Back in the Game

by Caz Finlay

  The one thing he knew for sure was that he wanted to do things better than his dad had. Nathan Conlon had been known as a ruthless fucker and when he’d been at the top of his game, no one had dared to challenge him. But he had too many weaknesses – women, drugs and booze. Jake was never going to go down that road. He’d never had any interest in drugs – not in taking them at least – and although he liked the odd drink, he could count on one hand the number of times he’d been completely wasted. But most importantly, he loved Siobhan. She was his soulmate. Women threw themselves at him all the time. Barely a day went by when he wasn’t propositioned by someone offering it to him on a plate. He knew it was all about the power. Some people were just drawn to it like a smackhead to their next fix. But he would never do anything to hurt Siobhan. She was the only woman he’d ever loved.

  Chapter 19

  Grace looked up from her desk and was surprised to see Michael Carter strolling through the door of her office.

  ‘Hello, stranger,’ she said. ‘What are you doing here?’ Last time they’d met, he hadn’t exactly given her a warm welcome.

  ‘Thought I owed you a visit.’

  ‘You don’t owe me anything, Michael,’ she said as she closed her laptop with a snap and rested her hands on top of it.

  ‘I think maybe I do,’ he said before closing the door and sitting on the chair opposite her.

  She looked at him. He looked good, dressed in a suit as usual, his shirt open at the collar. They had once been so close but now it felt like they were strangers. There was an awkwardness between them that made Grace feel almost vulnerable around him. Although perhaps it was all in her imagination?

  ‘Drink?’ she asked him.

  He shook his head. ‘I’m driving.’

  ‘Well, why is it you think you owe me a visit then?’

  He sighed. ‘I wanted to explain about Jake. I had no idea he was in so deep until it was too late. I would have warned you but I had no way of contacting you. I should have looked out for him, Grace. Made sure he stayed away from Nathan’s old followers. When I found out what he was into, I came to see him.’

  ‘Did you?’

  ‘Of course I did. I know you didn’t want this life for him. I tried to help him out a bit. You know, give him some advice.’

  ‘Ha.’ Grace laughed. ‘I bet that went down like a lead balloon.’

  Michael smiled. ‘You know lads his age. They think they know everything.’

  ‘So he told you to sod off then?’

  ‘Well, he wasn’t quite so blunt. He gave me some bollocks about wanting to stand on his own two feet.’

  ‘Well, I appreciate you trying anyway.’

  ‘I know you’d do the same for me,’ he replied.

  ‘So what happened with you then? I hear you’ve left our old business behind and branched into security instead?’

  ‘It wasn’t the same after you left. You know I can’t stand all that arse-kissing and ego stroking that goes on when you’re negotiating with the Sol Shepherds of the world. And I was fed up looking over my shoulder all the time, to be honest. I felt like a quiet life for a while. As you can see, I ain’t no young man anymore.’

  ‘Behave yourself,’ she said, laughing. ‘You’re only forty-four.’

  He laughed too. ‘Yeah, but sometimes I feel seventy-four. I’ve been in this game for almost thirty years, Grace.’

  ‘So the security business is nice and relaxing, is it? A quiet life?’ she asked sarcastically.

  ‘Nope. But it’s a hell of a lot more straightforward.’

  Michael’s phone started to ring and Grace watched him as he took it from his inside pocket and looked at the name on the screen before returning it, unanswered.

  ‘Wasn’t that important?’ Grace asked, suspecting it had been his wife, Hannah.

  ‘It can wait.’

  ‘Can I ask you something?’

  ‘Of course. Always.’ He sat forward in his chair.

  ‘I’m going to fire the bouncers here as soon as I’ve got a new security firm in place.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yep. I was going to ask the twins to speak to you about taking over. But now you’re here, I can ask you myself.’

  ‘You weren’t going to ask me yourself anyway?’ he asked, his brow furrowed in annoyance.

  ‘Well, we didn’t part on the best terms, did we?’

