by Sean Black
“Another? Here, let me get some pads and you can work out your frustrations on me.” He came back a few seconds later with a pair of boxing pads and held them up as Sofia threw shots. He didn’t ask what was upsetting her. “Okay, now jab. No! Tuck your chin in. Come on, finish nice and strong,” he said, coaching her through her workout.
Five minutes later she was soaked in sweat. She put her hands down and took some deep breaths.
“Better?” Luis asked.
“If I manage not to throw up.”
Luis laughed. “You wouldn’t be the first or the last.”
Sofia pulled off her gloves. Luis handed her the pads. “Put these away for me, would you?”
A feature of their friendship was that he had always treated her exactly the same as anyone else who came to his gym, even when she was an actress. That included making sure she put the equipment away after she’d used it.
“You have a good evening,” said Luis.
“Hey, Luis.”
He turned back. “Yeah?”
“Can I talk to you about something?”
“Sure,” said Luis. “Wanna step into my office?”
CHAPTER 43
I t was late but there were still some lights on inside Veronica Adams’s house in the Hollywood Hills as Sofia pulled up outside in the Tesla. She got out, walked up to the front door, rang the bell and waited.
It took a while, but eventually Veronica opened the door. She looked surprised to see Sofia. That made two of them. Sofia still wasn’t sure this was a good idea. But right now it was the only idea she had, if Daniel was to survive and Aidan wasn’t to have major surgery because he was too embarrassed or proud to go back on his word. “Can I come in?” she asked.
Veronica opened the door a little wider and stepped aside.
CHAPTER 44
T wo days later
SOFIA STOOD on the steps outside the building that housed the pediatric ICU. Aidan appeared, bounding up the steps toward her. “Hey, anyone arrived yet?”
“Not yet, but it’s still a little early.”
“How many you get in the end?”
“Seven out of a possible eleven. Well, eleven that we know about.”
That earned an eyebrow raise from Aidan. “Damn. Good work, Salgado.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m going to head on up. Unless you need me down here to chaperone.”
“No,” said Sofia. “I got this covered.”
The first person showed up a few minutes after Aidan had gone inside. After that there was a steady flow. Some came with a friend, or a parent, or a brother or sister. A couple of the older ones were alone. They all seemed to share the same mix of excitement and nervousness. Sofia didn’t blame them. It was a big deal. Even if most of them had been through this a number of times before, this was just that little bit different.
* * *
ONCE EVERYONE HAD ARRIVED, Sofia led them up to the waiting room Dr. Mark had arranged for them. Visitor numbers for a patient in ICU were strictly controlled, but Dr. Mark had got the hospital to agree to an exception this one time.
Sofia led the group down the corridor toward Daniel’s room. Candice was sitting at his bedside. Brendan and Aidan were waiting outside. Sofia introduced them to everyone. There were a lot of names to remember.
“Brendan, this is Jordan―no, wait, this is Scott, and that’s Jordan. That’s right, isn’t it?”
Scott, a strikingly handsome young college student, nodded, and shook hands with Brendan and Aidan.
“Okay,” said Sofia. “So, this is Jordan. That’s CJ. Then we have Beth.” Sofia pointed out a delicate teenager with pale skin and light brown hair. She was wearing a GNR T-shirt. “This is Julia. And this is Michelle. I got that right, didn’t I?”
Julia and Michelle laughed. “Other way round,” said Michelle, a thin blonde girl, in her late teens, who had the figure and looks of a runway model.
“Oh, and last but not least, Brendan, Aidan, this is Keyshon,” said Sofia. “Is that everyone?”
They agreed that it was. Brendan stepped inside Daniel’s room while Sofia, Aidan and the others waited in the corridor. Dr. Mark came out of the room and said that Daniel was still very sick so he didn’t want the visit to last more than a half-hour. Sofia didn’t have to introduce Dr. Mark as he had already spoken with everyone before their visit. A minute later, Brendan was back.
