Gabriel jabbed a finger in Simon’s chest. ‘You fucking idiot! You should think about getting yourself a new flatmate if their idea of fun is to spike you with weed. You’re lucky you work here and not for me, because I would sack you on the fucking spot. I should rip your fucking head off.’
Then he walked over to me.
I placed my hand on his arm as my head started to spin. ‘Can you save that until later? I need to go home.’
He put his cool hand on my flushed cheek. ‘Of course, baby. Come on,’ he said as he pulled me up from the chair.
I leaned against him. ‘I feel sick,’ I groaned.
‘Jesus! I thought my days of looking after you when you were stoned were long over,’ he said with a smile.
As we walked past Simon, Gabriel grabbed him by his collar with one hand. ‘If anything happens to her, or our baby, you’d better fucking emigrate to the other side of the world,’ he said as he shoved him roughly backwards. ‘I’ll deal with you tomorrow,’ he snarled before he guided me out of the office.
‘The baby,’ I started to cry when we got into the fresh air. ‘What about the baby, Gabe? What if something happens to him? I can’t kill this baby too?’ I wailed.
The anxiety was starting to take over as I thought about my beautiful Alice. The only other time I’d been pregnant, I’d lost my baby girl at almost five months in a car accident.
Now, I was spiralling. I knew it was in part due to the weed, but what if I really had hurt mine and Gabriel’s baby? How could I have been so stupid?
He pressed me up against the wall as I started to sob hysterically. ‘Sam,’ he said softly. ‘What happened to Alice was an accident. It wasn’t your fault. Our baby is going to be just fine and so are you. You’ve done more pot in one night before than most people do in their entire lives. I was just trying to scare him in there. I’m sorry. But you need to calm down. I’m going to take us home. I’ll have someone come and check you and the baby over and then you’re going to sleep this off and you’ll both be fine. Okay?’
I nodded as I wiped the tears from my face. ‘Okay,’ I sniffed.
‘Good,’ he said as he planted a kiss on my forehead. ‘Now, let’s get you home.’
Chapter 45
Gabriel
I chewed on my lower lip as I watched the midwife checking Samantha over. Rose was an old friend of my aunt Maggie’s. She worked for a private health provider now and had agreed to see us at short notice as a favour. She’d brought her portable sonograph machine and had confirmed the baby’s heart rate was stable and that he was, much like his mother, going to be fine after a good sleep.
I watched as she chatted to Samantha and then she called me over.
‘They’re both absolutely fine. But please keep an eye on her for the next twenty-four hours. And don’t forget any reduced movements or any concerns, and you get straight to the hospital,’ she said to Samantha.
‘I will. Thank you, Rose,’ Samantha said with a faint smile.
‘And no more pot brownies,’ Rose said as she punched me on the arm.
‘Definitely not,’ I agreed as I let out a long breath.
I showed Rose out and thanked her again before heading back upstairs to Samantha. She was sitting on the edge of the bed.
‘You should be resting,’ I said as I walked over to her.
‘I know, but I feel like I’m going to be sick,’ she groaned.
I stood in front of her. ‘Do you want me to get you a bucket?’
‘No. I’m okay. It’s passing,’ she said, right before she threw up all over my trousers and shoes.
She looked up at me as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said as the tears sprang to her eyes.
‘It’s fine. I’ve been vomited on plenty of times before today,’ I smiled at her before I looked down at myself. ‘But never by anyone as beautiful as you before.’
‘Oh, I feel awful, Gabe,’ she groaned as she lay down on the bed. ‘Did I really used to take this stuff willingly?’
I lifted her feet onto the bed and rolled her onto her side. ‘Every weekend for about three years, as I recall.’
She closed her eyes. ‘I must have been such an idiot.’
‘An idiot? No. You were fucking adorable,’ I laughed. ‘I’m going to clean up and get you a drink of water. Will you be okay for five minutes?’
