Johnny Preston was well aware of his hands physically shaking when he replaced the receiver on its cradle in the phonebox. He had just rung Graeme to update him on what was happening and how he felt it in his bones that tonight was the night.
Spotting an off licence, Johnny headed towards it. His nerves were jangling and a half-bottle of Scotch should help to calm him down. Trying to shoot Vinny with trembling hands was a no-go. He would probably gun down somebody else by mistake.
Ten minutes later, Johnny was parked in a secluded alleyway off the Mile End Road. He took the bottle of Scotch from the inside of his jacket, unscrewed the lid, and drank half of it in one gulp. Immediately feeling more calm and confident about the task in hand, Johnny decided to stop at another off licence on the way back to the club to purchase another bottle in case he needed it later. With a few Scotches inside him, Johnny felt as though he could conquer the world, and that’s exactly what he needed to pull this one off successfully.
Glancing at his watch, Johnny re-started the bike’s engine. Hopefully, in the next few hours, Vinny Butler would exist only in memory.
Back at the party, Colleen’s parents, Rosa and Eugene, were in total shock as they listened to what Albie Butler had to say about their future son-in-law. ‘Go find Colleen, Eugene. Bejesus, I can barely believe what I’ve just been told. No way is she marrying into this family now,’ Rosa said to her husband.
‘So, you’re telling us that Roy broke both your legs, plus some ribs, and put you in hospital for over a month?’ Eugene asked Albie. Before he took Rosa’s advice and forced Colleen to cancel her engagement, he needed to get his facts straight. Roy had seemed such a decent chap.
‘Yep. He has a violent temper, does my Roy. You should warn your Colleen never to upset him. He will definitely get violent with her if she does,’ Albie continued. The horrified expressions on Colleen’s parents’ faces were enough to make him feel dreadful, but then when he saw Vinny grinning at him from a distance, Albie knew that for once he would rather face the music himself than ruin Roy’s life. Albie tore his eyes away from his eldest son and stared at his tatty shoes.‘Ignore everything I just said. It isn’t true. It was Vinny that put me in hospital, not his brother. My Roy is a good boy and he will make your Colleen very happy,’ Albie said, walking away from an open-mouthed Rosa and Eugene.
Knowing that he would rather admit his awful lie to Queenie himself and explain why he had said it in the first place, rather than let Vinny expose his secret, Albie went in search of his estranged wife. He hadn’t walked more than ten steps when Vinny collared him though. ‘That was a quick conversation. You better have told Rosa and Eugene everything I asked you to, otherwise you’re in shit street.’
‘I did start to tell them, boy, but then I saw you watching me and it put me off. I will have another bash again later,’ Albie replied, playing for time. He already knew what he was going to do. He was going to speak to his family one by one, and explain why he had pretended to be at death’s door. He would also warn Roy about Vinny’s cunning plan. He just hoped that Roy would show some gratitude in return by bunging him some money so he could leave the area. He wouldn’t be able to live locally after disobeying Vinny’s orders, that was for sure.
Vinny sneered. ‘If you let me down, I swear I will jump on that stage, grab the mike, and tell everybody what a despicable lying old cunt you are. Oh, and then I will have to kill you, Dad. Now, do we understand each other?’
Albie nodded sadly. He knew without a doubt that Vinny wasn’t bluffing. His first-born was toxic. In fact, he was more than that, Vinny was rotten right down to the core.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Surprised by what a fantastic little DJ Lenny was turning out to be, Vivian grabbed her sister’s hand as she heard the opening chords to Joe Loss and his Orchestra’s ‘March of the Mods’.
‘Michael, Kevin, come on. You used to both be Mods,’ Queenie said, gesturing for her son and his friend to join her and Vivvy on the dancefloor.
‘Leave it out, Mum. This ain’t a proper Mod tune,’ Michael informed her.
‘So, what did you think of Colleen’s family?’ Vivian asked Queenie, when they had finished their little dance routine.
‘Seemed pleasant enough. Couldn’t really understand what they were saying though, could you?’
Vivian shook her head. ‘Not a lover of the Irish, me. Don’t trust the bastards.’
