Amal beamed.
“Yeah,” he said. “I don’t care if Naz finds out or not, I want everyone to know that you’re my girlfriend.”
Shontelle kissed him again, and Amal held her against him. In that moment, he knew he would never let her go.
* * *
Charley Brunns sat up in her bed, listening to the gentle breathing of her son in the cot. She wished she could sleep as easily as he did, but she could not let herself relax after the phone call from her father.
He had called to let her know that Dante had agreed to send her a visiting order. She was not sure how he had done it, did not want to know, but now she felt uncertain. She had wanted this, had asked Nathaniel to do this for her, but now it was happening she was no longer sure she wanted to see Dante.
He had killed Bolton, stolen the love of her life, and she had spent what felt like an eternity hoping that she would never have to set eyes on him again. His threatening phone calls and his vile threats still plagued her, despite her brother’s best efforts to stop them, but that was not why she wanted to see him.
She knew something that he did not. She knew that he was a father, and now that she knew this secret, she felt for the first time that she had an advantage over him, no matter how small it might be. Knowledge was power, she had once been told, and she wanted to test that theory.
Sat alone in the dark, moonlight illuminating her sleeping son, she wondered if she was making a mistake. Bolton had made the mistake of underestimating Dante and it had cost him his life. Now she wondered if perhaps she was doing the same.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Troy had no appetite for breakfast, his stomach twisting in knots as he tried to think of anything except for what lay ahead today. He had known it was coming, had tried to prepare himself for it, but now that the day of his plea hearing had arrived it still felt like a shock. He had so much left that he had wanted to do with his life and spending the next few decades locked up was not on his to-do list.
He remembered how excited he had been to be back out on the streets and now it felt as if his brief freedom had been just a dream. He knew that if he pled guilty then he would not be free for a long time. His lawyer and Patterson had told him as much. He had agreed to the plea deal, but now the reality of it was sinking in. If he pled guilty then he would be sentenced today, and his life would be over. Perhaps it was already over, but if he pled not guilty then he would go to trial again and there was a chance, however small, that he could get lucky and be freed. He had done it before, perhaps he could do it again.
His holding cell felt hot, though he knew it was not. The collar of his shirt felt too tight, his cheap black suit claustrophobic, as if it was suffocating him. Perhaps it was the cell, or both. He fiddled with the hem of his suit jacket.
The thought of Patterson’s face if he pled not guilty was almost reason enough to do it, but if he went to trial and got sent down anyway then he would never see the outside of a prison cell. He knew that Patterson would see to that.
As much as he dreaded the thought of being back in prison, it was a foregone conclusion that he would serve time. It was just down to him how much time it would be.
He glanced down at the tray of untouched breakfast the guard had placed on his bed. He swallowed hard, unable to work up an appetite.
There was a buzz as the door was unlocked and the uniform came back.
“Come on Banks,” the man said. “Time to get you to court.”
Troy nodded and rose to his feet.
His time was up. He had to make his decision.
* * *
The court building loomed over them as Aurora waited for her mum to finish her cigarette. Marlena took a long drag and then another, shivering despite the sunshine. They had not spoken much on the bus. Aurora knew that her mother was anxious, much as she was, wondering if Troy was finally about to do the right thing, or if they had been too hopeful that Shaniqua might finally have justice.
Aurora did not dare get her hopes up. She was too afraid of having her heart broken again to think that today might finally bring some closure to them. Her mother forced a smile as she dropped her cigarette and crushed it with her heel.
“Come on, let’s get this done,” Marlena said. Her voice was resolute, but Aurora knew that she must be shaking with nerves inside. She was grateful for her mother’s strength. It helped her to keep her own emotions under control.
Aurora’s hands shook as they went up the steps, but her mother instinctively reached for her hand and squeezed it in hers. Aurora swallowed hard to will herself from crying, and they left the sunshine and went inside.
* * *
Charley did not like lying to her family, but she knew that they would not understand what she was about to do. She could already hear her mother’s outrage if she told her that she was going to visit Dante in prison today.
She had kept the visiting order a secret, and her family remained none the wiser, with the possible exception of her brother, who had seemed to sense that she was hiding something but had not asked her.
“Where are you off out to then?” her mother asked, when Charley dropped Junior off at her flat.
“I just have some stuff to do and I thought you might want to spend some time with your grandson,” Charley replied, hating herself for lying so brazenly. “If it’s too much trouble, then I can just -”
“No, no, don’t be foolish,” her mother quickly admonished her. “Of course, it’s no trouble. You know this little one makes my day.”
Charley smiled, relieved. She checked her phone for the time, anxious that she not miss the bus. She had planned her journey to the prison, and if she missed the bus and was left with all that extra time waiting for another one, she might change her mind and not go at all.
“I should be off mum,” she said, kissing Junior on the forehead and backing her way to the door in case her mother made a fuss, but she was too distracted cooing over her grandson. “I’ll give you a call in a while,” Charley called as she left the flat.
She was halfway down the stairs when she let out an inward groan. Asher climbed the stairs towards her, raising an eyebrow in surprise at seeing her here.
