Now he was skulking outside Tony Alvarez's house, and the education his dad had given him was finally about to pay off.

He had a Glock semi-automatic pistol stuck in the waist-band of his pants, and a thirst to eliminate the man who stood between him and his gorgeous wife. Matt Seel was on a mission.

"Bye, Mama,' Lola said.

'You listen to me, Lucia, do not do anything foolish. Think carefully about everything we've talked about this morning. Oh, and give my love to Matt.'

Lola shook her head. Wasn't Mama listening? I'm divorcing Matt. I want Tony, and that's the way it is, so stop trying to manipulate me. One of these days she was going to have to reveal the truth. 'I can't have children,' she'd say. Mama would be sad, but she'd understand.

Or would she? 'You had another abortion, girl?' Claudine would shriek. 'God is punishing you for your sins!'

No, she could never tell Mama the truth. It was safer to make up a story.

At least she had her nieces and nephews, on whom she lavished much love and affection. Next weekend she would plan a trip to Disneyland. Big Jay would organize guards and maybe they'd all go early before the place opened.

Yes, it would be fun. The children would love it, and so would she. Sometimes she had to let the little girl in her out to play.

After the verbal skirmish with Mama, she'd eaten one pancake too many, which meant she'd have to punish herself in the gym. Lately she hadn't been taking care of herself. What with Selma in hospital and that drama, she'd lost the drive to work out, eat right and generally stay on top of things.

She had a sinking feeling that New York State of Mind would not turn out to be one of her better movies. Linc Blackwood had been a bad mistake when she was eighteen, and a bad mistake now for the lead in her movie. Plus she needed to play stronger roles - roles that meant something. The other night she'd watched Sophia Loren in an old movie on TV. That was the kind of role she should be playing, dramatic and sexy, a showcase for her acting talents. She had to play women with brains as well as a body. Why couldn't she score the kind of role Shelby Cheney played in Rapture? An Oscar-worthy role.

The sun was coming up, signalling another glorious California day. She hoped Matt was not going to return home and give her trouble. In case he did, she decided to alert Otto, although she was sure she'd have to endure one of his lectures.

'I'm paying you,' she often wanted to yell at her overpriced lawyer. 'Don't argue. Do as I say.'

Otto was a big-time lawyer, which meant that if she wanted to keep him on her side she couldn't say shit.

Oh God! She'd have to tell Faye that she was dumping Matt again. That wouldn't go down well.

Wasn't it amazing? Here she was, this big superstar, and she had to answer to people she paid. It was a ridiculous situation.

Maybe she should fire everyone and surround herself with a new crew of people who wouldn't dare criticize her.

What a great idea!

The blonde stirred, her long silky hair a gossamer cloak around her delicate shoulders. Maria snored lightly.

Tony's eyes snapped open. He felt a wave of doom, as if he'd just awakened from a particularly frightening nightmare.

Someone was in the bedroom.

Someone was standing at the foot of the bed pointing a gun at him.

All he could make out was the shadow of a man and the gun, the metal glinting in the dusky half-light creeping through the blackout blinds.

Tony struggled to sit up, attempting to shove the girls off him.

'What d'you want?' he said, in a low, angry voice. 'You want money, I got plenty. On top of the dresser. Take what you want an' get the fuck out.'

Maria woke up. 'Tonee,' she cried out, not sure what was happening.

'Stay still,' Tony warned. 'Everythin's gonna be fine.'

'I... don't... think... so,' Matt said, feeling tough and in control.

Who had the power now? Not Tony Alvarez with his flashy demeanour and insulting mouth.

Not Tony Alvarez - wife-stealer.

Oh, no, not Tony Alvarez.

NOT THE FUCKING SPIC.

For once, Matt Seel was totally in charge.

Chapter Forty-Six.

'I've been thinking,' Nick said.

'Hang out the flags,' Cat joked. 'Mr Logan's been thinking!'

Nick and Amy had joined Cat and Jonas in the coffee shop. Cat still had her three thousand dollars' winnings, and Nick had won twenty-five grand. Neither Jonas nor Amy were into gambling.

'You wanna hear what I've been thinking or not?' Nick said, devouring a plate of scrambled eggs.

'Not,' Cat said, drinking espresso.

'Are you ever serious?' Nick asked, throwing her a look.

'Only when I'm working. Remember?'

'Cat has a quirky sense of humour, like me,' Amy offered, holding hands with Jonas.

'That's great to know,' Nick said. 'But here's the deal - I'm trying to be serious here.'

'Sorry,' Cat said, reaching for a slice of his wheat toast. 'Go ahead, be serious.'

Before he could reply, two giggling teenage girls approached their table. 'Are you Nick Logan?' one asked.

'Course he is,' the other giggled, nudging her friend.

'Guilty as charged,' Nick said, poker-faced.

'Can we get your autograph?'

'On what?' he said.

They turned to each other and completely broke up. 'Maybe on my T-shirt,' one of the girls suggested, thrusting out her small breasts.

'Got a pen?' Nick asked, unfazed.

'Oh.' The girl looked blankly around the table. 'Does anyone have a pen?'

Amy reached into her purse and obliged. Nick spun the young girl round and scrawled his name on the back of her T-shirt.

'The girls at school will go, like, nutsl' she exclaimed. 'You're the bomb!'

'You were sooo hot in The Jack' the other girl gushed. 'I, like, saw it, like, four times. I even cut class to see it.'

'Thanks, girls.'

'Do you know Ashton Kutcher?'

'Never met him.'

'He's cute too. Can we take a picture with you?'

'Got a camera?'

'We'll get one from the gift shop.'

'Do that, an' if I'm still here you'll get your photo.'

Giggling, the two nymphets ran off.

'Doesn't that drive you crazy?' Cat asked.

'What?' Nick asked, finishing his eggs.

'The attention.'

'If I didn't have the attention, they wouldn't go see my movies. And we want them to see our movie, right?'

'Don't you miss being able to walk around and not be bothered?'

'It's a trade-off,' he said. 'I'm not wild about it, but I gotta put up with it.'

'Oh, please, Amy interrupted. 'You love it. Ever since you were a little boy, you always wanted to be noticed.'

He grinned. 'My married sister with the big mouth.'

She grinned back. 'My famous brother with the big-'

'Hey,' he interrupted, motioning her to shut up. 'Enough already.'

'No need for modesty,' Amy said mischievously. 'I'm sure Cat has already noticed your enormous... ego.'

They all laughed.

'So, c'mon, what were you thinking when I interrupted you?' Cat asked.

'I was thinking that since we're only here for a day how about taking a boat out on Lake Mead?'

'You're amazing,' Cat said. 'You drive all night, sleep for two minutes, win twenty-five thousand bucks, and now you're up for a boat trip.'

'Why not? It's all in a day's fun.'

'I think it's a fine idea,' Amy said, joining in. 'Come on, Jonas, we'll go to the front desk and find out about hiring a boat.'

Jonas jumped up, and the two of them went off, still holding hands.

'Ain't love grand?' Nick remarked.

'Seems like it,' Cat agreed.

'He'll have a shit-fit when he catches her act.'

'Why?'

'She's tough.'

'Like you?'

'I'm a pussycat.'

'Sure.'

'Hey - y'know what we should do?'

'Tell me,' she said drily. 'I can't wait.'

'Organize some kinda party.'

'What kind of a party? There's only the four of us.'

'I know people here. C'mon, Blondie,' he said persuasively. 'We gotta throw them a wedding party.'

Cat looked at him fondly. 'You really are a total nutter.'

He met her gaze with one of his own. 'An' you love it, doncha?'

'Guess I must do,' she said, unable to keep the smile off her face.