Deadly Embrace Jackie Collins (the reader ebook .TXT) 📖

‘How come you got home so late tonight?’

‘We have finals coming up. I’ve got to present my first collection on paper.’ Her brown eyes sparkled. ‘It’s so exciting. Next year I’ll be designing actual clothes.’ She took Madison from him and began showering her with kisses. ‘What a cute baby!’ she said, grinning. ‘Who’s the most gorgeous little girl in the world?’ Madison rewarded her with a gummy smile. ‘Guess what?’ Beth continued, hugging her baby. ‘Daddy’s going to bathe you tonight. Won’t that be fun?’

‘Can’t,’ he said abruptly. ‘Gotta go out.’

‘You’re kidding?’

‘No. Gotta take care of business,’ he said evasively.

‘You know I hate being here alone when Catherine’s away.’

‘I forgot.’

‘That’s not fair.’

‘That’s the way it goes, babe.’ A beat. ‘By the way, how was school today?’

‘You’ve asked me that already. And, besides, it’s not school, Michael,’ she replied, placing Madison in her bouncy chair, ‘it’s a fashion institute.’

‘Anything interesting happen?’

‘Yeah,’ she teased. ‘I gave a blow job to three of my teachers. Is that interesting enough for you?’

‘Beth!’ he said sharply. ‘Watch what you say.’

She giggled. ‘You’re such a prude!’

Nobody had ever called him that before.

‘Well,’ she said, ‘I suppose that since you’re deserting me, I’d better get this little angel to bed.’

‘You do that,’ he said, simmering about her blow-job comment. Maybe that’s exactly what she’d done with the jerk he’d seen her leaving the institute with. His Beth with another man. He couldn’t take it.

She looked at him curiously. ‘Is something the matter, Michael?’

‘Why’d you think that?’ he snapped.

‘You seem kind of…pissed off.’

‘I was thinking,’ he said, regaining his composure, ‘I should meet some of your friends. We could all go out for dinner one night.’

‘You wouldn’t like them,’ she said, dismissing the idea. ‘They’re not your kind of people.’

‘They’re not my kind of people, but they’re yours, huh? Is that what you’re tellin’ me?’

‘No, it’s simply that I have something in common with them.’

‘And I don’t.’

‘Michael,’ she said mockingly, ‘I didn’t know you wanted to start designing clothes, too.’

He hated it when she came at him with attitude. ‘Hey, Beth,’ he said coldly, ‘have a good evening. I’ll see you.’

‘Please don’t be late,’ she said, picking up Madison again. ‘If you’re very lucky, I’ll wait up.’

‘Don’t bother,’ he said, and left the house with no idea where he was going: he only knew he had to get out before he exploded.

Tomorrow he’d confront her.

Tonight she could suffer–let her wonder what was wrong.

He ended up at the social club, hanging out with Gus.

Bone was still on the missing list. According to Gus, he hadn’t been round for several days. ‘He’s probably trackin’ a job for Lucchese,’ Gus said, when he asked. ‘Why you interested?’

‘Who’s interested?’ Michael replied. ‘It’s a pleasure not to look at his ugly face.’

‘Yeah,’ Gus said, laughing. ‘He’s a plain motherfucker.’

‘Where’d he get the scar on his cheek?’

‘Told me his dad cut him when he was a kid.’

‘Then he’s had it a long time?’

‘Yup,’ Gus said, getting impatient. ‘Are we playin’ poker or what?’

‘Count me in.’

Too many shots of Jack Daniel’s, he’d lost his ass at poker, and on top of everything else he felt like crap.

When he got home he’d ask Beth what the fuck kind of game she was playing. He’d had enough. If she was screwing around on him she’d better confess.

Then what?

Shit! Falling in love was not for weaklings.

All he really wanted to do was hold her in his arms and stay close. She was part of his life now, with her seductive smile and sassy comebacks.

So was little Madison. His own daughter. His own flesh and blood.

God! How he loved having her. It didn’t even bother him that Beth hadn’t given birth to a boy. They had plenty of time.

Jeez! What was wrong with him? If he really thought about it, he knew that Beth wouldn’t screw around on him. She loved him and they were planning on getting married.

He drove home slowly, wary of getting stopped by the cops. It was two a.m. and the street was deserted. He wished he’d spent the evening at home, instead of losing money and getting tanked.

Fortunately there was a parking spot directly outside his house. As he walked up the front steps, he thought he heard a noise. A cat raced past, startling him.

Tomorrow he’d have a monster hangover.

The porch light was out. Had to get that fixed.

Unsteadily, he put his key in the lock, deciding that he’d wake Beth and tell her how much he loved her.

As he walked inside, something or someone fell on top of him, taking him completely by surprise.

He was on the ground, his mind fuddled, reaction slow.

Then he heard it. One single gunshot.

And everything turned to black.

Chapter Thirty-two

Tuesday, 10 July 2001

‘Stick together. Don’t panic,’ Cole said, grim-faced. ‘Everyone, remember to keep your head down.’

The hostages making the break with the robbers were gathered by the back exit of the restaurant, cloths over their heads and down past their waists. The gunman had made the men remove their ties in the restaurant, then he’d tied the hostages together, making it impossible for any of them to break loose. They were sweating and nervous as he began herding them into place round him and his two cohorts, making sure they’d be surrounded and couldn’t be picked off by sharp-shooters.

‘You’re drivin’,’ he instructed Cole. ‘Everyone else in the back.’

‘Where we heading?’ Cole asked.

‘You’ll find out.’

Madison wished that Natalie didn’t have to go with them. She’d feel much more secure if they could’ve left Natalie at the restaurant with the others.

‘When I say move–do it!’ the ringleader said. ‘Any of you mothafuckers get outta line, I got a bullet waitin’.’

Madison prayed that the police would not attempt to do anything foolish. She also hoped they’d sent a big enough van. What kind of a joke would it be if they couldn’t all fit inside?

As they reached the back door of the restaurant,