CHAPTER EIGHT
ENJOY ACTIVITIES where you’re not alone. Say good-night before you want to.
Gaby slid out of the seat, removing herself from danger by mere inches. “You like to unlock things?” she teased with a smile. “How about the door?”
He stood there with that hurt expression in his eyes. “I think you like to torture me.”
I think you are torturing me a lot more than I do you, Anatoly.
“Don’t look now, but the manager of the hair salon is waving to us from the stairwell.” Gloria had probably seen him come in through the front door and couldn’t wait to be introduced.
In a lightning move he reached the door and unlocked it. Gaby preceded him through it.
The striking blond divorcée was so busy looking him over, she forgot to greet Gaby. For the first time in her life, Gaby understood what it meant to feel territorial about a man.
“Hi, Gloria. How are you?”
“I’m great. You don’t usually work this late, so I thought I’d come down and say hi.”
Sure you did. “Gloria, this is Anatoly Kuzmina.” She turned to Anatoly. “This is Gloria Stewart. She runs the very successful hair salon upstairs.”
“How do you do, Gloria,” he said in his serious voice before shaking her hand.
“Are you one of Gaby’s clients?” The hope in those baby blues could have lit up a small city.
“No. Gabriella is my sweetheart.”
“Oh.”
Gaby stood there in a euphoric daze.
“I am happy to know that you and Gabriella watch out for each other. She is very important to me. That is why I am here. To drive her home.”
“Oh,” she said again.
“Do you have transportation?”
“Oh…yes…my car’s right out front.”
“That is good you do not have to walk far. It was very nice meeting you, Gloria. I am sure we will see each other again.”
“Yes. Right.” Her stunned gaze flicked to Gaby’s.
“Well, good night.”
“Good night, Gloria. Have a good weekend. See you Monday.”
While she charged up the stairs, Gaby ran back to her desk for the twenty-dollar bill. “Here.” She handed it to him. “I didn’t want you to forg—”
The rest of the words never came out because Anatoly’s mouth had found hers. She’d been wanting this to happen for days. But it was over almost before it began, because he didn’t try to deepen their kiss. A protest of frustration escaped her lips. For a first try, it left a lot to be desired.
Embarrassed and red-faced because he knew how disappointed she was, Gaby rushed down the stairs ahead of him.
“Do not be upset, Gabriella. I told you I am a selfish man. It is in my nature to test the waters first before I plunge in.”
“Your idea of a test and mine must be two different things! Something your country invented?”
She pulled hard on the handle of the van’s passenger door to get away from him. It didn’t budge. All she managed to do was break the tips of two nails. Oh, well. She needed a manicure, anyway.
“Soon you and I will belong to the same country.” He used a key to let her inside, then went around to the driver’s seat.
“Don’t count on the waters being the same temperature again,” she grumbled.
“I do not need to count on anything.” He started the van and backed out. “The temperature between us has always burned hot. It is as I told you from the beginning. We are compatible in every way. You and I make fire.”
Oh, brother. She looked out her window as they drove down the street.
“I now have proof you have put the memory of your husband away in a safe place.”
He was right about that. Paul hadn’t once entered her thoughts. She waited for an accompanying stab of guilt, but it didn’t come.
“Since meeting you, Natasha no longer takes up space in my heart, either. That is why I must talk to her tonight. So that tomorrow when I come to you, I come as a free man.”
It would be crazy to believe anything he was saying. But damn, damn, damn, she wanted to believe him. She wanted him. She wanted Anatoly Kuzmina, a dangerous man. A man probably leading a double life. She was out of her mind to get involved with him.
She would be out of her mind to fall in love with him.
She couldn’t tell her family. Any hour now she expected her uncle Frank to phone with news that would kill all these burgeoning feelings.
Was such a thing possible now?
“I have made you nervous.” They’d come to a stop in front of her apartment building. “I, too, feel shaken by this intensity between us. Go inside, Gabriella, before I do something more than unlock your hair.”
“Undo,” she corrected him in order to break the tension.
“Yes. That is what I meant. I will be here for you at one o’clock tomorrow.”
Before she got out, his eyes captured hers. “We will be a man and a woman on our first official date together. We will smile and laugh with the girls in the sunshine. Do you know how good it is to feel joy inside here?” He put a hand to his heart.
Yes. I know. I never expected to feel this way again. In fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever felt like this before. Not in my whole life.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow, too. Thank you for the ride home, Anatoly.” She hurriedly shut the door and dashed inside the building before she did something dumb like turn around and beg him to come in.
Once inside her apartment, she turned on a light so he would know she was safe.
Gaby wished she didn’t have to wait until tomorrow night for Hallie to come home. Hallie had lived through tragedy few people would ever experience. It had set her on a different course and given her rare insight into life. But unfortunately she wasn’t here. Their talk would have to wait.
With so much excess energy needing release, the only thing to do was get busy housecleaning the apartment. She wouldn’t be able to make the beds with clean sheets until she went back to the magazine shop for her laundry bag. That was okay. The secondhand refrigerator needed defrosting. She would do that.
