CHAPTER FIVE
It was raining at the gravesite. Cate was out on bail and allowed to attend, and she stood hugged up against Linda Drakos, her mother. Both women, who looked more like sisters more so than daughter and parent, stood on the opposite side of Jonathan’s casket, and their tear-filled eyes were shooting daggers at Alex.
Alex stood alone. Hands in his pockets. Collar turned up against the rain. His eyes staring at the casket in front of him. He made the decision that Jonathan and Cate had to pay for what they did. Nobody, he didn’t care who it was, could be allowed to steal millions from him without paying dearly. The fact that they were his children made it more likely, not less, that they should pay. Their mother had always let them get away with murder, and the courts backed her up: granting her, when they divorced, full custody. But Alex had planned to teach them a lesson this time. And, in so doing, hoped to get them to finally pay attention to the error of their ways.
But a curveball was thrown when Jonathan decided to take matters into his own hands. That curveball was tossed like a grenade that threw a wrench into the plan. That curveball came and knocked the hell out of Alex.
There were people there who wanted to comfort him: old friends, newer friends, business associates. But he refused to be comforted. He had gone into a protected shell when his son died that day in his office. He was not about to come out on the day of his son’s funeral.
All of the guests had heard that Alex’s ex blamed him for Jonathan’s suicide. It was no secret in any of their circles. But it was only rumor and speculation. Nobody knew for sure, and Linda wasn’t telling.
But the rumor became real after rites were read. Cate and her mother walked over to Alex. Everybody elbowed everybody else to see what they would say to him. Would they cause a scene right at the foot of Jonathan’s grave?
But they didn’t say a word to Alex. Cate leaned back and spat on Alex, and her mother slapped him with such force that his always perfectly-groomed hair bounced out of place. An audible gasp was heard in the crowd. How, they wondered, would Alex respond?
Then both women stood there, crying in the rain, even angrier that their obviously planned show did not yield a reaction from Alex. Not even a flicker of a reaction. And then some men Alex didn’t know ushered them away from him, and to their waiting limousine.
Alex left thereafter, with his daughter’s spit still stuck to his coat lapel, until the rain hit the spot and washed it away.
Powerful casino mogul Reno Gabrini, along with his wife Trina, were among those at the graveside too. They and Alex had become friends and were in talks for a potential business partnership. But Alex walked right by them. Understandable to them, he didn’t even see them. He could barely see in front of himself.
The doctors said it was going to get easier with the passage of time. His son’s suicide would be easier to bear overtime.
Easier, the doctors said.
Doctors, Alex thought when they told him.
He knew he hated doctors for a reason.
CHAPTER SIX
Six Months Later
Danny Pataki hung up the phone and looked at his capo. “Money’s getting out next week,” he said. “Money” was Vito Visconni’s mob name.
Scrub McGhee was slouched down on the sofa, in Danny’s Chicago office, tossing a stress ball in the air. “What else is new? Everybody else already out. He’s the last one to be released.”
“The best one, too. We need him back. My old man blabbing about how things used to be better, and how we ain’t been the same since Money left. We need his ass back in action.”
“What he says he wants when he gets out?” Scrub asked. “A steak dinner? Some bitches and hoes?”
“Not bitches,” Pataki said. “His bitch. He wants Kari back.”
“That bitch? After all these years? What is he nuts? She’s gone. Her and her kid been gone for what is it now? Six, seven years? Nobody knows where the fuck she is.”
“Find her,” Pataki ordered. “Hire some people if you have to. He didn’t snitch. He did his time. The least we’re going to do is look out for him, and give him what he wants. Find that bitch. And encourage her, Pataki-style, to get her ass back here. She belongs to Money. Give him back what’s rightfully his.”
“Only one problem, boss,” Scrub said. “How do you suppose I get her back here if she doesn’t want to come on her own volition?”
“Give her an offer she can’t refuse. Shock the shit out of her to let her know we aren’t playing. She hasn’t forgot how we do things. Just get her back here!”
“Okay, okay,” Scrub said, rising to his feet. “Just wanna make sure how far I can go. I’ll get on it right away. And you tell Money not to worry. She’ll be right in his bed, naked and ready, when he gets out.”
Pataki smiled. “Wouldn’t mind a piece of that ass before he gets a whole of it,” he said.
Scrub laughed. “Me first,” he said, and then left to get the job done.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Welcome to Apple Valley!
That was it. An ordinary sign in an ordinary town. There was no home of the what-evers, or any other slogan, beneath the Welcome to Apple Valley line. No famous for this or that or cute catchphrase to entice a visitor to stay. Just a cold, simple welcome. As if it wasn’t a welcome at all.
Alex had been driving all day. It was the second day of his trip to Bountiful, as he jokingly called it. He opted to drive rather than travel on his private plane. His plane would get there in time for the community meeting tomorrow night, and bring his team to town, but Alex wanted to drive alone. It was his first time taking a long drive anywhere since the funeral six months ago. He needed time to think.
But right now, as darkness dawned, he needed a break. His cold, lonely hotel room was undoubtedly awaiting his arrival, as his rental house would not be available until tomorrow night, but he needed a feel for the town first.
