Ride to Restoration (Ride Series Book 2) (41 page)

Chapter
79

T
he
rest of the morning was spent unloading my treasures from the saddlebags and
the truck and packing it into my newly acquired luggage. I fed the dog, walked
him and called a cab to take us, my bags, and his crate to the airport. Air
Canada accommodated me in every way possible, assuring me they would take care
of Major, until our flight left Ft. Myers. In dire need of solitude, I walked
back to the Holiday Inn, feeling at times, lost, but never alone. There was an
abundance of people who had my back. Tonight, I hoped I would not disappoint
three of them, Gio, Mile — and Candi most of all.

I
dressed in black leather and donned a red bandana in honor of Candi
’
s famous red thong.
Confident I was ready to ride, I pumped my fist and shouted.. ...
“
Let the games begin!
”

Traveling
north on I-75 into rush hour traffic, I planned to be at the Marriott before
seven to share the nuts and bolts of my convoluted plan with Giovanni. Thanks
to clearing northbound traffic, I arrived shortly after six o
’
clock, along with hundreds
of other attendees dressed in their finest revelry. With nothing to do but
watch and wait, over the next fifty minutes I made Sam Adams proud.

A few minutes before seven, I
traded glass for plastic and found my way to the pool. Giovanni, dressed in his
finest biker rags, was already there, holding jeweled cases in one hand, a red
solo cup in the other. My hero.

“
Welcome to the Gala, Gio. I
’
m glad you dressed down for
it.
”
Perusing his
attire, Gio was wearing a ripped to the shoulder, black tee, emblazoned with
the words, BITCH BEHIND on the front and STUD IN FRONT on the back. His leather
chaps covered most of the holes in his jeans, except where they didn
’
t, in back, exposing his
left butt cheek. I pinched it. He jumped, spilling his beer.

“
Ahh, D. Too much sunshine?
”

“
The word is daylight, Gio. Maybe a little for the caliber
of people here tonight. In South Beach, you
’
d fit right in, San
Francisco, too.
”

“
South Beach
—
yes! San Fran
—
no!
”
replied
Giovanni, handing me his beer, then taking it back and giving me the DVD
’
s instead.

“
You been drinking long?
”

“
Si,
”
Gio
giggled.

“
How many have you had?
”

“
Not enough
”

“
I heard that.
”
Scoping out a far off umbrellaed table, I pointed,
“
Follow me.
”
Over the next two beers, I pitched my plan, revised it and
with Gio
’
s help, refined it and dumbed it down
—
the simpler the better. Making my entrance after the awards
portion of the event would put all eyes on me and the table I rode up on. All
told, I had twenty minutes from start to finish to confront the dragons, rescue
the princess and ride off into the sunset.

I
followed Gio into the banquet hall, located on the Mezzanine level and stood
just inside the door, watching him weave his way through throngs of people in
masquerades. Once he reached his table, he stopped,
 
turned and walked to a large adjoining
table, kissing a woman on the cheek, which I presumed was Candi
’
s mom. Two chairs to her
right, sat Joseph attempting to be, by all indications, John Travolta from the
movie Saturday Night Fever.

Back
to Giovanni
’
s table, there were three women, two dressed in leather,
the third adorned in a shimmery red dress that exuded elegance. She looked
familiar
—
Candi. It was the first time I
’
d seen her looking so ...
glamorous. Her hair was pulled back and wrapped tightly into a bun with what
looked like a golden dagger holding it in place. Pretty woman / biker babe is
that what Giovanni said?

For
the first thirty minutes, I listened to Jeffery Whitehouse, the CEO/MC tonight,
acknowledge all the locally famous people in attendance as well as offer a
brief history of All Children
’
s Hospital, concluding with a litany of projects they hoped
to launch from the proceeds of tonight
’
s Gala. Looking at the
program, I noticed the next item listed was the Benefactor of the Year Award,
recognizing the individual or individuals who best exemplified the heart and
soul of All Children
’
s through their charitable acts of giving and service to
the community. Hopefully, my phone call to Mr. Whitehouse last week was
successful. I smiled.

“
Ladies and Gentlemen,
”
said Jeffery Whitehouse,
“
it is my pleasure to present
the highest award offered by our foundation to one of our own. Stand with me
and welcome our newest inductee into the All Children
’
s Hall of Fame, Ms. Candice
Parker.

I
watched Candi lower her head into her hands, before catching her breath while
making a 360
˚
sweep
of the room to verify there was not another Candice Parker in the audience
walking up to receive this prestigious award. The applause was deafening and
continued to roar until she stood and made her way to the podium, glimmering in
her beautiful red evening gown.