For the next hour her mind vacillated about what to wear to the park tomorrow. Not that she had a huge wardrobe. But if they were going to play croquet, she’d better wear something comfortable. That meant slacks or walking shorts.
When she finally turned out the light and slid under the quilt, she still hadn’t decided on an outfit. If she bought something new, it would be an admission that she’d taken Anatoly seriously about this being their first official date.
On the other hand, everything in her closet had been worn to death. Maybe when she went for her laundry bag, she would ride her bike to the mall and see what she could find on sale.
He’d only ever seen her in a ponytail. Should she wear her hair long to surprise him, or would that be sending out too blatant a signal? But if she pulled it back the way she always did, he might think she was challenging him to “unlock” it.
Gaby chuckled in the darkness. Once in a while he said a word or phrase that was so funny—so-o-o Anatoly.
She wondered if he would wear something new. He always dressed well. She hadn’t seen him in the same outfit twice. Anatoly looked good in anything. In a hand-tailored suit and Italian leather shoes, he’d do lethal damage.
Wouldn’t she love to walk into a family gathering with Anatoly on her arm! Her female relatives would be sick with envy. Wait until he opened his mouth and they heard him talk…
Gabriella is my sweetheart. She is very important to me.
Anatoly had been kind to Gloria, but he’d let her know how things stood between them. In a way, she felt kind of sorry for Gloria.
But not too sorry.
WHEN MAX WAS within two blocks of his apartment house, he got a call from the guys providing backup.
“Calder here. What’s going on?”
“You picked up a car at the last light. A gold Passat.”
T
hat would be Oleg. Max glanced at the rearview mirror. There were several cars behind him with their headlights on.
“Is he alone?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
If Oleg was on official business, someone else would be with him. Wondering why Oleg hadn’t called him, Max took the initiative and punched in the digits of his cell phone. Oleg didn’t pick up.
Unwilling to wait until they reached the apartment, Max pulled over to the curb and sat there with the engine running until he saw the Passat slow down and pull even with him. He put his window down. Oleg did the same with the passenger window of his car.
“I saw you behind me,” Max lied. The other man looked surprised that he’d been spotted. “How come you didn’t answer your phone?”
“My cell’s shot until I get batteries. There’s trouble.”
If it was official mafia business, why hadn’t Nikolai phoned Max himself?
“Nikolai didn’t call you yet?”
“No.” More puzzled than ever, Max said, “Meet me in the produce section of Shopwise three blocks from here on Sycamore.”
The other man nodded and took off. Max waited to let a couple of cars pass, then he phoned his backup and told them his destination before heading there himself.
The Shopwise parking lot was full. Max had to wait a few minutes until someone vacated a spot. Then he grabbed an abandoned shopping cart and headed inside.
While he was here, he’d pick up some items for his outing with Gabriella and the girls tomorrow. By the time he reached the produce section, he found Oleg pushing a cart in front of a mound of apples. Max stopped to fill up a bag with some Jonathans.
“Be glad you weren’t at the meeting at Galena’s apartment tonight,” Oleg started without preamble.
“Nikolai was in a rage.”
Ever since Max had infiltrated the mafia, Oleg had been the closest thing he had to a friend. When Oleg was in a confiding mood, Max was able to pick up a lot of valuable information.
“I’ve never known Nikolai when he wasn’t angry about something. He hates my guts.”
“You’re right about that. He’d just as soon slit your throat as see you made capper of the beach cities.” Those comprised the coastal cities of San Clemente, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach, where a larger percentage of the population drove some of the highest priced cars.
“Is that what he was raving about tonight?”
The other man shook his head. “No. This wasn’t like our normal drivers’ meeting, Anatoly. Nikolai was planning something big tonight, but it never came off because Galena’s daughter ran away.”
The news didn’t surprise Max. Alexey had been after the attractive young teen ever since they’d been meeting at Galena’s. One of the reasons Max was angry he’d been temporarily barred from mafia business was because he knew Irina needed protecting.
Her mother could do nothing about the situation. She was Nikolai’s helpless victim. At least when Max was there, he could run interference.
“That’s not good. She knows our names.”
“It’s worse than that, Anatoly. While we were at the apartment, Nikolai said she knew something that could bring down the whole San Diego operation if the feds were to hear about it.”
Max’s hand stilled on one of the apples. That meant Irina knew the names of the mafia bosses. Or at least one of them. She could only have learned it from Nikolai. Max’s thoughts reeled as he contemplated what Oleg had told him about tonight’s meeting being different.
Was it possible Nikolai had planned to procure Irina for the head man’s pleasure in order to curry favor? Was that what this was all about, and the girl had been frightened enough to run?
“He sent all the drivers at the meeting to look for her, Anatoly. We’re not supposed to come back to Galena’s without her. If you haven’t heard from Nikolai yet, you will.”
For Nikolai to break down and call Max, his mortal enemy, it would mean he was in the deepest kind of trouble.
“I figured that if we found the girl, he might not be so vocal about his hatred of you.”
Oleg’s motives weren’t totally altruistic. The man was hoping that once Max had been made a capper, he would prevail on the powers that be so that Oleg could be a driver for Max in the beach cities.
