Jules huffed out a breath. Ryan and Rachel were going to ruin what they had if they weren’t careful and they couldn’t see it. “Why take the risk, especially with three kids?”
“We don’t take on anything that has risk.”
“Come on Rach, you’re smarter than that. You know everything has an element of risk and you can’t predict the future. I’ve had plenty of jobs I thought would be easy and turned into a shitstorm. Don’t act thick Rach because I know you’re not.”
“Thank you for your concern but me and Ryan are fine,” she said coolly.
“Going into Ice Queen mode are you? Well it might give grown men the shakes but not me. I think you’re making a mistake.”
“Objection noted,” said Rachel, plonking a mug before Jules then sliding into the chair opposite her at the breakfast bar and taking a sip of hot chocolate.
Jules cradled the mug in her hands. “You just can’t leave the danger behind. You and Ryan both crave it, you can’t live without it.”
“Of course we can. That’s why we moved here, to get away from it.”
“If that was true you wouldn’t get involved with vigilantism. In theory it’s great but it can so easily go wrong and that’s probably part of the attraction. You and Ryan are danger junkies.”
“We are not,” said Rachel. “All we want is to be left alone to raise our kids in peace. We don’t take things on blindly, we always look into them first. We have turned jobs down you know.”
“Jobs? Do you get paid for it?”
“No, it was just a turn of phrase. It’s all free, part of the service. Me and Danny used to do the same thing in Manchester, it’s good for building up a solid reputation in the community.”
“And it never hurts to have someone owe you.”
“Exactly.”
“Does Ryan know you used to do this with Danny?”
“Yes.”
“And he doesn’t get jealous?”
“No need to. Danny’s been dead for years.”
“Someone can be dead and still get in the way.”
Rachel’s eyes filled with concern. “Do you mean Leighton?”
“Nah, not really. My therapist has helped me with all that crap. I’m talking about Terry Maguire, my real daddy.” She said the last word sarcastically.
“You think about him a lot?”
“Sometimes I wonder what life would have been like if he’d wanted me, if he hadn’t sold me to a pair of paedos. I bet he never once thought about me again, from what I’ve heard of him his old motors would have been more memorable.”
“I knew Terry and I’m not going to lie, that’s probably true but he was a complete bastard and a stupid one at that. He wasn’t half the man Frank was.”
“So Mikey’s told me.”
“Mikey,” said Rachel, eyes dancing. “So what’s the deal with you two?”
“Well, I…” Jules’s eyes sharpened. “Oh you are good Rach, distracting me from the real topic. You’re the only woman who’s ever bested me.”
“When we first met you were trying to kill me.”
“And you knocked out my front teeth with a plank of wood.”
“And here we are enjoying hot chocolate together.”
“Isn’t life funny? Stop trying to distract me again.”
“Look, I understand where you’re coming from but really, it’s fine. Do you think Ryan would do something if he thought there was a chance it could impact badly on us?”
“He loves the danger and excitement as much as you do and not even Ryan Law can see into the future.”
“You worry too much.”
“I’ve finally got a family and I’ll be buggered if I’m going to lose any of you.”
“Do you know, for such a hard bitch you’re really sweet.”
“Don’t call me sweet,” she glowered.
“And did I mention squishy? Cute? Cuddly?”
“Just keep going, see where it gets you.”
“And where’s that?” replied Rachel playfully.
“Maybe you’ll get a plank of wood in your front teeth.”
“Yeah, right and don’t worry, we know what we’re doing.”
“Famous last words.”
“Anyway, you and Mikey?”
Jules decided it was time to move the conversation on. She’d said her piece and it was up to Rachel what she did with her advice. “Well, I’m in love with him.”
She said it so casually Rachel almost thought she’d imagined it. “I suppose sacrificing yourself to save him is a bit of a giveaway.”
“Suppose,” she shrugged, taking a sip. “Mmm, yummy. I wonder what it would taste like with snails floating on the top?”
