by Jan Graham
And they said I’d never amount to anything.
“But we can’t find her, Boss,” Remo’s voice croaked.
“You say she can’t be found, Remo, well I’m saying I don’t give a fucking rats ass what you think. I want her found even if you have to turn this city upside down,” Nigel hissed. “And as a little encouragement to help you get the job done, think about this. For every day you don’t find her, I’m withholding five-hundred dollars each from your final paychecks. That’s one thousand dollars a day in my pocket, not yours. Incentive enough gentlemen?”
Nigel didn’t conceal his sneer as Remo and Cliff nodded their stunned understanding. Money spoke all languages. Give it or take it away, the power was the same. Money did make the world go around, and it was the sole reason Nigel was in the business of crime. Sure, he could have studied and worked his way up a corporate ladder to achieve wealth, but that would have taken time. Now, at the ripe old age of thirty-six, he’d acquired more money than he knew what to do with. Still, there was always room in the bank for more.
Nigel glanced over at Mr. Oshimara’s delivery boy, Nik something-or-other. The man sat in the back row of the meeting, a grin firmly implanted on his face. If he thought this was amusing, Nigel would soon change his mind.
“What are you looking at?” Nigel snarled, settling an intense glare on Nik. “Instead of sitting there grinning like an idiot and taking up space on my sofa, you could earn your keep by going out with Remo and Cliff to help look for her.”
“Not my job.” Nik sipped on his bottle of Saké, infuriating Nigel with his contemptuous attitude. “I work for Mr. O, I collect and deliver for him, not you.”
“While you’re here, you’ll do as I say, and I say you’ll help look for this whore,” Nigel commanded.
He didn’t like Nik. Didn’t trust him. When he first heard about the Australian who Oshimara hired, the man who’d worked his way into his Boss’s confidence, he wondered what the deal was. One year on, Nigel remained skeptical. Oshimara might think Nik was wonderful, but all Nigel saw was a threat. Everyone had an ulterior motive, and Nik would be no exception. The muscle-bound baboon sipping Saké on his sofa could easily replace him. If Oshimara became dissatisfied with Nigel’s work, he could very well ask Nik to take over, and maybe, that was Nik’s plan. Nigel would make sure that didn’t happen, and the best way of doing that was ensure another happy client sang his praises. Hence, he needed to find this dark-haired bitch who managed to give his men the slip.
“As I said, Nigel, I don’t work for you, and I’m sure Mr. O would be interested in hearing about the situation you have here. Losing a prospective bag of cash like this is concerning,” Nik didn’t stop grinning as he spoke.
If Nigel were a more robust man, he’d be tempted to wipe the smile off Nik’s face. Given his tall lanky frame, as compared to the hulk sitting on his sofa, Nigel knew any attempt would end in disaster. A bullet in the head when the guy wasn’t looking would be more effective, and usually, the way Nigel preferred to work. That, or an easier target like a petite terrified young woman who wouldn’t dare deny him what he sought.
“I’ll apprise Mr. Oshimara of the situation myself, thank you, Nik.” You fucking arrogant shithead. “I assumed, being on the same team, you might be interested in making this negotiation go a little easier for our Boss. I see now that’s not the case.”
“I’ll lend a hand for Mr. O’s benefit, just not someone who makes demands rather than asks politely, Nigel,” Nik’s response infuriated him.
Conceited, pompous, oversized, prick.
Nik reminded Nigel of all the jocks at school who couldn’t wait to flush his head down the toilet, push him over, or beat him up just because they were bigger and more popular than him. If his family had money, then Nigel could have bought them off, but not having spare change at school meant he became the punching bag, the just for kicks plaything who kept the brutes of the school amused. The girls were worse. They worshipped the jocks, ogled their brawny physiques, and did everything but lay down in front of the guys spreading their legs for them. They ignored Nigel, except when they were giggling at one of the pranks the jocks inflicted on him.
