Deadly Embrace (26 page)

"Has Bone got a problem with me?" he asked Gus one day.

"What kinda problem?" Gus said, vigorously chewing gum.

"The asshole never says a word to me, never. I don't even get a
nod."

"Dunno," Gus said, picking at a hangnail. "You should try talkin'
t' him. S'matter of fact, he used to work for your old boss."

"He did?"

"Yeah, he was with the Giovanni family. It must've been before
your time. I heard he was tight with the old lady's cousin."

"Marnie Giovanni's cousin Roy?"

"Yeah. Hey—ain't that the jerk you told me set you up?"

"Right."

"Maybe Bone don't think you should be here."

"How's that?"

"I dunno. Talk to him."

But he didn't. There was something about Bone that did not invite
conversation.

* * *

The Delagado twins had several relatives scattered across the
country. This was useful, because while Beth was busy moving into the
house Michael had found for them, Catherine elected to visit with a
distant cousin. Catherine, the quiet twin, was most upset by Beth's
pregnancy. She felt Michael had taken advantage of her sister.

"How come we're doin' this?" Michael asked Beth as they unpacked
boxes. "It's crazy. We
should
be gettin' married."

"Why?" she said simply. "You don't love me, and I don't love
you."

" 'Cause we're havin' a
baby
" he said, attempting to get
through to her. "An' we want this kid to grow up feelin' he's got
parents, right?"

"What makes you think it's a boy?" she asked, busy removing
T-shirts from a box and placing them in an untidy pile.

"It'll be a boy," he said confidently.

"Don't be so sure," she said, patting her stomach. "
I
think
the sex is determined by the person who's the most dominating force."
A wicked grin. "And that's me."

"You would think that, wouldn't you?"

She smiled at him again, that tempting, tantalizing smile that had
gotten him into trouble in the first place.

Recently he'd found himself visiting Max and Tina's more than
usual. He enjoyed playing with the kids. Little Harry was a real
toughie, and Susie was a cute tomboy. But girls weren't the same as
boys, and he wanted a son, a boy he could teach things to, a mirror
image of himself he could be proud of.

It wouldn't be like the relationship he'd had with his dad. Vinny
had never given him any attention or love.
His
son would get
the works.

"I'm getting so fat," Beth wailed, catching a glimpse of herself
in a mirror. "I look like a big old hog."

"No way," he assured her, wondering what he was supposed to do
about his other girlfriends now that they were moving in together.
There were two or three that he saw on a regular basis. Was he
supposed to give them up?

"Yes, I
do
," Beth complained, turning sideways. "Look at
me, I'm a disgrace."

"You're funny," he said, amused at her dismay because there was no
sign of a baby growing inside her stomach; she still looked
sensational.

Angrily she turned on him. "Oh," she said, narrowing her eyes. "So
you
think being fat is funny?"

"You're somethin' else, Beth," he said, laughing. "When you grow
up you'll make someone a very happy man."

"And that someone is not you, is it, Michael?" she said, suddenly
turning all serious.

"No, we both agreed this is a temporary arrangement until you have
the baby. Then we'll figure out our next move. In the meantime, we're
both free to do what we want."

"
If
we want," she corrected.

"Hey," he said. "I've seen all the guys coming on to you when you
lived next door to Tina and Max. You think I didn't notice? So go
out, have fun. I'll do the same."

"I never actually screwed any of them," she said innocently. "You
were the only one I fucked. And someone in Cuba when I was
fourteen."

"Jeez—Beth!" he exclaimed. "Anyone ever mention you got a
mouth like a sailor?"

She tilted her head on one side. "Something wrong with that?"

"You look so innocent sometimes, then whammo—you open that
mouth of yours, an' watch out! Sailor alert!"

"Sorry, Michael," she said sarcastically. "Am I offending your
tender ears?"

He wasn't in the mood for her smart-ass answers. "Anyway," he
said. "What's with the you-never-screwed-any-of-them? When
we
got together, you were not a virgin."

"That's right," she said.

"So?"

"
So
I told you—there was a man in Cuba."

