Hollywood Wives - the New Generation (14 page)

'No shit!' Nicci exclaimed. 'You only married him two years ago.
What's the deal?'

'As we both know,' Lissa said, brushing back a loose strand of
platinum hair, my history with men is not exactly
stellar. Unfortunately, once again I found out things I refuse to put
up with. I can't take another confrontation, so this is the clean and
easy way of getting rid of him.'

'I never liked him,' Nicci remarked. 'Thought he was a lech.'

'Nor did any of my friends,' Lissa admitted.

'Well, gee, this
is
a surprise,' Nicci said. 'And now I've
got another one to lay on you.'

'You're pregnant,' Lissa said quickly, the thought flying into her
head.

'No way,' Nicci said, annoyed that her mother would think she was
stupid enough to get knocked up. 'Antonio's coming to town. He's giving
me away at the wedding.'

'I guess it's better than being pregnant,' Lissa said, relieved that
she was not about to become a grandma. Lissa Roman. Movie star. Sexy
singing superstar. Four-time divorcee. And…
grandma
. What an
image-breaker
that
would be.

'And,' Nicci added, glad that Lissa was taking it so calmly, 'he'll
probably be with his new wife.'

'
What
new wife?'

'Antonio's getting married again.'

'When?'

'He's doing it this week.'

Lissa couldn't help feeling a tiny frisson of jealousy. Antonio was
about to get married, and she was about to get divorced. Again. What a
failure she was at marriage, she simply couldn't get it right. 'Who's
he marrying?' she asked.

'Dunno,' Nicci said casually. 'Some older
rich
woman.
Adela will like totally
freak
,'

'How do
you
know all this?'

'Cause I called and invited him to my wedding.'

'You did?'

'Hey,
somebody
has to walk me down the aisle, and it sure
as hell wasn't gonna be Gregg. And in view of the circumstances, I'm
sooo
glad I called Antonio.'

'He can't stay here,' Lissa said hurriedly.

'She's rich, Mom, they'll probably take a bungalow at the Beverly
Hills Hotel.'

'Good,' Lissa said, wondering what it would be like to see Antonio
again - another cheating son-of-a-bitch.

'Hey, Mom, you okay?'

'Well… this
is
kind of upsetting,' Lissa admitted. 'I
suspected Gregg was seeing someone for months. Hiring a private
investigator was merely confirmation.'

'A PI!' Nicci exclaimed, wrinkling her nose. 'Gross!'

'Anyway,' Lissa said sadly. 'The PI found out everything.'

'Like
what
? Nicci demanded, dying to hear the whole sordid
story.

'For God's sake,' Lissa said snapped. 'Don't expect me to go into
details. It's bad enough that this will eventually become tabloid
fodder.'

'Great.' Nicci groaned. 'Once again I get to read all about my mom
in the supermarket.'

'Maybe not,' Lissa said, wishing that her daughter would show a
little more sympathy.

'You
know
they're gonna nail you.'

'Perhaps,' Lissa said vaguely, her mind on other things. 'Anyway,
it's good to see you, Nicci. Is everything on track for the wedding?'

'Zoomin' along.'

'I wish I could help more.'

'No, you don't,' Nicci said matter-of-factly. 'You're hopeless with
arrangements.'

'I'm glad you understand. You know I'll pay for everything. Have all
the bills sent to my business manager.'

'Thanks.' Nicci hesitated a moment before continuing. 'Uh… I know
you think I don't appreciate all the stuff you've done for me, but, uh…
I do.' A beat. 'And I'm sorry about
Gregg. So… if you need anything, call me.'

At last some compassion. 'Thanks, sweetheart,' Lissa said. 'I
appreciate that.'

'I'll get out of your way now,' Nicci said. Stopping at the door she
added an impulsive - 'We're having a dinner party tonight. You're
welcome to come.'

'
You're
throwing a dinner party?' Lissa said, surprised.
'You're not actually
cooking
?'

'Who, me?' Nicci said, grinning. 'Like no way. I've hired a chef.'

'Sounds like fun.'

'It's only like, y'know, a few people. Saffy's showing up with her
new boyfriend.'

'Saffron has a new boyfriend? Has Kyndra met him?'

