“No thanks,” she called back. “I’m good here.”
“You sure?” he replied.
“Yes.” She looked to Jacob and smiled. “My turn.”
“Yeah,” he said, glowering at Ricky, who smirked at him.
The mounting tension put Leah off her stride and this time she only managed to knock down three pins.
“Looks like my luck’s changing,” said Jacob.
She was relieved the playfulness had returned to his eyes. “Don’t bet on it,” she smiled back.
“You’re losing because you’re with that loser,” Ricky called across to them. “His family’s really scummy. The Waster Wrights.”
Anger surged through Leah at Jacob’s hurt look, although his lovely eyes flashed with defiance.
“Just go to them,” he huffed. “No doubt you’d prefer to hang around with them.”
“You must be bloody joking. They’re arseholes. Oy, Ricky?”
“Yes?” he purred.
She wanted to punch the smug look off his face but her parents wouldn’t be very impressed. “You know nothing about his family. Leave him alone or I’ll tell everyone you weren’t off college last month with glandular fever. You were having a nose job.”
Ricky turned scarlet, making his teeth look even whiter while Jacob burst out laughing.
“I knew you looked different,” said Ricky’s friend. “But you made out like I was nuts.”
“Shut up,” he spat at him.
“I’m staying with Jacob because he’s not a stuck-up wanker with a Justin Bieber fixation,” added Leah.
Ricky was furious when laughter echoed around the room. “I do not like Justin Bieber.”
“Yeah you do. I’ve seen your play list.”
“You’ve seen a lot more than my play list,” he said with a suggestive wink.
“Urgh, no I haven’t. I don’t do orange and tiny.”
“I am not short.”
“I wasn’t referring to your height.” It struck Leah how much she sounded like her Aunty Jules and she was filled with pride.
Ricky was torn between panic and rage when there was more laughter. He wasn’t used to being laughed at. “Go on then, go off with that loser.”
“I don’t need your permission,” she said before grabbing Jacob by the front of his t-shirt, pulling him to her and kissing him.
Ricky, his friends and the entire bowling alley just melted away as she fell into his kiss. She was conscious of her arms sliding around his waist, his hand fisting in her hair and nothing else.
When the kiss eventually ended her eyes slowly rolled open and she gazed up into his handsome face, his expression for once gentle.
“Wow,” she breathed. Her heart was hammering and her cheeks burned. She was gratified to see he was equally red, eyes sparkling.
“You want to get out of here before those idiots try and cause more trouble?” he said.
“Yes please.”
He smiled and pecked her on the lips, retrieving her bag as well as his own and slinging both over his shoulder.
“You’re a gentleman too,” she said. “You kept that one quiet.”
He smiled at her and winked, slinging his arm around her shoulders, Leah happily leaning into him, wrapping her arm around his waist, flashing Ricky a victorious smirk on their way out. His friends didn’t notice as they were all too busy staring at his nose.
“I haven’t had a nose job,” he barked, causing them all to look away.
Michelle climbed into Rachel’s Mercedes, gawping at the luxury, so much so that she only realised she was being driven around the back of the complex when Rachel applied the handbrake.
“What are you doing?” demanded Michelle.
“There’s one test we need to do before I take you over there about the job,” said Rachel, getting out of the car.
“She’s bloody nuts,” Michelle muttered to herself before getting out. “Well?” she demanded, slamming the car door shut.
Rachel glanced around to make sure no one was looking but behind the complex it was deserted, this area being only for staff and deliveries. “I want you to come at me.”
“What do you mean, come at you?”
“I want you to attack me.”
“Why? Oh I see, so you can run to the police claiming I attacked you and get me locked up. Well I’m not falling for that old chestnut.”
“My family have never run to the police for anything. I need to make sure you’ve got the right skills for the job. Battler and Bruiser aren’t babysitters, they need someone who can take care of themselves.”
“Battler and Bruiser? The job’s working for them?”
Rachel nodded.
“I’ve heard of them, they’re local legends.”
“Yes they are, so I’m not going to take someone to them who isn’t going to be any use.”
Determined to prove herself, Michelle pumped up with adrenaline. “You sure you want to do this? I might just snap you.”
“I’m sure I’ll cope. Come on then.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Michelle lunged at her, attempting to grab her right arm but Rachel side-stepped and she missed.
“I’m just warming up,” said Michelle when Rachel appeared amused.
“Don’t hold back. I can take it.”
“You might regret saying that.”
This time she managed to grab Rachel’s right arm and twisted it up her back but the next thing she knew she was being pulled over her shoulder and she was on her back on the ground, gazing up into Rachel’s black eyes. The bitch was enjoying this. Michelle rolled out of the way before Rachel could stomp on her with her high heels.
“You’re crazy,” she exclaimed, leaping to her feet. For a big woman she could move fast.
“I just like to vet interviewees thoroughly but if you don’t think you’re up to the job…”
“I am,” she snarled.
“Then prove it.”
Michelle hurled herself at her, knocking Rachel onto her back, clambering on top of her before she could rise, drawing back her fist. If the nutty bitch wanted a fight she was bloody well going to get one. But Rachel blocked her punch and smacked her in the side of the face, knocking her over.
