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

‘I’d like to see him.’

‘We will.’

‘At least you’re doing well,’ Michael said, taking a swig of cold beer.

‘Not bad,’ Max answered modestly. ‘I got my own house, a car, two kids an’ Tina. She’s the best.’

‘You’re a lucky man.’

‘You can say that again!’

Tina cooked pasta for dinner. They ate it in front of the TV off plastic plates. Max seemed to have caught Vinny’s disease–TV eyeballs. First he watched The Johnny Cash Show, then Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, followed by Gunsmoke.

After a while Tina got bored and went off to gossip on the phone.

Michael noticed that during the course of his TV viewing Max managed to consume three more beers and two full bags of potato chips.

‘Workin’ on your gut, huh?’ he joked, noticing that it wasn’t only Tina who’d put on weight.

‘Yeah, well,’ Max said sheepishly, patting his expanding stomach. ‘That’s what married life does to you. No point in stayin’ in shape when you got it right there waitin’ in the bedroom.’ He winked. ‘That’s gotta be your next move, huh? Five years without pussy–jeez! How’d you manage?’

‘You don’t wanna know.’

‘Plannin’ on callin’ any of your old girlfriends?’

‘Naw.’

‘Hey,’ Max said enthusiastically, ‘maybe tomorrow night you an’ me can go out–like old times. Tina won’t mind.’

‘Tina won’t mind what?’ she asked, entering the room.

‘Uh…you wouldn’t mind me takin’ my old buddy out tomorrow night?’

‘I’ll come too,’ she said, gathering up empty beer cans and depositing them in the kitchen.

‘It’s not that kinda night out,’ Max yelled, grimacing at Michael.

‘Then I do mind,’ she said, coming back into the room. ‘I don’t want you hanging around any of those sleazy strip joints.’

‘Wasn’t what we had in mind, hon,’ Max said innocently. ‘Just, y’ know, drinkin’, catchin’ up on old times.’

‘Fine,’ she said sharply. ‘If you’re doing that, then I’ll go out with the girls.’

This got his attention. Max was very possessive of Tina. ‘You know I don’t want you doing that,’ he said, scowling.

‘Too bad,’ she answered tartly.

And they started to bicker.

Christ! Michael thought. Is this how I’m spending my first night of freedom in five years? Watching these two go at it?

‘I’m kinda beat,’ he said, interrupting them. ‘I wouldn’t mind gettin’ a night’s sleep.’

‘Oh, sorry,’ Tina said, immediately contrite. ‘I’ll fix you up a bed.’

She fetched pillows and a blanket and made up the couch, then she and Max said good night, went upstairs and left him to it.

He tossed and turned restlessly, listening to Tina and Max continue their argument, their loud voices drifting downstairs.

It was a strange feeling not being locked into a cell and having the lights go out at a certain time. If he wanted to, he could get up and walk the streets, do anything he liked. He was free.

The problem was that there was only one thing on his mind, and that was to find out who’d set him up.

Tomorrow, that was exactly what he planned on doing.

‘Mikey!’ Mamie exclaimed. ‘I don’t believe it!’

‘Believe it,’ he said. ‘An’ quit callin’ me Mikey.’

They were standing outside the Giovanni house. There was fresh snow on the sidewalk and it was freezing cold. Mamie had just emerged and was on her way to a chauffeur-driven gold Cadillac standing kerbside. She was enveloped in a big fur coat, and as usual her face was caked with an excess of makeup. Mamie Giovanni was beginning to show her age.

A young bodyguard stepped forward. ‘Everythin’ all right, Mrs Giovanni?’ he asked, glaring at Michael.

‘Yes, Mo,’ she said, waving him away, her beringed fingers catching the morning light. ‘Well, well, well,’ she said admiringly, checking Michael out. ‘You sure grew up, didn’t you?’

‘It’s amazing what five years in the joint will do,’ he said caustically. ‘Oh, yeah–an’ thanks for all the visits, it meant a lot.’

‘I don’t do prisons,’ she said, patting her beehive hairdo. ‘You here to see Vito?’

‘That’s the idea.’

‘I’m sure you’ve got an appointment?’

‘Do I need one?’

‘Yes, dear, you do,’ she said, moving towards her car.

The young bodyguard threw him a surly look and opened the door for her.

She climbed in, flashing a great deal of thigh. ‘See you round, Mikey,’ she said. ‘Gotta run.’

He watched her car drive off. It was quite obvious that Mamie Giovanni was no longer a fan.

As soon as her car was out of sight, he approached the house and rang the doorbell.

Another unfamiliar face answered the door. ‘Yeah?’ the guy said, peering at him suspiciously. He was a goon who looked like he was carrying a piece.

‘I’m, uh, here t’see Mr Giovanni. Name’s Michael Castellino.’

‘Wait,’ the guy said, shutting the door in his face. The man returned a few minutes later. ‘Mr Giovanni’s in a meeting. He said t’ask you what it’s about.’

Christ! When the Giovannis closed a door, they really closed it hard.

‘Personal,’ Michael said.

‘So write him a freakin’ letter,’ the goon said, and once more slammed the door shut.

What was going on here? Once he’d been next in line to be Vito’s new right hand, now he was out in the cold, an ex-con looking for a handout. Except he wasn’t looking for anything except to straighten things out.

He walked round the corner to a coffee shop, where he quickly downed two cups of strong black coffee. The waitress flirted with him. She had frizzy yellow hair and a faint shadow of a moustache. He ignored her, lit a cigarette and headed back to the house, where he waited across the street.

At two fifteen Tommaso emerged, setting off along the sidewalk with a purposeful stride.

Michael crossed the road, and fell into step beside the heavy-set man. ‘Tommaso,’ he said. ‘Long time outta sight.’

‘Jesus Christ!’ Tommaso said, startled. ‘I thought you got eight years.’

‘Y’know how it is,’ Michael said. ‘Out in five for good behaviour.’

‘So,’ Tommaso said gruffly, ‘you’re back.’

‘Looks like it.’ A beat. ‘I, uh, tried to see Mr G, got told he was busy.’

‘’S right,’ Tommaso said, nodding his bullet head. ‘Mr Giovanni is a real big shot now. You gotta plan a meet six or seven