Double Lucky (104 page)

Billy leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, a long sexy kiss. “Night, Green Eyes,” he said. “See you tomorrow.”

“I guess I should make up a nickname for
you,
” she said, reluctant to leave. “How about Dimples?”

“How about that sounds like somebody's pet monkey,” Billy said, snorting with mirth. “Dimples, my ass. Think of something macho.”

Giggling, Max wrapped her arms around his neck. “What, then?”

“You'll come up with something,” he said, hugging her affectionately.

“Oh yes I will.”

“Oh yes you will.”

And neither of them heard the steady click of the camera lens hidden in the bushes.

*   *   *

The euphoria that overcame Armand was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. Sharing hits from a crack pipe with these people—his new best friends—was magical. They
were
his friends.

No. Better than that. They were his loyal subjects, here to do his bidding. Here to help him achieve greatness.

Yes. Greatness. FOR ARMAND JORDAN WAS THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING.

And when he was the ruler, he would transport everyone to Akramshar, where they would all live in harmony and peace.

He stared at the two women—Luscious and Seducta. These women were not whores, they were beautiful creatures. Exquisite. He wanted to fuck them. He wanted to fuck them both. He wanted to fuck them forever.

They would all float together in a sea of happiness. Their bodies would be filled with wonderment. It was the way it was supposed to be.

His heart was on a crazy trip of its own. It was beating so fast he could hardly keep up. And yet the rhythm was comforting; it made him feel warm and safe.

He could do anything.

Being alive was such a pleasure.

It was heavenly.

He
was heavenly.

*   *   *

“Do you recognize her?” Ellie asked, keeping her voice low.

“Think it might be the one from L.A.,” Kev said, squinting to get a better view. “Max somethin' or other.”

“She looks young,” Ellie observed.

“She
is
young.”

“All the better,” Ellie said, clicking away with her long lens as Billy and Max continued to hug and kiss.

Kev wondered if when Ellie had taken enough photos he was going to get laid.

Laid
and
paid. It was a win-win situation.

*   *   *

“Seems to me your wife is on the missing list,” Alex said, making digs at Lennie as he'd been doing all night.

“My
wife
is at home in bed waiting for me,” Lennie responded.

“You mean she leaves you in a club without so much as a good-bye?” Alex taunted, swigging more scotch.

Lennie gave a dry laugh. “Just goes to show how well you know Lucky. She does her thing, I do mine. We never feel the need to check in.”

“A modern marriage, huh?”

“Modern, not open.”

“Just asking.”

“Ask away, Alex. But I think I should tell you—Lucky will
never
be yours. Never. And that's something you can take to the bank.” He paused to let that sink in, then added, “Do we understand each other?”

*   *   *

“I'm tellin' you,” Luscious whispered in Randy's ear. “We gotta forget about the hit. There's a shitload of money in a suitcase in the bedroom—could be more than a hundred thou.”

Randy had just taken a solid drag on the crack pipe and he wasn't concentrating, which infuriated Luscious. So did the fact that Seducta was lolling all over him, and he wasn't shoving her off. Her tits were in his face, and he didn't seem to mind.

Sometimes Randy didn't get the bigger picture, but Luscious was sure that Mikey certainly would. She was starting to think that it was time for her to move on.

Mikey was standing by the window smoking a long thin cheroot. He'd pocketed the $12,500 deposit, now he was waiting for the client to tell him who the subject was.

It had crossed Mikey's mind that he could take the money he already had, stick it in his safe deposit box, and do nothing. This visiting prick was so out of it he wouldn't know the difference. And if he did that, there was nothing the john could do. The asshole would be fucked, screwed, caught on a freeway without a ride and no pants.

Mikey gave a grim smile. He didn't do drugs. He smoked. He drank—never to excess. Mikey was a man intent on staying in control.

As he watched them all getting wasted, he felt sorry for them. No willpower. No backbone. Truth was, they were nothing but a bunch of losers.

He observed his wife sucking on the pipe. Dumb as shit. The puzzle was, why had he married her?

