‘They are going to replace the lot.’ Alex took Maggie’s hands in his and admired her. ‘It seems like an age since I’ve looked at you properly, Maggie; I suppose life has just got in the way.’ Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and noticing a wisp of hair that had escaped and fallen down her face, he reached out and put it behind her ear. Although only in her late thirties, these days she looked older with dark rings under her eyes. Alex knew he had caused the worry lines on her face and yet she had been his rock throughout.
Her waist looked even slimmer than usual in her tight jeans and her blue vest top showed just enough cleavage to cause a stirring within him. ‘I love you, Maggie Silva.’ Pulling her towards him, he put his arms around her waist and kissed her on the lips. Instantly Maggie’s arms went around his neck.
‘You need a shave, my Portuguese prince.’ She rubbed his dark stubble on his chin and looked lovingly at him. ‘This could be a fresh start for us Alex. Fingers crossed all goes well, but I’ve got a good feeling about this place.’
Looking around, Alex shrugged. ‘Well, you’re the only person who does – look at it!’ Alex looked at where they were standing, the space around them full of boxes and chaos. ‘Sorry about all this, Maggie. You’ve had a lot to put up with lately and you just accept whatever is thrown at you.’ Kissing her again, he squeezed her tightly around the waist.
‘You’re my skunk, Alex Silva. I’d follow your scent anywhere.’ Maggie laughed.
One of the removal men made his presence known by coughing to attract their attention. ‘We’re off now, Mrs Silva. We just need you to sign this document and we’re all done.’ Waving his clipboard in the air with one hand, he walked up to them both. Quickly signing her name, Maggie reached into the back pocket of her jeans and handed them a twenty-pound note. ‘Thanks boys, we appreciate your help.’
The removal man quickly snatched it out of her hand before she changed her mind. ‘Thanks missus.’ Then to Alex, he said, ‘Good luck, Mr Silva,’ before heading out of the door.
A broad grin crossed Alex’s face. Clapping his hands together to brighten the mood, he turned to his wife again. ‘Tell you what, I’ll find a local chippy and get us some food. I wouldn’t bother unpacking any more boxes than you need to tonight. Let’s just settle in, eh, and see what the brewery has to say tomorrow? I’ll also let the local police station know we’ve arrived…’
Maggie nodded. She felt determined to make this work, no matter what. ‘That sounds like a plan. Now, go and get some chips and bring some bread and butter back. Tonight, I feel like feasting and ditching the diet.’ She laughed and pinched Alex’s cheek.
Over the next couple of days their lives were full of an army of workmen traipsing in and out. Much to Maggie’s delight, the kitchen was being ripped out and new cabinets replaced the old ones. The long-awaited sink was fitted, which caused a huge smile to spread across Maggie’s face. She promptly turned on one of the taps excitedly. ‘Running water and a sink, Alex. Goodness me, you know how to turn a girl’s head!’
‘I hope that’s not the only thing of mine that turns your head Maggie, but if it makes you happy, that’s okay with me.’ He laughed and gently patted her bottom.
Maggie looked around as their new home slowly began to take shape. ‘This is a lovely little village Alex, and we are the new hosts of the village pub. The streets are clean, and the people around here seem to take pride in where they live. It’s so different to London – this is suburbia at its finest.’
‘Yeah, well, sometimes you can hide better in public than you can anywhere else. It doesn’t matter where we go, there’s a bounty on our heads and we have to live with it… or I do at least,’ Alex said bitterly.
‘Don’t piss on my parade. We’re in this together – all of us. We’re a family. And I’m excited with the place. Me and the kids have had a walk around and people already know we’re the new publicans. Word has spread. When they see me, they say good morning and that’s enough for me.’
‘It all sounds a bit Stepford Wives to me,’ Alex said. ‘But I don’t need to warn you about being careful; you know the score and so do the kids.’
