Ruthless Girl: An absolutely gripping, gritty crime thriller

by Emma Tallon

  ‘How convenient,’ Freddie replied.

  Tanya ignored the not-so-hidden jibe and just smiled broadly. ‘It is,’ she replied. ‘So get your guys together, let’s let our hair down and have a good old knees-up, shall we?’ She raised one perfectly arched eyebrow and looked around at the three men. ‘I’ve already texted Amy, Bill. She’s looking forward to it.’

  ‘I’m sure she is,’ Bill replied. Amy was Bill’s wife and a good friend of both Anna and Tanya.

  ‘Great, well, see you then. Bring your drinking boots, I’m in the mood for some fun.’ Winking at Sammy, Tanya waltzed back out of the room and as the door closed behind her the room fell into silence once more.

  The three men looked around at each other.

  ‘Well, that weren’t for my benefit,’ Bill said with a deep chuckle.

  ‘Nor mine,’ Freddie continued, a smile creeping up slowly on his face as he turned to Sammy.

  Sammy shook his head with a grin. ‘I believe that display was for me.’ He stated what they were all thinking. Staring at the closed door, he felt the first tug of intrigue pull at him. He’d always admired Tanya for her feisty demeanour and her strong, upbeat ways – and she was, of course, a very attractive woman. But she had never shown him any interest and, never short of female attention, Sammy was not interested in being the one to chase.

  Reading his friend’s mind, Freddie nodded his head. This was going to be an interesting show to watch, that was for sure. There was a definite spark and sparks like that tended to lead to a full-on fire. And if that happened, perhaps this was the relationship which would finally work out for each of them. They were all cursed, those in the know. There were so many secrets to keep and dark deeds to be hidden, when you belonged to a firm such as theirs. It put heavy restrictions on relationships with people in the normal world. But these two would never have any reason to hide any part of themselves from the other.

  Clearing his throat, Freddie decided not to comment further. ‘Right, so where were we?’ Only time would tell what was to unfold between those two.

  Twelve

  Jim exhaled heavily and drew himself up to full height before knocking on Freddie’s office door. Freddie had shut him down almost immediately earlier and he hadn’t been ready for it. He should have expected it, looking back on the conversation. He knew, better than most, how secretive and private the firms of London could be. It was just good sense. It was survival. They couldn’t afford to take a chance on someone they didn’t already completely trust. So he needed to show Freddie he could be trusted.

  ‘Come in,’ came the muffled response.

  He opened the door and walked into the office. Freddie was seated at the desk looking over a heavily marked map, but he folded it and filed it away as soon as he saw Jim.

  ‘I wasn’t sure you’d come,’ Freddie said, as Jim took a seat opposite him. ‘But I’m glad you did, I’m a man short on the rota.’

  Jim shook his head as he took his seat. ‘I’m not taking the bar shifts. With all due respect – and thanks for the offer – I’m not that desperate for money. I didn’t come to you because I needed just any job, I came to you because I want to get back into what I know, what I’m good at.’

  Freddie laced his fingers together on the desk. ‘And what exactly are you good at?’ he asked.

  ‘Grifting,’ Jim answered. ‘I’m a grifter by trade. And I’m good. I’d have the glasses off a blind man without him feeling a thing,’ he boasted. ‘I could snatch the knickers off a nun and she’d just be sat there wondering which door the draught was coming from.’

  Freddie shook his head, dismissively. ‘I don’t need a grifter.’

  ‘I’m not just a grifter, I’m a jack of all trades when it comes to the life,’ he continued, trying to sell himself as best he could. ‘I’m skilled at breaking and entering and I’m good at negotiating the trade of stolen goods.’

  ‘Your skills all revolve around thievery.’ Freddie shrugged. ‘Which all sounds good, but I still have no need for anyone in your area.’

  ‘I’m also loyal to a fault,’ Jim pressed. ‘I went down for twenty-five years – twenty-five years of my life, for Big Dom.’ He held Freddie’s stare intently. ‘That ain’t small change in this world, and I think you know that.’

