As the guests started to arrive, Clancy finally realised what he had agreed to. He noticed Mr Rodriguez from halfway across the room and suddenly got a sick feeling in his stomach. Turning to the window, he noticed Blacker on the other side of the street. At least he would be murdered knowing there were many people around who could have saved him. He looked around for Hitch but couldn't spot him. Ruby was still getting ready with all of his sisters. Clancy sighed as he realised that Connor was waltzing over to him.
"Hello, Crew," he said. Connor Rodriguez had an annoyingly posh accent and an even more annoyingly handsome face. In all honesty, Clancy had never understood why Ruby hadn't fallen for him. He was a nice enough kid except for his outright cocky attitude when it came to girls and the fact that he completely thought the world of himself. Ok, then I guess he wasn't a decent guy. Clancy felt inclined to roll his eyes as he replied.
"Good evening, Connor," Clancy put on his best smile, attempting not to disappoint his father while still working on a case for a top secret agent.
"I say, is that little friend of yours here anywhere?" He was of course talking about Ruby.
"She's still getting dressed," Clancy's fists clenched.
"Is she? Could you point me in the right direction?" Connor grinned.
As tempted as he was to punch him and walk away, Clancy led Connor up to the guest bedroom. They knocked on the door, hearing Ruby and Clancy's sister giggling inside.
"Come in," came Minny's voice. Stood in the middle of the room were the five of Clancy's sisters, hiding Ruby from view.
"Sorry to disturb you girls," said Connor, much to Clancy's annoyance. "But I was wondering if I could borrow Ruby for a moment," The others stepped aside revealing the most beautiful sight Clancy had ever seen. Ruby, draped in gold, stared innocently back at him. Automatically, a beam spread across Clancy's face which he soon wiped off when he saw Minny's raised eyebrows. Ruby walked over to the boys.
"I wonder, could we talk alone for a while?" asked Connor, smiling at Ruby. She blinked sweetly and looked into Connor's eyes.
"You're not going to kill me are you?" she joked and Connor laughed.
"I'll try my best not to,"
As the two left the room, Clancy could feel his blood hitting boiling point. Just the image of his hand on Ruby's back as he led her out of the room made him want to throw up. Clancy left his sisters and walked towards the stairs. As he did so he noticed the door of another bedroom closing with a slip of gold on the other side. His fists screwed up into a ball. He was ever so tempted to barge in and ruin the moment but he did not. He straightened his tie and walked downstairs.
Hitch was, as matter of fact, a very good distraction for Mrs Rodriguez.
"Excuse me," he said as he approached her. "Excuse my boldness but I couldn't help but notice how incredible you look tonight. I'm Hitch." he flashed her one of his winning smiles and she was in pieces. Clancy just made it downstairs in time to see Hitch and Mrs Rodrigues slipping into one of the unoccupied rooms of the house.
Ruby sat down on the bed of the spare room. Connor stared at her smirking slightly.
"So, Ruby Redfort, what are you thinking," he whispered, leaning over and kissing her neck.
"Working quickly?" she laughed, shifting slightly.
"Sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?" he grinned and continued to kiss her. "You know, my father said that you were an interesting girl but I never realised how fascinating you would become to me,"
"Really? Does your dad talk about me much?" she asked breathing deeply. This was it.
"Not so much him as his boss. Apparently he's had a few run-ins with you. His name is Victor although he looks more like Dracula," Connor laughed. Ruby smiled. LB, Hitch, Clancy and Blacker could hear their entire conversation. They had cornered Alexander Rodriguez and his own son had helped them immensely.
Connor tilted his head upwards and kissed Ruby's lips. Grasping onto her hips, he pushed her against the wall. Ruby's thoughts were suddenly focused on Clancy and how she wished it was him kissing her.
"Connor..." she said, trying to push him off. "Slow down," she pushed on his shoulders trying to get him off her.
"Ok, I'll stop," he let go of her and stood back. "Lets go get some drinks,"
The two walked downstairs. In the music hall, Ruby noticed Hitch's absence immediately and felt inclined to roll her eyes. Clearly, he was having a great time. Clancy was making small talk with a few of the guests. Connor left her side for a moment to get the two of them some drinks. Gazing over at her, Clancy approached her.
"Are you ok?" he asked, noticing the absence of her lipstick.
"Yep, I'm good."
"If he tries anything..."
"I'm fine Clance. Trust me, I know what I'm doing," she smiled. Clancy turned and noticed Connor returning.
"That's my que," he whispered as he walked away.
Connor and Ruby sipped their drinks while they watched the night unfold. The guests danced and talked but suddenly Ruby started to feel very faint.
"Are you alright Redfort?" asked Connor, grinning maliciously.
Ruby's eyes fell onto her empty glass.
"Did you put something in my drink?" she asked, leaning against the table.
"Sorry beautiful but when Victor wants something, he's going to get it and at the moment he wants nothing more than to see you suffer." His words echoed in Ruby's ear as she promptly fainted into his arms. Connor slipped her into a little room without anyone noticing. Well, almost.
Hitch returned from his own little party right on time to see Connor and Alex Rodriguez carrying a passed out Ruby into the drawing room.
Thanks for reading xx