‘Of course I do. And you’d better make the most of your Stepford Wives’ scenario and blend in, because that’s the only way to survive this!’
Alex held his hands up in submission. ‘Whoa Maggie, I wasn’t criticising. It’s a lovely little place and we can earn a living here and build a life – hopefully. I was just saying…’ Alex trailed off. For the first time in a long time, that old familiar smile had appeared on Maggie’s face. She wanted this badly and he was happy to go along with it. How could he deny her, when she had stood by him so vehemently?
A fleeting thought passed through Alex’s mind. His memories seemed like a distant dream. He had once been up there with the Portuguese and Spanish gangland bosses, respected and feared as their right-hand man and a boss in his own right. He’s given out orders and money had never been an issue. He’d worn Armani suits, Rolex watches and had had an almost celebrity status. His children had gone to private schools.
Looking back, Alex had never realised how suffocating it had all been. Whatever you did, you did together. There were no outsiders, and sadly, Maggie hadn’t been able to choose her own friends. The other gangland wives had become her friends and eventually, she had lost touch with her old acquaintances.
Most of the time he had been working so Maggie was left to her own devices with the kids. Which meant spending time with the other wives and their kids. Even when Maggie’s parents visited, the wives turned up with homemade dishes of this and that and made a big thing of it and hosted a party or a big ‘family’ lunch. You were never alone, and you never left the family. Never. Unless you were dead, or they exiled you. Which, Alex mused, was what had happened to him.
Alex had never strayed from Maggie. With her, he had everything he wanted in a woman. They were partners, husband and wife. She never nagged or complained about his absences like he had heard other wives do. Just the thought of going home to her stirred his loins. That loving look in her eyes and the way she held him; he knew he would never find that anywhere else. He would die for her and would do anything to protect her, which was why they were now running this place.
Alex had once been the mafia’s assassin, killing whoever they ordered him to. But his last murder had been personal – the man who had tried to rape his beloved Maggie, and the brother of Alex’s old boss, Paul. Matteo had thought he could take what he liked, when he liked, including Maggie. Seeing her bruised and bleeding that day had set Alex’s teeth on edge.
And now, Alex would have to pay with his own life. The others had all turned against him and his family, but especially Paul. He’d lost favour in the mafia so quickly, it made his head spin. He’d been a ticking time bomb and he’d feared for his family’s safety. Alex had felt there was only one thing left to do and that was to give himself up to the police.
He was now known as a ‘rat’. The lowest of the low, betraying the mafia’s golden rule. Life had been hell and his family had put up with a lot, but now it was his turn to pay his family back. So, if suburbia and the Stepford Wives was what made them happy, then that was okay with him.
He knew they were coming for him, but if they wanted a shoot-out, they could bloody well have one. At least he would die with honour and not in hiding!
2 MEETING THE NEIGHBOURS
‘Oh my God Alex, look at the place, you wouldn’t recognise it.’ Maggie walked from room to room, surveying the massive changes a little bit of tender loving care had made. ‘Have you seen what they’ve done to the kitchen?’ Maggie couldn’t contain herself; she was buzzing with excitement. This picturesque village was the stuff that dreams were made of, and it was a world away from the life they’d been leading lately.
While they had opted out of the protection programme, the police were still offering them limited protection because of Alex’s high profile as a witness. And the police still had to approve of certain activities. They weren’t allowed to use social media and mobile phones were also a no-go area as they could potentially be tracked and traced. That was the hard part, especially for the kids. All kids these days had a mobile phone, but they both had to agree to certain conditions. Alex had also warned them all that the pub landline would probably be bugged, and the police would listen in on their calls, so they needed to be careful what they said and to whom. The police were also suspicious about whether Alex would beg forgiveness from the gangland bosses, change his statement and return to his old ways.
