“Oh, not that many…like who?” Good move. Don’t volunteer any information. Only answer direct questions. Apparently he had the same teachers as Diego.
“That woman, you know, all tall and–huh–sort of sexy.”
“Kalinda,” Mina volunteered. Her eyes met Gino’s in the rear view mirror.
“Yes, Kalinda.” Margo had no idea about the game of cat and mouse being played inside the Audi.
He started to explain about the California Bar and Grill in Vicenza where he worked as a manager, and oh, so close to the American base. Mina tuned it out. She tried to imagine Kalinda walking into G.I. heaven. No way.
It was easier to hate Kalinda from a distance, when she didn’t have to stare at her beautiful figure, long legs, and exotic face.
“Okay then, I’ll see you later?” That was the last thing Kalinda said to Diego. See you later. Did they live together? In Los Angeles? She had to stop thinking about it. It was tearing her apart. Why? Oh, why? Just when she had finally begun to feel human again, why?
And Diego’s pathetic attempt. “I’ll be back.” Yeah, sure.
Then she remembered Julian’s comment. “Gino, why was Julian calling Kalinda the Matchmaker to the Stars?”
“That’s the name of her business. Her older sister started it then when she got married, Kalinda took over. Please don’t ask me how many matches she has to her credit. I know nothing about her business.”
Matchmaker to the Stars, so she had her own business, and it sounded like a very high end one. Beautiful, successful and smart. Diego must have had a good laugh comparing the two of them. And to think that when she left the house she felt almost beautiful with her expensive red dress, her new hairdo. Oh, God, they were probably laying in bed, having sex, and joking about poor stupid Mina.
When Gino parked his Audi by the townhouse, she barely said goodnight, jumped out and rushed home. She didn’t want to see any exchange of affectionate gestures, and no more, “I’m so sorry,” from Gino either. She’d had enough pity and heartache to last a lifetime. Right inside the door, Aria waited patiently for her return. She made sure there was plenty of fresh water and food then went into her bedroom, followed by her faithful pet who didn’t care if she wasn’t the most beautiful, the smartest, or the richest person on earth. She loved her anyway.
About thirty minutes later she heard the front door slam. Margo was back, and by the way she fiddled around before heading upstairs Mina figured she was alone. Gino must have gone back to his own place. He only had a week or so left. Good riddance. She felt sorry for Margo though. Maybe Gino really cared for her. Not everyone could be as cold hearted and deceitful as Diego. Their last goodbye in the Italian cemetery flashed in her mind. She willed it away. Lies, all lies.
She pulled her pillow over her head to silence her sobbing. Was he already in love with Kalinda back then? Maybe he didn’t really have surgery. Maybe it was an excuse to get away. How would she know? Carrying his phone with her, in case he called. It appeared he was too busy with Kalinda to call stupid Mina, waiting for him in California. She wished him dead, and Kalinda too. Maybe they both would plunge off a cliff and into the ocean in that gull-winged car of hers.
She remembered Julian’s writing on her hand. It looked like it may have been a phone number, but all that wiping tears from her face smudged it pretty bad. She went to wash her hands, the last thing she wished for was to get mixed up with another man who was part of Diego’s world. In this case, once was enough.
For hours she drifted in and out of sleep hoping for morning to come soon and perhaps bring her some acceptance. She must have fallen into a deep sleep because a strange thumping seemed to bring her in and out of a confused state until Margo called her name. “Mina, Mina. Someone’s banging on our door.”
Door…banging…She dragged herself out of bed and opened her door to see Margo, pale and frightened, clutching the neckline of her nightgown that kept slipping off the right shoulder. “What are we going to do? I’m scared. Should we call 9-1-1?”
Mina didn’t answer. Nothing could hurt her more that she already did. She went downstairs, and without even asking who it was, she unlocked the door and let Gino in.
“Gino, it’s you.” Margo sounded like the closing act of an Italian opera. She rushed downstairs, tripping on her sheer nightie. Gino caught her in time. “What happened? Are you all right?”
“I am. I am. It’s not me.” He embraced Margo, his eyes on Mina.
