“Then I do not know what else to do. I thought I would ride home with you to make certain you arrived there in one piece. But I can tell you do not want me to come along because you will always see me as a Russian immigrant. A beautiful American like yourself is not interested.
“I understand if you do not want to spend Saturday with me. Promise me you will not get into another accident on your way home. On that bike you have no protection against a fast-moving car. Please, Gabriella. Be careful. If not for me, for yourself.”
Quick as lightning, he joined the traffic on the street with the agility of a Tour de France racer.
“Wait, Anatoly!”
She slid onto the seat and started pedaling as fast as she could to catch up with him.
“Slow down!” she cried when he changed lanes. She crossed after the light had changed red and kept on going. Several cars honked. People yelled at her. She didn’t care. It was imperative she reach him before that tragic streak in his nature convinced him she really didn’t like him.
Her uncle would tell her this was the perfect time to let him go. But watching him ride off like that had left her with a sense of loss more disturbing than the possibility that he could be involved in illegal activities.
If they weren’t of too serious a nature, she was convinced that with the right incentive, Anatoly could be rehabilitated. She knew her thinking was faulty. That was why she’d phoned her psychiatrist. But right now none of that seemed to matter as she raced along the street, slowly gaining on him.
“Anatoly!” she called out one more time.
He looked over his left shoulder, then moved on to the sidewalk and came to a stop while he waited for her to join him.
She rode up to him, gasping for breath. As she brought her bike to a halt, his hand shot out to steady the handlebar. He studied her flushed features with brooding intensity. “You should not have tried to catch up to me.”
“When you knew I was following you, why didn’t you stop?”
“Because I am a selfish man, Gabriella. I wanted to find out how much you cared.”
Oh, brother. “Of course I care! I’m trying to help you get together with your fiancée. If you persist in believing that because you’re an immigrant you’re not valid, people really aren’t going to like you. No one enjoys being around a person who is always feeling sorry for himself. It’s a major turnoff!”
He nodded and answered seriously, “As it happens, I believe what you say. I promise I will never consider myself your unequal again.”
She wasn’t sure that was correct English, but he got his point across. “Good. I’m glad we have that matter settled.”
When he smiled like that, her heart seemed to expand. “Shall I go for the van and drive you home from here?”
“No, thank you. If I rest for another minute, I’ll get my second wind.”
His gaze held hers. “This is very nice, Gabriella. All these people rushing around us, frantic to get where they are going. Yet you and I are standing in the middle of them on our own special little island, content.”
CHAPTER SIX
ANATOLY HAD A UNIQUE WAY of expressing himself that had nothing to do with his being Russian. From the beginning, his ability to tap into her innermost thoughts had created an almost tangible connection.
It was strong, like the bond she’d had with Paul, maybe even stronger in a way because it had happened so much sooner with Anatoly. He was the complete opposite of her husband, who’d been safe, cautious.
Gaby had to admit she’d enjoyed every second of the time spent with him. She really didn’t want to believe that he was a criminal. Part of her was afraid to hear from her uncle Frank again. If he told her awful things, that meant the teasing would have to stop. The excitement would have to end. She wasn’t ready for that. Not yet.
“I think I can make it to the apartment now.”
“Then follow me. I know many shortcuts.”
“That explains how you zip around San Diego delivering flowers so fast. I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep up.”
“We will proceed like the turtle.”
“I’m not that bad!”
He laughed deep in his throat. It was infectious, and she laughed too. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d let go like that. She was finding that being with Anatoly was an experience she didn’t want to miss. Not for a single second.
Once he’d sobered he said, “Are you ready?”
For the oddest reason she got the impression his question was asking something more of her than the obvious. How cruel fate was to place this particular man in her path!
When Paul had been killed, part of her heart had died with him. It might be early days, but if she were to learn that Anatoly was operating on the wrong side of the law, she had an idea the other part just might shrivel up, leaving her without the ability to feel.
“Ready for what?”
Still staring at her, he removed his hand from her bike. “We will go through one alley after another, but do not worry. I will be there to protect you.”
“I’m not worried. Back home my neighborhood had its alleys. A lot more action went on in them than the ones around here.”
“You mean in New Jersey?”
“You must have seen my degree on the wall.”
“I notice everything about you, Gabriella.”
So he did.
“You are afraid of nothing.”
I’m afraid of you, Anatoly. Afraid of the way you make me feel.
“It explains why you live and work where you do.”
“The rent is cheaper.”
His half-veiled eyes studied hers once more. “I have decided you are the most noble woman I have ever met.”
“Careful. You’re making me out to be a paragon.”
“That is the word for you. Everyone in America wants to get rich. You could be driving a Porsche, living in an expensive beach house like all the other attorneys who charge six hundred dollars an hour. Instead, you work to help immigrants who have very little money when they first arrive in America.”
