Authors: Heather Atkinson
“You going to tell them?”
Linda sighed and shook her head. “No, I’m not. Come on in quick before someone sees you.”
Part of Estelle wanted to cry with gratitude. She didn’t know what she would have done if Linda had sent her away, there was no one else in the world she could turn to. It had been quite a few years since she’d set foot in Manchester, ever since Ryan and Jez had told her to leave the city and never return after she’d given their enemies the key to Ryan’s house. Literally. Estelle didn’t know what the silly little sods had whinged about, Ryan had been fine, no doubt he’d killed them all after torturing them first. For once in her life she’d listened to her boys, taken the money they’d offered and done one to Nottingham but there was no one there she could rely on to help her and not grass her up to her boys. However Linda had been her best mate for years, they’d mucked around together since childhood. She could depend on her to help her out.
“What happened to you?” said Linda, eyeing the dirt in her hair and her tatty clothes.
“Ryan the bastard put me on a slow boat to Brindisi. I’ve been hitchhiking my way through Europe to get home.”
“Why bother? I would have stayed in Brindisi.”
“Because I hated it out there - the food’s crap and I can’t speak the lingo. And I missed home, I had to come back.”
“I think you’re mental.” Linda screwed up her nose. “Why do you stink of fish?”
“Because I had to come back on a fishing trawler. Can I have a shower?”
“Yeah, go on then. I’ll get the kettle on.”
“I could use some grub too.”
Linda sighed again. “Fry up okay?”
“That sounds grand love. I haven’t had a good fry up for ages. Do you have any clothes I could borrow?”
“Yeah but they wouldn’t fit you,” said Linda, eyeing Estelle’s stick-thin frame.
“What about Roxy’s? She’s about my size.”
Roxy was Linda’s eldest daughter and her mother was glad she was at college at the moment, she didn’t want her anywhere near Estelle Law.
“Go for your shower, I’ll fetch you some.”
“Thanks,” said Estelle, hating to be in anyone’s debt but knowing now was not the time to piss off her only friend in the world.
She stood beneath the hot jet of water, scrubbing off the stench of fish as well as the remnants of the dirty fisherman’s bodily fluids. She took so long that Linda banged on the bathroom door and told her to get out before she used up all the hot water. A fresh pair of jeans, underwear, socks and a light pink jumper had been hung on the back of the door for her.
After dressing and towel drying her hair Estelle wandered into the tiny kitchen to find a steaming mug of tea and a plate of bacon, sausage, eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms waiting for her.
“Christ this looks good,” said Estelle, sitting at the table and tucking into the food with gusto.
“Go easy, you’ll give yourself heartburn.”
“Don’t care,” she mumbled through a mouthful of food.
“Bane of my life is heartburn,” said Linda, sinking into the chair opposite and lighting a cigarette. She had loads of questions for her friend but decided to wait until she’d finished eating before interrogating her. Unfortunately this wasn’t gossip she could share because if Jez or Ryan found out she’d harboured their hated mother there would be hell to pay.
“That is so much better,” sighed Estelle when she’d finally finished, leaning back in her chair and rubbing her belly. She looked longingly at the cigarette in Linda’s hand. “You got a spare going?”
Linda dumped the packet and lighter on the table and Estelle sparked one up, blowing out a satisfied stream of smoke. “You’re a fucking diamond Lindy.”
“I know but if anyone finds out you’re here…”
“Stop worrying, they won’t.”
“I don’t want Ryan or Jez round here.”
“I said stop worrying, they won’t bother you. Trust me.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Course I am.”
“So what was Brindisi like?”
“Shit. Everything was expensive and it was practically impossible to score because I couldn’t speak the language. Speaking of which, do you have any…”
“No,” said Linda sharply. “You know I don’t do that anymore. I’ve finally got all my kids back and I’m buggered if I’m going to mess it up.”
“Alright, keep your hair on.”
“Right, good,” said Linda, settling down again. “So what are you going to do now?”
“I’m going to teach my boys not to fuck with Mummy - especially Ryan.”
“You’re going to teach Ryan Law a lesson?” said Linda sceptically.
“Fucking right I am, cheeky sod, sticking me on a slow boat to nowhere. What gives him the right?”