Nigel felt a great deal of satisfaction knowing his life was different now. He had money, enough to buy anyone or anything. He took women whenever the job required it, and sometimes, when it didn’t—just for kicks sex took on a whole new meaning when you kidnapped the girl first.
“Well then, Nik, would you mind helping Remo and Cliff look for this woman?” Nigel asked as calmly as he could, hating that Nik trumped him in front of his men.
“Sure thing, Nigel.” That grin remained on Nik’s face. Whatever game he played, Nigel assumed Nik was enjoying it. “I’m not on it full time though, I’ll pass on any information I find out to Remo and Cliff, but they can do the legwork.”
Remo and Cliff seemed pleased with the arrangement, probably because they had someone else to blame if they couldn’t find the woman.
“As for our other targets, Bones and Cannibal, you have the two runners-up to collect. I want all bases covered with the client’s three choices. We’ll send all three to Mr. Oshimara, and he can do whatever he likes with the leftovers.” Nigel noticed everyone nodding except Nik, who’d lost the grin replacing it with a deadly frown.
“I’m only sanctioned to take one. So, put everyone on the client’s first choice. The other two aren’t needed, and three missing women draw more attention from authorities than one,” Nik stated.
Nigel wasn’t sure what was going on with the guy. Surely, he could see the financial benefit of selling three. Unless, making Nigel look incompetent in the eyes of Oshimara was part of Nik’s plan.
“We take all three,” Nigel countered. “I’ll speak to Mr. O, as you like to call him, and see if the others are of use to him. If not, then we’ll keep them here for our own personal entertainment before disposing of them. After all, that’s one of the perks of the job, Nik.”
Nigel felt a chill run down his spine in response to the murderous glare Nik gave, helping Nigel decide a bullet could be on the big guy’s dance card very soon.
Chapter Six
Bethany sat at her father’s bedside watching him sleep. The first twenty-four hours were torturous, not knowing if he’d survive the surgery, then waiting for him to wake after was the worst time of her young life. Of course, he’d come through the ordeal just fine. Now, it was a case of letting his body heal, ‘a slow process’ the doctor had told them.
If it was any other surgeon, she would have assumed the statement was standard fare for the families of motor accident victims. But she knew Daniel Shore, he was friends with the family, so Bethany knew what he said wasn’t just lip service.
The message alert on her phone went off, causing her father to stir.
“What are you still doing here?” he sounded groggy.
Beth glanced at the screen on her cell. It was Marcus. Her gut churned with the decision to ignore the alert for the time being.
“I’m keeping an eye on you while mum’s getting us coffee,” Beth replied.
She loved her parents deeply. They’d always been there for her, and now, it was her turn to be there for them.
“I don’t need a babysitter, and your mum should be at the café. Who’s doing the cooking?” Beth laughed. Her dad did most of the cooking at the coffee shop they owned. He was territorial about his kitchen and only let a couple of part-time cooks share his grill.
“Ned and Jennifer are working the kitchen, Dad, there’s no need to worry. After all, you trained them. The grill’s in good hands.”
Her father grunted in reply and closed his eyes. He slept a lot. Daniel said it was a combination of the pain medication and his body repairing itself the only way it knew how, by forcing him to rest.
“I’m not going to die, you know that, don’t you? You can go home and visit me when you’re not working.” He opened his eyes to a squint as he clearly fought the need to sleep. �
�I love you, Beth baby.”
“Love you too, Dad.” Beth leaned in and kissed his cheek. “And I know you’re not going to die, you’re too bullheaded for that. I just want to be here for a while with you and mum and the girls.”
His accident was a wake-up call. One of those moments when everything comes into perspective and the blessings and deficits in a person’s life become clear. Beth needed to make decisions and some of them wouldn’t be easy ones.
Unlike a lot of Marcus’ team who were either estranged from family or simply didn’t have any to speak of, Beth had loved ones. Her parents and her sisters were a major part of her life, and she didn’t want to lose them.
