“We were just having a laugh,” Sam said, shaking his head, “Now we’re going to have to teach you a lesson.”
The other guy nodded, looking directly into her face. Brandy shuddered and kicked out as Sam pressed her against the wall with his body and began pulling down her knickers. A hand went over her mouth and she gagged on the taste of weed and tobacco that he’d clearly been smoking just moments before.
She struggled and screamed, but she was no match and as Sam undid his jeans, Brandy closed her eyes, determined to block out the image of golden teeth in a grinning face.
* * *
Aurora watched the television with a peaceful indifference. Clint was beside her, arm around her, smoking a cigarette. Sienna was still asleep in the bedroom.
Tonight had been a revelation to Aurora. Not just because she’d finally lost her virginity, or because Clint had shown just how much he loved her, but because she had never felt this kind of happiness before.
She’d always been a cheerful girl, ever since she could remember. That had been a different kind of happiness, because she had been blissfully unaware of how much happier she could be. She was aware now. Clint had made sure of that.
He had been soft and gentle, loving and generous, and Aurora still felt warm all over. They had lain on the floor for almost an hour after making love and then they’d finally conceded that they should put some clothes on, which they had done just a few minutes ago.
“You okay?” Clint asked, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray.
Aurora nodded, “Never better. You?”
“Same,” Clint smiled. “I love you, you know that right?”
“I know. I love you too.”
“Good,” Clint nodded. “Some guys say it all the time, but I really mean it.”
“I know,” Aurora said softly. “I can tell, and I really mean it too. We’ll be together forever.”
“Definitely,” Clint grinned. “We could get our own place, away from the Goldsworth.”
“What about our families?” Aurora laughed.
“I’m sure they’ll be okay. We could have kids.”
“Not for a few years, though,” Aurora laughed. “I don’t want stretch marks just yet.”
They both laughed, and Clint’s hand drifted down over her stomach, before the sound of a key in a lock made them both jump.
“Talking of stretch marks,” Clint winked, “I guess Zoe’s back now.”
Aurora stifled a laugh and went into the hallway, where Zoe was locking the front door behind her.
“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Zoe asked, suddenly looked concerned.
“No, don’t be silly,” Aurora smiled. “You’re back early.”
“Well, Brandy weren’t exactly being the best of friends,” Zoe sighed. “So she can go fuck herself.”
“You had a row?”
“Yeah, but that’s the last time,” Zoe said. “I don’t want anything to do with her anymore.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, I’ve got Sasha.”
“And me,” Aurora pointed out.
“And you,” Zoe smiled. “Was Sienna okay?”
Aurora nodded, “She’s been asleep all evening.”
“Great, so I can get straight to bed. Thank you for this, by the way.”
“No problem,” Aurora said. “It was fun.”
Zoe caught her eye and Aurora winked. Zoe grinned and gave her a hug, which Aurora returned.
“I guess we should be going,” Clint said, appearing in the doorway with his coat on. “I’ll walk you home.”
“Yeah, take care Zoe,” Aurora smiled.
In a few minutes, Aurora and Clint had crossed the estate and were outside Aurora’s front door. The walk went too quickly, and Aurora felt the urge to invite Clint inside, so they could spend all night in bed together, but she knew that her mother would flip out.
“Goodnight,” Aurora said softly, leaning into Clint. “Thanks for everything.”
“It should be me thanking you,” Clint whispered. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
When Clint had reluctantly disappeared into the darkness, Aurora let herself into the flat and closed the door as quietly as she could behind her. There was no sign of her mother, so she retreated to her bedroom and closed the door behind her.
In her own bedroom, Marlena grimaced. She had heard Aurora and Clint whispering goodnight to each other and whatever Aurora had said about babysitting, she knew that her daughter had been with the Jackson boy. The thought pained her.
Her daughter was no longer the innocent beauty she had once been and the thought stung at Marlena’s heart.