Queenie chuckled. Vivian didn’t like or trust anyone who came from north of Watford.
‘Oh, for fuck’s sake. What does he want now?’ Vivian said, when she and Queenie walked back to their table to find Albie hovering nearby.
‘Can’t I have a dance and drink in peace without you bloody pestering me now?’ Queenie asked.
‘I need to speak to you alone, Queenie. It’s really important that I do.’
‘Well, she don’t fucking wanna talk to you, do you, Queenie? Now go away and leave us alone, Albie,’ Vivian ordered.
When Albie slunk away like a scolded puppy, Queenie bit her lip to stop herself having a go at her sister. If Albie had something of importance to tell her, then she wanted to bloody well hear it. As much as Queenie loved Vivian, she was quite capable of fighting her own battles, and sometimes she wished that her sister would butt out and let her do the talking.
Michael and Kevin were having a right good laugh. Vinny had invited half a dozen of Roy’s old school pals to the party. One of them had bought his sister with him and Kevin had just been winding her up by telling her because his father was black, he had been blessed with a gigantic-sized penis that white men could only dream of owning.
‘Michael, sorry to interrupt your conversation, but there’s a girl outside asking for you. She’s very upset and has a suitcase with her,’ said Paul, who worked on the door.
Hoping it wasn’t one of his many ex-birds turning up on his doorstep, Michael darted out to reception and was amazed to see Nancy standing there. He hadn’t even realized she knew the actual address of the club. ‘What’s wrong, babe? Has your mum and dad found out?’ he asked, when Nancy threw herself into his arms.
‘Yeah. Somebody saw me in your car, so I told them the truth. They said I had to choose them or you, so I chose you and left home,’ Nancy wept.
Aware that Paul and the other doorman Pete were both watching with interest, Michael ordered them to put Nancy’s case somewhere safe, then led his girlfriend outside.
‘You are OK with me turning up here, aren’t you? You don’t seem very pleased to see me,’ Nancy mumbled.
‘We’ll talk in the motor,’ Michael said, putting his arm around her and steering her towards where his car was parked. His mind was all over the place. He loved Nancy, he was sure of that, but now she had turned up with her suitcase in her hand, he felt slightly trapped already. What was he meant to say to his family? None of them even knew he was bloody dating her. And what the hell were Vinny and his mother going to say when they realized who she was?
‘You’re not going to make me go back home, are you?’ Nancy asked, when she got in the passenger side of the car.
Michael tilted Nancy’s chin towards him. ‘Of course I’m not going to make you go back home. It’s just a bit awkward this has happened tonight, that’s all. I so wished I’d have already told my family about you. Gonna be a bit of a shock for them when I march in the club, and introduce you in a minute, isn’t it?’
‘I can’t meet your family tonight, Michael. I’m not even dressed for a party. You’ll have to tell them about me tomorrow, then I’ll meet them the day after or something.’
‘Babe, I am in the middle of a double family engagement party. I can hardly not go back to the club, can I now? Plus, where do you think we are going to sleep tonight? I live upstairs at the bloody club, remember?’
Knowing that Vinny and Roy also lived at the club, Nancy was horrified. ‘But I thought we would sleep at a hotel?’
On the verge of losing his temper, Michael took a deep breath
. ‘Just dry your eyes, Nancy, clean your face up a bit, and we’ll get this over with. There’s no time like the present and you’ll be fine once you’ve had a couple of drinks.’
Knowing she had little say in the matter, Nancy took the handkerchief off Michael, got her compact mirror out of her handbag, and began to wipe away the smudged mascara. She was dreading seeing Michael’s family again, especially Vinny, but now she had left home, what choice did she have? She and Michael were a couple now. They were going to be living together. So, the quicker she got the awkwardness with his family out of the way, then bonded with them, the better.
When Karen took her break from behind the bar, Vinny grimaced as his son threw himself at his mother and smothered her in kisses. Little Vinny had never been the most touchy-feely child, but with Karen he acted differently. Even his behaviour had improved since he had met her, and the thing that pissed Vinny off the most was that Karen actually seemed like a bloody good mum.
‘We need to start the fucking ball rolling,’ Vinny hissed in his pal’s ear.
