Tangled Lives

by Stephanie Harte

  I glanced up at Alfie as he finished talking. He had my full attention now, but the intensity of his gaze was unnerving. ‘They had so much evidence against you.’ I shook my head. I probably shouldn’t have said that, but the words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.

  ‘They did, didn’t they?’ Alfie threw his head back and laughed. ‘No wonder the press found it so unexpected when the judge released myself and Knuckles due to lack of evidence. It took years for the police to arrest us, but it only took a few hours for a jury to declare us not guilty on all counts. Unfortunately, the rest of the guys weren’t so lucky. But that’s the trade-off. Somebody has to go down for the offences.’

  All of this was beginning to make sense. Nathan and I should have realised that Alfie would never be locked up because there would always be a loyal employee who would be willing to do time for him.

  ‘It’s not so bad. I make sure my guys are well compensated for their trouble. They receive all the benefits going while being detained in prison, thanks to the prison officers we have on the payroll.’ His face showed a flicker of a smile as he stared into my eyes.

  No wonder Alfie was never worried about being arrested. I remember him telling me, that he got away far more than he got caught. I’d just been given an insight into how things work in the power-rich criminal underworld. Was there nothing that money couldn’t buy?

  Alfie must have had some legal team to be able to persuade the judge to drop the charges against him. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t get my head around it. Alfie explained that it was a simple process. His highly skilled defence team somehow managed to convince the jury that the evidence the police had on Alfie and Knuckles was inconclusive. With their involvement in the crimes in question, they were found not guilty and released from custody. It didn’t bear thinking about and made me wonder how many other serious offenders were roaming the streets.

  ‘We very rarely get arrested, let alone have to stand trial.’ Alfie laughed. ‘Somebody seriously ballsed up this time.’

  It was one thing for the authorities to accuse Alfie of something, but it was a different matter entirely trying to prove it. Nathan and I should have realised he paid off the police to ensure he stayed untouchable. But Alfie’s way of life was all new to us. We had no idea how things worked in the underworld.

  It made me feel ill to think high-ranking officers would be happy to turn a blind eye to his criminal activities and go against their professional ethics, in return for money. That was bad enough, but I hadn’t realised they’d have the whole legal system, including jurors, lawyers and judges accepting bribes. The level of corruption was mind-blowing. Was there anyone out there with enough morals not to end up on the Watsons’ payroll?

  ‘Anyway enough about that. Let’s get down to the real reason I invited you here today,’ Alfie said before he swaggered across to where I sat perched on the edge of the cream sofa. ‘Like I said the other day, you have something that belongs to me, and now it’s time to give it back.’

  26

  Alfie

  The doctor removed the temporary dressing before he examined Gareth’s thigh. ‘You’ve had a lucky escape. The femoral artery isn’t damaged, and you’ve walked away from the experience relatively unscathed with essentially a surface wound. But there is still a chance you could get an infection. If that happens, you will need to get medical attention. Mr Watson can contact me to arrange this.’

  ‘If you put guns in the hands of crazy people, things like this are bound to happen,’ Gareth said once the doctor had left the room.

  Fury flashed across Dad’s face, and to my surprise, he jumped to my defence, even though he’d told me in no uncertain terms earlier, that he thought my behaviour was reckless.

  ‘Don’t you dare say that about my son.’

  ‘It’s true. He’s a nutcase.’ Gareth clenched his jaw while he glared at Jethro.

  ‘Alfie only intended to scare you.’

  Dad brushed off the comment, but Gareth wasn’t prepared to let the matter go.

  ‘He could have killed me. What did I do to deserve that?’

  ‘I wish I could forget Levi as easily as you have.’

  Colour rushed to Gareth’s face and his fingers balled into a fist. I thought he was going to punch my old man and I was ready to spring into action. He deserved to get a serious kicking after what he’d said about me. But somehow the cheeky fucker managed to hold his hand down by his side and suppress the desire to lash out.

