That same night.PaddySomewhere beyond the Delano estate, in the woods that surrounded the mansion, a small group of men was hunting around the body of the youth, who lay unconscious and bleeding.Finally, one of them let out a shout.“Over here! he called just as the leader, a grim-faced man with a flat face, hissed,“Softly, you fool. ‘ and he grumbled under his breath,“We don’t want those trigger-happy guards of Delano to discover us.’The man who had shouted out in excitement had quietened down but he continued to shine his torch on an object on the forest floor which was covered in dry leaves and shrubs.It was the backpack they had been ordered to find and bring back.*the men silently picked it up and after making sure that the contents of the backpack were intact, they swiftly boarded the vehicles they had come in and disappeared into the night, as silently as they had come.One of them hesitated, his eyes on the prone, still figure on the ground.“What about him, Afzal?’,
ProserpinaThat morning, I was busy with my work but by late afternoon, I was beginning to worry.There had been no message from Paddy.*There was an unspoken rule in my home; all my children had to call me once in the day to let me know they were well. Read safe.At first Claude had been irritated as I had known he would be : he was a rebel, forever chafing at the bit.‘Why?’ he had questioned me belligerently,’ No one else has a stupid rule like that in their homes. Don’t you trust us? It is like you are keeping tabs on us…’Jumping to her feet indignantly, Ria had cut him short.“Would you rather have Mumma ask Pappa to install a tracker on you?’ she snapped.Claude fell silent. The kids knew that I was asking them, but I had not involved Lucien in this.They were all at home, in my bedroom, for the eldest children were leaving for college the next day.Piers interrupted him when Claude had opened his mouth to reply to Ria,His grey-blue eyes behind his spectacles were authoritati
LucienHe had a lot to oversee that day. The two new projects they were launching were readying to open in a week. And he had organised a grand party for his clientele and business associates. His men were waiting at both the venues and he went about, satisfied with the progress. Everything was done, the final touches were all that he needed to take care of.Both the new Clubs were in different parts of the city. As of now, he had no plans of leaving Hollowford to set up another Club elsewhere. It served his purpose excellently, to stay in his hometown and bring the business here. it was his home turf and he knew everything that went on there.Then there was Claude’s upcoming fight. it would be the first time that he was facing a professional; all the other fights before this had merely been warm-ups as far as Lucien was concerned. From the daily reports he kept receiving about the young man’s progress, he knew that he had little to worry about. Claude was laid back and a sexual anima
Maja“Oh, great, thought Maja as she picked up her duffle bag and trotted after the man who was striding out, anger in every fibre of his bearing.‘Please wait,’ she panted and he stopped abruptly, turning to look at her, his green eyes hard and cold, all the humour and the warmth had vanished. He looked dangerous and she halted at once.“Look,’ she murmured softly, stopping in her tracks as she looked into his hard, handsome face,“I did not…’ and then, looking him in the eyes, she said in a small voice,”I am sorry.’ Tilting her chin, she gazed at him, stubbornly. He sighed and nodded.’Car’s here.’ he said shortly and they saw that a large deep blue sedan had driven up to the door. The children eagerly piled into the back seat as one of the men standing at the entrance came over to help them to load their luggage, just a couple of sad-looking, worn-out suitcases.Maja bit her lip. They looked like refugees; she thought bitterly, which they were in some sense of the word!The door s
ProserpinaWhen Schwartz called back to ask if he could bring a couple of teenagers and their mother, who was going to be a colleague of Grace and Melissa at the local Hollowford High, I had agreed.I knew that Lucien would not be too happy but it would be a welcome distraction for Dom, Lou and Tara who were moping in the living room, having heard about Paddy’s disappearance.Besides, we always had room for people in our spacious mansion and from what he had not said, I got the feeling that the family were desperately in need of a roof over their head. I went into the kitchen to check if we had enough food and quickly began to whip up a Jambalaya to go with the apple pie that was already done and the meatloaf I had prepared earlier in the day. Macaroni and cheese, my kids’ all-time favourite took very little time to get done and that had also been on the original menu.As I went about chopping the onions, celery and bell peppers for the jambalaya, Ria came into the kitchen to watch. C
MajaShe looked about herself surreptitiously. The cacophony of sounds was rising as she moved forward to the woman who stood smiling. She was young, thought Maja in surprise, younger than Maja herself; and lovely, in a sensuous way, with that curvaceous body. Her heavy brown hair, shining mahogany in the light, hung in a long, thick braid down her back and soft tendrils of brown hair curled enticingly around her face. Dressed in a simple Indian kurta and a pair of jeans, she looked stunning and Maja felt like a frump.And then Maja did a double take. Wait, the woman was expecting a baby???As though she became aware of Maja’s gaze on her slight baby bump, the woman laughed.Stepping forward, she smiled and said,“Hi! I’m Proserpina, Proserpina Delano. Welcome to our home.’She spread her hands to indicate the young woman with golden hair in a ponytail who was playing with the dogs,”These are all my children,’ she smiled as she stepped up to Schwartz and linked her hand through his a
