didn't get away with it was because your wife came home. Your wife
-remember her? She used to be my best friend-now she no longer talks
to me, thanks to you. You're an asshole, you know that?" She slammed
the phone down.
It rang again immediately.
She took the receiver off the hook and buried it under her pillow.
The next day three dozen red roses arrived at the apartment with a
note. The note read, Sorry! E. She dropped the flowers off at a
nearby hospital.
A few days later while lunching with Samm she casually inquired about
Nature.
"Did you two fall out?" Samm asked, raising an elegant eyebrow as she
picked at her tomato and lettuce salad.
"You know what Nature's like better than anyone," she replied cagily,
sipping a glass of water.
"That's true," Samm replied with a weary sigh. "The girl can be
absolutely impossible. I don't know what she sees in that mangy rock
star, he looks like he's in desperate need of a shower-several in
fact.
Those leather pants stick to his body like tacky tape-and I do mean
tacky."
"So they're still very much together?"
"About as close as two enormous egos can be," Samm said dryly.
"You do know she's been bad-mouthing you all over town?"
Lauren sighed-this was all she needed to hear. "She has?"
"I wouldn't worry-nobody takes her seriously."
Emerson called again the following week. "Changed your mind?" he
asked casually, like they chatted every day.
"About what?"
"Gettin' together."
The man was in ego overdrive. "I have a news flash," she replied
sharply. "You've finally met the one person who doesn't want to go out
with you.
He was not to be put off. "If you're worried about Nature, she's in
L.A."
"I thought she came with you on every trip to hold your hand."
"Nah, can't ave her trailin' me, can I? S'not good for the image.
Come on, we'll hit a few clubs, ave us a time."
"You know what, Emerson?"
"What, babe?"
"Stop calling me."
It seemed inconceivable that Emerson Burn had decided to pursue her.
Did he honestly think that a near rape was prelude to a romantic
relationship?
Three months after getting married Pia announced she was pregnant.
"Howard and I talked it over, and we want you to be godmother."
"I'd be honored," Lauren replied, thinking how lucky Pia was to be
married to the man she loved and pregnant.
Help Unlimited was doing so well that they'd finally rented proper
office space. Pia decided to keep working until a month before the
baby was due. "I'm not the sitting-at-home type," she explained. They
now employed six people, which gave Lauren the luxury of choosing the
jobs she wished to do. Since she'd taken the cooking course, small
dinner parties were her forte. She enjoyed organizing incredible
meals, and it also kept her busy most nights-which suited her fine.
Sometimes, late at night, when she was lying in bed, a wave of
unbearable loneliness swept over her. But she'd decided it was better
to be lonely than to suffer another broken heart.
Now that Pia had moved out of the apartment they'd shared, she decided
to redecorate. It wasn't the most luxurious place in the world, but it
was comfortable and cozy and she was happy there. Weekends she liked
nothing better than strolling along Eighth Avenue exploring the
antiques shops and picking out special things.
One Saturday afternoon she was walking across from Park to Madison
Avenue, when she noticed a long white limousine crawling along the curb
behind her.
She quickened her step, but the limousine kept pace, and when she
stopped at a street corner the door of the car was flung open and
Emerson Burn leaped out. He grabbed her arm and spun her around to
face him. "You been avoiding me," he said accusingly.
Was he so dumb he really thought she was ever going to talk to him
again?
"What now?" she said, attempting to shake his arm off.
His grip tightened. "Get in the car an' I'll tell you.
"Forget it."
"I ain't forgettin' it, darling'," he said loudly. "That's the
friggin' noint" Two girls spotted him and froze as if they'd just seen
Jesus.
Emerson's bodyguard jumped out of the car. "Time ta split, Em," he
said, watchful eyes raking the street.
Emerson ignored him.
The girls clutched each other, bracing themselves for the rush.
"You ain't bein' fair time," Emerson complained, holding tight. "I
wanna explain. I was drunk. I had a problem."
"Now look-" she began.
The girls sprang into action-sprinting toward him with purposeful looks
in their eyes. The bodyguard saw them coming. So did Emerson. "Oh,
shit!" he exclaimed. "Here comes trouble."
Lauren felt a thump in the small of her back and was rudely shoved
aside as one of the girls moved in on him.
