Goddess of Vengeance - Jackie Collins [154]
Frankie could not believe he was getting the boot from a teenager, no less.
And what had he done?
Nothing.
Scowling, he turned around and headed for the elevator.
* * *
Peggy had never considered herself a lesbian, but then neither had Paige. They were merely two heterosexual women who found they could enjoy an occasional walk on the wild side. And wild it was.
Peggy could not recall Sidney making her come the way Paige had done. In fact, Paige took her back to the early Vegas days when sex really mattered and orgasms were a daily occurrence.
Paige knew her way around the female anatomy. She’d taken control, and Peggy had enjoyed every second.
When they were finished, Paige dressed and murmured that she had to get back to Gino before he awoke.
‘I wish you could stay the night,’ Peggy found herself saying.
‘So do I,’ Paige said, ‘but I don’t like leaving Gino for too long. He’s old, one never knows . . . However, you’ll come to his granddaughter’s party tomorrow, and maybe after that . . .’
‘I’ll look forward to it,’ Peggy murmured.
And then Paige was gone, and once again Peggy found herself alone with her thoughts. Soon she would have to confront Armand about his choice of female companions.
She was his mother, it was her duty.
* * *
Ellie was clicking away. ‘Plenty of activity going on here,’ she remarked, almost to herself. ‘I’m just taking pictures, we’ll see what we’ve got later. I think we have a definite bonanza.’
‘You think?’ Kev said, attempting to stretch his aching legs. Crouching in the bushes was not for him, although it didn’t seem to bother Ellie. She was into all the comings and goings, and there were plenty. It seemed there was a party taking place in the villa across from Billy’s, and Ellie was capturing plenty of images as people came and went.
‘We need to know who the girl is with Billy,’ Ellie said. ‘Think you can find out?’
‘I’ll do my best,’ Kev replied. ‘It shouldn’t be a problem.’
* * *
After a while Ace realized it didn’t look like Max was getting back to the hotel anytime soon. Cookie had told him she’d had to meet Lucky, but he wasn’t sure he believed her. Now it was past one in the morning and he’d had it. He hadn’t driven all the way to Vegas to be treated like this. After all, it wasn’t as if Max had acted like she was thrilled to see him. No. He’d had to hang out with her crazy friends all night, sit through a painful concert, and then she’d taken off to do what?
He didn’t know, and he didn’t care any more. She was treating him as if he didn’t matter, and he wanted out.
He took the present he’d brought her and placed the box on the bed. Then he wrote Happy Birthday on a piece of hotel stationery and left it on top.
After that, he grabbed his overnight bag and took off.
Max was no longer his problem.
* * *
And still Fouad found it impossible to sleep. He’d tried everything – watching a movie on TV, ordering a hot drink from room service, lying perfectly still and allowing his mind to go blank.
Nothing worked.
Somehow he couldn’t shake the thought that something was going on with Armand, something bad.
Over the past few weeks Armand’s drug use had escalated to the point where he did not seem to be in control of his actions any more. Sleeping with Martin Constantine’s wife, then throwing her out of his apartment was a prime example of behaviour gone wild. And then there was the embarrassing scene with Lucky Santangelo and the empty threats Armand had hurled at her. Not to mention his ongoing addiction to prostitutes.
Armand was in a bad place, and although Fouad resented the way he’d been treated lately, he still felt a certain responsibility toward Armand. Perhaps this was not the right time to desert him.
On a whim, Fouad decided to get dressed and take a walk.
What harm would it do to stroll past Armand’s villa and make sure everything was all right?
Chapter Sixty-Two
Always expect the unexpected was one of Lucky’s mottos, along with Never fuck with a Santangelo. So she wasn’t surprised to observe the tableau that greeted