Liam O’Grady was beaming as Claude Delano strode over.
“What’s up bro?’ grinned, the Delano scion, his wide handsome face breaking into a knowing smirk,
‘You look like the one…: he winked as O’Grady chuckled heartily.
“I love that lass,” growled O’Grady, shedding his normal reserve when it came to discussing the women he was bedding.
“She’s the one for me. For us.”
Claude’s eyes widened at the prospect of sharing a woman for life. He glanced uneasily at Karina who turned and shot him an icy stare as though aware of his thoughts. he shook his head.
If he tried that with Karina, he would be playing Russian Roulette.
Or looking down the wrong end of a loaded gun, with his father at the other end. He swallowed his drink quickly, the very thought of his Pappa’s wrath making him sweat nervously.
“Man, you got a fight on Friday, remember?” he reminded the Irishman who was feeling very benevolent at the moment as he watched Bianca on the dance floor with St Just.
‘Ah, I’ve got this,” said O’Grady airily.
Louis who had appeared, looked at his brother and sighed.
“You need to be prepared, O’Grady,” he said softly,
“Mustafa the Brick has experience and is also the current champion in the circuit.”
The warning was enough to bring O’Grady back to earth.
He nodded, seriously.
“I’m practising, Delano. Every day.”
The talk drifted to other topics and the men moved away.
*
Bianca was in St Just’s arms. She had spotted Jack Lord and his lovely wife Tara, who had given birth to a pair of twins the previous week. Tara, looking unfashionably rotund did not seem to care about her size as she walked about. And Jack Lord, tall and handsome, the military background obvious in his stature, was with her, with eyes only for her.
“What are you sighing about?” queried St Just, a lop-sided smile on his face as he observed her lovely, open face.
She dimpled at him.
“Jack loves Tara so much!”
St Just glanced the way she was indicating. he met a pair of eyes and stiffened. Whirling Bianca around, he glanced back in the direction he had caught the baleful gaze looking their way. But the person he had barely recognised seemed to have blended into the crowd and was no longer there. Sensing the shift in his mood, Bianca stilled, her hand on his shoulder tightening.
“What’s wrong, Saint?” she whispered.
He shook his head and resumed dancing, kissing the tip of her small nose as they continued to glide along with the other couples on the floor.
“Nothing sugar,” he said but a small suspicion was beginning to grow in his mind.
Had that been…? No, surely not?
*
Dom looked at his slender, dark-skinned companion.
Rani Nair had wandered into his restaurant one evening with a couple of friends, one of who was an acquaintance of Dom’s. They had started chatting, Rani and Dom and over a couple of dates, Dom was convinced that this was the girl for him.
She was soft-spoken and mild but a totally different person in bed. He could spend hours taking to her, laughing with her and most importantly, his Mumma and sisters and of course, Louis, had taken a shine to her.
Now he looked at her.
No one would suspect that she was working to get a degree in forensic medicine, he thought in pride.
She smiled up at him, her large eyes twinkling behind her spectacles.
*
Paddy was with his partner, who was a cancer survivor. The little Chinese, Huang Song, was looking around in some befuddlement. He was also an ethical hacker as Paddy had been and they had met on an online forum. Meeting in person, they had struck up a friendship and became lovers.
Philippe Diaz, with his beautiful wife Ria Delano, was also dancing but the stiffness in his shoulders alerted Ria.
“What’s wrong, Philippe?” she murmured softly. He made an attempt to lighten his mood but he was tense, like a coiled spring.
A tip off he had received had set off alarm bells. He glanced over Ria’s head at Piers Delano and Hila. Both of them were leaving the hall, flanked by a couple of bodyguards and Piers signalled to Philippe to join them. A discreet move of his hand, but that was enough for the Capo.
He kissed Ria, looking into her lovely troubled grey-blue eyes and said softly,
“Baby, something’s come up. ”
She bit her lower lip and sighed. Nodded.
Her eyes went to where her father had been standing. No sign of the Don or her Mumma.
Sure enough, at the first hint of danger, he had whisked her away to safety.
Ria looked about, her heart pounding.
“What’s happened, Phil?” she hissed.
He sighed.
“Looks like someone is trying to get us for the racket we brought down. ” he nodded to the Irishman and his brother who were also making a move to the door.
“Them and us.”
Ria laid her head on her husband’s chest. She was no drooping violet but a part of her felt afraid now.
*
Bianca looked at Liam O’Grady in alarm as he came to her and growled,
“Let’s get out of here, lassie.”
She followed him, her hand in his as he strode to the door purposefully.
As she glanced back, she noticed how the Delano clan and their spouses and partners, were also being discreetly hustled away from the crowded ballroom.
“What’s happening?” she asked, alarm making her raise her voice.
St Just huffed,
“Sugar, relax. Someone is coming after us.” He did not elaborate and tell her how three of their men, two of the Delanos boys, and one of the O’Grady mob, had been found in the basement parking, their throats slit,
A Mafia-style killing.
A clear, loud message that war had been declared. And one of the men behind it belonged to the Mexican drug cartel.
Yes, they had upset some very powerful people when they risked their lives and saved Bianca’s sister.