  ‘Grace.’ He swallowed. ‘About that.’

  Grace waved her hand in dismissal, pretending she no longer cared. ‘Never mind. It doesn’t matter now. Will you take over the doors here then, or what?’

  ‘Of course. But what about Jake? Does he need to approve this?’

  ‘Leave Jake to me. He’s left me in charge of the staffing, and bouncers are staff, so it’s my decision.’

  ‘You’ve only been back a couple of weeks and now I’m working for you again?’ He laughed. ‘How did that just happen?’

  She shook her head. ‘You’re not working for me. I won’t be sticking around for long anyway. I’ll feel better knowing that you’re around, to be honest. Jake could use your expertise. Even if he would never admit it.’

  ‘How long are you staying then?’

  ‘A couple of months, and then I’m off back to Leeds.’

  ‘Oh, right.’ He stood up. ‘I’d better get going. Let me know when you want my boys to start.’

  ‘Why not tomorrow? I’m meeting with Karl Morgan in a few hours. I’ll let him know that he and his shower of piss-takers are no longer needed back here after tonight.’

  ‘Fucking hell, Grace. You don’t hang around, do you? That’ll cause murder, you know that?’

  ‘Your boys can handle it, can’t they?’

  ‘Of course they can. I’ll tell them to start tonight instead. Once you tell the other lot to sling their hook, there’s no way they’ll be hanging around here protecting your club. They’re more likely to come back armed to the teeth and try and do the place over.’

  ‘Tonight it is then.’

  ‘Stay away for the night then, eh?’ he said as he was walking out of the door.

  ‘Don’t be daft.’ She laughed at him. ‘I’m a big girl, Michael.’

  ‘Yeah, I know you are. But can you just stay away for one night. Please? I’d rather not have to worry about you getting caught in the crossfire.’

  She sighed. ‘Okay then.’ The truth was she preferred staying home with Belle in the evenings anyway.

  ‘Thanks.’ He disappeared through the door.

  Grace leaned back in her chair. Michael Carter working in the club was a good thing for Jake. A good thing for The Blue Rooms. But it was a potential minefield for her. One she would have to navigate very carefully.

  Chapter 20

  Grace laughed as Libby Baxter told her about the drunken antics of some of the customers on a hen do the night before. Grace had recently promoted Libby to be the new assistant bar manager after realising she was bright, loyal and knew when to keep her mouth shut. She’d let the previous occupier of the position go for being a complete balloon who didn’t have a clue what he was doing, or have an ounce of loyalty in his body. Libby was someone Grace already considered a friend. They had a similar sense of humour too and Grace enjoyed spending time in her company. When the time came for Grace to move back to Harewood, Libby would be the perfect assistant for Siobhan. The pair of them would be a force to be reckoned with and would make sure The Blue Rooms thrived.

  Grace and Libby were going over the rotas when Grace saw Karl Morgan stroll into The Blue Rooms like he owned the place, half an hour early for the meeting she’d arranged with him. Karl was the owner of Trident Securities, who managed the doors of the club, but he was such an arrogant prick Grace wondered how Jake had ever agreed to do business with him. He grinned as he sauntered over to where Grace and Libby were standing at the bar.

  ‘All right, girls?’ he said with a wink.

  ‘We’re no girls, son,’ Libby snapped. ‘I’ll finish up, Grace,’ she s
aid before walking away.

  Karl shrugged as he watched Libby’s retreating rear. She was probably just his type, Grace thought – blonde, tanned skin, long legs and a tiny waist. Unfortunately for Karl, Libby was happily engaged to her fiancée, Maria, and Karl’s charm was entirely wasted on her.

  ‘You wanted to see me, Grace?’ he said, turning his full attention to her instead.

  ‘Yes. You’re early. Come through to my office.’

  ‘Anything you say, darling.’

