Deadly Embrace by Jackie Collins (ebook reader for manga TXT) 📕

‘Disappoint me? Are you kiddin’?’ He grabbed his jacket and bent to kiss her.

She clung on to him for a moment. ‘Michael,’ she whispered softly.

‘What, sweetheart?’

‘I love you.’

New York was cold and gloomy, and Mr G was angry. ‘You pull a stunt like that again an’ you’re out,’ he raged.

‘It wasn’t a stunt, I was sick,’ Michael explained.

‘Sick my ass,’ Vito exploded, red in the face. ‘You was probably gettin’ your cock sucked by one of them Vegas whores.’

‘That’s not—’

‘Shut the fuck up. Pussy is pussy, an’ work always comes first. Dontcha forget it. An’ dontcha ever lie to me again.’

Why was Mr G making such a big deal out of it? What was in the packages he carried back and forth anyway? And what did it matter if he was a day late delivering?

He decided to ask Mamie. She knew everything, and sometimes she didn’t mind sharing, especially when she was mad at Vito–something that seemed to be happening more and more frequently.

He caught her when she was on her way back from the beauty parlour.

‘What do you want?’ she asked, waving freshly lacquered scarlet nails in his face.

‘Haven’t seen you lately,’ he said. ‘Thought I’d drop by an’ say hello.’

‘You did, did you?’ she said, staring at him suspiciously.

‘Yeah,’ he said, putting on the charm. ‘An’ I brought you a box of chocolates, your favourite kind.’

‘How transparent can you get?’ Mamie said, grabbing the box anyway. ‘The big man’s mad at you, so you come whining to me. What’s the matter, Mikey?’ she taunted. ‘Frightened he’s gonna throw you back on the street where you belong?’

‘It’s not like that,’ he objected.

‘Sure it is,’ she sneered. ‘So what were you doin’ in Vegas that was more important than your job?’

‘How many times I gotta say it? I was sick.’

‘Yeah, honey, an’ I’m Doris Day!’

Wrong time to start asking questions. He decided the next package he carried, he’d take a peek and find out for himself.

Unfortunately his next trip was a long time coming. Vito put Mamie back on the Vegas run, and relegated Michael to driving duties, which didn’t thrill him.

‘Ya wanna be my right hand one day, then ya gotta do everythin’,’ Vito informed him. ‘Somma this, somma that. What’s the harm?’

‘I liked takin’ care of the Vegas run.’

‘Sure you did,’ Vito replied, blowing cigar smoke in his face. ‘Who wouldn’t?’

‘When can I do it again?’

‘When I say so.’

Vito Giovanni was not a man to be argued with.

Michael decided to hold off phoning Dani until he was sure about when he’d be returning to Vegas. She was such a sweet kid, and it was obvious she cared, so he didn’t want to give her false hope that he’d be back soon, especially as he had no idea what day or week or even month it would be.

Even though he didn’t call her, he thought about her a lot. In fact, he found himself thinking about her all the time. She was special. The most special girl he’d ever met. And although he wanted to take it further, the truth was that he was scared of getting too involved. He’d taken her virginity. She’d said she loved him. Jeez! If he wasn’t careful he’d be doing the Max thing and asking her to marry him! And that was crazy time. He was only nineteen, too young to stay with one woman when there was a lifetime of pussy out there.

And yet…he still couldn’t stop thinking about her.

When his Asian girlfriend turned up unexpectedly, he sent her home because he wasn’t in the mood. That was a first.

‘I met this girl,’ he confided to Max.

‘Ha!’ Max whooped, getting it immediately. ‘You finally got hooked!’

‘Not me.’

‘Yeah, you.’

‘I’m not interested in seein’ other girls right now. I’m not even interested in gettin’ laid.’

‘’Cause you’re hooked.’

‘I think about her a lot.’

‘Sure you do.’

‘What I gotta do to forget her?’

‘Nothin’,’ Max said, with a fiendish grin. ‘Your goose is good ’n cooked. Join the freakin’ club.’

A week later Tommaso asked him if he’d ever driven a truck.

‘I guess I can do it,’ he said.

‘Good,’ Tommaso said. ‘Tonight–ten p.m. Mr Giovanni wants you back of Alissio’s. Roy’ll pick you up an’ take you to the place.’

‘What place?’

‘You’ll find out.’

He didn’t like the sound of it. Roy was a dour older man with ferret features and slight lisp, who did the occasional job for Mr G. He was also Mamie’s cousin.

‘You gotta tell me more,’ Michael insisted.

‘I don’t gotta tell you nothin’,’ Tommaso said. ‘You work for Mr Giovanni, you do what Mr Giovanni wants. Capisce?’

Ever since his Vegas screw-up things hadn’t been the same. Even Mamie had cooled towards him. Now he was treated as if he was just another goon, and he didn’t like it. He’d do the truck thing, then he planned on having it out with Mr Giovanni. He wasn’t an errand boy–he was better than that.

Roy turned up late in a brown Ford.

‘Where’s the truck?’ Michael asked.

‘Jump in, pretty boy,’ Roy said. ‘I’m takin’ ya to it.’

An hour later they were way out in the country and still driving.

‘Where the fuck are we?’ Michael demanded.

‘Mr Giovanni wants t’see if ya got stones,’ Roy said, pulling the Ford over to the side of the deserted road.

‘Huh?’

‘Get out,’ Roy said, consulting his watch. ‘There’ll be a truck comin’ by here in approximately ten minutes. One driver. Big cargo of booze. You hijack the mothafucker, drive it to Arnie’s garage in Queens, a job well done.’

‘You gotta be shittin’ me?’

‘Nope,’ Roy said, handing him a slip of paper. ‘Here’s the address of Arnie’s. They’re expecting you. Now get out.’

Reluctantly Michael got out. ‘And what’m I supposed to do with the driver of the truck?’

Roy leaned over and slammed the passenger door closed. ‘That’s your problem, pretty boy. See ya round.’

And he drove off, leaving Michael standing in the middle of nowhere.

Chapter Eighteen

Dani: 1965

‘I’m pregnant,’ Dani said, her