Mr.
Whitehouse, reading her bio as she approached, got to the crux of the award as
Candi reached the stage.
“
Dim the lights, please. Ladies and gentlemen, I direct your
attention to the video screen on your right coming to you live from All
Children
’
s. Candice, someone very special wants to speak to you. Go
ahead, Missy...
”

I
watched as Missy appeared, looking no longer frail, but vibrant and alive.
“
Ms. Candice, I
’
m Missy Bryan from Mistatim,
Saskatchewan. We
’
ve never met in person, at least I don
’
t think we have ... I mean,
you could be an angel in disguise. Couldn
’
t she mom?
”
asked Missy looking away, before turning back to the
camera.
“
I want everybody out there to know I was dying a little
every day. Then they said Candice gave so I could live. I
’
m alive today because of
Candice Parker. And I
’
m going to Disney World!
”
Missy looked away.
“
It
’
s true, Mom. D, promised me.
He said I get to meet Mickey, Minnie and Pluto. Vic said we
’
re all going to Disney
World. D said, I
’
m going to be a Princess.
”

My
heart stopped beating. My eyes glistened. Victoria,
I wish you could see
this.
Then out of the mouth of a child, it came in waves
—
D said ... Vic said ... D said.

Turning
back to the camera, Missy continued,
“
Ms. Candice, I love you. You
come too. Bye-bye,
”
waved
Missy as the screen faded to black before switching back live to the podium
where Candi was standing, in tears. I watched Marcy vault from her seat and
angle toward the stage with a package of tissues in hand. It wouldn
’
t be enough. Throughout the
banquet hall, tears of joy flowed for this blond haired, green-eyed little girl
named Missy who captured their hearts this night like she stole mine a few
short days ago.

Mr.
Whitehouse grabbed a tissue from Marcy and patted his eyes before continuing.
“
People, this is what it
’
s all about. Ms. Parker
’
s generous million dollar
donation made this invaluable MDS trial possible for Missy and fulfilled Mr. D
’
s promise to her and her
family
—
she is going to
Disney World. Thank you, Candice Parker. All Children
’
s Hospital thanks you,
everyone in this room thanks you.
”

I
watched Candi accept the award with a nod and a hug before I disappeared, ten
minutes shy of show time. At precisely eight o
’
clock, I strapped on my
helmet, brought my bike to life and rumbled through the startled guests in the
lobby to the open elevator where Gio waited patiently. On the ride up to the
Mezzanine level, I handed him my last full bag of Standford
’
s diamonds, mixed with small
clear glass marbles. That was my idea. Why couldn
’
t we make this fun?

I
rolled my bike off the elevator and waited for Gio to prop open the double
doors. Taking a deep breath, I rumbled into the room as all eight hundred plus
attendee
’
s eyes, turned and focused solely on me. The silence was
deafening.

Meandering
my way through the maze of crowded, misaligned tables, I arrived at my
destination at 8:10. Removing my helmet, I nodded to Joseph first.
“
Mrs. Parker, I presume.
Candi has said so many things about you. I
’
m D
—
Jon David. Whatever you want to call me is fine. I
’
m not here to hurt or harm
anyone, I
’
m here to make a deal. All I ask is two minutes of your
time.

“
OMG! OMG! Marcy, look ... It
’
s ... It
’
s
—”

“
I know who it is, Candice. I recognize the motorcycle. This
is about to get interesting,
”
Marcy
said, watching Candi trip into a chair, before intercepting D at the large
table.

I
felt a hard pull on my left arm.

“
D, you should
not
be here, but you know that
already. Don
’
t you?
”

I
nodded. Laying two jeweled disc cases on the table, I slid the one marked with
a
“
X
”
to Joseph, the other marked with an
“
F
”
to Mrs. Parker.
“
Joseph, your ex-mother in
law holds in her hand your second successful attempt at porn. Mrs. Parker,
Joseph holds in his hand a copy of the infamous ledgers, along with the
encryption codes that Candice worked so hard to retrieve from me.
”

“
I
’
m tired of running. I
’
m tired of trying to do the
right thing. I
’
m really tired of watching people die needlessly. So here
’
s the deal. I have retained
two copies of each. Joseph, if something happens to me
—
yours goes straight to the head of the Family, as well as
TMZ
.
No one in their right mind would own a lawyer with such a dubious
past, especially one that is subject to blackmail and coercion. Mrs. Parker,
yours on the other hand, will go directly to the DOJ and more importantly, the
IRS. Family or not, lives will be destroyed
—
beginning with this nice little arrangement you have here
in Tampa. Trust me, I have no desire to see that happen either.
”

Reaching
into my saddlebag, I lifted out a 27.5 lb. South African solid gold bar and
dropped it from two feet onto the table, rattling the silverware, knocking over
the glasses and making a rather bold
 
and pronounced statement.
“
This is for A.J. Standford.
Tell him there are seven more just like it if he will call off his witch hunt.
If he says no,
”
I
laughed,
“
well then, there are three more just like it for the one
who makes him go away
—
permanently.
”
I
looked at my watch.
”
Speaking of going away, my two minutes are up. I must bid
you all, adieu.
”

Turning
my gaze to the gorgeous woman in red standing on my left,
“
Candi, remember that
decision I told you, you
’
d have to make at some point? I
’
m afraid that time is now.
”
Firing off all cylinders,
“
I have to go, baby. Are you
coming with me or staying? It's totally up to you.
”