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

‘I do, huh?’

‘That’s the way it is,’ Tommaso said, still walking.

Michael lit up another cigarette. ‘I got a coupla questions for you.’

‘Yeah?’

‘I had a lot of time t’think bein’ locked away for five years. Y’know what it’s like–a man’s got nothin’ much else to do.’

‘What questions?’ Tommaso said abruptly.

‘It’s like this,’ Michael said, expelling a stream of smoke. ‘When I met with Mr G’s lawyer, he informed me Mr G knew zilch about the truck thing. Now ain’t that somethin’?’

‘There was a truck thing?’ Tommaso said, staring straight ahead as he continued to trudge down the street.

‘The truck hijacking you sent me out on,’ Michael said. ‘Remember?’

‘Dunno what you’re talkin’ about,’ Tommaso replied, a totally blank expression on his beefy face.

‘You don’t, huh?’

‘Got no clue.’

‘You prick,’ Michael said, in a low and steady voice as he grabbed the big man by the collar. ‘You set me up to get me outta the way. Why? ’Cause I was gettin’ too close to Mr G? Is that how it went down? Is that fuckin’ it?’

Roaring with anger, Tommaso shoved him away. ‘Mr Giovanni don’t have time for punks who go off on their own an’ pull shitass jobs,’ he said, red in the face. ‘He don’t like it when you try draggin’ his name into it. So don’t come near him again. An’ sure as shit don’t bother me, ’cause if you do, you got my word you’ll be real fuckin’ sorry.’

‘I will, huh?’

‘Wanna try it?’

‘Fuck you,’ Michael said, and walked away, smart enough to know that at this particular moment it was a no win situation.

But revenge would be his. In jail he’d become a patient man. And a much smarter one. One day Tommaso and Roy would pay the price. Oh, yes, they certainly would.

Chapter Twenty

Dani: 1970

The teenage boy hovering outside the stage door was shaking with nerves. ‘Excuse me, Miss, can I have your autograph?’

‘Certainly,’ Dani replied graciously. ‘What’s your name?’

‘M-Mark,’ the boy stuttered, hardly able to believe his luck.

‘Nice name,’ she said, accepting his rather battered autograph book. To Mark, with love, Dani Castle, she wrote, with a stylish flourish, using her professional name, because ‘Dani Froog’ had hardly seemed suitable, and Sam hadn’t minded that she’d chosen not to use his surname. ‘Castle’ had a nice ring to it–she’d got it out of a travel magazine.

‘Gee…thanks,’ the boy stammered, blushing beet red.

‘You’re welcome,’ she said, flashing him a warm smile.

Dani was now one of the lead showgirls in the Krystle Room at the Magiriano, an enormous luxury hotel where they treated their talent like human beings and paid them well too. Working at the Magiriano was a big step up from dancing in the chorus at the Estradido. The show was a lavish extravaganza, and the costumes amazing. Every day she realized how fortunate she was to have landed such a dream job.

After giving birth to her son, whom she’d named Vincent, she’d returned to work at the Estradido. Shortly after that, she’d been plucked from the chorus by a talent scout from the Magiriano, who’d immediately hired her. It had taken a lot of work and endless rehearsals, but gradually she’d risen to be one of the main showgirls–a coveted job.

Her life was her son and her work. And then there was Sam, her husband, who went on regular drinking binges.

Not only did Sam drink, he’d also taken up gambling, and with her money.

She kept him on a strict allowance, refusing to let him get his hands on her paycheck. After putting a down payment on a small house, she was saving her money to make sure that Vincent received the education she’d never had. And she was entitled to save, because now she was the family breadwinner since Sam had given up work altogether.

This suited her fine, because it meant he was there to look after Vincent, who was now almost five, and the most gorgeous child in the world. She couldn’t take him out without people stopping her to admire his long silky eyelashes and deep-set dark eyes. ‘He’s going to be a lady-killer when he grows up,’ was the general comment.

Not if she had anything to do with it.

He looked exactly like Michael, which in a way was good, because he was so handsome. In another way it was bad, because he was a constant reminder of her one-night stand.

As far as she was concerned, Michael was dead, and she hoped she’d never have to set eyes on him again.

She was twenty-two now, not so naïve, and quite well versed in the ways of men.

When she looked back, she saw herself as an innocent lamb being led to the slaughter. How Michael must have laughed at her naïveté. Pretty virgin Dani. I’ll take her by the hand and lead her up to my hotel room. She’ll love every minute of it. Then I’ll move on to the next innocent flower.

Damn him!

But she’d had the last laugh–she’d got married, given birth to a healthy son and had a rewarding job. What more could she ask for?

A little love and romance. Because after their one jackrabbit sexual encounter, Sam had never made love to her again. He’d tried a few times, but had been unable to maintain an erection.

It didn’t bother her. In fact, she was relieved. Sex did not interest her. She was perfectly content with the way things were.

The good news was that Sam truly believed Vincent was his.

The bad news was that when he was drunk, he was unreliable, and she couldn’t trust him with her boy.

The only person who knew that Vincent was not Sam’s son was Angela, and since Angela had left the Estradido chorus line, they’d lost touch–although Dani had heard that her ex-roommate had given up dancing and taken to hooking full-time. Apparently she was doing very well at it.

Dani had acquired a new best friend; Gemini, a pretty French