The Goldsworth Series Box Set

by Davie J Toothill

  Sapphire felt a shiver of fear course through her body. Dante, energized by his anger, noticed nothing.

  “What’s going to happen to him then?” Sapphire asked.

  Dante sniggered.

  “Uncle Jasper wants him dead,” he said, with a laugh. “And he wants me to be the one to do it. And when I’ve finished him off, I’ll be the protégé, I’ll be the one that gets the big money and I’ll have my own driver. I won’t be the skivvy anymore. I’ll be the real deal.”

  He felt powerful now. Any trace of doubt he’d had was gone, replaced with an eager determination. He remembered how it had felt to strike Ritchie with the crowbar. He had been like a God, able to decide whether somebody would live or die, and how much they would suffer. It had been a good feeling, and one he was now eager to repeat.

  He rose to his feet.

  “Thanks, mate, I needed that chat,” he said, smiling now. “I’ve got some stuff to sort out, but I’ll be over later in the week. Have a few cans, maybe get a party going. I’ll be in the big bucks by then.”

  Sapphire half-rose to her feet but Dante was already strolling out of the house, whistling to himself. She got up and went to the cabinet, pouring herself a strong vodka, which she downed in one gulp. She now understood the true meaning of the old saying ‘Better not to know’, although she wished that she didn’t.

  * * *

  Charley watched as Bolton rocked their son in his arms, smiling down at him. She had not been in their flat since their argument and she felt a strange mixture of feelings, as if she had never lived here, as if she was a stranger in these rooms, though she knew that she had spent months here, preparing for the baby’s arrival and worrying about Bolton.

  “He has your eyes,” Bolton said, looking up at her. “He’s going to be a stunner, that’s for sure.”

  Charley smiled.

  “Takes after his dad in the looks department then,” she said, and Bolton grinned.

  “You’re not so bad yourself,” he said, and they both laughed.

  She felt pleased with how things were between them now. In the few weeks since their son had been born, Bolton had visited her every day and when she had been let out of hospital, he had insisted she and the baby move back into the flat. Charley had agreed, not just because Bolton had been so caring towards them both, but because she didn’t want to return to her mother’s flat, especially not with a newborn.

  Now she had moved back in, she felt as if she and Bolton may have a future together after all. It seemed he had changed since their break-up. He seemed calmer. Though there was still an edge to him, Charley sensed that something had happened to change his views on his boss and the dangerous line of work he had been pursuing. He no longer answered the calls on his phone from work, and he spent the evenings at the flat with her and the baby, rather than wondering the streets doing whichever jobs he had been tasked with.

  “We should start thinking of names,” Bolton said, passing the baby back to her.

  She cradled him against her chest, and nodded.

  “I’ve got a list, but now that he’s here, none of them seem to fit,” she said, sighing. “I thought it’d be really easy, picking a name. Now it’s time, though, I don’t have a clue.”

  “Well whatever you decide on, I’m cool with.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Charley said, “We’ll both agree on one together.”

  Bolton nodded, evidently pleased by her words.

  “We should probably talk about the future too,” Charley said, bracing herself for the conversation that she knew they needed to have.

  Bolton looked startled, but nodded in resignation.

  “How do you mean?” he asked.

  “I mean, what’s going to happen later?” Charley asked, trying to keep her tone light. Bolton looked at her inquiringly, and Charley went on, “Between us, I mean.”

  “If you’re worried I’m not going to be here for you, you’re wrong. I’ll be here for you both, I promise.”

  “You promised that last time, when I first told you I was pregnant, and look how that turned out,” Charley said quietly. “I’m not having a go at you, but I need to know.”

  “I’ve changed now,” Bolton said, determined. “I won’t let you down.”

  “But what happens when you meet someone else, or you want to bring mates round, or girls even?”

  “Don’t be stupid, I wouldn’t do that.”

  “It’s not stupid, it’s just life. You’re going to want to find a girl, settle down, and I don’t blame you, but what happens to us?” Charley asked, indicating herself and the baby, trying not to sound accusatory. “You might want to bring her round, or let her move in, and I can’t stay here without knowing exactly where I stand.”