"Who was he?"

"My secret lover."

"Which I guess means you don't want to tell me."

She grinned. "Right."

"I gotta go out," he said. "I've left money on the kitchen table.
You'd better buy a crib and all that shit. We gotta get organized
here."

"You mean we're not doing it together like some newly married
couple?"

"Beth, don't push me."

"Hey," she said vehemently. "I'm having the baby for
you
,
so don't
you
push
me
."

"Let's remember that you're havin' the baby 'cause it's too late
for you to get rid of it."

"I hate you," she said, suddenly acting her age. "I really, really
hate you."

"Wow! Feelings. That makes a nice change."

"I've
always
had feelings for you, Michael," she said,
switching moods. "From the first time I saw you, I knew I'd get you.
And now I've
really
got you."

"I don't understand you," he said, shaking his head. "I would've
married you, but no—you didn't want that."

"It's better to see if we can get along without all that legal
stuff, don't you think?"

And she looked at him with her big brown eyes, and it suddenly
occurred to him that he could be falling in love with this sexy
child-woman who was carrying his baby.

Sometimes he wondered what was really going on in her head.
"You're so casual about this," he said.

"Why shouldn't I be?"

"By the way—for the record, you do
not
look
disgusting. In fact, you look kinda beautiful. You got that glow
thing happenin'."

That smile again, lighting up her face. "I do?"

"Yeah," he said ruefully. "Unfortunately for me, you
are
a
very beautiful
child
."

"You
know
I'm not a child," she said with a wicked
grin.

"So you keep telling me."

"Well," she added seductively, "since I'm pregnant anyway, and
it's quite obvious we've done the deed, shouldn't we maybe
celebrate?" As she spoke, she put her arms around his neck, bringing
her lips close to his ear.

"Beth," he said, shaking his head, "you are one big tease."

"Michael," she whispered, her tongue licking inside his ear, "I am
not
teasing."

* * *

Four months later, Beth awoke in the middle of the night and started
screaming like a banshee. "I'm having a baby!" she yelled
hysterically. "And it rucking
hurts
!"

Michael leapt up, hurriedly dressed, ran outside, hailed a cab,
and they got in and raced to the hospital. Beth continued to yell,
scream, and curse all the way.

The nurses were shocked. "Kindly tell your wife to calm down, Mr.
Castellino. Her language is not acceptable."

"She's not my wife."

"Are you her uncle?"

"No," he laughed. "I'm the baby's dad."

"Oh," the nurse said, tight-lipped.

"Don't worry about it," he said, as Beth's ear-splitting screams
and curses filled the air. "I offered to marry her. She told me
no."

"Silly girl," the nurse said primly.

"I'd say so," he agreed.

While the nurse wheeled Beth into the delivery room, he ran to a
pay phone and called Max and Tina. "You'd better get over here fast,"
he announced. "We're havin' a baby."

"We're on our way," Max assured him.

By the time they arrived, Beth had given birth to a healthy baby
girl. The baby weighed eight pounds six ounces and had a full mop of
thick, black, curly hair.

"We're calling her Madison," Beth announced, lying in the hospital
bed holding her baby, her long, dark hair damp with sweat, a content
smile on her face.

"What kind of a name is that?" Michael asked.

"It's a special name," she replied softly, "for a special
girl."

"I don't got no say?"

"Get used to it," Max laughed. "That's the way it is. Married or
not—the female always gets her own way."

"Here," Beth said. 'You take her." And she handed Michael the
newly named Madison.

Gingerly he took the baby and held her in his arms.

Madison.

She was a beauty, exactly like her mother.

Recently Sam's lawyer had contacted Dani to inform her that Sam
wished to arrange visitation rights with his son. When she confided
in Gemini over lunch at the Desert Inn, her friend was adamant that
she tell the lawyer the truth.

"I can't do that without telling Sam first," Dani explained.

"I thought you
did
tell him."

"No. After I threw him out I didn't see him again. It seemed
pointless to contact him when he obviously had no plans to visit
Vincent. I was under the impression he didn't care."

