by Karen Clow
Shane grabbed Gareth’s arm and yanked him up as he said, “Take your fucking brother and get out of here and like the man said, don’t fucking come back!” Shaun watched from the door as the two brothers ran up the road and got into their car. It was silver Vauxhall Tigre. Locking the doors before joining the others in the bar, he looked at Shane and said, “Pour us a drink, I’ll just check on Ann.”
Upstairs Ann was sitting in darkness with Murphy. “What you doing sitting in the dark darling?” he asked his wife. Relieved that it was him she nervously replied, “Holy mother of God Shaun I was terrified! I didn’t know if there were more of them. What have you done, why didn’t you call the police?” Convincingly he replied, “Those little bastards have just been sent home, everything but their pride is intact!” “Oh thank God, I thought when you said about taking them for a drive.” Before she could finish what she was saying, he laughed and said, “You thought I was going to do something terrible to them?” “Yes I did Shaun and it’s not funny!” Putting his arm round her and squeezing her he replied, “I’m going downstairs to talk to the lads, you get off to bed, I’ll see you in a while.” Then he patted Murphy’s head and said jokingly, “Maybe we’ll make a guard dog out of you yet silly bollocks!” Just as he turned to leave she said, “So when are you going to tell me what those lads said then?” “We’ll talk about it when I come up later, ok darling.” “Just tell me is it safe Shaun, are they likely to come back?” Laughing he replied, “Not unless they’re on a fucking death wish!” With that he turned and walked out the door.
When Shaun entered the bar Shane said, “Is Ann ok?” “Aye she’s fine, a bit shaken up but she’ll be right.” The three friends talked about the two brothers as they drank. Reggie said, “We should let Mickey and Tony know what’s happened, because tonight won’t be an end to it!” “Aye, I know that Reggie, I’ll bell them in a couple of hours. Now give me a hand to put some crates by the door, those little bastards broke the lock, maybe I should send Barry King the fucking bill!” They all laughed. “I’ll stay down here with me dogs, just in case,” said Reggie. “Cheers Reggie. Talking of dogs did you see how scared those bastards were?” “I’d be fucking scared if those two came at me, especially in the dark,” laughed Shane. Laughing Reggie replied, “Why do you think I named them after my wives, they were evil fucking bitches too!”
It was after six that morning by the time the three men had secured the pub.
CHAPTER 29
Jess stirred as the sun filtered through the curtains. Carefully getting up she made her way to the bathroom. Returning five minutes later she tried not to wake Billy as she got back into bed. Laying next to him she gently placed her arm over him as she snuggled her head against his chest. “Morning babe,” he said as he rolled over to face her. “Sorry, I tried not to disturb you,” she said humbly. Pecking her on the lips he smiled and said, “You can wake me early every morning if you’re going to feel this good.” Pulling her closer he kissed her properly and ran his hand up her back. Unlike the previous night she was calm, reciprocating his kiss and pressing her body up against him. Looking at her lovingly he asked, “Are you ok babe, last night was.” She never let him finish what he was about to say, she interrupted and said, “Last night was wonderful, but I’m sorry I was so nervous.” “After what you told me babe I expected you to be nervous.” Then he joked and added, “But I must say the way you were shaking made it easier for me, at one point I thought we had a vibrating bed, I hardly had to move at all!” Pinching his chest she giggled and replied, “That’s wicked Billy.” Rolling on top of her he kissed her and said, “Just for that I may have to ravish you!” Within seconds they were making love again. Even when Billy threw the duvet off of them, she didn’t feel embarrassed that he could see her naked.
When they finished he got up to use the bathroom. He noticed when he returned she was looking up at the ceiling. “What you looking at,” he asked. “Nothing, I was just thinking in the ten months since I’ve had Becky my life has changed so much.” “Well that just proves she’s your lucky charm, although meeting Maria has a lot to do with it, don’t you think?” Without hesitation she replied, “Yes, she’s so lovely; I wish I had a mum and dad like her and Mickey. They have both been so kind to me, I wish I could do something nice for them.” “Maybe we can babe, why don’t we offer to babysit one night, so they can go out?” “Oh Billy that would be wonderful, are you sure you don’t mind?” “I wouldn’t have suggested it, would I?”