"I'm insane about everyffling you do!" the girl yelled hysterically,
pulling at his jacket. "I love you! I really really love you!"
Before Lauren could think about what to do the bodyguard bundled
Emerson into the limo-somehow pushing her in behind him.
The car immediately took ofœ "Well," Emerson said, "that settles it.
You're trapped, darling', an' there ain't nothin' you can do about it."
ve never done anything like this before," Annie said, throwing Nick a
sideways glance.
He laughed. "Anybody would think we were planning on robbing a
freakin' bank!"
"You know what I mean. Taking off like this, it's . . ." She looked
at him questioningly. "I guess it's fun."
"Now you're beginning to learn."
They'd been driving for several hours. The freeway ride was long and
boring, but the thought of seeing Las Vegas for the first time excited
both of them. "Hey, how much money you got on you?" he asked,
realizing he hadn't come prepared.
"About fifty dollars. Why?"
Cause we're gonna blow it, that's why."
"Oh, no, not with my money," she said indignantly.
Grinning, he steered the old Chevrolet onto an off ramp. "C'mon,
Annie, you gotta take some chances in life."
"It's my rent money," she objected.
"So we'll double it. How's that?"
She glanced over at him. "You know, Nick, you're really strange."
"Oh, so now I'm strange. What's this leading up to?"
"Can I be honest with you?" she asked earnestly.
"You can be whatever you like," he replied, pulling into a Chevron
station.
"It's just that sometimes it seems you're coming on to me, and then
other times you act as if you're my brother."
Oh, shit-the last thing he needed was Annie developing a crush on
him.
But then again, why not? DeVille was long gone and he was bored with
the endless stream of one-night stands he could have any time he
wanted.
"Are you interested in me or not?" she asked, putting it firmly on the
line.
He stalled for time. "Is this a propos
ition?" he said lightly,
winding down his window.
"I. . . I need to know."
"Hey, I'm here with you, we're driving to Vegas."
"Is that your idea of a commitment?"
Commitment! The very word gave him nightmares. What was it with women
and commitments? Why couldn't they take it day by day?
The gas station attendant leaned into his window-saving him a reply.
"What'll it be?" the old man asked, scratching his grizzled beard.
"Fill her up," Nick said. "An' check the oil an' water while you're at
it."
"Well?" Annie demanded, not letting him off the hook.
He took his time before replying. "We're going' on a trip," he said
carefully. "Whyn't we take it nice an' easy and maybe we'll find
out."
Reece Webster sat back in the smoky atmosphere of the small casino bar
and watched Cyndra sing. She was good. She was really good. So how
come she wasn't getting anywhere? The record labels hadn't liked the
deal he'd proposed, and the bigger hotels had said she needed
experience. Experience, goddamn it! He was giving her experience, and
what kind of thanks was he getting? Exactly nothing. Cyndra had no
appreciation of the things he did for her.
Well, what did he expect? Women were all takers and Cyndra was no
exception.
He hoped he hadn't wasted his time marrying her. He'd been so sure she
was going to be his ride to the big time-now all he did was pay the
bills. The money she made at the casino didn't even cover his
expenses. Some dud investment. He'd put two years into singing
lessons and grooming and it simply wasn't paying off.
His narrow eyes raked the room. Several men were watching Cyndra with
that look on their faces. Reece knew the look well. It was the I
wanna fuck your brains out look.
He studied her dress. Not sexy enough. She needed more cleavage and
maybe a deep slit in the skirt. She had great tits and long legs.
He'd have to deal with that. He'd have to pay for it too.
Cyndra was beginning to remind him of his first wife. That bitch had
dragged him down like a lead weight, all she'd been capable of was
grabbing everything he had. Now Cyndra was falling into the same
category, and it was about time he did something about collecting on
his investment.
The other night he'd overheard a couple of guys talking while Cyndra
was on stage. "I wouldn't mind a piece of that," one of them had
said.
"Yeah, with gravy all over it!" the other one replied.
Reece had sidled over. "Wanna meet the little lady?" he'd offered.
Cause if you d0, I'm the man can arrange it."
Both men had nodded eagerly, so Reece had negotiated a deal. The
problem was he'd forgotten to tell Cyndra, and when he'd sat her down
with the two guys and they came on to her she insulted them both. The
men were real riled uand who could blame them?