"Apparently he does, so now you have to hire your own lawyer and
only speak through him."

"Surely that will cost a fortune?"

"Isn't protecting your son worth it?" Gemini asked.

"Of course it is."

"Anyway, Dani, you should ask Dean's advice. He's a smart man, and
rich, I'm sure he will help you."

"¥bu once told me that money isn't everything."

"This is true," Gemini said. "However, Dean is not only rich, he
also cares about you. The wise move would be to snap him up before
someone else does. You're keeping him at a distance, and no man
enjoys that. He's probably already beginning to feel rejected."

"I'm not responsible for how he feels," Dani said, wishing that
Gemini would stop pushing Dean at her. If anything, it was making her
back away even more.

Dean King lived in Houston, where he was president of a large oil
company. He was thirty-three years old, unmarried, and extremely
wealthy. He was also attractive, charming, kind, adored Dani, and was
very fond of Vincent.

What more could she ask for? And yet there was something within
her that prevented her from allowing him to get too close.

"The man is crazy about you," Gemini pointed out. "Why are you
holding back?"

"I'm scared," Dani said, shivering at the thought of being
intimate with another man.

"Of
what
?" Gemini asked, picking at her salad.

"Scared of him leaving me," Dani admitted.

"Leaving you?" Gemini exclaimed. "That's ridiculous."

"I know I'm being foolish," Dani said, speaking fast. "I also know
that I have to give it more time."

"How much more time?" Gemini asked as the waiter refilled her
waterglass. "Dean won't stay around forever. I mean, how much longer
do you think he'll wait before you sleep with him?"

"I can't do it," Dani said, panicking.

"Why not?" Gemini demanded. "It's a perfectly natural act. You're
not a virgin. You've been married, you've had a child."

"You don't understand," Dani explained. "Michael was the first man
I slept with."

"Who's Michael?"

"Vincent's real father, the man I told you about. Anyway, Michael
was my first, and after I married Sam, then he and I... well, we only
did it once."

"This cannot be true," Gemini said, genuinely surprised.

"It is."

"Are you telling me that you've only made love twice in your
life?"

Dani nodded. "I'm afraid sex is not for me."

"Oh my God," Gemini sighed. "You
poor
girl. You need
professional help. And you also need a man who is gentle. A man like
Dean. Now that I know this, I shall encourage it even more."

"Please don't," Dani said quickly.

Gemini had an endless'supply of male admirers. Unlike Dani's
former roommate Angela, Gemini was very picky. She would go out with
a man once, and if he didn't measure up to her exacting standards, he
was history. Dani admired the way she dealt with men. Personally she
couldn't doit.

"I suggest you don't wait too long before asking Dean's advice,"
Gemini said, signaling for the check. "You're having dinner with him
tonight, aren't you?"

"Yes, he's in town for the weekend."

"Then do it."

Gemini was right—if she didn't cement their relationship
soon, it was quite possible she might lose him.

It didn't matter, because one of these days he'd leave anyway. Men
always did.

* * *

They dined in Dean's penthouse suite atop the Stardust Hotel. Dean
was extremely romantic, and tonight especially so. 'Hiere were
candles and a bowl of pink roses on the table set for two on the
terrace, while a violinist played classical music quietly in the
background. "What's the occasion?" Dani asked.

"
You're
the occasion," he replied, kissing her on the
cheek. "You're always the occasion."

It was late, she'd performed two shows, and she would have
preferred going straight home to Vincent, who was no doubt fast
asleep. She'd hired a capable woman who lived in and took care of
him. Although Vincent was quite fond of the woman, he'd told her that
it wasn't the same as having his mommy around.

Vincent had never asked for Sam. Not once. Perhaps he sensed that
Sam was not his real father.

"Make yourself comfortable," Dean said, "while I pour you a glass
of champagne."

"I don't drink," she reminded him.

"Tonight is a special occasion," he said, removing a bottle of
Cristal from the ice bucket.

"Is it your birthday?" she asked, hoping she hadn't forgotten.