Matt nodded. He already had his phone to his ear. The noise outside grew louder. Cars revved. Music blared. Someone spoke over a sound system, testing it. Flynn clenched his jaw, worried about how terrified his animals would be. He hoped like hell the goat was eating her way right through the crowd—the mob deserved it.
“Let’s go.” Matt hung up. “Lake and the boys will be here soon.”
“Right.” Flynn crouched down to face Katy. “Watch your mum. Give her chocolate. Chocolate always helps women when they’re upset. And don’t let her do anything stupid.”
“Okay,” Katy said solemnly.
Flynn rolled his eyes. “What am I doing? You wouldn’t know stupid if it bit you in the a—”
“Time to go.” Matt hauled Flynn back to his feet.
“Wait.” Victoria rushed forward. “You really do care about Abby, don’t you?”
Flynn felt something shift within him. He looked at Katy, who was staring up at him with unwarranted faith in her eyes. “Aye, I really do.”
“And this new leaf of yours, it isn’t pretend?”
“No, it isn’t a ruse. I’m trying really bloody hard here and it keeps getting screwed up.”
Victoria stared at him for a moment before nodding.
“We need to go. More cars have arrived.” Matt tugged Flynn away from Victoria and they headed out of the house.
The minute they set foot outside the door, a camera crew rushed forward, followed closely by the woman who accused him of fathering her child. Flynn cast a nervous glance back towards Abby’s house, but saw someone had the presence of mind to shut the curtains.
“No comment,” he said as a microphone was thrust in his face.
“Back off,” Matt growled. As he was dressed in full police uniform, people did as they were told. “Who organised this?”
Flynn cocked an eyebrow at him. “You mean you actually believe it wasn’t me?”
“I never said it was.”
“You never said anything. You hit first. No questions asked.”
“And I’ll hit you again, once this is over. It’s the least I can do for Abby. You can’t screw around with her. She’s a mother. She’s serious about everything. She doesn’t do casual anything. You crossed a line seducing her.”
“What makes you think I seduced her?”
Matt shot him an angry glare. “Do you want me to hit you again? We’ll deal with the Abby thing again later. Right now, we need to sort this mess.”
“We need to find the weasel. He hates me and wants to make his mark. This has got to be him.”
“Got it.”
They scanned the crowd. It was barely nine a.m. and already alcohol was flowing. There were cars parked everywhere. Vans near the road were being unloaded by tattooed men. A stage was being set up near the stream. People were tramping over everything. Strangers were coming out of his home. Flynn clenched his jaw at the sight.
“There.” He pointed to the woman cowering beside his van. “That’s Julia, the production assistant. She’ll know what’s going on.”
They headed straight for her. People shouted out to Flynn, praising him for staging such an “epic party.” Yeah, he was being set up, all right. Even though there were attempts to waylay them, they cut a straight line to Julia. Mainly because the crowd parted like the Red Sea for Matt’s police uniform.
“What’s going on, Julia?” Flynn said as soon as they were in front of her.
“I didn’t know.” She spoke to her shoes. Her voice so quiet he had to strain to hear it.
“What didn’t you know?” He put a finger under her chin and tipped her head up to look at him.
“He called everyone. He told them you wanted to burn the town up. Show them how to live right.” She leaned forward. “I think there are people with drugs in your motorhome.”
Flynn clenched his jaw as he watched Matt morph into super cop.
“You find out the rest,” Matt ordered. “I’ll clear the van.” He disappeared inside.
Drugs were the last thing Flynn needed to be associated with. He never touched the damn things, and he sure as hell didn’t want them in his house.
“What else?” He worked to keep his focus on Julia instead of his rising anger. She was like one of his animals. The slightest scare could spook her into running.
Her eyes welled up. “He booked Royal Flush.”
“Royal Flush?” The name rang a bell in the back of his mind, but he couldn’t come up with anything solid. “I need more info, honey.”