Over the last four years, she’d neglected family life, the truth of what she did for a living totally concealed from her family and friends. It was just her family now, most of her friends falling by the wayside, something she regretted but allowed to happen as a form of natural attrition. Constantly declining invites to social events wasn’t a way to maintain a friendship, and eventually, the invites stopped coming. She didn’t want that to happen with her family. Prior to the accident, they’d commented on her absence, that she rarely visited, was always busy.
The potential to become estranged was there. Work meant visits to them were infrequent. Associating with them meant they were potentially in danger simply because of what she did for a living. Marcus drummed that into her from the moment she started working for him, and for that reason, she always took precautions when coming to visit. Beth knew the situation somehow needed to change, what she couldn’t figure out was how.
She hated lying to them, but it was unavoidable. They could never know what she did, never meet or know the real identity of her work colleagues. Then there was Marcus. He remained compassionate and understanding about her need to be here. He’d hugged her and given her one final kiss before she hopped into the car and drove away. What Beth had needed was him by her side, supporting her during the wait, telling her everything would be all right. Instead, she’d declined his offer to be here, knowing the difficulty it would involve. She hated but accepted the way things were when it came to him. Marcus remained anonymous—that meant her family couldn’t know him.
A relationship with Marcus was all she’d wanted for the last four years. He captivated her in every way possible. They shared so much already, lived the same lifestyle, and if the other night was any indication, they’d soon share a bed. Beth didn’t want to choose between Marcus and her kin. She wanted both but now realized a painful truth. Continuing to share her life with Marcus was going to tear her family from her.
The message alert sounded on her phone for a second time. She should respond but engaging in a work conversation was the last thing Beth wanted to do.
“Don’t look so worried.” Her mother appeared in the doorway, a mug of coffee in either hand.
“I’m not worried, I was just deep in thought. I’m thinking about work. You know I’ve employed a couple of seamstresses to help make the garments, so I can concentrate on the design side of things.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie. She still owned the fashion label she’d started in high school and two women worked for her. However, she rarely designed anymore. The business was a front, part of the—isn’t Beth a normal young woman making a name for herself in the world—lie that she propagated. Today it was harder to maintain the deception than usual.
“That was definitely a worried face, is the fashion business not going as well as you’d hoped?” Her mother could always read her. “Or is it something to do with a man? After Steve called you about the accident, he said a friend was driving you down to the hospital. I didn’t think about it until yesterday, and I meant to ask if it was a male friend, maybe a boyfriend?”
Bethany wanted to cringe. They were going to have the talk again. A conversation which occurred nearly every visit and always followed the same pattern. Beth decided to short circuit her mother at the start.
“No, it wasn’t a boyfriend, it was a friend of Steve’s, but I declined the lift and ended up driving myself. I did borrow his car though because the staff need mine for deliveries and other work shit.” Beth made a mental note to text Steve, so he could back up her lie.
Steve Jax was one of Marcus’ friends, they’d worked together, and Steve sometimes helped out when needed. He was one of only two people who knew her parents and who were aware of her double life, the other was Christian Shore. Beth trusted both to keep her secret safe. She also knew if her family was ever in danger, they’d be there to protect them.
“And before you ask, mum, let me fill you in on the answers. No, I don’t have a boyfriend. Yes, I have had sex, and I know what I’m missing by not having a man in my life. No, I don’t have a girlfriend because I’m not gay. Yes, I will tell you if I ever get a boyfriend and yes, I promise not to wait until I’m too old to have children.”
Her mother laughed which made Beth smile. It had been days since she’d seen a smile on her mother’s face. Another message alert sounded from her phone, again Beth chose to ignore it.
“Well, I’m glad we got that sorted out again,” her mother grinned. “You do realize I won’t stop asking until I know you’re happy and settled down with a good man.”