“What are you up to?” he asked.
“Nothing, I just dropped Junior off with mum so she can spend some time with him,” she lied. She found it especially hard lying to her brother, but what choice did she have?
Asher did not seem to buy it.
“You really going to lie to me right now?” he asked.
“What do you –”
“Carl has been keeping an eye on Dante whilst they get ready for his trial,” Asher told her, hand on hip. “He gets notified when he sends a visiting order. He told me the second your name came up.”
“Asher, please don’t make this a big deal,” Charley sighed.
“It is a big deal.”
“I was the one who wanted the visit,” Charley told him. “I need this.”
“His trial starts tomorrow, Char, this is the last thing you should be doing.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Charley said. “This is probably a huge mistake, but I have to do this. I can’t explain it properly to you, but I need this.”
Asher looked at her, and she saw the reluctance in his eyes to let her go, but he gave a long sigh and stepped aside.
“Be careful Charley,” he said quietly. “You can’t trust him, and I don’t want you to get upset. He’s not worth it, he really isn’t.”
“I won’t let him upset me,” Charley reassured him, hoping that if she said the words it might make them true.
Asher did not seem to believe her, but he did not stop her.
Charley walked down the stairs, giving him a grateful smile.
“I’m guessing mum doesn’t know,” he called after her.
“Don’t breathe a word to her,” Charley warned him, and Asher gave a laugh.
At the bottom of the stairs, she took a deep breath. It was not too late to turn around and g
o back upstairs, but she kept going, through the doors and down to the bus stop.
There was no going back, she decided, not now.
* * *
Clint stared down at his phone screen as he lay in his hospital bed, anxious that Aurora was at court without him, though he wondered if that was not best for them both. He knew that perhaps the outcome of the plea hearing could determine their own future, and he also understood that this was something that Aurora needed to do without him.
She had text him to say that they had arrived in court and that she had to turn her phone off now. All he could do was wait now.
The curtain surrounding his bed was tugged open and his mother bustled in with a pram. Angel smiled at him, and Clint felt a momentary break from the stress as he looked at his daughter.
“Here’s your daddy,” Femi cooed down at Angel, as she pulled the curtains back into place and bent down to pick her up. Angel wriggled as she was placed in Clint’s arms, her eyes fixed on his face and her lips twitching in a smile.
“Thanks mum,” Clint said, grateful for the distraction.
“It’s no trouble at all,” she cried. “Your father would have come, but -”
“Don’t make excuses for him, please,” Clint sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t care that he’s not here. I don’t want him anywhere near my daughter.”
Femi nodded, her eyes watering. He knew that she got upset when he spoke like that, but Clint had no choice but to be firm.
“Any sign of Kojo?” Clint asked, watching her closely for her reaction.
“Oh, he sends his love,” Femi said, and he knew she was lying. “He’s busy with his friends. You know what you were like at that age.”
Clint did not want to think that Kojo would be getting into as much trouble as he had, but he had no right to stop him. He sighed, trying not to let thoughts of his father or his brother cast a shadow over his time with Angel.
He smiled as his daughter’s hands grabbed at one of his fingers and squeezed. He forced thoughts of Troy and everyone else from his mind, grateful in that moment just to be with his daughter.
Whatever happened outside of his hospital room, he could do nothing now except wait.
* * *
The courtroom was filling up and Serena felt her blood pulsing with adrenaline. She smiled at Aurora and her mother as they took their seats, and she shared their anxiety over whether Troy could be trusted to stick to the plea deal he had made.
As more people took their seats, Serena slipped out the door and went down the corridor. She caught sight of Troy’s lawyer emerging from the toilets and he grimaced as she approached.
“Is your client sticking to our deal?” she asked him.
He narrowed his eyes as he stuck his hands in his trouser pockets.
“I’ve told him time and again what’s in his best interests,” he told her. “If he chooses to go against that, then it’s on him.”
He shrugged and went through a door that led down to the cells where Troy was being held until he walked into the dock. Serena resisted the urge to go after him and speak to Troy herself. It would do no good. All she could do was wait for what he did, just like everyone else.
The door swung shut behind the lawyer, and Serena turned on her heel and treaded back down the hallway to the court room.
She took a seat at the back of the room and clasped her hands together as the room fell silent as the proceedings began.
* * *
Keskia Banks rose with everyone else as the judge entered the room. She hardly heard anything that he said, her son’s name the only words that she picked up, so lost in thoughts she was. She could not bring herself to stay away, even if she had given up on Troy.
This was perhaps his chance to right some of the many wrongs he had done. She was hardly breathing by the time Troy was led into the room in his suit and stood beside his lawyer.
She was relieved that he did not stand in the dock this time, but she knew that the situation was no less serious. She willed him to look back at her and see the hope in her eyes, but he did not and so she clasped her hands together and said a silent prayer for her son.
* * *
Troy felt all eyes on him as he stood for the charges against him to be read.