‘Yeah,’ she said sleepily. ‘Have I ruined your favourite shoes?’
‘No, of course not,’ I said even though I was going to throw them straight into the bin.
I turned and looked at her as I reached the bathroom. It looked like she’d already fallen asleep, although she had a dopey grin on her face. I felt my heart almost burst out of my chest as I realised how much I loved her, and our baby.
She had made my life complete.
Chapter 46
Samantha
I woke up with a throbbing head and a dry mouth. The light from the TV flickered on the wall opposite and I looked up to see Gabriel sitting up in bed.
‘Hey you,’ I said as I sat up, stifling a groan.
‘Hey sleeping beauty. How are you feeling?’ he asked as he wrapped an arm around me.
‘As rough as a badger’s butt-crack. How long have I been asleep?’
He checked his watch. ‘About six hours.’
‘Have you been sitting here with me this whole time?’
He nodded. ‘I was worried you might be sick again,’ he said as he brushed my hair back from my face.
‘Oh, God. I was sick all over you, wasn’t I?’ I groaned as the memory came flooding back. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘You don’t have to be. If you can’t vomit on me, then who can you?’ he laughed.
I shook my head as my cheeks flushed with embarrassment. ‘I can’t believe I ate a pot brownie.’
‘Well, it was hardly your fault.’
I nodded. ‘It was delicious too. What the hell was Simon thinking?’
‘Seems he wasn’t. I mean, to not only bring a pot brownie into your workplace, but then to give it your boss, and your pregnant boss at that, is a whole new level of stupid.’
‘He’s not stupid. Maybe just a little naïve?’
‘Or he’s neither of those things,’ Gabriel said seriously as he looked at me. ‘Maybe he did it on purpose?’
‘What? Simon? Why?’ I shook my head and laughed.
‘It’s not impossible, Sam. So, I’m not ruling it out, and nor should you.’
‘I think your job makes you paranoid,’ I said to him.
He leaned down and gave me a lingering kiss on the lips before he replied. ‘I’m surprised that your job doesn’t make you.’
I shrugged. ‘I like to see the best in people.’
‘I spoke to Nick anyway, and he thinks some sort of warning is in order,’ he said casually.
‘What? You spoke to Nick about this?’
He frowned. ‘Well, he’s Simon’s boss too.’
‘Yes, but you did that without me, and you had no right to,’ I said. How would Gabriel like it if I started deciding how his employees should be dealt with?
‘Well, to be fair, you were fucking wasted, Sam. And then you slept for six hours straight. Nick phoned me and asked me what went on. What was I supposed to do, wait until you woke up to tell him?’
I shook my head and sighed. ‘I didn’t realise he’d phoned you. You made it sound like you and Nick had this all figured out without me.’
He placed his hand on my cheek. ‘When does Nick ever make a decision without you? He can’t even decide on what to eat for his lunch without your input.’
‘That’s not true,’ I said with a roll of my eyes. ‘He just values my opinion, that’s all.’
Gabriel laughed and I knew he was teasing me. Nick was my oldest and closest friend and we spent a lot of time together. I loved that Gabriel never questioned our friendship, or our intentions. Not that he had reason to, but I wasn’t used to a relationship where I could
be so open about my friendship with another man.
I leaned back against the pillow and stared at the ceiling. I felt a sudden sadness settling over me.
‘Are you thinking about Alice?’ Gabriel asked softly.
I opened my eyes and nodded, blinking back the tears. I could remember the acute feeling of terror and anxiety I’d felt earlier when I thought I might have harmed the baby. It brought all of the memories of my first pregnancy flooding back to me.
I had lost my beautiful baby girl in a car accident when I was almost five months pregnant. For a long time, I blamed myself for her death – which wasn’t helped by the fact my psychopathic ex-husband also blamed me every chance he got.
As the years had passed, I had come to accept that it was an accident and it wasn’t my fault. But earlier today, the feelings of guilt and loss and pain had come rushing back, exacerbated by the weed, which I hadn’t taken since I was nineteen and could clearly no longer handle.
