Goddess of Vengeance (53 page)

Eight months into their marriage, Nona had given birth to Martin’s one and only son. Since his first wife had only managed to pop out girls – three in a row – Martin was quite ecstatic. He doted on his wife and his young son.

Yes, life was very good until the confession.

The confession came one day as they sat at the breakfast table. Nona suddenly broke down in floods of tears. Concerned, Martin asked her what was wrong. In between wracking sobs, Nona told him.

She’d made a mistake. A terrible mistake.

Martin informed her there was no mistake that could not be rectified.

Secure in the knowledge that he worshipped her, Nona began telling him the story. She told him that she’d gone to Armand Jordan’s apartment to view a rare Picasso he’d recently purchased, and that once she was there, Armand had suddenly gone berserk, and viciously raped her in every possible way. Now she suspected that she might be pregnant.

At first Martin had not believed this could happen, that Armand Jordan would dare to commit such a vile act. But once she got talking, Nona had insisted on recounting every disgusting detail, including the way Armand had tossed her out of his apartment when he was finished with her as if she was a sack of garbage.

Martin’s fury grew. He was not angry at his wife, for she was merely the victim of a perverted monster who had taken out his frustration on her at not getting a building they were vying for. His rage was directed toward Armand.

But Martin Constantine had ways of dealing with rage. And it wasn’t long before he took steps to alleviate his anger and his wife’s pain.

Nobody messed with Martin Constantine’s family and got away with it. Nobody.

Martin knew exactly what he had to do.

Chapter Sixty-Four

T
here was no Lucky waiting for him in their apartment, which right away made Lennie uneasy. It was his first night back, and usually when they’d been separated for a while they didn’t leave each other’s side. He blamed himself. Lucky had wanted to depart Mood earlier, and because he was being obtuse about Alex Woods, he’d insisted on staying. Now where was his beautiful stubborn wife, and what problem was she dealing with in the early hours of the morning?

Knowing Lucky, she was probably doing this purposely to get his attention. Not that she needed to do that, she’d always had his attention from the very first moment they’d met. Ah yes, their lives were filled with memories . . . making mad crazy love on a raft in the South of France, falling insanely in love while they were both married to other people, enjoying all kinds of challenging adventures.

So where was she?

He paced around the apartment for a few minutes before picking up the phone and calling Danny.

Danny was at a gay club with his partner, Buff, contemplating whether to ask a handsome young barman if he would care to come home with them and spend the night.

Buff was all for it, but Danny was not so sure. He wasn’t that fond of sharing Buff with anyone. Why should he?

On the other hand, if it was what Buff wanted, who was he to deprive him?

Danny’s phone buzzed. For a moment he panicked. Phone calls in the middle of the night could only mean bad news. His needy mom? His disapproving stepdad? His straight brother who could never hold a job for more than two minutes?

He’d imbibed three Cosmos, and decided that he wasn’t ready to deal with any kind of a crisis, but he rallied anyway, and answered the phone.

It was Lennie wanting to know where Lucky was.

‘I’m off the clock,’ Danny sniffed.

‘Does that mean you don’t give a shit?’ Lennie responded, sounding pissed off.

Danny gathered his thoughts. He was speaking to his boss’s husband, so maybe he should make out as if he cared. Which of course he did, but he couldn’t help noticing that Buff was whispering in the bartender’s ear and that wasn’t right, that wasn’t sharing. A threesome meant three people, not two.

‘Uh, sorry Mr Golden,’ Danny said, throwing Buff a dirty look. ‘I thought Mrs Golden was with you.’

‘She was. But apparently something came up that she had to deal with. Any idea what it could be?’

‘No.’

‘Okay then.’ A long beat. ‘You’re sure?’

‘Quite sure, Mr Golden.’

Lennie put down the phone.

Danny clicked off his cell, failing to notice that he had a text message waiting.

*   *   *

Frankie could not believe he was out in the cold with his dick in his hand. Cookie had turned out to be a tough little minx. She hadn’t even opened the door for him to collect his stuff. Juvie cunt. She had his clothes, and even more upsetting – his drug stash.

And what exactly had he done? Nothing earth-shattering. He’d been polite to her old man, something that should’ve pleased her. But oh no, nothing was good enough for Gerald M.’s daughter. She was a spoiled brat, although he had to admit she gave great head.

And thinking of head, what was Annabelle doing with Eddie Falcon? Or rather, what was Eddie Falcon doing with her? Strange bedfellows. Eddie Falcon was a comer, he didn’t have to settle for used goods.

Frankie made his way back to the casino in the hope that he might find Gerald M. at one of the tables. They could resume their friendship, especially when he was able to tell Gerald M. that his lovely daughter was safely tucked in for the night.

Frankie felt like doing a couple of lines, but he was fresh out and Cookie wasn’t opening her door anytime soon.

He had a name and a number. Randy – the deliveryman.

Frankie decided to give him a call.

*   *   *

‘I dunno what,’ Max said. ‘But something shady is going on.’

‘Hey—’ Billy said. ‘Your mom’s at a party. No biggie.’

‘You don’t understand,’ Max said, trying not to lose patience with Billy who was starting to annoy her. ‘Lennie came home today. There’s
no way
she’d go to a party without him.’

‘Like I said – in marriages certain events happen. Lucky’s doin’ her own thing. I know she’s your mom, but she’s one helluva sexy lady, an’ maybe Lennie just doesn’t do it for her any more.’

‘You are so full of crap, Billy,’ Max said, suddenly furious. ‘You don’t know anything about my parents, nothing at all, so kindly shut your face.’