'Kyndra's exactly like you, Mom,' Nicci said patiently. 'She doesn't
give a rat's ass.'

'That's not a very nice thing to say,' Lissa said, frowning. 'Of
course I care. I'm just not your average mother.'

Hmm
, Nicci thought.
That's the understatement of the
year
. 'Yeah, yeah,' she said. 'I'm sure you care in your own way,
but let's not get into it now.'

'Get into what?' Lissa said tightly.

'Nothing,' Nicci said quickly. 'So…' she added. 'Maybe I'll see you
later?'

Lissa nodded. The prospect of being alone tonight was not an
appealing one. Perhaps she
would
go to Nicci's dinner party -
it might make a welcome change. Anything to block out the nightmare of
the last few days.

Several weeks previously Eric Vernon had quit his job so he could
concentrate fully on the task at hand. Shortly after that, he'd driven
to San Diego and held up a bank -enabling him to fully finance his
project. The pickings were good. Not good enough. Eric was on track for
the big score, and he knew that to achieve his objective, everything
had to work perfectly. There could be no screw-ups. Kidnapping Nicci
Stone was his one chance at the big time, and he'd kill anyone who blew
it.

Arliss was on board. Eric had picked him because of the huge
deserted building he looked after. It was the perfect place to stash
the girl until the ransom was paid. Eric had given him enough money to
set up a soundproof and secure room. A room with no windows and no way
out.

When he'd told Arliss what the job was, the skinny man had blanched.
'Kidnapping,' he'd whined. 'That's a federal offence.'

'Not unless you transport the victim to a different state,' Eric had
said, reassuring him. 'We'll hold the victim no more than twenty-four
hours - less if the ransom's paid fast enough. Before we make a move,
every detail has to be in place.'

'What kinda ransom you askin'?' Arliss had inquired, a greedy
expression distorting his thin face.

'That's for
me
to know,' Eric had answered. 'Your cut'll
be twenty-five grand. If we bring the other guys in, they'll each get
ten grand.'

'Cash?'

'Cash,' Eric agreed.

'Do we get the money up-front?' Arliss had wanted to know, licking
his cracked lips in anticipation.

'No. You'll have to trust me.'

'The others'll never go for it.'

Eric had given him a long, cold stare. 'If they want in, that's the
way it has to be.'

Eric continued to track Nicci on a daily basis, noting her every
move. There was a place in the steep brush outside the back of her
boyfriend's house where he could watch everything she did. With no
shades on the large glass windows he got an unobstructed view as he
crouched in the bushes for hours on end. He even bought night-vision
goggles to observe her more intimate moments, such as when she was
taking a bath or preparing for bed.

Nicci Stone was a sexy young piece, and sometimes Eric found her
getting to him - even though he'd sworn off women.

Damn her! Experiencing sexual feelings put him out of control, and
above all else, Eric knew he had to stay in control. No weaknesses.
Weaknesses led to mistakes. And Eric could not afford to make any
mistakes.

He kept in touch with Danny, leading him on with a story he'd
concocted about a mystery boyfriend with whom he was involved. Danny
was a sympathetic listener, especially when Eric was buying the drinks.

Danny was also a talker, and Eric heard all about how Lissa was
planning on dumping her current husband, preparing for her Vegas show,
and attempting to get closer to her daughter. The more information he
could find out the better.

The next step was recruiting Arliss's three friends, which he did
not consider a difficult task. Offer enough money, and people were
inclined to say yes to anything.

It was only human nature after all.

Lissa was a wreck watching Michael Scorsinni and Danny methodically
packing up Gregg's clothes and other personal possessions. In spite of
the fact that her soon-to-be ex had turned out to be a cheating,
violent son-of-a-bitch, it all seemed so final. And when he was gone,
once more she'd be alone. Although she'd already decided that being
alone was certainly better than spending one more moment in Gregg's
company.

She remembered their first meeting at a friend's house in Malibu.
Gregg had seemed so easy-going, warm and sexy. He hadn't been in awe of
her, like most men, and in spite of the ten-year age gap, they'd fallen
into a fast and exciting relationship. She'd thought that this was it.
True love at last. And yet, after a while, he'd turned out to be like
all the rest. Worse than the rest, because he was also an abusive
bully, and now she could add rapist to his list of credits.

