Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
W hoa. Fancy, Mary said after Alex flashed his key card at the sensor and beckoned her through the door into the nicest lobby she d ever seen—and she d visited a lot of high-end hotels in her hometown.
Alex said nothing. Fair. He didn t want her here. He d made that clear through his silence as he d gripped the limo s steering wheel. But after he d told her why he needed to get to the nursing facility in the suburbs, she d needed to come. Why? That was complicated. He probably thought it was curiosity. That she wanted to witness how far his snooty mom had fallen. But she didn t think it was that, or at least, it wasn t all that.
She d come here for Alex. For the terrified look in his eyes after he d gotten that call. He looked like he needed a friend. And that s what she was. Even though she d felt like a whole lot more when he d held her in his arms outside the jazz club. Around women, he had one setting—smolder—and he couldn t turn it off.
Friends, she reminded herself. She cared about him, and she couldn t let him go alone to check on his mom late at night.
Though, from the tension in his shoulders, he probably would ve preferred it.
She sympathized with the person whose job it was to keep all this white marble tile clean as they passed a couple of seating areas. Vases of cheery flowers brightened the dimly lit space, which must get fantastic light during the day from the large windows. Soothing landscapes and still-life paintings adorned the wood-paneled walls.
Evening, Kim. Alex stopped at the desk, which looked nothing like a hospital counter. It looked like the one in his office, a regular wood office desk with a bouquet of daisies in a vase. I have a guest tonight.
Good evening. The white woman smiled at her. Could I see your ID, please?
Mary handed it over, and the receptionist used a tablet to scan it before handing it back. Go right ahead, Mr. Villa.
He stepped around the desk to the elevator doors. When he scanned his keycard at the pad, the door slid open. Inside, he scanned his card again and pressed the top button. The silence stretched long between them on the ride up to the sixth floor. A million questions tickled the tip of Mary s tongue, but she held them back. Alex would speak when he was ready.
The elevator doors opened, and she stepped through into a hallway that could ve belonged in any hotel in the city except for the faint scent of disinfectant. The marble, wood paneling, and artwork continued here, and there was another vase of flowers on a table at the end of the hallway. God, the florist bill in this place!
Doors lined the hallway. She jogged to keep up as Alex strode down the hall to the last one on the right. He paused before it, his head bowed.
She s changed a lot since you knew her. Some of it s because of my dad. A lot of it s because of the stroke she had a few years ago.
A stroke. Of course. She remembered the crooked smile in the photo on Alex s desk. When he paused for several seconds, she asked, Will she remember me?
Shoving his hands into his pants pockets, he kept his face averted. There s nothing wrong with her memory. Though she gets confused sometimes. In addition to the physical effects, her emotions are heightened. And when she gets emotional, they call me. I can usually calm her down.
Remembering how frail his mother looked in the photo on Alex s desk, she said, I imagine her physical symptoms are frustrating. She was always so strong.
He finally looked at her. Strong? I don t think I d have used that word, even back then. Proud and opinionated, yes. But none of us were strong. Not like you.
He squared his shoulders and faced the door. This time, he didn t scan his card, but he looked into a scanner mounted on the wall. The lock clicked, and he walked through, holding the door for her.
The inside didn t look like any hospital room Mary had ever been in. It looked like an apartment, and not one Mary could afford. She passed a small kitchen on one side and a powder room on the other before the wide entry hall opened to a spacious living room with a six-person dining table at one end.
Alex followed the sounds of voices—one soothing, one sobbing—into a bedroom that was larger than Mary s living room. The sheets on the bed were rumpled, and all the lights were on. A tiny figure hunched in an armchair; she buried her face in her hands as her shoulders shook. An Asian woman in black scrubs sat in the other chair, her hand on Mrs. Villa s back, murmuring softly. The nurse looked up, a relieved expression on her face, when she saw Alex.
Look who s here, Mrs. Villa, she said. It s your son.
Although deep grooves surrounded her mouth and eyes, Mrs. Villa was still beautiful. Her long blond hair was now white and stuck up on one side of her head. She wore a light pink satin robe belted over matching pajamas. When she looked up, tears streamed down her face.
Alessandro, tell these people I want to go home. Despite the waver in her voice, the imperious tone reminded Mary of the orders she used to bark at Alex when they were teenagers.
He dropped to his knees in front of her. Mama, you know there s no home to go back to. We lost it years ago.
Lost it? What was he talking about?
I mean your place. You always took such good care of me. Not like these people. She looked down her nose at the nurse, who snatched her hand off her back.
Mama. His tone was stern. Umi and the rest of the staff here take excellent care of you. Better than I can do. You know that. We tried, and you didn t like living with me. You were lonely. This is the best place for you. He gathered her into his arms, letting her sob against his chest. To Umi, he murmured, Did you give her the meds?
The nurse nodded. They should kick in any minute now.
Good. He rubbed a circle on his mother s back. What s all this about, Mama?
They won t let me out, she wailed. Remember how I used to walk in the garden at night while I was waiting for your father to come home? There s a park outside, and all I wanted to do was smell the moonflower and feel the cool air on my skin.