  ‘Levi and I were good friends. I had nothing to do with your brother’s death. How many times do I have to tell you that?’

  Gareth turned his steely blue eyes on to my dad, and the two men stared at each other. The tension from their long-running feud filled the air around us.

  ‘So you keep saying,’ Dad replied. ‘But no matter how many times you deny it, I still don’t believe you. I was only eighteen when my brother was killed and if it takes me the rest of my life to get even with the person responsible, then so be it.’

  Dad rarely spoke about his older brother. He’d been traumatised by my uncle’s untimely death. He’d told me the only way he could deal with the pain was to block out the memory. But I could see being face to face with his old enemy had made his desire for revenge build inside him once again.

  ‘Is that a threat?’ Gareth asked, squaring up to my dad.

  ‘No, it’s a promise.’

  ‘Did you take Gemma and Luca to get back at me?’ Gareth’s words were met with stony silence. He shook his head and let out a long breath. ‘We’ve been over this a thousand times before and I’ve never once changed my story.’ When Gareth spoke frustration crept into his tone of voice. ‘If I was lying, you would have tripped me up by now.’

  Nathan tilted his head to the side. The bitter feud between the Stones and the Watsons had raged on for decades and had many layers. It was obvious he was curious to know the background. But he was being kept in the dark. Only hearing half the story was so frustrating and would be pure agony for him. The thought of that made my day. I’d take any opportunity to make Nathan suffer.

  27

  Nathan

  People always said that Gemma and I had a unique connection. You could almost feel the chemistry between us when we made eye contact with each other from across the room. We had been childhood sweethearts and shared something more profound than love. Gemma understood me on so many levels. We put our relationship first and were each other’s top priority. We brought out the best in each other. Gemma and I had an ‘us against the world’ attitude.

  I knew right from the start of our relationship that Gemma was a keeper. She was amazing. I always tried to make sure she knew how much she meant to me. Even more so since we’d almost split up. I never thought that would happen to us. I learnt a valuable lesson from the experience. It taught me never to take my wife for granted.

  I never thought Gemma would battle depression and anxiety. She was usually the strong one in our partnership, and even though I was doing my best to support her, she kept shutting herself away. That was only making things worse. Anyone who had been on the receiving end of the silent treatment, especially when you had to try and guess what you’d done wrong, would sympathise with the way I was feeling. I could only presume that Gemma was pissed off with me for insisting we come back to England because she was refusing to enlighten me.

  This form of emotional manipulation was incredibly effective. I hated it. It left me racked with guilt, and the longer it went on, the harder it was to deal with. I was at my wits’ end. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t seem to get through to her. She’d withdrawn into her own world.

  Gemma was keen for Mum and I to reconcile. She’d been increasingly vocal about it since we’d arrived in England and had been chipping away at my reluctance to make peace. But even if I wanted to, I wasn’t sure how to go about healing our frosty relationship after all this time. Then again, if putting an end to our argument would make my
wife happy, maybe I should consider being the bigger person and open up the lines of communication to try to work things out. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Even though my stubborn side was reluctant to admit it, I could see where Gemma was coming from. It didn’t seem right that Mum was being excluded from Luca’s life, but it was hard to make the first move.

  If I did call my mum, I’d need to choose my words carefully. There was no point in me phoning her if I still had both barrels loaded. It wasn’t only about what I said, how I said it mattered too. I’d have to let go of all the pent-up anger I’d been holding on to. As we wouldn’t be face to face, I didn’t want my voice to come across in a rage-filled tone. That would do nothing to help the situation.

  I paced backwards and forwards in the living room, trying to pluck up the courage to make the call. I knew it was the right thing to do. It was long overdue, but the stubborn voice in my head kept trying to talk me out of it. I couldn’t put it off any longer. I had to do this for Gemma. It was time to let go of my resentment.

  ‘Mum, it’s me.’

  ‘Nathan, how lovely to hear from you.’

  I could tell Mum was surprised that I’d called her out of the blue and the emotion in her voice began tugging at my heartstrings.