Linda knew Ryan wouldn’t have done that for no reason. Estelle must have done something to seriously upset him and she didn’t want to know what. “And how are you going to do that?”
“I don’t know yet but I’ll make sure he never fucking does it again. Now he’s so high and mighty he forgets I raised him on nothing, I struggled and fought to give him the best I could…”
Linda let her prattle on, knowing she was full of crap. She’d never given a solitary shite about her children, especially not Ryan. Linda had never been able to fathom why Estelle hated him, she would have loved it if one of her boys had his savvy and ability to make huge amounts of cash. Her eldest son had only just mastered shoe laces. Ryan was such a polite boy too. Yes, everyone knew he had tortured and murdered people but they were all bad people. When he’d lived on the estate he’d made sure everyone was safe, seen off all the dealers and loan sharks, bunged the old people and single parents a few quid when they were skint and asked for nothing in return. The people on the Montford wouldn’t hesitate to give Estelle up to him or Jez, who was continuing his older brother’s good work. Their estate was the safest in the country.
“If Ryan threw you out of the country before,” said Linda, “what’s he going to do if you piss him off again?”
“I can handle him.”
“Can you?”
“Course I can. He’s still my son. At the end of the day he won’t forget that.”
Linda’s heart sank. Estelle was so blind she couldn’t see that
she
forgot it long ago.
CHAPTER 17
“So how did Tam take the news?” Mikey asked Toni. She’d swept into their hotel suite in a cloud of perfume, wrapped up in furs and diamonds, as always accompanied by a scowling Caesar.
“Better than I thought,” she replied, sinking into an armchair and crossing her legs, enjoying the way Shane’s eyes popped out of his head at the sight of her exposed thighs. “He said to give him one more chance to talk Malc round before I kill him but I said no, I’m head of the family. We do it my way.” Her smile was malicious. “The fat little prick didn’t like that.”
“So what next?” said Jez.
“Next we wait and watch the pair of them run around like headless chickens. This will push them into retaliation, force them to gather their troops and then I will know exactly who is for me and who is against me. Then I can annihilate the ones who are against me.”
“Won’t a huge bloodbath draw unwanted attention from the police?” said Jez, ever cautious.
“I own most of them. Anyway, not all will die. The ones on the periphery of this conspiracy will be given a fucking good spanking, to quote you Mancunians. Then I will be in charge of the entire city. No Uncle Tam telling me what to do, no thick melon-headed bastards playing at being the big man.” She released a contented sigh. “Freedom. Anyway, I don’t know what you’re so worried about, you’ve instigated enough bloodbaths of your own and got away with it. Unless you’re suggesting I don’t wield as much power as you two?”
“We’re not suggesting that at all,” said Jez. “We just want to make sure that none of us are going to get our collars felt.”
“You won’t, I can guarantee it but I could arrange for other parts of you to be felt, if you’d like?”
Shane’s eager grin dropped when Jez and Mikey shook their heads.
“No thanks,” said Jez. “We’re both happily married men.”
“What about them?” she said, nodding at Mark and Shane. “It’s not fair you spoil their fun just because you’re getting your hole.”
“We appreciate the offer Toni but they’re here to do a job and we don’t want them distracted,” said Mikey.
“Spoilsports,” pouted Toni. Her eyes settled on Shane. “But if you want breaking in honey I’ll see to you personally.”
“He’s fine, thanks,” said Jez.
Shane slumped back in his seat, disappointed. Toni McVay scared the shit out of him but what an experience
that
would be.
“You’re a boring lot,” said Toni, getting to her feet. “Right, me and Caesar are off to the opera. I enjoy having him feel me up in the box.”
Mikey grimaced while Jez had to repress a chuckle, both of them wondering whether the stories Toni told them were actually true or just bullshit designed to enhance her reputation as a lunatic.
“Thank God for that,” said Mikey when they’d gone. “A meeting with Toni is always intense.”
“I enjoy it,” said Jez. “You never know what’s going to come out of her mouth next.”
“Judging by what she’s told us, syphilis,” retorted Mikey. “And she’s left us hanging again, sitting here like spare dicks, unable to control anything about this situation, not even able to go out in case someone sees us. It’s really pissing me off.”