Apple Valley had been chosen, not because of its uniqueness per se, but because of its unique location to so many other towns along what they called Florida’s Panhandle. A casino in this location could generate crowds, not just from Florida, but from several other states as well: from Alabama to Mississippi; from Mississippi to Louisiana. His planners selected the spot after very careful studies of many potential locations. It was up to Alex and his team to sell the locals on the idea.
He parked his Mercedes G550 SUV at a local diner on what appeared to be the main drag in town, and got out and stretched his legs before he made a move for the entrance. What better place, he thought, as he looked around, to get a sense of what he was up against. What kind of place, people-wise, was Apple Valley? He wanted to make this happen. His first foray into the gaming-casino-pari-mutuel business needed to be lowkey, but damn-near perfect, too. Thanks to a business-minded brand-new governor, Florida was only just beginning to allow commercial casinos outside of Indian reservations, and he wanted to be on the forefront of the change. But it was new, and different, and the legislature could reverse course before it was all said and done. It was a risky bet.
But Alex was known for taking risky bets. Six months ago, he lost a bet that had been his riskiest to date. He should have been shell-shocked, given what it cost him. But he was right back in the game.
He normally would leave it to his team to handle all logistical details from beginning to end, where the end would culminate with them breaking ground on the property. But when his team reported back that there was still some very stiff resistance among the locals, and that there needed to be a town meeting scheduled with him as speaker, even as the vote on the referendum was only a few weeks away, he felt he had no choice but to get more involved. He had to get his hands a little dirty on this one, it seemed, and do what he could to seal the deal.
The diner was only sparely filled when Alex walked inside. It was nine at night. In New York the night would still be considered so young that it had barely gotten started. In a sleepy town like Apple Valley, he suspected, it was
probably wrapping up. His casino would change the entire complexion of this town.
He walked in and took a seat in a booth by the window, and waited to be served.
There were two ladies behind the counter: one white, one black, and both were at the cash register. The black girl was explaining something to the white girl, whom Alex figured was probably a new hire, as they rang up a man’s takeout order. When the man left, the black young lady grabbed a menu, and hurried to Alex’s table.
Kari didn’t plan on working tonight. It was not her regular night and, besides, her day job, as owner of a cleaning service, albeit a struggling one, had been more hectic than usual. But they were shorthanded, again, and Lucinda, her friend and the diner’s owner, asked if she could pitch in. Since she could use the extra cash, she agreed.
But she never dreamed she’d have a new hire to train in the bargain, and that Lucinda’s diner would be so crowded on a Tuesday night. But at least the crowd had thinned to only a trickle, and she’d be off the clock in a few.
Which brought her to Alex’s table.
She noticed his arrival, mainly because he wasn’t a regular, but also because of the way he appeared. Although he had gotten out of a small, muddy SUV that looked like an ugly mail truck to Kari, she saw that it had a Mercedes emblem on its front, and she realized it was one of those two-hundred-thousand-dollar G-Wagons the rich seemed to favor. And although he dressed casually in jeans and a pullover sweater with a crisscross front, there was still something different about him. Something elegant. As if those jeans, which looked as if they’d never been worn before, were top of the line, and that sweater probably cost more than half of Kari’s wardrobe. Maybe it didn’t, but that was how it looked to her.
Kari, on the other hand, wore jeans too, with a tucked-in white shirt, and her hair was in a ponytail that could use a good brush. But nobody was going to confuse her for elegant. Not tonight. Not when she’d been on her feet, working her day job and now at Lucinda’s, since early morning.
“Welcome to Lucinda’s,” Kari said when she arrived at Alex’s table. She handed him a menu. “What would you like to drink?”
“What do you have to drink?” Alex asked.
“Every soda flavor imaginable. Miller Beer and Miller Lite. And our version of wine: sweet tea.”
Alex smiled.
“Our selection didn’t exactly come out of Chateau Lafite Rothschild, I realize,” Kari said.
Alex laughed. His first laugh of the day. “I wouldn’t think so either,” he said. “But you know what? I think I’ll try the sweet tea.”
Kari couldn’t help it. She grinned. A man like him drinking sweet tea!
Alex was still smiling. “What?”
“Nothing at all,” Kari said, still smiling too. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. I’ll give you a minute to peruse the menu.”
She left. Alex was still smiling as he watched her leave. And he found himself watching her indeed. She was a nice height with nice curves, he thought, which, in his experience, usually added up to good sex. But the last thing he needed to be thinking about right now was bedding another woman. He had too many calling and complaining that he wasn’t spending time with them now. He wasn’t about to have another one, especially during what he planned would be strictly a business trip, bugging him too.
After browsing the menu, and finding nothing terribly interesting, he began looking around. Outside, he couldn’t get over how dead it seemed. Businesses all along the sides, and across the street, were closed up already. And barely a car went by.
But as he was looking, one car did drive up to the business next door, and a man got out. What caught Alex’s attention was the man himself: he looked straight-up mob. No doubt about it. Alex had been around characters like him all his life. His father was a mob boss. He knew the type. That guy, in little Apple Valley, was definitely the type.
