Beth was actually making herself something to eat, bustling about the kitchen perfectly happily, her stomach rumbling in anticipation at the smell of the bacon cooking. Nick had breathed fresh life into her, she hadn’t felt so good in years and she didn’t need the assistance of pills or alcohol to fall asleep anymore. Unfortunately she didn’t dare let Nick stay over just in case Alex came home unexpectedly, he was so unpredictable. The boys were at school and Holly was at nursery, so she had some time to herself. She planned on a long hot bath before indulging in a pampering session.
She jumped when the front door banged and her good mood dissipated. The depression and fatigue started to overtake her again when she heard Alex kick off his shoes in the hall. It overwhelmed her completely when the kitchen door opened and he walked in, glowering as usual.
“Hello,” she said, forcing a smile. “Did you have a good night?”
“No. Mikey’s a cheeky little bastard.”
“What’s he done?”
“Never you fucking mind.”
“Please Alex, I don’t like you speaking to me like that.”
Slowly he looked her up and down, derision filling his eyes and she steeled herself for another barrage of abuse and put-downs. It was a shame, she’d been feeling so good too.
“You’re always in that same ugly dressing gown. Don’t you ever get dressed? Why don’t you go to a gym you fat cow?”
“If I’m so fat then why is everyone telling me I need to put on weight?” she retorted, refusing to relinquish the recent boost to her self esteem. It felt good to back chat him, even though she knew it was dangerous.
“They feel sorry for you. You’re a joke to them, something to be pitied and ridiculed. You’re pathetic.”
Tears threatened but this time she refused to give in to them. She was tired of him making her cry. “What happened to us Alex? I remember we used to be so happy, so in love. What did I do to make you hate me so much?”
“You and Rachel are as bad as each other. Gold-digging slags just out for what you can get.”
She’d grown accustomed to his venom but the hatred in his eyes was so potent it took her breath away. “I don’t understand. I’ve not done anything wrong,” she said, trying not to think about Nick. “And neither has Rachel. All we’ve done is love you and your brother.”
“Don’t stand there and blatantly fucking lie to me. I know what Rachel did.”
“What did she do? I wish you’d tell me why you hate her because I don’t have a clue.”
“You just can’t stop lying to me, can you?”
“I don’t understand…”
The blow knocked Beth off her feet. It was so fast it took her a moment to work out what had happened. One minute she was upright the next she was on the kitchen floor, her head thumping with pain. She pressed a hand to her rapidly swelling left cheek and stared up at her husband, who smiled at the fear in her eyes.
“You should learn your place, which is at the bottom of the fucking pile,” he said icily. “I can kick you out anytime I like and I’ll make sure you never see the kids again.”
“No, I won’t let you do that.”
“Then you’d better behave yourself and stop lying. You have a good hard think about your friendship with Rachel and decide if she’s worth it. In the meantime, I’ll teach you a little discipline,” he said, drawing back his fist.
“You look cheerful?” said Robbie as he entered Nick’s flat. “Get lucky last night did you?”
Nick grinned into the mirror above the fireplace as he straightened his tie. “Maybe I did.”
“Anyone I know?”
“It’s best I don’t tell you.”
“Oh Jesus, it was Beth, wasn’t it?”
Nick paused in his grooming to regard his brother. “How do you know?”
“I’ve seen you mooning after her. What the hell do you think you’re doing? You’re playing with fire.”
“I’m not messing about Robbie. I love her.”
“Alex will kill you and her stone dead if he finds out.”
“He won’t find out, well not yet anyway. I’m going to ask her to come away with me.”
“Are you completely insane? He will hunt you to the ends of the earth. He doesn’t love her but he won’t let her go. No one takes his stuff.”
“I can handle him.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Don’t worry about it, I’ll sort it.”
“Please don’t do this, it can only end badly.”
“What’s the alternative? Watch the woman I love being destroyed and beaten until he finally goes too far and kills her? We both know he’s got a bit on the side that he’s obsessed with. It’s only a matter of time before she takes Beth place. One day Beth will have gone on a mysterious trip, never to be seen again. I won’t let that happen to her.”