The judge looked down at him, his expression neutral. The man neither liked nor disliked him, he was just doing his job. Troy got some small comfort from that at least. His mind raced and his stomach twisted with nerves.
He had caught a glimpse of his mother as he had walked into the court room, and Aurora and her mum too. He had not seen Patterson. Perhaps she had stayed away, he thought, or perhaps she was hiding in the shadows enjoying his suffering.
“I will read the charges against you, Mister Banks,” the judge told him. “And then I will ask you how you plead, do you understand?”
Troy nodded. He could almost feel the heat from his lawyer beside him. He looked more stressed than Troy felt, he thought.
“Troy Banks, you have been charged with the murders of Shaniqua Curtis, Sasha Morton, Wright O’Neill, and the attempted murder of Clint Jackson,” the judge said, reading from his papers. He looked up from the paper, his eyes locking on to Troy. “How do you plead?”
Troy took a deep breath. He knew that the next words out of his mouth would decide his future, would impact the rest of his life.
He swallowed hard. He was so nervous he could hardly bring himself to speak.
“How do you plead, Mr Banks?” the judge asked him again.
The court room was so silent that it was almost deafening.
Troy cleared his throat.
“I plead guilty.”
* * *
Dante swallowed hard as he crossed the visiting room, weaving between tables, and his palms were damp with sweat by the time he reached Charley Brunns. He hesitated for a second before sitting across from her.
He eyed her for a long moment, leaning back in his plastic chair, trying to appear relaxed though his heart was pounding with nerves. Charley looked uncomfortable. Her hair was tied back, no make-up on her face, but he felt frustrated that she still looked good, that motherhood did not appear to be taking its toll on her. Her arms were folded across her chest, and her eyes surveyed him as if she was looking at a particularly unpleasant mess on the kitchen floor. It angered him, but he remained composed.
They sat in silence for a long moment, until Dante cleared his throat, waiting for her to break the silence, explain why she had wanted to see him.
“I didn’t expect you to agree to seeing me,” Charley said eventually. Her arms did not unfold from her chest, and her voice was harsh, cold.
“Well your dear dad didn’t give me much choice,” Dante pointed out, keeping his voice light, though it took a lot of effort.
“My dad?” Charley asked, her brow furrowing.
Dante sniggered.
“Don’t play games,” Dante said. He didn’t care if her daddy hadn’t told her about the threat, he just wanted this over with. “Just get to the point. What do you want to see me for? Thought I’d be the last person you’d want to have a chat with.”
“Believe me, you are,” Charley said, shaking her head. A strand of loose hair fell across her face, and she quickly brushed it away and folded her arms again. Her eyes looked down at the table between them, and she appeared uncertain now. “I don’t really know why I wanted to see you.”
“Miss the phone calls do you?” Dante asked, his nerves gone, enjoying her discomfort. Her eyes shot back to his face, lips curling with disgust. He grinned, pressing the point. “Want me to talk dirty to you? I can probably pay that officer off, turn a blind eye if you want my hand in your panties.”
“You make me sick,” Charley snapped, pushing away from the table. “Maybe this was a mistake.” She looked as if she was about to stand, call off the visit.
“You said it,” Dante shrugged.
“I thought you might show some remorse,” Charley said, talking quickly, leanin
g forward, and he saw the discomfort gone, replaced with the repressed rage and emotion that Dante had known was bubbling just beneath her frosty exterior. “That being in here, locked-up, might have given you time to think about what you did, but it’s clear you’re still the same pathetic psychopath you always were.”
“Pathetic?” Dante repeated. “That hurts my feelings, Charley.”
His voice was mocking, and he knew it would rile her further. It was fun, he decided, to play with her emotions like this, he thought. Just like the phone calls.
“It’s true though, isn’t it?” Charley said, sitting back, regaining some of her composure. She sniggered. “You were always just Bolton’s sidekick, weren’t you?”
“Sidekick?” Dante repeated, offended. He felt wrongfooted now that she seemed to be mocking him, now that she looked at him with disdain. “Remind me which of us is living it large and which ones in a coffin right now?”
“Bolton’s only dead because he tried to help you out and you were too selfish and drugged up to realise,” Charley pointed out, shaking her head.
“Help me?” Dante laughed, leaning forward. His mocking tone was gone, anger rising. “Your precious boyfriend robbed me.”
“No, he didn’t, Dante, he was trying to stop you getting yourself killed.”
“He really did one over on you, didn’t he?” Dante said, trying to control his anger, forcing himself to let out a low laugh. “Even now he’s dead you still get wet thinking about him. It’s sad, really it is.”
“You don’t like talking about it, do you?” Charley said, seeming to sense weakness within him that even he had not noticed before. Dante’s eyes narrowed, but Charley pressed the point, leaning forward. “Makes you uncomfortable when I say that he was trying to protect you, and you betrayed him and killed him anyway. Feel guilty, do you?”
“I did what I had to do,” Dante said, trying to keep his voice level.
“You didn’t have to kill him,” Charley said. “You could have been a decent human being, but that’s impossible for you, isn’t it? You just had to drag him down with you and then you killed him for it.”
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