  “I don’t want any other girls,” Bolton said, lowering his eyes. “I just want you.”

  Charley shook her head.

  “You say that now, but –”

  “No, I mean it,” Bolton insisted. “I know what a twat I’ve been, thinking about money instead of you and the baby, but I’m not like that anymore. I’m not going to work for Uncle Jasper anymore. I don’t need money; don’t need this fancy place, just as long as I’ve got you two.”

  Charley felt herself smiling. She could hear the determination, the resolve in his voice. She knew he was being honest.

  “You really mean it?”

  “Yeah,” Bolton nodded, his lips twitching now, his eyes meeting hers.

  Charley leant forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. His eyes softened and he kissed her back, deeper this time, and she felt her heart bursting with happiness. She knew that he meant what he said and that meant they had a future together. There would be no more lies, no more arguments or hurting, just them and their baby. A proper family, filled with love and happiness.

  Bolton’s phone began to ring and he glanced at it nervously.

  “You can answer it,” she said, with a slight laugh, and Bolton relaxed. “I understand you’ve got to tell him you’re quitting. It’s Dante calling, I’m guessing?”

  Bolton nodded and smiled too.

  “I don’t know how he’s going to take it, but I guess he’ll just have to suck it up. He shouldn’t be too upset anyway; he’ll probably get a promotion or something. I should probably go and see him though, tell him face to face.”

  “Yeah, it’s better coming from you,” Charley agreed.

  “Then I’ll go and see Uncle Jasper, tell him that I’m quitting,” he said, sounding unnerved at the prospect. “But once that’s done, I’ll be straight back here.”

  “Good,” Charley said, and found she still couldn’t take the smile off her face. “I’m going to take the baby round my mum’s flat, parade him round everyone. Asher and Carl should be going around too, now he’s up and about and back to work.”

  “Just don’t let your mum preach at our baby though,” Bolton groaned, “We don’t want him turning out like her.”

  They both laughed, and Charley felt as if her life had finally become whole. Bolton got up and got the pram ready, and they walked downstairs together, stopping on the pavement outside.

  “I love you,” Charley said, kissing him on the lips.

  “I love you too,” he said, holding her to him for a moment, and then released her, kissing their son on the forehead. “I’ll see you later on.”

  * * *

  As Bolton walked across the grass, he wondered why Dante had insisted they meet here. The playing fields on the edge of the Goldsworth Estate had been a hangout of theirs, where they’d drank and smoked weed in the small kid’s playground after dark, but they hadn’t been here in a while, and it seemed an unusual place to conduct business. Dante had not specified what he had wanted to meet for, but Bolton had not minded. He didn’t want to know about any more business deals. He was only meeting him to tell him that he was leaving Uncle Jasper’s employ and that he was leaving all of this behind him.

  He looked around and realised how deserted the area w
as. The sun was beginning to set beneath the trees that lined the playing fields and he felt unease creeping over him. Dante hadn’t sounded himself on the phone, but he had put it down to snorting too much coke. Other possibilities occurred to him now as he walked across the quiet field, his senses alert to the slightest sound or movement.

  His phone rang as he reached the kid’s playground on the edge of the pitch and he pulled it out of his pocket. Dante had not arrived yet and Bolton answered, keeping his eyes roving around the area for the first sight of his friend.

  He looked down and was surprised to see that Sapphire was the caller. He answered, wondering why she would be contacting him. She sounded uncertain, scared even, and he listened to her, his mind racing as her worlds tumbled out over each other, only slightly slurred by a few strong vodkas.

  When she’d hung up, he stared at the ground for a long moment, stunned by what he had heard. He swallowed down his panic and scrolled through his phone contacts. He didn’t have time to freak out.

  He found the number he was looking for and dialled, hoping there would be an answer. He sighed with relief when the ringing stopped and Asher answered.

  * * *

  Dante walked across the park towards Bolton, and he felt his heart pumping fast, but didn’t feel nervous. He knew that this was the ultimate justice. Nobody got away with stealing from him or taking him for a mug. Bolton would soon realise that.

