Page 53

fifty-two f

Where Are You?

I wasn’t prepared for the cold weather or the man who met me at Philadelphia Airport.

“Ava!”

I looked for Mike’s familiar handsome face, his dark hair, and mustache. The only person I saw was a blond priest standing near the luggage carousel.

“Doll, it’s me.” The priest approached.

“Mike? What the—”

Mike had bleached his hair and mustache and sported a pair of wire-rimmed glasses with no lenses, barely concealing a healing black eye. He wore a pair of black jeans and a black shirt with a priest collar. Anyone giving him more than a casual glance would recognize he was no clergyman.

“I’m hot, babe. How d’ya like the disguise?”

“Great, Mike.” You’re only fooling yourself.

“I’d kiss ya but us priests ain’t supposed to do shit like that.”

And you’re not supposed to leave your friends to die.

“Let’s get out of here.” I grabbed my suitcase from the carousel.

Mike walked with a limp and led me to a beat-up Buick sedan. “Sorry, the heat ain’t workin’.”

“I’m freezing,” I said. “Don’t you have a blanket or something?”

A gentleman would offer a lady his jacket. Mike gave me a moth-eaten blanket from the trunk. It brought back memories of prison, but I welcomed the warmth.

Neither of us spoke until we left the airport parking lot.

“I’ve been so worried,” Mike said. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I’m not okay. Neither are the rest of your friends.”

“Speakin’ of my friends, where’s Carl?” Mike asked.

“In London.”

“And Tina?”

“California. What happened, Mike?”

“It’s all Rajiv’s fault, the greedy bastard,” he began.

“Don’t bullshit me.”

“I’m not,” Mike said. “Rajiv knew we had millions behind us. He kept askin’ for more dough, sayin’ if we didn’t pay him, he’d turn us in. It got to the point where I couldn’t pay anymore. That’s when he sent the cops to bust us. He pretended to be our buddy and promised we’d get a slap and a fine.”

“That’s not what happened.”

“No shit.” Mike turned to look at me. “I couldn’t believe the judge sentenced you and not me. I wanted to scream, to say, ‘Take me.’”

“But you didn’t.”

“I was afraid if I said anything, I’d get locked up, too. One of us had to stay out to get in touch with Ben. I tried callin’ him once I got back to the house. The lines were down so I figured I’d fly home for Thanksgiving and talk to him.”

“We rotted for almost a month. I lost twenty-five pounds.”

“I thought you lost some weight.”

“I lost a lot more than that.”

“Soon’s I got back, I told Ben. He said he’d take care of it. When I didn’t hear nothin’, I figured you guys were partyin’ your asses off and forgot about me.”

“You could have called,” I said.

“You got no idea what’s been goin’ down here. The Feds are after Ben and everybody in The Crew. That’s why I’m in disguise.”

“What about your other girlfriend? What was her name?”

“You’re my only girlfriend,” Mike lied.

“You remember—the blond bimbo I found in our bed. The one I saw waiting for you in the courtroom.”

Mike pretended to think for a moment. “Ya mean Liz? She was there for Rajiv in case somethin’ went wrong.”

I saw no point in arguing. Eventually, I’d learn the truth.

“What happened to your eye, and why are you limping?” I asked. Mike hesitated. “Um—it’s part of what’s goin’ down with The Crew.”

“I thought Ben didn’t believe in violence.”

“Wasn’t him. It ain’t just the Feds after Ben. It’s some rival gang. They beat the crap outta me.”

Liar.

“Dudes couldn’t get to Ben, so they came after me since I’m his number two man.”

You’re number two, all right.

It was time to change the subject. “What do I tell your parents?”

“I told them me and you are workin’ for Sunstar Industries,” Mike said. “They sent us to Kenya to grow cotton.”

“And what about your disguise?”

“I told them I came home ’cause some drug cartel was workin’ in Kenya, and I looked like one of the dudes in charge. That’s why I got beat up and needed to disguise myself.”

“They believed you?”

“Yup. Are they stupid or what?”

Stupid like their son.

“You had to stay to finish up business,” he said. “Next week, we’re goin’ back to Florida.”

“That’s a relief. I know your parents don’t like me.”

“It ain’t that they don’t like you. They think you’re a bad influence on me.”

If they only knew.