Duality (31 page)

He soon forgot about Rachel and Mikey when Jules exited the marquee, holding the hand of her new husband. His first instinct had been to have the groom killed before the marriage could take place but after some research he’d discovered that Jackson Driscoll was a renowned cage fighter. As well as being a huge fan of the sport Jared was reluctant to kill someone who was so in the public eye, the last thing he needed was even more unwanted attention on him, especially after all the recent trouble. So he’d decided to let Jackson Driscoll live, for now anyway, until he was back at the top of his game, then he’d get him out of the way and convince Jules that she was meant to be with
him
. And next time he would not allow her to escape.

Movement drew his attention back to the marquee and there she was - his Jules. Her wedding dress was a bit bloody over the top, his mother would have hated it but she still looked beautiful, bright with happiness, holding the hand of her new husband. Anger coursed through him as he watched the radiant bride wave goodbye to her guests, who had come out to see her off on her honeymoon. In fact he was so angry he almost leapt out of the bushes and chased after her.

A crashing to his right had him jumping to his feet and racing through the shrubbery at the periphery of the estate. The Maguire’s security had spotted him.

“Oy, get back here,” called a voice.

“Yeah, like that’s gonna happen,” muttered Jared as he continued to run. He might have been big but he was fast, always had been and he obviously kept himself in better shape than the fat wheezy bastard who was chasing him.

He raced back to his car, jumped in and sped off, furious that he’d had to cut his trip short but he couldn’t risk getting captured by his enemies. There was no way he was going to die in Manchester like Frankie McVay. He still had a lot to fight for.

Grant watched two of the men he’d put on guard duty trudge over to him, sweating and panting.

“What the hell happened to you two?” he said. “Worried you’d missed last orders?”

“We caught someone hiding in the bushes,” said Ben, a huge, meaty man with a bad mullet haircut.

“Who?”

“Looked like Jared Slattery.”

“Oh fuck. Where is he?”

“Eh?”

“You said you caught someone.”

Ben coloured and looked to his colleague who had his eyes fixed on the ground, refusing to take responsibility. “I meant we found him but we didn’t actually capture him.”

Grant’s face was stony. “You let him get away?”

“We tried our best but he was really fast for a big bastard. He reached his car and drove off.”

“You silly sods. Mikey and Jez aren’t going to be pleased.”

“Do you have to tell them?”

“Course I do. Let’s just hope the wedding’s put them in a forgiving mood,” he said before heading back into the marquee.

Judging by Mikey’s face he didn’t think it had. In fact Mikey looked like he’d be quite happy to string Ben up by his hairy balls. Instead he went to Jez, who appeared quite affable, chatting with his older brother, slightly flushed with champagne.

“Can I have a word Boss?” Grant quietly said.

It was Ryan who replied. “Trouble?”

Ryan’s arched eyebrow never failed to make Grant nervous. “Not anymore. Our security found Jared Slattery lurking in the bushes.”

“What?” said Jez while Ryan’s eyebrow arched even higher.

“John and Ben chased after him but he outran them and got away.”

“Outran them?” said Jez, voice low and angry. “How could someone that size outrun anyone?”

“Well, John and Ben aren’t exactly in the best shape.”

“Where the fuck did you find that pair, Lard Arses R Us? You tell them to get in shape or they’ll be out on their fat, lazy backsides. And check the rest of the grounds, make sure there’s no more southern monkeys hanging round.”

“I will Boss,” he nodded before walking away, intending to give his men a world class bollocking.

“Fuck,” Jez whispered to Ryan. “There’s only one reason he was here.”

“Jules,” replied Ryan while Jez furiously nodded. “What a shame he escaped, it would have been very convenient to permanently remove him from the equation.”

“Tell me about it. Fucking useless. John and Ben, more like Bill and Ben.”

“Please calm yourself,” said Ryan, eyes roaming around the room. “You don’t wish to attract unwanted attention.”

“Sorry, you’re right.” He took in a deep breath before continuing. “At least Jules has gone on her honeymoon, she’ll be safe and hopefully we can track Slattery down before he causes any more havoc.” Jez’s eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. “Do you think he knows about the baby?”

“I don’t see how he could, unless someone told him,” replied Ryan thoughtfully. “But we’ve been careful to keep it a secret, haven’t we?”

“Yes,” exclaimed Jez when Ryan stared at him.

“Would you please keep your voice down?”

“Sorry and yes, of course we have. Maybe he’s just obsessed with her? You know how she affects men?”

Their gazes drifted over to Mikey who was slumped at a table, looking miserable.

“Oh yes,” said Ryan. “It’s entirely possible, she did rather make an impression on Slattery it would seem. He could easily have killed her but he went to a lot of trouble to keep hold of her. The wedding’s not been a secret but I would have thought he’d be too busy with Isaac Jones to bother coming up here.”