‘
And
she has a temper,’ Billy said.

‘Yes,’ Max said, shooting him a daggers look. ‘She has a temper.’

‘Sorry, babe.’

‘About what?’ Max said, still angry. ‘Being rude about my parents?’

‘I wasn’t being rude, I was simply trying to tell you the way it is in some marriages.’

‘And what makes
you
an expert?’

‘C’mon, Green Eyes,’ he groaned. ‘I don’t wanna fight about this.’

‘I’m going over there,’ she said, making up her mind.

‘You’re doing
what?
’ Billy said, frowning.

‘I’m seeing for myself what’s going on.’

‘Big mistake.’

‘Why?’

‘’Cause first she’s gonna want to know what you’re doin’ here,’ Billy explained. ‘An’ second, if she’s havin’ herself a good time, you’re only gonna embarrass her.’

‘It’s a party. Billy. I’ll sneak in, she won’t even see me.’

‘Then I’m comin’ with you.’

‘Not a plan.’

‘Why?’

‘’Cause if she spots me an’ then you – well, you know Lucky – she’s not stupid.’

‘And if she
does
see you, what’re you gonna say?’

‘I dunno. I’ll think of something.’

‘It’s not a good idea,’ Billy warned.

‘Well, it’s
my
idea, and
I’m
doing it.’

Chapter Sixty-Five

T
he pain hit Armand in the pit of his stomach. It startled him, almost made him gag. Not quite, for he had no time to give in to pain, he was enjoying himself too much. He had never experienced such joyous feelings. He was wrapped in a warm cloak of bliss – which might have had a little something to do with the speedball Randy had shared with him – the lethal combination of heroin and cocaine.

Randy and Seducta were his best friends in the world. They cared about him in ways that were so endearing. Seducta had taken her top off again, and he snuggled his face against her mammoth breasts. She reminded him of his mother – dear, sweet Peggy.

Randy snorted coke off her nipples.

Armand smiled. They were sharing. This was exactly the way it should be.

And then – suddenly there was Lucky Santangelo staring down at him. Words were coming out of her mouth but he couldn’t hear them.

He decided that Lucky was beautiful too. She was his friend. He didn’t want her dead, he didn’t want anyone dead. They would own The Keys together and exist in perfect harmony.

The pain hit Armand again. He screamed and doubled over. Then everything faded to black.

*   *   *

‘For God’s sake, someone call 911,’ Lucky yelled, wondering how she’d gotten caught up in this situation. She was supposed to be reaming Armand a new asshole, not saving his sorry life. How had this happened?

Randy staggered to his feet. He was almost as out of it as Armand, but self-preservation kicked in, and it occurred to him that he’d better get out. He looked around for Luscious.

‘Jesus Christ!’ Lucky exclaimed, reaching for her cell. ‘This man could be dying and you can’t even make a phone call. What kind of people are you?’

Seducta giggled hysterically. ‘Fun people,’ she said, her voice a drowsy slur, white powder decorating her nose. ‘Arnie loves us.’

‘While Arnie might love you, he could be dying, you stupid cow,’ Lucky said, calling 911 and requesting an ambulance.

‘Where’s Mikey?’ Seducta asked, her face crumbling, mascara smudging under her eyes.

Randy flexed his considerable muscles. ‘Where’s the fuckin’ money?’ he wanted to know.

‘You people are the dregs,’ Lucky said, feeling Armand’s wrist to see if he had a pulse. He did.

‘We gotta get the fuck away from this shit,’ Randy said, suddenly realizing that trouble was looming.

‘That’s right, run,’ Lucky said. ‘You pathetic pieces of crap.’

‘Where’s Mikey?’ Seducta whined for the second time. ‘I want my Mikey.’

*   *   *

Ten minutes after speaking to Lennie, Danny checked his messages. Sure enough there was one from Lucky.

He could’ve kicked himself, for Danny prided himself on always being available for his boss. He quickly scanned her text and experienced a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Armand Jordan is going around boasting The Keys is his. Off to Cavendish to confront. Care to join?

Yes, he would love to have joined if only he’d known. It was all Buff’s fault, flirting with the bartender, taking his mind off work. Threesomes. Ha! Who needed them?

He called Lennie and filled him in on the situation, telling him about the unfortunate morning meeting and what a chauvinistic pig Armand was.

‘And you let Lucky go over there alone?’ Lennie said, his voice heated.

‘I didn’t know!’ Danny replied, duly chastised. ‘Besides, have you ever tried stopping Lucky from doing anything? You know it’s impossible.’

‘I’m on my way to The Cavendish,’ Lennie said.

‘I’ll meet you there,’ Danny said.

To hell with Buff and the bartender. Lucky was his priority.

*   *   *

‘So!’ Ellie exclaimed. ‘Lots of activity at the party house.’

‘Aren’t you supposed to be concentrating on Billy an’ the girl?’

‘I’ve got more than enough pix of them together. Anyway, they’re back in the villa, whattya want me to do? Crawl through the keyhole?’

‘Don’t be facetious.’

‘Big words coming from a little guy.’

‘I might be on the short side, but haven’t you heard about large surprises comin’ in small packages?’

‘Lost on me, Kev,’ Ellie said, shaking her head. ‘I told you – I’m gay.’

‘I could turn you.’

‘Confident, aren’t we?’

‘Wanna give it a go?’

‘No, thank you.’

‘Can’t blame a dude for tryin’.’

‘However,’ Ellie said with a wicked smile, ‘if you were to suddenly change into Billy Melina—’

‘Fuck
you!
’ Kev said. Why was everything always about Billy?