Chapter 28 - Ariana
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Ariana
“Wait here,” Leaf said. As he went around the car, Milo got out too. “No, I said wait here!”
“Alright,” Milo stated, lighting a cigarette.
As Leaf opened the gate, he entered the entrance area and knocked on the wooden door. The iron gate fell shut behind him with a clatter, a familiar sound. He had entered and exited here too many times, yet it felt wrong as he opened the door and stepped into the air-conditioned room.
Diego sat behind a glass desk, glancing at him over the laptop. Further back, Ariana lounged on the couch, flipping through a fashion magazine with boredom. When she glanced up from under her black bangs, Leaf averted his gaze and approached the desk.
“Leaf, good to see you!” Diego shut the laptop and clasped his hands in front of his face. “How are you?”
“Diego,” Leaf murmured, putting his hands in his pockets and shrugging his shoulders.
Diego flashed a sly grin, revealing a gold tooth. “What brings you back? Is it your guilty conscience? Or do you want to buy? Oh, no, I know, you’re here to suck me off.”
“Cut it out. We’re even, and you know it.”
Leaf followed Diego’s gaze to Ariana, who had set aside the magazine and was now sitting upright on the leather sofa, glaring at him with venomous rage. The distance between them provided a sense of safety. Clearly, she still hadn’t accepted that he wanted nothing to do with her anymore.
“Yes, Leaf,” Diego said, chuckling. “We’re even, but it seems my sister still wants to take you down mid-air.”
Ariana rose from the couch and stormed out of the room.
“Don’t hold it against her. She’s just too damn resentful. You surely haven’t forgotten that,” Diego commented.
“How could I?” Leaf reluctantly recalled her wounded pride. His behavior toward her hadn’t been particularly kind, but enough time should have passed by now for things to settle down.
He scanned Diego’s office awkwardly. Since quitting two years ago, he had sworn never to set foot in this building again. He knew Diego too well to believe that his friendliness was built on thin ice. Underneath it was a ticking bomb.
It was a mistake to come here!, an inner voice screamed, but Leaf ignored it.
“So, what brings you here?” Diego stood up and came around the desk. He stopped right in front of Leaf and scrutinized him. “It’s not drugs, I can see that in your eyes. You’re clean. Congratulations. Although I heard you supposedly ended the tour completely coked out.”
It was a game Diego liked to play, demonstrating his power. The Mexican may have been half a head shorter than Leaf, but that had never stopped him from acting like a huge asshole.
“You know why I’m here,” Leaf hated this banter and simply wanted to get to the point.
“Yes, I remember our phone call. But you didn’t tell me why I should hire the kid.”
“You owe me a favor.”
Being reminded of this visibly soured Diego’s mood.
With a grimace, he turned away from Leaf and walked back around the table to his chair.
Leaf’s gaze fell on the gun tucked into Diego’s pants, clearly intended for Leaf to see.
To emphasize his point, Diego set it on the table, and then sat back down.
“Alright. I know you can keep your mouth shut. Your ability to keep quiet is partly the reason you’re still alive. And as much as I hate to admit it, yes, I owe you a favor. But if anything goes wrong—and you know what I’m talking about—then that’s not my problem.”
“You won’t wish for anything to go wrong.”
Diego chuckled, which satisfied Leaf because laughing was Diego’s way of dealing with threats. “Looks like you’ve got your drive back. Alright, is he here? Send him in. I want to meet the kid.”
“Where are you, Diego?” Leaf shouted, pounding angrily on the door. “Come out, damn it!” Sharp pain shot through his hand, but he continued banging.
“Kid,” a voice behind him said. “There’s no one here.”
Leaf glanced over his shoulder and noticed an old man with gray hair leaning on a sturdy cane.
Around his neck hung a golden cross. With a trembling hand, he pushed his glasses up and peered through the lenses at Leaf.
The gate had closed behind Leaf, giving the impression as if he were trapped in a prison cell.
The light above Leaf flickered, and he realized there was no light on in the office. It wouldn’t have surprised him if Diego was upstairs and just flat-out ignoring him.