* * *
The darkness suddenly seemed alive with menace. Her hands reached out for the wall and clasped it as if it were a life raft in a raging ocean. Her nails were chipped now, from struggling against the two men, and she knew that she looked a state. Brandy steadied herself and readjusted her skirt. It was torn down one side and her thighs were bruised from their rough hands. Her knickers were somewhere on the floor, but Brandy didn’t care. She never wanted to see them again anyway.
She put one foot in front of the other and reached the stairs. She climbed them slowly, her body aching. Her make-up had run, not from tears but from sweat. She smelt of sex and disgrace. She gagged and threw up, the bile hot and vile in her mouth. Some had landed on her shoes, but she forced herself to keep climbing. Step by step.
She was nearly home.
After what seemed like an age she reached the top of the stairs. The light flickered in the wall and Brandy moved towards it.
Noises drifted from under doorways and every sound made her jump. She had seen Sam and his friend leave on their bikes, but there were always a hundred more guys waiting in the corners, waiting to take advantage, she saw that now.
When she reached Troy’s front door, Brandy paused. Could she go in like this? Would he take one look at her and throw her back out again, into the darkness? No, she told herself. Troy loved her. He would make sure everything was okay.
With shaking hands, Brandy clutched the door handle and pushed herself inside.
The kitchen was empty but noise from the lounge told her that at least somebody was still awake.
“Is that you Jessie?” a voice shouted.
Brandy closed the front door behind her and crossed the room. She went into the lounge and saw three pairs of eyes turn to her. Tyrese, Trent and Troy. Their eyes widened in surprise at the state of her, but Brandy forced herself not to cry and went through Troy’s open bedroom door and sat down on the bed.
She heard noise in the lounge, and Troy appeared in the doorway.
“You alright?” he asked, concern evident in his voice.
Brandy simply shook her head. She didn’t trust herself to speak.
“Good night?” Troy asked, forcing a smile. “You need some water?”
Brandy shook her head.
“You stink of sick,” Troy continued, “Why don’t you have a shower?”
“Troy -”
“It’s alright, babe, I’ll get you a drink.”
“No, I need to talk -”
“Wait a second, I’ll get you some water,” Troy interrupted again.
Brandy nodded and Troy disappeared again. Brandy slowly slipped out of her clothes, dropping them into the small rubbish bin in the corner of the room.
With apprehension, she stepped in front of the mirror. In the bright light of the bedroom, Brandy took in the damage. Large angry bruises covered her stomach and thighs, her inner legs a maze of scratches. Her lip was bleeding in the corner and her breasts had an angry bite mark. Sam’s golden teeth, Brandy thought with disgust. She lifted up her hair and tied it in a ponytail. Dried blood caked the lower layers of her hair and her head still ached.
A sound behind her made her jump and Brandy turned to see Troy. He looked her up and down, taking in her injuries, his face unreadable, but his fists clenching.
&n
bsp; “What happened?” he asked, his teeth clenched.
“Troy-”
“What happened, Brandy?” he repeated.
“These guys, I didn’t know -” Brandy stammered.
“Brandy, what the fuck happened?” Troy shouted, closing the distance between them and grabbing Brandy by the shoulders. “Tell me.”
Brandy felt tears well up in her eyes but wiped them away quickly. She couldn’t lose her cool now. She told Troy what had happened as briefly as she could. She didn’t want to remember the details and she definitely didn’t want Troy to. For all his love, it would change his feelings for her if he knew the things they’d whispered into her ears or the ways they’d made her hurt.
“They were Jayden’s guys?” Troy asked, after nearly a minute of silence.
Brandy nodded.
“Don’t worry,” he said, through gritted teeth, “I’ll sort it out.”
Brandy simply nodded and watched as Troy went back into the lounge. She knew that he would sort it out. She picked up a towel from the floor and took of her underwear, throwing them in the bin too. She would have a shower, and then she’d burn the clothes she’d worn tonight. She wanted no reminders of what had happened except the two men who had done it dead.
