“Can I get you anything?” said Dolores, an attractive feisty middle aged woman and Rachel’s right hand in running the clubs.
“A glass of water please.”
“Have you had anything to eat?”
“No, I don’t feel like it.”
Mikey plonked a carrier bag on the table in front of Rachel. “Here you go, doner kebab with mayonnaise.”
The stench emanating from it was overpowering and Rachel’s stomach turned over. She shot to her feet.
“Get out of my way before I throw up all over you,” she cried, dashing for the toilet.
“What’s up with her?” said Mikey. “I hope it’s nothing serious.”
Dolores’s eyes were all-knowing but she said nothing. She didn’t want to be wrong and get Rachel’s hopes up.
Danny had just sat down in front of the TV with a curry and bottle of lager when the door opened. In walked Rachel, ashen-faced with dark shadows under her eyes, accompanied by Mikey.
“What’s happened?” said Danny, taking Rachel’s hand and sitting her on the couch.
“She threw up everywhere. It was horrible.”
“Yes thank you Mikey,” mumbled Rachel, curling up on the couch.
“Thanks for bringing her back mate,” said Danny. “Would you like a beer?”
“No, I’d better get back to the club. You take care Rach,” he called. “Try and eat something.”
“She’s not eaten?”
Mikey shook his head negatively.
“Here Babe, have some of my curry,” said Danny, wafting the plate of korma under her nose.
Clamping a hand to her mouth, Rachel dove off the couch and ran down the hall to the toilet. The sound of retching followed a moment later.
“Right I’m off,” said Mikey, making a quick exit.
Danny stood behind Rachel, stroking her hair until she collapsed over the bowl, breathing hard.
“Feeling better?” he said, handing her a glass of water.
She lifted her head and took the proffered glass. “I’d be fine if everyone would stop waving greasy food in my face.”
“You’re being sick and you have been tired lately. Do you think…”
“The same thought crossed my mind.”
“Why don’t you do a test?”
“We don’t have one.”
He disappeared out of the room and returned a minute later with a pregnancy test kit.
“I picked it up this morning,” he said, holding it out to her. “There’s no time like the present.”
“Alright but you can go out of the room while I pee on the stick.”
“Rach, I’ve seen every part of you.”
“Out,” she ordered. “There has to be some mystery between married couples.”
“Fine,” he said, standing outside the door.
A minute later she called, “Alright you can come in.”
“How long do we have to wait?”
“It’s instantaneous.”
“Well?”
“I haven’t looked yet, I daren’t.”
“Come on, I’m dying here.”
She held it out to him.
He took it, eyes widening when he saw the blue line. “Positive,” he exclaimed, sweeping her into his arms and kissing her hard.
“Finally,” she breathed with relief and happiness.
“I love you.”
“I love you too. It was that time at the hotel at Alex and Beth’s wedding, I’m sure of it,” she said excitedly.
“See, all you needed to do was relax. No problem. I can’t wait to tell everyone.”
“Maybe we should wait until I’ve got past the twelve week mark after what happened last time?”
“We won’t lose this one, I promise. This time you’ll take it easy and I’ll make damn sure you don’t have one second of stress. But if that’s what you want, we’ll wait.”
She saw the earnestness in his eyes and smiled. He’d freaked out when he’d discovered she was pregnant the first time. Now here he was telling her how much he loved her and that he would do all in his power to stop history repeating itself. This time she was certain it would be fine.
He scooped her up in his arms and carried her upstairs to the bedroom where he lay her down gently.
“From now on you take it easy. No more staying out late at the clubs and certainly no more fights. Alright?”
She nodded. “I love it when you’re masterful.”
“I just don’t want to take any chances.”
“I know and I promise I’ll take it easy.”
She nestled into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. Despite her elation she still felt rotten and quickly fell asleep.
Keeping the pregnancy a secret proved to be impossible. Danny and Rachel were sat at the bar in the Wherry Tavern, Danny nursing a pint and Rachel a lemonade when Beth and Alex joined them and offered to buy them a drink. When Rachel ordered another lemonade Beth frowned.
“No white wine? That’s not like you.” Rachel sat quietly, giving nothing away while her best friend’s eyes scrutinised her closely. “Lemonade, glow to your cheeks…oh my God you’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
Rachel’s answering smile spoke for her.
But she’d said it so loudly the whole pub heard and everyone crowded round to congratulate them, Joe the Manager the head of the pack.
“Sorry,” Beth said when the fuss had died down. “I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that.”
“It’s alright,” assured Rachel. “We were bursting to tell everyone but we were going to wait until I’m three months gone, after what happened last time,” she ended quietly.
Alex noticed his brother wince with pain and clapped him on the shoulder.
“Everything will be fine this time, you‘ll see.”
“Yeah,” replied Danny with a tight smile.
When Ryan and Jez arrived at the pub an hour later the celebrations were in full swing.
“What’s going on?” Ryan said, indicating the champagne being passed round.
Danny couldn’t help but feel smug and wrapped an arm around Rachel’s shoulders.
“Rachel’s pregnant,” he grinned.
