Dangerous Kiss

  ‘It’s your fuckin’ father’s fault,’ she said, putting the award down with a bang. ‘Bad fuckin’ genes. Guess you inherited ’em.’ She sighed and fluttered her hand in front of her face. Her painted nails were so long that they curved under at the tips. He wondered how she ever did anything with nails of that length. ‘So you wanna tell me about it?’ she continued. ‘This girl grabbed you by the short an’ hairies an’ you got all hot ’n’ horny, that it?’

  ‘She . . . she influenced me,’ Teddy said carefully.

  ‘Course she did,’ Ginee said, plopping her heavy frame on to the couch. The springs creaked. ‘Any sixteen-year-old hotrod with a hard-on is gonna get himself influenced by some little honey. Anyway,’ she added, twirling one of her large gold earrings, ‘here’s the thing – ya gotta learn to think with your brain, not your ding-dong. Get it?’

  He was embarrassed that she was talking to him this way. Was that how mothers talked to their sons? He had no point of reference.

  ‘I suppose Price has told you the DA’s gonna prosecute,’ she continued. ‘Which means I’ll havta be in court every day, sittin’ there bored outta my goddamn skull. Course, your father’s compensatin’ me – an’ so he should.’

  ‘How come I never saw you all these years, Mom?’ Teddy asked, determined to get some answers. ‘Didn’t you wanna see me?’

  ‘Oh, pul-ease. Don’t go givin’ me that poor-little-boy-lost bit,’ she said, irritated. ‘Your daddy wouldn’t let me see you. Only thing he’s got on his poor excuse for a mind is makin’ money an’ gettin’ laid.’ She tapped her long nails on the table. ‘He’s a bad motherfucker. Paid me to skedaddle, so I went. Couldn’t fight him in court.’

  ‘Why?’ Teddy wanted to ask. But he didn’t.

  ‘You could’ve come to visit me if you’d wanted,’ she added lamely.

  ‘Didn’t think you’d see me,’ he muttered.

  ‘Anyway, it’s old news,’ she said, yawning, bored by having to deal with her son after all these years. ‘An’ I’m gonna havta buy myself a whole new wardrobe.’ She glanced at her watch, embedded deep in the folds of her fleshy wrist. ‘So I gotta get goin’,’ she said, hauling her massive bulk off the couch, happy to be on her way. ‘See ya in court, Teddy-bear.’

  Was that it? Was this the meeting he’d dreamed about?

  His father was right about her. She was a money-hungry whore with her bright red lipstick, fake eyelashes and maggoty toes.

  At least his dad seemed to care about him. This woman didn’t give a rat’s ass.

  Book Four

  *

  Six Weeks Later

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  ‘So what do you think?’ Alex said.

  They were sitting around a big conference table at his offices. Alex and several of his assistants, Venus with her production partner, Sylvia – a gay woman with plenty of attitude – and Lucky, who’d come to the meeting by herself.

  ‘Are you talking to me?’ Lucky said, suddenly realizing that everyone was looking at her.

  ‘No,’ Alex said sarcastically. ‘I’m talking to the fucking man in the moon.’

  Her lips tightened. Alex sure turned into a different person when he was working. ‘Sorry, Alex,’ she said coolly. ‘I must have lost my concentration for a moment.’ She threw him a long hard look. ‘No crime? Right?’

  Everyone at the table sensed the tension. ‘Hey,’ Alex said, ‘either you’re into this meeting or you’re not.’

  ‘I’m into it,’ she said, glaring at him.

  This was the first production meeting on their movie, working title Seduction. Everything had come together fast, Lucky had worked hard to make sure of that. So had Alex. Between the two of them they’d made it happen.

  Six weeks had passed since Claudia’s arrival on her doorstep. Claudia – armed with Lennie’s child.

  Naturally, once the story was out, she and Lennie had become involved in a big battle. He’d lied to her, told her nothing had gone on between him and the Sicilian girl. And now, five years later, here she was with his goddamn kid.

  ‘Why weren’t you truthful with me?’ she’d demanded, hurt and angry.

  ‘I was fighting for my life,’ he’d answered, obviously as shocked as she was. ‘Claudia was my only way out.’