Lying there next to her he had a strange feeling that their relationship would stand the test of time. At first he’d worried about the age difference, but as the weeks had past he didn’t even think about it. With her head on his chest she said, “Can I ask you something?” Joking he replied, “Oh no, this isn’t going to be one of those heavy questioning sessions is it?” Not sure what he meant she felt embarrassed and replied, “It doesn’t matter, it’s not important.” Laughing he said, “I was only joking babe, usually when women have sex they ask the most awful questions afterwards. So come on tell me what you were going to say.” “Honestly it doesn’t matter, would you like a cup of tea and some breakfast?” “Yeah that’ll be great I’m starving, but first tell me what you were going to say.” Wishing she’d never said anything she replied, “Have you stayed with your other girlfriends very long after you’ve had sex with them?” Billy knew enough about women to realise she was feeling insecure about their relationship now he’d slept with her. Stroking her hair he replied, “Well that depends on what you mean by girlfriends. If you mean the one night stands I’ve had, then no, it was purely sex, but if you mean serious relationships then my longest one was three and a half years. We actually lived together for a long time and then she met someone else, so that was that.” “Have you had many serious relationships?” “Four, why do you want to know?” “I’m just curious; I don’t know why, perhaps I thought you might have been married or something?” “No babe, I’ve never been married and as far as I know I haven’t got any kids.” “I expect all your girlfriends were very experienced when it came to sex?” He knew she was worried about the previous night. Wanting to reassure her he said, “Yeah, I suppose they were, but then again they’d probably had loads of blokes before me. If you’re wondering what I thought about last night babe, why don’t you just ask me?” Feeling rather silly along with embarrassed she replied, “I must have seemed so stupid, especially when I told you I’d never touched a man?” Pulling her closer to him he kissed the top of her head and lovingly replied, “Tell you the truth babe, it made a nice change. Most of the old dogs I meet in the clubs literally offer themselves on a plate. It made a change to have to work for it and before you start worrying, yes I really enjoyed it!” “I wish I was more experienced Billy.” Trying to lighten her embarrassment, he jokingly replied, “I don’t babe, just think of the fun we’re going to have with me teaching you!” He noticed she went quiet, several moments passed before she replied, “I would like you to show me how to do things, because I don’t want to have sex with anyone but you.” Replying instantly he said, “That’s good babe, because I don’t want you having sex with anyone but me.” Feeling pleased with his reply, she had a rare burst of bravado, moving her hand down his body under the duvet she touched his limp cock but not taking hold of it just moving her fingers over it.
Billy threw the duvet off and looked down at what she was doing. “That’s nice babe, I think you’ve just woken him up, wrap your hand around him.” Slowly she began to grip his cock, as she did his erection grew. “Slowly babe,” he said. Gently she began masturbating him, feeling more confident with every passing moment. Listening to him she could hear his breathing getting heavier, especially when he said, “Tighter babe and faster now!” Gripping him firmly, she moved her hand quicker. “Oh that’s it babe, don’t stop now!” She watched as he burst into orgasm and listened as he said, “Fuck me, much more of you and I’ll be moving in!” Although she didn’t reply, she thought to herself th
at she would be happy if he did.
CHAPTER 30
Mickey had heard from Shaun at half seven that morning. His first feeling on the issue of the break-in at the pub was he was glad it happened while Shane was there, because now, with any luck, there wouldn’t be any need for him to have to stay there at a later date. Shaun had sounded quite confident that now Barry King knew they were certain he was behind the attacks that would be an end to it. Mickey wasn’t so sure, but he never said anything. They arranged to meet at the pub on Monday. Shaun had wanted to do it sooner but Tony had said he was tied up with business until then. When the call finished, Mickey carried on eating his breakfast. Meal times had seemed quite strange, especially since Den and Mary had moved into the annex and Jess had left.
