by Emma Tallon
‘Which one of you fuckers is Kai?’ the first one demanded in an angry voice.
‘I’m Kai,’ he replied, puffing his chest out. ‘And what’s it to you?’ The two members of his crew who were present had stood up and gathered behind him. It was now that he suddenly noted the big one was armed with a baseball bat. He swallowed, wondering who they were. Have I got one of their daughters up the duff or something? The one who had spoken stepped forward, right up into his face. There was not a flicker of fear, which surprised Kai. Usually their reputation meant people treated them with a natural wariness, but not this guy.
‘Do you know who I am?’ the man asked.
‘No, I don’t. Do you know who I am?’ he retorted. The man grinned and it made Kai shiver involuntarily. It was a cold grin that didn’t quite meet his hard eyes.
‘Oh yes, I know exactly who you are. Sit down,’ he commanded.
‘I don’t take fucking orders from you, blood, I— Argh!’ Kai screamed as Paul took a hard swing to the back of his knees with the baseball bat, sending him to the floor.
On the rebound, Paul smashed it back into one of the men next to Kai, who had started forward to aid his leader. He fell to the floor next to Kai and moaned in pain, hugging his sides. The second man put his hands up in surrender and stepped back. Paul pointed to a chair in the corner of the room. He immediately scurried over to it and perched without a word.
The two young girls who had been eying Kai up like a piece of meat just minutes before screamed and ran out. Dean moved aside to let them through, then quietly pulled the door shut behind them. He nodded at the barman, who closed the shutter over the back bar, blocking it off out of sight of the main bar.
Freddie grabbed Kai’s face in a vice-like grip, forcing him to look up. ‘My name’s Freddie. Freddie Tyler. I believe you’ve been discussing your plans for the redistribution of Central London control. And how’s that going for ya so far? What your strategy?’
Kai’s mouth flapped open and closed like a fish as he realised who Freddie was.
‘No answer, mate? But you were so vocal about it before? Telling everyone who’d listen, wasn’t that what we heard, Paul?’ Freddie turned to his brother.
‘It was indeed, Fred,’ Paul answered in his deep, craggy voice.
Kai seemed to get his bearings and yanked himself backward out of Freddie’s grasp. Freddie wiped his hand on his trousers and Kai’s eyes darted back and forth between the men and the bar.
‘You can’t touch me,’ he blustered. ‘South London ain’t your turf, it’s Renshaw’s.’
‘Yes, it is Renshaw’s. Which is why I had the manners to get the go-ahead from him on my way over. And he was more than happy to give me the green light. He ain’t got time for shit-stains like you who go round shouting their mouths off and breaking rules.’
‘What the fuck you on about?’ Kai asked, his tone petulant.
Freddie lunged forward and punched the younger man hard in the stomach. As he doubled over, Freddie grasped the back of his tightly curled hair and slammed Kai’s face into his knee. He both felt and heard the crack of the boy’s nose exploding, before the cries of pain began. Dean quickly placed a wooden chair behind him and Freddie pushed Kai down into it.
‘Where’s Anna?’ he roared, punching Kai’s already bloody face with full force. Kai screamed out in agony.
‘Who’s Anna? I don’t know an Anna, I swear!’ he sobbed.
‘You don’t know an Anna, no? OK, maybe you ain’t so good with names.’ Freddie paced back and forth. ‘Brunette. Attractive. Currently missing. She’s been taken and I want her released. Now,’ he snarled.
‘Why would you think it’s me?’ Kai whined helplessly. His nose felt like a thousand knives were stabbing through it and he could taste the blood as it cascaded down over his mouth. His nose was definitely broken. All he wanted to do now was get to a hospital, but this crazed madman seemed to have other ideas.
Kai wasn’t feeling so hot now. Ten minutes ago he was convinced that he was up there with the hardest men in London; now he wasn’t so sure. Maybe his days of dealing weed on his estate didn’t make him as big as he’d thought he was.