  Bolton looked up from his seat on the swing, and slowly rose to his feet. Dante smiled, not taking his hand out of his pocket. His fingers clasped the handle of the knife tightly.

  “You all right?” he asked, and Bolton laughed.

  “That the best you can do?” he asked. Dante was taken aback. Bolton shook his head, “For God’s sake Dante, we’ve been best mates for years. And the best you can do is that? Come on, I deserve better than that, given how you’re about to kill me.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  “What are you talking about?” Dante asked, shifting from foot to foot, caught off guard.

  “What, did I get it wrong?” Bolton asked, his voice more confident than he felt. “So you’re telling me that Uncle Jasper didn’t send you here to kill me?”

  Dante shook his head and swore loudly, kicking the ground.

  “That fucking bitch,” he growled, “Sapphire told you, right?”

  “It doesn’t matter who told me,” Bolton shrugged, looking at him, “It’s true then?”

  Dante nodded.

  “Yeah.”

  Bolton sighed.

  “You told Uncle Jasper that I’d stolen the money?”

  “Nope, I told him the truth mate,” Dante said, taking a few steps closer. “I told him how I’d stolen it, then you’d taken it off me. You were so high and fucking mighty, and all along you just wanted it for yourself.”

  “Don’t be stupid, I didn’t want that money.”

  Dante laughed.

  “So you won’t mind telling me where it is then,” he said, smiling widely.

  “I can’t do that,” Bolton said quietly.

  Anger flashed across Dante’s face, but he composed himself, forcing a smile.

  “Listen, if you tell me, I can let you go,” he said, “You can grab your stuff together and disappear.”

  Bolton smiled, wondering at Dante’s words and how he could say them so truthfully when they were lies. Maybe he believed them to be true, Bolton no longer knew or cared.

  “You were never a good liar mate.”

  “I’m serious,” Dante said.

  “I can’t trust you. I tell you where it is, you kill me. If I don’t, you kill me anyway,” Bolton said, “From my end, it ain’t looking all that great for me, so why would I want to help you out?”

  Dante looked agitated, but took a few moments to consider him. He could see the truth in his words. Bolton waited, holding his breath, for the reply.

  “We could make a deal,” Dante suggested.

  “I thought you were sucking up to Uncle Jasper,” Bolton said, “But I guess loyalty ain’t your strong point.”

  Dante shrugged, “Fuck that old twat, give me the money and I’ll let you go.”

  “You think Uncle Jasper won’t check I’m dead?”

  “He trusts me,” Dante said, the pride clear in his voice.

  Bolton felt a moment’s pity for him.

  “He doesn’t trust you, he’s just making you do this to punish you for taking the money in the first place,” Bolton said, hoping that the honesty in his words would strike a chord with Dante. “If you think he cares about you, you’re deluded.”

  Dante shook his head, eyes narrowing.

  “You still think you’re better than me, don’t you?” he said angrily.

  “No, I just see what I see.”

  “You ain’t worth shit to him now,” Dante spat, voice rising. He pulled his hand out of his pocket, brandishing a small blade. “I’m the next big thing.”

  “He doesn’t care about you,” Bolton persisted, hoping he could get through to him, aware that time was running out, his eyes focused on the knife. “He’s using you, like he was using me, like he was using everyone. He won’t care if you get nicked for this.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” Dante snapped, waving the knife around. “I’ll tell you what this is. This is you being jealous of me, because I’m taking over from you now.”

  “I don’t want to work for Uncle Jasper, I only came here to tell you I was quitting.”

  Dante eyed Bolton suspiciously.

  “You’re lying,” he said.

  “Nope, I’m not,” Bolton said, keeping his voice level, not wanting to make Dante any angrier. “Charley had the baby a couple of weeks ago. A little boy. I don’t need Uncle Jasper or his money. I just need Charley and my son.”

  “Going to play happy families?” Dante sniggered.

  “I was going to ask Charley to marry me,” Bolton said.

