Goddess of Vengeance - Jackie Collins [20]
‘Couldn’t be happier,’ M.J. answered without taking a beat.
‘You’re sure?’ Bobby said, shooting M.J. a quick look, and thinking that he didn’t seem exactly ecstatic.
‘’Course I’m sure,’ M.J. said, hesitating for a moment before adding, ‘except for maybe one minor detail.’
‘An’ that would be?’
‘Cassie doesn’t want to have a baby right now,’ M.J. blurted out. ‘She keeps on threatenin’ to get an abortion.’
Bobby frowned. ‘You’re screwing with me, right?’
‘’Fraid not. An’ what the fuck am I supposed t’do about that?’
‘Shit, man,’ Bobby said, shaking his head. ‘How would I know?’
‘It’s a problem,’ M.J. admitted. ‘A big fuckin’ problem.’
‘You got plans to solve it?’
M.J. gave a helpless shrug. ‘I’m playin’ it strong. Tellin’ her if she goes ahead an’ does that – we’re over.’
‘Seriously?’
‘I’m dead serious.’
‘Well,’ Bobby said, finding himself at a loss for words, ‘I gotta wish you luck, man. Seems like you’re gonna need it.’
The elevator came to a stop and they stepped into the reception area of Mood.
Bobby glanced around his club. It always gave him a feeling of achievement to note what he and M.J. had accomplished. Their club was sleek and sexy; it featured spacious booths with muted gold leather banquettes imported from Italy, Brazilian wood tables, smoky mirrored glass walls, and clever lighting highlighted with glowing candles. And in the middle of everything was the pool – surrounded by private dinner cabanas – the place to be seated. And of course a state-of-the-art sound system – the best that money could buy. The entire vibe screamed style and class, comfort and fun.
Since its opening, Mood had become the club of choice for visiting Hollywood high-rollers, affluent Vegas locals, and showbiz performers when their shows finished and they were looking for somewhere to hang and relax. Tourists had a hard time getting in. Privacy was the name of the game.
Yes, Mood was banging – the very best.
‘Remember Sukie in high school?’ M.J. ventured, heading toward the bar. ‘The girl I knocked up?’
‘Turned out to be a false alarm, right?’ Bobby said, following him.
‘Uh, no,’ M.J. said. ‘I didn’t tell you ’cause you were taking off to spend the summer in Greece with your other family. Besides, Sukie swore me to secrecy.’
‘Man, why didn’t you say something?’ Bobby said earnestly. ‘I would’ve been there for you, you know that.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ M.J. said, going behind the bar and opening one of the fridges. ‘But we had to do something fast, ’cause by that time Sukie was almost four months.’
‘What did you do?’ Bobby asked, perching on a bar stool.
‘The janitor at school told us ’bout this midwife downtown,’ M.J. said, extracting a couple of cans of Diet Coke. ‘He told us that for five hundred bucks she’d take care of it. No problem.’ He slid a can across the bar to Bobby.
‘And?’ Bobby said, opening the can.
‘We drove to a rundown house in some shit neighbourhood, where an old Chinese woman took us inside, bundled Sukie into what she called her operation room, an’ demanded the cash.’
‘Jeez! Did you even have it?’
‘Uh-huh. I stole it from my dad’s dresser that mornin’. Had no other way of getting the money.’
‘Then what?’
‘For a start we were both scared shitless.’
‘I bet you were.’
‘Anyway, I handed over the cash an’ waited. After a while the old crone comes walkin’ back into the room where I’m sitting. This time she’s carryin’ a big bucket, an’ in it was the dead baby. She fuckin’ showed it to me like it was some kinda prize. “You see,” she says – like she’s proud or somethin’. “All done.”’
‘Oh, fuck!’
‘Oh, fuck is right. I swear to you it was a sight I’ll never forget. Jesus, Bobby, I threw my guts up.’ M.J. shook his head as if he couldn’t stand remembering, then after a long beat he said, ‘I couldn’t wait t’get us out of there. I got Sukie into the car, but on the way home she started getting major pains. She was bleeding, so I panicked an’ called my dad. He put her in the hospital. I guess he saved her.’ Another long beat. ‘I’ll never forget seein