‘Because, sunshine’ – Freddie grabbed the baseball bat out of Paul’s hand which made Kai whimper – ‘you’re the only fucker in London stupid enough to tell people you want to take me on. You’re the only candidate. So, I’ll ask you one last time before I consider letting Dean here take his tools out. Where. The fuck. Is she?’
‘I swear to you, I don’t know.’ Kai shook his head and began to beg, all pretence of hardness forgotten. ‘Please, I promise you. I have no idea what’s going on. Please, you have to believe me.’
Freddie growled in frustration and, lifting the bat, he smashed it down on Kai’s legs. Without stopping to hear anything more, Freddie threw the bat to one side and proceeded to beat ten bells out of the boy with his bare hands. Kai didn’t fight back, just held his arms up to protect himself from the worst of Freddie’s wrath.
Freddie’s punches were hard and vicious, his boxing skills coming to the fore. He rained them down time and again until he was physically spent and Kai was a bloody mess on the floor.
Stepping away he pushed his hair back into place and straightened his jacket. He picked up the bat from where he had thrown it and pointed it at each of the three young men.
‘I suggest you remember this the next time you think about mouthing off in a pub about other people’s territories.’ He kicked Kai in the back of the thigh and turned to walk out. ‘And get him to a fucking hospital.’
Paul and Dean followed Freddie back through the pub to where they had parked the car outside. They got in and Paul pulled the car out of the car park.
As they drove Freddie took a packet of wipes out from the glove compartment that he kept for times such as these and wiped the blood off his swollen knuckles.
Paul glanced sideways at him. ‘So, it’s not them then,’ he stated.
‘No.’ Freddie closed his eyes tiredly. ‘But I guess that will serve as a fresh reminder of who we are to anyone thinking of trying to take us on. For a while, at least.’
Paul stared at the road and nodded. It would certainly do that.
28
‘You need to get your house in fucking order or you’re out, do you hear me?’ Freddie ranted. ‘Out.’ He paced up and down behind his desk, staring at the man in front of him. It was Gavin, one of his longest-standing security guards.
Tonight, someone had been caught selling gear out of one of the toilet cubicles. The problem wasn’t that gear was being sold – this was a club and drugs and clubs went hand in hand, the best of friends – but this particular gear wasn’t from one of Freddie’s dealers, and that was a no-no. No one was allowed to deal from one of Freddie’s clubs unless they worked for him.
It was an unusual occurrence, because most dealers knew the score and didn’t fancy pissing off the Tylers by going against their wishes. But tonight someone had decided to try their luck. As soon as the bouncers heard, they had dealt with the guy accordingly and now Gavin was reporting the incident to Freddie, as he knew his boss would want to know. However Gavin now stood wishing he’d sent his colleague Matt to deliver the news, as it seemed his boss was not taking it well.
Gavin stayed silent as Freddie ranted, knowing as they all did that he was climbing the walls in his search for Anna. That was the real reason for this reaction. They were seasoned bouncers and they did a good job. But short of body searching everyone who entered, there wasn’t much they could do about chancers bringing drugs in. Gavin knew that Freddie was aware of this, under the anger.
He felt for his boss. He couldn’t imagine how he would cope in Freddie’s shoes. For once he didn’t envy Freddie his seemingly perfect life. He wouldn’t want to go through the nightmare Freddie was living for all the money in the world.
There was a knock at the door, cutting Freddie off.
‘What?’ he responded fiercely.
DI John Fraser practically fell through the door, panting as though he had been running. He leaned forward, supporting himself by placing his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. He shot a look at Gavin.
‘We’ll talk about this later,’ Freddie said grudgingly to the bouncer. ‘Now fuck off and do your job properly.’
‘Yes, boss.’ Gavin retreated, glad to be out of the line of fire. The door closed and Fraser stood up.
