by Nele Neuhaus
Luca lit a cigarette.
“This is such bullshit,” the other man grumbled. “This guy lies in bed while we have to sit here in the freaking cold.”
The two men almost failed to notice the small side door of the mansion opening. A man stepped outside. He wore a leather jacket with a baseball cap and walked swiftly up East End Avenue.
“Look at that.” Luca straightened himself up and started the car’s engine. He dialed a number and let the car roll onto the street.
“It’s me,” he said a moment later. “There’s a guy with a leather jacket and a baseball cap coming up the street. You should be able to see him by now. Follow him and call me once you find out where he’s going.”
“Who is that?” Tardelli asked.
“I reckon it’s our Mayor Kostidis.” Luca put the cell phone away. “I bet that even his bodyguards don’t know that he snuck out of the house.”
Alex took a long shower and shampooed her hair, which caused most of the dark color to wash out. Her exhaustion was gone, but her nerves made her hands shake and her heart pound. Nick was on his way to her! Was it right to meet him in a hotel room? She was wanted for murder, and he would be in serious trouble if someone caught wind of their meeting like this. But despite her doubts, she looked forward to seeing him. She had been thinking about him for days.
Alex looked at her face, without makeup, in the dimly lit bathroom mirror. She still had a chance to get out. No one except Nick knew that she was back in town. She could leave New York and never be seen again. But what kind of life would that be? She never could have imagined how awful it was to be on the run with a false passport. She had trembled with fear at every passport checkpoint. Were the immigration officers holding on to her passport longer than other people’s? Were they examining it more closely than others? No, she wasn’t made for such a life. She could only hope that this nightmare would end. For the thousandth time since discovering Zack’s dead body, she found herself wishing that she had stayed away from this whole situation.
Alex walked back into the room and turned on the television. The hotel was simple and clean. No one had wanted to see her passport when she registered as Mr. Bernard Chambers from Tallahassee. She’d bought a bottle of champagne and some sodas from the nearby liquor store to accompany her two limp shrink-wrapped sandwiches and a bag of chips. She needed the alcohol to fall asleep. One or two glasses of champagne on an empty stomach calmed down her jittery nerves. She would be safe from Sergio here for at least one night.
Nick had a feeling that Vitali would have him watched: not because he wanted to know what he was doing all day, but because he hoped that Nick would lead them to Alex once she was back in town. For this reason, he had the taxi drop him in busy Times Square and accepted that he would get wet from the walk. He had to avoid putting Vitali on Alex’s trail. She might be safe at the Portland Square for one night, but she would have to change locations tomorrow. If Vitali had the slightest suspicion that Alex was staying somewhere around here, he was capable of having his minions search all of Midtown Manhattan.
Nick entered the unimpressive lobby of the Portland Square Hotel. It was filled with people. The Broadway shows were over, and people were returning to their hotels to escape this terrible weather. The elevator was full, so he took the stairs up to the second floor. His heart hammered in his chest as he approached room 211. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
“Who’s there?” he heard Alex’s voice though the cheaply made door.
The door was ripped open seconds later, and she stood in front of him. Nick felt a cheerful, wild bounce in his heart when he saw her. She was pale, but beautiful as ever. The stress of the last days had left its mark on her face. She wasn’t the ice-cold, hard-nosed person the press had described, and she most certainly wasn’t a calculating murderer. The woman standing in front of him was frightened and confused and just as lonely as he was. She wouldn’t have come back to the city if she had done what she was accused of. Alex was an innocent victim in this intrigue.
He stepped inside, and she locked the door behind him. Until this moment, he had not realized how much he longed for her. They looked at each other silently for a few seconds, searching for the right words. Neither could think of what to say.
“You’re completely soaked,” Alex said.
“It’s snowing outside,” Nick replied numbly.
“You…you need to take off those wet clothes or you’ll get sick.” She took off his wet leather jacket, and he let her. Their eyes locked, and Alex suddenly lost her composure. She started to cry, surrendering to her fear and desperation. Nick put his arms around her and pressed her close to his body. He murmured consoling words, her face nestled to his cheek, and he felt the warmth of her body. He had longed for this during the many nights he had lain awake in his bed. He had a guilty conscience because his longing for Alex had replaced his grief for Mary. But he felt more alive than he had in a long time. Alex stopped crying, but they still held each other tightly. There was a certain shyness in the way they looked at each other.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Nick whispered hoarsely.
“I’m happy, too,” Alex replied. “Everything is so terrible, but I’m not afraid when you’re with me.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and held back a moment before leaning in for a tentative kiss. His heart beat faster as he kissed her back. She clung to him and pressed herself against his body, slipping her hands under his shirt and gently stroking his back. Her touch felt strong and sweet as the sensation coursed through him. He held her face in his hands and studied her for a moment before kissing her again tenderly. He didn’t care if what he did was right or wrong. He couldn’t care less about what the media would do if it came out that he—the mayor of New York City—had slept with a woman wanted for murder. He desired Alex more than he had ever desired any woman in his life.