“I’ve seen you around here a few times,” the old man said. “What’s so important that you want to talk to the man?”
Leaf grimaced. “What’s it to you, old man? Do you know the owner of this house?”
“A dear man who supports our church with a donation every month.”
Holy shit …
Dumbfounded, Leaf lifted his head, raking his fingers through his disheveled hair in frustration.
Since leaving the rehearsal room, he had been driving around and calling old contacts, hoping to find Diego.
He had been ignoring all of Leaf’s messages or calls so far.
The speculations of his messengers ranged from sickness to vacation to a new fling.
Leaf pounded his fist against the door again.
Yet another failed attempt to find Diego.
“Are you alright, son?” the old man asked. “You could come over and tell me what’s on your mind.”
Over? People were streaming out of a dilapidated building across the street. Leaf had never noticed before that it was actually a church. Out of politeness, he forced a smile and stood up straight. He had to get out of this prison.
“Cat got your tongue?” the old man asked when Leaf approached the gate.
Leaf clenched his fist. His pulse quickened. “Move aside,” he demanded.
“Oh …” The man acted as if he hadn’t noticed that he was blocking Leaf’s path.
Leaf squeezed through the narrow gap of the open gate and hurried to his car.
“You’re not alone, son. God is with you.”
“Holy …”
“Jesus loves you.”
Scowling, Leaf got inside the driver’s seat. Before driving off, he glanced back once more. The old man stood in the glow of the taillights, waving at Leaf with a smile.
What a psycho.
Leaf slammed the gas pedal and took off, tires screeching as he sped away.
But he didn’t get far. Just a block ahead, he spotted Ariana. On high heels, she strolled past a laundromat in a miniskirt, tapping something on her phone.
Leaf hit the brakes and left the engine running as he hurried after her. Without hesitation, he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back against a wall plastered with posters. Ariana screamed and dropped her phone in shock.
“Leaf, damn it! What’s this about?”
“Where’s Diego?”
“Hijo de puta! How should I know? Let me go, damn it!”
As she tried to break free from his grip, he pressed her harder against the wall. “Stop bullshitting me. Where is he?”
Ariana turned her head away and pursed her lips in a sullen pout.
“Where is he?” he yelled directly into her face, causing her to flinch in shock.
“He … We … Our grandmother died. We’ve been in Mexico City for the past two weeks.”
“Are you kidding me? Don’t bullshit me!”
“Dios mío! It’s the truth, you paranoid freak!” Tears welled up in Ariana’s eyes. “She had … What do you call it …? Cáncer de páncreas! I couldn’t even say goodbye to her. Everything happened so quickly!”
Leaf squinted his eyes in confusion. The fling with Ariana hadn’t lasted long, but he knew she was probably the worst actress and liar he had ever met. She couldn’t fabricate a story like that, and her tears seemed genuine despite her tough exterior.
Focus, Leaf, he admonished himself. This could be the key to finding Diego.
“And why are you here and Diego isn’t?”
“I have appointments too,” she snapped at him. “Diego will be back tomorrow or the day after. And now let me go! You’re hurting me!”
At that moment, Leaf was suddenly torn away from her. Stumbling, he fell back against his car.
“What’s this? Let the lady be, damn it!”
It was the old man from earlier, hands on his hips, standing like a bulldog in front of him—although he was even smaller than Ariana.
“Don’t you dare interfere!” Leaf snarled, straightening up again.
Ariana bent down to pick up her phone and wiped a tear from her face.
“I’m sorry … about your grandmother,” Leaf apologized, each word confusing him even more than he already was.
But for a brief moment, there was peace between them, as Ariana nodded gratefully. “Me too.”
She was referring to Milo, and Leaf could hear the genuineness in her voice.
Plus, she read the tabloids often enough to know that Leaf had lost a close friend and was grieving too.
Her honesty even touched something in Leaf, something that made him sad and reminded him that there were much more important things than Diego.
Without another word, he got into the car and drove off.
Damn! What just happened there?