“Nick please, have a fucking good think about what you’re doing. This is Alex Maguire’s wife we’re talking about.”
“Yeah I know, I haven’t lost the plot.”
“Obviously you have. This is mental.”
“She’s who I want to be with and I won’t let Alex stand in our way.”
“She’s got three kids. Do you really want that baggage?”
“They’re not baggage, they’re good kids.”
“You’re going to play dad to them? What about when they start asking questions about their real dad?”
“They won’t. Alfie hates him because of the way he treats his mum and Archie and Holly are young, they’ll forget him.”
“I can’t believe it. You must have a death wish.”
“I’ll keep you out of it but I need to know I have your support.”
“Course you do,” he sighed, “but I think you’re making a mistake.”
They were interrupted by Nick’s mobile phone ringing. “Hello?” His eyes widened. “I’ll be right there.”
“What’s up?”
“It’s Beth. Alex has beat the shit out of her.”
“Stay out of it Nick, for your own good.”
But he was pulling on his jacket, not listening to a word his brother was saying. “Where’s my car keys?”
“Listen to me will you?”
Nick blocked out his brother’s words, focused entirely on getting to Beth as soon as possible.
“We’re supposed to be going out on a job,” protested Robbie.
“Take Declan with you. It’s only getting someone to pay up a debt, you don’t need me. Lock up behind you,” said Nick before disappearing out the door.
He jumped into his car and raced over to Beth’s house, breaking the speed limit and running a red light but he didn’t care.
“Beth?” he called as he opened the door. “Beth?” He ran into the kitchen and stopped in his tracks. “Oh my God,” he said, recovering himself and crouching by her side.
“Nick?” she whimpered, clutching at his hand, fearing he was a wonderful dream that would evaporate at any moment. She was still curled up on the kitchen floor gripping the phone tightly.
“I’m here.” He wanted to rail against the world when he saw the damage that had been done to her. Beth’s left eye was practically swollen shut and her face was covered with blood and bruises.
“Thanks for coming. I’m sorry for dragging you into this but I didn’t know who else to call, you’re the only one I trust,” she said, verging on tears.
“Don’t apologise, I want to help. I’m taking you to hospital.”
“No, please. They’ll ask questions, they might even call the police and that will only make matters worse.”
“You might be badly injured.”
“I’m not, nothing’s broken. I used to be a nurse, I know what to look for. But it would be great if you could pass me something out of the freezer for this eye.”
“Let’s get you comfy first.”
He lifted her in his arms and carried her into the living room, settling her on the couch. Then he went back into the kitche
n and returned with a bag of frozen peas.
“Thanks,” she said, holding the bag to her eye, cringing at the pain and cold.
“Alex did this?” he said darkly.
“Yes. I’m not even sure why. He’s hit me before but never this badly. But then again there’s no Martina anymore, no one to question why I’m covered in bruises.”
“He’s an animal and he doesn’t deserve you or the kids. You have to get away before he kills you.”
“Not this again Nick. He’ll always come after us. I’ll never be free.”
“I’ll make sure he won’t find us.”
“If it was just me I’d say yes and run away with you this minute but I’ve got three kids, I won’t leave them behind.”
“I want you to bring them too. We can start over again together, all five of us.”
“You’re willing to take on three children?”
“They’re good kids, I know them. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, the woman I love and a nice little family.”
“I can’t believe you’re even suggesting this. You’re either heaven sent or completely mad.”
“Sometimes you have to do insane things to be happy.”
“If we do this he’ll never stop hunting us.”
“And I’ll protect you. Alex isn’t the only one with powerful contacts. All we need to do is get out of Manchester. The further we get from the north the weaker his reach.” This wasn’t strictly true but he was trying to minimise her worry.
“Maybe we could go to Scotland? I love Scotland.”
He thought of Frankie McVay. “Maybe not such a good idea. I still have friends down south, we could go there, they’d help us get out of the country.”