‘I called in a favour with an ex-girlfriend. I was surprised it came off – it doesn’t usually. She works in IT at the phone company.’ He swallowed and stood up straight, starting to catch his breath. ‘Going through the official lines we almost always get declined, but off-record is different. She must have been in a really good mood. She triangulated Anna’s phone. I’ve got the current location.’
Freddie shot up like lightning and grabbed his jacket. ‘Let’s go,’ he replied, his eyes lighting up in hope.
Anna stared up at the ceiling in the dark. The shadows danced around making shapes as the moonlight filtered through the leaves on the tree outside. She couldn’t sleep. It was her third night in this strange place and she was still no nearer to finding out why she was here.
Her hand slipped onto her stomach protectively as she felt a slight bubbling sensation within her womb. The little life inside her was busy growing away with no idea of the threats and terrors the world outside held.
The memory of the last time she had been pregnant crept into her thoughts. She had been in a bad position then too, though a very different one to her situation now. She’d been trapped in an abusive relationship with a complete monster. He had beaten her half to death and in doing so had caused her to violently miscarry. The doctors had told her she might struggle to carry a child again, due to the damage he had caused. Yet here she was, growing hers and Freddie’s child inside her against all odds.
She closed her eyes as a wave of guilt flooded through her. Freddie still had no idea that she was pregnant. When she had found out it had been a huge shock – they had been so careful.
She hadn’t been able to find the right words or the right time to tell Freddie. If she was being honest with herself, she hadn’t wanted to tell him either. Because the moment she said it out loud and he knew, then it would be real. Whatever the outcome, whatever they decided to do, things would change forever between them.
It wasn’t that Anna didn’t want children; she did – one day. But she hadn’t planned on that day arriving so soon. It was the worst time possible for this to happen. She and Tanya were riding high at the moment – their second club had just opened and they had so much more planned over the next few years. She was building up her empire and it took all of her energy and time. She couldn’t just drop the ball to have a baby right now.
And even if she did manage to do that, what sort of mother was she going to make? She had no idea what she was doing. And what sort of environment would she be bringing this child into? A house with hidden guns and fake passports just in case they needed to go on the run? It wasn’t exactly the safe, homely place she had imagined bringing her baby home to.
And how would Freddie feel about becoming a father, so out of the blue? She knew that he also wanted children someday, but again, she doubted he meant now. He might be devastated. Or he could be ecstatic. Family meant everything to him, and of course it wouldn’t interrupt his life anywhere near as much as it would hers. He would still be able to come and go as he pleased, run his businesses and carry on whilst she was tied up at home with the day-to-day care of their child.
That thought terrified her. What would it mean for her? She heard so many new mothers talk about how they had lost their identities. And what would it do to her and Freddie’s relationship? He had always admired her fierce independence and drive. How would he feel about her when she was at home all the time, asking for his help and looking like crap after weeks of no sleep? Would he still have the same level of respect for her? Or would he be disappointed that she was nothing special after all?
These thoughts whirled around in her mind one after the other, but another set of questions pushed forward. What if it was the best thing that ever happened to her? It might not be the right time, but children were a gift. There were so many people out there who would kill to have a child, but weren’t able to fall pregnant. What about the feeling of unconditional love she would feel when she held him or her in her arms for the first time? And what about the amazing person this baby would grow into one day?
Suddenly her arms ached to hold her baby and a feeling of longing replaced the fear.
Anna was confused and frightened of the unknown, but deep down she knew that in her heart of hearts she wanted this baby. The question still remained though: would Freddie feel the same?
She sat up in bed and made a sound of frustration. She wished she could turn her brain off. It was as if the isolation and stress had sent it into hyperdrive.
Why hadn’t she found the courage to tell him before she was taken? At least now that would be one question she knew the answer to. But then again, that might not matter anymore. For all she knew she might be dead soon. She shuddered at the thought and wrapped her arms around her stomach protectively. Izobel knew about the baby. Which meant that her kidnapper knew about her baby. And that was a dangerous problem. Neither of them were safe anymore.
