CHAPTER 42 - RED
CHAPTER
Red
“ T AKE THE BACK ENTRANCE”, I shout through the partition to the driver, who is now understandably terrified.
Four big men in his cab brandishing guns isn’t a sight he had in mind when starting his shift today, but there’s not a lot I can do about that, short of forcing him to accept a hefty sweetener to keep schtum about what he’s seeing.
Or what he might see, depending how this pans out.
My heart drums at a steady pace. I expected the Bristonis to put in an appearance, but didn’t foresee it being so soon after the newspaper announcement. Neither did I expect them to play their hand openly in broad daylight.
I certainly didn’t expect them to pull a stunt on the day of a funeral. Do these wankers have no code of conduct, the lowlife pieces of shit?
But no matter how terrified the taxi driver is, he’s got nothing on Arianna, whose body vibrates fear through me. “It’ll be fine. Just do what I say,” I whisper, giving her hand a quick squeeze.
She nods, fixated on an empty crisp packet in the taxi’s footwell.
I want to demand the driver stops to clean his fucking cab, but I dismiss my irrational irritation. I need to concentrate. If my brothers are correct and this car tailing us is the Bristonis and the stranger Liam saw at the wake is perhaps linked too, then are they coming for me or Arianna?
It might even be the Galvatores, hellbent on regaining possession of her.
Adrenaline thunders in my veins as the urge to protect Arianna surges to unprecedented levels. They’re not having her. No one is. She is mine now.
Straining to keep below the back window in the event of early gunfire, I risk a peep as we turn onto the road leading to the back entrance of the casino. The car in question has been forced back several places, but it’s still behind us, meaning it is tailing us.
My breathing is ragged. Once I’ve ensured Arianna is safely within the building, I’ll blast those fuckers to smithereens. I’ll do it before they have chance to take aim.
I will not lose this. I will not lose her . She belongs to me now.
I look between my brothers and Del as the taxi turns into my delivery yard. “Ready?”
At their nods, I grab Arianna’s hand, kick open the door and pull her from the still moving vehicle. Her heel snags in her long dress, and she tumbles from the running board to the concrete. The taxi stops a few yards further on, but we’re left exposed.
I’ve got to get her inside.
“Cover us!” I yell.
Not wasting time in getting Arianna to her feet, I drag her along. She squeals, but I ignore her. My only remit is getting her to safety before the Bristoni car rounds the corner, which will be any second now.
I’ll shoot every last one of those bastards , I repeat in my mind. This mantra is all I can hear. There are no alternatives.
None of us will die on this fucking tarmac. Not Oscar, not Liam, not Del, not me. And certainly not Arianna.
Continuing up the steps to the back door, I ignore her yelps, as well as the shouts of my brothers.
The Bristoni car must be in view.
Quickly, quickly!
Shouldering the door open, I push Arianna inside. “Stay in there and get the fuck away from the door!” I shout through the steel in the hope she hears me over the resounding slam of metal shutting behind her.
Swinging around, I get myself into position and raise my gun, waiting for the off.
But it’s quiet.
And there’s no car...
Glancing around, I see my brothers in position on opposite sides of the yard and Del crouching at the side of a small wall further along on my right. The taxi is still here; the driver cowering behind his bonnet, his hands over his head in the misguided notion the gesture will help amid a gunfight.
Where the fuck are the Bristonis?
“What the hell are you doing?” I scream as Oscar suddenly appears next to me. “Get back into position!”
“The car drove past!”
“What? Drove past?” I stare at him incredulously. “They could be playing with us and be back any second!”
Oscar shakes his head. “It wasn’t them. Whoever it was, drove past and went into the Mulberry down there. Sorry, bruv. I got it wrong.”
I glance at the Mulberry restaurant several buildings further down before turning back to Oscar. He rarely gets things like tails wrong . “You said you’d seen that car earlier.”
“I thought I did, yes, but... well, it must have been a similar one. I...”
“Fuck!” I lower my gun, my fist clenching. This doesn’t explain the stranger Liam saw at the wake, but then again, we don’t know all of Steve’s friends, family and associates.
My heart sinks. I’ve just put the fear of God into Arianna and dragged her across a fucking carpark for nothing!
But it might not have been nothing. It could have been them.
Luckily, it wasn’t.
I slap Oscar on the back. He only did what I expect - keeping alert for threats. “We were right to react. Let’s just call it a dress rehearsal!” I then nod towards the taxi driver. “However, you do win the prize of buying his silence.”
Oscar nods begrudgingly, knowing it will cost him a hefty wedge.
He walks towards the driver, leaving me to lope up the steps to the back door.
I’ll see what damage I’ve done to Arianna and put her mind at rest by explaining it was a false alarm.
Then I’ll do what I came back here to do before this bullshit kicked off: sorting out Tom Slater.
Pushing open the steel fire door, I steam through, finding Arianna with her back pressed to the wall.
Her terrified expression does little to soften my stress.
I grab her by the forearm and stride along the corridor, my irritation spiking as she limps along.
I haven’t got time to waste and need to put a plan together. “Hurry up!” I growl, pulling her along.
“Just slow down! I can’t...”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Sick of it all, I scoop Arianna up in my arms and, ignoring her protests, quickly mount the stairs. I haven’t got time to mess around. I’ve already wasted enough as it is.