Now he had Joel’s attention. “Business?”
“I know Mikey Maguire and Jez Law put you and your brother in here.”
“How did you find that out?”
“I have my sources. How would you like some payback?”
Joel was instantly suspicious. This man could have been sent by the Maguires to test him, so he refused to commit to an answer.
“Wise man,” smiled the stranger, “but I’m not here on their behalf, I’m here for mine. I have specialised business interests down south and I’m looking to expand up here and certain people in Manchester are standing in my way. I need some help shifting them and when I do I’ll need someone up here who can help keep an eye on things, someone I can trust. Do you think that’s something you might be interested in?”
This prick was giving him a shot at taking down the Maguires, he couldn’t believe his luck. In Joel’s experience if something seemed too good to be true then it probably was but he wasn’t about to dismiss the man so easily. “Go on.”
“Here’s not the place to discuss it. Contact me when you get out of here.” He tossed a business card onto the bed beside him. “I look forward to your call.”
Joel watched the big man swagger away, drawing admiring glances from the scary nurses. He picked up the card and frowned. On it was printed a mobile phone number but nothing else. Joel didn’t need anymore details. It was Jared Slattery, he was sure of it. Normally Joel would have baulked at the prospect of getting into bed with a southerner but he was his only shot at getting revenge on the Maguires and he would take it gratefully.
“You look better today,” said Mikey when Jules walked into his office. “Calmed down?”
“I’m fine. I told you it was just a nicotine deficiency.” It had been a relief when she’d woken up feeling much calmer than she had the day before. Hopefully Mikey would think it was just a one off.
“I’m glad because Mark will be here in a few minutes.” She was standing beside him, her musky perfume overlaid with cigarette smoke wafting over him. He didn’t know how such a mixture could be alluring but it was to him. “Stand over there,” he said, pointing to the far corner of the room, needing her away from him or he wouldn’t be able to concentrate.
“Have I been naughty?” she said saucily.
“No, I just don’t want Mark thinking we’re crowding him,” he snapped back.
She held up her hands. “Fine,” she said, retreating to the spot he’d indicated. “Don’t wind yourself up, Mark will detect it and it’ll make him nervous.”
“I know that,” he barked. How could he be so attracted to someone who got on his tits so much? Maybe that was part of it, attraction and anger all rolled up together. It was an explosive mix.
“What happened to your knuckles?” she said, nodding at the small cuts there.
“Me and Jez had a word with the Starklaw brothers after they attacked him outside the MMA arena.”
“Are they alive?”
“Yes but they’re currently enjoying the best care the NHS has to offer.”
It took Jules a lot not to laugh out loud. She’d arranged that attack on Jez. The man she’d hired to do it had been instructed not to actually hurt him, he’d just made sure Jez thought he was going to so she could jump in and play the heroine. It had worked and she’d gone up in Jez and Mikey’s estimation. The fact they’d thought the Starklaws had been responsible had been a bonus, she hated the annoying little tossers.
Mikey frowned up at Jules. She had that odd look again and he was glad when there was a knock at the door and Mark was escorted in by Grant.
“Glad you could make it Mark,” said Mikey, getting to his feet to shake his hand. Grant closed the door, leaving the three of them to talk in private.
“Good to see you again,” said Jules, from behind Mikey, making no move to shake his hand. Mikey had instructed her beforehand to ditch her trademark black leather biker jacket so she stood there in just a sleeveless black vest and jeans to show Mark she carried no weapons, especially her knives.
“And you,” said Mark.
Jules gave him a flirtatious smile, which he returned.
Mark turned to Mikey and smoothed his expression out into an emotionless mask. “So, what’s the offer?” he said, straight to the point, as usual.
“Please sit and I’ll explain. Drink?”
“No thank you.”
Mark listened with interest as Mikey outlined what his duties would be, which mainly included bodyguarding, ensuring the security of the compound and removing anyone who got in Mikey’s way, which was pretty much what Mark had been expecting. The salary however was more surprising.
“Trying to buy my loyalty, are you?” said Mark as he stared at all the zeros Mikey had written down.
“I’d rather earn it. You’ll be fulfilling the role Grant is currently performing but I want him working on other projects. If you decide to accept my offer he’ll show you the ropes and once you’re happy you’ll take over from him full time.”
“It’s a big job.”
“You’ll have some help. Jez is talking with Hayden Brody. Do you know him?”
Mark nodded to indicate that he did. “He’s a good man.”
“If he accepts you’ll work together.”
“I don’t think I’d have a problem with that. There’s been some rivalry between us but its always been friendly.”
“So, are you onboard?”
Mark reclined back in his chair as he considered Mikey’s proposal. It was a good offer, they all knew it and he’d be working for the top family in the north of England. But Mark had seen too many top people fall in his lifetime. If Mikey ever was toppled he’d go down with him, but on the flipside he needed the cash. Plus there was always a position for a man with his specialist skills. He admired how smart Mikey was being. With Jules Parker and Hayden Brody onside too there was no one else in the city capable of taking on him and Jez. They had all the best people in their camp and only a madman would think of challenging them. If Jez succeeded in getting Hayden onside then they would be surrounded by the impenetrable ring of steel they’d envisaged. But he didn’t want to appear too eager. He looked to Jules. “How have you found working for Mikey and Jez?”