“Leave the UK?”
“It’s the only way we could be free. If we stay in the country Alex will find us.”
“Where would we go? What about the kids growing up speaking a different language? What about school?”
“We could go somewhere English-speaking like Australia or America.”
“America?” she said, visibly brightening. “What would we do for money?”
“Don’t worry about that, I have plenty.”
“I have a bit of my own. When I first got with Alex, Rachel told me to always save a percentage of the spending money he gave me. I’ve got a nice little nest egg he doesn’t even know about.”
“We could go somewhere it’s always hot, like Florida or Miami.”
“Sounds great. We could get a beach house. Imagine waking up to the sea every morning.” Her eyes turned hazy with dreams. “The kids would love it but we’ve only known each other a year. Are you sure this is what you want? What would happen to us if we left with you and you realised you’d made a mistake and abandoned us.”
“I would never do that. You’re all I want Beth, you and the kids. We can do what Ryan and Rachel have done, we can leave it all behind and start over.”
“You’d give up your work, get a real job?”
“Yes,” he smiled. “I have friends in America, they’d help us. I’ve got all bases covered, as they say over there. All you need to do is say you’ll come.”
“I really want to but I’m just worried about the kids. Their life is here.”
“What’s the alternative? Stick around here while Alex gets more violent. What if he starts taking it out on them?”
“He’d never do that.”
“How can you be sure? I bet there was a time when you thought he’d never hit you.”
She nodded sadly. “There was. Oh God, what do I do?” She thought about exactly how hard it would be for the kids. Alfie would probably be pleased, he hated his father and he liked Nick. Holly was too young to really know what was happening. It was Archie who worried her, he was surprisingly sensitive, the sudden move would upset him. But at least he’d be safe from Alex’s abuse. She was certain it was the tension in the house that was turning him into a permanently scared and tearful child. If they stayed he’d only get worse. However was running off with another man the right thing to do? She gazed at Nick and saw everything she’d ever wanted, saw the man she thought Alex was but he’d let her down. Instinctively she knew Nick would never do that.
“Alright, let’s do it.”
“You mean it? It’s a huge step.”
“Don’t start changing my mind. Let’s get out of here and start over, together.”
He grinned and kissed her. “I love you so much. Finally you’re going to get the life you deserve.”
“I love you too. Help me get some bags packed,” she said, getting to her feet, her pain and fear gone.
CHAPTER 15
Mikey and Jez waited in the back street, both sweating with tension in their bike jackets. The stinking alley gave them a good view of the Maguire warehouse, the fortified compound designed for absolute privacy. Upstairs were innocent-looking offices but below ground was a subterranean dungeon where many people had been dragged inside against their will, tortured, executed and their bodies stuck in the large chest freezers before being cut up so as to leave no blood. They were then discreetly disposed of. The Maguires were good at making people simply disappear and Mikey and Jez had no wish to join that long list, hence the motorbike as their chosen mode of transport. The helmets would give them the very necessary anonymity. Jez had personally stolen the bike himself from a house in the suburb of Hulme and changed the plates so it couldn’t be traced.
Mikey closed his eyes and rested his head back against the wall, unable to believe he was about to kill his own cousin but what choice did he have? He was protecting not only himself but Amber and Josh and their very way of life. He felt sick and sweat trickled down his spine. This whole arrangement was utterly repellent to him but he knew when the time came he’d have the courage to pull the trigger.
“Time to go,” said Jez. “I can hear the gates opening.”
Mikey pulled on his helmet, allowing himself to grimace now his face was covered. He just hoped he didn’t puke inside the lid.
Jez climbed onto the bike and started the engine. Mikey climbed on behind him, the pistol gripped in one gloved hand, running his thumb up and down the steel, willing away all emotion and clearing his mind, thinking only of raising the gun and pulling the trigger. As they pulled out onto the street he pictured it over and over again, raise, pull, raise, pull. Before they’d even reached the compound he’d imagined himself shooting Alex ten times.