“Isaac Jones is dead.”

Ryan rolled his eyes. “Oh marvellous. What happened?”

“Jared had him and his brother Marcus killed.”

“And at the same time destroyed any influence you have in Kent.”

“Yep.” Jez frowned at his brother. “What would you do?”

“Make it impossible for Jared to operate. Put a bounty on his head then every scumbag in the country will be hunting him down, which will pretty much put an end to him running any of his businesses. Putting a stranglehold on his finances will effectively put an end to him.”

“It didn’t hurt you and Rachel much when Alex put a bounty on your heads.”

“Because we were fortunate enough to have very efficient people willing to help us. Slattery is not well liked, especially after the way he cocked up taking over your empire.”

“I think you’ve got something there bruv. Do you think it’s coincidence Mum shows up at the same time as Slattery, especially after she gave us up to him before?”

“No I do not,” he said, eyes turning cold. “I thought I’d got her out of our hair once and for all but she just keeps turning up like a bad penny.”

“Or an infection.”

“Yes, that’s a much more accurate analogy.”

Jez glanced round before leaning into Ryan and whispering, “you know there’s only one way to get rid of her permanently.”

“I do,” said Ryan. “But, despite everything she’s done, it still makes me uncomfortable.”

“Me too but we have other priorities. I’d pick Jules over her any day. Plus there’s the rest of our family to think about. Her actions have nearly got us killed twice, not to mention the risk she put us in when we were kids.”

“Our sister’s wedding isn’t the place to discuss this and when we do we will all be in on the decision - Rachel and Jules too.”

“Alright,” he said. “It just makes me nervous having her back.”

“And where is she now?”

“Gone.”

Ryan’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t treat me like a fool Jez. You didn’t let her just wander off after causing a scene like that.”

“You’re right, I didn’t. I was just trying to spare you from having to face her.”

“Don’t ever lie to me again. Do you hear me?” he pressed when Jez failed to respond.

“Yes, I bloody heard, alright?” he said petulantly, folding his arms across his chest.

“Excellent,” said Ryan darkly. “Take me to her.” He hesitated, scanning the room for his wife. He found her sitting at a table talking to Cathy and Beth, surrounded by all their mutual children. “There’s someone else I want in on this.”

The two of them approached the table.

“Hello Ladies,” smiled Ryan.

“He is always such a gentleman,” said Cathy. She looked to Jez. “Why can’t you be more like him?”

“What’ve I done?” he frowned.

“As you can see I got all the classy genes,” said Ryan with a smile. “I need to borrow Rachel. Would you two mind watching the children for a short while?”

“No, go ahead,” said Beth.

“Thank you Ladies,” said Ryan.

Jez attempted to mimic Ryan’s smoothness. “We’ll eagerly await your return Ladies. Damn, I mean you’ll eagerly await ours. Or will you?”

“Come on Omar Sharif,” said Ryan, leading his brother away.

“Who?” said Jez.

Beth and Cathy giggled when Ryan shook his head.

CHAPTER 29

“Let me guess, this is about Estelle?” said Rachel once they’d exited the marquee.

“As usual you’re bang on the money Rach,” said Jez.

“Where is she?”

“We’ve got her in a room in the hotel.”

“How did you manage that without her kicking up a stink?”

“With a bribe of drink and cash.”

“Figures,” said Rachel dryly. “And what do you want me for?”

“We’re not sure what to do with her,” said Ryan. “We were hoping you’d have an idea.”

“I’m not sure you’d like what I have to say,” she replied.

Estelle was being guarded by Mark and Shane, sat on the bed smoking, a glass of vodka clutched in one hand. She tutted and rolled her eyes when Rachel, Ryan and Jez walked in.

“That daughter of yours is a thug,” said Estelle, pointing to her bruised cheek. “Look what she’s done to my face.”

“Looks like an improvement to me,” said Rachel icily.

“I might have known you’d bring her along,” said Estelle, gesturing to Rachel with the glass. “You can’t fart without her say-so. I raised you to be men, not obedient little puppies. Fucking pathetic.”

“One day you might form a sentence that doesn’t have a swear word in it,” said Ryan. “And we’re not here to discuss that. What we wish to know is how you got back from Brindisi?”

“By hitchhiking her way across Europe giving blowjobs as payment,” said Mark in a flat monotone.

Shane gaped at him, fully expecting Ryan and Jez to tear into him. It was the truth, Estelle had seemed almost proud when she’d told them. They hadn’t even asked, she’d just kept talking. The woman had an unstoppable gob but she’d been trying to make out that
she
was the victim, which Shane knew was a lot of shit. He remembered her all too well when they’d lived on the same estate in Nottingham, although she clearly didn’t remember him.

“How disgusting,” said Ryan, lip curling. “But I can’t say I’m surprised.” He turned his gaze back on Estelle. “I told you never to come back, so why did you?”

