Page 49 of Dangerous Kiss
Chapter Twenty
A week. That was all it was, but their lives had all changed immeasurably. Biba was discharged from the hospital after five days, and she and Cosimo went to his hotel in the city. The set at Lakewood had been deemed a crime scene, and the movie abandoned for now, so the cast and crew had decamped to the hotels. Each of them had been questioned about the night of Rich’s murder and Stella’s abduction. The national news media hounded their every step.
Cosimo managed to sneak Biba into the hotel through the service elevator. The news had learned that Cosimo and Biba were in a relationship and were fascinated by the story of dashingly handsome cinematic wunderkind and the all-American beauty he’d fallen in love with.
Cosimo was still reeling from the revelation of Nicco’s parentage. Everything he had believed about his marriage crumbled around him. Worse, he was heartbroken, until Nicco, Olivia, and Biba had all told him the same thing. Nicco, in his teenage way, had put it best and bluntly. “I don’t give a fuck whose DNA I’ve got…you’remy father and fuck everyone else.”
Biba had agreed with him. “Screw blood types. You raised him, Cos…Nicco is your son.”
Now, alone with Biba in their hotel suite, Cosimo finally felt able to face what had happened. They lay together on the bed. Biba kissed him. “Seems weird to be in bed with you and not able to have sex. Are you sure the doctor said six weeks and not six hours?”
Cosimo chuckled. “Unfortunately so. But you need to heal. God, we were lucky it wasn’t worse.”
“I can’t stop thinking about Stella and Rich. Rich deserved better. What do you think happened?”
“I think, like you, he arrived at the wrong time, just as the psycho was about to abduct Stella. Or maybe Rich got there just beforehand, and he was stabbed just to get him out of the way.”
Biba looked sick. “I can’t stop seeing the blood.”
Cosimo stroked her face. “Try not to think about it.” He pressed his lips to hers, feeling her respond. “Biba…when this is all over, I’d like to take you away to Italy—to just get some alone time. I feel in my bones that we’ll get Stella back alive.”
“How can you be so sure?”
He gave a humorless laugh. “I don’t know.”
There was a knock at the door, and Cosimo got up. It was their private security guard. “I’m sorry to disturb you, sir, but there are two military personnel here to see you.”
Cosimo was confused as Biba sat up. “I don’t know…”
“Let them in,” Biba said in a strange voice, standing and coming to his side. “Please. Let them in.”
Cosimo looked in confusion at her, but Biba’s expression was hard as stone.
As the two visitors stepped into the suite—a man and a woman—Cosimo suddenly understood. Biba stiffened beside him. “Well,” she said with a voice like ice, “Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. To what do we owe the pleasure?”
Cosimo walked into the bar, and Sifrido and Franco waved him over. “How’s Biba?”
“At the moment, hard to say. Her parents showed up…at last.”
Sifrido whistled, but Franco nodded. “Good. It’s about time.”
Cosimo felt a hundred years old. “Tell me some good news.” Sifrido had taken the lead in keeping in touch with the police investigation, while Lars and Channing dealt with the studio and the FBI.
“Well, if no news is good news…” Sifrido said, and Cosimo’s shoulders slumped.
“Fuck. I just feel so useless. Can’t we make a public appeal—something?”
“We could—but who knows if it would do any good?”
Cosimo sighed. “It’s worth a shot. I’ll talk to Lars and Chan. Maybe we can persuade Agent Doofus to help us.”
“Maybe.”
“I have to do something…how’s Gunter doing?”
Franco sighed. “He quit, that’s all we know for sure. He’s going back to Germany as soon as he’s allowed. Poor kid. Rich was his other half in so many ways. Sometimes we don’t recognize that a deep friendship is just as profound as a romantic or familial one.”
Upstairs in their suite, Biba was wondering who these people were to her now—these people standing in front of her. Looks-wise, there was a smattering of grey hair, but otherwise they looked no different than the last time she had seen them.
