Dangerous Kiss (28 page)

He searched around for Venus. They'd been friends for a while, ever since they'd gotten together at a couple of charity events. He'd taken Teddy to her last concert at the Hollywood Bowl, and Teddy had loved it, even though the only music he claimed to be into was gangsta rap.

'Price,' Venus said, sneaking up behind him, 'don't tell me you're responsible for bringing the tart in the orange dress?'

'Shh, girl,' he said, holding a finger to his lips, 'she's a mistake.'

'I was under the impression you had better taste,' Venus said tartly.

'I do,' he said.

'We'll have to find someone to palm her off on.'

'Like who?'

'There's a bunch of Cooper's old producer friends here,' Venus said. 'I'm sure one of them would be thrilled to get a quick grope in the back of a limo.'

'Arrange it,' Price begged. 'I need help.'

'You certainly do,' Venus said, pursing her luscious lips, looking every inch the superstar.

'Oh, yeah,' Price added. 'On the way in I got an eyeful of that model, Lina. She's unfuckin' believable! You gonna set me up?'

'Any time, baby. You're a star, it's arrangeable.'

'I love it when you talk up to me!'

'How's about down and dirty?' she said, mildly coming on to him.

'Don't even go there.'

'If you insist. Now, how's that cute little son of yours?'

'Kid's doin' okay,' Price said.

'I bet half your girlfriends are younger than him,' Venus said, grabbing a glass of champagne from an attentive waiter. 'Anyway, no need to sweat it - the two of you look like brothers.'

'Will you stop, woman?' he said, loving every compliment that came his way.

'Let's go find that little model babe,' she said, linking her arm through his. 'I haven't met her myself yet. Gotta hunch she's here with Max Steele.' A sly laugh.

'Rumour has it that Max hangs out at airports picking off the girls as they leave the plane!'

Price winked. 'Sounds like my kinda guy!'

Venus and Cooper's five-year-old daughter, Chyna, was holding court at her own table. She was precocious, but in a likeable way. She wanted to act, just like Mommy and Daddy, and had already appeared in one of Cooper's movies.

'Daddy, Daddy, I gotta go to the bathroom,' Carioca announced, pulling on her father's sleeve.

Steven, who was busy wishing he wasn't there, was only too happy to take her.

He felt completely out of place and couldn't wait to go home.

'I'm coming back,' Carioca informed Chyna.

'Hurry!' Chyna said, bouncing up and down in her seat. 'Gonna have big huge cake!'

Steven led his daughter through the crowded room. He hardly knew any of the guests, which didn't bother him at all because he wasn't interested in the movie crowd. Carioca clung to his hand, a mirror image of her mother.

'Daddy,' she said, her pretty little face twisted into a serious expression.

'Yes, baby-girl?' he asked, sad because she would never see her mother again, and that wasn't right.

'I'm glad you came to Palm Springs. It was so so fun! This is fun. And, Daddy, I am not a baby.'

'Okay, big girl.'

'Daddy, now that Mommy's not here, can we do stuff together?'

'Of course we can, honey,' he said, squeezing her hand.

'I like staying at Lucky's, but being with you is best.'

'That's nice to know, Carrie,' he said, using his mother's name as her nickname,

'and I promise you, we'll spend a lot more time together.'

When they reached the guest bathroom it was occupied. Carioca waited outside, hopping from one foot to the other. 'Daddy, Daddy, I gotta, go now!' she squealed.

'Okay, honey,' he answered, tapping on the bathroom door. 'Can you hurry it up?' he called out. 'I've got a desperate child out here.'

A few seconds later the door was flung open, and there stood a vision in a shocking pink dress. 'Sorry,' Lina said, staring directly at him. 'Was I in there too long?'

'Uh, no, that's okay,' he said, somewhat taken aback by the woman's exotic beauty. 'My little girl here was getting out of control.'

'Daddy!' Carioca scolded. 'I wasn't desperate. I just gotta go!'

'That's what I meant, honeybun.'

'It's all yours, cutie,' Lina said, patting Carioca on the shoulder. 'In you go.'

Carioca raced into the bathroom, pushing the door shut behind her. Lina turned to Steven with a dazzling smile. He was the best-looking man she'd seen in a long while - giving new meaning to the phrase 'Black is beautiful'.

'Your little girl's adorable. What's 'er name?'