“We can go out. We just need the right vehicle,” said Shane with a knowing look at Mark.
“What am I missing?” said Mikey.
“Me and Shane popped out to see my uncle,” said Mark. “I borrowed his vehicle.”
“What sort of vehicle?”
“You really need to see it to understand.”
Together the four of them took the private lift straight down to the underground car park.
Mikey and Jez didn’t need Mark to tell them which vehicle it was. They knew straight away.
“What the bloody hell is that?” said Jez.
“What do you think it is?” said Mikey. “It’s a fucking fire engine. You know, flashing blue lights, goes nee-nah.”
“I know what it is,” said Jez. “I mean what the bloody hell is it doing here? I thought we were supposed to be here incognito. Why don’t we just dress up as the Village People and have done with it.”
“Think about it,” said Mark. “No one ever questions the emergency services. They just turn up, give their orders and everyone obeys.”
Jez’s frown slowly turned into a smile. “Making it the perfect cover.”
Mikey laughed out loud. “Fucking brilliant.”
Ryan crept downstairs dressed all in black. It had been agreed that he would handle the problem Harold had told him about, with Battler’s assistance and Rachel would stay at home with the children. He’d had to tear himself out of his nice warm bed in which his nice warm wife was curled up to go out on an unpleasant midnight errand but one they both felt was very necessary.
Just as he reached the front door, creeping along on tiptoe, a voice in the darkness said, “where are you going?”
“Jesus,” he said, hitting the light switch.
Jules was standing in the doorway leading from the lounge.
“Have you been hiding in there?” he said.
“I knew you were up to something and as you wouldn’t tell me what it was I was forced to resort to desperate measures. Where are you going?”
“Look, this isn’t anything dodgy.”
“Dressed all in black creeping out of the house at the dead of night? Of course it’s dodgy Ryan, unless you’ve taken up star-gazing or bat-watching? But I can’t see you sitting around on your arse for hours staring at the sky.”
“I have eclectic interests.”
“But you’re not part of the anorak and bobble hat brigade. So where are you going?”
“For a walk,” he said casually.
“In your cat burglar outfit? Come on Ryan, you’re talking to someone with a higher IQ than yours. Who are you going to make suffer?”
“I left all that behind me, remember?”
“Ha, you’ll never leave it behind you.”
“Leave what behind you?” said a voice.
They both turned to see Rachel descending the stairs wrapped in a dressing gown, squinting in the light. “What is going on?” she half-whispered, so as not to disturb the children.
“The Spanish Inquisition here won’t let me leave,” sighed Ryan, gesturing to Jules.
“Because I know what you’re up to,” said Jules. “And I don’t want you getting into trouble and messing up this great life you’ve got yourself.”
Something in Ryan relented. “I appreciate that but there’s no reason to worry. I’m a big boy now and I can look after myself.”
Jules ignored this statement. She studied him for a moment, head cocked to one side before a grin cracked her face. “Furtive conversations with little gnomes, creeping about at the dead of night on a mission. You’re a vigilante, aren’t you?”
“You’re right,” said Rachel.
“What did you go and tell her that for?” said Ryan.
“She wouldn’t have given up until she got the truth and she is right. Neither do I want this conversation going on all night or the kids waking up. I’ve had a very busy day and I want to get back to bed. Go on Ryan and be careful.”
“I’ll come with you,” said Jules, reaching for her jacket hanging from a hook in the hallway.
“You are not,” said Ryan. “You’re in no shape to do what we’re going to do.”
“We?” said Jules. “Don’t tell me those sexy bald bastards are in on it too?”
“Just Battler,” said Rachel through a yawn. “Bruiser stays at home at night with Daina.”
“So what trouble could that little gnome have that requires men like Ryan and Battler? Did someone steal his fishing rod?”
“You don’t need to know that,” said Rachel. “In fact the less you know the better. Go Ryan before she asks any more nosy questions.”
He nodded before quietly slipping out the front door, locking it behind him.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” said Jules.
“Course we do. We don’t take on anything that could compromise us.” Rachel sighed and shook her head. “Well that’s me wide-awake now. Fancy a hot chocolate?”
Jules released a mock gasp. “Not hot chocolate? Wow Rach, you are so wild. Do you have anything stronger like…” Another mock gasp. “Bovril?”
