Turn Towards the Sun: Book Three- Forever in Bloom (The Sunflower Trilogy) (20 page)

I WAIT FOR Gabby at Milano. We are finally having our lunch we had to reschedule thanks to all the Anna drama. Grayson and Marisa stayed with Enzo today and sent two other bodyguards with me so it would be less obvious. The two men sit at a nearby table, seemingly enjoying their lunch. I’m a little nervous being here, especially because it’s Girasole, but I know I’m not alone. It helps that I have a loaded pistol in my handbag too. I see Gabby walk in and I wave to get her attention. Smiling, she walks towards me and joins me.

“Ava! It’s so good to see you.”

I stand and hug my friend. “You too. How is everything?”

“Awesome. Crazy busy too.”

Our waitress, Terri, walks up to take our drink order. “What can I get you today, Mrs. Milano?” she asks.

“I think Sangria would be nice. How about you, Gabby?”

“I think I’ll just have a glass of iced tea.”

“Very well,” Terri says and walks away.

“So, Gabby. Fill me on what’s been going on in your life? How is school and Calvin?” I ask.

“Really good. Calvin is such a great guy. We’ve started house hunting. Oh and school is going well. I think I’ve decided I want to focus on landscape pictures. People aren’t as interesting to me- to photograph, anyway.”

“That makes sense. Flowers don’t talk back.”

“No, they don’t.” She laughs and we glance at the menu for a moment. After Terri takes our order, Gabby lowers her voice and leans in towards me. “What’s happening with you, Ava? Anna called you?”

“Yeah, a week ago. Apparently…” I pause as I think about how to say this. “Well some shit went down with her and Enzo and now we’re all concerned about how far she is willing to push this.”

“What do you mean some shit went down? Did she contact Enzo?”

I shift uncomfortably in my chair not wanting to tell my friend the details. I haven’t even told Cass the extent of this. It’s just too embarrassing and too hard to explain. “Yes, she saw him. She…ran into him in Vegas and she’s been stalking us ever since.”

“Shit, Ava. Again?”

“Yeah, again and to think I felt sorry for that bitch.”

“What are you gonna do about it?”

“We’re working on finding her so we can have her arrested. We are being careful because we all know she’s crazy and we don’t want this to go public again.” I motion towards the table with my bodyguards. “We’re safe though.”

Glancing at the men, Gabby smiles. “No surprise.”

“I have a gun too, Gab. Just in case.”

“Whoa, seriously? Not taking any chances this time, huh?”

“She tried to kill me before.”

“Yes, I know. I’m sorry this is happening again.”

“Yeah me too, but I assure you it will be the last time. One way or another that bitch is going down.”

“I’ve never heard you talk like this before, Ava.”

“I don’t know that I ever have, but I’m tired of having my life affected by her and her craziness. I’ve had enough.”

Gabby nods her head. “Understandable. How are you and Enzo holding up?”

Boy, that’s a loaded question. I wish I could say we were stronger than ever but every time I look at his gorgeous face, doubt and fear wash over me. On the one hand, I trust him with my very life and I know he would do anything for me. On the other hand, I wonder if there is a bunch of stuff going on that he has decided not to tell me about. It’s unsettling.

“We’re holding up,” is the best response I can think of.

“How are you doing otherwise, you know, about the baby?”

“I’m frustrated that I’m not pregnant again, yet. It was so easy the first time. Now- nothing.”

“It will happen.”

“Why does everyone say that like they know something I don’t?!”

Gabby looks hurt. “I’m sorry, Ava. I didn’t know what else to say.”

“There is nothing to say. I don’t know nor does anyone else with any certainty that I will get pregnant again so unless you have a crystal ball I think it’s best to say nothing.”

“Sorry,” she says quietly.

We sit for a moment in awkward silence. I feel bad that I snapped at her again, but I am so sick and tired of people saying that to me when they really don’t know.

“I’m sorry I was short with you, Gabby. I’m just tired of the topic and I’m under a great deal of stress.”

“I get it. We should talk about something else.”

“Yes.”

Terri returns with our meal and after changing the subject we talk amiably for a long time about the various goings on in our lives. I tell Gabby all about the progress of La Bellissima and how we are sure we will make the August opening Enzo wants. She asks me about Dax who has been surprisingly low key ever since the incident, as I like to call it.