“No one’s ever given me a chance before but they have. So far I’m not regretting it.”
Mikey cringed, thinking that half-hearted statement would only put Mark off, but on the contrary, it seemed to persuade him.
“Alright, I’m in.”
“That’s great,” said Mikey, trying not to show how over the moon he was. His plans for the family were finally coming to fruition. With Mark’s help they’d be untouchable. “When would you like to start?”
“No time like the present.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. Grant’s waiting outside the door, he’ll show you round.” Mikey got to his feet to shake his hand. “Welcome on board.”
“I look forward to working with you both,” he said with a meaningful look at Jules before he left.
When he’d gone Mikey rounded on her. “What was that fucking wishy washy display about? So far I’m not regretting it. I’m lucky he didn’t do one.”
“If I’d gone over the top he would have taken it to be the load of old flannel it was. I was honest with him and he knew that and respected me for it. It proved we’re not bullshitting him.”
“Oh, alright, I suppose you have a point.” He felt obliged to her now because it was thanks to her that Mark had accepted his offer. “Just don’t go shagging him, alright? I don’t want that going on between my employees.”
“Spoilsport.”
“Jules, I mean it.”
“I won’t. We’re work colleagues only.”
“You’d better remember that.”
“By the way, I’ve bought the unit that’s going to be my tattoo parlour. Work’s already begun. I see you already know,” she sighed.
“I know everything that happens in this city. You’re doin
g everything by the book?”
“Of course. Don’t look so uptight, this is a fun project for me and I’ve absolutely no urge to make it complicated.”
“I can’t tell you how happy that makes me,” he said flatly.
“I aim to please Boss. So, what’s next?” she said, clapping her hands together.
“You enjoyed that meeting, didn’t you?”
“It felt good being back in the thick of it, making deals.”
“I do have something in the pipeline, but I need to talk it through with Jez first. Don’t pout, when it’s agreed you’ll be the first to know.”
“Is it big?”
“Yes and dangerous.”
“Ooh, I’ll be looking forward to that.”
“Right. Before that I have an even tougher assignment for you.”
“You’re going to tell me I have to see the headshrinker, aren’t you?”
“Cassandra is expecting you in forty five minutes.”
“Are you going to drive me there?”
Mikey didn’t think he could stand another second in a car with her without doing something he’d instantly regret. “No, I trust you to get there all on your own. You’re a big girl now.”
“I’m flattered you noticed. Sorry,” she added when he scrunched up his forehead in disapproval.
“Have a good long chat with her, yeah?”
“Yes,” she mumbled, plodding to the door.
“I will be checking that you turn up. If you don’t…”
“The consequences will be very bad for me, yes, I know.”
Mikey sat back in his chair after she’d gone, twiddling his pen, breathing in the lingering scent of her. With a grunt of annoyance he threw the pen across the room, dismayed when his expensive Parker pen bounced off a wall and landed on the floor in two pieces, ink leaking from the nib. Sometimes he wished Ryan had finished off that woman nice and quietly in Devon. It would have made his life a hell of a lot simpler.
CHAPTER 11
“Good to see you again Jules,” began Cassandra.
A withering look was her response.
“To be honest I didn’t think you’d come back.”
“Mikey said I had to. If it was my choice you’d never see me again.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to be delighted but I was hoping for a bit more enthusiasm than that,” replied Cassandra, pushing her glasses up her nose. “I thought we made some good progress during our last session.”
“You want a session I’ll give you a real session,” said Jules lasciviously.
“I’m well aware of that but I think we should just stick to talking. How have you been feeling recently?”
“Fine,” shrugged Jules, fidgeting in her seat.
“Am I making you nervous?”
“It would take more than you to make me nervous.”
“On the contrary Jules I think I do make you nervous because I encourage you to talk about your feelings and you don’t like doing that.”
“Who does?”
“Plenty of people do. I don’t even have to speak to some of my clients, they’re just happy for me to sit here and listen.”
“Money for old rope.”
“My job’s not as easy as you think. It requires a delicate touch. No innuendoes please,” she said when Jules grinned.
Jules sighed, folded her left leg on top of her right knee and started to play with the laces of her boots.
“Something’s happened recently, hasn’t it?” said Cassandra, studying her closely.
Jules’s eyes flew up to hers, trying to decide how much she was deducing with her creepy, almost psychic ability to read people.
“Is it to do with Leighton?”
Jules’s foot started to tap all over again. Cassandra decided not to speak, drawing out the silence in an attempt to encourage Jules to fill it, but it didn’t work.
“I’ll take that as a yes. If it wasn’t you would have denied it immediately,” said Cassandra eventually.