“They’re the band that were arrested last year. Really anti-women. Nasty music. Nasty people.” She pointed a shaky finger to the vans being unloaded. “He promised them plenty of publicity and said you’d pay double their appearance fee if they played today.”
Flynn ground his teeth together so hard he was sure he’d need a dentist as soon as this was cleared up.
“Where’s the weasel?” His voice was cold, harsh, angry.
“Weasel? You mean Brian?”
Flynn nodded tersely.
“There.” She pointed to the fence beside a swath of parked cars. The man was on the phone and he looked smug. Flynn took a step towards him.
Small fingers curved around his arm. Julia held him tight. Her eyes were wide.
“Remember, everything you do will be filmed. Everything. Think carefully. He wants you to blow. He wants to ruin you on film. Don’t play into his hands.” She was shaking by the time she stopped talking. Her hand dropped from his arm and she wrapped her arms around herself.
The woman was right. He couldn’t give the weasel what he wanted. He needed to think. He needed a plan. And he needed to get Julia out of the line of fire.
“Do me a favour,” he said. “Take the donkeys and the goat to Abby’s place. Tie them up on the other side of the house. Then I need you to come back with two cardboard boxes. There’s a duck in the van. She needs to be moved to Abby’s.” He ran a hand through his hair. “And, um, there are three baby hedgehogs in the compartment under the van. I want them safe too.”
The woman stared at him for a minute. She was still shaking, but now she looked dumbfounded. “Duck? Hedgehogs?”
“Babies.” He smiled at her. “Can you do this for me, honey?”
She cast an anxious glance in the weasel’s direction. Flynn pursed his lips.
“I’ll deal with him. You don’t have to worry. Once the animals are safe away from here, you go into Abby’s house and have her make you some tea. Okay?”
She nodded, wary but relieved.
“One more thing,” Flynn said. “You’ll want to start looking for another job. This one isn’t good for you.”
“I know.” Her shoulders slumped further as she headed for the donkeys. The sight renewed Flynn’s need to hit the weasel.
“Hey, hey, Boyle Boy,” a voice called out.
Michael was heading towards him. Flynn clasped the man’s hand and patted his shoulder.
“What’s going on?” Michael’s eyes were on the crowd. “I thought you were keeping a low profile. I thought that was why you sent the Ball Babes to me.”
“I am. I was. The weasel is playing with me. He wants me to lose the plot on air and make his career for him.”
“Hell.” Michael toed the grass in front of him. “You didn’t arrange this?”
“Nope.” Flynn clenched his fists.
Michael went tense. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come. This situation isn’t good. It won’t take much to set off the crowd. What can I do to help?”
Flynn patted him on the back. “Hang around. I’ll let you know. In the meantime, you could spread the word to the guys we trust. I don’t know half this mob. Talk to the ones we do know. Tell them it’s a setup. Matt’s in the van. The asshole brought drugs into my house.”
Michael shook his head. “I’ve got your back.” He headed off to a cluster of players from his old team.
Flynn watched the crowd. He didn’t like the atmosphere. It simmered with vi
olence. Matt came out of the van a minute later.
“I’ve cuffed them. I had to call for a pickup. The van will take time to get here from Fort William.” He let out a growl. “This is why we need another officer here. I keep putting in requests. This town sees too much trouble for one man to deal with. I can’t keep pulling in civilians.”
“Even if they are ex-special forces?” Like most of Lake Benson’s security team.
“Aye.” Matt looked out over the crowd. “How many of them do you know?”
“About a quarter.”
“Damn.”
Flynn folded his arms. He noticed a camera pointed in his direction and angled his body so they couldn’t film his conversation with his cousin. “I spoke to Julia. The weasel wants me to blow my top. This event is staged to make me lose it on tape. The band were chosen specially. They’ve already been arrested this year. I’ve never heard of them. Apparently their thing is misogyny.”
