Chapter 38
ALEX
“Just be thankful you weren’t stuck in that elevator with Gabriel.” Elijah chuckles, selecting some bottles of booze from the liquor cabinet. “He’s extremely claustrophobic.”
Like I give a crap.
But the thought barely lands before the other one hits—harder, heavier.
Ana. My daughter. The words don’t sit right in my head, like they belong to someone else’s life.
I should be crying or mourning all the years I never had with her, but I don’t.
What I feel is muddled—numb, disoriented, a little angry.
My mind drifts to the puzzle pieces inked into my skin, the ones Meera designed.
She never said why she chose that pattern.
I assumed it was just one of her artistic obsessions at the time.
Now I see it for what it was—a twisted little project.
And the missing piece? Ana. She’s been holding it all along, pressed into the palm of her hand like fate had marked her to fit into one of Meera’s chaotic designs.
I can almost feel the gap in my own skin, the hollow where she should have been all these years, pressing against the shape she completes. Almost.
But in all honesty, I feel numb. Or maybe resigned. It’s less grief than a sudden, sharp recognition of what was missing. She completes the puzzle… just not mine.
I take my glass of whatever concoction Elijah just shook up and take a heady sip, savoring the hint of coconut as it goes smoothly down my parched throat.
It doesn’t go unnoticed that he’s also made one for Gabriel, which annoys the hell out of me.
And I hate that it does—because it really shouldn’t.
As if the thought of Gabriel brings him into existence, he glides off the elevator, breezy and bold, and I find myself annoyed that he still has free access to Elijah’s penthouse. Even though technically it’s also his.
But still.
“Ah, Elijah,” he sings, striding into the kitchen, hair bouncing, and for Christ’s sake, even his damn hair pisses me off. He accepts his cocktail with a dazzling smile and turns to look at me. “Alex,” he greets, taking a sexy sip.
His sexiness pisses me off too.
Deciding to throw him a curve ball—to see how honest he can be after years of lying, I place my drink down and face him. “Has Ana ever asked about her biological parents?”
The smile drops from his face. “Never,” he confirms, turning at the sound of the elevator arriving.
“Hi gays! I mean guys!” Ana chuckles, slipping into the kitchen and grabbing two bottles of sparkling water. She tosses a bakery bag onto the counter. “I picked up some donuts.”
When none of us speak, she stops walking and spins around, clapping her hands on her hips.
“Oh boy, not again. For heaven’s sake, we were just freed from the elevator only a few hours ago.
Let me guess… someone left the toilet seat up again?
” She snickers, circling back to Emilee and handing her a bottle of water.
“You’ll get used to it, Em,” she explains, dragging my daughter down the sweeping hallway. “There’s a gay crisis every weekend in this house. One time, Papi misplaced his pearl necklace and—”
I cringe as the bedroom door slams shut.
Gabriel blushes and rubs the stubble on his chin. “I take all the blame for her foolishness.”
“You lost your pearl necklace?” Elijah quips.
“Misplaced,” Gabriel sputters. “And it was a long time ago.” He swings his eyes back to me and chuckles. “Leave it to my daughter to tell all of my—”
He pauses, lips pulling tight, as he surely mistakes the awe in my face as discomfort.
Now that we all know the truth about Ana being my biological daughter, he probably assumes I don’t want him referring to her as his daughter anymore.
But that’s far from what I want, and definitely not what has me all choked up.
It’s the interaction between the three of them that has me all up in my head, wanting to cry and laugh all at once.
They’re freaking hilarious. I’m not even sure they realize it.
The sheer joy and mutual affection they have for one another are so transparent.
You’d have to be blind not to see it. They literally bounce right off each other.
They’re a complete package—the perfect family—the whole enchilada.
Ana may have my blood running through her veins, but everything else, and I mean everything, comes solely from Elijah and Gabriel.
She belongs to them.
I swallow down tears and clear my throat, placing my palms down on the island between us. “You were saying? Tell all of your…”
Stubbornly, Gabriel shakes his head. “Don’t do this, Alex. Just—”
“We’re going to Emilee’s!” Ana announces, skipping back into the kitchen. “We forgot to pack shoes for the party this weekend, thanks to Papi.” She rolls those dazzling green eyes.