But Jules’s silence wasn’t because she didn’t want to talk about it. In fact she was considering it very carefully, but how could she phrase it? She couldn’t tell her the truth. Even though everything was confidential there was no way she could tell her what she’d done. Cassandra was one of the few people who looked at her as though she was a normal person, not a freak. She didn’t want that to change. There was no one to confide in, she had to deal with it alone. The thought was a forlorn one, it made her feel isolated, trapped.
“It’s just so hard for me,” she began, wringing her hands, foot tapping faster.
“Remember what I said, I won’t push you any faster than you’re able to go. You set the pace. Do you want to talk about him?”
“Yes,” she said quickly. Maybe she could find out what she needed to know without revealing everything. “It’s like he’s still here, haunting me. How do I get him out of my head?”
“It’s not a matter of getting him out of your head. He’s a part of your past, a major part and you can’t just erase the memories. What I can do is help you deal with those memories.”
“How?” she said, leaning forward in her seat.
Cassandra’s heart went out to her. She wondered if Jules realised how child-like she looked whenever Leighton was mentioned. The mere thought of him caused her to regress back to childhood. “There are no quick fixes here Jules, it all takes time, which is a great healer.”
Disappointed Jules leaned back in her seat and - to Cassandra’s chagrin - folded her arms across her chest, a classic defensive pose. Cassandra could see she was formulating a reply so she waited for her to talk.
“I’m afraid that…” She sighed and shook her head.
“Go on,” urged Cassandra, thinking it a big step forward for a woman like Jules to admit she was afraid of anything.
“I’m afraid of how much Leighton is linked to my sanity. If I ever did find out he was dead what would it do to me?”
“It would only do to you what you allow it to do. Granted he did some truly terrible things to you but such news would still be a shock. If you did experience grief you shouldn’t feel guilty over it, after all, he was your dad once.”
“So finding out he was dead wouldn’t destroy me?”
“Not if you don’t let it. You’re the boss of you Jules, not him. Always keep that in mind.”
Jules nodded and cracked a genuine smile. This made her feel so much better. Thanks to Cassandra she now knew exactly what she had to do.
Jules descended the cellar steps feeling sick to her stomach. Today she was determined to put Leighton Parker out of his misery. Mikey was already suspicious, it wouldn’t be long before he cottoned on and she would not sacrifice her new life for her old one. Her hand tightened around the brown paper bag she held, the smell of fried onions and chips wafting out of it.
At the bottom of the stairs she paused, giving herself a moment to acclimatise to the smell of despair and sweat, the sound of him moving about, the knowledge that he was close.
In the shadows she saw him scuttle into a corner of the large cage at the back of the room, a hunched figure on its knees, head bent low.
Slowly she approached the cage, footsteps loud on the bare wooden floor. This room had seen a lot of suffering from the girls this creep and his wife had tortured, including herself. She’d spent many long, solitary hours in this cage. It had been the natural place for her to put him after she’d spent years tracking the bastard down. She’d planned to torture him for a bit first, revenge not just for her but for every underage girl he’d hurt and raped. She’d not for one second considered that she might not be able to go through with it when the time came. Before her thirteenth birthday and the day he’d ruined her forever she’d loved him as much as any daughter could love her daddy, even though he wasn’t her real father. Terry Maguire was and he’d sold her to this pervert and his wife knowing exactly who and what they were. Killing that bastard had been no problem for her but then she’d never had a
relationship with him.
As she approached the cage Leighton lifted his head, tilting his heavily scarred face to hers. She’d done that to him, sliced his smooth, handsome face open with her knives then stitched it back together with the help of an instruction book from the library when she’d realised she couldn’t bring herself to kill him. Unlike Alice Parker, who had been an arrogant bitch her whole life, Jules had liked Leighton, loved him even. He’d been a good dad to her once, caring, affectionate, which just made his betrayal on her thirteenth birthday all the more difficult for her to cope with. He’d stood by and done nothing, watching as his best friend raped her because he’d paid him a lot of money to rip her virginity from her. She’d bled out badly and it was only the speed with which Leighton had got her to hospital that had saved her life, which had been a surprise. He’d concocted a tale about finding her bleeding in the garden and Jules, because she’d been so afraid of him back then, had supported his story that she’d been attacked by a stranger. She didn’t know if the fact that he’d saved her life was why she found it difficult to kill him or if that was down to the scared little girl who still lived inside her that wouldn’t let her. Today she was determined to overcome her, even if she did fear what his death would mean for her tenuous mental health.
“Here,” she said, tossing the bag of fast food through the bars.
As was the routine she’d instilled in him he didn’t move, eyes fixed on the brown paper bag, not daring to touch it until she’d given her permission, saliva dribbling down his chin as the hunger gnawed at him.
Today she decided not to draw it out, she just wanted it over with so she nodded her permission and he tore into the bag.
Jules slumped to the floor before the cage to watch him eat. His teeth had once been perfectly even and white, but now they were yellow and loose with his poor diet and bad health and he struggled with the meat of the burger, which was a little tough.
When he was replete, every morsel of food gone, he released a sigh of pleasure and sank back onto the floor to down the bottle of water that was in the bag too. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at her with a gentle smile. “How’s my lovely girl?”
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