Queens of Crime: 3-Book Thriller Collection. Kimberley Chambers

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      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 СКАЧАТЬ