“I appreciate your concern. Believe me, there’s nothing I’d like better than to find the girl.” But not for the reasons you’re thinking, Oleg. “How did she get away?”
“Through the kitchen window and down the fire escape to the alley.”
Irina must have been desperate. Thank God she’d gotten out of there. “How could Nikolai have let her slip through his fingers?”
“That’s the strange part. He told Galena to pour us tea, then he said he had to do an errand for Irina. He was gone about five minutes. When he came back, he went straight to the kitchen, but she wasn’t there. A case of vodka had been dragged to the base of the window, so he knew what had happened.”
Smart girl.
“While he sent Galena to talk to the neighbors, we were all assigned a section near the building to cover. But I didn’t see a sign of her. It was the dinner hour. People were coming home from work. I thought I’d go over to your apartment house and see if you had any ideas where to look.”
“She probably ran to a place where she could get lost among a throng of people.”
“Like a mall?”
“That’s where I’d go until I figured out what to do next.”
“There are four of them within easy walking distance of Galena’s place.”
“Most of them will be closing their doors soon. Get some batteries for your phone so you can call me, then drive around the Three Points Mall and Colonial Square. I’ll take a look at Nine Palms Court and Fashion Place.”
“What if we don’t come up with anything?”
“Then we’ll check bus terminals and hotel lobbies.”
“She could be anywhere.” Oleg didn’t sound the least bit happy. Max couldn’t blame him. None of the drivers wanted to face Nikolai empty-handed. He put the fear in all of them. As if their paranoia wasn’t bad enough.
“Nikolai hasn’t phoned me yet. Maybe she’s already been found,” Max theorized.
“She has to be found or we’re history.”
Unfortunately for you, Oleg, that’s true.
“Tell you what. As soon as you get some batteries, call Nikolai and find out what’s going on. Then phone me.”
The other man nodded before taking off.
Max reached for a bunch of bananas, then walked to the express-line counter. Once he’d paid for the fruit, he headed for his car. By the time he’d driven a block from the store, Oleg phoned.
“Nikolai’s still searching and ordered me to do the same.” The news that Irina hadn’t been found filled Max with relief. “He sounds demented. I have to admit I’m scared, Anatoly.”
“Keep your head. She can’t be far. Let’s proceed as planned.”
The minute they clicked off, he phoned Gideon to brief him.
“This is a fantastic development, Max!”
“It is, provided we can find Irina before something unforeseen happens. Her English is only so-so. I doubt she trusts anybody. Since she was running away from a horrendous situation, I don’t imagine she’ll use her real name with anyone. Luckily I can give you a detailed description.”
After Gideon had the facts, he said, “I’ll get out an all-points bulletin.”
“The counselor at her high school might be able to tell us who her friends are. They could shed light on her whereabouts. We’ve got to find her before Nikolai does, or no one will ever see her again.”
“I hear you. Where are you headed now?”
“To the Nine Palms Court and Fashion Place. Oleg might decide to come looking for me.”
“Okay. Stay in close touch. Before we hang up, I was thinking about the teen Ms. Peris picked up in the Marina District and drove to Girls’ Villag
e.”
Max hadn’t been able to stop thinking about that whole situation. Was the girl she rescued named Svetlana? Or had Gabriella been looking up that name for an entirely different reason?
No matter what she called herself, if by the remotest possibility the girl in the Dumpster was Irina, then Max couldn’t take the chance on her seeing him at Girls’ Village. He would have to learn what he could from the girls on their outing at the park tomorrow.
“That would be too easy, Gideon. I’ll check it out. Is everything set for tomorrow night?”
“Yes. We’ll have our guys in place as roofers. You’ll be covered.”
“Sounds good. Talk to you later.”
He clicked off and headed for the mall. It was going to be a long night.
AT FIVE TO ONE Saturday afternoon, Gaby looked out the apartment window. Anatoly waved to her. He’d come for her in a car. She had no idea whose it was, but she felt her heart do a little skip just to know he was outside the building waiting for her.
Another talk with her uncle hadn’t produced any new information. At this point she decided to stop worrying about Anatoly and simply enjoy the day with him.
The apartment was as clean as she could get it. Everything was ready for Hallie. She’d stocked the fridge with food. The roses still looked beautiful. Hopefully Anatoly would like her new outfit. She loved the tan walking shorts and white knit top with the tan horizontal bands.
In the end she chose to wear her hair in a ponytail, but she’d secured it with a white chiffon scarf to dress things up a little. Before walking out the door, she stashed a small instamatic camera in her purse. Though the pictures would be for the girls to keep, she’d sneak one of Anatoly and put it in her wallet.
After locking the door, she hurried down the hall to the stairs. Anatoly met her halfway. In baseball cap, navy shorts and matching pullover, his masculinity pretty well overwhelmed her.
She read the appreciation in his green eyes. “I like a woman who is always ready on time, especially when I did not sleep all night waiting to be with her again. You look like vanilla ice cream floating in champagne, one of my favorite Russian desserts, Gabriella. I think I must have a little taste right now.”
Accidentally Yours Page 12