Feeling more focused he opened his eyes, concentrating on breathing deeply and remaining calm. It wasn’t the first time he’d killed someone but killing a relative was a first for him. Several feet ahead he saw Col Sugar’s car nose out of the compound first. As the bike was still a distance away Col obviously thought it safe to pull out and swung the car out in front of them. Jez eased off the throttle, letting them cruise a little bit, giving Alex chance to roll his car up to the gate.
Raise, pull, raise pull, Mikey thought over and over again. An icy calm descended upon him, his heart rate slowed and his breath stopped fogging up the visor. It didn’t matter that Alex was in his car, he’d selected his weapon carefully and knew it was more than capable of smashing through glass and into Alex’s skull.
Mikey raised his arm, saw the look of complete shock and outrage on Alex’s face. How dare someone try to kill him? Without pausing to think Mikey pulled the trigger in rapid succession. The bullets slammed into the glass and….didn’t go any further.
Bullet proof glass, reeled Mikey’s stunned brain. He’s had fucking bullet proof glass installed.
Mikey’s eyes connected with Alex’s, who calmly raised his right hand and mimicked firing a gun right back at him. Col, hearing the shots, had swung his car into the middle of the road, blocking their path but Jez was an experienced biker and simply steered the bike up onto the pavement. They saw Col scrabbling out of his car, pulling out his own gun but he was too slow. Jez pulled back hard on the throttle and they shot off into the distance, leaving the compound and a living Alex behind.<
br />
Deciding to stick to the plan, they headed to the lock-up they’d pre-arranged to swap the plates on the bike and give it a respray.
“Fuck,” yelled Mikey, pulling off the lid and hurling it across the room. “He had fucking bullet proof glass put in his car. Sneaky bastard never mentioned it.”
“Because he doesn’t trust either of us anymore. Shit, I can’t believe this has gone tits up,” said Jez, planting his hands on his hips. “Thank Christ we disguised ourselves. He doesn’t know it was us. We stick to the plan and get rid of the bike then think of something else.”
“Hopefully he’ll blame it on the Barlow brothers, it’s their style.”
“Let’s hurry because no doubt we’ll be getting a phone call soon.”
Jez had just finished removing the licence plate when Mikey’s phone rang. He looked at Jez and swallowed hard. “It’s Alex.”
“Answer it then,” he replied before returning to his work.
Mikey steeled himself to act the part he’d been rehearsing. “Not now Alex, I’m in the middle of a crisis here.”
“You’re in a fucking crisis? Someone just tried to top me,” Alex yelled down the line, making him wince.
“What?”
“Right outside my own compound, cheeky bastards. Get here now.”
“Where?”
“The fucking compound dickhead. Don’t make me repeat myself again.”
Mikey bit his tongue to prevent the retort he wanted to come out with getting past his lips. “I would but I’ve had too much to drink, I’m a bit pissed.”
“Then get a fucking taxi, I don’t care as long as you get here now. We need to take out these pricks before they get a second chance.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Alex hung up without another word. Just as they’d expected, Jez’s phone rang next. He received a barked order to get to the compound then Alex hung up on him too. Jez scowled at the phone, sick of Alex treating him like one of his lackeys rather than his business partner. He wouldn’t have dared treat Ryan that way. Just as Jez was wishing his brother was here, Mikey was wishing the same about Rachel.
Mikey left first, ditching the bike gear in the lock-up to be disposed of later. He went to an off licence, bought a bottle of whisky and drank a third of it in the taxi on his way to the compound. He drank it so fast he was indeed a bit pissed by the time he climbed out of the cab half a street away from where he wanted to be and handed the money over, leaving the bottle in the back of the cab. The fresh air only made his condition worse and no acting was required when he staggered into the compound, attempting to walk in a straight line. On the bright side the whisky fortified his nerves and he appeared completely unconcerned when he strolled into Alex’s office. The man himself was sat behind his desk quietly fuming while Col and Dom - one of the trio of Alex’s heavies who had been present at Martina’s wake - stood behind him, looking sombre.
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