Was he trying to tell her something? What?
“Let’s sit down. You really scared us, didn’t he, Mina?”
Mina shrugged. “What’s up?”
But Margo had questions of her own. Why didn’t they hear the doorbell? Was it not working? She went to try it. It worked just fine. “We must have been sleeping soundly. How long have you been knocking?”
Gino looked disheveled, like someone who just woke up or perhaps never went to bed. He followed Margo into the kitchen and watched her make coffee for the three of them. Still Mina had that nagging feeling that Gino had a message or information he wanted to share with her. Unfortunately for him, she didn’t really care to know what it was about. She figured she would stick around, drink her coffee, then excuse herself and go back to her bedroom.
She poured milk and sugar into her mug. While she stirred it, she noticed Gino’s hands shaking so badly he spilled some of the coffee on the table. And his eyes…dear God…he stared at her like a drowning man pleading for help. Finally, she could no longer stand it. “What happened? You look like you’ve seen the devil.”
Margo noticed Gino’s distress for the first time. “Oh dear, Mina’s right. You look awful. Are you sick?”
“Kalinda.” It sounded like a hiccup more than a word. He must have known it because he repeated it. “Kalinda–her car.” Why would this man feel so miserable over something that happened to a woman he claims to hardly know?
Margo was still trying to comfort her man. It hadn’t seemed to occur to her the cause of his unhappiness was another woman.
“What about the car?” One of the few DeLoreans left, and that particular one was customized. She remembered Julian’s description.
“It’s gone, demolished.”
“She had an accident?” Margo asked.
He shrugged, tried to sip some coffee then set the cup on the table. “No accident, no other car involved.” He had regained some composure. “The car blew up on the Freeway, the one that goes North, I’m told. If instead of driving south to come back here we had headed north, we would have come upon the scene of the–accident.”
“You said it wasn’t an accident.”
“The police and the media will surely call it that until all the tests are in.”
“How about…” Mina’s lips refused to say it. “I mean, you know… is she okay?” She remembered a few hours earlier when she wished Diego and Kalinda a deep dip in the ocean DeLorean and all. Maledizione. She hadn’t really meant it.
He shook his head and spoke with his eyes half closed, avoiding looking at them. “It had to be intentional, someone–third degree burns and the…her…legs…gone. She was flown to an undisclosed location. Oh, my God. That brought back all those memories I thought I had left behind and moved on. I relived my explosion as if it happened yesterday. I’m so sorry.” He patted Margo’s hand. “I couldn’t sit in my condo alone, and you are my only true friends here.”
Mina was dying to ask how he knew so soon, but seeing how emotional and caring Margo was in response to his plea for help, she figured this was a good time for her to make her exit. Whatever message Gino was trying to convey to her would have to wait until the sun came up a few hours from now.
It was about nine a.m. when she made it out of the shower. She noticed the answering machine blinking on the house phone. Diego? Gino? It was Adams, sounding rather annoyed. “Mina, I wish you would answer the phone. We have a settlement on the table in regard to the home in Laguna Canyon. It’s not the best, but we c
ould avoid a prolonged legal fight. So here is the question. Are you ready to just walk away from the whole thing, or are you still so emotionally attached to the ruins of the house you are willing to take less, a lot less compensation and rebuild? I, of course, have a strong opinion on the subject, but I’m keeping it to myself. I suggest you take a ride to the location and make up your mind, but I insist. Drive there before deciding. It’s the best way. And then call me back, and we can discuss it. Talk to you soon.”
Twenty minutes later she headed to her yellow ragtop Bug. Gino’s Audi was in the guest parking, so he was still at the house, probably snuggled up in Margo’s bed.
She shrugged, good for them. All she had was Aria. She considered getting some coffee at a drive through, changed her mind, and took the 5 South to El Toro road then headed west to Laguna Canyon Road. She avoided the Pacific Coast Highway because this time of the year a misty layer of fog often shrouded the roads and beaches. Driving slowly, she kept thinking about Kalinda and her car–accident? What was Gino implying? De Fiore told her the man who beat up the flower guy and Margo died in the Laguna Canyon house fire. Kalinda had to have some connection to the mountain house. After all, that’s where she first set eyes on her and Diego.