  Freddie sat back in his chair as he pondered the unexpected predicament in front of him. Jim was right: someone who would take a life stretch for their boss was indeed something rare in this life and the ultimate show of loyalty. Bill’s research had backed up his story too.

  Taking Freddie’s silence as a promising sign, Jim pressed forward. ‘I was loyal to my firm then and I’d be just as loyal to it now. And let’s face it, it might be under new management but it’s still the same firm, is it not? You still run the same rackets through Soho, you still run the parlour girls, the cocaine is still distributed to the same places, I know this business already. I just want a chance to come back in now that the hard time I took for Big Dom is done.’

  Freddie picked up his cigarettes and lit one, taking a deep drag before flicking the excess ash into his crystal ashtray. Jim was not so subtly pressing on the responsibility button, reminding him that although Big Dom was out of the picture, it was this firm he had done time for. Part of him wanted to be annoyed, but a bigger part of him knew that these comments were fair game. Jim had every right to press the issue.

  Jim looked down at the cigarette packet on the desk and suddenly grinned. ‘Your grandad used to smoke those, you know,’ he said.

  ‘Eh?’ Freddie frowned at the unexpected change in conversation.

  ‘Yeah, your dad’s dad. They were his brand. Your dad hated the things, couldn’t bear to be around anyone who smoked ’em. He always used to duck out and sit on his tod when anyone else lit up.’ He chuckled. ‘Even down the pub.’

  Freddie smiled. He could actually remember Richard’s aversion to smoking quite clearly. His dad had been a boxer, focused on keeping his body on top form for his fights. He had warned his children of the dangers of smoking from an early age. For the first time in his life, Freddie suddenly felt a pang of guilt at his lit cigarette and he leaned forward and stubbed it out. ‘I remember that,’ he said with a wry smile.

  He studied Jim for a moment. The man was certainly past his prime, the firm Freddie now ran having taken the best years of his life. And it was true, the fact that Jim was trying to get across without saying it outright. The firm owed him. Freddie knew that if Big Dom was around today he would insist that any man who had taken a murder stretch for him was given a job when he got back out. It was only right.

  Freddie nodded. ‘Alright, listen. I’ll put you on some of the collection rounds with my men. Pick up the routes, get to know the people and we’ll go from there. You can start tomorrow, I’ll put you on payroll from tonight.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Jim said with a grateful smile. It wasn’t much, collecting money for protection services, but it was an in, and that was all Jim needed.

  ‘I expect hard graft, mind,’ Freddie warned. ‘My men are on call day and night, seven days a week. When I need them, I expect them to be there. Nothing comes before the needs of the firm if you work for me. You get a bird, a hobby, a desperate need to go on a jaunt, that’s fine – but nothing you can’t drop at a moment’s notice if I need you. You think you’re up to the task?’

  ‘’Course,’ Jim answered. ‘Wouldn’t expect any different.’

  ‘Good,’ Freddie responded.

  Jim smiled, happy that he’d been able to change Freddie’s mind.

  It was true that he’d done time for one of Big Dom’s murders. So the firm did owe him. But he had lied about his loyalties. He held no loyalty for this firm. And that was something Freddie was just going to have to find out the hard way.

  Thirteen

  Waking in the weak morning light, Freddie rubbed his bleary eyes and turned towards the mass of dark hair peeping out from under the covers next to him. He smiled and moved closer, pulling th
e covers back and wrapping his muscular arm around Anna’s sleeping form. She stirred and turned her head a little, and Freddie nuzzled into her neck, breathing in her warmth. He closed his eyes and savoured the moment, as he did every single morning now.

  Prison had changed him. A little for the worse, and some for the better. Three years had been a long time, and they had been the most dismal years of his life. Not because he was locked away, that he could cope with. It was something you came to terms with, if you chose to take the sort of risks that they did. No, they had been the worst years of his life because they had taken Anna from him.