  As he spoke the words, regret washed over him. He realised that this would be the place he died. He would never get to propose to Charley, or see her again. He would never see their son grow old, or give Charley a daughter, or get married.

  “Yeah, well you still could,” Dante said, sensing Bolton’s thoughts. His voice was calmer now, “Just tell me where the money is, and you can walk off and be a daddy.”

  “I can’t,” Bolton said, feeling the hopelessness of the situation more acutely than before.

  Dante ran a hand over his head in agitation, stepping backwards and forwards in frustration.

  “Don’t play these games with me,” he said, threatening. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will do.”

  “I can’t tell you where it is, because I don’t know,” Bolton sighed. “When I found out why you were coming, I made a few calls, and I got the money moved. You’ll never find it.”

  “Don’t lie,” Dante snapped, though the fear was evident in his eyes.

  “It’s the truth,” Bolton said calmly. Dante looked worried, and Bolton pressed on, “Damn, Uncle Jasper ain’t going to be happy with you, is he?”

  “You fucking bastard,” Dante shouted.

  “I’d run if I was you. I called the police too; they’ll be crawling all over here in a few minutes.”

  “You wouldn’t phone the pigs,” Dante said, unsure and scared.

  “Wouldn’t I?”

  “Just get me the money mate.”

  Bolton shook his head and opened up his hands, palms upwards, in a gesture of helplessness.

  “Fuck off,” he said, eyeing Dante with distaste. “And you ain’t my mate.”

  Dante let out a howl of anger and lunged forwards. Bolton took a step back, but Dante’s move had taken him by surprise. Sirens sounded nearby and flashing lights appeared in his peripheral vision. Bolton felt hopeful. He would be saved, things would be all right.

  He barely felt it when the knife pierced his chest, slicing through his skin and sliding between his ribs. He felt a moment’s shock and his eyes wide
ned. Dante looked just as surprised and let go of the knife, backing away, his face a mask of horror.

  Bolton looked down at the blood spreading from the knife handle, which still protruded from his tracksuit jumper. He looked across the playing fields and saw police vans, flashing lights, and men in uniform rushing across the grass towards them. He thought he saw an ambulance, but it was all a blur.

  Then he dropped to the floor and the police were getting closer, and Dante was being wrestled to the ground, handcuffs on his wrists, and a familiar face was staring down at him. Bolton looked into Asher’s eyes, saw the look on his face, and knew it was bad.

  He opened his mouth to speak, to tell him to make sure Charley and their baby knew how much he loved them both, how much he wished things could have been different, and a trickle of blood pooled in the corner of his mouth. He clutched the front of Asher’s shirt, pulling him closer so their faces were just inches apart, and whispered his final words.

  With his strength crumbling, his grasp loosened and his arms fell to his side. Asher swallowed hard.

  Bolton looked up at the sky, the first stars appearing in the growing darkness, and thought of Charley and his son as he stopped breathing.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Charley sat in her mother’s kitchen, a fluttering of fear in the pit of her stomach, as she wondered what was going on. The baby began to cry and she rocked the pram, the noise adding to her worries. She needed Bolton here, where he could reassure her, make her feel like she could raise this child and make sure he felt loved and protected.

  She had no idea what was going on in the hallway but she knew that it was serious. She had come round earlier, after leaving the flat, and had been pleased to find that Asher and Carl were in the flat, drinking tea with Toni and chatting. They had all hovered over the baby when she had arrived, complimenting him and picking him up, and smiling. Then Asher had gotten a phone call. He had told them both to stay in the flat and not to leave, and when Charley had told him she was going home, back to the flat she shared with Bolton, he had insisted she stay here. Then he and Carl had rushed out, and Charley had felt a creeping sense of unease. Then twenty minutes ago, they had returned and Carl had come into the kitchen. He told Charley to stay where she was and took Toni outside. Whatever he had said, Toni had been worried, because Charley had heard her shout to Torey to take Huw into the bedroom and keep him in there. She had sounded alarmed, panicked, and Charley had not heard that in her mother’s voice before.