Read Online The Blonde by Anna Godbersen - Free Book Online

her widest eyes.
    “I mean he’s the capo, baby. La Cosa Nostra. He’s in the mob. He is the mob.”
    “Oh.” She let the fear shudder down her spine so that he’d feel it in his palm—which, now that she was turned around and only the band could see her backside, had drifted south. “You mean he’s one of the bad guys?”
    Jack just kept giving her that grin, that fence of strong, bright teeth.
    “He doesn’t hurt people, does he?”
    The same teeth.
    “But what are you doing sitting at a table with him? I mean, if you’re a senator, isn’t it your duty to bring him in or something?”
    “That’s not how it works, baby. Not in this world.”
    “What are you meeting with him for, then?”
    He told it as matter-of-factly as though it were the story of how he was going to order his sandwich. “It’s business. When I make my run for president, he’s going to see that Cook County goes for Kennedy.”
    “I see,” she said and closed her eyes. She rested her head against his shoulder and let her body relax against his. “I mean, aren’t you big and important,” she cooed drowsily. But she wasn’t tired. Her mind fizzed with the information. It had been so easy—all she’d had to do was act a little dumb and frightened, and he’d told her something she already knew was even bigger than Alexei could have hoped for. She was almost sorry that this would be the end of her spying, because in fact she found it quite satisfying. She was a natural, which was probably why they chose her. Perhaps she’d always liked digging for secrets.
    Then her mind really did drift from their conversation, and she let him sway her for a few more songs. She enjoyed that part, too—his appealing, assertive features, his ragged energy, the way the room spun around him like he was its center. After that she yawned—girlishly, theatrically, sweetly—and told him she had better get her beauty rest.
    “But I’ll see you on the Coast,” he said when she stepped away.
    “You better mean it. Remember, if you don’t call me, I’m going to the papers with your secret.” She winked and let him lead her over to her publicity man. Jack was back at the booth of cronies before she was out the door, talking about what a fine ass she had, probably, but she didn’t care. After she got back to New York she was going to meet her father, and maybe fix things with Arthur, or if not start fresh in California—she’d buy a place in the desert, and make Father bacon and eggs for breakfast every morning.
    The elevator sank fast through the hotel, the following morning, but she wasn’t frightened. She hadn’t slept much, and for once this caused her no agitation. She was alert, and her eyes in the mirrored walls that had contained her first meeting with Jack were shining and focused. She felt everything—her hair framing her face, a pulsing from the soles of her feet, the collar of her fur coat against her jaw as she hugged it close to her body. When she stepped onto the curb outside the Ambassador East, she saw Alexei right away. Hewas carrying a sign that said TWENTIETH CENTURY-FOX , and wearing a chauffeur’s hat and the suggestion of a smile that was for her alone.
    Leaving her publicity man to deal with her luggage, she wordlessly allowed Alexei to hold the door for her. She situated herself in the backseat—crossed legs, compact held aloft so that she could check her lipstick. It wasn’t until he’d pulled onto the freeway that she put away her makeup things and met his gaze in the rearview mirror. He had been watching her already, and she gave him the knowing, mischievous smile of a former lover who has never really gone away.
    “How was last night, my dear?” he asked, returning her smile.
    “Good.” She beamed. “I think you’re going to be kinda impressed with me.”
    “The senator liked you, then?”
    “Yes, right away.”
    “Does he trust you?”
    “Oh, I don’t know about that. I don’t think trust means very