by Alex Kane
‘Great,’ Arabella replied, turning her back to head for the fridge. Before she got far, she turned and thanked Scarlett for her hospitality. ‘You could join us if you wanted?’
Scarlett shook her head. ‘I couldn’t possibly. A few glasses of fizz and your friend would look like she’d had a perm from the eighties. Let me get your chairs sorted and I’ll grab some prosecco glasses too. Oh and I think we’ve got some nibbles.’
Scarlett excused herself from the conversation and Arabella smiled. This day was turning out to be a decent first day.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Roxanne stared at Scarlett in the mirror as she worked through a hair treatment. As much as the mix of lavender and coconut was relaxing, Roxanne still felt on edge about the way Scarlett had been acting around her. The woman had barely made eye contact or spoken a word. Roxanne didn’t know why, but there was something familiar about Scarlett that didn’t sit well with her and she wasn’t the type of woman to sit back on a salon chair and keep her mouth shut.
‘So how long have you worked here at Hair Envy, then? My mate here says you’re part of the furniture,’ Roxanne said, keeping her eye on the woman in the mirror.
‘Since I was sixteen. Left school, started as a junior and worked my way up. The place has had three owners since then, Arabella being our third,’ Scarlett replied, nodding and smiling at Arabella who was in the chair next to Roxanne.
‘Third time lucky, eh?’ Arabella giggled before drinking back prosecco from the flute in her hand while the young stylist, Leanne, curled her hair.
‘You’ll be the best,’ Roxanne replied with encouragement. ‘This place needed someone like you and you deserve it after a shitty year at Her Majesty’s pleasure.’
‘You were in the jail?’ Leanne asked. ‘Jeezo. So what for?’
Arabella didn’t answer, she seemed embarrassed and Scarlett didn’t push. But Roxanne wanted to see Scarlett’s reaction.
‘Och come on, just tell them, minor drug offence and attempted robbery. You’re lucky you didn’t get a couple year up your arse,’ Roxanne laughed, drinking back the last of the prosecco from her flute and holding it out to Scarlett for her to refill.
‘Oh my god, Arabella!’ Leanne exclaimed, her eyes wide. There was a hint of a smile teasing the corners of her mouth but she didn’t let it out.
‘That’s where we met, in the jail,’ Roxanne said.
‘Okay so if we’re sharing offences, then why don’t you tell Scarlett and Leanne here why you were inside… for ten years, may I add,’ Arabella hiccupped and giggled.
Roxanne sighed. ‘It sounds worse than it actually is. But basically, I got sent away for drug dealing. And… now, I’m not proud of it,’ she mocked, ‘but I done someone in because they owed me money. I mean properly done them in.’
That was it, the look on Scarlett’s face that Roxanne had been waiting for. Disgust, hatred. She pretended not to notice for the time being. But that was when it clicked in Roxanne’s head, where she knew Scarlett from. It wasn’t just the way she had been looking down her nose at Roxanne. There was something else there that Roxanne could see in her eyes. A hatred.
‘Okay, it is as bad as it sounds. But I’m a changed woman now. Honestly.’
Scarlett hesitated, her hands hovering in Roxanne’s hair before she dropped them to her side and excused herself. Roxanne eyed her as she walked away. Arabella seemed not to have noticed, like the bubbles had gone straight to her head.
Roxanne watched Scarlett leave and knew that this was the only opportunity that she was going to get to have it out with her, while it was still fresh in her head.
‘Just going to the toilet. Too much fizz,’ she said as she got up from her seat. Again, Arabella didn’t pay much attention as she chatted to Leanne about hair styles and make-up.
Crossing the floor of the salon, she headed straight for the bathrooms. Pushing through the door, she came face to face with Scarlett, whose face matched her name, eyes glistening against the light.
Roxanne closed the door behind her and slid the lock across. She turned to face the woman who so clearly had a problem with her.
‘Right, are you going to keep pretending that you don’t know who I am? Or are we going to get this sorted right now?’