Could it be that in a weak moment he'd succumbed to the power of pussy and the lure of big tits? Foolish. Even Luscious—who was no prize herself—was smarter than Seducta.

As if reading his mind, Luscious sidled up to him. “We gotta move fast,” she said in a low voice.

“Move fast why?” Mikey said, flicking ash on the rug.

“There's a suitcase in the bedroom stuffed fulla money. I saw it.” She indicated Armand. “He's too fucked-up to know anything. What we gotta do is take it an' get the shit out.”

“How much money?” Mikey questioned, his interest piqued.

“Go look for yourself,” Luscious insisted. “I'm tellin' you—it's worth runnin'.”

Mikey didn't need asking twice. He headed purposefully toward the bedroom.

 

CHAPTER SIXTY

“The time has come,” Bobby said. “For us to move in together.”

“Don't you ever sleep?” Denver groaned, rolling over in bed. “What's the time?”

“A house, I'm buying us a house,” he said decisively. “Half yours, half mine. I'll decorate my half, you can go for it on yours.”

“Oh,” she said, yawning. “So now you're a decorator.”

“I know what I like. I worked with my design team on Mood.”

“You're something else, Bobby Santangelo Stanislopoulos.” She sighed. “A man of many talents.”

“What's your favorite?” he asked, reaching his arms around her.

“Right now my favorite is sleep, plenty of it.”

“Then we're agreed?” he said, spooning up against her. “I can buy us a house?”

“I didn't say—”

His hands slid under the oversized T-shirt she wore to bed and began caressing her breasts. “
What
didn't you say?”

“No sex. Sleep,” she begged. “You're turning into a horn dog.”

“Only if we got a deal.”

“Okay, okay, we got a deal,” she agreed.

“Is that a promise?”

“Yes, it's a promise.”

“Are you a woman of your word?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

“Okay, then,” he said, grinning. “You can go to sleep now.”

“You're sure?”

“Well…” he said, his hands on the move. “Maybe we should—”

“Bobby!”

“Hey—third time for luck.”

“Oh my God! Has anyone ever told you you're turning into a sex maniac?”

He grinned again. “Only you.”

*   *   *

“Was I right or was I right?” Luscious said, addressing Mikey, a triumphant gleam in her eyes.

Mikey, standing in front of Armand's open suitcase filled with nothing but money, let out a long, low whistle. “Yeah,” he said at last. “You was right.”

Praise from the inscrutable Mikey was praise indeed. Luscious preened.

Mikey began tapping his right foot on the plush carpet, a sure sign that he was thinking. By his quick calculations there had to be at least $300,000 in the suitcase. Maybe more. He'd
never
seen that much money in one place, and he'd been around drug dealers and criminals all his life. This was big-time.

“Who is this prick?” he muttered.

“Dunno,” Luscious said, making a helpless gesture. “Just another john with a shitload of cash.”

Mikey knew he had to tread carefully as he considered their options. Was it drug money? He didn't think so, for he was familiar with most of the players in town.

Gambling money? Most likely. The john was probably a rich degenerate gambler who came to Vegas for the gambling and the prostitutes.

Luscious was all hyped up and anxious for action. “We gonna take it or what?” she asked, licking her lips in anticipation.

“Yeah,” Mikey said slowly. “We're gonna take it. Leave it t' me to work out how.”

*   *   *

Lucky was not having second thoughts, not at all. It had been a while since she'd had to deal with a situation such as this, and it had her adrenaline pumping.

Mr. Armand Jordan boasting to people that he was buying her hotel. The nerve of him was unbelievable. And she was about to set him straight in no uncertain fashion.

She hoped she was about to catch him asleep in bed so that she could scare the shit out of him. Yes, that would be fun.

She drove her car into the parking section reserved for the villa guests. It was late, no valet on duty, which was good for her, but not so good for the Cavendish. Lucky considered it lax security; she would never allow it to happen at her hotel. Security for the protection of hotel guests was always a priority.