  He had never expected her to wait. A lot of men would have, but not Freddie. He loved her too much to lock her down in such a way. The time and distance between them had been too great, and their relationship had had no way of continuing to flourish. She’d done her duty, though. Anna had kept the firm going strong and had raised his son as her own. If he had come out the same man he had gone in, perhaps they would have reunited a lot more quickly. But Freddie’s radar had been off, he’d been all over the place. He’d seen enemies where there were none and his paranoia had known no bounds. He’d turned on Anna, accused her of professional betrayal. It had almost broken them, but somehow, once he’d come to his senses and fought to turn things around, she had managed to forgive him. He had never been more grateful for her inner strength than in that moment. The flame that had burned brightly in both their hearts for so many years was still there, despite everything they’d gone through, and they had started their relationship again, just a couple of months before.

  Now, when he woke up each morning and he found he was no longer alone in his bed in a cold cell, but was in fact at home with the love of his life, Freddie felt a renewed sense of gratitude and he savoured every moment with her.

  Anna turned over and pressed her body to Freddie’s, snuggling deeper into his chest. Feeling his own body respond to hers instantly, Freddie lifted her chin with his fingers and sought out her mouth. It curled into a sleepy grin as she kissed him and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him on top of her.

  Freddie gave a small groan of pleasure as she wrapped her legs around him, but this was swiftly cut off as the bedroom door suddenly opened with a bang. Freddie fell back to the side, his groan of pleasure turning to one of frustration as they both pulled the covers up to hide their nakedness from their son.

  ‘Anna, I’m hungry, can we have breakfast now?’ Ethan asked, completely oblivious to what he had just interrupted.

  ‘Mhm,’ she murmured through a forced smile. ‘Of course, I’ll be through in just a minute.’

  ‘Ahh,’ Freddie laughed through his frustration and rubbed his hands through his hair. ‘OK.’ Swivelling to the side, he pulled on a pair of boxers and stood up. ‘Come on, mate, I’ll make you some toast.’

  ‘Oh.’ Ethan looked disappointed.

  ‘What?’ Freddie asked, as they walked through to the kitchen.

  ‘Well, Anna usually makes proper breakfast on Saturdays. Sausages and eggs and bacon and everything.’

  ‘Well, Anna has a prior engagement this morning,’ Freddie replied, ‘so how about I make you this toast to keep you going for now, then I’ll take you both out to the café in a bit and you can choose whatever you want?’

  ‘What’s a prior engagement?’ Ethan asked, slipping onto one of the breakfast bar stools and watching as Freddie put the bread in the toaster.

  ‘I’ll tell you when you’re older. Juice?’ Freddie replied, opening the fridge.

  ‘Yes please.’ Ethan picked up the TV remote and found his favourite programme.

  ‘What’s this then?’ Freddie asked, as he waited for the toast to pop up.

  ‘Oh, this is Trollhunters,’ Ethan said, eagerly. ‘It’s really good.’

  ‘Oh. Don’t you watch that dog show anymore? PAW Patrol?’ Freddie asked. He hadn’t seen it on the TV at all since he’d been home.

  ‘Nah, that’s for babies, not big boys like me,’ Ethan scoffed.

  Freddie felt a pang of sadness at these words. Ethan was growing up so fast and he had missed pretty much all of it so far. He thought back to their first ever conversation. PAW Patrol had been the thing they had bonded over, when Freddie had first discovered Ethan’s existence a few years before. They’d barely got to know each other properly and Ethan had only just come to live with Freddie when he’d been sent down.

  The toast popped up and Freddie buttered it and placed it in front of Ethan, who was now completely engrossed in his programme.

  ‘Thanks, Dad,’ he muttered, without looking round.

  Freddie stroked his head and rested his hand on Ethan’s shoulder for a moment. ‘We’ll go do something fun today, yeah? Before you go over to Nan’s tonight. Your choice, have a think about it.’

  ‘OK.’

  Leaving the young television zombie to his toast, Freddie walked back through to the bedroom where Anna was waiting for him still curled up in the bed. He closed the door firmly behind him and the intensity in his eyes deepened as they locked with hers.

  ‘Now,’ he said in a low, deep voice, ‘where were we?’

  As he reached the bed and crawled upwards towards Anna, the silence in the room was once again shattered by the shrill ring of his phone. ‘Oh, for the love of God!’ Freddie exclaimed, throwing his head back in despair.