As they kissed, they rid themselves of their clothes and sank down on the saggy bed. The sleet turned to snowflakes outside and the wind shook the windows. They had no desire to talk, think, be reasonable. There would be plenty of time for that later. Their hearts beat in excitement as they kissed and caressed each other, exploring, becoming familiar. There was no wild frenzy, no crazy ecstasy, no raging lust, but something else: something infinitely tender that brought tears to both of their eyes. They made love passionately in a way that only two human beings who trust and respect each other could. Their eyes locked while their bodies responded to each other, like two magnets, bodies that belonged together and had been separated far too long by inexplicable circumstances.
Alex felt a pulsing deep in her belly and waves flowing through her body—an overwhelming sensation, a longing desire to unite and create something new. She moved with Nick, found his same rhythm, and felt a surge catapult them to climax together. They paused at the peak of passion and looked at each other, almost surprised by how their bodies and souls coalesced in this magnificent, breathless moment. A wonderful feeling of happiness surrounded them, and they weren’t embarrassed by their tears. They lay on the bed in a close embrace, smiling breathlessly and waiting for their heartbeats to calm down. Alex could see in Nick’s eyes that he felt the same way she did. From the moment he arrived in the doorway, she had realized she loved him. “Hold me tight,” she whispered, and Nick closed his arms around her even tighter. She snuggled in close to him and sighed. Feeling that she was no longer alone made all the tension that had weighed on her fall away. A pleasant exhaustion spread throughout her body.
Nick listened closely to her breathing getting calmer. He admired her sleeping face. He was dazed by the intensity of his feelings for this woman he held in his arms. With a twinge of guilt, he thought about how he had never felt this way with Mary. He could barely believe how magnificent he felt. He’d loved Mary, but he’d never managed to completely and utterly open up to her the way he had with Alex. He would have never burst into tears in front of Mary or confessed his deepest doubts
and fears to her. Nick sighed, carefully kissing Alex’s neck. His exuberant feeling of happiness gave way to a calm, deep joy, clouded only by concern over whether his love for Alex had a future. Here and now, they were two human beings who needed each other because they were alone and in dire straits. But how could this continue? Tiredness defeated all of his doubts, and Nick drifted off, closely nestled against Alex’s warm, sleeping body.
It was four in the morning when Luca called his boss at the Painted Cat.
“And?” Sergio asked. “I don’t want to hear any bad news!”
He was in an aggressive mood because he had failed to find sexual relief with the girls at the nightclub. His repeated failure enraged him. He had almost emptied an entire bottle of scotch—which was very unusual for him. Time and again, he thought about Alex, and his anger and thirst for vengeance grew immeasurably. She had led him by the nose, stolen from him, and plunged one of his companies into bankruptcy. And now she had also left him impotent! That was more than he could take. He stared into the mirror behind the bar and was terrified by his appearance. His face was bloated, and he had new bags beneath his bloodshot eyes. It almost seemed like Alex leaving him had stolen his feelings of immortality. A man in his late fifties, inexorably going on sixty, stared back at him. Sergio hated this sight, and still he couldn’t look away from the mirror.
“My guys lost track of Kostidis at Times Square,” Luca reported, “but they checked all of the hotels between Forty-Fifth and Forty-Ninth Streets. It looks like Alex checked in at the Portland Square under a false name.”
Sergio sat upright with a start, and his hand gripped the scotch glass even tighter. Was she really dumb enough to return to the city? His pulse raced involuntarily. His felt the adrenaline spike of a hunter anticipating his prey.
“Has anyone seen her?”
“Not yet, but I came across the name ‘Chambers,’” Luca replied. “She checked in under the same name at the Marriott in Zurich.”
A grim smile spread across Sergio’s face. If it really was Alex hiding behind this name, then she had made a mistake despite her cleverness.
“And on top of that,” Luca continued, “one of the staff at the Portland Square claimed to have seen Kostidis in a leather jacket and a baseball cap.”
“Let’s go there!” Sergio said.
“No, boss,” Luca objected, “we should wait until Kostidis is gone and she’s alone. I’ve positioned my guys in every hallway of the hotel. I’ll know within ten seconds when he leaves the room.”
Sergio thought for a moment. He really wanted to go there immediately. He would kill Alex on the spot if he surprised her and this bastard in the same room. And if he should find out that she—just the thought was incredible!—was sleeping with Kostidis, then—
“Boss?” Luca interrupted Sergio’s violent thoughts.
“Yes, yes…you’re right. Send me a car. I want to be there when you go in.”
He hung up the phone and finished his drink. Revenge was near; he could feel it.
The sun rose over New York. The city was awakening to a dull gray dawn. A gusty northwest wind drove the drizzle—mixed with just a few snowflakes—before it like fog. Alex blinked sleepily. It took her a few seconds to remember last night’s events and remember the situation that she was in. The few hours in which she had suppressed the danger were over, and her fear returned with the dawning day. She turned toward Nick and saw that he was awake, gazing at her.
“Hello,” she whispered.
“Hello,” he replied quietly. There was a sad expression in his deep, dark eyes. How long had he been watching her like this?
“Do you have to go?” Alex asked quietly.
“Yes,” Nick said with a regretful smile, “it’s almost five thirty. Otherwise, people will think that I’m missing.”