PhilippeThe building he had been pointed out to was the address for Amelia Perez, the mystery woman Paddy had last been seen meeting up with at the gay bar named Ostriches in the Arctic.He glanced around himself. No security cameras on the landings, of course.It was a rundown building in a shabby part of the town. The smell of frying onions and urine had assailed his nostrils as he entered the building with his men, just a couple of them. He did not want to alarm the woman and then again, he did not know what had happened to Paddy. But Philippe and seen enough organised crime to suspect that all was not well.The drumming sound of the rain had increased the isolating feeling he knew was palpable on the landing. He had yet to come face to face with any other inhabitant of the building. A distant sound of barking as one of the occupants on the floor below him, opened and shut the door, alerted him to the fact that there were people in the building with the mouldy walls and the leakin
MajaHer face burning with rage, Maja stepped to her much taller son.’How dare you speak like that? Have you no sense of gratitude?’ she hissed, aware that Ria Delano had entered the room along with a maid who was carrying a load of laundered bed clothes. The pretty young woman smiled and walking over to the windows, threw them open, revealing a view of the lawns. Maddy who had begun to whine about the pup having been taken away, was immediately distracted and she jumped up to race across.‘Mom, look, the view is fantastic!’ she cried, jumping up and down, clapping her hands.As she made to move across to her daughter, smiling faintly, Magnus's low voice hit her in the chest, ’Stupid f*cking c*nt. You could not even keep your own husband with you…’She whirled on him, shocked but he had stomped away. Minutes later, she heard the adjoining door slam and she bowed her head in shame as Ria and the maid turned around in surprise. One look at her downcast face and they exchanged silent lo
Piers's loud shout made the hall fall silent. For a minute, every head in the room swivelled to stomp in the doorway.Even Lucien Delano and Proserpina, absorbed as they were in their burning need to lose themselves in their desperate need for each other, stopped. Proserpina blinked as she turned to look, safe as she was, nestled in her lover’s strong embrace. And the Mafia Don scowled in annoyance, muttering,“What is with that fool boy?’Piers whipped his head to face his parents across the room, an arm around Hila, holding her to his chest as he cried, "Mumma! Pappa!’And when he was hurrying to them, his eyes were wild with excitement as he cried in joy, dragging his lover beside him,‘I…you… I mean… Mumma, I’m going to be a dad!”Proserpina was out of her husband’s protective arms as her son whooped and threw his arms around her, laughing with him. Lucien watched drily as Claude and Ria immediately crossed to him, pulling him into a huddle. Tara joined them, and after a pause, so
LucienHe began to make his way slowly through the milling throng of his guests to where his Woman was standing, in a daringly backless gown, her beautiful body making his staff harden with desire. Ria and Tara had chosen the slinky gown for her. When Proserpina had protested in embarrassment, her hands on her pink cheeks, the girls had declared,‘Mumma! Even after eight kids, you still look WOW!’It had been one of those rare weekends when Tara had come home. Ria had little Jamie on her lap, jiggling the fat little girl who was cooing at her Pappa, for the Mafia Don was hands down, her favourite person. Jamie was the apple of the Don’s eye, as Ria often teased her father.Lucien, who had been in the bedroom working on his phones and tablet, had been watching them in amusement.After the heart attack, mild though it had been, he had taken to spending time at home, working from his office or sometimes, his spacious bedroom.‘Please…but it’s BACKLESS!” Proserpina had gone on, her eyes m
A love like the kind her parents shared was almost like a fairytale…She sighed and touched her small belly. Big Philippe placed his large warm hand over hers and whispered concernedly in her ear,“Princess?”She looked up into his dark eyes and felt the rush of affection, of love that kept them bound to each other. Philippe, the Capo would bring the Moon and place it at her feet if she asked for it, she thought and unmindful of the crowds milling around her, the sound of glasses clinking, the chatter of people as, Ria reached up and pulled his head down. Murmuring against his lips,‘Philippe Diaz, I love you,” as she kissed him.***Piers Delano was staring at his phone. His mind was on other matters, although he had turned up for the party after his twin’s wedding ceremony. It had been a brief ceremony; Philippe had been born a Catholic, so there had been a small wedding service at Church. Old man Diaz had passed away a few years ago, and Philippe’s brothers, both of whom had been a
