The Love Killers by Jackie Collins Page A

At Angelo’s age he’d been just the same.
    Ah… At Angelo’s age he’d had the world by the balls. Prohibition, Chicago, a different kind of time, a world of crazy excitement and thrills. Once the Bassalino name had rated alongside Capone, Legs Diamond, O’Banion. Enzio sighed with pleasure when he remembered the early days with Alio by his side. It was all so different now, everything hidden under a cloak of legitimacy. Crime was getting dull.
    Enzio chuckled and strolled out to the pool, still laughing. He wondered if Alio would remember the time they’d tried to bribe the chef of their favorite Italian restaurant. They’d wanted him to put arsenic in an archrival’s soup. The chef had refused and fled the city, and to this day Enzio still missed the coward’s incredible meatballs.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
    They met on the plane like conspirators, Nick warily checking the first-class section for friends of his or April’s. Only after he’d done this and found all was clear did he condescend to join Lara.
    She was dressed all in white and looked ravishingly beautiful. He decided the risk was well worth taking, even though she’d steadfastly refused to meet him in Los Angeles, giving him an ultimatum—her or April.
    There was no way he could possibly choose. He was going to
marry
April. Lara had turned up at the wrong time. Sure, he wanted to get her into bed, but he wasn’t prepared to risk his future, and his future was most definitely April Crawford.
    Enzio had suggested the New York trip at just the right moment. Nick mentioned to Lara he had to go and hinted she should come. Surprisingly, she’d said yes.
    â€˜April mustn’t find out,’ he’d warned, and for a change she’d agreed with him.
    â€˜We’ll do it your way,’ she’d said calmly.
    Over the weeks they’d enjoyed an ongoing flirtation—bumping into each other at parties, restaurants, and clubs. The more he’d seen of her, the more he’d wanted her. Now he was going to get his wish.
    He had the situation well covered. They’d arrived at the airport separately, boarded the plane separately, and they would disembark separately. Who could possibly find out they were traveling together?
    Lara had her own apartment in New York. Nick planned to stay at the hotel with Enzio. He figured New York was a big place; you could get lost there. It wasn’t a nosy little city like Los Angeles, where you couldn’t even take a piss without everyone knowing.
    All he wanted was a chance to be with Lara without the anxiety of April catching them together. One or two days should be long enough to get her out of his system. It was just sex—pure, unadulterated lust. Yeah, she was gorgeous, and well connected in her own way, but she wasn’t April. April Crawford was a star. Something he had no intention of forgetting.
    * * *
    Frank was a demanding man. After the first night he came to Beth’s room as soon as he arrived home. It was always late, and Anna Maria slept soundly.
    He silenced Beth’s objections, reassuring her that his wife was a heavy sleeper and would not wake up.
    Beth accepted him in the dark, old-fashioned room above the kitchen. She accepted his kisses and embraces, the fumbling way he made love. In spite of the revulsion he produced in her, she felt sorry for him. Frank Bassalino stood for everything she loathed, and yet there was a certain loneliness in the man that caught her sympathy. Maybe it was the cruel joke nature had played on him; it made him vulnerable. It also explained why he needed a girl like her, a girl he thought was inexperienced, and who therefore could make no criticism or comparison.
    She lived up to his expectations. She was soft, warm, and appreciative, feigning a childlike innocence that seemed to fascinate him.
    He bought her little presents. One night a cheap charm bracelet, the next a pound of strawberries, which