“Okay, Daniel’s awake. We’re all set,” he told them.
One by one the visitors filed in, Sofia holding open the door for them. Daniel was propped up on his pillows, pale and drained, but he looked happy. There was a sparkle in his eyes that had been missing recently.
Sofia thought she had all the names down now. She ran through them. Everyone said hi to Daniel, went over to his bedside and gave him a hug. A few of the girls, and a couple of the guys, cried.
Sofia felt a little awkward watching all this unfold, so she and Candice edged out of the room. It was time to let Daniel have some time alone with his half-brothers and -sisters. They had a lot to talk about.
CHAPTER 45
I f Candice had been busy when she was younger, so had Wes Adams. With his or, rather, Veronica’s help, Sofia had managed to located eleven half-brothers and -sisters Daniel hadn’t known he had. A couple lived either out of state or overseas. By choice two more had no real contact with either their father or their half-siblings. That left seven who could meet Daniel.
Sofia had deliberately decided not to tell any siblings about Daniel’s situation until after they had said they wanted to meet him. She didn’t want any of them feeling guilt-tripped into doing anything they weren’t comfortable with. They would no doubt feel that pressure a little way down the line when the medical team asked them to be tested for donor compatibility.
Speaking to the seven kids, Sofia had been struck by two things. The first was how close many of them were. CJ, Scott and Keyshon really did act like brothers from a different mother, as did Beth and Julia. Michelle and Jordan were a little more detached from the rest of the group. From what they’d said their moms had taken Wes abandoning them a lot harder than some of the other women he’d impregnated, then broken up with.
The other thing that had surprised Sofia was just how close most of the seven were to Wes. And, perhaps more surprisingly, how accepting they’d been of his transition to Veronica. Even Michelle and Jordan, who weren’t as close to their father, didn’t seem to have a problem with Wes undergoing gender reassignment.
Sofia wandered into the side room where Brendan and Aidan were sitting with Candice. Candice patted the chair next to hers. “I was just saying to Brendan how much I appreciate all you’ve done for Daniel,” she said.
Sofia wasn’t sure how to respond. She’d always had a problem with how to take compliments. “I was really just doing my job,” she said.
“Not just your job, Sofia. That was some great lateral thinking you did. Right when we were at a dead end too,” said Brendan. “You went above and beyond. You too, Aidan. I’m very proud of both of you.”
Aidan’s cheeks flushed red. He brushed it off with a gruff “Thanks.”
At the same time, thought Sofia, neither her finding Daniel’s half-siblings (and a new pool of potential donors) nor Aidan stepping up as a donor might be enough. Daniel was living, quite literally, on a knife edge.
They all turned as someone knocked on the open door. Veronica’s head poked round the frame.
Brendan got up from his seat. “Veronica. We weren’t expecting you today,” he said.
“It was a last minute decision,” said Veronica. “I heard the kids had come to visit Daniel, so I thought, why not?” She stepped gingerly into the room and walked across to Candice. “It’s been a while,” she said, leaning in and kissing Candice on the cheek.
“Yes, I guess it has.” Candice seemed a bit freaked, and Sofia didn’t blame her. It must have been a little weird meeting her son’s father for the first time in almost fourteen years on
ly to find a statuesque, and perfectly made-up, woman towering over her.
“Did you come to see Daniel?” Sofia asked. She was a little concerned it might be too early for that.
Obviously Veronica thought the same because she said, “No, I think meeting the other kids was enough for him today. I came to get the tests to see how good a match I might be.”
“You’re sure?” Brendan asked.
“Hundred percent,” said Veronica. She looked a little shyly at Candice. “I mean, what kind of a mother would I be if I couldn’t do that much?”
CHAPTER 46
Rather than everyone waiting at home for a phone call about how Daniel’s kidney transplant had gone, his nearest, dearest, and most of the staff of Maloney Investigations had decided to wait at the hospital. Ever accommodating, Dr. Mark had arranged a room for them close to the surgical unit where the double operation was to take place.