A few years later.The years have been kind to him, thinks the Don fondly as he surveys the guests at his daughter’s wedding party.Lucien Delano has aged but in his predictably indomitable manner, he looks and of course, his wife is testimony to the fact, that he still behaves in the same manner as he used to.His still-muscular physique belies his years and he continues to practice in his gym and has a friendly bout of boxing in the Ring, off and on. His son Claude is now an established name in the world of boxing, simultaneously running the underground fight clubs he has set up, and partnered with Paddy. The two of them work in tandem, Paddy with his enviable skills on the computers, has managed to make the Fight Clubs very lucrative indeed! thinks the Don.The Mafia Don is still actively handling the matters of his mob, which has branched out to become a powerful organisation, but one that is totally against human trafficking. He has made his millions through his arms dealings, a
LucienHe looked at his Woman fondly. She was on the bed, her head lowered to the baby at her nipple, the little child whose brown curls were bobbing as she sucked hard at her mother’s swollen teat.Proserpina wore a look of divine bliss, and Lucien moved over to her, taking her chin in his hard grip and kissing her.It was all he could do, for she had been spending almost a month at the hospital now. A month during which the Mafia Don had practically lived in the hospital too, his only concern being his Woman.And of course, the littlest child of his, who had charmed him already, though she was too small, too tiny to utter a word. Yet she could be ear-splittingly loud, too!He found himself staring in wonder as the baby yawned, exposing her small toothless gums, pink in colour, as he watched her face adoringly. And when Proserpina laughed at him, at the way he fawned over his youngest daughter, the Mafia Don growled at her, his eyes hungrily wandering over her.“Woman, I want to bree
RiaShe was running down a corridor that stretched out endlessly. The sound of the man’s footsteps thundering after her made her pant in fear. He was after her. She stumbled and fell, picked herself up, and kept running, her hands reaching out in the dark for some door, some way out of this place. And then, suddenly, out of the blue, she grabbed a shirt sleeve.The face of the man looked up in front of her.She screamed as Dusak’s face appeared out of the gloom, grinning maniacally.He had blood pouring down his forehead and a large hole in his cheek where he had been shot. But he opened his mouth and spoke in a guttural voice she knew she had heard before.“LOVELY Ria, my Ria, I am going to be with you forever now...'He reached out a long skeletal hand with talons, and that was when Ria screamed.Dusak Rudenko began shaking her throat ungently, and she felt a gurgle of panic erupt within her. A deep fear, unnamed and unknown.And then Philippe’s voice came into her consciousness, be
Lucien stood, staring in shock as a beaming Camille reached out to hand over the little baby to him. He stared in confusion for he had never held any of his newborn kids; it was a first for him.But even as he hesitated, the little child, its skin pink and puckered, a thatch of dark hair on its tiny head, opened one eye and looked at him quizzically an eyebrow raised questioningly, weighing him up critically so to speak, before shutting her eye firmly and ignoring the people around her, her mouth blowing a red raspberry pout.Ria and the other children began to laugh as Lou cried, with a shout of laughter,“Pappa, Sir, she is not impressed by you!’But it was Ria who declared, wonderingly, as she leaned against Lucien, who was holding the precious bundle cupped to his chest fiercely,“Pappa, I think she has Mumma’s colouring!”***ProserpinaI opened my eyes slowly. It felt as though there were weights holding my lids down. It had been a dream that seemed to go on forever, tumultuous
Lucien looked around at his family who were in the large waiting room. The younger boys, Dom and Lou, were piled on a sofa, their mouths open as they snored softly; Tara was curled up in an armchair with Aiyana beside her, an arm draped protectively around the child. The ex-FBI woman sat, her legs folded elegantly even in sleep.James Schwartz was sitting in another chair while the Capo dozed uncomfortably, Ria’s golden head on his lap, Rudy nestled beside her. Lucien’s face softened slightly as he looked at James. As though his thoughts had touched his second in command, the Scotsman stirred and stretched, sitting up, alert in an instant.He looked around himself and met Lucien’s eyes, an unspoken look passing between them.Snoring loudly, Claude was sprawled in abandon, sleeping on a mattress someone had thoughtfully provided, which was spread on the floor, his arms thrown wide, while Paddy had chosen to settle in an armchair close to the corridor leading to the theatre door, positi
She mumbled,"Yes Sir...' and her molten brown eyes, clouded with desire and want, with pain and pleasure, misted over as she looked at him, beseeching him to release her from her need.Her absolute submission aroused him tenfold, and the big man growled shakily, for the sight of her large breasts with the evil clamps fastened to her tender nipples was too much for him.“I shall f*ck your t*ts today, wh*re,’ he said hoarsely, "to punish you. Pain, wh*re, and pleasure."She made a sound, her breasts wobbling as she tried not to shift too much, but he lowered his head to sink his teeth into the fleshy mounds savagely, and she cried out.He tugged lightly at the clamps with his teeth, and she met his eyes, her own filled with tears of pain but she dimpled slightly as she said breathlessly,'Master... I am yours, Lucien Delano..."He grunted.F*ck, but he could never have enough of this delectable offering laid before him: this lush body, the thighs wet with her want, her shining pink c*n