“I wanted to see my daughter get wed but I wasn’t even invited.”

“There’s a reason for that. Jules has finally found happiness and you almost destroyed it. Again. Haven’t you hurt her enough?”

Estelle’s smile was malevolent. “You shouldn’t have tried to get rid of me Ryan. Big mistake. I’m back and you’d better get used to it.”

Ryan sighed and dragged his hands through his hair. “Is there no getting rid of you?”

“I only go if I want to. You should have learnt that about me by now.” She looked to Rachel, derision in her eyes. “And what are you looking at Madam?”

“A fucking waste of skin,” she said coldly.

Estelle’s smirk faltered when she saw Rachel’s eyes turn black but it soon returned, confident that nothing more could be done against her. “I’ve decided I want to be a part of my family’s life.”

“You must be joking,” said Jez.

“No. I had a lot of time to think while I was away and I want to get to know my grandchildren.”

“No. Fucking. Way,” said Rachel, eyes getting harder and darker.

“You can’t keep me from them. I’m a grandparent, I have rights.”

“A fit grandparent would,” said Ryan. “However a vicious druggie prostitute doesn’t. You’re not interested in your grandchildren, you never have been. What do you really want?”

“I’ve told you but as usual you want to think the worst of me.”

“It comes from experience. You wouldn’t have anything to do with Jared Slattery suddenly turning up, would you?”

She feigned ignorance. “Who?”

“Jared Slattery from Kent. You must remember him. He was the one you sold information to about us, the one whose men ambushed us outside your flat in Nottingham. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already?”

Estelle stared back at her eldest son, identical grey eyes equally cold.

“Just admit it Estelle,” said Jez. “We know what you’ve done.”

“Sounds like you’ve made up your minds already.”

“What was Jared here for?” continued Jez. “We know he’s obsessed with Jules. Was he here to stop the wedding, or worse?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know and I don’t care. I just wanted to see my family.”

“You do know he made us think he’d killed her,” exploded Jez. “He shot some poor woman to death who looked like Jules and sent it to us to make us think she was dead because he wanted to keep her all to himself. If she wasn’t so good at escaping he might still have her now.”

“Well I didn’t know,” she retorted.

“You must have known his intentions for coming here weren’t good,” said Ryan. “How much did he pay you?”

“He didn’t pay me anything.”

“We both know that’s not true.”

Rachel was worried by how quiet and calm Ryan was speaking. To anyone who didn’t know him he sounded perfectly reasonable. Only those closest to him knew this was when he was at his most dangerous. She thought he must have brought her to keep him calm, sometimes she was the only person capable.

“Alright, he might have given me twenty grand but I just thought he wanted to watch,” said Estelle.

“Why, do you think he likes watching pretty weddings?” said Jez sarcastically. “For all you knew he was here to kill us all and you didn’t care. For fuck’s sake, our kids are here,” he yelled in her face.

Estelle looked up at him coldly, wiping his spittle from her face. “It’s not my fault, I didn’t know.”

“Nothing’s ever your fault, is it?” Jez hissed. “You’ve never taken responsibility for anything in your entire fucking, waster life. Well no more.” He looked to Mark and Shane. “Leave us lads but don’t go far. We might need you.”

They both nodded and left the room, leaving them to it.

For the first time, Estelle looked nervous. “What would you need them for?”

Jez just glared at her before turning to Ryan and Rachel. “Well?”

“She’s too dangerous,” said Rachel, lowering her voice so Estelle couldn’t overhear. “Jared Slattery could have chosen to make a full assault on us today or he could have stationed a sniper in the grounds.”

Ryan recalled Rachel going outside to talk to Mikey as well as their children running around outside, playing. They’d been exposed to one of their most dangerous enemies, all because of this woman here.

All three, thinking the same thing, turned to glare at her.

“For the first time in my life,” said Ryan. “I actually don’t know what to do.”

“I think we all know what Jules would say if she was here,” whispered Jez.

“Jules wasn’t raised by her,” whispered back Ryan. “It’s different.”

“Oy, what are you lot talking about?” called Estelle, getting worried.

“What we’re going to do with you,” said Rachel.

She spoke so coldly fear shot down Estelle’s spine. Panicking, she leapt up and raced for the door. “Help,” she cried before a punch from Rachel silenced her.

Unable to contain herself any longer and furious at the danger this creature had put her family in again, Rachel dragged Estelle to her feet and punched her again, knocking her out then threw her onto the bed contemptuously. Rachel breathed hard, attempting to calm down, rubbing her knuckles before they had the chance to swell.

“Sorry,” she said. “I couldn’t hold back any longer.”

“Do not apologise,” Ryan told her. “We understand completely.”

