctors looking in just beyond it. All were trying to catch a glimpse of the movie star and best-selling novelist before the door closed to offer a moment of privacy.

  “I don’t know how you do it,” she said. “It seems so invasive.”

  “It’s all of the billboards they’ve put up, but I’m used to it.” He kissed her on the forehead and brushed her hair away from her face. For a moment, he looked at her in concern before sitting in the chair beside her.

  “I saw one of the billboards yesterday,” she said. “It was towering in midtown. You were shirtless.”

  “No, I wasn’t.”

  “Teasing.”

  “Maybe I should just stick to writing novels. When you’re a writer, it’s enough to get you a good table at a good restaurant, but nothing more. I’d be fine with that.”

  “I think you’re a bit beyond that now. When does the new movie come out again?”

  “Next month.”

  “Apparently, next month is the beginning and the end of everything. Have the stars aligned, or have they collapsed?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Nothing,” she said. “It’s not important. September is going to be one strange, intense month. That’s all.”

  He looked around the room. “Mario isn’t here?”

  “He’s getting coffee. And probably taking a much-needed break from me. Poor guy. I’m not exactly the easiest patient. I can’t sit still, which I’m supposed to do. I shouldn’t be talking as much as I have been, because I’m supposed to rest. I need to ease up and do what the doctor asked of me—heal and relax. Only, I’m not built that way, so it’s a problem.”

  “You should do as you’re told. You had surgery, but that’s all I’ve heard. What’s going on?”

  She told him.

  “How serious is it?”

  “Well, I couldn’t see out of my right eye going into surgery. My eye is sealed shut under the bandage, and everything is dark. Not even a hint of daylight. I guess we’ll know in a few days how good my surgeon was.”

  “You know,” he said, “if you want to just talk, I’m here for you. You don’t need to be glib, especially with me.”

  “Michael, if I weren’t glib or sarcastic or making jokes, I’d go into a funk. I have to keep my sense of humor. I know this might not turn out well for me, so I try to keep things light. I can’t let it get the best of me. At least not until I hear the news. Then I guess I’ll deal with whatever they have to say and I’ll find a way around it if things don’t go well. But this sure as hell isn’t going to beat me even if I do lose my eyesight.”

  “I understand,” he said. “And I agree—a sense of humor can get you through pretty much anything. I
did bring some good news though.”

  “What’s that?”

  “There’s a lot of interest in your party, especially after this morning when the news about what happened last night hit.”

  “I don’t know how to feel about that.”

  “I don’t blame you. I guess you need to understand how the industry works. If they didn’t think there was going to be a massive turnout by the press for the opening of your hotel before, they know better now. And so should you.”

  “Silver linings,” she said. “I won’t ask who’s coming. Surprise me, OK?”

  “You’ll be surprised. Have you heard from George?”

  “Not a word. Not a call. Not even a fucking flower. I don’t exist, but there’s no surprise there.”

  “I can’t believe he didn’t at least call.”

  “Guess he’s had a busy day.” She saw the anger on his face and said, “Michael, this is who he is. He’s a bastard, but sometimes, when universes collide, he shows traces of humanity. Unfortunately, that’s generally when he wants something from you, which brings us back to him being a bastard. Do you know what he proposed to me yesterday?”

  Michael shrugged.

  “You know the big skyscraper he’s building on Columbus?”

  “You mean ‘The Tallest and Most-Exclusive Residential High-Rise in Manhattan’?” Michael said. “At least that’s what the ads are saying.”

  Leana smiled. “That’s the one. He asked me to join our sweet cousin Pepper from Arkansas in getting it ready for him. Apparently Pepper’s personality was a bit too much for the other lead to handle. Because of her, he walked off the job and that man has worked for my father for years. She can’t do it alone, so my father’s bringing in me to assist.”

  “Do you think he still plans to?”

  “Since he hasn’t called to tell me otherwise, I plan to go to work when I get out of here and start doing what he asked of me.”

  “Why help him? Especially after the way he’s treated you?”

  “Because I’m going to prove him wrong about me.”