After what he’d just said, particularly the way he’d looked at her as he’d said it, she was in danger of embracing life again. Damn! she cried inwardly. Embracing life was good, but why did it have to be because of a man who might be a criminal?
“Don’t be deceived,” she said. “I make an adequate living. One day I intend to live at the beach and drive around in a Mercedes. But for now, this bike suits me fine. Shall we go?”
He caught up with her. They waited at the corner until the light changed. Then he moved ahead and made a detour. She followed him to the middle of the block, where he turned into an alley.
Soon she realized she was having fun, following him as he swung wide to the right, then the left to avoid kids, delivery trucks and other obstacles. On bare stretches they rode abreast, in perfect synch. It was more than fun, it was exhilarating, and she was disappointed when their ride was finally over. They’d come out on the street where she lived.
When they drew up in front of her apartment building, he was off his bike and holding the door open for her before she’d even dismounted.
“That was great!” Flushed and slightly out of breath, she pushed the bike on through. “I felt like a kid again.”
“You look happy,” he murmured before resting his bike against the wall opposite the mailboxes. “I will take your bike upstairs for you.”
There was no point telling him he didn’t have to. As he disappeared, she reached into the box for her mail. To her surprise she found a postcard along with a free sample of a new cereal. She turned the card over.
Dear Gaby,
Depending on the traffic, I should arrive at the apartment by dinnertime Saturday night. I’ll wait for you no matter how late you come in. I’m on the verge of making a decision that will affect both our lives.
Love,
Hal.
Gaby tapped the card against her cheek. Hallie had been hovering on
the brink of becoming a professed nun. Now it appeared she’d made up her mind. If this was what she really wanted, then Gaby was thrilled for her.
But it meant looking for another roommate. Hallie was such a wonderful person, Gaby knew she would never find her equal no matter how long and hard she searched.
Maybe it would be better to live alone until she had enough money for a really good down payment on a condo.
“Gabriella?”
She looked up to discover Anatoly walking toward her carrying a large box of pizza, green salads and canned cola.
“Today you bought us hamburgers, so this afternoon I phoned ahead for pizza to be delivered here at six-thirty. If we do not eat it now, it will get cold.”
Gaby had been waiting to hear back from her uncle. But already it was too late. The damage was done. Anatoly had become an addiction. Tonight she didn’t want to think about what life would be like to lose him and Hallie at the same time.
BEFORE MAX HAD CARRIED her bike up the stairs, Gabriella had been glowing. If all else was playacting, her pleasure in their ride was a hundred percent genuine. You couldn’t fake that kind of emotion.
But he’d come back downstairs to find her countenance changed. “The exercise has drained you. The sooner you eat some food, the better you will feel.”
“I have to admit, pizza sounds good.”
She moved past him and started up the stairs. His glance darted to her hand which still clutched a small sample package of cereal and what looked like a postcard.
When they reached her apartment, she pulled keys from her jeans pocket and opened the door. While he put everything on the table, she followed with the bike. Once it rested against the wall beside the window that looked out on the street, she turned to him. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’ll be right back in.”
“Of course. I will set the table.”
To his surprise she tossed her mail on the kitchen counter before disappearing into the back part of the apartment. Like the handbag she’d purposely left in the van, she never did anything without an agenda. He knew she wanted him to read the card.
But he wasn’t thinking professionally at the moment. He’d just watched her go up the stairs. Those womanly hips and legs molded by snug jeans were still fresh in his mind. The swish of her ponytail had distracted him to the point he was ready to set her hair free with or without her permission.
While he got the plates and glasses out of the cupboard with one hand, he turned the card with the other so he could read the writing. It had been mailed from Los Angeles. After absorbing the contents, he put it back the way it had landed and finished setting the table.
According to the postcard, she had a lover who was about to propose marriage. It was all bogus of course. He didn’t doubt she had a lover somewhere, but it wasn’t Hal.
Was her uncle the brains behind this calling card? His way of telling his niece he’d found something on Max, so she should go ahead and get the job done? If he had orchestrated this little trap, he showed a lot of cunning.
How shrewd of the uncle to make him think Gabriella had a lover. What better way to ignite his jealousy so he would insist on coming back to her apartment on Saturday night hoping to get a good look at his rival, maybe even confront him.
Hal was probably the hit man who would finish the job she’d started by running into the Audi. They would call it a crime of passion.
As Max had theorized to Gideon, someone in the ring had become suspicious, and the mafia family back East had sent Gabriella to investigate. Now it seemed her uncle had given her the sign for Max to be rubbed out.
As if thinking about her had conjured her up, she walked into the front room. “The bathroom’s free if you want to freshen up.”
“I used the kitchen sink. Come and eat before the pizza gets cold.”
She’d barely started on her second piece of pizza when the phone rang.