She stood up and paced back and forth angrily in the dark. Grasping the sides of her head with her hands she pulled on her hair. She needed to get out of here. For her sanity as well as to get her baby to safety. The frustration burst out of her like an explosion as she finally snapped.
‘Let me out of here,’ she screamed at the dark corner where the camera sat, still and silent. ‘Let me out of here now, do you hear me?’ She ran over and beat her hands against the wall underneath it as hot tears began to fall down her face. ‘Let me out, let me out.’ Her loud, hysterical cries echoed down the hallway as she repeated herself over and over again for what seemed like hours. She raged and cried until her throat began hoarse and her body sagged in defeat. No one replied; nobody came.
29
Fraser pulled the car up at the side of a dark country lane. They had stopped briefly en route to pick up Paul, in case they needed the extra manpower. None of them had any clue what they might find when they arrived and Freddie always liked to be as prepared as possible. It seemed that this had been unnecessary though, as they were sitting in the middle of nowhere.
Fraser cut the engine. He turned the headlights back on as an afterthought, realising that no light was coming from anywhere else. They all looked around but there was nothing to see. There were no houses in sight, no street lamps or shops. Just wide-open countryside and a few collections of trees. Either side of the road there was a shallow ditch that met the bottom of the low hedges bordering the fields. The fields rolled up into hills and off out of sight all around them.
Freddie opened the door and stepped out, with the others following behind. He frowned and turned slowly, searching for something, anything that might indicate where Anna’s phone was.
‘How accurate is that location?’ Freddie asked.
‘To within quarter of a mile,’ Fraser responded. ‘Or at least that’s what I’m told.’
‘And how do they track it? Does it have to still be on?’
‘From what I understand, no. As long as the phone still has the SIM in it, they can track where it last was before the signal died.’
‘I see.’ Freddie pulled his phone out and dialled the number. It connected straight to voicemail. He had been expecting as much, but he had to try. Putting it back in his pocket he noticed Paul wading through the twigs and grass in one of the shallow side ditches. He had the torch on his phone pointed at the ground.
‘What are you thinking, Paul?’ he asked.
‘Well, if it was me…’ Paul stopped to look at something, then continued his slow walk. ‘If I had kidnapped someone, I’d want to get rid of the phone somewhere like this
too, the side of a quiet road where no one would come across it. I’d drive along and throw it out of the window into the ditch, en route. If we can find the phone, we can work out what direction he was driving in. It’s not much, but it’s a start.’
‘I think we can safely assume they were coming from London,’ Fraser said.
‘Not necessarily,’ Paul replied. ‘If this was the way they took her, yeah. But if this was a detour designed to throw us off, it might be from the other direction.’
‘Worth looking, whilst we’re out here,’ Freddie said, ignoring Fraser. He turned his torch on and jumped into the opposite ditch. He started scanning the undergrowth, careful not to miss anything.
‘Fair enough. I’ll go the other way and circle back,’ Fraser said.
The three men searched in silence, walking further and further away from the car. Ten minutes passed, then fifteen and no one found anything. Eventually Freddie turned and began to walk back to the car.
‘Paul, there’s no point. It’s dark and overgrown and it could be anywhere in a quarter of a mile.’ He shrugged, defeated. ‘It was always going to be a long shot.’ He huffed in exasperation.
Paul and Fraser walked back towards him.
‘Well, at least we know it’s around here somewhere,’ Fraser commented.
‘Yeah and what fucking good has that done me?’ Freddie snapped. He rounded on the other man. ‘What does this give us, eh? We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere, with no more to go on than we did before. Why haven’t you found anything yet, Fraser?’ Freddie’s voice rose as his anger bubbled to the surface. He squared up to him. ‘What do I even fucking pay you for?’
Paul intervened. ‘Let’s not lose our heads, yeah? It’s a stressful time; we’ve got to stay on track. Come on, let’s just get back.’
Freddie walked away and took a deep breath.