Much to his chagrin he'd had to return their money.
So what the hell was wrong with a little light hooking on the side?
Convincing Cyndra was a bitch. Except that today he'd asserted
himself-put the fear of God into her. That's what women expected-a
little fear in their lives. They had to know who the boss was.
Sipping his malt whiskey he scoped out likely prospects, focusing on a
stocky man sitting alone at a corner table watching Cyndra like he'd
just discovered candy for the first time. The man was middleaged with
a florid complexion. A brightly colored Hawaiian shirt and open
sandals on his feet announced tourist.
Casually Reece wandered over. "Howdy," he said, tipping his cownv }it
The man looked up. "Do I know you?"
"No," Reece said, "but I got a strong suspicion you'd like to."
"Get your homo ass away from me," the man said, his florid face
reddening even more.
"You got it wrong," Reece replied, scowling. "I ain't that way. I
came over here t'do you a favor."
"What favor?" the man asked suspiciously.
Reece gestured toward Cyndra. "Y'see that little lady standing up
there? She's what I got in mind for you, but if insults is what I
getthen we got no more conversation." He turned to go.
"Wait a minute," the man said.
Reece stopped. "You interested or not?"
The man glanced around furtively. "I'm interested," he said, lowering
"Did you win or did you lose? Cause if you lost you can't afford this
baby."
"I won at craps."
"Then you're a lucky son of a gun, cause she's gonna cost you two
hundred and fifty."
The man licked his lips and thought quickly. His flabby wife was
upstairs sleeping off the effects of winning at the slots. His snotty
teenage son was out chasing girls. This was the opportunity of a
lifetime and he didn't want to blow it. But two hundred and fifty
bucks was an awful lot of money, he could buy a second television for
that much money. "I . . . I don't know," he said hesitantly.
"You don't know," Reece repeated, as if he couldn't believe what he was
heaiing. "You got a chance for a piece o' that and you don't know?"
Sweat beaded the man's thick neck. "Is she good?" he asked
hoarsely.
"Is she worth it?"
Reece tilted his cowboy hat even further back on his head. "Are you
shittin' me? Does Kentucky give fried chicken? Does Cadillac give the
smoothest ride going'? Man, this little lady is the best you ever
had."
They came upon Las Vegas like a shimmering jewel sitting in the middle
of the desert. It was dark and they'd been driving for hours without
any light at all. Now in the distance they saw the city spread out
before them and it was a startling sight.
"It's incredible!" Annie gasped.
Nick grinned. "I told you-you gotta get out an' do things. No good
sittin' on your ass all day expecting. . . I dunno-" He looked at her
quizzically. "What do you expect, Annie?"
She shrugged. "I work hard, go to class . . one of these days I'll
get a break."
"Yeah, I guess that's what we all think." He pulled the car over to
the side of the road, sliding his arm around her shoulders. "I'm glad
you came.
"So am I."
They were silent for a while, staring at the mirage ahead-at least
that's what it looked like in the middle of the barren desert. Finally
he broke the silence. "I never asked you before-where's your
family?"
"They're in Florida, where I grew up. I left three years ago and took
the bus out to L.A." She snuggled closer. "What about you? Cyndra's
never talked about your family. Where are your parents? Do you have
any other brothers or sisters?"
He drew away from her on the pretext of reaching for a cigarette.
"No sad stories," he said, shaking loose a Camel. "Cyndra and mewe got
a father in common, a real charmer. Neither of us has seen him in
years.
"You don't speak to him?"
"Nope."
"That's a shame. Family is all we really have."
"Yeah, well, you ain't met mine," he said flippantly.
"What about your mother?"
He struck a match and lit up. "She died when I was sixteen. Left
me.
"She didn't leave you, Nick," Annie said softly. "Dying is not exactly
making a" He didn't need to dredge up any more memories, it was painful
enough without having to talk about it.
"Hey, can we quit this conversation? Let's appreciate what we got in
front of us. Take a look at that view!"
"It's beautiful," she murmured.
"Yph "lip icI taftin the car. "Let's o et us a Diece of it."
"This is my friend," Reece said.
Cyndra nodded, not looking anywhere near the man in the Hawaiian
shirt.
"My good friend," Reece added, in case she hadn't quite gotten the