Deadly Embrace by Jackie Collins (best 7 inch ereader .TXT) 📗

‘Looks like it.’

‘I’m glad.’

He reached in his pocket, took out a pack of Lucky Strikes and offered her one. She shook her head.

‘Here’s the deal,’ he said, lighting up. ‘You gotta give the kid a chance to see the world before he goes to college. I’ll finance his trip, he shouldn’t have to depend on Nando. He’s gotta get out and experience things for himself. You can’t hold him back, Dani.’

‘Sending him to college is holding him back?’ she said stiffly.

‘He doesn’t want to go.’

‘How do you know?’

‘He told me.’

‘He’s too young to make that kind of decision.’

‘No, he’s not. And now that I’m in Vincent’s life, you do know that I have a say legally.’

‘What?’

‘You wouldn’t want me getting my lawyer involved, would you?’

She looked at him incredulously. ‘I don’t believe you said that.’

‘Then let’s not talk about it any more. We should just sit here reliving old times, ’cause seeing you is very special.’

‘Don’t change the subject.’

‘I want you to think about it. The kid has my genes, he wants to find things out for himself. All I’m askin’ is for you to give it some thought.’

‘Okay,’ she said reluctantly.

The waiter brought the bottle of champagne, and opened it with a flourish. After he’d filled both their glasses, Michael toasted her. ‘To old times and new ones,’ he said.

‘How’s married life?’ she blurted, bringing him back to reality.

‘It’s, uh…interesting,’ he said guardedly.

‘I’m sure you’re very happy.’

‘No,’ he said, gazing into her eyes. ‘It should’ve been you and me–we both know it.’

‘Maybe…’ she murmured. Oh, God! She was falling under his spell again, and she couldn’t let it happen.

‘So, here we are,’ he said, reaching over and taking her hand.

‘Yes,’ she answered softly. ‘Here we are.’

‘By the way, this is for you,’ he said, reaching into his pocket and handing her an envelope.

‘What is it?’

‘Don’t open it now. Wait until you get back to Vegas.’

‘Okay,’ she said, figuring he’d written her a letter of apology, because his attitude was so different from the other night.

Two glasses of champagne later, and Dani was feeling quite lightheaded. Michael still exerted the same old irresistible charm, a charm she couldn’t seem to escape. Then she thought, Why should I? I’m a grown woman. I can do anything I want.

So when he suggested they go upstairs, she didn’t argue. Why fight a losing battle?

‘You wait here. I’ll go book us a suite,’ he said. ‘That way we can relax, and you won’t be worried about Vincent walking in on us.’

‘I don’t know, Michael,’ she said, suddenly overcome with doubts. ‘You’re married. It’s not right.’

‘Dani,’ he said, fixing her with his incredible green eyes, ‘you were in my life long before Stella. I want to be with you, and not just for one night.’

She nodded quietly, aware that saying no to Michael was an impossibility.

Chapter Forty-five

Tuesday, 10 July 2001

The van raced along the freeway, narrowly missing other vehicles as it wove in and out of the lanes. The gunman kept on leaning out of the window to see if he could spot the helicopter. When he finally realized it had gone, he chortled with laughter. ‘Mothafuckers,’ he sneered. ‘All it takes is action.’

‘You threw a girl out of the van,’ Madison said, staring at him with loathing. ‘Don’t you have any mercy?’

‘Shut the fuck up,’ he snarled. ‘You talk too much. How d’you put up with her?’ he asked Cole, whose eyes stayed fixed on the road ahead.

‘That poor girl,’ Madison continued, her voice filled with disbelief. ‘You tossed her out of the van like a dead animal.’

‘Yeah,’ the gunman said, chuckling as if it was a big joke. ‘You got that right. Roadkill! Some fuckin’ trip!’

‘Your mother must be very proud of you.’

‘You leave my fuckin’ mother outta this,’ he growled.

‘I hope I get to meet her one day, so I can tell her what a fine son she raised.’

‘Keep talkin’ an’ you’re next, bitch!’ he threatened.

His words were ominous. She took a quick look at Cole, who was still concentrating on his driving.

She remembered watching a movie involving a hostage situation. Never get into a vehicle with a gunman, because chances are you’ll end up dead.

One piece of advice had been to crash the car if you found yourself in such an unfortunate position. That’s what Cole should do–smash the van into the centre divider.

Of course, being on a freeway, an accident like that could kill all of them.

Still, anything was better than this journey of certain doom.

Leroy Fortuno was an extremely large black man in his thirties, dressed rapper-style, while Darren Simmons bore a strong resemblance to Snoop Doggy Dogg–tall, thin, and emaciated-looking with gnarly dreadlocks and darkly hooded eyes. They both wore Sean John sweats, Nike running shoes, and big diamond crosses hanging round their necks.

‘My God,’ Jolie gasped, as they approached, ‘they look like a couple of major drug dealers.’

‘They’re in the record business,’ Nando explained. ‘Everyone looks like that.’

‘Are you certain you want to be partners with these people?’ Jolie asked.

‘I got no choice. If Vin refuses to come in with me, there’s no way I can swing it on my own.’

‘You could be making a big mistake.’

‘It pisses me off when you’re negative,’ he said, shooting her a look. ‘I’m offering you a piece of the action here, so be quiet, and be nice.’

‘Hey, bro,’ said Leroy, high-fiving Nando, who came up with the appropriate response. ‘Let’s go park it in the crib.’

‘This is my wife, Jolie,’ Nando said.

‘Hey, baby,’ Darren said, giving her a perfunctory check from head to toe. ‘Lookin’ hot.’

Jolie felt a shiver of annoyance run up and down her spine. She was not a snob, but these two were the lowest of the low, and it didn’t take a detective to figure that out.

Naked, uninhibited, and wallowing in a coke-induced haze, with Andy Dale pounding into her, and Anais sucking on her nipples, Jenna lay spreadeagled, imagining