  ‘I see,’ she’d responded coldly. ‘You were forced to fuck her to get out of there – is that it?’

  ‘Oh, God! Try to understand, Lucky.’

  ‘Maybe I’d be more understanding if you’d told me,’ she’d said unsmilingly. ‘Why didn’t you fucking tell me?’

  ‘It didn’t seem important enough to risk hurting you.’

  ‘And I suppose some Sicilian hooker turning up with your kid – that doesn’t hurt me?’

  ‘Claudia’s not a hooker,’ he’d said curtly.

  That’s all she’d needed, Lennie defending the girl. ‘You know, Lennie,’ she’d said icily. ‘As far as I’m concerned, you can take off and check into a hotel with your new family. Because I don’t care to have either of them anywhere near my children.’

  ‘You’re not being fair,’ he’d argued. ‘I’m trying to tell you, I didn’t know anything about the boy.’

  ‘Hey, now you do. You fucked her, take the consequences.’

  She knew she was being hard-nosed about it, but the one thing she refused to accept was lying, and he’d lied about the most important thing of all. Fidelity.

  Maybe she’d have been more forgiving if he’d told her the truth when he’d first gotten back from his ordeal. But he hadn’t. He’d insisted that nothing had happened between him and the girl.

  Timing was everything. She could kill him. Kill the cheating son-of-a-bitch. He’d ruined their lives.

  The day after the party Alex had called, wanting to know everything. She’d refused to discuss it with him or anyone else. It was private.

  On top of everything, the court case was coming up and Steven was getting real edgy. The DA had put it on an accelerated schedule on account of all the publicity. This was good, it meant they could get it over and done with.

  The other thing on Lucky’s mind was Brigette. By the time she’d called the hotel the day after the party, she’d been informed that Count and Countess Vitti had checked out, news that stunned her. She’d immediately called Lina, who knew nothing.

  ‘As soon as I can get away, I’m tracking them down,’ she’d said to Lina. ‘That bastard has her under some kind of spell and I’m breaking that spell – along with his fucking Italian balls.’

  Most nights she lay in bed, filled with unrest and confusion about Lennie, remembering the time she’d caught her second husband, Dimitri, with his former lover, flamboyant opera star Francesca Fern. That was shortly before Lucky had had her second encounter with Lennie in the South of France. After that memorable day everything had changed. Their passion was on fire. Nothing and no one could stop their affair.

  Alex called a break in the meeting. Grabbing Lucky by the arm, he pulled her roughly to one side. ‘Are you planning to concentrate on this project or not?’ he demanded. ‘I can’t work with someone whose mind is elsewhere.’

  ‘I’m here, aren’t I?’ she said stubbornly.

  ‘You’re here, your mind isn’t.’

  ‘Oh, please, Alex. Sometimes you talk such crap.’

  ‘Producing a movie has to become your life,’ he lectured. ‘Can you allow that to happen, Lucky? Or are you going to spend all your time brooding about Lennie and his new-found kid?’

  ‘I don’t brood,’ she answered coldly. ‘Lennie’s history. We had a few good years together, now he’s free to go his way and I’ll go mine.’

  ‘You’re not very forgiving,’ Alex said. ‘So he screwed the girl. So what?’

  ‘You don’t get it.’

  ‘Did you tell him about us?’ Alex said, lowering his voice.

  ‘I’ve asked you never to mention that,’ she said, furious that he was bringing it up.

  ‘I know. But you can’
t deny it happened.’

  ‘I thought Lennie was dead,’ she said flatly. ‘It didn’t count.’

  ‘Listen,’ he said. ‘I’d like nothing better than for you to dump the guy, but you gotta think about it carefully ’cause I don’t want you dumping him then wishing you hadn’t.’

  ‘I hate to tell you this, Alex,’ she said, thoroughly fed up with him, ‘but what I choose to do has absolutely nothing to do with you.’

  ‘Yes,’ he said forcefully, ‘it does. Because if you’re available, so am I.’

  ‘Meaning?’

  ‘You and I should be together. That’s where we belong.’

  She knew he was mad that the only contact she’d had with him since her split with Lennie was business-related. But, hey, the last thing she needed was an involvement. Besides, he was still with Pia.