“Please hold me in your arms one more time,” Alex asked.
He nodded silently and pulled her closer toward him. Alex sighed and nestled her face against his cheek. She wanted to tell him how much he meant to her, how much she liked him. But in the dawning light of day, this man lying next to her in bed was once again Nicholas Kostidis, the mayor of New York, who had official duties and a public waiting for him. Last night, they had just been a man and a woman who found refuge in each other’s arms. They had forgotten reality, but now reality had caught up with them again.
Alex knew that it would be fatal for Nick’s reputation if anyone found out about their night together. People didn’t care that the allegations against her weren’t true; Nick’s enemies would see it as a welcome opportunity to sling mud at him.
They looked at each other in silence, both wishing that they could make time stand still.
“What will happen now?” Alex asked.
“I’m going to tell Jenkins that you’ll speak to him,” Nick replied, “and then the arrest warrant will finally be revoked.”
The noise of the awakening city came in through the opened window.
“Where’s Oliver?”
“At the St. Ignatius monastery. He’s doing well.”
Nick looked at her face and stroked her cheek tenderly.
“Come with me right now, Alex. I feel uneasy leaving you here by yourself.”
Alex hesitated. She would have loved to pack her bags right away and go with him.
“No, that’s a bad idea,” she responded. “It would not be good for you if people see you with me. I’m safe for now here at the hotel.”
I don’t give a damn, Nick thought to himself. He only reluctantly let go of her and went into the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed.
“I’ll call you as soon as I’ve spoken to Connors,” he said in a husky voice as he put on his leather jacket. “Then I’ll send two US marshals to pick you up.”
Alex felt a lump in her throat.
She was emotionally overwhelmed. Sadness over their imminent good-bye mixed with helpless anger at the situation she was in. Nothing would ever be the same again. The man she had fallen in love with was forced to secretly steal away from her because she had been branded a murderer.
“Thank you, Alex,” Nick said.
“I’m the one who should thank you,” she replied, “because you came to me and you believe me.”
“You’re an amazing woman,” Nick said, his voice hoarse. “This night was wonderful.”
And I love you, he thought. Alex watched him as he slowly walked toward the door, and she almost jumped up to hold him back. But she knew that he needed to go. After the lock clicked into place behind him, Alex buried her face in the pillow and began to cry.
“There he is,” Luca said as a man wearing a leather jacket and baseball cap stepped out of the hotel. He was relieved to find Kostidis and hoped that the mayor had actually visited Alex—although maybe they were mistaken and he had just spent the night with another woman.
Sergio Vitali silently sat in the car’s backseat. He hadn’t said a word in two hours as they waited in the parked car across the street from the hotel. There was no expression on his face, but a volcanic rage boiled inside of him.
“Okay,” Luca said, “we’re going in.”
Sergio nodded and got out. In just a few more minutes, he would know the truth.
Alex flinched when she heard a knock at the door. She had showered and dressed and was just about to pack her suitcase.
“Who’s there?” she called out.
“It’s me. Nick.”
Alex felt her heart jump with joy. Nick had come back to her! She opened the door with a smile, ready to fling her arms around Nick’s neck. But it wasn’t Nick standing in the hallway. Ice-cold shock shot through Alex’s body, and the smile died on her lips. Sergio Vitali was standing in front of her, a murderous rage glowing in his eyes.
There was a great commotion in Gracie Mansion when Nick returned at ten to seven. The security officers and his staff were standing in the foyer, and Lloyd Connors, Frank Cohen, and Michael Page were having an animated discussion in Nick’s
study. Nick went into the house through the staff entrance and was astonished when he saw all of these people here so early on a Sunday morning.
“Hello,” he said. The three men spun around and stared at him as if they had seen a ghost.
“Nick! For heaven’s sake!” Frank was pale and visibly worried.
“What’s the matter?” Nick asked innocently. “Did something happen?”
“You’re unbelievable!” Relief was written clearly on Connors’s tired face. “We’re going crazy here worrying about you, and then you stroll in as cool as a cucumber and ask us what’s going on!”
Nick’s looked around the room from Connors to Frank, and then to his chief of staff Michael Page.
“Where have you been, Nick?” Frank asked reproachfully. “The security service called me at one o’clock saying that you weren’t at home. No one knew where you were.”
“We wanted to inform the police,” Page said.
“I wanted to ride around the city a little last night,” Nick replied. “I wanted to be alone. I’m not a child, after all.”
“No one said that,” Connors said in a conciliatory tone, “but since the assassination attempts, we have safety protocols almost as stringent as those for the president. We were worried, Nick.”
“I thought that they had kidnapped you.”
Frank let himself sink into a chair and took off his glasses.
“The security people were losing it,” Page said, shaking his head, “and I was, too! You can imagine how much hell they’d give me if something were to happen to you.”
“I’ve been roaming around the city by myself all of my life,” Nick countered. “I didn’t feel like running around with five bodyguards in tow.”
“The next time you feel the need to stroll through the city at night, please at least let us know,” Connors said as he grabbed his coat and yawned. “I’m going home now to catch a few hours of sleep.”