I look away.
“What did Papi do?” Elijah inquires, taking a bite of a powdered donut.
“Never mind,” Gabriel snickers, fingers sailing through his shoulder-length waves. “Come on, girls. I’ll take you back to school. Let’s skedaddle!”
“Who the heck says skedaddle?” Emilee pipes up.
Gabriel turns toward my daughter and grins, admiration in his eyes. “You sound like my daughter.”
Ana runs her hands over her neck. “Papi, pleeease. This is embarrassing. First, boogie, and now skedaddle? Can you get any gayer?”
Exasperated, he drops his chin to his chest and blows out a breath; hair fluttering in front of his face.
“Anyway,” Ana turns toward Elijah. “Steven is waiting downstairs with the car.”
A slow smile crawls across Gabriel’s face as he walks over and kisses the top of her head. “Okay, sweetheart. Te quiero mucho.” He runs his palm lovingly up and down her spine.
I fold my arms across my chest, observing the interaction between the three of them. It all flows so naturally. They’re literally the perfect family.
“Te amo, Papi,” Ana replies, pressing her smile into her father’s cheeks. She blows a kiss to Elijah, who’s licking the powder from his lips, and he winks.
And then, she turns to me with an adorable grin. “Bye, Mr. J.”
“Alex, wait.” Gabriel grabs ahold of my elbow as I’m turning to follow Elijah to his office. “I’m just wondering… now that you have the missing link to the puzzle, what exactly does it form?”
I pull my arm out of his hold and shove my hands into my pockets. I’m not sure I have the energy for this conversation right now. This whole thing is exhausting. Meera, the puzzle, the letter, Ana, and, of course, Gabriel and his secrecy. It’s all too much. But they deserve to know too.
“It’s another puzzle piece,” I answer somberly.
“You’re kidding?” They both gasp simultaneously.
“Wish I was.”
“Oh, Alex,” Gabriel exhales, walking over and placing his hand around the back of my neck, massaging the muscle along my traps.
It’s so unexpected and done in such a caring way, I can’t even complain about it.
“It’s going to be alright. If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a look at the puzzle piece?
I don’t know… I just feel like we’re missing something. Of course, I could be wrong, but…”
But he also could be right. I get it. As much as it bothers me to admit it, Meera had been a part of his life too. In a big way. Just not one she chose to share with me. And obviously, he knew a different side of her than I did, which infuriates me to no end.
His fingers dig deep into my neck, and I moan at the relief it brings to me. The sound is out before I even have a chance to take it back. Firmly, he squeezes the nape of my neck, and that perfect pressure makes me moan even louder.
“Oh god.”
“Ah, so you like this? Me touching you?” He smirks.
Elijah moves to my side. “Not the right time, Gabriel,” he warns.
Chuckling, Gabriel drags his hand down my arm, wrapping his fingers around my wrist and turning it over, exposing my tattoo.
Goose bumps creep across my skin as he delicately runs his thumb over the lone puzzle piece.
Trying to stave off another moan, I pull in a short breath and get a whiff of his skin.
Spicey. Like cinnamon mixed with something else that I can’t quite put my finger on.
Vanilla? Tobacco maybe? Might even be coffee?
Whatever it is, it’s a nice blend and I like it. Way too much.
“You know,” Gabriel interrupts my senses, fingertips still ghosting over my tattoo. “One of the fascinating things about Meera was that she had this ability to create a picture within a picture.” He looks up from my wrist. “You know what I mean, right?”
Actually, I don’t. But I’m too embarrassed to admit it.
Interpreting my silence as not having a clue, which couldn’t be more spot-on, he tries smoothing things over.
“It’s alright if you don’t. Honestly, to most, it would go unnoticed; but to a trained eye, like myself…
” He trails off, bringing my wrist closer to his face and, damn it, the warmth of his breath tickles my skin, making me close my eyes and hold my breath.
“What do you see?” Elijah asks, leaning his head against mine, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Rain,” he replies. “This is amazing.”