Gabriel took hold of my hand and squeezed it tightly. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’
‘No. I’m just thinking about what could have been, that’s all. I’m okay. It was the pot making me crazy earlier.’
He nodded. ‘Good. You know it wasn’t your fault?’
‘Yeah. And actually, I was thinking about something earlier today – before the brownie incident.’
‘What’s that?’
‘I was wondering how I could solve the problem of you feeling like you have to find me a driver every time you can’t pick me up or drop me at work.’
‘That’s not a problem though,’ he interrupted me.
I rolled my eyes. ‘Hear me out. I was also thinking about when the baby gets here. I’ll be having some time off, and I can’t be hanging around for you to take me places. I know I’ll do plenty of walking with the pram, but it would be handy to have transport too.’
‘So, what are you saying?’ he asked with a frown.
I took a deep breath. ‘I think I’d like to get back behind the wheel.’
His face broke into a grin. ‘Really? You want to drive again?’
I nodded. ‘I think it’s time. I think I’ve let fear and guilt hold me back for too long already. What do you think?’
‘I think it’s a great idea, baby. And I’m going to get you the safest car money can buy.’
I smiled back at him. ‘Thank you. But I can buy my own car.’
He shook his head and placed a warm hand on my stomach. ‘You have given me the best gift I could have ever asked for, the least you can let me do is buy you a car.’
‘Hmm. We’ll see,’ I said.
He rolled on top of me. ‘No, we won’t see. I’m buying you and our baby a fucking car.’
Before I could protest, he sealed his mouth over mine and kissed me so hard I didn’t care if he wanted to buy me a fleet of cars.
Chapter 47
Gabriel
I saw the old silver Range Rover parked up across the road from Archangel Securities and jogged over before climbing into the waiting car.
I knew the driver well.
He turned to me and smiled. ‘Afternoon, Gabriel.’
‘Phil,’ I said with a nod. ‘So, what have you got for me?’
‘Shall we drive?’ Phil asked. ‘I could murder a coffee.’
I smiled. Phil was a sucker for a service station coffee. ‘Let’s go then. You can fill me in while you drive.’
Phil nodded and pulled his car away from the kerb.
Phil Campbell was a retired police Inspector. He’d always been open to making a few quid on the side when he’d worked for the Met, and I had used his talents on many occasions when he was still a serving officer. But, now that Phil had taken early retirement and was working as a Private Investigator, he was still as useful as ever.
‘So, who shall I start with? Simon or Carver?’
‘Simon,’ I replied. There was definitely something not right about that little weasel and the incident with Samantha and the brownie the week before had me more convinced than ever that he wasn’t all he seemed.
‘There’s some paperwork in the glove box for you. But, for a start, he lied on his job application form.’
‘Oh?’ I said as I sat forward in my seat and opened the small compartment. I took out the large brown envelope and opened it, sliding out the papers and glancing over them.
Phil had printed out the application form Simon had submitted when he’d applied for the job at Donovan Cook, as well as Simon’s birth certificate and a copy of his GCSE exam results. I didn’t ask how he’d got the documents. Phil was good at his job and that was why I paid him well for his services.
Samantha would be furious if she found out I was digging into Simon’s past without telling her about it, but I didn’t regret it for a second. I did what I had to do to keep her safe.
‘He said that he went to high school in Leicester, but he grew up in Surrey,’ Phil said.
‘Surrey? That’s nowhere near Leicester?’ I snapped.
‘Exactly. And that’s a hell of a commute for a teenager, isn’t it?’
‘So he lied about where he went to school? Why?’
‘Well, I wondered that myself, so I did a little more digging and found out that he was born and raised in Surrey. Never lived in Leicester and certainly never went to school there.’
I frowned at him. ‘Why does he want to hide where he grew up?’
‘I don’t know that, but I did find some more interesting information that might be of interest to you?’