And when that same guy got back into his car, and drove across the street to the parking lot of one of those closed businesses, and just waited there, Alex remained intrigued. But it was just an observation. Maybe he was in town on business, too.
Inside, when Alex looked around, he noticed that other women in the diner were eyeing him. So much so that he realized he was probably fresh male meat in a town that might not be replete with it. He felt on display. He hadn’t bedded a woman in months, and they all seemed to somehow sense it. One woman in particular, a nice looking one if Alex had to judge, decided to act on her hunch and head for his table.
But that waitress, the brainy one, cut her off at the pass and got there first. Alex was grateful. But the woman wasn’t. She gave the waitress a nasty look and then pretended she was going to the restroom anyway, and headed that way. She probably figured, Alex decided, that she would give him a drop-by on her return.
Kari sat a tall glass of sweet tea in front of him, and a straw. “One sweet tea for a sweet man.”
Alex laughed. “Thanks a lot.”
“Had a chance to review the menu?” Kari asked.
“I have, yes. How’s your spaghetti?”
Kari shook her head. “No, sir.”
“Not up to par?”
“Let’s just say we haven’t perfected it yet.”
Alex smiled. “Okay.” He looked down at the menu again. “What about your onion burger?”
Again, Kari shook her head. “If you want to fart all night, knock yourself out.”
Alex laughed. “I tell you what,” he said, closing the menu. “What do you recommend?”
“We make a mean grill cheese,” she said.
“Grill cheese, hun?”
“The turkey burgers are good, as well. And the meatloaf and mashed potatoes are good. The French fries are great.”
None of it really appealed to Alex. Not even the spaghetti earlier. “I don’t know,” he said. “I think I’ll just have the tea.”
Oh, Lord, Kari thought. Her mouth again! “You sure?” she asked.
“I’m sure.”
“I scared you off, didn’t I? I’m sorry. We have good dishes too. I was just telling the truth on the ones you mentioned.”
Alex smiled. “No, I don’t really have an appetite right now anyway. And keep telling the truth, please. We need more truth tellers in this world.” Then he thought: who better to know the town than a waitress? Especially a personable one like this one. “You have a moment?” he asked, motioning for her to sit on the banquette across from him. “I wanted to ask you a couple questions.”
Kari was due a break. She was overdue one. She didn’t necessarily want to spend it with the customers, but she was due a break. Besides, she would be getting off shortly, and this particular customer did interest her. And it wasn’t because he was a handsome hunk, either. Although he was. Tall, dark for a white man, and handsome. She decided to take a seat.
“Thank you,” Alex said.
“What are your questions?” she asked as soon as she sat down. She didn’t exactly have a wealth of time. She needed him to get on with it.
Alex folded his arms. Kari noticed how muscular his biceps were. “I’m trying to decide if Apple Valley is a friendly place in which to do business,” he said. “What are your thoughts?”
“Is it a good place for business? I would say so, yes.”
“Firsthand knowledge, or--”
“I have a day job, yes. I run a business too.”
“Do you?” Alex knew there was more to her than meets the eye. He couldn’t place why he felt that way, but he knew a girl like her had to have a lot going on. But it was contradictory because he couldn’t get around the obvious: if she had so much going for her, what was she doing there?
“I run a cleaning service,” Kari clarified, as if she could sense his question, “and it’s not exactly lucrative yet.” It was, in truth, barely breaking even. “I work here, on occasion, and wherever else I can get a gig, to help keep my kid in private school.”
Alex’s heart squeezed at the idea that a parent would sacrifice, by
working a second job or more, to give her child the best education. He’d never sacrificed for his children, or anybody else, in his life. It was a concept foreign to him. “Your child must be worth it,” he said.
Kari’s bright brown eyes lit up. “Oh, he is,” she said. “He’s a good kid. A great kid.” But she knew he didn’t ask her to sit down to discuss Jordan. “So, what’s your deal?”
Alex always felt a chill whenever somebody wanted to ask him about his children, and he couldn’t seem to hide his distaste. “Pardon me?” he asked.
Kari was a little taken aback by his reaction to a simple question. “Are you looking to go into business in Apple Valley?” she clarified.
“Oh! Yes. If all goes well.”
“I’m sure it will. They’re very pro-business around here. They’ll feed businesses before they feed people around here.”
Alex laughed. “It’s that good, hun?”
Kari smiled. “If you call that good, then yes, it is.”
Alex liked her right away. He liked her sense of humor, her quick retorts, and her smile.
“Anyway,” she said, “I’d better get back to work before Lucinda gets up my ass.” She rose. “Sure I can’t interest you in any food at all?”
“Not this time,” he said. “But thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Have a nice tea.”
Alex watched as she headed back behind the counter. He wouldn’t mind being up that ass himself if he had the inclination. It was tight and stacked the way he liked it. But he wasn’t about to go there. He wasn’t there for that.
The lady who had gone to the restroom did eventually come out, and she did sit in his booth. He allowed her to go on and on about the townspeople, and it helped because it was good information. But when she attempted to ask him personal questions about himself, his family, his background; something that waitress, he was grateful to know, never tried, he cut her off. And clammed up.
Alex Drakos_His Forbidden Love Page 3