* * *
When Troy returned to the lounge, he could tell his brothers were trying their hardest to be patient. He had been only a few minutes with Brandy. She hadn’t gone into details about what had happened but he had known what she was saying as clearly as if he had been there. His fists ached but he couldn’t have unclenched them if he’d wanted to, such was his anger.
He sat down in an armchair and looked at his older brothers, who were watching him intensely, waiting for him to speak.
“What happened?” Tyrese prompted him gently, leaning forward.
Troy swallowed hard, hardly daring to speak the words, but he knew he would have to tell them. He needed their help.
“Two of Jayden’s guys fucked her.”
The words had the same impact as a gunshot would have. Tyrese and Trent looked shocked, the silence heavy in the room. Troy kept his eyes firmly on the floor, unable to look his brothers in the eye. Neither of their girlfriends had ever been fucked by a rival gang. The thought made him want to be sick.
“Just now?” Trent finally spoke. “Maybe we could catch them.”
“No,” Troy shook his head. “Brandy said they left. They had bikes.”
“Fucking cunts,” Trent spat, punching the wall.
“You sure it was Jayden’s guys?” Tyrese asked softly.
Troy nodded.
“Absolutely sure?” he repeated.
“Yeah,” Troy replied. “Brandy says one of them was called Sam. She’s seen them hanging around here before.”
“They better not show their faces around here again,” Trent growled.
“They won’t,” Tyrese said. “How is she?”
“How do you think she fucking is?” Troy retorted. “Some little-pricked shits fucked my girl in a fucking alleyway.”
Tyrese sighed. Normally he would have smacked Troy for such an outburst, especially directed towards him, but this wasn’t an ordinary circumstance so he let it pass.
“I know you’re angry,” Tyrese said after a few moments. “But you’ve got to stay strong for Brandy’s sake.”
Troy nodded.
“Now, she hasn’t called the pigs has she?” Tyrese continued.
“No, she ain’t stupid.”
“Right, so you’ll leave us to sort it,” Tyrese decided.
Troy looked up. He knew his face was registering shock, but he didn’t care.
“You’ll deal with it?” Troy asked, aghast. “I want proper revenge. They disrespected me. I want to be the one to do it. She’s my girl.”
Tyrese shook his head, but his face was calm.
“You can’t, Troy, they’ll be expecting you,” Tyrese said, and Trent nodded sympathetically. “But don’t worry, we’ll make sure we teach them a lesson. They disrespected our family and they’ll pay the price. Don’t worry about it.”
Troy was about to protest, but Trent subtly shook his head and he closed his mouth.
“Okay,” he sighed. “Let me know how it goes.”
Tyrese and Trent patted him on the back, and Troy retreated to his bedroom. He wanted revenge on the cunts who had shown him such disrespect. They would pay in blood for what they’d done and he’d just sit there and laugh.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The office was brightly lit and more orderly than Serena had remembered it. As she took a seat in front of Jenkins’ desk, she senses Casey taking the seat beside her, and she wondered briefly if he was as nervous as she was about the meeting.
“Tea or coffee?” Jenkins asked amiably, directing his question to Serena.
Serena shook her head.
“Very well,” Jenkins said. “Now, I suppose you understand why I’ve called this little meeting?”
“If you could just let me explain -” Serena began, but Jenkins held up a hand to silence her.
Serena closed her mouth, feeling her pulse quicken. Jenkins’ mood seemed reasonable, but that meant little. The meeting had been called for a reason and she was sure it wasn’t to congratulate them.
“Shaniqua Curtis’ murder,” Jenkins sighed. “The case is going cold. We’re getting nowhere.”
“With all due respect, sir, I think we’ve made some progress,” Serena said, knowing that if anyone would break this particular case, it would be her.