  Anna laughed and pushed him away. ‘Go on, answer it and get rid of them. The quicker you do that, the quicker we can get back to this,’ she purred, running one shiny, manicured nail down Freddie’s bare chest.

  He gave her a smouldering look. ‘Don’t you move, Anna Davis,’ he replied, grudgingly pulling back and reaching for his phone. He looked briefly at the screen then answered. ‘What is it, Riley?’ he asked, curtly.

  ‘I’m sorry to call you so early, but it’s important. That car that was following you…’

  ‘Belongs to Jim Martin, I’m aware,’ Freddie cut her off irritably. ‘I caught the fucker following me yesterday. It’s all sorted out.’

  ‘No, that’s just it,’ Sarah replied. ‘The car isn’t his. The plates were fake but the detailing was very distinctive. I did some digging and – I can’t be a hundred per cent – but if I’m correct, that car belongs to Aleksei. He had a black Range Rover of that spec and had it detailed just like that. It would be a major coincidence if it’s not him.’

  ‘Aleksei?’ Freddie sat up, all thoughts of anything else forgotten.

  Anna sat up too, her attention sharpening at the sound of Aleksei’s name. She pulled the sheet up around her as she sat back against the pillows and strained her ears, trying to make out everything Sarah was saying on the other end of the phone.

  ‘He has several cars, all of them black, all detailed with different types of unique red trim. Perhaps it’s some sort of throwback to “mother Russia” or something, I’m not sure. But it’s him, that much I am sure about,’ Sarah pressed.

  ‘No, you’re right. It makes sense that it’s him.’ Freddie squeezed the bridge of his nose. ‘I knew he hadn’t just disappeared off the face of the Earth. That would have been far too easy.’ Freddie stood up and leaned onto the windowsill. He sighed and looked down over the busy streets of London. ‘I was hoping we’d find out where he’s been hiding before he came back at us – start off with the upper hand. But it’s too late now. If he’s following us, he already has a plan and is already a step ahead.’ He bit his lip. ‘I’ve got to go. See if there’s anything else you can find out.’

  ‘Will do.’

  Freddie lowered the phone as Sarah ended the call and stood staring out of the window for a few more moments. Eventually he turned and shrugged a handy T-shirt on. ‘I’ve got to go out,’ he said to Anna. ‘I need to get the men together. Can you see if my mum will have Ethan a bit earlier and then come join me so we can go over all this before tonight?’

  ‘Of course,’ Anna replied. ‘Go.’ She held an encouraging smile on her face as she watched Freddie walk out to get wa
shed and dressed, but as soon as he was out of sight her face dropped into an expression of deep worry.

  The Aleksei problem hadn’t been closed off; Freddie still had men out searching possible hideouts and tapping up potential sources of information. But due to the lack of news it had begun to sink lower and lower on the priority list. Whilst they were not yet out of the woods, the stress around the situation had lessened as the weeks had gone on, with Freddie’s attentions moving elsewhere. Now, though, this was throwing Freddie and the firm back onto high alert and that was worrying.

  And as for the car which was following them, who on earth was behind those tinted windows? she wondered. It wasn’t Aleksei, that was for certain. Aleksei was dead, Anna had pulled the trigger herself. His body was buried beneath tonnes of rubble, and so, they’d assumed, were the two men who were with him that night.

  The shot Anna had fired had been heard by the two men in the car on the road outside the building site. As she had raised the gun from Aleksei to Josephine, Tanya had called her and warned her to get out of there as quickly as possible, as these men were running towards the building to check on their boss. The women had got out safely, bolting back over the side fence where Anna had originally entered. And as they had stood on the other side wondering how on earth they were going to cover it all up, Josephine had produced the detonator she had stolen from Aleksei. They’d set it off, blowing the building and running away into the night as the huge structure collapsed on top of Aleksei and his men, destroying all evidence of what had happened that night forever.

  But what if his men had come back out before the explosion? Or what if one of them had run around the perimeter instead of going inside? It had been so dark, and they had been so set on getting away, that they hadn’t stopped to double-check.