Alex seemed to deflate. You can t do that at my place either, Mama. I can t protect you outside the hotel.
They don t want to hurt an old woman like me, she argued. It was eighteen years ago. Everyone s forgotten. Besides, we paid them all back.
What was she talking about? Mary stilled to catch every word.
It wasn t enough for some, Mama. You know that. And what would I do if something happened? What if you fell?
Wouldn t be the first time, she muttered, making Mary smile. The feisty woman was back.
Gently, Alex pulled back and looked his mother in the eye. I ll leave instructions that you can go outside tomorrow. There s a small rooftop garden. Maybe the prickly pear will be in bloom. You ll be safe in the daylight.
Safe from what? Or whom? Mary didn t ask.
Still, Mrs. Villa s gaze caught on her. Who s that?
As if he d forgotten she was there, Alex looked back over his shoulder. You remember Mary Forza, Mama.
Hi there, Mrs. Villa, Mary said.
Hm, she sniffed. I didn t recognize her. She s gotten so old.
Mary couldn t help it. She patted the shallow creases around her eyes. Did she really look old? She supposed after a full day of work and a night at the club, she might.
Mama, Alex chided her. She s gorgeous. Anyone can see that. And she s the same age as me.
Warmth filled her belly. Gorgeous. Was that how he saw her, even with dark circles under her eyes and her foundation sweated off?
She should take better care of her skin, Mrs. Villa said, like Mary wasn t standing right there.
I think it s time you went to bed, Alex said. He rose to his feet and held out his hands. His mother grasped them and pulled herself out of the chair.
I m not a child, you know, she grumbled.
I know. But you re tired. You ll feel better in the morning. He tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and guided her to the bed like he d have walked her into one of the Villas fancy parties Mary was never invited to twenty years ago. When he tucked her into bed and kissed her forehead, Mary s heart melted. Who d have thought Alex Villa, Las Vegas titan, could be so kind and gentle?
He murmured a few words to her, then a few words to Umi. Finally, he guided Mary out of his mother s apartment, his expression growing darker as they neared the elevators.
When Alex waved his card at the security pad, she asked, Is that to keep the residents in or other people out?
Both. He didn t meet her gaze. Some residents have memory issues. Some, like my mother, have trouble controlling their impulses.
When the elevator door slid open, he held it as Mary walked through. Alex again scanned his card, and the elevator doors closed.
You said it was dangerous for her to go out at night, she said. What did you mean?
His broad shoulders slumped as he shoved his hands into his pockets. My father had enemies. Most he made himself. Others envied what he had.
Mary had only the vaguest idea of what Alex s father did. He owned a casino. Like you.
Not like me, Alex growled, his jaw like iron. He dealt with the Family.
Whose family? The door slid open, and she stepped into the lobby. Oh! You mean the mafia?
Too loud, the word echoed off the marble floors and wood paneling. The receptionist looked up with wide eyes.
I mean…organized crime? Mary whispered.
He owned the Paradise on paper, but it was the Family—yes, the mafia—who actually owned it. He paid them for security, for casino workers, for produce in the restaurant, and even for toilet paper. And when he ran short of cash, it wasn t good. He cracked the knuckles on his left hand before he scanned his card one final time, and they stepped back into the mostly empty parking garage.
Shit! he said. I forgot about my car.
It s okay. She held out her hand for the keys. I ll drive you home.
Not happening. I ll drive you home. Then I can take the limo back.
No can do. The lot s covered in security cameras. Michael would blow a gasket if I gave you the gate code.
Then we ll return the limo together, and I ll drive you home, he said. Stubborn man.
I could get a rideshare home, she argued.
He only raised his eyebrows.
Fine. She clicked the lock on the limo but circled to the passenger side. Though if I don t watch it, I ll get used to riding in a limo instead of driving it.
He opened the driver s side door. Would that be so terrible?
She snorted. You re the riding-in-limos type, Alex. Not me. Though that was dangerously close to bringing up senior prom. So once he settled into the driver s seat, she said, Why are you afraid of your dad s maf—Family contacts coming after your mother? She doesn t still do business with them, does she?
He crumpled into the leather seat. No. And my father didn t, either. Not at the end. There was an incident, and after that, my mother and I begged him to sever those ties. And he did. He bought the Paradise from the Family. But the problem was how he did it.
She let him drive for a few blocks in silence, but when the Forza Elite Motors sign came into view, she asked, What did he do?
He had a reputation as a savvy businessperson. People came to him for financial advice. And that s how he got into trouble. You see, he was not a good man. Alex slowed and stopped at a flashing red traffic light, carefully looked both ways, then proceeded through the intersection.
I m sure he was good in his way. He raised you.
Alex only tightened his lips. He ran a pyramid scheme. He paid out to the initial investors to give people an inflated sense of what their investments could do. But the later investors got nothing. All their money went to buying the Family out of the Paradise.
What? How could he have hidden that from her? When did this happen?
He started it when I was in high school. I didn t know about it. Not until later. Mama thought he d gone legit. We didn t find out what he was doing until the federal investigators came to arrest him one night.