“Don’t you dare or I’ll vomit all over you. So is this why you need to get your head together about Jackson, because you’ve got these feelings for Mikey?”
“Yeah it is, although I don’t know why. He’s with Amber and that’s it. I just need to know I can only love Jax once we’re married.”
“I get that and have you come to a decision?”
“Not quite, I need a bit more time, if you’ll put up with me for a little longer?”
“Course, we love having you here.”
“I’m not sure Ryan does, I get on his tits.”
“It’s all an act. He loves having you here and so do the kids. Take all the time you need.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it. I just hope you know what you’re doing with this vigilante mallarky.”
“We do and one day it’ll pay off.”
“A bloody dog,” grumbled Battler. “You dragged me out in the middle of the night for a sodding Labrador.”
“No ordinary Labrador. It’s a seeing-eye dog,” said Ryan as Battler drove them out towards the town of Totnes, just over eight miles from Newton Abbot. “It belongs to someone called Cedric Potter. Harold - who runs the miniature village - put me onto his case. Cedric had his benefits cut by some cretin who thinks a blind man with diabetes and recovering from cancer is fit for work. In desperation Cedric turned to a loan shark who of course charged him a ridiculous amount of interest. As he was unable to pay the revolting loan shark took his seeing-eye dog and is holding it hostage until he’s paid his debt. As the loan shark knows the debt will never be paid the dog will most likely be sold.”
“Alright, that’s fucking nasty,” said Battler.
“Precisely, which is why we’re going to retrieve the dog for poor Cedric and persuade the loan shark to see the light and find another mode of employment.”
“When you put it like that it sounds fun,” growled Battler, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “Does Rachel know you’re doing this?”
“Of course. We always talk these things through together.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t leave it to her, you can’t stand animals.”
“I don’t mind them if they’re a good distance from me. Besides, this is different. I greatly admire seeing-eye dogs and it’ll be good to get away from all that fur rubbing up against my leg.”
“Urgh, I don’t want to hear about that,” exclaimed Battler.
Ryan cocked an eyebrow. “I wasn’t referring to my beautiful wife who, may I add, is always impeccably waxed. I was talking about this awful ball of ginger fluff that has taken up residence in my animal-free home.”
“You have lots of animals.”
“Yes but they’re all outside. This cheeky specimen has broken that rule and refuses to budge. We’ve tried to find his owner but to no avail. Have you heard of anyone who has lost a ginger cat with breathtaking impertinence?”
“Can’t say I have but I’ll keep an ear to the ground.”
“I would appreciate that very much. The sooner it’s gone the better, my trousers are being ruined.”
“By ginger fur,” sniggered Battler.
But Ryan’s mind had already left the subject of the nuisance cat. Rachel had asked him to broach something with Battler and he wished he hadn’t agreed to it because he was absolutely use
less with anything sensitive. “And how is Belle?”
“She’s alright.” He cast a suspicious glance Ryan’s way. “Why?”
“Just wondering.”
“You don’t fool me Ryan. Rachel’s asked you to talk to me about her, hasn’t she?”
“I’m relieved you rumbled me so quickly. You saved me from a very awkward conversation.”
“I know Rach’s judgement can be so spot on it’s fucking freaky sometimes but no way a stunner like Belle fancies an old bastard like me.”
“Why not? Jules does.”
“She’s just joking around.”
“No she’s not, she’s deadly serious when she talks about a threesome with you and Bruiser.”
Battler pulled a face. “Urgh.”
“So if she does, why not Belle?”
“Because Jules is into some freaky shit. No offence.”
“None taken. You’re completely correct.” Ryan still found it hard to believe he got along so well with Battler and Bruiser. They had been bodyguards to Frank Maguire and for a long time, while his family battled the Maguires, they’d been enemies. But ever since he’d married Rachel all past animosity had vanished and it felt like they’d been friends for years. “But you’re far from on the shelf Battler. I remember when you first set up your business here you had all the local ladies clamouring at your door.”
