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“What planes?”
“EEEEP.” He makes the sound of a game show buzzer.“Wrong answer.”Bang. “Five out of five,” he crows, as the dead body tips forwards this time and tumbles down the glass steps. “Still, it’s not as satisfying as what I did to your father. Heard he took over an hour to die from the five bullet holes I gave him.” He mock-winces in pain. “Fuck, I bet that hurt.”
“Don’t remember. It was a long time ago.” I say it with a shrug, but I can feel my self-control slipping.
“Rossi told me you were watching from your father’s car the whole time. Stupid punk. You should have made yourself known, and I would have sent the whole family off together. Kirill’s still pissed we didn’t give him your sister. Still, at least he had Ada for fourteen years, eh?”
My palms clench into fists. O’Sullivan notices and laughs. He knows he’s under my skin now like a bad splinter. Any minute, I’m going to crack and give him a reason to fire five bullets into metoo.
“Thanks for taking care of my wife. Is she dead yet? Heard the doctors gave her twenty-four hours to live without medical support, so you’re paying for the fucking funeral. Not me.”
“I haven’t got your wife, O’Sullivan.”
“Too busy with Semenov’s?”
The muffled sound of angry car horns start to filter into the casino from the street outside.At the same time, I loosen my fists. This was never just about vengeance. It was about Ada, too. I need to stay alive for both of us, otherwise our circle breaks forever.
“Do you believe in karma, O’Sullivan?” I ask him.
“Only when the cards fall in my favour.” Taking a step forward, he lifts his gun at me, eyes narrowed. “Considering where we’re standing, and the fact I always win big, I’m taking my chances.”
I’m sensing Viper’s arrival is imminent. There’s shouting outside too now.
“Neither did I,” I say, bracing when I realise what the crazy bastard is about to do. “Until I watched a snake drive a tank into the side of my casino.”
I watch him frown in confusion, and then it feels like the whole building just got hit by a wrecking ball, sending everyone still standing to the ground. The doors to the gaming floor and most of the front wall disintegrate as the grinning grill of a modified black Humvee forces her way into the room.
Most of O’Sullivan’s men who were by the doors have disappeared under the wheels or falling rubble. As the rest of the wall collapses in a haze of dust and falling brickwork, I see the Irish mobster dive to the side as the Humvee comes to a screeching stop a couple of feet away.
Launching for my gun, I start sprinting after him, picking off any of his men who still have a weapon in their hand. Through the wreckage, I watch him stumbling out through the remains of the reception and cut a path through the crowds that are gathering in front of the building.
“Get in!” yells Viper, kicking the door open for me, then hitting reverse as soon as I’ve thrown myself inside.
“You’re fucking insane,” I yell, grabbing hold of the dash as he weaves a rocky trail into an evening of light sunsets and summer rain. “Where the hell did you get this thing?”
“Weekend hobby. Made it tank and bullet proof. Hope you took out building insurance,” he adds, flicking me a grin.
The rain is coming down harder now. O’Sullivan is just a blur on the pavement, moving further and further away. Viper swings the vehicle onto the street to follow them when I yank on the handbrake and skid the Humvee to a stop.
“Wait! Ada!”
“Frankie, he’sright there.” Jabbing his finger in O’Sullivan’s direction, he curses as a silver SUV comes out of nowhere, swerves across their path and swallows him up.
He tries to slide the gear into first, but I wrench his fingers away from the stick.
“Where the hell do you think Semenov is? He’s withher. They broke Silas for information, so they know everything. God knows what the Russian’s doing to her right now.”
With a curse, he slams his fist into the steering wheel as the sound of sirens rises up in the distance. “Where’s Bambi?”
“Hiding in my office, unless she got sick of the gunfire and fucked off to Africa. The only things that matter now are getting her and Ada safe. We’ll deal with Santiago’s fury later.”
None of us could have predicted what went down here tonight, but we both know the Colombian doesn’t deal in excuses.
Opening the driver’s door, he jumps out and keeps the engine running. “Leave the cops to me. Just go and get Ada.”
“Where the fuck have you been all day?” I say, sliding across to his seat.
“Saying goodbye to an old friend.” He looks shattered suddenly. “Thanks for keeping Bambi safe.”