It wasn’t going to be a long wait. Sofia had been quite shocked when Dr. Mark had told her the entire procedure would take three to four hours, maybe even less. First, the live donor would have one of their kidneys removed. When that was done Daniel would have one of his malfunctioning kidneys removed, then have the donor kidney implanted into his body. Obviously it was more involved than that, but that was the basic rundown.
Sofia edged across the room to where Candice was standing with Brendan. She’d noticed they were getting a little touchy-feely. He had his hand on her waist and she was leaning in toward him. Maybe it was just that she was on edge and he was comforting her.
As well as Candice and Brendan, most of Daniel’s half-siblings were there. After all the tests had been done there had been four strong potential donors, including Aidan. Once their physical eligibility had been established it had come down to the results of the psychological evaluations that had been carried out.
Sofia checked her watch. The minutes seemed to drag by. “How are you holding up, Candy?”
Candice managed to squeeze out a tired smile. “I could really use a cigarette.”
“It’s going to be absolutely fine,” said Brendan, taking Candice’s hand.
The door opened and everyone turned round. Aidan walked in. People went back to their conversations and poking at their smart phones. He pushed through the crowd to Sofia, Brendan and Candice, then gave Candice a hug. “What’s the latest?” he asked.
“They’re both in surgery. That’s all we know,” Sofia told him.
“No news is good news when it comes to stuff like this,” said Brendan.
Sofia didn’t know if he was saying it to make Candice feel better or whether it was an observation based on experience. After all, Brendan, with his many years as a detective, probably had more experience of life and death situations than anyone else in the room.
“I was going to grab a coffee. Does anyone need anything?” Aidan asked.
Aidan had been in the room just thirty seconds and he was already antsy. “I’ll come with you,” said Sofia. “Candice? Brendan? You need anything?”
“Maybe some water,” said Candice.
“I’m good,” said Brendan.
Sofia followed Aidan into the corridor. He tugged at the collar of his shirt. “Is it like crazy hot in here or is it me?” he asked.
“It’s you,” said Sofia.
“You sure?”
“You okay?” she asked. “I mean, apart from that not liking hospitals thing.”
“I broke up with the woman I was seeing,” said Aidan.
This was news. Big news. “Whoa. When? What happened?”
“She wanted a kid. Or, rather, she wanted to find a sperm donor. Turned out she was only dating me to see if I would make a good donor.”
“You’re kidding!” said Sofia.
“I wish I was. I told her I wanted to be a father one day, but not like that. Anyway, we had this huge fight about what she was doing, and she ended up storming out. Then I got a text from her, saying maybe we should see other people.”
“No way.”
“Way,” said Aidan. “I’m right back to square one. She seemed perfect too.”
“You’ll find someone,” said Sofia.
“Yeah. I already got three dates lined up for the weekend.”
Sofia stopped walking and stared at him. What was it with guys? Most women would have been devastated, but Aidan was good to go again. She could only hope Daniel had the same powers of recovery.
“What?” Aidan said.
“What do you mean ‘what’?”
“Why are you looking at me like I’m some kind of monster? She dumped me. Why should I feel guilty?”
“You shouldn’t.”
They kept bickering all the way to the coffee stand and back. Sofia gave Candice her water. A half-hour later the door opened. This time it was Dr. Mark.
The room fell silent. All eyes were on him. Including Sofia’s. Damn, he looked good in scrubs.
“So, I have an update. The procedure went smoothly. Both Veronica and Daniel are doing well. We’ll obviously have to keep an eye out for post-operative infections and any other complications but we’re quietly optimistic for a good result.”
All around them people hugged. Candice burst into tears of relief. Aidan put his hand on Sofia’s shoulder. “You did pretty good for a rookie.”
“Yeah,” said Brendan. “Great job, Sofia.”