Ryan’s cool demeanour disguised the stab of pain in his chest. “That’s wonderful news. Congratulations.”
He shook Danny’s hand warmly and kissed Rachel on the cheek.
Danny’s attention was taken up by Joe with some query and Ryan took the spot by the bar he’d just vacated, regarding Rachel with his grey eyes. She looked back at him warily, uncertain of his reaction.
“This is what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it?” he began.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Then I’m pleased for you. I admit I’ve always entertained hopes that things would turn out differently but if you’re happy then that’s all that matters.”
“I am Ryan. Very happy.”
He could see she meant it, the joy shining from her eyes. “In that case, good luck. I’m sure everything will work out fine this time.”
“I hope so.”
“Of course it will.”
With that he walked away to talk to Mikey and she tore her eyes from his retreating back.
Once her pregnancy passed the four month mark Rachel knew she couldn’t put it off any longer, she had to tell her parents. They’d practically disowned her for refusing to give up Danny after he was almost killed by his psychotic uncle, Terry. They’d gone back to Devon and hadn’t contacted her since. Neither had she contacted them but she felt they should know they were going to be grandparents.
She stared at the phone for a full five minutes before picking it up and dialling. When she heard her mum’s voice for the first time in almost a year tears welled in her eyes.
“Hello?”
“Hello Mum, it’s me,” she said quietly.
There was a beat of silence before Gillian replied frostily. “Hello Rachel. What do you want?”
“I thought you should know, I�
�m pregnant.”
“You are?” she said, her voice warming up slightly. “How far along are you?”
“Four months. We wanted to wait a bit before telling everyone, after what happened last time.”
“And is everything okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine and the baby’s fine.”
“When’s your due date?”
“Mid April.”
“That’s wonderful news Rachel. Congratulations, to you and Danny.”
“Thanks Mum,” she replied, relieved. “Beth’s pregnant too, she’s due a couple of months after me.”
“How exciting. Give her my love.”
“I will.”
“I’ll pass it on to your dad, he’s out at the moment. Can we come up and see you when the baby’s born?”
A lump formed in her throat, she’d missed them so much. “I was hoping you’d say that. You’re welcome to come up before then, if you want?”
“I’m not sure we can manage that,” Gill said a little tersely.
“That’s okay. Well, see you in April then.”
“You certainly will and if you need us, you know where you are.”
“Thanks Mum,” she said fondly before hanging up. Rachel smiled. That had gone much better than she’d anticipated.
Rachel’s pregnancy progressed smoothly and when she passed the three month mark she relaxed. She was taking it as easy as possible. Between them Dolores and Mikey were managing the clubs so she didn’t have to work any night shifts, although she was still doing the books. Danny had stopped involving her in a lot of the family business to avoid her getting stressed or worried, Alex acting as his main advisor instead, which pleased her because she felt it was his rightful place.
Best of all was Danny’s attitude to the pregnancy, which was a far cry from when she was pregnant the first time. He loved stroking her swollen belly and seeing her naked and ripe whereas before the prospect disgusted him. He bought a ton of items for the baby and hired decorators to paint the nursery yellow and green, neutral colours because they’d decided not to find out the sex until the birth. Although she didn’t think it possible, she fell in love with her husband even more. They still had sex regularly and he was very gentle and tender, showering her with love and affection. Martina furiously knit a heap of clothes for the baby, excited at the prospect of her first grandchild. However the thought that Frank would never get to see the baby made her incredibly sad, he’d so looked forward to being a granddad.
Although Danny kept it from Rachel, Richard Spencer still managed to cause them a lot of trouble. He hit the legitimate businesses, keeping them so busy they didn’t have time to attend to the illegal ones. On top of that Douggie Jones, a well respected money man who helped the Maguires launder their illegal money, was murdered, his body found in a river with a hole in his head. His loss hit the Maguires hard and Danny spent days scouting round for a suitable replacement. Salvation came in the form of Frankie McVay and although he was reluctant to leave Rachel when she was only two weeks from her due date, Danny was forced to go to Glasgow to meet with him. Frankie wouldn’t deal with anyone but Danny.
“Danny, good to see you, pal,” smiled Frankie when Danny strolled into a restaurant he owned for their meeting. “Are you hungry? Try the fillet steak, it’s fucking superb.”
“Thanks, I’m starving.”
“Hey you,” he said, jabbing a finger at a nervous-looking waiter. “Fetch my friend here a plate of this and…what do you want to drink Danny?”
“Lager please Frankie.”
“Lager and make it a Tennants, none of that poncey European shit.”
“Yes Mr McVay,” said the wide-eyed waiter before hurrying off.
Frankie was a truly disturbing man with a psychotic personality, despite his harmless appearance consisting of spiky ginger hair and black framed glasses. But Danny liked him, he’d helped him out when Terry and Jake had turned against the family. Their business deal, transporting drugs through the country, was very lucrative and ran like clockwork. However Frankie’s penchant for chopping people up with axes ensured he was feared not just in the north but all over the country.
“So, how’s the lovely Mrs Maguire doing?” began Frankie.