Matt cocked his eyebrow. “With your reputation, no one would believe you’d book that band.”
“Aye, I love women. I have the tabloid reports to prove it.”
“I don’t like the look of the guys setting up the band.”
Flynn followed his gaze. Tattoos, leather, patches and skinheads.
“This whole thing is primed to blow.”
Julia came up to them. “Can I go into the van?” she asked Matt.
“Why?” He narrowed his eyes.
“Relax,” Flynn said. “I want her to get the duck to safety.”
Matt stared at him for a minute. “The duck?”
“Hey, don’t judge me. You wanted me to be a good guy. Good guys are nice to animals. The duck is nursing a broken wing. She doesn’t need the stress of this situation. Julia’s going to take her over to Abby’s for me.”
“Fine.” Matt sighed and waved Julia on. “Get the bloody duck.”
She scurried away.
“She’s in the wrong business,” Flynn said.
“No kidding.” Matt kept his eyes on the crowd. “Got any ideas?”
“I’m worried if we start to strong-arm people out of here, things will blow. We need to defuse the situation. We need to do something that won’t cause violence. I especially don’t want to do anything to give the weasel what he wants. We need to turn the crowd around, make them leave on their own.”
In the distance, Flynn spotted Lake’s car arrive. Whatever they did, they had to do it soon, before Lake and his muscle inadvertently started a riot. What he needed was a miracle.
A miracle?
Flynn grinned slowly. He turned to his cousin, pleased to see the black eye he’d given him was filling out nicely. “I have an idea.”
Matt was suspicious. “Is this like the ideas you used to have when we were teenagers?”
“Better. Hold the fort with Lake. I need to make some calls. I know exactly how to defuse this bomb.”
30
"Chile have three options—they could win or they could lose. It’s up to them, the tide is in their court now."
Ron Atkinson, former England manager
“You have a decision to make, Vicki,” Lawrence said softly as they sat side by side in the window nook in the kitchen. “You need to decide what you’re going to tell your mother. Are you going to stand for Abby, or against her? Time is running out.”
Katy was playing on the floor in front of them. It was a complicated game involving lots of marbles, each of which she’d named.
“I know,” Victoria said.
Lawrence reached out and covered her hand with his. Victoria jerked, looked around to see if anyone was watching and tried to move away from him.
“Nobody’s here. You can let me hold your hand.”
“What if someone comes in?”
“I doubt anyone would be shocked at this timid display of public affection, but I promise to move away as soon as the door opens.”
She relaxed slightly and he almost smiled. His Vicki would never be good at touching in public.
“Mitch is working on the TV angle,” he said, getting back to the most pressing issue. “But no matter what we do, some of the footage being shot out there is going to make it onto the internet and possibly the news. Your mother will know about this by the end of the day.”
Victoria didn’t say anything. She just stared at Katy with sad eyes. His heart broke for her, this woman who kept everything tightly locked behind a polite veneer.
“You know your mother is wrong. She can’t take Katy away from Abby. The child is well loved. I suspect even Flynn loves the girl. He certainly made it clear this morning that he would do whatever he could to shield them from harm.”
“He brings the harm,” Victoria said, but there was no malice in the words.
“He’s trying to change. Everyone deserves a second chance, don’t they? He made stupid mistakes in the past and now he’s trying to make it right.”
“What if it isn’t possible to make it right? What if the consequences of some decisions can’t be rectified?”
He wanted to weep for her. She wasn’t talking about Flynn, that much was clear. He squeezed her hand, knowing she wouldn’t take kindly to being wrapped in his arms. Not here, where someone could see.
“There’s always that risk. Sometimes we can never get past the consequences of our foolish pasts. Sometimes people can’t forgive us for the decisions we make.”
To his surprise, her grip tightened on his fingers.
“I know you’re scared,” he said. “All I can tell you is I’m here for you. You can’t let your mother keep pushing you into doing things you know are wrong. You have a way out now. Choose it. Choose me. Choose getting to know your sister and your niece. Choose starting afresh and being the person you were meant to be.”