'Carioca.'

'Now that's what I call a name,' she said, staring at this incredibly handsome man, wondering if he was an actor. Then it suddenly occurred to her who he was. 'Hey, wait a minute,' she exclaimed. 'You must be Steven.'

'Do I know you?' he asked politely.

'I'm Lina.'

He frowned, embarrassed because it seemed she expected him to know who she was and he didn't. 'Lina?' he questioned.

'Don't you recognize me?' she said, almost teasingly.

'Should I?' he asked tentatively.

'I'm Brigette's friend,' she said, as if that would explain everything. 'Y' know, Lucky's goddaughter, Brigette Stanislopoulos? God, that's a mouthful, wonder

'ow she struggled through childhood with a name like that.'

'Of course…' Steven said. 'Brigette's a model in New York. What do you do?'

Lina started to laugh. 'You honestly don't recognize me, do you?'

'I'm really bad at recognizing people. Are you an actress? My wife was an actress.'

'I was ever so sorry to 'ear about your wife,' Lina said, suddenly serious. 'Brigette told me 'ow beautiful the funeral was.'

'Thank you.'

'Your wife was lovely,' Lina continued, talking too fast, but quite mesmerized by this delicious-looking man. 'I used to watch 'er on TV. It's difficult to find words, but I'm really, really sorry for you. Um… I mean, y' know, for your loss.'

'I appreciate it,' he said.

'That's okay.'

'So, where is Brigette tonight?'

'In London with Lucky,' Lina said, imagining this green-eyed man without his clothes.

'She can't be,' he said. 'Lucky's here with me.'

'You mean she's back?'

'She hasn't been anywhere.'

'Hmm… Brigette must've been telling little white lies. Maybe she got herself a fellow and didn't want me to know.'

'Are you two close?'

'Best mates. We live in the same building in New York. By the way, for your information we're both models.'

'Interesting.'

'You're a lawyer, right?'

'Guilty.'

'I'd love to meet Lucky. Will you introduce me?'

'When I can find her. Who are you here with?'

'My agent. It's strictly business. Actually,' she said, leaning towards him, 'can you keep a secret?'

'Lawyers are good at keeping secrets.'

'I flew out to LA to see Charlie Dollar. Now I'm gonna be in his new movie. My agent said I mustn't tell anyone.'

'Your secret's safe with me,' he said, intrigued by this exotic creature with the oddball accent. 'Then you are an actress?'

'Model slash actress.'

'An English model slash actress, right?'

' 'Ow did you guess?'

'Beats me,' he said, smiling.

She giggled. 'Gotta take some speech lessons if I'm gonna be a movie star.'

'I think you sound charming.'

'Thanks.'

'I lived in London for a couple of years,' Steven said.

'Really? Whereabouts?'

'Hampstead.'

'Very posh.'

Carioca emerged from the bathroom. 'Come along, Daddy,' she said impatiently, tugging on his sleeve. 'We gotta go now.'

'Okay, sweetie.'

'See you later,' Lina said, giving him a lingering look.

'It was nice meeting you,' Steven said.

'You too. Brigette 'as talked about you a lot.' A pause. 'Although she forgot to tell me 'ow handsome you are.'

'No need to flatter me,' he said, half smiling.

'I know that,' she said, uncharacteristically shy.

'Daddy, come on.' Carioca said crossly, pulling his arm.

'Uh, if I find Lucky I'll let her know you want to meet her,' he said.

Lina dazzled him with a smile. 'Thanks.'

'Are we having fun?' Lucky said, finally locating Lennie, who was sitting at the kiddies' table next to Maria.

'The kids are having a great time,' he said. 'We've had balloons, a magician, watched a clown show. What've you been doing?'

'Circulating. Missing you.'

He pulled her close. 'Come here, wife.'

'Yes, husband.'

'Can we go home soon?'

'I can't desert Venus so early.'

'Then would you mind if I took Maria home and sent the limo back for you?'

'Well…'

'Please, babe, I'm not feeling social yet. I just want to be… you know, at home.'

'If that's what you want,' she said, sighing, 'but I have to stay.'

'Understood.'

'Okay, but when you go, do not say goodbye. There's nothing worse than guests saying goodbye too early. Slip out quietly, and I'll be home as soon as I can.'

'You're the best.'

'No, Lennie,' she said, mock-serious. 'I am not making you another sandwich.'