“Sending her away didn’t help,” said Jez. “She only came back and she’ll keep coming back until we put a permanent stop to it.”

“Are you actually discussing killing your own mother?” said Rachel. “You can’t.”

“It might be the only way to protect ourselves,” said Jez. “She will not stop causing mayhem. So far we’ve been lucky but one day we might not be.”

“But I know you two,” she said. “Yes you hate her but blood means something to you and it will destroy you. Even if you got one of your men to do it, it would always be there, tormenting you and she would win.”

“We have no choice,” pressed Jez.

“There is always a choice.”

Rachel was surprised Jez was the one pushing for this, it had always been him holding Ryan back from permanently removing the demon they called mother. It went to show how ruthless power had made him.

Rachel looked to Ryan. “I’m not going to let you do it. I will not let her destroy you.”

“I quite agree,” said Ryan, to his wife’s relief. “Killing her isn’t the way to go.”

“That’s why you brought Rachel here?” said Jez. “Because you knew we needed stopping?”

“Yes and she’s right. We can’t kill her.”

“Then what do you suggest?” exclaimed Jez. “Because nothing’s worked so far.”

“We need to give her the scare of a lifetime,” said Ryan. “Something that will play on her darkest fears and have her running for the hills.”

“Nothing’s capable of that,” said Jez. “She’ll just keep turning up like a bad penny.”

“I have something rather special in mind,” smiled Ryan.

Estelle woke with a groan, face down on the damp ground. “What the hell was I drinking last night?” she said, at first thinking the pounding in her head was due to alcohol, until she remembered Rachel punching her in the face. “Bitch,” she muttered.

She tried to push herself upright but the ground beneath her was wet and she slipped back down in the mud, getting a face full of it.

“Urgh,” she grimaced, sitting up to wipe it out of her eyes, spitting it out of her mouth.

Then she looked up - and screamed.

“Something wrong Mother?” said Ryan.

“Where the fuck am I?” she screeched, staring at six feet of earth rising up either side of her.

Ryan, Jez and Rachel stared down at her, their expressions as blank as the night sky above them.

“It’s a grave,” screamed Estelle. “You put me in a fucking grave.”

“A living grave Estelle,” said Ryan.

“Get me out, you know I hate small places. Especially graves, I fucking hate them and funerals. Get me out of here.”

“Why should we?” he continued. “This is the best place for you. You can’t cause any trouble when you’re six feet under.”

“No, you can’t do this to me, not even you Ryan are that cold.”

“I am when my family is at stake. You could have caused carnage today, you could have hurt my sister, my brother, my wife and children. I will allow no one to do that, not even my own so-called mother.”

Ryan had never frightened her more, he looked so cold, so emotionless, more machine than man. Realising there was no reasoning with him Estelle turned her desperate gaze on her other son. “Jez, my youngest, my baby. I always loved you best, you were always such a good boy, you never caused Mummy any trouble.”

“Oh please,” said Jez. “I’m going to throw up all over you. You don’t know what the word mummy even means. What sort of mother sells one of her kids to a pair of paedos?”

“I was good to you son, I always loved you.”

“You love nothing except cash and drugs and I’m done with you. We can’t risk letting you out into the world to cause more aggro for us. This is it Estelle, end of the line for you. This will be your grave. Forever.”

Estelle clutched at her hair, spinning round in a wild circle, trying to find a way to escape and seeing nothing. In sheer desperation she had one last try. “Rachel, I know you have a heart. You can’t let them bury me alive. You just can’t.”

Rachel held a shovel aloft, which was covered in dirt. “I’m not letting them do anything. I’m joining in.”

Estelle screamed, staggered back, high heels sinking into the mud and fell on her backside.

“No, no,” she cried as the three of them started shovelling dirt in on her, gagging when it landed in her mouth. “Stop, please.”

But they continued to shovel earth into the grave, burying her alive, regarding her distress with their cold, dead eyes. The earth around her started to spin before her knees buckled and she sank gratefully into oblivion.

“Alright, I think she’s passed out,” said Ryan.

The three of them stopped throwing earth into the hole, Jez leaning on his shovel, panting. “Thank God for that, I’m bloody boiling.” He looked to Grant and Mark, who were standing off to one side. “Okay, get her out.”

They nodded and switched on the spotlight, highlighting the crumpled figure in the hole. They were in the middle of some dense woodland between Manchester and the neighbouring county of Cheshire, a place Grant used to camp in regularly when he was a kid so he knew the area like the back of his hand. The three of them watched, resting on their shovels as Mark repelled into the hole on a rope, held steady by Grant. Once at the bottom he hoisted Estelle onto his shoulder and climbed back out of the hole, with Grant’s help.

“Let’s get this over with,” said Ryan.

Mark carried Estelle to a waiting car and dumped her in the boot.

“Thanks for your help tonight lads,” Jez told Grant and Mark.