The brothers make an unlikely pair.
Liam O’Grady and Finn St Just. Sharing the same father. & Their father, Sean O’Grady had been a small-time Irish gangster who fell madly in love with a hooker who had run away from France. Elyna St Just charmed him and he followed her about, besotted, while Sean’s loyal wife, Maggie, waited for him. But the French woman grew tired of him soon. Seven months after Elyna St. Just had delivered his son, she disappeared. Humiliated and repentant, Sean had brought his little son home, to his wife, Maggie. She had stormed at him, thrown him out of the house, wept and wept. But being the large-hearted woman she was, Maggie O’Grady had made Sean swear upon his sons in church– for her own Liam was just a baby- that he would never have another woman in his life. And being the good Catholic that he was, Sean had kept his word and remained faithful to her till the day he died. He had concentrated on expanding his power, and had become a popular mob Boss by the time he died, a peaceful death no less, Maggie had accepted Finn St Just, for the boy had kept his mother’s name, and loved Finn like her own son. And Sean had trianed his stwo ons in the ways of the world of crime. From his humble beginnings in a trailer park, Sean had set up a mini empire by the time he breathed his last. But his sons, particularly Liam, had carried his legacy to even further heights. Liam O'Grady ensured tht he was the unchallenged King of the East, along with his fatihful brother, Finn. & Now Finn watched his brother speculatively. Despite being teh older sibling, he took his lead from Liam, who was always one step ahead of everyone else. & In appearance, they were quite different. While Liam took after his Irish mother, with black hair and bright blue eyes, Finn had inherited his mother’s coloring. His eyes, the golden orbs that drove women mad, were only one feature that set him apart from his sibling. He was taller and unlike the stockier Liam, he was leaner, but both the brothers were packed with muscle. Liam was a gangster, cloaked under the guise of a realtor and a loan shark. But his excessive energy found an outlet in fighting; underground fight clubs were his ‘scene’ as he told Finn. He was also a businessman, brilliant to a fault whereas Finn was the muscle of the setup. With his violent temper and fierce, handsome looks, people automatically obeyed the towering Finn who seemed to be carrying a burden of anger around him constantly. His aggressiveness was unleashed upon the hapless submissive who he and his brother chose but even as he whipped them, they screamed for him to take them. Yes, women loved Finn. But then, they also loved the suave, charming Liam. Together, the two brothers had run through most of the women in Hunters Wood. He knew that he did not have the razor-sharp acumen of O’Grady but he had the undying loyalty of his troops, the men who worked for the O’Grady mob. And, most importantly, the brothers had a deep, unshakable bond. Both of them had discovered, early in life, that they were Doms, alpha males who enjoyed subjugating their partners. And the common bond only meant that they shared everything. Including their women. * The brothers shared a liking for women and had long ago discovered that they enjoyed having the same submissive cater to their needs. Helen Douglas, who had been the latest in a long string of subs, had fitted the bill nicely but she had begun to grow needy and Finn had suspected that Liam was about to send her packing. Now he looked at Lam who turned, his blue eyes sparkling as he drawled, “Finn my lovely brother, don’t you think we should get ourselves a new woman?” &&& Bianca Cruz The building looms in front of me and I stand in the rain, shivering in the cold as it whips around my legs. My jeans, my best pair, are already wet and I know that I look like a soaking wet kitten. I know I feel like one. Miserable and cold. And scared. So very scared. *** Pressing my lips together, I take a step forward then another. Then the doorman, who gives me a quick up and down look, lets me in, his face reflecting his incredulity though he hides it as he asks, politely, ‘Are you here to see Mr St Just? Or Mr O’Grady?” I dredge up a half-hearted smile. As I meet his eyes, pushing my damp tendrils of brown hair away from my face. The hoodie is damp too, I think, clutching my old umbrella and blurt the first name that comes to my mouth. “Ummm…Mr St Just.” I say. He does not look deceived but he lets me in. probably out of pity, I think. & I can see the thoughts racing through his mind as I step into the wooden floored foyer and stop awkwardly. The doorman’s face seems to say, What does this bedraggled teenager, with her wet hair and old, pitifully poor clothes, want to do with a loan shark like Finn Walker? I square my shoulders and pop my wet umbrella into a place where there are other dripping umbrellas. Then I march to the reception determinedly, pretending to know what I am about to do. It is only the memory of my younger sisters, the twins, Annabelle and Rosemary, their pretty blonde hair and perfect features with sparkling blue eyes, that keeps me going. And of course, the look on Dean Nelson’s face. The leery, ugly look as he ran his bloodshot brown eyes over my sisters and me. His voice, was hoarse and greedy, as he stepped to me, his beer-laden breath almost making me gag as he snarled, “You better rustle up the money, pretty gal. Or your sisters and you are going to be on the streets, sweetheart. Or shackin’ up with me…” He had laughed, a high laugh, like a donkey braying, said my four-year-old sister Rose and I tightened my fists.Again, thought Claude, his eyes misting over, his father had said that before. What had he meant?Claude shut his eyes and tilted his head to heaven as his father growled on,“We need to find the leak. Get Paddy on it, boy.”The call ended.The second Delano son lowered his head, his shoulders slumping. A quiet desperation engulfed him. Nothing he ever did would come up to his father’s high standards, ever…Unlike Louis. Or Rudy, who was appreciated by Lucien Delano. And of course, Piers, the man who ran the mob with an iron hand, now. But he, Claude…? The big man sighed and lowered his head.If he did not know better, he thought bitterly, an unusually cynical smile touching his firm lips, he would ask himself if he was really a Delano. But his looks, mirroring his brothers and sisters, put that doubt to rest. And of course, he thought, his heart clenching, his Mumma would never… He wanted nothing more than to call his Mumma, to listen to her soothing voice. He felt he had f*cked