“Hot chocolate it is,” said Rachel dryly before shuffling into the kitchen, yawning.
Jules followed her and sat at the breakfast bar, watching Rachel move about the kitchen, boiling the water and preparing the mugs.
“Aren’t you worried about him?” said Jules.
“Of course I’m worried,” she replied. “After what we’ve been through I worry about him every time he sets foot outside the front door but I have to control it otherwise it would come between us.”
“I’m pretty sure he feels the same way about you. Do you do this vigilante stuff often?”
“If we think a cause is worthy we’ll take it on.”
“I thought you came here to get away from trouble?”
“And we have now Alex is dead and gone.”
“No you haven’t and you’re going to bring a whole crap heap of it down on your heads if you carry on like this.”
“We’re very careful,” she said, pouring the water into the mugs.
Jules huffed out a breath. Ryan and Rachel were going to ruin what they had if they weren’t careful and they couldn’t see it. “Why take the risk, especially with three kids?”
“We don’t take on anything that has risk.”
“Come on Rach, you’re smarter than that. You know everything has an element of risk and you can’t predict the future. I’ve had plenty of jobs I thought would be easy and turned into a shitstorm. Don’t act thick Rach because I know you’re not.”
“Thank you for your concern but me and Ryan are fine,” she said coolly.
“Going into Ice Queen mode are you? Well it might give grown men the shakes but not me. I think you’re making a mistake.”
“Objection noted,” said Rachel, plonking a mug before Jules then sliding into the chair opposite her at the breakfast bar and taking a sip of hot chocolate.
Jules cradled the mug in her hands. “You just can’t leave the danger behind. You and Ryan both crave it, you can’t live without it.”
“Of course we can. That’s why we moved here, to get away from it.”
“If that was true you wouldn’t get involved with vigilantism. In theory it’s great but it can so easily go wrong and that’s probably part of the attraction. You and Ryan are danger junkies.”
“We are not,” said Rachel. “All we want is to be left alone to raise our kids in peace. We don’t take things on blindly, we always look into them first. We have turned jobs down you know.”
“Jobs? Do you get paid for it?”
“No, it was just a turn of phrase. It’s all free, part of the service. Me and Danny used to do the same thing in Manchester, it’s good for building up a solid reputation in the community.”
“And it never hurts to have someone owe you.”
“Exactly.”
“Does Ryan know you used to do this with Danny?”
“Yes.”
“And he doesn’t get jealous?”
“No need to. Danny’s been dead for years.”
“Someone can be dead and still get in the way.”
Rachel’s eyes filled with concern. “Do you mean Leighton?”
“Nah, not really. My therapist has helped me with all that crap. I’m talking about Terry Maguire, my real daddy.” She said the last word sarcastically.
“You think about him a lot?”
“Sometimes I wonder what life would have been like if he’d wanted me, if he hadn’t sold me to a pair of paedos. I bet he never once thought about me again, from what I’ve heard of him his old motors would have been more memorable.”
“I knew Terry and I’m not going to lie, that’s probably true but he was a complete bastard and a stupid one at that. He wasn’t half the man Frank was.”
“So Mikey’s told me.”
“Mikey,” said Rachel, eyes dancing. “So what’s the deal with you two?”
“Well, I…” Jules’s eyes sharpened. “Oh you are good Rach, distracting me from the real topic. You’re the only woman who’s ever bested me.”
“When we first met you were trying to kill me.”
“And you knocked out my front teeth with a plank of wood.”
“And here we are enjoying hot chocolate together.”
“Isn’t life funny? Stop trying to distract me again.”
“Look, I understand where you’re coming from but really, it’s fine. Do you think Ryan would do something if he thought there was a chance it could impact badly on us?”
“He loves the danger and excitement as much as you do and not even Ryan Law can see into the future.”
“You worry too much.”
“I’ve finally got a family and I’ll be buggered if I’m going to lose any of you.”
“Do you know, for such a hard bitch you’re really sweet.”
“Don’t call me sweet,” she glowered.
“And did I mention squishy? Cute? Cuddly?”
“Just keep going, see where it gets you.”
“And where’s that?” replied Rachel playfully.
“Maybe you’ll get a plank of wood in your front teeth.”