  Venus came over with Sylvia, interrupting them. ‘Y’ know,’ Sylvia said, somewhat officiously, ‘there’s still some changes Venus requires in the script.’

  ‘Yes,’ Venus agreed. ‘The scene where my character’s in the swimming-pool. Why does it take place in a pool? A sauna’s sexier.’

  ‘Pools are over,’ Sylvia added, in case they hadn’t got the message.

  ‘You’ve got to get it visually,’ Alex said, irritated that he had to explain. ‘I’m not using just any fucking pool. I see a black-bottomed infinity pool perched precariously on the edge of a mountain. That way there’s a real element of danger. The audience doesn’t know if he’s going to push her over the side or not. They simply have an uneasy feeling that he might.’

  ‘Or that she might,’ Venus interrupted. ‘I plan to play her as a dangerous woman.’

  ‘I can go with that.’

  ‘Dangerous like Lucky,’ Venus said, teasing him, because she knew how he felt about her friend. ‘Lucky’s my role model, you know.’

  ‘Really?’ Alex said.

  ‘Uh-huh,’ Venus said. ‘Lucky taught me everything about being a real strong woman. And believe me, Alex, some of it would blow even your mind.’

  ‘Nothing would blow my mind, Venus,’ he said shortly. ‘I’ve seen it all and done it all. I’m a weary warrior.’

  ‘And a poetic one, too,’ she said slyly.

  ‘Can we get back to work?’ Lucky questioned. ‘There are decisions to be made.’

  * * *

  Living in a large hotel suite at the Chateau Marmont with Claudia and Leonardo was freaking Lennie out. He hadn’t touched Claudia since she’d reappeared in his life, wasn’t even tempted. She was unsophisticated and vulnerable, almost childlike in a way. And she was so grateful for every little thing he did.

  He slept in one bedroom, Claudia and Leonardo in another.

  All he could think about was getting back with Lucky. The problem was that his strong-willed wife refused to have anything to do with him. As far as she was concerned, she’d thrown him out and that was that.

  ‘I have to see the kids,’ he’d told her over the phone.

  ‘Get a court order,’ she’d replied curtly.

  ‘Is that what you want me to do?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Lucky could be a hard woman.

  He’d driven to Palm Springs and appealed to Gino. Gino had shrugged and said, ‘Hey, you think I can tell my daughter anythin’? She’s a Santangelo, for Chrissakes. She does whatever she wants t’ do.’

  Lennie knew what that meant. Lucky made all her own decisions, and whether they were right or wrong, she followed them through to the end.

  Claudia, meanwhile, was filled with wonderment at her new surroundings. She ran around the hotel suite touching the furnishings, inspecting the kitchen, staring at the television. America was all new and exciting to her, and she was entranced.

  Lennie soon found out that Leonardo had a problem. The boy was hearing-impaired. Claudia’s eyes had filled with tears when she’d revealed that such was her brothers’ anger at her for betraying the family, that while Leonardo was growing up, he’d endured numerous beatings. ‘They punished him for what I did,’ she’d explained.

  Lennie was filled with guilt. If he hadn’t slept with her she’d have led a completely different life.

  But he had slept with her. Temptation had gotten the better of him, and he’d made love to her and given her a child. Now he had to take the responsibility.

  As each day passed, Claudia was there to smile and comfort him, never uttering a cross word. And Leonardo seemed like a good kid. He didn’t speak English; in fact, he barely spoke at all because of his hearing problem.

  Lennie often found himself staring at the boy. Leonardo had ocean-green eyes and longish dirty-blond hair. Lennie found the resemblance to him at the same age unmistakable.

  He was looking to rent a house to put them both in. He’d also fixed Leonardo appointments with some first-rate doctors, to find out if there was anything they could do. In the meantime, he kept working on his script, but it was not easy to concentrate, especially with the court case coming up in which he would be the key witness.

  The media had run with the story as everyone knew they would. Along with Lucky and Mary Lou and Gino, he was also a favourite of the tabloids. Lennie Golden: former movie star, former comedian, son of Jack Golden and a Las Vegas stripper. Once married to the fabulously wealthy heiress, Olympia Stanislopoulos, who’d died of a drug overdose in a hotel room with Flash, a famous rock star. They dragged it all up. Pictures too. Lennie’s life flashed before him.