Scarlett kept her stance steady. She didn’t falter or take a step back. Instead, she raised her chin and looked Roxanne in the eye. ‘I didn’t think I’d ever come face to face with you, not after your trial. And I certainly didn’t expect to find you here. Hearing you talk about it the way you do just brings it all back. But you’re the reason things went so wrong for my family. I always vowed if I came across you, I’d fucking kill you myself. I never actually thought it would happen.’
Surprised and frankly a little taken aback by Scarlett’s nerve, Roxanne raised a brow and nodded. ‘Go on then, you seem like a big brave lassie. Say it out loud.’
‘Johnnie was my brother, the guy you battered, almost killed for the sake of a measly twenty quid.’
Roxanne searched her memory for the face of the guy who was the reason she’d ended up in prison. Scarlett was right; he had owed her twenty quid which in itself sounded ridiculous. However, it hadn’t been the first time he’d taken the piss out of her. He’d attempted to run a side business of his own off the shoplifting ring Roxanne and Jake had had on the go at the time. He’d tried to sell some of the goods and keep a larger percentage than she’d agreed with him. That had got her back up. Of course it had; it would get anyone’s back up if they thought they were getting screwed over. But Scarlett had used the past tense when talking about her brother. That wasn’t right.
‘And thanks to you, he’s dead.’
‘What do you mean, thanks to me? I didn’t fucking kill him,’ Roxanne said. ‘Whatever the hell happened to him had nothing to do with me. I’d have been in the jail before he died.’
‘You didn’t kill him with your own hands, but he died of a drug overdose last year. An overdose that was caused by an addiction that you fed before you went to prison.’ Scarlett’s eyes were wide, her voice growing in anger.
‘Look love, if he died last year, it’s fuck all to do with me. Your brother was a druggie long before he met me and long after I went to jail.’
Scarlett’s eyes narrowed as she stared at her. Roxanne took Scarlett in. Her face, her voice. Then she remembered the moment she was sentenced ten years ago. A member of the public from the gallery had called out to her, saying it was what she deserved. That she was scum.
‘If I remember rightly, you gave me abuse from the gallery that day at court. You were brave that day as I was led away in cuffs. But now we’re standing here, I wonder if you’d have the balls to take me on? If you don’t want to end up with your face caved in then I’m telling you right now, back off or I’ll do something that could land me back in the jail. Don’t push it.’
Roxanne stood face to face with Scarlett. Was Scarlett stupid enough to push Roxanne on this subject? Dealing in drugs, whether you were the runner or the addict was a business in which there was no room for empathy. Both parties knew the risks.
Scarlett didn’t say a word, but instead stared through Roxanne. Maybe she had more balls than Roxanne had given her credit for.
‘I’m here to spend time with my mate. She’s your employer. Don’t do something that will not only put your job at risk but will make your life a living nightmare.’
Turning her back on Scarlett to leave, satisfied that she’d taken the hint, she felt a force push hard against her back, slamming her against the door face first. Fingers snaked around the back of her neck but they weren’t quick enough. Roxanne used all of her weight and pushed back against Scarlett, spinning so quickly it caught her off guard and caused her to fall back.
‘I fucking warned you,’ Roxanne hissed, rushing forward and shoving Scarlett so hard that she fell through the doorway of one of the toilet cubicles. Grabbing her by the throat so she was half suspended over the toilet seat, Roxan
ne punched her in the ribs with her free hand, revelling in the sound of the air leaving her lungs. ‘Your brother was nothing but a coke junkie and if it wasn’t me it would have been someone else supplying him.’
Scarlett fought against Roxanne’s grip but it was apparent that she was too strong for her. She gave up quickly when Roxanne struck into her ribs another once, twice, three times.
‘Don’t ever challenge me like this again, or next time you might not be so lucky. Oh and while we’re on the subject, no one ever gets to call me scum and gets away with it.’
Scarlett kept her head down, coughing and spluttering against the blows Roxanne kept on giving. She was careful to stay away from anywhere above the neckline. She didn’t want Arabella seeing evidence of a beating. Stepping over Scarlett, who had dropped down onto the floor now, Roxanne pulled on the handle for the flush and listened as the room was filled with the sound of water gushing through the pipes.
