Hearing the commotion in the doorway, the man standing by the fire turned and looked at the four interlopers.
‘Stepmom?’ he said to Annie.
Of course it wasn’t Constantine. Constantine wasn’t like this any more, he wasn’t the Silver Fox, he wasn’t the Don. The man who stood before them now very definitely was.
It was Alberto, Constantine’s youngest son.
As they all stood there staring at each other, two massive Latino men in dark suits emerged from the shadows at the side of the room, pointing guns at them.
‘It’s OK,’ said Alberto quickly, raising a hand to them. They stopped moving, kept watching. ‘It’s Annie Carter. And her husband Max.’
Annie hurried forward and hugged Alberto. ‘Christ, you gave me a fright. For a minute I thought it was your father, standing there. Thought I was seeing things.’
‘No, just me,’ he said, smiling; but the smile looked strained. He stared at Max. ‘Hi,’ he said.
‘Golden Boy,’ said Max, letting the hand holding the gun fall to his side.
Annie shot him a furious look. Max would never be cool with Alberto, particularly not since Alberto had linked up with Layla, their daughter. She turned back to her stepson. ‘What’s happening?’ she asked. ‘We found Mrs McAllister tied up in the kitchen.’
‘You what?’
‘Redmond Delaney’s in here somewhere. He’s after Constantine. Didn’t you hear us coming in on the chopper?’
Alberto looked blank. Then he shook his head. ‘We haven’t heard a thing. These walls are three feet thick, you forgotten that? Delaney! For God’s sake. How did that happen?’
‘One of ours gave the game away,’ said Max. ‘Told Redmond that your dad organized the hit on him and Orla back in the seventies, told him Constantine’s still with us. Bit of a fucking shocker, to be honest. And your aunt spilled the beans over this place, so he knows where to find your father. The Delaneys don’t do forgiveness. Redmond’s come for blood.’
‘We’ve got Papa under guard upstairs,’ said Alberto. ‘He’s safe.’
Not for long, thought Annie. Not if Redmond can get through. And if Redmond can’t, then Max will.
She was aware that if she announced Max’s sworn intention to Alberto’s men, then Max would be toast. So she couldn’t. But somehow, she had to try to find a way to stand between Constantine – who was helpless now, more to be pitied than feared – and two people intent on killing him.
Somehow.
If only she knew how.
‘He’s been asking for me,’ said Annie. ‘Hasn’t he.’
‘That’s right.’ Alberto gave a sad smile. ‘He’s been remembering you these past few weeks. But I don’t suppose it’ll last. He’s getting worse. Much worse.’
‘Layla’s not here, is she?’ asked Max sharply.
‘Layla’s safe,’ said Alberto. ‘She’s a thousand miles away.’
‘Let’s get up there and see him then,’ said Annie.