It was a high-profile international case involving many known mafia bosses across the globe. Their worlds would be blown wide open. Although a chill ran down Maggie’s spine when she thought of the other option; they’d had so many death threats, it sickened and saddened her at the same time. Living in fear all the time had caused all kinds of problems. Fun loving Dante had retreated into himself. Deana had lost a lot of weight and Alex seemed to have sunk into a depression and at one point had lost his libido, which was unusual for him, because he was always ready. Night or day. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she didn’t recognise herself either. She saw an old woman looking back at her, a world away from the woman who’d had her hair done every day before going to the supermarket.
Life had been so good and then it had turned sour. Inwardly, she blamed herself. Alex had only done what any husband would have done. There were times when she wished she’d kept her mouth shut about what Matteo had tried to do. But would her attempted rape have been a one off, or would he have come back for more? Mentally, she already knew the answer to that, and it chilled her bones.
‘I’m glad you’re happy Maggie. Even Deana seems to have a smile on her face lately, considering she’s usually a sulky teenager slamming every door she walks through!’
Maggie looked at her husband. He was a handsome man with his jet black, shoulder-length hair. His swarthy Portuguese looks and chiselled jaw made him quite striking. There were many times since they’d met that she’d felt she was punching above her weight, but he had brushed all of her insecurities aside and married her despite his family’s disapproval. And by family, she meant the gang lords of Portugal and Spain. They had objected to him marrying out of their circle. She would never be good enough, because she wasn’t one of them. They didn’t like outsiders who didn’t know the rules, but Alex had ignored all of that.
Maggie was from the East End of London; a publican’s daughter from a back-street pub where people wiped their feet on the way out. She’d had a good childhood, and she had loved her parents, but there had been times when she’d cringed at the clientele. They had all been duckers and divers, using the pub as a marketplace. Fences came in selling gold chains, and whatever else had fallen into their corrupt hands. Everyone had turned a blind eye; it was the code in the East End where no one saw or heard anything. This lifestyle had been the norm; even when some mad man came in waving a gun about, it was all hushed up away from the police. Of course, there was the usual protection rackets that went on and her father had let the back-room illegal poker games, set up by the local gangsters, carry on. But then he hadn’t really had a choice if he’d wanted a roof over his head. Life was tough, but that was the East End and people just accepted it. The good side, she thought to herself, was that your dear old granny could walk home from bingo with her winnings and no one would think of mugging her. It wasn’t allowed. These local gangsters had their turf and they looked after their residents. They were like Robin Hood heroes.
When she’d met Alex, her life had spiralled out of control, but that was another story, she thought to herself. Things were different now, and in some ways, she felt she had come full circle, living in a pub again. It was the only thing she was qualified for and the only thing she had ever really known. But only time would tell if they made this new life a success.
‘I love you Alex, my Latin lover, you know that don’t you?’ she said without thinking.
Blowing a kiss at her, he smiled. ‘Believe me, I know you do. No one would show someone they didn’t love so much loyalty.’ They made themselves a cup of coffee and chinked their coffee cups together. ‘To love and loyalty.’
Once Maggie had finished her coffee, she followed the sound of Deana’s shouts from upstairs and left Alex alone.
Standing up, he put his hands in his jean pockets and looked around the place that was their new home. Wandering into the main bar, he let his hands trail along the newly refurbished oak bar, tables and chairs. Although the smell of the fresh paint was making him sneeze, Alex felt a fluttering of butterflies in his stomach. This was a big leap into the unknown for his family, but they were determined to make it work this time. But what did he know about pulling pints or cooking and serving food to customers? They needed staff to help them. Thankfully, they’d been given the number for an agency. It wasn’t as simple as putting an advertisement in the window. Well, not for them, anyway. Each and every new team member would have to be vetted, he knew that.
He worried that maybe Maggie was getting ahead of herself and didn’t want this new life to come crashing down around her. He’d let her down once too often and vowed to himself he wouldn’t do it again. In two days’ time, their name would be above the door as the official publicans. He had made his choice and stood his ground; there was no room for turning back now.