Breakfast that morning was even stranger because Billy was missing, even though George was staying there, the table still seemed empty. As they ate, the twins asked where Billy was. Mickey looked at Maria with a grin before answering, “He had something important to do last night girls, but I’m sure he’ll be back soon.” George tactfully said, “Yeah I wonder how he got on last night?” Laughing Mickey replied, “Well he didn’t come home, so I would imagine the boy done good?” Maria piped in and said, “Be careful what you two say, you know what their like.” She was referring to the twins. Then she looked over at George and said, “We didn’t expect to see you this early this morning, did you sleep ok?” “Fine, this working till three in the morning is having a strange effect on my body clock. No matter what time I go to bed, I still wake at seven, usually I can go back off, but this morning I couldn’t. Anyway I’m glad I’m up, because Monica will be here about half ten, she’s dropping the kids off first. No doubt she’ll be surprised to see me up. We’ve got an appointment with the estate agent at half eleven, Monica wants to look round the house again.” “I can’t wait to see it,” said Maria. “Well if Mary won’t mind watching the triplets why don’t you two come with us?” Before she could reply Mickey said, “Thanks for the offer George, but I’ll have to give it a miss, I’m expecting some calls from my office about a case. I’m going to call in there when I’ve dropped the girls at school.” Then smiling at Maria, he added, “I’m sure mum won’t mind having the kids, why don’t you go babe?” Nodding her head she replied, “I’ll pop next door and ask mum after breakfast.”
Mickey left to take the twins to school. Calling in at his office on the way home, he was surprised when he returned at half ten to find that Billy and Jess weren’t there to pick Becky up. When he mentioned it to Maria she joked and said, “I expect they’re having a lay in, they’re probably tired. Anyway George has been a diamond; he’s watched all the kids while I cleared up from breakfast. Did the girls go into school ok?” “Good as gold babe, although I did notice a couple of young mums looking disappointed that it was me and not Billy this morning!” They all laughed. Then George said, “I’m certainly no expert when it comes to relationships, but I think Jess could be the one to pin him down. I suppose it was inevitable that one day he’d meet the right one.” Mickey grinned at Maria and replied, “Oh yeah, you definitely know when you’ve met the right one.”
They had only just finished talking about Billy and Jess when they walked in. “I’m so sorry we’re late,” said Jess sincerely, “but we over slept!” Before anyone could reply Billy piped in and said, “Tell the truth babe, we were awake at the crack of dawn but you just couldn’t keep your hands off me. It was after she’d had her wicked way with me again that we fell back to sleep!” Everyone noticed that Jess coloured up and quickly went over to pick Becky up. Trying to lessen her embarrassment Mickey said, “I know just how you feel Billy. I have the same with Maria all the time!” His wife playfully pinched him and said, “Don’t take any notice of them Jess, its called wishful thinking. And just for that Michael, you men can watch the kids while me and Jess sit and have a coffee in the lounge.”
Once they were on their own Maria said, “It sounds like everything went ok last night, I’m so pleased for you sweetheart.” Knowing her friend was genuinely happy for her Jess smiled and replied, “Billy was so nice, especially after I told him what had happened to me.” Maria looked surprised and said, “So you told him then? I think you did the right thing. Can I ask what he said, no doubt it upset him.” “Actually after I told him he didn’t mention it again, I thought he would but he didn’t.” “I expect he thought it might upset you, he’s probably waiting for a better time.” She noticed that Jess looked worried, smiling at her she added, “Would that be a problem Jess?” Obviously she’d thought about it because she instantly replied, “There’s no reason for him to know the details of what happened, I could never tell him, especially now I’ve slept with him.” Maria knew he would want to know, but the last thing she wanted to do was worry her friend so she never said any more on the subject.