he hospital room was still, quiet except for the soft hum of the machines and the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor. Pale morning light filtered through the half-drawn blinds, laying stripes of warmth across the woman's motionless form.Serena’s eyelids fluttered once, then again, longer this time, as if something deep inside her was stirring. The faintest crease formed on her brow. Her lips parted slightly, dry and cracked, but trying to shape a breath, a word, a question she didn’t yet remember.Inside her, awareness moved like a tide returning. First came the sound—the sterile buzz of the hospital, the faint echo of footsteps down the corridor, the steady pulse of her own heartbeat in her ears. Then the weight of her body registered, like waking from a long and heavy dream. Her fingers twitched, a subtle, nearly invisible movement.She didn’t open her eyes yet, but the world was no longer completely dark. Shapes floated behind her eyelids, shadows of memory, fragments of voices
Rudy spun around. A slight creaking sound alerted him. Dusk had fallen, and there was little light in the narrow ley. He stood, listening carefully, tuned to the sound of the night. A creak of a window, long past repair. The sigh of the wind as it shifted down the desolate alley.And…Something was off; he thought his senses heightened, aware of danger.The muscular young man began to move, stealthily, like a shadow, as he closed in on the sound. His men had dispersed, and he had been returning too, for Piers' message had come.“O’Grady and St Just heading your way. Come back. Still no sign of Hila.”Clipped. Short.Accordingly, he had indicated that the men with Rudy should turn round and go back the way they had come; but something made Rudy hesitate.O’Grady had turned the corner. He raised his hand in silence, signalling that he was waiting for Rudy to join him. The tall, lean figure of St Just appeared behind him. The brothers had each other's backs, almost thinking in tandem, to
The hospital room was dimly lit, bathed in the low hum of machines and the steady, rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor. In the middle of the sterile white room lay Serena Kingston—still, pale, and heartbreakingly fragile. Tubes ran from her nose and arms, machines breathing for her, measuring the faint flickers of life still pulsing beneath her skin. Her flame coloured hair was spread across the pillow like a shadow, her face too tranquil, if such a thing was possible, as if asleep in a place far from here.Louis Delano sat at her bedside, elbows on his knees, fingers laced so tightly his knuckles had gone white. His eyes, ringed with sleepless nights, didn’t leave her face. He searched for any twitch, any sign—however small—that she might wake. Every breath the ventilator drew in her stead sounded louder in the silence between them.To his family, who stayed beside the two of them all the time, Louis looked like a man unravelling slowly at the edges—handsome, but hollowed by anguis
Proserpina was on her way to the hospital. Roxanne had wanted to go along, and when she had timidly put forward her request, Proserpina had dimpled at her winningly and nodded.Tara Delano was still at the hospital, Proserpina informed her, and Karina had come a while ago. Ria, realised Roxanne, was managing the affairs of the mob, along with her husband, in the absence of both her father and brothers.The plump Bratva woman had immediately come forward, beaming and taken charge of the children. And Roxanne counted more than half a dozen young Delanos shouting, screaming and running around in abandon, the maids pursuing them, looking hassled. Only Luc, the son of Piers Delano, seemed a world apart. Xander had joined the ruckus and was thoroughly enjoying himself. So much so that when Roxanne lifted him to kiss him goodbye, he wriggled out of her arms as soon as possible, eager to join the other children.“Serena is still unconscious,” sighed Proserpina sadly as they sat in a large bl
Lucien Delano was in a frenzy.Paddy had used his team and every resource he had at his fingertips to find where Jana Rudenko was holed up. And he had sent them the exact location. Lucien had never really fathomed how meticulously Paddy’s mind worked till now. But now he appreciated the extent of his adoptive son’s diligence. The boy was on a mission because it involved Proserpina. He worshipped the Mafia Don’s Woman, regarded her as his own mother and nothing could keep him away from her. He would often be seen, skulking in the kitchen, eating something Proserpina had prepared, just for him.Young Paddy had been scouring the Dark Web to source any leads. It meant trolling many unsightly sites, but the man had carried on, shutting his mind to the unpleasantness he encountered, using his sophisticated tools and his uncanny ability.He had stumbled across the information about Jana Rudenko’s key hideouts concerning a sale of children, which was about to happen. Even someone as detache