“Yeah but none were in Belle’s league. She’s something else.”
“So you have noticed?”
“Course, I’m not dead but I am a bachelor and I’m too old to change my ways.”
“There’s no room for a woman in your life?”
“Not one that stays longer than a night.”
“Sounds lonely.”
“Not to me. I can leave the toilet seat up, fart in bed and there’s no one to tell me off.”
“I used to be like you - no woman would ever tie me down, I was a lone wolf. Then Rachel came along and all I wanted was her. Now I couldn’t imagine life without her.”
“Yeah but you and Rach are special. There’s not many couples like you two. You have to remember not all relationships are like yours. Jesus, listen to us rabbiting on like a couple of women. I know you and Rachel mean well but please, just drop it.”
Ryan held up his hands. “Fair enough. I just promised Rachel I’d do something so I did it.”
“Alright. Glad that’s over with. Anyway, we’re here.”
They pulled across the street from the nice detached home that belonged to the loan shark, which was a lot more impressive than the mess of a council flat Cedric lived in.
“I hate loan sharks, always have,” said Battler, glaring at the house.
“I quite agree,” said Ryan. “I enjoyed chasing them off the Montford with a baseball bat. Cockroaches, the lot of them.”
“Let’s go and teach this bastard a lesson,” said Battler, flinging open the car door.
CHAPTER 18
Battler and Ryan crept across the street. There were other houses on this road but none of them overlooked the loanshark’s house. There was a bowling green but that was dark and quiet.
As Battler had already done his research they knew the perimeter of the house wasn’t alarmed, nor were there any cameras or guard dogs. The gate was locked but that didn’t matter because they both scaled the wall, Battler taking slightly longer than Ryan to achieve this.
“Not a word,” Battler growled at Ryan in the darkness when he’d finally dropped to the ground.
Ryan just smiled before going into a crouch, pausing to listen and study their surroundings. The house was dark too. It seemed Mammo the loanshark wasn’t exactly a party animal. Ryan had no idea why the fool was called Mammo but he thought he deserved a good kicking just for having a stupid name.
“Can you hear that?” whispered Battler.
Ryan nodded, the whining almost eerie in the darkness. The sound was so full of sadness that it angered Ryan. He wasn’t a fan of dogs but to treat such a clever and valued animal like that was just wrong.
Together they crept through the garden, sticking close to the wall, moving silently for such big men. After Battler had bribed an ex-girlfriend of Mammo’s to describe the interior of his house as well as the grounds, they both knew their way around.
They came round the back of the house to see the poor dog tethered to a stake in the ground, no shelter, an empty food bowl sat before it. The poor animal was laid on its belly, shivering and shaking in the cold night air, looking so forlorn both men were touched.
“Poor sod,” said Battler. “Beautiful dog too.”
“He’ll soon be home. Let’s sort out Mammo first.”
“What a wanky name.”
“I quite agree.”
They crept up to the house, Battler picking the lock on the back door in seconds and they were inside. The kitchen was all chrome and steel, which reflected back at them. They paused to listen but could hear no signs of life.
They snuck through the kitchen into the large lounge, doing a sweep of the downstairs to make sure it was all clear before heading to the stairs, footsteps muffled by the thick carpet, moving slowly and carefully, Battler taking the lead. The ex-girlfriend had told them none of the stairs creaked but they weren’t taking any chances. They arrived at the top of the landing without incident then paused in the hallway, listening again.
Ryan only realised someone was behind him because he spied their shadow on the opposite wall thanks to the moonlight streaming in through the hallway window. He leapt to one side, the baseball bat just catching his shoulder.
“Battler,” he called out in warning.
But Battler was already grappling with the second man who charged out at them from a door to their left.