“You are so going to regret that,” bellowed Michelle, coming at her harder. Oh no you don’t she thought when Rachel side-stepped again. Anticipating the move, she grabbed her and hurled her against the car. Rachel rolled down the bonnet and onto the ground, Michelle staring down at her with satisfaction. To her chagrin Rachel leapt up and brushed the dirt off her skirt. “Better but you’re still holding back.”
“Oh yeah, is this holding back?” she exclaimed before punching her in the side of the face.
Rachel was knocked onto the bonnet. The punch was strong and fast but she’d received much worse in her time. It was almost comical the way Michelle’s eyes bulged as she straightened up.
“You’ve got a good right hook,” commented Rachel.
Rachel’s fist hit her full in the face, the power behind the blow startling Michelle, knocking her backwards but she refused to fall, desperately clinging onto consciousness, rapidly blinking to clear her vision.
“And you can take a punch too,” said Rachel. “Excellent.”
Michelle dabbed at her cut lower lip, the sight of her own blood enraging her. “You mad mare. I’ll kill you.”
“Come on then,” said Rachel, eager for battle.
“Mum?” called a voice.
They both whipped round to see Jacob and Leah rushing up to them, looking outraged.
“What do you think you’re doing?” they both demanded, glaring at their respective mothers.
“It’s not what it looks like,” said Rachel, running a hand through her hair. “I was just interviewing Michelle for a job.”
“What job?” said Leah. “Cage fighter?”
Jacob snorted with laughter. “Cage fighter. You are so funny.”
Michelle gaped at her son as he
mooned over Leah Law who, to her infinite surprise, looked back at him exactly the same way.
“Not so bad yourself,” purred Leah, her fingers surreptitiously brushing his own.
“Very nice to meet you Jacob,” said Rachel. “Leah’s told me so much about you. I take it your date went well?”
Leah’s smile dropped when she looked back at her mother. “It was until we came outside and found you two brawling. What are you doing here anyway?”
“We met each other in the gym then had a coffee together.”
“Before coming out back and bashing the hell out of each other.”
“Leah Law, don’t take that tone with me.”
“You’re lecturing me Mum, seriously?”
“Your mum said there’s a job going with Battler and Bruiser’s firm,” interjected Michelle, feeling like a naughty child when her son gave her a hard look. “She was making sure I can hold my own in a fight.”
“A job?” said Jacob, this news overriding how appalled he was to see his mum fighting with the mother of the girl he was rapidly falling for. “That’s great.” He looked to Rachel. “She can fight, she’s really hard. I’ve seen her knock out grown men.”
“I don’t doubt it,” said Rachel, putting a hand to her bruised cheek. “There’s not many people who can plant one on me.”
“So did I pass your little interview?” said Michelle.
“With flying colours. You still up for going to Torquay?”
“Too right I am. I’ve bloody earned it.”
“Yes you have.” Rachel looked back at her daughter. “I take it you’re going home now?”
“Well,” said Leah, glancing at Jacob, whose eyes danced with mischief. “We were but now I come to think of it I am pretty hungry. Jacob, do you want to grab a pizza?”
“Yeah, I’m starving. Bowling really takes it out of you.”
“There’s a film on at the cinema tonight that I’ve been waiting to see too.” Leah looked back at her mum, slyness in her eyes. “Is that alright with you Mum?”
“Oh…fine,” she sighed. “But you’ve to be home by ten at the latest, if that’s okay with Michelle?”
“Fine by me,” she said, so pleased her son finally had a friend. “As long as Leah doesn’t start brawling in the street like her mum.”
“Nope. I have some self control,” she grinned.
“Oy you, don’t be cheeky,” said Rachel. She took her handbag out of the car, dipped into her purse and held some notes out to Leah. “Have tonight on me.”
“We don’t need handouts,” frowned Michelle.
“It’s not a handout, it’s an apology for the shock of these two having to witness their mothers fighting.”
“Sounds fair,” sniffed Michelle.
“Thanks Mum,” said Leah, hugging her.
Rachel thought it said a lot about how comfortable she was with Jacob that she could hug her in front of him. She didn’t feel the need to put on an act with him, which said a lot about the boy himself.
“Go on, have fun,” said Rachel, smiling as they walked away together, holding hands.
“That seems to be going well,” said Michelle.
“It does. Leah seems so happy, which is great to see. She’s had a tough time of it recently.” She shook herself out it. “Let’s go then before Battler and Bruiser shut up shop for the day.”
“Rachel love,” beamed Battler, getting to his feet to greet her.
“Hi Battler,” she said, smiling as he wrapped her in a big warm bear hug. Rachel had a father that she loved dearly but Battler and Bruiser were like her second dads and she adored the pair of them. “Bruiser,” she added, hugging him too.
“Who’s this then?” said Battler, indicating Michelle with a nod of the head, who was unable to stop staring at the brothers. They made an impressive sight - two stubble-headed giants with chests the size of barn doors and hands like hams. Battler was the older of the pair and slightly taller than his brother. When they’d first arrived they had drummed up a huge amount of female interest, the local women coming to them for help with every little thing just to spend some time in their charming company. Battler was the spokesperson, Bruiser rarely talked, although this only added to his mystique.