'It wasn't a sandwich I had in mind.'

'Later, you sex-crazed homebody!'

'Love you, babe.'

'You, too.'

'Sure you'll be all right without me?'

'Somehow I think I'll manage.'

And she kissed Maria, hugged her husband and slipped back into the heart of the party.

Chapter Forty-eight

And so the nightmare continued. Once more Brigette regained consciousness, and this time she found herself in a strange bed in a dark, unfamiliar room. The drapes were pulled tightly over the windows, and when she got unsteadily out of bed and tried the door, she discovered it was locked.

It came to her in a horrible flash - Carlo had kidnapped her.

She felt as if she were caught in the middle of some insane TV soap opera. This kind of thing didn't happen in real life, it simply didn't.

I will not panic, she told herself. I will stay calm and talk myself out of this mess.

But there was no one to talk to. Carlo was not around.

She got up and went to the window, pulling back the drapes. The window overlooked an alley and was probably ten or eleven storeys up, too dangerous to attempt an escape.

'Damn!' she muttered. Now her jaw hurt, too, where he'd hit her. Gingerly she opened and closed her mouth, finding that, fortunately, nothing seemed to be broken.

She returned to the door and tried it again. Still locked. She rattled the handle and yelled his name.

Nobody came.

After a while she went back to the bed and lay down. There was no point in using up all her energy. She felt like crying, but she didn't. She'd shed too many tears in the past to keep on repeating the same old pattern.

Instead she began chanting a mantra in her head.

You will be strong.

You will survive.

You will be strong.

You will survive.

And eventually she drifted off into a fitful sleep.

She awoke a few hours later to an even worse nightmare. Standing over her were Carlo and a strange man. The man was in his thirties, tall and gangly, with tufts of hair growing out of his ears, and long, greasy sideburns. He was dressed in brown pants and a stained sweatshirt. A small gold ring protruded from one of his nostrils.

Carlo was holding her down, while the stranger was tightening a leather belt around her left arm, searching for a big fat vein. In his other hand he held a syringe.

The horror of what they were about to do struck her too late. As she began to scream, the man plunged the needle into her arm.

'You sure this is what the bitch wants?' she heard him say.

'Yes,' Carlo replied, 'but it doesn't matter, does it? You're getting paid. That's all that should concern you.'

And then everything started spinning, and a wave of euphoria came over her.

She lay quietly watching the shadows on the ceiling, feeling kind of peaceful and happy.

And soon she drifted off into a long drug-induced sleep.

Chapter Forty-nine

Irene had gone to bed early, and since Price was at a party, Teddy realized that he and Mila had the house to themselves.

He found her in the kitchen watching a game show on television. 'Whass up?' he said.

'Nothing,' she answered, not in the mood to hang with him. He was boring, and she had too much on her mind to bother with him.

But he was all over her and, since she couldn't risk him turning against her at this crucial stage, she let him have a quick grope or two. Then they went upstairs to his room where she unzipped his pants and took it out for some air.

He was certainly well hung - better than her current boyfriend at work: he had a long, thin Johnson that didn't get her off at all. It was a shame. Teddy had the equipment, not the brains.

She wondered if he took after his father in the goodies department. Hmm…

maybe she should give Mr W a test drive, simply to prove that she could.

In the meantime, she'd keep Teddy happy and try to work out how she was going to eliminate Lennie Golden. One hundred thousand dollars was the jackpot she'd been dreaming of all her life. One way or another it was going to be hers.

She pushed Teddy down on his bed and gave him a little mouth action. When he was satisfied, she told him she wanted to see Price's room.

'He gets mad if I go in there,' Teddy said nervously. 'My dad's got a thing about privacy.'

'Crap!' Mila said. 'Like, you can't show me?' Teddy was ready to show Mila anything she wanted. She had taken him to heaven and back, and even though she hadn't let him touch her there, he felt like a man at last. And for once he'd stopped thinking about that fateful night. Mila was right, he had to forget about it and move on.

Price's bedroom was a fantasy of deep brown leather and black lacquer furniture. Masculine and sexy, one of LA's top designers had put it together. The platform bed was positioned in front of a large-screen TV. And it was covered in a luxurious fur throw. Mila flopped on to it, grabbed the remote and clicked on the TV. 'Better not mess with anything,' Teddy warned.