“Excuse me.” In a jerky motion she jumped up from the table and hurried over to the chair in the living room to answer it.
Max kept eating, unable to make sense of hushed snatches of conversation, since her back was turned toward him. After a few minutes she clicked off, but didn’t immediately rejoin him.
He got to his feet and crossed to her. “Something is wrong. What is it?”
“One of my clients is in trouble. I’m afraid I’m going to have to go downtown.”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“To your office?”
“No.”
“Where?”
She lifted her eyes to him. He couldn’t decipher their expression. “It’s not your concern, Anatoly. Thank you for the dinner. I’ll put my salad in the fridge and eat it when I get back.”
“How will you get where you have to go?”
“On my bike.”
“No. I will not allow it. Though it is not dark yet, it will be soon. You will not be safe. Let me drive you.”
“How can you do that when you came on your bike?”
“My van is around the corner, parked in its usual place.”
She shook her head. “You mean you rode your bike from here to my office just to accompany me home?”
“Yes.”
“But you must be exhausted!”
“Not at all. I love to be active.”
“You’re amazing.” Her eyes were alive once more.
He groaned. After all these years, why did it have to be this particular woman who attracted him so?
“I had hoped we could play cards after dinner, Gabriella. I have a deck in my pocket. Since that will not be possible now, allow me to be with you, if only to take you to your destination and back.”
She caved in on cue. “I will on one condition.”
“What is that?”
“Let me pay you for the gas.”
“If you like, you may pay me right now.”
“I would like. I’ll get my purse.”
She ran into the bedroom once more. While she was gone, he put everything in the refrigerator. Seconds later she returned and thrust ten dollars in his hand. “That’s for all the other times, too.” He stashed the money in his pocket.
When they left the apartment, she held the bottom door open for him so he could guide his bike outside. After they reached the van, she got in the passenger side while he put his bike in the back. Then he joined her.
“Now will you tell me where I should drive you, or shall I guess?”
That brought a smile to her lips. “Go ahead. Make my day.”
Make mine, instead, by telling me you have nothing at all to do with the mafia. “The city jail,” he said.
Her head swung around. “Nothing gets past you, does it, Anatoly.”
“The kind of clients you see on a regular basis do not need you at night unless they’ve been arrested.”
“You’re right.”
“You are sad about this?”
“Yes. This is a troubled young man with a sick mother. He made some mistakes after he arrived here and was hit with an HB 3488.”
“What is that?”
“A new law for repeat car thieves.”
“I do not understand. A few days ago you became very upset when I said that I hoped your car would be stolen. It provoked a magnificent speech.”
Color filled her cheeks. “This is a unique case. Given the right help, I know my client could be rehabilitated. To sentence him to thirteen months in jail wouldn’t accomplish anything. I was able to prevail on the judge to give him a shorter jail term and probation, so he could get counseling and take care of his mother.”
Impressive, he thought. The mafia had many uses for Gabriella, including setting her up in her own law firm to get their guys off the hook.
“I take it he hopes you will bail him out again.”
“Yes. He swears he’s innocent, and I tend to believe him. But the police raided the auto body shop where he works and everyone was arrested. Unfortunately he’s in this country on an H v
isa status, which has little clout.”
“That is true.”
“The thing is, I know this judge. She’ll invalidate his visa and show no mercy. He’s going to get deported and there isn’t a thing I can do except tell him the bad news.”
You’re right about that, sweetheart. That little body shop probably strips eight to nine thousand stolen cars a year, sending insurance rates through the ceiling.
“I understand your concern for him, Gabriella. I would not like to be in his place if he has to return to Russia.” Since détente, none of the governmental heads of countries that made up the former Soviet Union wanted to accept criminals back inside their borders.
“Actually, he’s from Belorussia,” she said in a quiet voice. If Max didn’t know better, he could believe she was actually suffering over this young man’s problems.
But part of her con was meant to give off mixed signals. Just when Max thought he had a fix on her, she said something that completely threw him. No doubt she’d been indoctrinated at a very early age to be this good at what she did.
He drove down the ramp to the parking beneath the jail to let her off. “I will wait for you.”
“Thanks, Anatoly. This won’t take long.”
“I am in no hurry.”
As soon as she’d disappeared inside, he drove out again and found an empty parking spot in the next block. As soon as he switched off the ignition, he phoned Gideon.
“I’m glad it’s you, Max!”
Gideon’s tone caused an adrenaline rush. “What’s happening?”
“We’ve learned quite a bit, but nothing necessarily points to a family tie-in to the mafia. Her full name is Gabriella Peris. She’s the youngest of three children born to David and Ellen Peris. He’s the current CEO of Eastern Hospital Care.”
Max blinked. “Isn’t that the big hospital group in New Jersey?”
“Right. The uncle she talked to is Frank Cracroft, a longtime detective with the Atlantic City Police Department.”
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