  Closing the door to her office, Grace was hit by the pungent smell of Karl’s aftershave, which he’d obviously applied with a bucket. She contemplated opening the door again, but thought the privacy was worth the price of having to breathe through her mouth for the next five minutes. She didn’t need the rest of the staff hearing her business.

  Karl sat on Grace’s desk rather than the chair she offered. She sat down herself and for a few seconds she just watched him as he looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her breasts for much longer than could be considered polite. Karl considered himself a hit with the ladies. Stocky, with a shaved head and piercing blue eyes, he had a certain appeal, she supposed, but she found him creepy. He’d been flirting with her for weeks, making vulgar comments and crude innuendoes. He thought all he had to do was smile at a woman and she’d drop her knickers. Well, not Grace. She hadn’t invited him to her office for a social visit.

  ‘So, what can I do for you, darling?’ he said, grinning at her suggestively.

  ‘I asked you here out of courtesy to you, Karl. I wanted to tell you to your face that I’m letting you go,’ she said matter-of-factly. She watched him shake his head as though he couldn’t possibly have heard her correctly.

  ‘What?’

  ‘You heard me. I’m letting you go. As of today, The Blue Rooms will no longer require the services of Trident Security. You can tell your boys not to bother turning up for their shifts tonight. They’ll be paid for the rest of the week.’

  Grace watched as the whole of Karl’s face changed in an instant. Gone was the seemingly permanent grin and the twinkling blue eyes. His face twisted in anger as his cheeks flushed and his eyes narrowed. He rose from the desk and stood over her.

  ‘Who the fuck do you think you are?’ he shouted, so close to Grace’s face she could feel the spittle flying from his mouth. ‘You’re letting me go? You cheeky fucking bitch. Who do you think would look after this place as well as me?’ he snarled.

  Grace stood, and although he was almost twice the size of her, she brought her face close to his. ‘A fucking monkey could protect this place better than you, you useless piece of shit. Where were your boys when Martin Mitchell put a bar stool though the mirror behind the bar and threatened Libby with a knife?’

  Karl glared at her, his whole body shaking with anger. She knew he wanted to lamp her one. But she also knew he wouldn’t dare. She was Grace Sumner, after all.

  ‘You had that coming,’ he snapped. ‘You sacked half the fucking bar staff. If you go around giving people the boot for no good reason, you’re bound to get some comeback. Martin Mitchell is connected, or didn’t you know that? And now you’ve fired your security too? You’re a fucking nutcase.’

  Grace smiled at him. ‘We’ll see,’ she said. ‘Now get your shit and go.’

  ‘You’ll fucking regret this,’ he growled as he stormed out of her office.

  Sitting in her chair, Grace leaned back against the headrest. That hadn’t gone as badly as she’d expected. She could act as cool as an ice cube in a snow storm in those situations, but her insides were shaking. She hoped Karl and his boys didn’t cause too much trouble when they inevitably came back to show their displeasure at her decision. In time, Karl would realise that it was just business. Hotheads like him always calmed down eventually.

  Grace thought about Martin Mitchell. He’d been the bar manager until she’d fired him the week before. He was useless. But connected? That was a laugh. He was the nephew of Kevin Mitchell. Kevin had been a well-known face a few years earlier, until he’d been left eating through a straw for the rest of his days. Kevin had been a pain in Grace’s arse, and if he hadn’t become too greedy and started to have ideas above his station, then he’d still have full use of all of his faculties.

  Chapter 21

  ‘So you’re okay with Michael’s firm taking over the security then, Jake?’ Grace asked him.

  ‘Yeah, Mum. Whatever,’ he said distractedly.

  She shook her head as she walked out of his office. Sometimes that boy was a complete mystery. If she did something as simple as adding to the list of lagers they sold, he accused her of meddling in his business, but firing the security team and replacing them with Carter’s firm was no big deal? Something was obviously on his mind, but whatever it was, she was getting an easy life for the time being and she could roll with that.

  ‘Hey, boss,’ Grace heard from behind her.

  Turning around she saw Connor and Paul Carter. ‘Hello, boys, what are you two doing here?’