  ‘I can’t tell you how happy you’ve made me.’

  A sob escaped from Mum’s lips. Hearing the sadness in her voice was a wake-up call and a real turning point for me. I knew it was time to start building bridges. She had done her best to bring me up on her own and had always given me everything she could. I wanted her to be part of my life again.

  ‘I’d love to see you. Can I take you out for lunch?’

  *

  I was sitting at the table facing the view of the seafront when my mum walked into Padrino’s. The traditional Italian restaurant in Westcliff-on-Sea was close to where she lived, and we’d visited it many times before, so I knew she’d be happy with my choice.

  I pushed back my chair when she approached the table and stood up. She was dressed in a black knee-length coat and looked effortlessly elegant with her dark hair swept into a low bun. I stooped to kiss her on both cheeks and couldn’t help noticing that she was trembling.

  Mum sat down opposite me. ‘You’re looking well. How have you been?’

  ‘I’m good, thanks. You’re looking well too.’

  At first, our conversation was a bit stilted but that was hardly surprising. We spent a while making small talk and stuck to safe topics like the weather and the food on the menu. I wasn’t sure whether to bring up our argument or brush it under the carpet and pretend it had never happened. It was a difficult call. The last thing I wanted to do was kick off the hostility again.

  ‘I’ve missed you, Nathan,’ Mum blurted out before she reached over the table and took hold of my hand.

  ‘I’ve missed you too, Mum.’

  ‘We always used to be so close. I never wanted to fall out with you.’ Tears glistened in my mum’s dark eyes.

  ‘I know. It’s been a horrible time for all of us.’

  It felt good to be able to open up to Mum after all this time, and I was glad I’d made contact with her now.

  ‘I shouldn’t have lied to you about your father. It was wrong of me to tell you he’d left us to set up home with another woman. I should have told you he’d been sent to prison. But I didn’t know what to do for the best. I only kept it from you to protect you from getting hurt.’

  Even though I didn’t agree with what she’d done, I knew deep down she’d had my best interests at heart.

  ‘If only I’d told you the truth as soon as you were old enough to understand, we wouldn’t have fallen out over it.’ Mum covered her lips with shaking fingers. Her words were filled with regret. ‘I’m so sorry. I hope one day you’ll be able to forgive me.’

  Mum couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. I could see she was devastated that she’d upset me and her suffering was difficult to watch.

  ‘Please don’t cry. It’s time we put this behind us and moved on with our lives. I don’t want us to be on bad terms any more.’

  Mum looked up at me and dabbed her eyes with a tissue. ‘Oh, Nathan, you don’t know how happy that would make me.’

  I shed a silent tear and wiped it away with the back of my hand before smiling at her.

  When we’d finished our meal, Mum and I stood outside the restaurant locked in a wordless embrace. As I held her tiny frame close to mine, all the unexpressed hurt and anger seemed to seep out of me. We hugged for the longest time before we reluctantly said goodbye.

  *

  I wasn’t sure how Dad would feel about seeing his ex-wife again after all these years, but there was only one way to find out.

  ‘I’m worried about Gemma. The more I try to talk to her, the more she pushes me away. Would you mind if I asked Mum over sometime? She might be able to help. They’ve always been very close.’

  ‘Of course not,’ Dad replied without any hesitation.

  Now that Mum and I were on speaking terms again, I wanted to see as much of her as possible, to make up for lost time.

  ‘Can you come over to Dad’s house tomorrow?’

  At first, my question was met with silence. Mum was reluctant to accept the invitation. She’d divorced my dad while he was serving his prison sentence, and she hadn’t seen him since. Even though she was putting up a protest, I knew Mum would change her mind if I told her that Gemma needed her help. When I explained that Gemma could do with some motherly advice, Mum eventually agreed. Gemma was the daughter she’d never had, so she would do anything for her. They adored each other.

  *

  Dad opened the front door. ‘Rosa, you’re looking well. Please come in,’ he said, breaking the wall of silence that had existed between them for over thirty years.