Why are you doing this?
she asked herself.
Isn't it beneath you? Calling out some jerk in the middle of the night?

No. It's a kick. He's a moron who hates women, and I'm about to show him who's boss.

Actually, she was loving it. Kicking butt—her favorite thing to do.

*   *   *

“Okay.” Max sighed, extracting herself from Billy and his tempting lips. “This is it. I've
really
got to go.”

“Really?” he said, teasing her, grabbing her, kissing her.

“Yes, really,” she giggled, enjoying every minute.
I love you, Billy Melina!

“Okay then, go. Leave me wanting more.”

“I'll call you when I get to my room.”

“You'd better.”

“Oh, I will,” she said, finally pulling away.

Billy watched her leave, a smile on his lips. She made him feel as if he was back in high school. She washed away all the random girls who'd been giving him blow jobs beside his pool. She obliterated the Venus years and all the crap that went along with being married to a world-class superstar. When he was with Max, he wasn't movie star Billy Melina, he was just a guy having fun with his girl.

Suddenly Max doubled back, rushed past him, and darted into the villa. “Close the door,” she gasped, a frantic expression on her face. “I think I just saw my mom!”

*   *   *

“Here's what we're gonna do,” Mikey decided. “You an' Seducta gonna keep the prick busy while Randy an' me get the suitcase outta here.”

“You mean you expect
me
an' your stoned wife t' stay here while you take off?” Luscious said indignantly. “No fuckin' way, Mikey. That's not how it's goin' down.”

“Do
you
wanna carry the goddamn suitcase outta here?” he said, stony-faced. “Is that it?”

“No,” Luscious said, determined to do things her way. “Randy can take the suitcase while
you
stay here keepin' the mark busy. Me an' Randy'll take it to a safe place.”

“An' what's your idea of a safe place?” Mikey said scornfully. “Hidin' it under your fuckin' bed? 'Cause when this prick emerges from his drug haze tomorrow, he's gonna come lookin' for you big time.”

“Why'll he be lookin' for me?”

“'Cause you're the slut who was in his room blowin' him.”

“I'm not a slut, Mikey,” Luscious said, her eyes unexpectedly filling with tears. “You shouldn't call me that. It's your wife who's the slut.”

Mikey didn't answer. He was thinking. He was coming up with a plan.

“Got it,” he said at last. “You an' me take the suitcase. We leave Randy an' Seducta here. They stay until the john passes out, or whatever the fuck he's gonna do.”

“What if he starts lookin' for his suitcase?”

“If that happens, Randy'll deal with it.”

“How?”

“How d'you think?”

Luscious preferred not to think. It was one thing to steal the money, but she didn't condone violence.

“I'll fill Randy in on the plan,” Mikey said. “You go shut the suitcase, 'cause any minute now we're gettin' outta here.”

“What about Seducta?”

“What about her?”

“Are you just gonna leave her?”

“Don't go worryin' about Seducta. She's a big girl. She can look after herself.”

“But she's your wife,” Luscious felt obliged to point out.

“That don't mean nothin' t' me,” Mikey said coldly.

Luscious nodded. Who was she to argue?

Besides, her loyalty was now firmly with the money.

*   *   *

“What're you
talkin'
about?” Billy said, quickly closing the door and following Max back inside.

“It's Lucky. I saw her,” Max said, almost hyperventilating. “She's walking down the path on her way here. She
knows
about us. What're we going to
do?
”

“First of all, we're going to calm down,” Billy said, hiding his own panic. Nobody relished the thought of messing with the infamous Lucky Santangelo. “And second, you're going to think about who knows you're here.”

“Nobody. I didn't tell anyone.”

“Does anybody know about us?”

“I just told you,” Max wailed. “I haven't mentioned you to anyone.”

“Did she see you?”

“I don't think so.”

“Let's hope she didn't,” Billy said, thinking fast. “So here's what we're gonna do. You go hide in the bathroom, an' when she knocks on the door I'll say I don't know what she's talkin' about.”