Ryan went low, turned and rammed his fist into the stomach of the man behind him, but the man had also moved and he just caught his hip. However it was enough to knock him off-balance and Ryan took advantage of that, throwing himself at his attacker and pulling him to the floor. The baseball bat rolled from the man’s hand and Ryan punched him in the face, knocking him out.
Ryan groaned when a second baseball bat was brought down in the centre of his back. Fortunately he was wearing a thick jumper and leather jacket, which absorbed the majority of the blow. He flipped onto his back and kicked out, catching the man in the chest and sending him staggering backwards straight into Battler, who had laid the man he was grappling with out cold. Battler grabbed the man by the scruff of the neck and slammed his head into a wall.
“You alright?” Battler asked Ryan, casting the man aside.
“Fine,” said Ryan, climbing to his feet, a dull ache in his back.
“Silly bastards,” he said, gesturing to the three unconscious men.
Ryan picked up the dropped baseball bat and nodded. “Indeed. I believe someone warned them we were coming.”
“The ex-girlfriend?”
“Perhaps she’s not as ex as we thought. Anyway, we need to find out whether there’s any more surprises waiting for us.”
Ryan hit the light and looked to Mammo, who was the one who had attacked him from behind. He was an unpleasant looking individual, overweight with thick lips, a flat nose and a mop of greasy curly hair.
“Coward,” said Ryan, dragging him to his feet and shaking him. “Wake up you clown.”
Mammo raised his head, eyes rolling back, dragging in a deep breath. When he found himself looking directly into Ryan’s furious face he frantically started to struggle. Another blow to the stomach put an end to that.
“You knew we were coming,” said Ryan, voice low and dangerous.
“Fuck off.”
“Not intelligent.” Ryan punched him again before releasing him, allowing him to crumple into a heap at his feet. He looked down at him coldly. “Not that I care, your attempt was feeble at best. Anyone else here?”
“Yeah, there’s five…no six of my mates in that room over there,” he said, gesturing to a door at the end of the corridor. “You’d b
etter do one before they come out.”
“You’re coming with us,” said Ryan, grabbing Mammo by the scruff of the neck and dragging him backwards along the floor as they marched to the door he had indicated.
Ryan nodded at Battler, who kicked the door open to reveal - an empty room.
Battler kicked open the rest of the doors one by one, just to be certain but the place was empty.
“Right,” said Ryan. “Now we’ve confirmed that you’re a liar as well as the many other nasty little things that compose Mammo we can get down to business. First of all, we’re taking the dog.”
“Good. Bastard thing keeps me awake whining.”
“Maybe that’s because you’ve kept a highly intelligent animal trained to help the blind chained up in the cold with no food,” snarled Ryan before punching him in the face again. “Now here is what’s going to happen. You haven’t just been upsetting Cedric, you’ve upset many people who are struggling in this harsh economic climate with your shenanigans.”
Battler had to hide a smile. Ryan was the only man in the world who could make the word shenanigans sound tough.
“You will cease all loan sharking activities immediately,” continued Ryan. “Failure to do so will result in horrific pain. For you. For us it will be a lot of pleasure.”
“You must be joking? There’s no way I’m giving up this cushy number. It’s well easy, just shit people up and they’ll give you anything.”
Another fist in the gut was Ryan’s response. “You really are a disgusting little worm and clearly you’re not getting the point. Well, you can’t beat up vulnerable people with no hands.”
Mammo’s eyes widened. “What?”
He screamed when Battler brought the bat down on his right hand.
“And here’s just a little reminder of what it’s like to be vulnerable,” said Ryan before Battler slammed the bat into Mammo’s right knee. He released another scream, gaping at his ruined knee in horror before passing out.
“What an arsehole,” commented Battler, letting the baseball bat drop.
“Let’s get the dog and get out of here, I’m eager to return to my warm bed and my warm wife.” Ryan hesitated before adding, “wouldn’t it be nice if you had a beautiful woman keeping your bed warm?”
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