Deadly Embrace (59 page)

"Where?" asked the driver.

"We'll take her to the warehouse. The one Ace lives at."

"Where
you
goin'?" they asked.

"I'm collectin' the fuckin' money Serge owes me. Then we're outta
here. Go find the girl," he said, reaching into his pocket and taking
out a small glass vial of coke. There was still some left. He shook
the white powder onto the back of his hand and snorted it. Jesus,
he'd done a lot of drugs tonight.

So what? He could handle it. He could handle anything and
anyone.

He ran back toward the house. The big gates were still open, the
Cadillac parked nearby.

He knew where the guardhouse was on account of the maintenance
work he'd done at the house, helping Uncle Serge like a good little
boy, getting ten bucks an hour if he was fucking lucky.

The guardhouse was empty. Nobody around. As he headed up the
driveway, a man stepped out of the bushes. "Stop!" the man said.

Zaroff lifted the Uzi and sprayed him. Christ! The feeling of
power that surged through his body gave him such a high. Or was it
the drugs?

He kept walking. There were two dogs lying out in front of the
house. It looked like they were asleep because they didn't move.
Lucky for them; he would have shot them too. The front door was open.
He walked through it and stepped into the foyer.

* * *

Michael and Gus, followed by three of Gus's men, entered the master
bedroom. The sight that greeted them was not a pretty one.

Standing there in his red silk robe with his dick hanging out was
Bone. Mamie was across the room from him—a sorry sight in a
man's suit, a riding whip in her hand. A young blond girl was sitting
on a chair fully dressed, while another, totally naked blond was
sprawled on the floor.

"Nice," Michael said.

Marnie's face registered pure shock. "How did you get into my
house!" she screamed. "What are you doing here, you murderer!"

Tawny shrank back in her chair.

"Retribution," Michael said. "Isn't that what your husband taught
me? Isn't that what
you
always wanted,
Marnie—revenge?"

"You'd better get out of here now, or I'm calling the police," she
threatened.

"Lines are dead. But go ahead."

"You no-good, scum-sucking
bastard
," she screamed, her face
contorted with rage. "You're just like your stinkin' father, Vinny. I
hate you.
I fuckin' hate you
!"

Zaroff burst into the bedroom—murder in his crazed eyes.

He was flying on coke, grass, and Ecstasy. He was filled with
power—sure that he could conquer the world.

What kind of game was going on in here with Mr. and Mrs. Porno? He
barely noticed Michael and Gus as he focused on the naked girl on the
floor. And in spite of his drugged-out haze, he felt the stirrings of
a hard-on. He hadn't gotten laid in twenty-four hours, and Zaroff
needed sex. He needed it more than he needed food and his mother's
bitching and his dumb uncle telling him what he could and could not
do.

He was
the man
. He could do whatever he wanted.

* * *

Michael took a step back. The boy—who couldn't have been more
than seventeen or eighteen—had an Uzi and traces of white
powder under his nose. Not a healthy combination.

He was the wild card that nobody ever took into account. There was
always a wild card.

Marnie stopped screaming at Michael, turning her attention to the
boy.

"Who the—" she began to say.

"Mothafuckers!" Zaroff yelled, raising the Uzi. "Rich
mothafuckers!" And he began spraying the room.

After that everything seemed to take place in slow
motion—like some carefully choreographed, intricate dance.
Zaroff spraying the room. Two of Gus's men bursting in and tackling
him from behind. The Uzi flying out of his hands. Too late for Marnie
and Bone. They were both hit. Marnie in the face and heart. Bone in
the stomach.

It was a fitting end for the two of them.

Michael turned and walked away.

It was over, and he hadn't had to do a thing.

Zaroff Gorban was arrested for multiple murders—including
the killings of Marnie and Bone. His uncle Serge was also arrested,
for possession of an unlicensed weapon— the Uzi—and for
assisting a minor in a kidnapping plot. Zaroff couldn't remember any
of it.

* * *

Michael's lawyer in New York provided the police with enough evidence
to prove that Michael had nothing to do with Stella and her
boyfriend's murder. One of the most pertinent pieces of evidence was
the tape of Marnie's phone call to Michael—boasting how she'd
set him up. Rule one in business:
always
tape important calls.
Michael always did.

* * *

Vincent—with temptation staring him in the face—had
resisted Jolie's considerable charms and decided to give Jenna one
last chance.

Jenna, a wiser girl because of her experiences with Andy Dale,
matured overnight and became the daughter-in-law that Dani had always
wanted.

Vincent decided that he'd better knock her up soon, if only to
keep her out of trouble.

* * *

Sofia did a photo session for Gianni in Rome. And then, as promised,
he bought her a ticket home to America.

Two days later he phoned to inform her that the camera loved her,
and that she was to become the new Gianni Jeans spokesmodel.

Sofia kind of got off on the idea. It sure beat bumming around
Europe.

* * *

Jolie talked Nando out of the strip club business. This was after
Nando had been involved in a drug bust at the Manray, along with
Darren Simmons and Leroy Fortune Once that had taken place, it was an
easy task to put a bad vibe on the whole idea.

She was grateful that Vincent had not fallen for her charms. After
all, Nando was the man she'd married. And the truth was that Nando
was the man she loved.

* * *

Madison suffered a mild concussion, many cuts and bruises, and a
broken wrist. How surprised she was, when the fire rescue team hauled
her up from the bottom of the hill, to find Michael there.

"Daddy!" she'd gasped. "I knew you'd come riding up on your white
horse."

"It was a black limo actually," he'd said, grinning. "And how come
you're calling me Daddy?"

" 'Cause I kind of like it Do you mind?"

"No, sweetheart, I don't mind at all."

"How did you know where I was?"

"It's a long story."

A muscle-bound paramedic helped her into the ambulance. "Not
another
long story?" she groaned. "I don't know how much more I
can take."

"Well," he'd said, grinning again, "I
do
have a couple more
surprises ..."

* * *

Michael flew back to Vegas immediately after the shootings. To Dean's
chagrin, he was just in time to stop Dani from marrying him.

* * *

And so Dani and Michael had a June wedding at their son's hotel.

Dani, exquisite in a pale cream Valentino wedding gown, gazed at
her husband-to-be. Michael was more good-looking than ever in an
Armani tuxedo. Tall, dark, and handsome. He never changed.

Everyone they loved was present at the wedding, including old
friends like Tina and Max with their kids. And Charlie with his wife.
And of course, Warner and Karl.

Sofia sat next to her brother, Vincent, while Madison was
surrounded by her best friends, Natalie, Jamie, and Cole.

She watched as her father married the beautiful blond woman. They
weren't exactly a family yet. But one day they would be.

Michael and Dani couldn't wait.