“So do I, but when has that ever bothered either—” He broke off as soon as he saw the Passat in the distance. “Gotta go. I’ll check in with you later, on the way to Gabriella’s apartment.” His breathing grew shallow just anticipating being alone with her.
“Take care.”
“HI, SVETLANA. How’s it going?”
Irina looked up from the bed she was making. She’d told the girls her real name in front of Gaby. But she’d begged them not to use it while she lived there.
“Hi, Juanita.”
“Where’s Sandra?”
“With doctor.”
Juanita sat down on Sandra’s bed. “Do you think she’s going to have the baby?”
“No. No pains.”
“Oh. She probably went to an appointment, huh?”
The other girl nodded.
“Do you want to come to class with us? It starts pretty soon.”
“I— No, thank you.”
“I know you’re worried about your mom, but Gaby said she’d find out about her and get back to you. When Gaby tells you she’ll do something, she will.”
Irina nodded, but inside she wanted to die.
“This class is really fun. It’s not like math.”
“What is it?”
“On Saturdays we do different projects. This month we are learning how to fix our hair and makeup.”
“Oh yes?”
“It’s great! These ladies are beauticians. They bring all this good stuff we can try. You know. Blusher and lipstick and eye shadow. If it’s your first time in class, they give you a makeover.”
“What is that?”
“They study your coloring. Like you’re a blonde and you have blue eyes. So they put the right colors and base on you to make you look good.”
“They do to me?”
“If you want. I got mine last time. Today I have to remember what they did and try to apply it right by myself. Everyone has something different, depending on their hair and skin color.”
“Hi, guys!”
Irina’s eyes darted to the door. “Hi, Sandra.”
“Are you okay?” Juanita asked.
“Yes. The doctor said I’ll probably have the baby pretty soon. According to him, it is getting into position.”
“You scared?”
“Kind of. But I’m so tired of feeling like a hippo, I can’t wait for this to be over.”
“Hippo?” said Irina.
“It’s a huge animal, but if you don’t know what it looks like, I can’t explain.”
Juanita said, “Haven’t you got a picture of one in your scrapbook?”
“Oh, yeah. Gaby’s taken us to the San Diego Zoo a couple of times.”
“I’ll get it,” Juanita volunteered. “You’d better sit down and rest all that tonnage.”
“You’ll be sorry you said that to me five months from now.”
“I was just kidding. Here you go.” She emerged from the closet and handed the book to Sandra.
They sat down on either side of Irina. Sandra flipped through the pages of photographs.
“I see it!” Juanita cried.
“Yup. Here are some pictures. This is what we call a hippopotamus.”
Irina took the scrapbook to get a better look. “Ah, yes. They dangerous.”
“That’s what the guide at the zoo told us.”
“You not look like hippo.”
Sandra gave her a squeeze. “Thank you. I’m your friend for life.”
“Can I see all pictures?”
“Sure. While you do that, I have to go to the bathroom again. Guess what? They’re showing Titanic after lunch.”
Juanita turned to Irina. “Do you know the story about the ship that struck an iceberg and sank?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Did you see it?”
“No.”
Irina started at the front of the photo album, interested in all the pictures. Gaby was in many of them. It looked as if she’d taken the girls a lot of places.
“Do you want to?”
She lifted her head? “What?”
“Would you like to see the movie with us?”
“Yes.” She kept turning the pages. “This is ship.”
“Yeah. One time Gaby took us to the dock so we could watch people getting on the Cunard Princess. That one goes to Mexico.”
“It is big.”
“Yeah. It is.”
Irina came to the last of the pictures. The second she turned to the final page, she saw a photograph that curdled her blood. She pointed to it with a trembling finger.
“Who is this?”
“He’s a hunk, isn’t he. That’s Gaby’s boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?” she repeated in a shaken voice.
“Yeah. He’s Russian, like you. Last week Gaby was driving us to the beach, and the strap of her sandal got caught. Anyway, she couldn’t stop the car. We crashed into this beautiful black Audi. He was driving. When he got out, he took one look at Gaby, and it was love at first sight.”
Sandra joined in the conversation. “You can say that again. He’s better-looking than a movie star. They’re crazy about each other.”
Irina could hardly swallow. “You not see him before accident?”
Juanita grinned. “Only in my dreams.”
Sandra sat down next to her. “What’s wrong? You look like you’re going to be sick.”
“Gaby not meet him before accident?”
“No, otherwise we would have met him a long time ago. She tells us everything. Her husband died over a year ago. She was so unhappy she moved all the way from Florida to start a new life. Anatoly is the first man we’ve ever seen her with.”
Anatoly. A cold hand squeezed Irina’s heart.
“What is it?” Sandra whispered.
“Gaby in danger.”
“Why?” they both cried at once.
“Because he bad, bad man.”
Sandra put a hand on her arm. “Is he one of the men who tried to rape you?”
“No.” Irina shook her head. “He not there last time. But he come to apartment many times when Nikolai do business.”
“You’re positive this is the man you’ve seen with the others?”
“Yes. No man look like him.”
“Maybe you’re mistaken, Irina. Anatoly was so much fun and so good to us. He couldn’t be evil.”