'You shouldn't be here,' Michael finally said, noticing how agitated
she was getting. 'I suggest you check into a hotel for the weekend, or
go stay with a friend. By Monday Gregg Lynch'll be history, and you can
come safely home.'

'You don't know Gregg, he won't give up easily,' she said, thinking
that when Gregg realized what she'd done, he'd go berserk.

'Here's another suggestion,' Michael said. 'How about next week I
move into your guest room, make
sure
he doesn't give you any
trouble?'

'You'd do that?' she asked, quite liking the thought of having
Michael Scorsinni permanently on the premises. He made her feel secure
and safe.

'You're paying me, Lissa, I'll do whatever you want.'

'Really?' she said in a sexy voice, teasing him.

'Within reason,' he countered.

'Oh, nuts!' she joked, laughing. 'And I thought I could have my way
with you.'

Michael didn't smile: he was too angry. He had a strong urge to get
hold of Gregg Lynch and beat the crap out of him. Men who hit women
were the lowest, and although Lissa refused to reveal anything, the
black eye she was featuring told its own story.

'Did that son-of-a-bitch hit you?' he'd demanded, as soon as he'd
walked in.

'I ran into a door,' she'd replied, too embarrassed to tell the
truth.

He'd stifled a desire to reach out and hold her close. But of course
he couldn't do that - as he kept on reminding himself - this was
business, personal feelings were not allowed.

Why not
? his inner voice demanded.

Because she's a client, and she's also a movie star. And movie
stars are different.

By late afternoon, Danny had booked her into the Peninsula under an
assumed name. A short drive later she was ensconced.

'Maybe I'd better stay here for a while,' Danny said, quite
concerned as he fussed around the suite making sure there were flowers
and wine and a large fruit basket.

'That's okay,' she said, dismissing him. 'Have Michael call me
later.'

Reluctantly Danny left.

Filled with mixed feelings, Lissa wandered around the luxurious
suite, pacing from the living room to the bedroom, feeling like a caged
tiger.

It was so strange being in a hotel in her own town. So strange and
lonely. And yet she knew this was what she had to do, because after
Gregg's behaviour last night there was no going back. Her husband had
turned into a frightening stranger - she was lucky to have got away
with only a black eye.

'Did you send those people a gift?' Larry inquired, standing over
Taylor.

She was sitting at her desk, trying to sort through the stack of
invitations that arrived daily. She glanced up at her husband. Here was
this man, this Oscar-winning
genius
, and all he cared about
was whether she'd sent the fictitious neighbours something. Go figure.

'Yes,' she said shortly. 'I took care of it.'

'It's good karma to give back,' Larry remarked.

He was home early because his best friend from college, Isaac, was
celebrating his birthday, and Isaac's wife, Jenny, was throwing him a
party. And even though Isaac, whom Taylor had only met on a few
occasions, lived in the wilds of Calabasas, Larry had insisted they go.

Taylor had tried to get out of it - in vain. 'They don't want to see
me
?' she'd said modestly. 'It's
you
everyone's
interested in.'

'Taylor,' Larry had assured her, 'I wouldn't
dream
of
going anywhere without you.
You
are my reason for getting up
every day. I love you so much. You do know that, don't you?'

Like she didn't feel guilty enough. If Larry ever found out she was
screwing around it would destroy him. Earlier today she'd driven over
to Oliver's, only to find no one home. She'd hung around for a while,
hoping he'd put in an appearance, and when he didn't appear, she'd
driven home in a sulk.

Since that time, she'd called him several times. Receiving no answer
had put her in even more of a sulk.

'Shouldn't you be getting dressed?' Larry asked.

'What
is
the dress code for Calabasas?' she drawled
sarcastically.

Larry didn't appear to notice her sarcasm. 'It says California
casual on the invite, so wear that white outfit I like.'

Sure
, Taylor thought.
There's no way I'm wasting
Valentino on a trip to the boondocks
.

Larry went upstairs. Taylor reached for the phone and tried Oliver
one last time.

If he didn't pick up soon, she was asking for her money back.