Goddess of Vengeance - Jackie Collins [153]
Money.
Freedom.
Fuck Vegas.
He opened the door and came face to face with a woman. A beautiful woman with deep olive skin and clouds of black hair.
For a second or two Mikey was confused. Was she a late-night call girl the john had ordered?
No. Couldn’t be. She didn’t look like a hooker. She looked like a fucking movie star.
They stared at each other for a long silent moment. Lucky and Mikey.
Finally Lucky broke the silence. She was cool and collected; nothing threw Lucky, she always expected the unexpected.
‘And who are you?’ she questioned, staring down a sinister-looking man with blackout shades covering his eyes and a vicious scowl.
Mikey was not one bit intimidated. ‘Who the fuck are you?’ he retaliated.
‘I’m here to see Armand Jordan. Where can I find him?’
Mikey indicated the room behind him as he dragged the money suitcase past her. ‘In there,’ he said. ‘Go join the party, you’ll fit right in.’
Chapter Sixty-One
Things were winding down at Mood. It was late and the music was becoming mellower, while most of the clientele were getting ready to call it a night.
Lennie was mad at himself. He should’ve left when Lucky wanted to go, but Alex and his attitude pissed him off, so he’d stayed – kind of like a screw-you gesture toward Alex. Yes, Alex Woods was one of the few people who managed to annoy him with his superior ways, and his constant lusting after Lucky.
Ah . . . Lucky. His beautiful, unpredictable wife. Later she would laugh at him, tease him about his ongoing feud with Alex. And they would make love as they always did before sleeping. Lucky was the woman of his dreams – she completed him, she always had.
He sought out M.J. and told him he was leaving.
‘Did Lucky solve that problem?’ M.J. asked.
‘What problem?’
‘I’m not sure,’ M.J. said, realizing he probably shouldn’t have said anything. ‘She made a call, told me she had to take care of something urgent, then she left. She wanted me to tell you that she’d see you back at the apartment.’
‘Thanks for the information,’ Lennie said, frowning. ‘How come you didn’t wait until tomorrow to tell me?’
‘Sorry,’ M.J. said, a tad sheepishly. ‘I kinda forgot.’
Lennie shook his head. If Lucky had a problem to solve, why hadn’t she come to him?
Then again, why would she? Lucky always took care of things on her own terms. She copied Gino in that respect.
The Santangelos. Father and daughter. Two tough birds.
Lennie wouldn’t have them any other way. He was proud to be part of the Santangelo family, just as Lucky was proud to be Mrs Golden.
He wondered if the problem had anything to do with Max. His daughter hadn’t seemed too happy earlier. And she should’ve been ecstatic considering she was about to turn eighteen. Now it was way past midnight, so she was already eighteen.
He had a surprise present for her, a present he hadn’t even told Lucky about because she would accuse him of spoiling Max. But hey – he wanted to spoil her. What the hell – eighteen only came along once in a lifetime, so why not enjoy it with a brand new silver BMW?
Lucky would kill him, but death would be worth it when he saw the look on Max’s face.
* * *
‘You are not coming in!’ Cookie shrieked, as Frankie tried in vain to get her to open the door of their room.
‘Why not?’ he demanded. ‘If I’m correct it was you who ran out on me. I’m the innocent party.’
‘Innocent my ass!’ Cookie yelled through the closed door. ‘You were so far up my dad’s butt that you didn’t even notice I was gone.’
‘Sure I did,’ Frankie answered soothingly. ‘I missed you like crazy.’
‘No, you didn’t. If you had, you would’ve called or texted.’
‘Maybe you should let me in so we can discuss this like two adults.’
‘No!’
‘You’re behavin’ like a child.’
‘Screw you.’
‘Is that all you got to say?’
‘Here’s somethin’ else. Goodbye.’
‘For crissakes, Cookie, at least let me get my bags.’
‘No!’ she shouted, still steaming. ‘You made