  ‘Come to make sure everything’s set up for tonight.’ Paul said.

  ‘Shouldn’t you be going?’ Connor asked.

  ‘I’m leaving in ten minutes,’ she sighed. ‘Is that why you’re really here? To make sure I’ve gone?’

  ‘No,’ Connor protested. ‘But we were instructed to make sure you were off the premises by six o’clock at the latest.’

  ‘Your father is a control freak,’ she said.

  ‘He controls because he cares.’ Connor grinned at her. ‘Is there somewhere we could use as a base? We’ve got some paperwork and stuff we could do with leaving here.’

  ‘Bring them to my office,’ she said. ‘It’s too big for just me anyway. It would be nice to have some occasional company. There’s a spare desk in there too.’

  ‘Brilliant,’ said Paul. ‘Dad will be made up he’s finally got a proper desk.’

  Of course, Grace thought to herself. The twins didn’t do paperwork, Michael did. And now she’d just given him his own desk in her office. Hopefully he would hardly be there during the day anyway, and she rarely worked nights, preferring to be at home with Belle. She would just have to avoid him as much as she could.

  ‘Hey, Jake,’ Paul called as he noticed him in his office.

  ‘All right lads. Fancy a drink?’ Jake called back.

  The twins looked at each other, then at Grace, then at the briefcase Connor was holding.

  ‘I’ll take that for you,’ Grace said. ‘Go and have a drink with Jake. He can show you where my office is later.’

  ‘Because you’ll be gone in ten minutes, won’t you?’ Connor asked looking at his watch.

  ‘Yes,’ she sighed.

  Connor handed her the briefcase and she watched the pair of them stroll into Jake’s office and close the door.

  ***

  Jake smiled as the Carter twins closed the door to his office.

  ‘How’s it going, Jake? What’s it like being the head man?’ Paul laughed.

  Jake shook his head. ‘Don’t fucking ask, lads. That cunt Bobby White is crawling up my arse every time I turn around.’

  ‘He’s a cocksucker if ever I met one,’ Connor said as he sat down. ‘Greasy little fucker. Wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him.’

  ‘To be fair, I bet you could throw him pretty far though, mate,’ Jake said and the three of them started to laugh.

  ‘How’s things with you then, lads?’ Jake asked as he poured them all a drink. ‘I see your firm’s taking over the security at the club. Will that mean you two are around here more often?’

  ‘We’re here tonight because we’re expecting a bit of a kick-off. But we won’t be involved much after that,’ Connor answered.

  ‘We prefer to keep busy in other ways,’ Paul said with a smile. Jake nodded. He knew the twins did freelance work for some of the most powerful gangsters across the whole of England and Scotland. They were colloquially known as ‘the cleaners’ because they were brought
in to clear up other people’s messes, and they were good at it too.

  ‘The security business is a bit too tame for us, isn’t it, Con?’ Paul said.

  Connor nodded.

  ‘I hear you get to travel a lot though?’ Jake said, grinning.

  ‘Yeah, but we’re looking to set up something a bit closer to home though, aren’t we, Paul?’ Connor replied.

  ‘Well, if I hear of anything, I’ll let you know,’ Jake said.

  ‘Sound,’ Paul said as the three of them finished their drinks.

  ‘Will you be about tonight, Jake?’ Paul asked. ‘It should be a good kick-off.’

  ‘Wouldn’t miss it, lads.’

  Jake watched as the twins left his office. He wondered what exactly they’d meant by setting up closer to home. He liked the twins; they were a pair of vicious bastards, but they also had a code that they stuck to. They never hurt women or children. They had a solid reputation because they kept their mouths shut about what they did and who they did it for. And they kept their word, which was rare in their game. Apart from his mum and Siobhan, Jake could count on one finger the people who worked for him that he trusted.

  He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. She probably didn’t know it, but his mum had done him a massive favour getting Michael to take over the security at the club.

  Chapter 22