Deadly Embrace (11 page)

The two of them lived like brother and sister, with only Enwly in
common. They talked about her often, both determined they would never
forget her.

But Emily was
all
they had in common, and Dani knew that
soon she would have to think about moving on.

The heat in the restaurant was becoming intense. Madison could
feel trickles of sweat making their way down her back. She was
concerned for the man who'd been shot. As far as she could see he
wasn't moving, merely lying across the restaurant in a pool of his
own blood.

What if he was dead? She shuddered at the thought.

Hunched on the floor, her arm firmly around Natalie's shoulder,
she glanced at Cole, who was over by the kitchen with the other men.
The thug with the Uzi had separated them—men on one side, women
on the other.

Although there were three bandits altogether, Madison kept her eye
on the ringleader—
he
was the one to watch,
he
was
the one who made all the decisions and told everyone to shut up,
including his two cohorts.

The negotiator's voice on the loudspeaker had made a couple of
more requests for them to come out quietly.

Yeah, as if they would.

Finally, the phone rang. She sighed with relief, because
hopefully, proper negotiations would now start and soon they'd all be
free.

Bandit number one—as she'd christened him in her
mind—walked over to the ringing phone and snatched it up.
"Nobody's comin' out," he yelled into the receiver, the Uzi swinging
from one hand. "Nobody. An' we got plenty hostages here. So get your
fuckin' shit tight, an' start listenin'."

She couldn't hear the negotiator's reply, but it obviously didn't
please bandit number one, who slammed the phone down, screaming,
"Fuck you!" He whirled around and faced the female hostages, glaring
at them, his eyes narrow slits through his ski mask.

"Screaming won't do you any good," Madison said, speaking up and
surprising herself.

"What did ya say?" he shouted, eyeballing her.

"I said screaming isn't going to do any good," she repeated,
keeping her tone low and even, as if talking to a recalcitrant child.
"If you want action, then you must negotiate properly, tell them
exactly what your requests are."

"Lady," he said harshly, "you sure got a lotta balls."

"Why?" she said boldly. "Because I'm trying to tell you the best
way to get out of this mess?"

"What're you," he spat in disgust, "a lawyer or some-thin'?"

"No," she answered calmly, "I'm a journalist. And ... if you'd
like, I could write your story. I'm certain you've got an excellent
reason for doing this."

"Shut the fuck up along with the rest of 'em," he said, continuing
to glare at her.

"You're the man with the gun," she said, "which puts
you
in
charge. I suggest that when they call again, you tell them what you
want, and that you'll release the hostages when you get it."

He didn't say anything. Instead he summoned his two accomplices
and huddled in a corner, conferring with them.

Three dumb boys
, Madison thought.
Three dumb boys who've
screwed up a robbery and don't know what to do next
.

Across the room, Cole shook his head at her as if to say,
What
the hell are you interfering for? Do as he says and keep
quiet
.

She'd had enough of being quiet, she was entitled to speak. As far
as she could remember, forging some kind of a bond with hostage
takers was the right move. What was the worst he could do? Shoot
her?

"How're you doing?" she whispered to Natalie.

"This isn't my idea of the perfect evening," Natalie replied,
desperately trying to pull herself together. "I'm scared, Maddy. I'd
like to wake up and discover this was all a bad dream."

"At least you're talking now."

"That's 'cause of you," Natalie said, attempting a weak smile.
"He's right—girl, you got more balls than any of 'em."

"My father told me that once," Madison said, laughing wryly. "I
think he was hinting I took after him."

"You probably do. Anyway, you make
me
feel safe."

"That's the main thing," Madison said, sounding braver than she
felt as she checked out the other female hostages clustered together
on the floor, most of them shell-shocked like Natalie.

"Stay cool, everyone," she warned in a low voice. "If nobody makes
any rash moves, we'll get out of this alive."

"Who elected
you
president?" snapped a short redhead in a
tight blue dress. "That lowlife took my seventy-five-thousand-dollar
Harry Winston engagement ring, and I want it back."

"What's more important—your life, or a stupid piece of
jewelry?" Madison asked sharply.