“This is Michelle,” said Rachel. “Her son Jacob has started dating Leah. Michelle needs a job and I thought she’d fit in well here.”
Battler eyed her muscular physique. “She certainly looks capable. You had any experience of private investigation Michelle?”
The mention of her name snapped her out of her trance in which she’d been enjoying some very pleasant fantasies. “Err, no but I’m a quick learner.”
“You two been fighting?” he asked them, eyeing their bruises.
“Yes,” replied Rachel. “As part of the job interview.”
Battler and Bruiser glanced at each other, amusement reflected in each other’s eyes.
“And?” said Battler.
“She’s good. I think she’ll be able to handle that side of the business no problem.”
“She must be good to land a hit on you.” Battler glanced at his brother, who nodded. “Well, in that case, welcome to the firm Michelle,” he said, sticking out his hand for her to shake.
Michelle stared at the enormous appendage before shaking it. “Wow, really?”
“Yes, really,” he smiled. “Rachel’s like a daughter to us so if she says you’re right for the job then you’re right for it. She’s got an eye for talent, haven’t you Rach?”
“I like to think so,” she smiled.
“So you’ll be on forty thousand a year,” said Battler. “That’s just the starting salary. If you’re right for the job it’ll go up to fifty.”
“Fifty?” she murmured.
He nodded. “As well as bonuses. You’ll get a company car too. A nice Mondeo. Nothing flashy that’ll stand out, our work is subtle. Can you do subtle Michelle?”
“Err, yeah. Suppose.”
“Course you can. I can tell. Can you start tomorrow?”
“Yeah, not a problem,” she said, feeling a little overwhelmed.
“You look like you’ve been hit by a train,” said Battler. “Sorry love, we tend to have that effect.”
“It’s okay. It’s the best thing to happen to me in a long time.”
“Champion,” he beamed. “Well, we’ll see you tomorrow morning then, nine o’clock sharp.”
“Yes, you will. Thank you,” she said, vigorously pumping his hand.
“Come on,” said Rachel. “I’ll give you a lift home.”
Rachel noted how quiet Michelle was in the car on the way home and she was beginning to wonder if she’d railroaded her into doing something she didn’t want to do. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, gazing out of the window.
“If you don’t want the job it’s okay to say so. We won’t hold it against you.”
“Why would you think I don’t want the job?” she said, turning to look at her.
“You’re so quiet.”
“I’m being quiet because I don’t want to start cheering and yelling and make a tit of myself. Jesus, I never thought I’d get a chance like this. No one has ever done anything like this for me before. I hope you know how grateful I am?”
“I think so,” smiled Rachel. Helping people get their lives back on track always made her feel good.
“I can finally kick that lazy pair of bastards out. It’ll be hilarious watching them flounder about, attempting to do things like cooking and cleaning. But I won’t do it immediately, just in case the job doesn’t work out. I might be crap at private investigation.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine. Battler and Bruiser are really easy to get along with and they’re good teachers.”
“Are either of those big hunky fellas single?”
“Sorry. Bruiser’s married with two kids and Battler’s seeing someone.” He’d been with Belle, who also worked for them, for a couple of years now and things were going
great.
“Shame. I could do with getting myself a new model when I kick Dominic out, someone not disgusting. And finally Jacob will be free of his uncle’s toxic influence. Duncan might be my brother but I hate him. He’s always been a loser and he drags down everyone around him. That’s why we’ve had to move so many times, been treated like shit by everyone around us.” She gave Rachel a sideways glance. “Everyone but you.”
“Everyone deserves a break. This is yours.”
“The council won’t let us stay in that house if I’m earning forty grand a year.”
“I’ve got a house you could rent, we own a few properties in the area.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” said Michelle good-naturedly.
CHAPTER 13
“You’re back late,” said Ryan the moment Rachel walked through the door. If he was honest with himself, he’d been starting to panic but that was only natural after what they’d been through. “And what happened to your face? It looks like someone hit you.”
“They did,” she said, wincing as she removed her jacket. No doubt she was going to have a few bruises after being thrown across a car bonnet.
“Who?” he yelled. “I’ll kill them.”
“Kill who Dad?” said Ethan, popping his head out of the lounge door.
“Nothing. Go back to your game.”
Ethan shrugged. “Hi Mum.”
“Hi sweetheart.”
He grinned at her before vanishing.
“It was Michelle Wright,” said Rachel.
“You tackled that lot without me?”
“If you’d let me speak I might be able to explain. I went to the gym as planned and she was there. We had a coffee together and she told me about her life. It seems Dominic and Darren are the real source of the problem, as we suspected. Michelle’s smart, good at reading people and she can fight.”
“Enough to beat you?”
“No but she’s good. So I took her to Battler and Bruiser. They’ve been after someone to help out with the business and I thought she’d be good. Plus what she’ll earn will help lift that family out of poverty.”
His wife’s altruism never ceased to amaze him. “That was very good of you.”
“We saw Leah with Jacob, he’d taken her bowling. Unfortunately they came across us when I was interviewing Michelle.”
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