Gabby tells me about her classes and how much she likes them. She’s continued taking Italian classes and she and Calvin have been going on very cerebral dates to the opera and symphony. They are peas in a pod.

“I’m really happy for you, Gabby. It sounds like things in your life are going really well.”

“Yeah, thanks to you introducing us. I’m very happy. I wish you were too.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m not happy. I have a lot to be thankful for and I’ve been learning how to focus on what I do have instead of what I don’t. It helps get through the rough spots.”

“Have you talked to anyone? Like a therapist?”

I roll my eyes- another therapy suggestion. “No and I don’t need to. I’m doing fine.”

“Of course.” She smiles. “Shall we go?”

“Yep.” I already arranged earlier to have our tab paid so Gabby didn’t have a choice to argue with me. “I got lunch and don’t argue with me. It’s already done.”

“Thanks, Ava. I appreciate it.”

“I know you do.”

“So, um, nice handbag,” she says as we walk towards valet, my bodyguards following closely behind. “Are you over your fear of spending?”

“Yes, I was cured in Vegas of all places!” We both laugh and hug goodbye as the attendant pulls Gabby’s car around.

I wait with one bodyguard while the other goes to get the car, once again feeling like royalty or a celebrity. Really all I am is a woman with a crazed stalker. She’s been quiet for a week but none of us think she’s done. There is no way.

Riding home, I pull out my phone to text Enzo, but my phone won’t come on. I check the battery and try to reboot it but it still won’t work. Hmm. “Danny, can I use your phone? Mine seems to be dead.”

Danny turns around and smiles. He’s a big man with a soft spoken demeanor. Just his presence is scary enough. “Sure, Ava.”

I dial Enzo’s number. “Hey, babe, it’s me,” I say.

“Ciao, amore. Why are you calling on this number?”

“My phone is dead. It shows it’s charged but it won’t do anything. Anyway, just telling you I am on my way home.”

“Perfetto. I’m here in my office.”

“Okay. See you soon.”

I hang up and hand the phone back to Danny as we finish our drive home. As I enter our home, I’m happy to see Maximus bouncing towards me. I go inside Enzo’s office to find him listening to someone on the phone, a concerned look on his face. The first thing I think of is Anna.

“No, she’s not staying at the Fairmont. In fact, she is standing right next to me. She’s had some recent trouble with identity theft so I would assume that is how this happened. Did you say a credit card was used to secure the room?”

Oh great. It’s more of this stolen identity crap. I roll my eyes and pick up the iPad to log into our cell phone account. I try to log in with the password I set up but get an invalid password message. What the hell is going on? I use the reset password function on the website, but get a message that my email address is not recognized. It dawns on me that this is probably related to the fraud.

“Yes, thank you for calling,” Enzo says. “Ava, someone used a credit card with your name on it to check in at The Fairmont Hotel. They called and did a phone reservation and left an invalid phone number. The hotel called me because we have a relationship. I conducted many of my work meetings there before Girasole was ready.”

“I can’t get into our cell phone account. It doesn’t recognize my email.” A knock on the office door gets our attention. We look up to see Cassie. “Hey, Cass,” I say.

“Hey, Ava. Um, I think you have a problem.” She comes in the room carrying her laptop.

“What now?” I ask.

“I just got a friend request from you on Facebook.”

“I don’t have a Facebook account.”

“I know. That’s why it’s a problem. It’s your picture and everything. Someone set up a profile using your info. At first I thought it was you so I accepted it, but your birthday is wrong and it says you grew up in Denver but your real friends know you are proud you grew up in Littleton.” She flips the computer screen around to show me the page. It says married to Enzo Milano and the first post says, “Pregnant with our first baby!”

“Who the fuck would do this?” I yell. I turn and look at Enzo who has a sour look on his face. “Anna is doing all of this, isn’t she?” I ask.

“It’s possible. I wasn’t sure until this Facebook page. I don’t know why a stranger would do something like that,” Enzo replies.

“So if she’s stealing my identity, do you think it’s her that made the reservation? Does that mean she’s here in Scottsdale?” My voice trembles at the thought.

“That’s what we need to find out. I’m calling Alex right now.”

