Rosa snorts as she places the champagne at the side of the pool.
‘We haven't decided on any of those things just yet,’ Scarlett’s eyes shift sidewards, ‘but we will soon. We don’t want to wait.’
‘I don’t blame you.’ Avery waggles her eyebrows.
My phone rings again, saving me from suffering anymore girl talk. I squint at the screen. Killian. I swipe as I stride purposefully back into the house.
‘Is it done?’ I demand. I’m desperate to put this whole mess behind us. It kills me that I couldn’t be there, that I couldn’t handle the O’Connors personally. But my priority is Scarlett. I’m utterly unprepared to leave her side for even a second until I’m certain those mad fuckers are behind bars.
‘It’s done,’ he confirms.
Relief crusades through my veins.
‘Declan’s in custody. I filled the boot of his car with half a million euros worth of cocaine and a shedload of firearms I found in his warehouse. The coppers set up a road blockexactly where I tipped them off. You should have seen his face when the guards slapped the handcuffs on him. He was murderous.’
‘No surprises there.’ I stalk through the house, admiring all the little touches Scarlett has put in place since she moved in. I love how the scent of her perfume lingers in the corridors. ‘What about the others?’ I ask, desperate to know what’s happened to the rest of the O’Connor clan.
‘Keith is out of the country on business. He’d be a fool to try to make it back through customs now. If he’s not arrested, he’ll at least be brought in for questioning. The other brothers headed southbound towards Cork. There’s an alert out for them at all Irish airports and ports. If they leave the country, we’ll know about it.’
‘As the saying goes, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I want to know if there’s any sign of retaliation looming. Hopefully with Declan and their father behind bars, they won’t be stupid enough to try anything.’
‘All O’Connor assets have been frozen. Even if they have the balls to try, they don’t have the cash to carry out their weekly shopping, let alone pay their usual heavies.’
‘And what about the old man? Declan said he was up for parole?’ Out of all of them, he’s the one who concerns me most. His vendetta with this family has always been personal, but now Scarlett is one of us, he has twice as many reasons to come after us. She is the reason he’s rotting behind bars, after all.
‘There’s no chance of the old man getting out. I paid a hefty sum to make sure of it.’ Killian’s tone is curt but I detect a hint of relief in it.
‘So basically, you’re telling me everything is under control.’
‘It is. But just in case, I’ve ordered a full security detail at the ball tonight.’
That’s why he’s the best in the business.
‘Good. I’ve invited the press, and you know what Dad’s parties can be like–they can be wild enough without a poor retaliation attempt from the O’Connors.’
‘See you tonight,’ I say, hanging up the phone.
The whole world is about to find out that Ireland’s most eligible bachelor is no longer a bachelor, and my father is about to find out that if he won’t accept Scarlett, I will happily resign as CEO of the Beckett empire and spend the rest of my life running the vineyards in Provence.
Chapter Forty-Nine
JAMES
I stride back out to the pool and call Scarlett out of the water.
‘Oh, can I not just have her to myself for five minutes, Beckett?’ Avery splashes water in my direction. If I wasn't in such a euphoric mood, it might piss me off.
‘This will only take a minute.’
‘That’s what they all say.’ Avery splutters at her own joke as Scarlett hauls herself out of the water. In a tiny, crimson bikini, she’d give the Baywatch cast a run for their money.
‘Is everything okay?’ Concern weighs heavy in her tone.
‘Everything’s perfect. Declan is behind bars, Jack’s had his parole rejected, and there’s no sign of the other O’Connor boys. The threat is over. The past is behind us.’ My lips curl upwards. ‘Now, it’s time to concentrate on the future.’
Scarlett’s cherry-coloured lips pop open. ‘But how?’
‘Killian dealt with it, his way.’ I shrug. ‘Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.’