She gave a shallow laugh. “You make it sound so easy.”
“I know it isn’t. But you have a job with me. You’ll have a place to live, with me, if you want it. You just have to reach out and take it.”
“What if you hate me too, once you find out my secrets?”
“What if you hate me once you find out mine?”
She jerked back to look him in the eyes. “I don’t see how that’s possible.”
“And there’s your answer. It comes down to trust. You have to take a chance on believing the other person will understand. It’s up to you whether you have the courage to try.” Her eyes welled with tears, but none fell. “You can’t compound past mistakes by letting your mother make another one. She’s wrong to go after Katy. You know it. And you can’t allow it, darling.”
“Darling?” She gave him a shy smile.
“Thought I’d try it on, see how it feels.”
“What’s the conclusion?”
“I like it.” He gave in to his need and kissed her softly. “I like you.”
They sat quietly holding hands for a long time. The soft chatter from Katy as she played was relaxing. Lawrence smiled down at the child. This was what he’d missed out on. He’d missed out on family. But if he was lucky, maybe this thing he felt with Victoria would turn into something more and he’d be allowed to become a part of her family. And by her family, he didn’t mean her mother and brother. He meant what she’d found here. A home for her heart in the Highlands—if she was brave enough to take a chance on it.
“She looks so much like her mother did at the same age.” Victoria’s eyes were on Katy. “Abby was full of life, always dancing and singing. She was constantly in trouble with Mother for her inappropriate behaviour. She had the courage to be herself. And later she had the courage to break free. Such tremendous spirit. It’s irrepressible. Katy has it too, doesn’t she?”
“Yes.” Lawrence smiled.
“Even now, with everything Abby’s been through, everything that’s happening, she’s standing strong.” She looked up at Lawrence. “I admire her so much.”
His heart clenched. “Then fight for her, not against her.”
“Yes. You’re right.” Victoria�
�s eyes returned to Katy. “I just need a little bit more time.”
“Time’s running out. This will hit the news tonight. If you’re lucky, your mother won’t hear about it until tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll take the few hours I have until she finds out.”
“Vicki…”
“Please, Lawrence.” She looked up at him. “I know what I have to do. Just not yet. I’m not ready yet. I need a bit more time to become stronger.”
“Okay, but remember this—you aren’t facing the future alone. I’ll be there.”
“You are such a wonderful surprise,” Victoria said. “I never thought someone would be with me the way you are. I never thought I’d be given this gift.”
“It goes two ways. I see something wonderful in you. Something just for me.”
“Foolish man. I’m no prize.”
“Oh, sweet Vicki, how delightfully wrong you are.”
To his utter shock, she rested her head on his shoulder, a smile curling her lips. And in that moment, Lawrence wondered at the blessing he’d received. A second chance at life, in this woman who had yet to learn how to live.
But she would learn. They’d do it together. They’d help each other.
“It’s sorted,” Flynn announced as he limped back around the van to where Matt was talking to Lake.
There were several men standing around. All of whom worked for Lake’s security firm. He recognised most of them from around town and knew they were all ex-military. Including his cousin Claire’s fiancé, Grunt, who was currently frowning his censure at Flynn. It made him want to shout, It wasn’t me! He ignored the impulse for immaturity and instead joined the huddle with Lake and Matt.
“Police reinforcement is forty minutes away,” Matt said.
“People are getting edgy.” Lake’s eyes were ice, trained on the crowd and missing nothing. The tall Englishman was wearing a black T-shirt over jeans; his arms were folded, muscles bulging. His blonde hair was military short. His blue eyes narrowed.
Flynn knew very little about Lake’s background except he was ex-SAS, a security specialist and a scary dude.
The band started a sound check behind them.
Bad Boy (Invertary Book 5) Page 22