“Progress? What progress?” Jenkins asked, eyebrow raised. “There’s been no progress at all as far as I can see. You told me you had a possible witness, but nothing -”
“She’s just given birth, she’s scared for her safety, and can you blame her?”
“That as may, but that doesn’t help the investigation,” Jenkins continued. “You told me you had some possible suspects. The youngest Banks boy and his sidekick, but there’ve been no arrests.”
“They’re smart, they -”
“They’re kids, that’s what they are. And they’re running rings around you, Patterson, if they’re even the right culprits. There’s no evidence. Just a hunch.”
“Sir, you’ve got to understand the Goldsworth. As you said when you first brought me here, I know how the estate works. We just need to break through the wall of silence. One weak link in the chain, that’s all it’ll take and then everything will start coming out.”
Jenkins looked at her over the desk and Serena saw his resigned face. There were dark smudges under his eyes and Serena wondered which of his superiors were pressuring Jenkins for a result, in much the same way he was pressuring her.
“I understand where you’re coming from,” Jenkins said slowly. “But the we can’t afford to play the waiting game. Not this time. There’s too much media interest. The papers are suggesting we’re not even investigating the Curtis killing because we’ve wiped our hands of the Goldsworth. They’re making us out to be the bad guys, and the message from the top is that we need a fresh face.”
“Fresh face?”
“Yes, I’m sorry Patterson, I know you’ve given it your best,” Jenkins sighed. “Maybe a new pair of eyes will help us get a result, speed things up a bit.”
“Speed things up? That’s not possible. I know how it works on the Goldworth. Going in all-guns-blazing is the worst thing to do, especially now I’ve started making myself known.”
“The matter has already been discussed and approved,” Jenkins said, voice stern.
“You’re definitely taking me off the case then?”
“I’m afraid so. We’ll obviously pay for your transport back to Cornwall.”
“Sir, could I say a few words?”
Casey’s uncertain voice took both Serena and Jenkins by surprise and they both turned to look at him, leaning forward in his chair apprehensively. In the discussion, Serena had forgotten he’d been there. Surely, she inwardly groaned, Casey would not be sad to see
her go. He’d wanted this for weeks, since she’d first arrived in London.
“Very well, Casey,” Jenkins grumbled, clearly wanting to get the meeting finished so that he could finish his morning coffee. “What are your thoughts?”
“Well, I didn’t approve of Patterson’s methods at first,” Casey said, shooting a furtive glance at Serena. Serena felt herself slide further down in her seat, imagining the long list of complaints Casey would make about her work. “But,” Casey continued, “I changed my mind when I saw how she affected the kids on the Goldsworth. They listened to her, and she ruffled feathers, and -”
“Ruffled feathers?” Jenkins repeated incredulously. “I don’t want feathers ruffled. I want results and arrests. Witnesses and evidence. Not ruffled feathers.”
“But she was making progress,” Casey went on, his cheeks reddening, “I didn’t think she would, but she is. And I think she may be onto something with the Banks boy. Something’s going on with him and his friends, and if somebody else goes in they could miss it.”
Serena was surprised, to say the least. Casey was defending her, sticking up for her, and she felt a mixture of surprise and joy. Perhaps there was hope after all.
“Listen, I appreciate you’ve grown fond of having Patterson as a mentor,” Jenkins nodded, looking at Casey, “And maybe you have made some progress between you, but progress isn’t enough now. I can’t tell the press that we’ve ‘made progress’ and give no examples. They’d laugh me out of the conference room.”
“But sir, we would only need a little more time, to increase the pressure,” Casey insisted.
Jenkins was shaking his head, but he seemed shaken by Casey’s loyalty towards Serena, and Serena wanted to nod her head in encouragement at Casey, but didn’t dare.
“The matter is closed,” Jenkins said stubbornly.
Serena felt the breath leave her lungs in a long, drawn out sigh. There would be no getting around Jenkins’ decision.
“Just a few more days,” Serena asked, her voice pleading.
The Goldsworth Series Box Set Page 24