Goddess of Vengeance - Jackie Collins [113]
‘Your old BFF Frankie Romano.’
‘Where?’ Bobby said.
‘We’re sitting with him at Cookie’s dad’s table in the restaurant. You should come over. I know he’d love to see you.’
‘Maybe later,’ Bobby said. Once he and Frankie, along with M.J., had been best friends, but those days were over. ‘You know,’ he added sternly, ‘you’re not supposed to be in this area of the club.’
‘How come?’ Max shot back.
‘’Cause you’re not twenty-one. And that means we could lose our licence.’
‘As if!’ Max scoffed. ‘Besides, we’ve all got fake I.D.s.’
‘Great,’ Bobby said sarcastically. ‘That makes me feel so much better.’
Then, to his relief, he spotted Lucky and Lennie walking in. Great timing, because it meant that Max was no longer his problem. Let Lucky deal with her.
‘Here comes your mom and dad,’ he warned. ‘Better skip back to your table, little girl, or Mommy might give you a smacked bottom.’
‘You are so mean,’ Max said, making a face. ‘I hate you!’
‘Not mean, just protective.’
‘Anyway, what are they doing here?’ Max said, twisting her head to take a look as Lucky and Lennie approached. ‘I thought they wanted alone time. So gross!’
‘Nice way to talk about your parents,’ Bobby said.
‘They’re yours too,’ Max pointed out.
‘Half mine,’ Bobby said, correcting her.
‘Whatever.’
Moments later Lucky and Lennie were upon them, and Lennie was giving Max hugs, while Lucky was checking out Denver, and Bobby was thinking – half an hour later and we could’ve been safely out of here.
In the club business, the night was only just beginning.
Chapter Forty-Two
Annabelle Maestro was a talker, she didn’t shut up for a minute. Armand had no idea what or who she was talking about. He didn’t know and he didn’t care. Names came and went as they sat in one of the open lounges drinking tequila on the rocks with limoncello chasers – a lethal combination thought up by Annabelle. He liked the buzz the liquor was giving him. He liked the fact that there was no Fouad around keeping a watchful eye on him.
‘If you’re not here for the fights, what are you doing in Vegas?’ she asked, rubbing her index finger around the rim of her glass and staring at him expectantly.
‘I am buying The Keys hotel and casino,’ Armand announced. Yes, that’s what I’m doing. Damn you, Lucky Santangelo. You’ll soon learn that when Armand Jordan wants something he gets it. I am unstoppable. And if I say something is going to happen, it will take place, whether you think you can stop it or not. But how can you stop it if you’re dead? Impossible.
‘You’re kidding!’ Annabelle exclaimed, her eyes widening. This guy wasn’t just rich, he was mega-rich. Ever since their one date a few months ago, she’d had her eye on him. Although they’d experienced one long wild night of sex, he’d never called. Annabelle did not appreciate rejection, especially as she considered herself semi-famous, and he should’ve been thrilled to date her.
Armand had quite a reputation in New York as being aloof and difficult to pin down. But Annabelle was well aware that he was a major catch and she craved a steady boyfriend. There’d been nobody permanent since she’d broken up with that sad sack druggie Frankie Romano.
Earlier in the evening she’d had a big fight with her latest boyfriend, Eddie Falcon, the super-agent. They’d only been seeing each other a few weeks, but tonight she’d discovered – after scrolling through his texts – that Eddie was cheating on her with not one, but three other girls. Apparently he was the Tiger Woods of super-agents. What an asshole! She’d been planning on dumping him and flying back to New York, but then walking through the casino to cool off, she’d run into Armand.
When opportunity beckoned, Annabelle was not about to turn it down.
‘I never thought Lucky would sell,’ Annabelle said. ‘When’s this happening?’
‘Soon,’ Armand replied, feeling the need to get to his villa and indulge in a few more lines of coke before the hookers got there. He’d informed the concierge to alert him when they arrived, and to have them wait in his villa. For a