  Lucky was also getting her fair share of unwanted publicity. According to the press, she was the gangster’s daughter who’d made good. The studio head with the shady past. The woman who’d killed a man and pleaded self-defence.

  He knew she must be devastated by all the publicity. Lucky’s preference was for staying out of the spotlight. He wished he was with her so he could protect her from all this crap. But every time he called and tried to see her, she wanted nothing to do with him.

  The last time he’d called she’d been quite even-tempered. ‘I understand that you didn’t know she was pregnant, Lennie,’ she’d said calmly, ‘but I’m afraid you betrayed me, so therefore I feel I can never trust you again. And if I can’t trust you, I can’t be with you. So, please, stop calling.’

  Lucky’s logic. Sometimes it defied reality.

  He’d heard she was forging ahead with her movie with Alex, and that drove him crazy. All Alex wanted was an opportunity to get close to her, then the bastard would move in and cement the deal. Alex was not to be trusted.

  Lennie called him up one night when he’d had too much vodka, and Claudia and Leonardo were asleep in the other room. ‘Stay away from my wife,’ he warned.

  ‘Aren’t you separated?’ Alex said.

  ‘Stay away from my wife,’ he repeated.

  ‘Go fuck yourself,’ Alex said.

  This situation made Lennie even more uneasy. What was he supposed to do? How was he going to win her back?

  The day before he was due to appear in court, he decided to take them both to Disneyland. The day trip was as much for him as for them. He desperately needed to chill out, put things in perspective.

  Claudia was excited, Leonardo too. First he took them to the Gap, where they fell in love with everything.

  Their excitement made Lennie feel good. If only Lucky could accept the situation. Claudia was a beauty, but she meant nothing to him. He’d clung to her in a time of fear and desperation. She’d been his only hope.

  Why couldn’t Lucky understand?

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Mila made a short court appearance where, due to the severity of the charge against her, she was refused bail. The public defender in his mud-brown suit tried to argue on her behalf, but the judge dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

  Irena, sitting in the front row, was unable to help, even though she’d gone to the bank and withdrawn every penny of her precious savings to assist her daughter in case they allowed bail.

  It was probably just as well that they didn?
??t, for if she’d been allowed to take Mila home, Price would more than likely have kept his threat and thrown them both out. As things stood now, he hadn’t mentioned again her leaving.

  Mila spotted Irena and bounced a quick look off her. Why wasn’t her mother doing anything to get her out? Teddy was free because of his rich fucking daddy. She was locked up because her mother had no damn clout. It wasn’t fair.

  Irena was torn between wanting to help her daughter and being loyal to the love of her life. For although she’d never told him, Price was the love of her life.

  Often, from the age of four, Mila had demanded to know who her father was. Irena had always lied, making up some story about an old boyfriend from Russia.

  It was not the truth. The truth was too awful for anyone to hear. The truth was Irena’s dirty little secret.

  She would never forget that fateful night. Price and Ginee were upstairs in the bedroom, stoned out of their minds . . .

  They’d kept on buzzing the kitchen with outrageous demands, summoning her, telling her what to do, bossing her around. This was between house calls from two different drug-dealers.

  Ginee was Price’s girlfriend then, an extraordinarily beautiful woman, with waist-length hair and a devastatingly sexy body.

  Irena was in awe of the beautiful black woman, but at the same time she loathed her. She loathed the fact that she and Price were both out of their heads on drugs all the time, and that Ginee was the one who encouraged him to get wasted.

  This one particular night they were both completely out of control, and on a twenty-four-hour binge. The third time they summoned Irena to the room, Ginee staggered out of bed wearing nothing at all, waved her inside and locked the bedroom door behind her.

  Irena, who was twenty-nine at the time, and quite well versed in the ways of the world, having been a prostitute in Russia for several years, did not think anything of it. However, when Ginee refused to let her out, she began to be concerned. There she was, trapped in a room with her employer and his girlfriend, both naked, laughing, joking and stoned, and she was their prisoner.