Fixing her clothes back to a presentable fashion, Roxanne washed her hands and dried them in the fancy Dyson hand-dryer, creating more noise which masked Scarlett’s splutters. Then she calmly unlocked the door and stepped back into the salon. Her fist throbbed from the blows but she hid the fact from Arabella.
‘What do you think?’ Arabella said, spinning in her chair to show off her new hairstyle. ‘You like?’
Sitting back down in her own chair, Roxanne smiled and lifted the flute that Scarlett had refilled before having the shit beaten out of her. ‘You look like a proper entrepreneur. Here’s to freedom, new business ventures and happiness. Cheers.’
‘Cheers,’ Arabella lifted her own flute and raised it in the air.
Roxanne smiled. This day had been unexpected. After just a couple of hours of freedom, she had met Cole Woods who had thrust a business venture in her direction, and had her own past thrust in her face. But there was one thing she knew for sure. She was back, she was free and no one was going to put her back inside. She would make sure of that.
‘So, when am I getting to meet the lovely Jake then?’ Arabella smiled.
‘Why not later on tonight?’
Arabella was giddy, like a kid on Christmas morning. Roxanne almost felt sorry for her. But business was business.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jake stared across the table at Cole Woods, feeling an overwhelming urge to knock the mobile out of his hand and punch him in the face. Cole had him by the balls with this one. He knew about Jake’s affair in London, knew about how Jake had put a stop to it. Cole had all the cards to play with the new venture and his insistence on involving Roxanne. Jake couldn’t exactly put a stop to it or Cole would reveal his secret to everyone and he’d lose everything. He’d warned as much at the time. A direct threat.
‘We’ll be seeing each other again, Jakey boy. And when I come looking for you, you’d better make yourself available for me or I’ll make sure that every police station from London to the fucking Shetlands receives a copy of what you did. Do you get me?’
‘That woman of yours sure is something, ain’t she?’ Cole said, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting one inside the pub. Jake kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t going to challenge Cole on anything.
‘Aye, she is that,’ he replied blandly.
‘So, you two been together long?’
Jake blinked, holding his eyes closed for a second longer than normal. Cole was playing with him, trying to back him into a corner to intimidate him. It was working.
‘Since long before she went to prison. We met not long after she came back from living in Spain. Two thousand and one, something like that.’
‘And she’s been away ten years? So you’ve been with her twenty odd years? Fucking hell, Jakey boy. That’s like a life sentence mate,’ Cole laughed, taking a long drag on the cigarette and eyeing the barman, who did his best to ignore the fact that the law was being broken, as did everyone else in the bar. It appeared that they either knew who Cole was, or they simply didn’t want to challenge him.
‘Why do people always say that? If I’d killed her, I’d be out by now? Bollocks. If you kill someone in this country, you’d get at least twenty-five years up your arse.’ A menacing smile crept across Cole’s face as his eyes fell on Jake again. ‘If you get found out, that is.’
Jake swallowed the angry lump in his throat. It was like being held to ransom being in Cole’s company. In truth, that was exactly what was happening here. He was being forced into a situation with a guy he wanted nothing to do with, even though it would make him some serious cash. But the risk of Rox finding out what happened when she was inside was too great. He ran the risk either way. If he refused Cole’s proposal then he would tell Roxanne what Jake had done. And if Cole was feeling like a bigger prick than usual then he would tell her anyway.
‘So then,’ Cole said, blowing smoke into the air above them. ‘You think this woman of yours will find us a hub for our operations?’
Jake nodded. ‘She will. And she’ll do it quickly. Once she has an idea in her head she will go with it until it runs out of steam.’
‘Ah, I like the sound of that, Jake,’ Cole said, sucking air through his teeth. ‘Good business is the result of someone who goes after what they want. She sounds like the type to get what she wants.’