CHAPTER 31
Lydia had texted Tony several times since he’d stayed at her place over night, but he hadn’t replied. It was only when she sent a text that Friday during her lunch break that said. ‘If you don’t want to see me fine, but you could have told me!’ Tony felt he had to reply, even though he’d been trying to resist making contact because of the effect it was having on his family life. He knew that Isabella was well aware that something was going on. Since Carlo had returned to university she had seemed very low, despite Tony’s efforts to promise that he would spend more time with his family.
When Lydia’s last text had come through he was working out at his gym. When he’d read it his first thought had been maybe he shouldn’t reply as she was already thinking it was over. Then he had an overwhelming bout of insecurity that if he didn’t see her again he might regret it and the longer he left it the harder it would be, but more importantly he would miss the sex. After thinking about it as he pumped iron, he convinced himself he could control the situation. Getting off the bench press he headed for his office; once there he rang her. The phone went straight to her voice-mail, smugly he said, “What’s all this bollocks about ending it, I’ve been busy that’s all, call me back.”
After calling Lydia, he did something completely out of character and called Isabella. The phone rang several times, before cutting into the answer phone. Angry that she hadn’t answered, he poured himself a drink. He told himself he was probably doing something and she hadn’t heard the phone ringing. Ten minutes later he rang again but still there was no answer. Over the next hour he rang several times, but never leaving a message. Finally he went to shower and change because he had a meeting that afternoon with a business associate. The man he was meeting was actually a key member of a large drug ring. Tony had done lots of deals with him over the years.
It was almost four by the time he’d taken him out for lunch and then returned to the gym office to talk business. Before he left he tried Isabella again, only this time she answered. “Where the fuck have you been Belle? I’ve been ringing you for hours,” were his first words to her as she picked up the phone. Sounding shocked by his question she replied, “I’ve been shopping and I’ve been in for the past hour. Is something wrong, why did you call?” Suddenly he had to think of something because he couldn’t tell her the truth that he just wanted to check she was at home. Trying to sound convincing he replied, “I rang to say I might be a bit late for dinner, I’ve got to speak to Shaun so I’ll be calling into the Jolly on my way home.” In a blasé way, she simply replied, “Ok,” before putting the phone down.
As he drove to the Jolly, all he could think about was Lydia and why she seemed to have a hold on him. Shaun was surprised to see him when he arrived at the pub. Reggie was sitting at the bar with his dogs by his side. “Any chance we can go upstairs Shaun” said Tony, “It’s a bit more private.” Nodding his head Shaun asked Ann if she could manage for a while on her own. One of the regulars sitting at the bar interrupted and said, “I’ll give her a hand if need be.” Shaun thanked him and told Ann that if she had any problems just to shout up the stairs.
; A few minutes later the three friends were sitting in Shaun’s lounge drinking scotch. “So we had a result last night then,” said Tony. “Aye, right pair of little bastards, Jordan and Gareth Gibbs.” “Well I don’t think Barry King will be very impressed with them, now they’ve grassed him up. It’s up to you Shaun, but I think we should give Barry a few days to make contact, if he doesn’t we pay him a visit.” “Aye Tony I’ve had the same thought, can’t have this fucking wanker threatening people!” “Exactly, so if you haven’t heard from him by the time we have the meeting on Monday we’ll discuss it ok.” Reggie said, “If you like, me and Terry can go and have a little chat with this fucking Barry bloke.” The other two grinned before Tony replied, “Thanks all the same Reggie, but let’s wait and see if we hear from him first. Just to be on the safe side, I want you to stay on here for a few days, not that I think anything will happen, but you never know. I don’t think we need anyone else, Shane is travelling with me tomorrow. I’ve got some business up north, probably won’t be back till Sunday night. Any real problems give Mickey a bell; he’ll sort something out ok.” “Cheers Tony I appreciate all this, I’ll see you alright,” said Shaun. With a smug look he replied, “Don’t worry Shaun; Mr King will pay the bill. It’s the fucking least he can do after all the fucking shit he’s caused!” They had one more drink before Tony left.