I leaned back in my seat as Phil drove us towards the motorway. ‘Go on.’
‘His mum died four years ago and she left him the family home. A farmhouse in Surrey, worth just shy of one million.’
‘So?’
‘So, his mum, Karina Hardaker, was the daughter of a postman and a seamstress. They lived in a council house and Karina left school at fifteen with no qualifications. As far as I can find out, she never worked a day in her life – at least not officially anyway. So, where the fuck did she get a house like that from?’
I turned and looked at Phil. He was a good PI and this was all part of his routine – he didn’t just give the information straight out as he preferred to make a story of it.
‘I’m sure you’re going to tell me?’ I said.
‘Well, I can tell you what I pieced together at least. Simon’s father was some posh twat. He was engaged to marry the daughter of someone high up - some Earl or Lord. But he had an affair with sixteen year old Karina Hardaker and knocked her up. Both families of the engaged couple were furious and paid Karina off to cover the whole thing up. As far as I can tell, she never told a soul and she bought a house with the money they gave her.’
‘That can’t have been the end of it though? Someone must have subsidised her all these years, or how did she get by and raise a kid?’
‘Maybe? I couldn’t get to the bottom of that. But, there are all kinds of rumours about the elusive Karina. Some say she made money telling fortunes, some that she was on the game, others that she lived off the various men who were in and out of her life.’
I shook my head. I wasn’t sure what any of this meant yet, except that it proved Simon Hardaker was a liar. ‘So, he lied about where he grew up and he’s sitting on a million pound house while he lives in a tiny two bed flat-share in Dagenham?’
Phil nodded. ‘Seems so.’
‘Maybe he’s got debts and he needs the house to pay them off?’ I suggested.
‘If he has, they’re not to any bank or legal establishments. And the house isn’t up for sale. It’s sitting empty.’
‘Hmm,’ I chewed my lip as I digested the information. I was missing something and while I didn’t know what it was yet, I would find out.
I glanced through the papers as Phil carried on driving.
‘You want to know what I dug up on Carver?’ he asked me.
‘Tell me over a coffee when we get to Costa,’ I told him.
My mind was st
ill racing with thoughts about Simon and what the little prick was up to. There was always the possibility that he had legitimate reasons for lying about his upbringing and keeping his mother’s house a secret, and because of that I wouldn’t go to Samantha with my concerns yet.
But I’d be watching him like a fucking hawk from now on and there was no way he’d be giving her any more lifts to or from work.
Half an hour later, I sat across a small table with Phil at the service station. I watched as he poured his fourth packet of brown sugar into his coffee and smiled. He almost had as many sugars in his coffee as Samantha did.
‘So, tell me what you found out about Milton Carver,’ I said when he was done stirring his drink.
‘I didn’t find out a lot more than you already knew, to be honest, Gabriel. As you suspected, he’s almost penniless. He blew his fortune in the States and basically partied his way through his thirties. While his father was still alive, it seemed he still got a generous monthly allowance, but after he died, Jackson Carver cut him off completely.’
‘So, what’s he been living on for the past four years then?’ I asked with a frown.
Phil sucked in a breath. ‘Rich, older women with more money than sense. He’d seduce them, fleece them for every penny he could, and then moved onto his next victim.’
‘So, he’s a gigolo?’ I said with a flash of my eyebrows.
‘Oh, he’s much more than that. My sources indicate he wasn’t just financially abusive. One of his victims lost the sight in her right eye and another of his lady friends disappeared and hasn’t been heard from since.’
I felt my pulse start racing. This prick was as bad as his sadistic brother. ‘Didn’t any of these women go to the police?’
‘You know the score. It’s easier said than done. Maybe they were ashamed to be swindled by a con artist? Afraid of him? There are so many reasons. And by the time these women came to their senses, he was long gone, they were probably just happy to have him out of their lives.’
Fallen Angel (The London Ruthless Series Book 2) Page 17