Clear your mind. Reliving that moment still burned her inside, and having Gino around wasn’t helping the healing process. She sighed and turned onto the narrow road heading up to the cottage. This was her first time back since the day of the explosion. Maybe not such a good idea. She thought about Kathy, and Aria, and De Fiore. He never did say if he was seeing Kathy, not that it mattered anymore. Or did it? Maybe he moved on. If only she could be as strong as De Fiore. Sun filtered through the low clouds by the time she turned the corner. Oh, God. A chain link fence enclosed the property, a “No Trespassing” sign posted up front. She parked her car but kept the engine humming, not sure she was ready to actually walk up to the house. She sat in the car revisiting all the dreams and hopes of her future with him.
Finally, she got out of the Volkswagen and walked to the fence. She rested her forehead against the wire and closed her eyes. Time to move on. The dream died along with her friend Kathy. It should have been her there, not Kathy. The garage still stood, untouched, unlike the cottage with the side walls darkened by the smoke and the roof, well, very little was left of the roof. She was surprised that the old tree to the side didn’t go up in smoke, but, no, there it was, standing tall and proud among the ashes. That’s when she noticed it.
The motorcycle.
And the opening in the fence. Could it belong to one of the security guards? Why Adams would feel the need to hire protection was beyond her comprehension. What could anyone possibly steal? Adams had mentioned squatters. She walked toward the tree, lonely witness to the tragedy. The bike intrigued her, but before she reached it, she caught some movement off to the side. Who was it? She stopped and waited. A man wearing black leather and a motorcycle helmet emerged from the side of the house. Waves of memories and feelings hurtled at her. She grabbed at the fence. Stop it.
The stranger also came to a halt. They waited. For what? She could hear the humming of the car engine and the pounding of her heart. The man in black reached for his helmet, a gesture so familiar. She had to get out of there. This wasn’t happening. His lover lay somewhere on her deathbed, and here he was looking for some side action with the spare. This would be laughable if it wasn’t so painful. Mina, the spare.
She backed away from the fence and made it to the sidewalk by the time the helmet rested in Diego’s hands. She wasn’t going to look at him, she wasn’t. She teetered on the edge of the sidewalk about to lose her balance, came to her senses, turned around and jumped into her car, shifting gears. She headed straight up the hill before Diego ever made it to his motorcycle. Soon she hit the end of the cul-de-sac. What if he followed her? No, he wouldn’t. He didn’t know this was a dead end. He probably figured she was long gone. She slowly turned her car around. She would wait five minutes then go home. If she ever had any doubt about the cottage, problem solved. She was over it.
Underneath all her common sense, her heart cried out for him. He was her curse. He must be dealt with. She waited, her fingers tightened on the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white. The rhythmic groan of the engine left no doubt. He stopped almost in the middle of the road, the only way out of there. Didn’t take long to assess the situation, did it? Damn. He planted his feet on the ground, waiting. For what? He removed his helmet again, and placed it on the gas tank. He swung off the bike and moved slowly and deliberately toward her car.
No, no, no. Stop. She couldn’t let him get to her. She wasn’t strong enough. She had to get out of there. Now. But his bike blocked her only way out. She revved up the engine, saw the hesitation in his stride, stepped on the gas, and the Bug took off. She kept looking straight ahead. She couldn’t face him. He jumped back as she zoomed by and grazed his motorcycle, hearing a crash. She kept on going. Tears streamed down her cheeks, landing on her shirt. She had problems seeing the road, a road she would never, ever forget as long as she lived.
CHAPTER 23
Gino’s Audi wasn’t there when Mina crossed the gate of her complex. She went straight to her bedroom and called Adams. “Go ahead, get rid of it, I’ll sign whatever you need.”
“What’s going on? Mina, you sound…distressed. I didn’t realize you were so attached to that place. You’re sure, now.”
