Diva Las Vegas (26 page)

“Bennett said they had major cosmetics companies champing at the bit to get a hold of this cream, if it was approved. Once it was, Reynolds would fix the problem before he sold it.”

“He still thought he could fix it?” I said.

“If not, by the time the FDA realized the product was dangerous, Reynolds and Bennett would have already made millions. They would have left the country.”

“Can you arrest her without a confession?”

“We’ve got George’s ID putting her at Hef’s party and we’ve got Sessions, who saw her slit Couture’s throat in Vegas. We can charge her, no doubt about it.”

“And the men?”

“Federal raps on the whole FDA thing, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted-murder rap for Toni on the security guard.”

We sat in silence for a while, sipping our wine.

“So, it’s all over?”

“Far from over for me,” Jakes said, “but for you, yes.”

“I can’t help but feel sad for Shana. For all those women. All because of a few wrinkles? It’s so pointless.” I shook my head. “I think I’ll start a women’s movement. The more wrinkles you have—and I’ll throw cellulite in there, too—the more beautiful our society considers you!”

“Now,
that
would be dangerous. You’d put a lot of people out of business.” He kissed me and finished his wine. “I’d better get going.”

I walked him through the house. We put the glasses down on the coffee table, and went the rest of the way holding hands.

“Hey,” I said, “how did Eddie the Stalker get hold of that memo?”

“We’re gonna find him and ask. Like I said before, my guess is he got it from Shana’s trash.”

When we got to the door, he pulled me to him and held me tight.

“We have to talk,” he said. He was giving me those dreamy eyes and the husky voice that made me want to do stuff other than talk.

“About . . . ?” I moved in closer to him.

“I’m starting to think the only way to keep you out of danger is to be near you more. A lot more.” Was he saying what I thought he was saying? “When this is all wrapped up, maybe it’s time we talked about a real commitment.” I think my face froze along with my voice. I looked from his eyes to his mouth, back to his eyes.

“Okay.”

He kissed me tenderly, and then he walked out the door. I stood there watching in a mild state of shock until he drove away. I locked the door and numbly walked into the kitchen. Commitment? As in
M
words?
Moving in together
or
marriage
? It dawned on me that it didn’t sound so scary anymore. It sounded good and made me feel warm inside and, dare I say, happy. I looked around at my little house. Where could we possibly fit all of his stuff? That’s when I saw the envelope on the kitchen counter.

It was a business-sized white envelope. The return address was one I didn’t recognize: EDDLESTEIN ANDBALLARD, ATTORNEYSATLAW. This couldn’t be good. My hands started to shake as I opened it.

It was from a lawyer representing Randy. He was suing me for custody of Sarah.