In high school? But they d been friends then. Surely, he d have told her if something that big had happened in his life. When, Alex?
He slowed to make the turn into the entrance and stopped at the metal gate. He flexed his fingers on the steering wheel and stared through the windshield. End of senior year.
End of…do you mean prom night?
I think I need the code now, he said.
Answer me first. Is that what happened on prom night?
Pain tightened his pretty eyes. They came that night and stayed for hours, questioning all of us. They confiscated my phone as evidence and wouldn t let me leave.
Why didn t you tell me after? She d cried buckets of tears into her pillow all weekend, humiliated at how Alex had played her when she d thought there could be something between them.
He stared at the gate. I didn t tell anyone. Couldn t because of the investigation. And then Mama had to sell the house and the Paradise to pay back the investors. We lost everything, Mary, down to the clothes on our backs. I was ashamed.
She wanted to give him a hug, but Michael s security camera pointed right at them from behind the keypad. She unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned across Alex to enter the code. He sat, stiff as a board, until she scooted back into her seat.
She directed him where to park the limo, dropped the keys into the box, and walked beside him to where he d parked his flashy silver Ferrari. He opened the passenger door for her and watched as she slid in. He tugged on the seat belt and handed her the buckle, then waited for her to click it.
He took his seat, started the car, and pulled to the gate. As it slid open, Mary chose her words carefully. So, while I was away at college, you were…
Alex s shoulders tensed before he said, Dealing with the mess my father had left and working days at one hotel and nights at another. Driving a taxi on the weekends. Dad had it easy. He was in jail, awaiting trial. He pulled through the gate and turned onto the street toward her neighborhood.
But if you lost your house, she asked, where did you stay?
Mama had a cousin who put her up, but there was no room for me. I couch surfed, he said. Luckily for me, I had a few friends whose parents my father hadn t defrauded. A few nights, I slept in my car.
You got to keep the BMW?
No, I had to sell that, too. Bought a janky old Ford Escort. I was grateful for the car repair basics your dad taught me. That car leaked oil like a mother. Never could plug it.
Something tight and prickly settled in her chest. Alex hadn t told her because he thought she d judge him. Sure, she was upset when he stood her up, but she d have understood if he d only explained what happened. Except…
My brothers told you to stay away from me, didn t they?
I d have done it anyway, but yes. They didn t want me to distract you from your studies.
We were friends. It would ve been okay if you d distracted me. I d have wanted to know.
How does the song go? You can t always get what you want. He flashed her a grim smile that made her wonder.
Did you really want to take me to prom? As more than friends?
He stopped at a stop sign, then reached for her hand. Of course I did. I was an entitled ass, but I wasn t cruel enough to ask you as a joke.
But you let me believe it. All those years.
He released her hand and stepped off the brake. I was a coward. Letting you hate me for something I didn t do was easier than letting you hate me for who I was.
She blinked hard, willing the tears to stay puddled at her eyelids and not run down her cheeks. Fortunately, they d reached her house, and she used the cover of unbuckling her seatbelt to dab at her eyes.
Alex got out and held the door for her. Silently, they walked side by side up her front walk and ascended to her front porch. She dug in her purse for her key but paused before she slipped it into the lock.
Looking up into his eyes, shadowed in the dim porch light, she shivered, and not because of the cool desert air. He d smashed everything she thought she d understood for the past twenty years, and the newly exposed edges of the truth were as sensitive as a paper cut.
I forgave you a long time ago. You know that, right?
I don t know why. I wouldn t have forgiven me, he said.
She smiled. You do hold a good grudge.
Alex glanced out at her quiet street, then he pulled her into a hug. Into her ear, he murmured, Never against you.
He loosened his grip on her like he d step back, but she clung to him. I liked our dance tonight. Thanks for that. And for, you know, doing my job.
It was my pleasure.
Suddenly, Mary was aware of how the stiff fabric of their shirts rubbed together. Of their mingled breath. Of the fact that nothing but a few inches of air separated her from his plush lips. She trembled.
His eyes went soft, and he lifted a hand to cradle her jaw. I m going to kiss you now. The way I wish I could ve kissed you on prom night. But he paused for a second, then another, as he gazed into her eyes.
Realizing that, despite his words, he was waiting for her to make the next move, she stretched her neck, savoring the friction as she rubbed up his chest and landed her lips on his.
It was a closed-mouth kiss, but their lips softened against each other the same way they d melted their barriers tonight. She understood him at last. All the guilt, pain, and humiliation that drove him to remake that shitty motel into La Villa and thumb his nose at the big players at the heart of the strip. That made him swagger into Forza Elite Motors and pick a fight with her brothers. That kept him silent for four years while she was in college, clueless about his situation and thinking herself the one who d been hurt. When he d been hurting all along.
Alex pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers, his breathing unsteady as hers.
A light flickered on at Mrs. Wong s house next door. You d better go. I ve got nosy neighbors.
I ll call you tomorrow?
Yeah. Maybe…maybe we can go out sometime? Without the birthday party and strippers. She laid a lingering kiss on his lips before reluctantly stepping back.
A do-over, twenty years late? I m here for it.
She squeezed his hand. So am I.