“I agree,” Sandra said. “Gaby wouldn’t go out with a man she didn’t trust. She isn’t like that.”
Tears stung Irina’s eyes. “My mother think Nikolai good man. He give her money. Then he change. He criminal.”
“Aieee!” Juanita cried. “This is a nightmare. What’s his last name?”
“Kuzmina.”
“That’s what she called him! Kuzmina.” Both girls moaned.
Sandra took the scrapbook and looked at the picture again. “This is going to break Gaby’s heart.”
“She not safe. Anatoly not let her go.”
The three girls stared at each other in fear.
“We’ve got to get hold of Gaby,” Sandra said.
“No!” Irina cried. “What if she with him?”
“That’s right.”
“Somebody’s got to warn her!”
“No, Juanita. No police. She look for my mother now.”
“I know.”
Sandra stopped pacing. “Gaby will probably come over as soon as she has any news. Even if she’s with Anatoly, she can’t bring him to our rooms. Those are the rules. When we get her upstairs, we’ll tell her then.”
“I don’t want to be the one to break the awful news.”
“Neither do I, Juanita.”
Irina got up from the bed. “I tell Gaby.”
GABY HAD WRITTEN down the address of the Pedrovas’ apartment in Core-Columbia. But when she saw the block of row houses on the east side of the street, it was easier to go by Irina’s instructions.
Climb the third set of steps from the south end. Their apartment was on the fo
urth floor, number eight. Once inside, they could take the elevator or the stairs.
“Sister Paulina? This is the street. You can pull over to the curb the next chance you get. We’ll start at the corner and work our way back to the car.”
The older sister nodded. She just happened to be the head administrator for the nuns planning to serve in foreign missions. When Hallie had explained why she was asking such an unorthodox favor, Sister Paulina immediately agreed to help them.
Not only did she give them habits to wear, she offered to drive the convent car so their visit would appear official.
“Don’t forget these pamphlets.”
“No.” Gaby took them from her. “Thank you, Sister.”
The older woman smiled and made the sign of the cross.
“Let’s go, Gaby.”
It took some doing to be graceful as she climbed out of the back seat of the church limousine wearing the black habit and wimple.
Soon Hallie would don similar robes of the postulant. Garbed in the same clothing, but for entirely different reasons, Gaby felt closer to her dear friend than ever. She would always treasure this moment.
“Don’t go getting all sentimental on me now,” Hallie whispered as they straightened their skirts.
“We’re partners in crime. We could do time if we’re caught.”
Gaby blinked back the tears. Trust Hallie to make a joke under such precarious circumstances. “I wish I felt like laughing.”
“You don’t have to worry about anything. Let me do the talking. This is my domain.”
Thank heaven.
Before they reached the corner, a couple of children playing on the sidewalk ran up to them. Hallie greeted them with a cheery smile and told them to take a pamphlet home to their mothers.
As the boys disappeared into one of the apartments, Hallie turned to Gaby. “You see how easy it is? We’re already spreading the good news.”
Prophetic words. Within a few minutes more people seemed to come out of the woodwork to talk to them. All Gaby had to do was give out a pamphlet while Hallie chatted with them in her friendly way.
By the time they’d canvassed two buildings, Gaby figured six out of every eight apartments had someone inside. Those were good odds, even for a Saturday morning.
So far everything had gone well. But when they reached the fourth floor of the third building, Gaby’s skin broke out in a film of perspiration. Unspoken messages flashed between them as they approached number eight. Her heart was slamming so hard against her ribs, she was surprised she couldn’t hear it reverberating off the walls.
Hallie knocked on the door.
They waited. No response.
If Irina’s mother was being held against her will, her boyfriend would make sure she didn’t answer.
After another minute Hallie tried again, a little louder this time.
Still nothing.
Her gaze swerved to Gaby’s. She moved her head to the side, indicating Gaby should slide a pamphlet under the door.
She knelt down and pushed it through, praying that if someone was inside, they would be curious enough to walk over and see what it was.
While still in a kneeling position, the door opened. Gaby stood up. Through the crack she found herself being scrutinized by a dark-blond male, the man Irina called Nikolai. He had the build of a boxer, just as Irina had described.
The dangerous glitter in those eyes would terrify anyone, especially a young and lovely teenage girl who would have no defense against him.
Gaby’s fear turned to white-hot rage. Forgetting that Hallie was supposed to do the talking, she said, “Good morning. We’re the new sisters from Our Lady of Mercy, in the area getting to know the community. If you have a few minutes, we’d like to come inside and go over the pamphlet with you to explain about a pro—”
“Not interested,” came the words on a hiss. He tossed the pamphlet back at her. It fell to the floor.
“Don’t ever come here again.”
He slammed the door in her face.
Gaby swallowed her disappointment before turning to Hallie in despair. That was when they heard a woman’s voice cry out in Russian from the other side of the door. She sounded frantic.
He answered with harsh, staccatolike Russian phrases. Gaby thought she heard Irina’s name mentioned. It didn’t matter. Her mother was still alive! They had the proof they’d come for.
Hallie gave Gaby a thumbs-up.