EPILOGUE
N irvana Cove Beach, Malibu
Six weeks later
GRAY COLE WAS on bar duty for the party Sofia was throwing to celebrate Daniel and Veronica’s successful recovery from transplant surgery. Gray had set up his bar on Sofia’s front porch. People would arrive at the party, or wander up from the beach and do a double-take. Then they would say things like “Is it you?” or “Are you who I think you are?”
Gray would smile politely and ask them what they were having as they mostly stared at him, their minds blown at being served a drink by one of the world’s most famous movie stars. Sofia helped him behind the bar until Dr. Mark arrived and Gray dropped some not-so-subtle hints that Sofia should show him around Nirvana Cove before Gray did.
“He’s a total hottie,” Gray whispered to her, and she wandered away, off to the beach with Dr. Mark.
Out on the sands, Candice, Veronica and Tex were catching up on old times. Daniel was surrounded by a gaggle of half-brothers and sisters. Sofia’s mom and stepdad were talking to Brendan. Emily and Ray were sprawled on a couple of towels, sipping cocktails and enjoying some well-earned down time. Van and Violet ran screaming from the water: “Shark! Shark!”
Dr. Mark looked alarmed and started toward them. Sofia grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “That’s the third time they’ve done it so far this afternoon. I keep on telling them that if there ever is a shark no one will believe them, but they don’t seem to care. At least it stops them . . .”
She watched as the two kids headed straight for Veronica and Daniel, asked to see their scars, and started to pepper them with questions about how much blood there had been and whether they could remember anything about the surgery.
“. . . doing that,” said Sofia, as Emily and Ray got up to take charge of the terrible twosome.
Dr. Mark pointed into the distance at a bunch of guys who were walking down the beach toward the party. “More guests?” he asked Sofia.
“Nope. This is the guest list right here,” said Sofia.
Nirvana Cove was a private beach. Or as private as it got in Malibu, which prided itself on its open-access policy along the shoreline.
Sofia squinted into the sun. She was looking to see if the approaching group of guys had cameras. A photo of Veronica Adams was still worth good money to the tabloids.
Slowly, as the men got closer, she started to recognize a few faces. They were older and she’d only seen their pictures online, but . . .
How had the baseball team, with whom Candice and Tex had shared a night of naked debauchery, heard about this reunion? It wasn’t as if any of the po
tential fathers had known about it. It was a complete mystery. As they got nearer, Sofia saw Tex break away from her chat with Veronica and Candice and wave at them. “Hey, guys! Over here!”
As Sofia looked over at her, open-mouthed, Tex shrugged an apology. “What?” said Tex. “I’m old, I ain’t dead.”
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES
“A” is for Asshat
After a decade spent in the glare of the Hollywood spotlight as the star of kids’ TV show Half Pint Detective, Sofia Salgado has had enough. Desperate to build a life outside showbiz, she quits acting to do something that everyone around her– including her family – thinks is plain nuts. Get a real job.
They think she’s even crazier when she announces that she’s going to become a real detective, instead of playing one on TV. She’s convinced the technical consultant from her TV show, Brendan Maloney, to take her on in his detective agency, but can accident-prone Sofia hack it?
“B” is for Bad Girls
Maloney Investigation's newest private detective, Sofia Salgado, is back on the case that turns into her mother's worst nightmare when she ends up undercover in one of Malibu's many rehab clinics.
If she doesn't solve the mystery in time, she and all the bad girls she meets inside, including rock star Brandi Basher and reality TV train wreck Monaco Jane, might just end up going to the big rehab center in the sky.
“D” is for Drunk
Coming soon
ALSO BY REBECCA CANTRELL
The World Beneath
The Tesla Legacy
The Chemistry of Death
A Trace of Smoke
A Night of Long Knives
A Game of Lies
A City of Broken Glass
The Blood Gospel (with James Rollins)
Innocent Blood (with James Rollins)
Blood Infernal(with James Rollins)
iDrakula
iFrankenstein