Enzo talks to Alex and gives him all the new information to provide to the private investigator. Moments later, the PI, Bill Connolly calls.

“I am paying you a lot of money to find out where she is and what she is doing!” Enzo yells into the phone. It’s very rare that he raises his voice, but it’s obvious the stress of this situation is getting to him too. “I expect a call back soon.”

Enzo looks up at Cass and me. “He said he would make some more calls to confirm, but he does believe she may be in Arizona.”

I sigh and stare at my friend. This is my worst nightmare coming true. The phone rings and Enzo answers again. I watch his face contort into pure anger as he listens silently.

“Yes, I understand. I’ll discuss it with Ava. I’ll look forward to your full report.” Enzo looks up at Cassie and me. “It appears she has obtained ID and other documents in your name, Ava. Bill discovered that she booked a flight this morning from California to Arizona with a credit card with your name on it and he thinks we need to be extra diligent with security. There is simply no telling what she is attempting.”

“Enzo, she set up a Facebook page pretending to be me, even talking about being pregnant. The bitch really is trying to take over my life.”

“Yes, I know.”

“She is sending
your
friends requests online. How does she know who your friends are? She’s unbalanced,” Cassie says. “Ava, I’m scared for you.”

“I’m scared too,” I say.

“So am I,” Enzo says, surprising all of us. “I won’t let her hurt you, Ava. I’ll do everything in my power.”

“I think this is bigger than her just trying to hurt me. I think she’s trying to
erase
me like I don’t even exist. In her mind, my life is hers and she is doing things in order to make that a reality.”

We all sit silently thinking about the gravity of the situation. Finally, Enzo speaks. “I really can’t believe this is happening.”

“Neither can I,” I say quietly. “What do we do now?”

“We try to keep living our lives as normally as possible. We keep our eyes and ears open for every little detail and we make sure all of us are safe,” Enzo suggests.

“I guess that’s the best we can do. Cassie, is there a way to report that page as fake on Facebook?”

“Yeah, I already did it and I sent messages to the five people she friended. I blocked her and put a post on my page not to accept any friend requests with your name because it’s fake.”

“Thank you. Enzo, I think we should pull my credit report and see what’s on there.”

“Good idea, amore. I’ll do it now.” Enzo logs into a website and we go through the steps to order it. A few minutes later, my reports download and my mouth opens in shock. There must be twenty new accounts opened and charged on in the last two weeks.

“Well I guess we know now how she is funding her plan,” I say.

“Dammit! This fucking bitch is causing so much trouble. I can’t wait to find her. She is going to pay for this bullshit,” Enzo says, his voice shaking. He picks up the phone and dials a number. “Bill, it’s Enzo again. We just pulled Ava’s credit report and she has opened credit accounts in Ava’s name. This is getting serious and I fear that it’s coming to a head soon. We need to move as quickly as we can on this. This is your number one priority, understand?” Enzo listens for a moment and then hangs up. “Bill is going to put several more people on it. He’s going to put traces on our work phones and cell phones in case she calls. That will help us find her. If she does contact you, try to keep her on the line as long as possible.”

“Shit, Ava, this feels like CSI or some shit,” Cassie says.

“That bitch is gonna need CSI when I’m done with her,” I say. “This is getting way out of control. She’s determined to get to us.”

“She isn’t going to succeed,” Enzo says. “Now, let’s do our best to get some dinner in us and try to rest. Bill will be over in a few hours to go over some information and set the phone taps up.”

“Don’t you think it’s time to involve the police, Enzo?” I ask.

“We’ll discuss that with Bill when he gets here.”

We get up and walk to the bedroom where I lie down on the bed. My head is pounding from all this drama. Enzo called the cell phone company and found out only my cell phone line was cancelled, supposedly by me. Now we know that Anna is trying to ensure no one can contact me and that scares me even more. No one could convince me that she isn’t planning to kill me again.

“I re-established your line with a new phone number and let them know that they should not take any directions from anyone but me with a special password. It’s reactivated now,” Enzo explains.

“Stupid crazy bitch. My phone. My credit. A Facebook page. She’s stealing my life, Enzo.”

“She is stealing nothing. She is delusional and her attempts are ridiculous.”