She smiled back, then picked up the pamphlet.
They started for the stairs at the same time, not wanting to wait for the elevator. Nikolai might decide to take matters into his own hands and physically kick them out of the building. Or worse.
MAX HAD BEEN in Irina’s apartment many times, but no missionaries had ever knocked on the door before. Certainly not any Catholic nuns who’d probably been frightened by Nikolai’s reception.
As Max watched the smoke unfurl from the end of his cigarette, he wondered what the odds were that the nun who’d done the speaking had the exact same voice as Gabriella’s. Probably in the millions…
That’s your heart I heard talking, Max. It scares the hell out of me because it means you’ve lost your edge.
Gideon had been right. Max had lost his edge. The nun on the other side of the door couldn’t possibly be Gabriella.
As he tossed off the rest of his vodka, Nikolai disappeared into the bedroom to quiet an hysterical Galena in a way that would produce bruises on her face and body by morning.
Oleg sent Max a glance that said to hell with this mess. Irina’s disappearance had upset the fragile balance of Nikolai’s underworld. When one of the bodies spun out of orbit, it started a domino effect. Tempers erupted with more frequency and violence. The men were frightened, and with good reason. Poor Galena was receiving the brunt of Nikolai’s anger.
If the mafia bosses got wind of this glitch, the underlings would be eliminated with no questions asked. Their con would be over, anyway, if the law got to them first. Paranoia ruled the day.
Gideon had said it best. Nikolai was running scared. Every poor dumb lackey who owed him a favor was out scouring the city for Irina. For once, Nikolai hadn’t started baiting Max the moment he’d appeared at the door with Oleg half an hour ago.
Max didn’t know how much fear played into this drastic change in Nikolai’s behavior toward him. Maybe it was that, coupled with the fact that Nikolai didn’t have an audience to hear him attack Max.
Whatever the reasons, today Max wasn’t the sole object of Nikolai’s vituperation. Even Nikolai was coming to the conclusion that to save his kingdom from destruction, it might be wise to accept help from his bitterest enemy.
But Max would be more than willing to take the bastard on if it meant he stopped beating Galena. Max couldn’t get Irina’s mother out of here fast enough.
He extinguished his cigarette. “Nikolai?” he called to him. “We’re wasting time. I have an idea to discuss with you before we go.”
“Women!” Nikolai walked back into the front room, letting fly a stream of the grossest profanity. He lit another cigarette.
“So, Kuzmina, you think you can find her little whore when none of the men have been successful?”
“Do you want my help or not?”
“Let’s hear your brilliant idea first.”
“Ever since we started meeting here, Alexey has had the hots for Irina. She’s only sixteen, still young enough to believe in romantic love. You know what I’m getting at. She didn’t have the hots for him. Obviously Alexey scared her off, so she ran away.
“All this time you’ve lived in the hope that she would come back to her mother. But I can tell you right now, she won’t step in this apartment again because she knows Alexey will be here.”
“What makes you the expert on romantic love?”
“Did you never feel something in your heart for a woman, Nikolai?”
The man grunted. “Go on. What is your theory?”
“Irina had no paper
s on her. I have put myself inside her head. I believe she would stow away on a ship to get as far from California as possible.”
Nikolai puffed on his cigarette, staring at Max through narrowed lids.
Oleg sat forward on the couch. “Anatoly’s theory makes sense, Nikolai. She’s a frightened girl, not a manipulative woman capable of striking back.”
A long silence ensued. The bastard was listening.
Max leaned forward. “Tell me. How much longer am I going to have to wait until another accident is arranged?”
Nikolai’s eyes slid away from Max. “I don’t know yet.”
Liar.
“You told me two weeks. One has gone by already. If that’s the way things still stand, then I’ll take a vacation from my other job and start a search for Irina. It won’t be difficult to find out how many ships left port since her disappearance. Someone might remember her. I’ll leave no stone unturned.”
He stood up to emphasize his point. “My job as future capper for the beach cities is on the line, too, Nikolai. We are all in this together. What do you say? Am I to stay here and wait until you put me back to work? Or do I follow my instincts and hunt this girl down? It is your call.”
Nikolai lounged back in the chair. “Go hunting, of course. But I expect you to report in every day. If one of my men should find her first, then I want you back here at once.”
“Of course.”
GABY LET HERSELF out of the service-station rest room carrying the habit and wimple over her arm. It felt good to be in normal clothes again. As long as she’d been wearing a nun’s habit for a special purpose, she’d felt all right about it. But now that they’d accomplished their goal, she had no more excuse.
Though Sister Paulina had been great about everything, Gaby was relieved the older nun didn’t have to cover for them any longer. When she drove Hallie back to the church for her rental car, she wouldn’t have to explain anything—or answer any awkward questions—because Gaby wouldn’t be with them.
Gaby ran around to the other side of the convent car and leaned inside the window.
“You look beautiful in those clothes, Hallie. I’m glad you’re wearing them today. It’s the way I’ll think of you from now on.” Tears smarted in her eyes, but she fought them. “We’ve had lots of adventures, but this one was the best, wasn’t it?”
Accidentally Yours Page 17