Twenty-nine years old, Ahmed Zane was originally from Istanbul. Young Turkish lads were taught at an early age how to charm the birds from the trees, it was how they survived, and with his perfect physique and chiselled features, Ahmed had been more blessed than most. At the tender age of nineteen, Ahmed had met a rich English woman fifteen years his senior. He had married her within weeks of meeting her, moved to England, stayed with her for two years, then took off with half of her money. He was eligible to stay in the country for life now because he had been kind enough to provide her with his child.
Ahmed and Vinny had met approximately three years ago. Both hard-nosed businessmen, they had clicked immediately, and were now best buddies and partners in crime. Vinny was used to having a sidekick. He and Roy had been inseperable growing up and for many years afterwards, but that had all changed when Colleen had come on the scene. Their closeness had now dwindled and in the past year, Ahmed had all but taken Roy’s place in Vinny’s life.
With Vinny’s financial backing, Ahmed was now considered to be the drug lord of London. Once upon a time, Vinny had got his thrills through violence, but he had promised his mum when Little Vinny was born that he’d do his utmost to curb his awful temper.
Flooding the streets of London with heroin was a different kind of buzz to beating somebody to a pulp, but it still gave Vinny a natural high. So did the fact that it was all top secret. Nobody bar Ahmed knew that Vinny was involved, and the money he was raking in gave Vinny the biggest adrenaline rush of all. That beautiful brown powder had made both him and Ahmed incredibly rich almost overnight.
‘Daddy, Mummy says she is gonna take me to the zoo soon. Will you come too? I want to see the reptiles. Can we bring the snakes home with us?’ Little Vinny asked, snapping his father out of his trance.
Karen raised her eyebrows. Her son had an obsession with snakes, and she hated the bloody things. ‘I don’t think we can bring the snakes home with us, can we, Daddy?’ she asked, grinning at Vinny.
Playing along with the happy family façade, Vinny chuckled. ‘Yeah, I’ll come to the zoo as well.’
‘I’m gonna tell Nanny,’ Little Vinny said, skipping away happily.
‘Karen, I’d like you to meet my pal, Ahmed. I’ve been telling him what a good mum you are to Little Vinny and how we have managed to forget the past and build a happy relationship once again, and Ahmed has just come up with a fabulous idea.’
Karen allowed Ahmed to kiss her on both cheeks, then smiled when he complimented her on her beauty. ‘So, what is this idea then?’
‘Well, it seems daft you travelling up here from Dagenham most days, doesn’t it? Ahmed rents out properties, and he has a beauty not far from here in Beckton. I’ve seen it. It’s a luxurious three-bedroom flat, and I am willing to pay the rent on it, Karen. It will enable me, you, and our son to spend some quality time alone as a family. What do you think?’
Staring into Vinny’s piercing green eyes, Karen’s heart leapt. Even though he had been the perfect gentleman up until now, she was sure that he wanted to make another go of it with her. Little Vinny had brought them closer together than they had ever been in the past, and the chance to become a proper family was far too much for Karen to turn down. Her council flat in Dagenham was on the twenty-first floor of a tower block, so what the hell did she have to lose? ‘That sounds fab. When can I view it?’
Ahmed smiled at Karen’s enthusiasm. ‘I can show you tomorrow, then you can move in the following day, if you want? I am only renting this flat at a cheap price because Vinny is a pal of mine, and I know how much he thinks of you,’ he replied in a broken cockney accent.
Karen was ecstatic. ‘Thank you, Ahmed, and thank you, Vinny. I’d best get back to work now.’
When Karen darted back behind the bar, Vinny shook Ahmed’s hand. ‘Well played, pal.’
Ahmed chuckled. ‘English women are just so dumb.’
Queenie was amazed when Michael plonked a stunning-looking girl in the chair opposite her, then introduced her as his girlfriend who would be moving in with him. Queenie had lost count of the amount of girlfriends Michael had ploughed through, but none had ever tempted him to give up his bachelor lifestyle before.
‘Oh, Queen. Ain’t she a pretty thing? The face of an angel,’ Vivian gushed.
