Goddess of Vengeance - Jackie Collins [159]
Chapter Sixty-Five
The pain hit Armand in the pit of his stomach. It startled him, almost made him gag. Not quite, for he had no time to give in to pain, he was enjoying himself too much. He had never experienced such joyous feelings. He was wrapped in a warm cloak of bliss – which might have had a little something to do with the speedball Randy had shared with him – the lethal combination of heroin and cocaine.
Randy and Seducta were his best friends in the world. They cared about him in ways that were so endearing. Seducta had taken her top off again, and he snuggled his face against her mammoth breasts. She reminded him of his mother – dear, sweet Peggy.
Randy snorted coke off her nipples.
Armand smiled. They were sharing. This was exactly the way it should be.
And then – suddenly there was Lucky Santangelo staring down at him. Words were coming out of her mouth but he couldn’t hear them.
He decided that Lucky was beautiful too. She was his friend. He didn’t want her dead, he didn’t want anyone dead. They would own The Keys together and exist in perfect harmony.
The pain hit Armand again. He screamed and doubled over. Then everything faded to black.
* * *
‘For God’s sake, someone call 911,’ Lucky yelled, wondering how she’d gotten caught up in this situation. She was supposed to be reaming Armand a new asshole, not saving his sorry life. How had this happened?
Randy staggered to his feet. He was almost as out of it as Armand, but self-preservation kicked in, and it occurred to him that he’d better get out. He looked around for Luscious.
‘Jesus Christ!’ Lucky exclaimed, reaching for her cell. ‘This man could be dying and you can’t even make a phone call. What kind of people are you?’
Seducta giggled hysterically. ‘Fun people,’ she said, her voice a drowsy slur, white powder decorating her nose. ‘Arnie loves us.’
‘While Arnie might love you, he could be dying, you stupid cow,’ Lucky said, calling 911 and requesting an ambulance.
‘Where’s Mikey?’ Seducta asked, her face crumbling, mascara smudging under her eyes.
Randy flexed his considerable muscles. ‘Where’s the fuckin’ money?’ he wanted to know.
‘You people are the dregs,’ Lucky said, feeling Armand’s wrist to see if he had a pulse. He did.
‘We gotta get the fuck away from this shit,’ Randy said, suddenly realizing that trouble was looming.
‘That’s right, run,’ Lucky said. ‘You pathetic pieces of crap.’
‘Where’s Mikey?’ Seducta whined for the second time. ‘I want my Mikey.’
* * *
Ten minutes after speaking to Lennie, Danny checked his messages. Sure enough there was one from Lucky.
He could’ve kicked himself, for Danny prided himself on always being available for his boss. He quickly scanned her text and experienced a sinking feeling in his stomach.
Armand Jordan is going around boasting The Keys is his. Off to Cavendish to confront. Care to join?
Yes, he would love to have joined if only he’d known. It was all Buff’s fault, flirting with the bartender, taking his mind off work. Threesomes. Ha! Who needed them?
He called Lennie and filled him in on the situation, telling him about the unfortunate morning meeting and what a chauvinistic pig Armand was.
‘And you let Lucky go over there alone?’ Lennie said, his voice heated.
‘I didn’t know!’ Danny replied, duly chastised. ‘Besides, have you ever tried stopping Lucky from doing anything? You know it’s impossible.’
‘I’m on my way to The Cavendish,’ Lennie said.
‘I’ll meet you there,’ Danny said.
To hell with Buff and the bartender. Lucky was his priority.
* * *
‘So!’ Ellie exclaimed. ‘Lots of activity at the party house.’
‘Aren’t you supposed to be concentrating on Billy an’ the girl?’
‘I’ve got more than enough pix of them together. Anyway, they’re back in the villa, whattya want me to do? Crawl through the keyhole?’
‘Don’t be facetious.’
‘Big words coming from a little guy.’
‘I might be on the short side, but haven’t you heard about large surprises comin’ in small packages?’
‘Lost on me, Kev,’ Ellie said, shaking her head. ‘I told you – I’m gay.’
‘I could turn you.’
‘Confident,