Danny couldn’t help but smile at the mention of her. “Fantastic. She’s due to have our first kid in a couple of weeks.”
“Congratulations, that’s great news.” Frankie’s eyes turned serious, the pleasantries over with. “So, what’s this problem you want to discuss?” he said, leaning on the table, eyes hard and serious.
“You’ve probably already heard, Douggie Jones was murdered.”
Frankie‘s eyes rolled back in his head, as they had a tendency to do when he was angered to the extreme. Douggie had laundered some of Frankie’s drug money as well as the Maguires and he was furious at what he saw as a personal insult to himself. “Yes I have and if I catch the bastards who did it I’ll have some more body parts to add to my collection.”
It was said that when Frankie separated someone from a part of their body with his axe he kept it as a trophy. Danny used to think it was just a rumour spread by Frankie himself to enhance his reputation but when he discovered Frankie kept the severed tongue of the last man who cheated him out of money he knew it was in fact true.
“Any idea who did it?” said Frankie darkly.
“Not yet. My men are pulling in all the usual suspects. We will find who did it, I promise,” he hastily added. “This is a personal attack to upset our businesses but we won’t allow that.”
“So who’s dealing with the money now?”
“Alex, for the moment. He’s good with numbers but we need a professional.”
“I know just the man, he’s a genius with figures. I’ve used him for years.”
Danny felt he had no choice but to accept Frankie’s offer. “Alright, that’s fine by me. I think whoever took out Douggie was after stirring up trouble between us.”
“I think you could be right. Are you sure Ryan Law’s as trustworthy as you think?”
“He’s not been out of prison long and our family’s never been stronger. He can’t afford another war right now, which is what he’ll get if he fucks with us,” he scowled, the memory of Ryan’s eyes on his wife niggling him.
“He’s in the weaker position but he’s a clever bastard, I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“Neither would I and don’t worry, if he is behind Douggie’s murder then there’s no second chances. I’ll put a bullet in his head personally.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Frankie had no doubt that Danny meant it from the look in his eyes. He still wasn’t sure Danny had done the right thing with Ryan Law, if it had been him he’d have hacked him to pieces but he could understand why he’d decided to let him live. The Laws had a lot of powerful backers with a vested interest in Ryan Law continuing to breathe. If they’d taken him out then the Maguires would have had to take them on too and that would mean a serious disruption to business. He’d wait and see how it panned out but if it didn’t he was confident Danny could sort it out.
Their discussion was suspended while Danny’s drink and steak were brought to him.
“What do you think?” Frankie asked Danny as he tucked into the food. “I’ve got a new chef. Unfortunately he’s French but I‘ve forgiven him that failing because he’s a genius with food.”
“It’s grand Frankie,” Danny replied, devouring the steak eagerly, ravenous after the long drive.
The waiter hovered, waiting for a break in the conversation to ask Danny if he could get him anything else.
“What the fuck do you want?” Frankie frowned.
“Sorry, I just wanted to ask Sir if he would like any sauces?”
“How about your fucking freshly pumping blood?” Frankie retorted, brandishing the steak knife. “Piss off, we’re trying to talk.”
“Sorry Mr McVay,” he replied, before scurrying off, pale with fear.
Danny couldn’t help but chuckle t
o himself. To quote Frankie himself he was pure mad mental. Danny was glad he was on his side.
“Have you considered this could be The Coalition rearing it’s ugly fucking head again?” said Frankie as they continued to eat.
Danny dabbed at his mouth with a napkin and nodded. “It did cross my mind but they didn’t murder anyone themselves, they stirred up trouble between us and the Laws.”
“There’s always someone willing to take someone out for a few grand, no questions asked and you said you were having trouble with that stuck up arsehole, what’s his name, Spencer?”
“That’s right,” said Danny thoughtfully. “He would have the money and contacts to find someone to take Douggie out and hitting our money is smart. I think I’ll have a chat with him when I get back.”
“Whatever happens nothing can be allowed to interfere with our arrangement. I’ve got another client lined up who will almost double our profit.”
“It won’t. We’ll find who did this and make an example of them.”
Frankie nodded. Danny Maguire was a serious man, one whose word wasn’t given lightly. “Let me know if you need any back-up.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.”
Danny returned to Manchester feeling better for talking to Frankie. At least he was still onside and they’d got someone else to deal with the money. Now to find Douggie’s murderer. He gripped the steering wheel hard, furious that someone had dared to fuck with him like that, it was a piss take, that’s what it was. The thought that The Coalition could be back in business worried him. By taking down Lord Davenport they were weakened but wouldn’t Richard Spencer make an ideal replacement? He was just as rich and connected as Davenport had been. He intended to make a concerted effort to find out.
CHAPTER 6
Rachel lay on the couch gazing idly at the television, her hands gently stroking her swollen stomach. The baby shifted inside her and she smiled at the strange sensation. Although she was really looking forward to finally getting to hold her child she’d miss being pregnant too.
She was tired and lost in her thoughts, consequently she failed to notice the twisted, distorted face pressed up against the glass, the skin puckered and ruined.
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