I open my eyes just in time to witness a brilliant smile stretch across Gabriel’s face. More like an astounded one.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Elijah growls.
“Look here.” He taps on the ink that fills in the lines of the puzzle piece. “See this? It looks like… rain.” He flicks his eyes up. “Does that mean anything to you, Alex?”
I shake my head. It means absolutely nothing. In fact, I hate the rain. Meera does too.
“I could be wrong, but…”
Narrowing his eyes, he puts both thumbs over the puzzle piece and applies pressure, like he’s spreading the ink apart. I take a closer look, and now that he’s mentioned it, the shading does look a little like raindrops. Strange because the pieces on my back happen to be solid.
In a zone, he tilts his head. “Could also be… tears?” he suggests, looking at me for confirmation.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Elijah snaps, yanking my hand out of his hold.
“No, wait! Hear me out!” Gabriel barks back, sweeping his hair out of his face.
“Alex, I think there’s something else she’s trying to tell you, another confession maybe, and totally unrelated to your connection to Ana.
Actually, I’m certain of it.” He stares wide-eyed at me and shoves his fingers into his hair, scraping it back in a bun. “Jesus, this chick fascinates me.”
I take Elijah’s hand and pull him to my side, keeping him from running away.
Gabriel blows out a breath. “Let’s have a look at what we’ve got. We know that Ana’s birthmark is the link that connects the puzzle pieces on your back, sí? Puzzle solved—she’s your missing link—your daughter. Granted, it forms another puzzle piece, but that’s irrelevant.
“But there’s no picture,” Alex snarls.
“You’re wrong, Alex. Ana is the picture. It’s what Meera wants you to see. Fuck, this is incredible!”
Still feeling all sorts of confused, I glance over at Elijah, who’s looking slightly more enlightened than I am by Gabriel’s revelation.
Not deterred, he wisps his hair out of his face. “It was her trademark, Alex. One of the things that drew me to her. Remember I said Meera had this uncanny ability to create a picture within a picture? That’s exactly what she’s done here. In a completely unexpected way. Fucking fascinating.”
“Oh, come on!” I finally snap, having heard enough.
“Get on with it, Gabriel,” Elijah hisses. “I’m beginning to think you’re just as crazy as the artist.”
He holds up his hands. “Alright, alright. At this point, I think we can all agree that Mimi, um, sorry, Meera had a complicated mind. Right? Like she was working with two brains—both brilliant, by the way. They coexisted, which is what made her artwork so intriguing, and although separate, they worked together. One mind, two thoughts, therefore, two pictures. Get what I’m saying? ”
Truthfully, all I’m getting is a headache. I can’t wrap my head around any of this nonsense.
“Are you suggesting she has a split personality?” Elijah inquires.
Warily, Gabriel shuffles his feet and sighs.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. As puzzling as it is—pardon the pun—it makes sense.
Let me ask you, Alex, have you ever tried flipping this piece over?
I assume you still have her original sketches back home?
Because now I’m wondering what you might find on the other side… behind the rain.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake! That’s enough!” Elijah grips my elbow and drags me down the hallway.
“Trust me on this!” Gabriel yells. “I’m the only one familiar with her artwork.”
“And I’m familiar with her!” I scream, spinning back around.
“You knew Meera, Alex. I knew Mimi,” Gabriel quips.
“The only common thread they share is art. And maybe a brain. Think about it. It’s like we knew two different people.
?Carajo!” His hands whip through his floppy hair.
“Would you open your goddamn mind? She’s trying to tell you something.
Something else. Rain. Tears. A goddamn monsoon.
I don’t fucking know! But I can assure you there’s more than a stray puzzle piece here. ”
I take a step forward, pinning him with serious eyes.
He flinches like he expects me to hit him again, and trust me, I almost do.
“You may be intrigued by her. But I, for one, am not. She’s fucking out of her mind!
Do you hear me?! She put me and my daughter through hell trying to assemble this puzzle.
And now that I have, I’m not about to climb back into that fucked-up mind of hers—or minds, as you’re suggesting—and weave my way through the chaos that you call art! I’m DONE!”
I slam the door to Elijah’s office and begin counting to eleven.