Jake gritted his teeth. He didn’t like the sound of that. It wasn’t the words themselves, it was the way Cole put it. As if he was insinuating that Rox wanted someone, rather than something.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It had been a long day and DS Billy Drysdale’s back was killing him. A day at the desk filling out paperwork did that to him. He wasn’t in the job for the paperwork, he was in it for the action. To be able to slap a pair of cuffs on a criminal and stick them behind bars gave him nothing but pleasure. The last thing he’d wanted to do when he got home from the station was to get in touch with Jez Kennedy and inform him of what he knew. He didn’t want to be involved in this situation, but Jez was an old friend from back in the day. In his youth, before Billy knew he wanted to be a police officer, he would spend his time hanging around with the boys, getting smashed on cheap cider and spending his money on boys’ holidays. He and Jez were like brothers back then; neither of them had thought that one day, their lives would take very different paths.
He thought back to those days, when Jez moved in with Billy after his mum died. They were together all of the time, getting into and out of trouble constantly. Dealing and taking recreational drugs, getting into scraps with the young team from the next town, even down to things like bike theft, stripping the bikes for parts, or respraying and selling them on. They had each other’s backs. Jez never lost a fight because Billy was always there to back him up. Always. Their loyalty to one another unquestionable.
Billy had seen the fire in Jez from the early days, how criminal activity gave him a thrill. Billy had always suspected that Jez wanted more than anything Dunmuir or Glasgow could offer and knew that one day, he’d leave for bigger horizons. However, back then Billy would never for one second have thought that all these years later, they’d be on opposite sides of the law.
At the moment he was about to call Jez, the phone rang by his side. Glancing down at the screen, Billy wasn’t surprised to see Jez’s name flash up.
As close as they’d once been, Billy wondered if all that would go out the window because all Jez truly cared about now was finding the guy who had stolen from him. He wouldn’t let anything or anyone stand in the way of that, even Billy. He’d dump him in the shit if he had to, no questions or hesitations. That scared Billy more than anything else. It would end not just his career, but his entire life and everything he’d tried to build since going into the police. An honest life, an honest career. Everything that Jez didn’t have. Lifting the phone, he hit the green receiver icon and placed the phone to his ear. He took a steadying breath, ready to speak to the man who used to be like a brother to him. Now, he could become one of the worst enemies he’d ever face because Billy worked for t
he right side of the law, had done for years. He couldn’t turn his back on that for anyone.
Chapter Twenty-Six
‘You found anything yet?’ Jez asked as he paced the floor in the kitchen.
It was seven in the evening and Jez was getting ready to head to Martini Beach Club. His management team had organised a celebrity appearance for the evening and the place was expected to be packed out.
‘You know I can’t talk to you about that, Jez.’ Billy replied.
Jez took a steadying breath. ‘Billy, I know you value your job and all that, but I need a name. This bastard has fucked me over and you are the one connection I have. Is it who I told you it was?’
‘Look, Jez, this is a massive operation. The police in the UK have been looking to take down this guy for years and I’m not going to be the officer who fucks it up. So, I’m sorry, but I can’t give you a name. If you want to know for sure it’s the guy you’re looking for you’re going to have to come to Glasgow yourself. Or give it up and accept the loss.’
Jez dropped his hand down by his side and stared out of the window which looked out at the pool from the lower level of the house. Charlene was sat on the terrace, sipping a cocktail. As per usual. The boys were out with their mates. Being twenty and eighteen and living in Majorca, Jez barely saw them nowadays. He’d always had the idea of his sons working for him in the family business, but they just weren’t interested. Too busy living it up in Spain with their mates. Maria had gone home for the evening. The silence around him was deafening. He hadn’t spoken to Charlene properly in weeks. Actually, if he was being honest with himself, he and his wife hadn’t had a proper, honest to god conversation since the birth of their second son.
Raising the phone to his ear again, Jez closed his eyes and tried to keep his voice steady. ‘I don’t accept losses unless it’s my own fault. So, if you’re telling me that you can’t help me, I suppose I’m just going to have to do what you suggest and come to Glasgow. It’ll be nice to see the place again, take a look around the scheme, meet up with the boys again.’