"Jump off your white horse and get real," the redhead said in a
strident voice. "The cops'll bust these guys, so you should stay out
of it."

"I should, huh?" Madison said, temper rising.

"Yeah," the girl said. "Sorry to be the one to tell you, but this
isn't a story opportunity."

Before Madison could reply, the phone rang again. The gunman
zigzagged over and snatched it up. "You wanna talk," he said loudly,
"then listen good. Get me a black van with a full tank. Park it in
the alley with no cops around— no fuckin' sharpshooters. We'll
be gettin' in the van with hostages. When I'm sure there's no one
followin', an' no helicopters trackin' us, we'll release 'em. You
don't—an' I'll be wastin' one hostage every fifteen minutes.
I'm givin' you twenty minutes, then I start shootin'."

"Twenty minutes doesn't give them enough time," Madison said, her
throat dry. "You've got to make it an hour."

Christ! Was
she
now in cahoots with the gunman? This was
insane.

"Fuck you!" he said, and walked away.

The truth was that his words chilled her. He'd probably already
killed once. What difference did it make if he shot them all?

* * *

By the time Nando turned up, the atmosphere at the table was
strained. Jenna was sulking. Vincent was pissed. And Jolie wanted to
know exactly where he'd been.

"Hey," Nando said, waving his arms expansively in the air as he
faced up to his wife. "You know I don't like bein' questioned. I told
you I had a business meeting and that's what it was, strictly
business."

Nando was a wiry-looking man a few months younger than Vincent.
Not conventionally handsome, he had his own particular style that
appealed to both men and women. Ballsy and full of testosterone, he
was Vincent's partner and best friend. They'd grown up together and
had much in common. Women loved Nando, a fact that was not lost on
his beautiful wife.

Jolie narrowed her amber eyes. She didn't trust her husband. On
the other hand, whatever
he
did, she could do too. And she was
quite prepared to do it with Vincent, if only he was ready to
play.

Which he wasn't.

Too bad.

"How's my favorite beauty?" Nando asked, swooping down to kiss
Jenna.

"About time you showed up," Vincent said, wondering—like
Jolie—if Nando was playing on the side.

"Where's Andy?" Nando asked, checking out the table.

"He had to go."

"Vincent frightened him off," Jolie said.

"Shit!" Nando said, sliding into the booth beside her. "I got
people wanna invest in a movie for him."

"I'm sure he
really
needs your investors," Jolie murmured
dryly.

"Do me a favor," Vincent said, frowning. "Don't invite your
assholes to dinner, then do a no-show. The prick was all over Jenna.
He's lucky he
walked
out of here."

"Jesus, Vin," Nando said, clicking his fingers for the waiter and
ordering another bottle of champagne. "You think everyone's got the
hots for your wife. She's hot, but trust me—Andy Dale has women
fallin' over themselves to get near him, he doesn't need to hit on
Jenna."

"Keep him away from me
and
Jenna," Vincent warned.

"Yeah, yeah," Nando said, taking no notice.

"Nobody needs to keep anyone away from me," Jenna said, speaking
up, her voice a girlish squeak. "Andy wasn't doing
anything
.
I'm, like,
so
humiliated that Vincent imagined he was."

"Hey," Nando said, with a rakish grin. "Marry an irresistible
woman an' you're gonna have guys hittin' on her. It comes with the
territory. I should know," he added, placing his arm around Jolie's
smooth bare shoulders. "Look at the beauty I got."

A
guilt hug
, Jolie thought.
He's screwing someone else,
the bastard
.

"So," Nando continued, "we all gonna sit here with long faces, or
we gonna have ourselves a good time?"

"A good time, please," Jenna said, cheering up. She liked Nando;
he always put a smile on her face.

"That's my girl," Nando said, winking at her. "Now why don't you
an' Jolie go powder your noses or whatever you girls do when you
spend three hours in the head? Vin and I got somethin' to
discuss."

"What would
that
be?" Jolie asked. Nando silenced her with
a look. "Okay, okay, we're going," she said, hastily getting up.
"C'mon, Jenna."

"I just went," Jenna complained.

"
C'mon
," Jolie repeated. "The guys need private time. Maybe
we'll hit a few slot machines instead of the ladies' room. Got any
change?"