Queenie looked around the club, her heart beating rapidly. If Vinny was to spot Nancy, there would be murders and she would hate things to kick off in front of Colleen’s family. Roy would go apeshit if that were to happen. Knowing she had to play along and pretend that Vinny hadn’t spoken to her about the girl, Queenie forced a smile. ‘An absolute princess. So, where do you come from, darling? Are you local?’
Nancy squeezed her boyfriend’s hand to urge him to answer the question for her. She didn’t have a clue what she was meant to say.
‘Mum, Auntie Viv, there is something I need to tell you. Do you remember that couple who took over the café that used to belong to Old Jack? They weren’t there for long. Their names were Donald and Mary.’
‘Yep, I remember ’em. They had a little boy who witnessed the murder outside your old club,’ Vivian remarked.
Michael took a deep breath. ‘Well, Nancy is their daughter. Her parents have just found out about our relationship and chucked Nancy out. I need you to help me square things with Vinny, Mum. Nancy and I are very much in love and I want you to back me up. I think it’s probably best that we don’t tell him Nancy’s true identity until tomorrow though. I would hate to spoil Bren and Roy’s party. You know how hot-headed Vinny can be after a few Scotches, and I’d rather talk to him when he’s sober.’
Queenie’s nerves were suddenly shot to pieces. Vinny already knew what Nancy looked like, but Queenie could hardly tell Michael that his brother had been stalking him. Then there was Brenda. She and Nancy had once been friends, so surely Bren would recognize the girl as well?
‘Can I say something, Mrs Butler?’ Nancy asked timidly.
‘Call me Queenie, love, and yes, of course you can.’
‘I just wanted you to know how serious I am about your son. My parents didn’t exactly chuck me out. They offered me a choice. It was either them or Michael, and I chose Michael. He is the kindest, funniest, loveliest person that I have ever met and there was just no way I could give him up. I love him so much.’
Queenie felt her heart lurch in her chest when she saw the way Michael and Nancy looked at one another. They were clearly in love, and there was no way Queenie would allow Vinny to ruin his youngest brother’s happiness now by forcing Denise Thompson to make up wicked lies. That would be so very wrong.
Johnny Preston felt as cool as a cucumber. No longer was he shaking. He was absolutely brimming with confidence now. He had also moved away from the main road and was tucked nicely in between two cars that were parked nearer the club’s entrance. Annoyed with himself for having drunk his Scotch so quickly, Johnny glanced at his watch. He definitely had another ho
ur or two to kill before the party in the club wrapped up. Desperate not to lose his bravado, Johnny decided to pop to another off licence. Surely it was better to be slightly merry than a bag of bloody nerves? Turning on the ignition, Johnny pulled away from the kerb right in front of a Rover 2000 that had to screech to a halt to avoid hitting him.
‘You absolute idiot! Did you not check your mirror? How I didn’t kill you I’ll never know,’ the driver yelled, leaping out of the car.
Realizing he was attracting unwanted attention from gawping passers-by, Johnny revved the bike’s engine and sped away.
Vinny had had his beady eyes on his father all evening, and was just about to march across to him and order him to tell Colleen’s parents what he had instructed him to, when Paul the doorman walked over to him. ‘There’s a girl in reception, boss. Says her name is Denise and she asked for you.’
Vinny grinned. He had always prided himself at having eyes in the back of his head. In his line of business, you needed to, and he had been well chuffed when he had seen Michael sneak Nancy Walker in earlier. If Denise hadn’t been popping in to break the news of her pregnancy, Vinny would have probably smacked Michael in the mouth and turfed his slag of a bird out immediately. ‘Go and have a chat with Karen while the bar is quiet, Ahmed. I have a bit of business to attend to,’ Vinny said, winking at his pal.
Ahmed grinned when his friend sauntered away. Vinny had told him earlier that Denise Thompson would be turning up to drop the baby bombshell. There were very few secrets between him and Vinny. They were more like brothers than friends, and seeing as Ahmed had already made Kenny Jackson disappear off the face of the earth on Vinny’s say-so, and was soon to work his evil magic on both Karen and Terry Smart, they already had a massive bond to keep them united for the rest of their colourful lives.
Kimberley Chambers 3-Book Butler Collection Page 22