Beth desperately wanted to tell her mother about Marcus. Talk to her about what was happening between them. She’d always asked her mother’s opinion on guys in the past. Those conversations no longer occurred. Beth no longer dated, instead deciding to wait to see if Marcus would finally take the hint. The reasoning behind that decision came from her mum. It was probably the last conversation they had about men, albeit a cryptic one with no specifics mentioned. How will this man know you’re seriously interested in him if you keep hooking up with other boys?
As a result, Beth decided to wait for Marcus to be ready for her, to see she was serious about wanting him. Night after long night, it was just her, the amazing fantasies she dreamed up, and her vibrator. Her attraction remained, but now that she stood on the precipice of getting her heart’s desire, Beth wasn’t sure she should take it. Marcus or her family? Beth didn’t want to choose, she wanted them both.
“Did you and Dad have to give up anything to be together, or did everyone agree the two of you were made for each other?”
“Look at him, sweetheart. There’s hardly an inch of him that doesn’t have a tattoo on it,” her mother laughed. “I was the wild child from a fairly strict Catholic family. They didn’t approve of your dad, they threw me out of the family, and I didn’t see them again until I was pregnant with you—two years after we first met and married—even then the contact was sporadic. So, yes, I gave up everything to be with your dad, because I loved him.”
Her mother looked adoringly at her father, the love she held for him clear. Beth hadn’t ever thought about her dad’s tattoos and the fact he used to be in a motorcycle gang. He was just her dad. She knew he’d broken away from the bikers when she was on the way, opening a café to provide for her mother and the gaggle of little girls they eventually had. As a child, she didn’t see her grandparents much, but during her early teen years, they were around.
“So, you sorted things out with them, eventually. It all turned out okay in the end?” Beth asked.
“Sort of, but they never liked your dad. Even when they eventually started talking to me again and asking to have contact with you and your sisters, it was a strained relationship,” her mother stated reflectively. “I have no regrets, and I’d do it all over again if asked to. Love rarely comes without a cost, Beth. Whether my parents came back into my life or not wasn’t even a question I asked myself in relation to being with your dad. The only thing I needed to know was did he love me enough to give up what he loved for me as well. And he did.”
“Most of that gang ended up in prison, I think, or dead,” her father mumbled. “I knew who to choose the moment I saw my beautiful red headed bombshell.”
Beth sat listening to her parents banter back and forth. Her mothe
r chastising her father for eavesdropping, them both laughing at his cheeky reply. She wondered if she and Marcus would ever know each other so well, they’d do that sort of thing. More importantly, she pondered if Marcus would give up anything for her.
“Miss Reid, there’s a phone call for you at the nurse’s station,” the friendly faced nurse announced from the doorway of the private room.
Beth didn’t need to ask who it was, she already knew. She’d left three messages unanswered and wondered what sort of mood Marcus would be in as a result. Beth followed the nurse down the corridor. Picking up the cordless phone on the side of the station the nurse gestured toward, she braced herself to hear his voice.
“I hope no response from you means your cell is off in relation to hospital policy and not that you are intentionally avoiding me,” Marcus stated.
On hearing his voice, her body responded with a rush of delight, she loved the smooth dulcet tone he used with her. Clearly not answering the messages hadn’t annoyed him to any extent.
“I’m not avoiding you, I assumed if it was urgent you’d call.” She had been avoiding talking to him, but now he was on the other end of the line, Beth wondered why.
Love is worth the cost, her mother’s words echoed in her mind. Beth certainly loved Marcus, but exactly what his love would cost remained unclear, she just hoped the price wouldn’t be those she loved.
“It’s time to come back to work, baby girl. I delayed putting in my order with Nigel Charlton for as long as I could. Nik rang me this morning, Charlton’s men are looking for you, so I need you back in the city and at the club, ASAP.” Marcus now sounded uneasy when he spoke, “I hate doing this, Beth. I know you want to be with your family, but the mission is calling, unless they get you, they’ll take one of the others.”