"You know I don't like you to play," Nando said, the smile
slipping from his face.

"Big deal!" Jolie said. "Slot machines. I can
really
break
the bank, can't I?"

Nando threw her another look.

Jenna got up from the table. "I hope you're planning to apologize
to Andy Dale," she said stiffly, directing her words to her husband.
"I have no idea what you said to him, Jjut whatever it was, he didn't
look happy when he came back. You embarrassed me."

"
I
embarrassed
you
?" Vincent said incredulously.

"Yes," Jenna said, slightly unsure of herself.

"Baby," Vincent said, shaking his head, "if you think
that
was an embarrassment, you ain't seen nothin' yet."

"I don't like it when you speak to me like that," she
complained.

"You'd better go, before I say something I might regret," Vincent
said, waving her away with a dismissive gesture.

Jenna's blue eyes filled with tears. Sometimes she didn't
understand her husband one little bit. He wasn't her boss, and it was
about time he stopped treating her like an employee.

The two women left.

"What's on your mind?" Vincent asked, turning to his partner.

Nando picked up his champagne glass and took a long swig. "Got a
proposition."

"Yeah?"

"We've always been partners an' shit," Nando continued, "so I
didn't wanna do something without givin' you a chance to get in on
the action."

"What action?"

"I got a couple of acquaintances who own the Manray strip joint.
You know the place I mean?"

"Yes, it's a real sleazy dive."

"Sure it is," Nando agreed. "Half the girls are hookin' on the
side, an' the rest are busy doin' drugs. Only,
we
got an
opportunity to buy it—make it a classy operation. YTcnow, put
in a hot restaurant, topof-the-line girls. Vegas is changing, Vin.
For the last ten years it's been all about family. Now, fuck
family—it's back to the basics. Girls an' gamblin'. Whaddaya
think?"

"Who owns the place?"

"Leroy Fortuno and Darren Simmons."

"Jesus, Nando," Vincent said in disgust. "Those guys are bad news.
We run a clean operation. Why ruin our reputation?"

"I'm talkin' plenty cash," Nando said persuasively. "The Manray
could be a moneymaking machine."

"Hookers and drugs," Vincent said, shaking his head. "Not my
scene."

"Like we don't have hookers workin' the hotel an' casino now?"
Nando questioned.

"Every place does. The difference is they're on their
own—we're not taking a cut."

"Hey, Vin," Nando said restlessly. "I'm not plannin' on blowin'
this deal. You don't wanna come in, I'll partner with them."

"Does Jolie know about it?"

"You think I tell my
wife
about business? I'm not
completely
loco." He laughed his crazy laugh. "Women got a
purpose in life—an' it sure as hell ain't business."

As Jolie and Jenna headed for the ladies' room, they had to pass
through the casino.

Jolie nudged Jenna. "Look who's over there," she said, purposely
causing trouble.

"Who?"

"Your boyfriend, Andy Dale."

"Don't
say
that!" Jenna said, blushing. "He's
not
my
boyfriend."

"Just effing with you," Jolie answered with a secretive smile.

"Anyway," Jenna asked, trying to sound casual, "where is he?"

"At one of the blackjack tables."

"Oh goodness!" Jenna exclaimed excitedly, unable to help nerself.
"Perhaps I
should
go over and apologize."

"For
what
?" Jolie asked, amazed at Jenna's level of
complete naivete.

"For whatever my husband said to frighten him off."

"You
were
flirting," Jolie pointed out.

"I was not," Jenna objected.

"Looked like it to me."

"I think I will go over," Jenna decided. "I should tell him that
Vincent didn't mean it."

"Whatever," Jolie said casually. "Only remember—if Vincent
finds out,
you
will be in deep trouble."

"You wouldn't tell him, would you?"

"Why would I?"

"Because you two are old friends," Jenna said quickly. "You knew
him before I did."

"I won't tell him, okay?" Jolie said impatiently. "Go over there
if you must, only try not to make a fool of yourself."

"Where will you be?"

"In the ladies' room, having a smoke," Jolie replied. "And don't
keep me waiting too long. It wouldn't be wise for me to go back to
the table without you."