  Mum was well dressed as always, and her dark hair was swept into a loose bun. Her petite, curvy frame stepped over the threshold and into the hall. She looked up at Dad as he towered over her and took in his features before she spoke. ‘I see you’ve grown a beard,’ she replied.

  Dad smiled and the skin at the corners of his steely blue eyes crinkled. He ran his fingers along the greying hair that covered his jawline. ‘Do you like it?’

  Mum’s face puckered, and she refrained from answering.

  ‘I’ll take that as a no then, shall I?’ Dad laughed.

  A smile spread across my face, and I felt my shoulders drop in relief. My parents were being civil to each other. Would wonders never cease? This was going better than I’d expected, and hopefully, Mum’s visit would bring Gemma out of the dark place she was currently visiting.

  ‘Hello, Nathan,’ Mum said, changing the subject. Her eyes lit up at the sight of me. When she got close enough, she reached up and kissed me on each of my cheeks in turn.

  ‘It’s good to see you,’ I replied. I threw my arms around my mum and hugged her tightly.

  ‘Where’s my favourite grandson, then?’

  I led Mum into the living room where Gemma was feeding Luca. I hadn’t told my wife I’d arranged for my mum to visit. I wanted it to be a surprise.

  ‘Hello, Gemma,’ Mum said. ‘I hope you don’t mind me dropping in to see you. I was just passing.’

  I’m sure Gemma knew that wasn’t true, but she didn’t seem to care. She looked happy to see her mother-in-law. Mum took a seat next to her and stroked Luca’s head before planting kisses on both of Gemma’s cheeks.

  ‘I’ll go and make some coffee,’ I said. I’d have to make myself scarce to allow Gemma to open up.

  Mum patted Gemma’s hand. ‘So how have you been getting on?’ she asked as I closed the door behind me.

  I stood in the hallway, leaning against the wooden panel. I knew I shouldn’t be eavesdropping on their conversation, but I was desperate to hear what Gemma was going to say.

  Gemma let out a huge sigh. ‘Not so good. I always knew that I worried more than most people, but I’ve turned into a neurotic overprotective moth
er. I know I’m doing it, but I can’t seem to help myself.’

  ‘That’s a natural reaction. It’s a mother’s role to worry about her child,’ Mum said, doing her best to reassure Gemma. ‘As doting parents, sometimes we over-dote. We’re all guilty of that from time to time. When Nathan was little, he had me wrapped around his finger. In fact, he still does.’

  *

  ‘Let me walk you to the station,’ I said when Mum was about to leave.

  She linked my arm when we stepped onto the pavement, and a smile spread across my face when she looked up at me.

  ‘Thanks for inviting me over.’

  ‘You’re welcome. I’m so glad I’m managed to persuade you to come.’

  Mum cast her eyes to the floor. ‘I wasn’t trying to be difficult, but I was worried about having to face Gareth after all this time.’

  ‘I’m sure you were, but it was fine, wasn’t it?’

  Mum nodded. ‘Nobody else, apart from you, would have been able to talk me into this.’ Mum patted my arm.

  My mum had made a huge sacrifice by coming here today. I knew it had been difficult for her, but she’d made the effort because she was trying to put things right between us.

  28

  Gemma

  Rosa hadn’t been honest with me when she’d said she was just passing Gareth’s house today. It wasn’t really a big deal; it was a little white lie. But it was a lie all the same. I knew damn well that wild horses wouldn’t have dragged her here unless Nathan had intervened.

  Don’t get me wrong, nobody was more delighted than I was that Nathan and Rosa were back on speaking terms. You could have knocked me down with a feather when my husband told me he’d taken his mum out to lunch. By all accounts, their reunion had been an emotional one and having spent hours talking things through they’d put their argument behind them.

  I was sure Nathan had reached out to his mum because he knew I was finding it difficult to juggle the demands of a small baby. Although I was certain his intentions were good, he’d just made me feel like a failure.