“Yes, yes. Get rid of it already.” Tears slid into her mouth. She tasted the saltiness. Damn you, Diego, damn you. I curse the day I met you. “Sorry, got to go. Margo is waiting.” She hung up, didn’t want to have to explain her tears to Adams or anyone else for that matter. Where was Margo? The house was so quiet. Only Aria roamed around. She went to the bathroom to rinse her face. The mirror confirmed what she already knew. She looked like a fat pumpkin, puffy eyes, so puffy it hurt just looking at herself. The phone rang. Oh, God, must be Adams with more questions.
“Hello.”
“Mina, we need to talk.” Gino? Gino talking in Italian. Must be serious.
“About what?” His attempts last night at sending silent messages with meaningful looks still gnawed at her.
“Not over the phone. Margo had an appointment, something about picking up her things from her former employer. Can you meet me somewhere?”
She wasn’t going to go anywhere people would see her looking the way she did. “I’ll meet you in the parking lot by Nordstrom. Remember where–?”
“Ten minutes.” He hung up.
What the hell?
She noticed the Audi even before parking. He must have seen her approach. He got out of his car and walked to meet her. “What happened to your car?” Gino asked.
“My car? What do you mean?”
He stood next to the passenger side and pointed. Mina turned off the engine and went to look. Dark scuff marks showed the point of impact against Diego’s bike. Wow, she did hit it. The black must be paint from the motorcycle. Control your emotions. “Oh, that. A fender bender, no big deal.” He didn’t answer, and yet it was like he suddenly knew what she did. His behavior changed. He sighed. “Let’s sit.” He opened the passenger door of her Bug and sat. She went back to her driver’s side.
“First, let me assure you again I didn’t know about Diego showing up at the charity evening. No one knew, not even, you know.” He put his hand up by his neck. She understood, the woman with the pearls. The boss.
“That’s what makes what happened to Kalinda even more frightful for all of us. It had to be an inside job. I’m explaining all of this to you because in five days I’ll be on a plane back to Italy, and I’m very, very concerned about you and about Margo. Kalinda was obviously not the intended target. Diego was, and probably the only reason that poor girl is still alive. The explosive was under the passenger seat.”
“…I’m not driving your damn car. The sooner you get that through your head the better.” Diego’s comment made at the mansion in front of the
valets echoed in her mind. Should she tell Gino? She did.
“Mina, there is a bounty on Diego’s head. We all know that. That he would be foolish enough to show up to say hello to his old friend and mentor, while admirable one way is totally irresponsible also. And poor Kalinda paid the price. I’m not sure if whoever is doing this will stop or go back to try to hurt you. That’s why we are having this conversation, and Mina, please, not a word to Margo. It’s stressful enough that I will be leaving. She doesn’t need this kind of added pressure. I’m holding on to hopes of a California transfer. I spoke to De Fiore. He will try to keep an eye on you two.”
“What? De Fiore? Since when are you and De Fiore such good buddies? Besides, you don’t think I can take care of myself? Plus, I have nothing to do with any of this, not anymore.”
Gino shook his head. “You know, Mina, sometime the qualities that make us endearing can also be our worst traits. First you have no idea who you’re up against, and second I assume you know that Kalinda was window dressing for the operation. She is not and never was Diego’s girlfriend.”
“Yeah, right.” What if he was telling the truth? Stop shaking. Don’t show your emotions.
“Hey, don’t take my word for it. You can ask him yourself once we get this mess sorted out.”
She had just run over his motorcycle…
“Do… do you know how to get in touch with him?”
“Diego? No, and I like to keep it that way. He is toxic to anyone who comes in contact with him. I think he’s gone. Someone tried to run him off the road earlier this morning. I don’t know where he was going. He’s not supposed to be in California at all.”
Oh, my God!
If Gino was telling the truth, Diego was probably trying to tell her about Kalinda not being his girlfriend–no–life is not that simple. “I’ll be back,” he had said, just last night. But she didn’t wait for him. She bolted.
“Mina, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Wait…where were you this morning? Those marks on your car? Did you have anything to do with Diego’s bike?”
Ashes of Autumn (Mina's Adventures Book 4) Page 15