Free Deadly Embrace by Jackie Collins Page B

to
avert his eyes from her generous bosom.
    "Does he know you've been doing things for my husband?"
    "No," Michael said quickly. "An' I'd sooner you didn't tell
him."
    "Yeah, yeah," she agreed, sucking on her lower lip. "Knowing
Vinny, he wouldn't approve."
    Just how well did she know Vinny? Whenever he pushed for
details, she changed the subject, and every time he asked Vinny, all
he got was a blank stare.
    Now that Grandmother Lani had passed on, Michael started wondering
who she'd left the shop and the house to—him, or Vinny? It
didn't make any difference—they'd be his eventually. He'd been
running the shop by himself for the last year. Vinny rarely bothered
coming in, and even if he did, he didn't know shit about
anything.
    Lately Michael had found that women were tripping over themselves
to get near him, which was okay because Polly was long gone. She'd
married Cyril and moved out to the boondocks. No big loss. Even
Marnie Giovanni occasionally threw out a hint that she might be
interested—not that he'd ever think of going anywhere near her.
First of all she was twenty years older than he was, and second, she
was married to a man he wouldn't dare cross.
    Still... he'd noticed that flirting put him in good stead with
women. They got off on being told how pretty they looked or how nice
they smelled. He wasn't stupid; he realized that his exceptional good
looks gave him plenty of advantages.
    He'd made a one-night-a-week deal with the local motel, and every
Friday he took a different female there. Sex was his way of relaxing,
getting his rocks off, which put him in a good mood for the rest of
the week. None of his dates meant anything to him—they were all
interchangeable. Women were easy, and in a way that took away the
thrill.
    The Giovannis treated him like family, inviting him over to their
house on holidays and special occasions. He was closer to Vito than
he was to his own dad.
    He'd found out from one of Vito's henchmen that Marnie couldn't
have children. She'd given birth once, and the baby—a
boy—was stillborn. After that it was a no-go situation. In his
mind he began imagining that he was the son they'd never had.
    On the day of the funeral, Vinny was in a worse mood than usual.
He wheeled himself into the kitchen, scowling with anger. "Do I gotta
go?" he demanded, glaring at his son.
    "It's your mom," Michael pointed out, feeling as if he were
the adult in the relationship. "You havta show respect, Dad. It's
only right."
    He didn't mention that Marnie Giovanni would be there. Truth was,
he was interested in seeing how Vinny would react when he saw
her.
    "Shit!" Vinny muttered, slamming his coffee mug onto the
table.
    The neighborhood turned out for the funeral. Grandma Lani had been
quite a force in her day; everyone liked her.
    The simple ceremony took place in the local church. Afterward, a
small procession of people trooped out to the burial ground to
witness the coffin being lowered into the ground.
    Pushing his dad's wheelchair, Michael glanced around hoping to
spot Mamie, who so far had not put in an appearance.
    He couldn't see her, so he decided she probably hadn't meant it
when she'd said she'd be there. Why would she want to come to his
grandma's funeral anyway?
    As the priest chanted a prayer over Lani's coffin, Michael stared
straight ahead, thinking that things would be different now. He'd be
in total control, with nobody to answer to.
    His friend Max suddenly nudged him. "Take a look at that ,"
Max muttered.
    He took a look.
    Marnie Giovanni was tottering across the grass, clad in a
skintight red suit cinched in at the waist, a revealing black blouse,
and four-inch hooker heels. Her dyed blond hair was teased high on
her head, and she was heavily made up. Her cousin Roy was with her.
She hovered at the edge of the crowd, standing out like a beacon in a
sea of somber black.
    Max stifled a laugh.
    "Shut the fuck up," Michael whispered, sneaking a quick glance at
his dad, who didn't appear to