The child gave her a sweet smile in response.
Jules sped back into the hall and opened the door leading into the cellar, pausing to unlock the second soundproofed door behind that and raced down the stairs. She was confronted by a large cage that ran from floor to ceiling. Inside were two girls, one fourteen and the other thirteen, dirty and wearing only stained white nightgowns, clinging onto one another, crying.
“It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you,” said Jules, holding up her hands to show she didn’t carry a weapon. These two were runaways Alice had lured back here for Leighton to sell to his friends. They’d endured three weeks of non-stop abuse and Jules knew they couldn’t take anymore. “I’m setting you free. Get out of here, the house is going to be on fire very soon.”
She unlocked the cage and the two girls bolted, calling thank you over their shoulders as they raced up the stairs and out the door. Jules followed, the sound of Cara’s crying greeting her, as well as the smoke alarm. There was already a smell of smoke and burning emanating from the kitchen, Alice screaming her head off.
“It’s okay baby girl, don’t worry,” said Jules, bending to kiss Cara, her little face pink from crying. “We’ll be leaving in a minute.”
Cara stopped crying and smiled up at her, the trust in her blue eyes making Jules all the more determined to succeed. She turned and pelted back towards the kitchen, the stink making her eyes water. The fire was contained to the pan, dirty smoke billowing out of it. The high pitched whine of the smoke alarm hurt Jules’s ears. Ideally she would have liked to disable it but she couldn’t if the authorities were to believe it was an accident. Alice was writhing against her bonds, her wrists raw from the effort.
Ignoring her, Jules filled a cup of water then wrapped her hands in damp tea towels and used a pair of tongs to pour the water into the pan. She jumped back as a ball of fire leapt out of the pan and up the wall, igniting the kitchen curtains, the heat on her face ferocious. Jules retreated to the door to watch as the fire quickly ate its way through the room, cutting a path straight towards Alice.
“Jules please,” she screamed at the top of her voice.
“You’re going to burn in hell anyway. Might as well start getting used to it now,” she told her before striding from the room, careful to close the kitchen door behind her. Alice’s pleas for help didn’t move her in the slightest. In fact she got a lot of pleasure from them.
“Time to go baby girl,” said Jules, scooping Cara out of the playpen, picking up her favourite cuddly toy, a fluffy little rabbit.
Cara was happy to go with her, resting her head on her shoulder and sucking her thumb. She held her to her tightly as she raced for the front door, covering her little ears to shield her from Alice’s screams.
To her horror the front door burst open and there was Leighton Parker, tall, blond, handsome, the stereotypical boy next door, but the attractive exterior hid the soul of a demon.
“Jules, what’s going on? Where are you taking Cara?” he said casually.
“The house is on fire. We have to get out of here.”
His eyes widened when he heard the screams. “Is that Alice?”
Jules didn’t reply.
“This is you, isn’t it? What have you done?” he yelled.
“She’s on fire as we speak, which is what she deserves,” she hissed.
They both froze when they heard the wail of an approaching fire engine.
“What do you think they’re going to do when they find your little cage down in the cellar?” she pressed. “They’re going to wonder what you’ve been up to.”
“I’m not letting you two go, you’re my daughters. You’re coming with me.”
“The hell we are. Back off,” she said, pulling the knife when he advanced on them. Cara nestled closer into her shoulder, the little girl had never liked Leighton, sensing something was wrong with him. Jules wished she’d been as smart as her, she’d adored Leighton once.
As he approached her Jules was forced to stop backing up into the house, the heat behind her intense as the fire made its way from the kitchen towards them, Alice screaming like a tortured animal.
Leighton glared at Jules and hesitated before running out the front door, leaving his wife to her fate. Jules ran outside too, just managing to duck as Leighton’s fist came at her. She put Cara down on the grass behind her and stood before her protectively, the knife still in her hand as Leighton came at her again. She lashed out, the tip of the blade catching him on the left cheek and he recoiled, horrified, pressing a hand to his face to try and stop the bleeding.
“Fuck this,” he said before disappearing into the garden.
“I’ll find you and I’ll give you more scars to join that one,” she yelled after him just as the fire engine pulled up the drive. Leighton had proved himself to be the coward she’d always known he was. Hastily she shoved the knife back into its sheath.
Six burly firefighters rushed up to her.
“My parents are in the kitchen,” she screamed at them, feigning hysteria.
“Anyone else in the house?” said one of the firefighters.
“No,” she replied, picking Cara back up.
“Okay, keep well back,” he told her before tearing inside after his colleagues.
Jules resisted the urge to grin from ear to ear as she watched smoke pour out of the house. But the fire service had arrived quicker than she’d anticipated. One of the neighbours must have seen the smoke and called them.
An ambulance rolled up and the paramedic insisted on checking her and Cara over. Reluctantly she let them and after they’d pronounced them both well she was allowed to remain at the bottom of the garden and wait for news of her parents, cradling Cara, who watched the debacle with wide eyes. She’d said Leighton was inside because it was part of her plan in case the fire investigators realised it was arson. She held onto Cara, itching to see what state Alice would be in when she finally emerged. The kitchen had been consumed by the fire so the bitch must be dead by now.
After an hour of wrestling with the fire it was finally extinguished. Jules’s heart sank when the firefighters beckoned the paramedics to the door. If all they’d recovered was a charred corpse why would they need medical assistance?
The same firefighter jogged back over to her. “Your Mum’s alive.”
Fortunately he took her sigh to be one of relief. “How is she?”
“I’m not going to lie to you, it’s not good. She’s severely burnt. You might find the way she looks…distressing.”
“What about Dad?”
“I’m sorry, we only found one person in there.”
Jules found the crocodile tears came easily. “He was in there with her, I could hear him shouting.”
The fireman frowned. “Shouting?”
She nodded, doing her best to look sweet and innocent.
“He wasn’t in there, I promise you, so your dad’s alright. That’s good, isn’t it?”
Fuck no.
“Is there someone you two can stay with tonight?” he said kindly.
“They can stay with us,” called one of the neighbours, who had invited herself into the garden. She put an arm around Jules’s shoulders. “I’ll look after them.”
“Thanks Mrs Barton but we’ll stay at my boyfriend’s.”
The old woman’s lips pursed into a disapproving line but Jules didn’t care what she thought.
“Anyway I want to go to the hospital, I want to be with my mum,” said Jules.
“I’ll drive you down there,” said Mrs Barton.
Jules knew she didn’t give a shit about her or Alice, she just wanted to be close to the action so she could spread the gossip to the neighbours. Her sad, dull life revolved around the lives of others.
“Thank you,” she said politely, wishing away the interfering old bitch.
Jules sat by Alice’s bedside, drinking in the sight of her. All trace of the Alice she new was gone. The thick blond hair she’d been so proud of had been eate
n away by the fire, her entire body covered with bandages, the only part of her visible her eyes. She was unconscious and on a cocktail of painkillers so she wouldn’t have to endure the agony. She’d been intubated because her throat had swollen and she’d struggled breathing on her own. An IV had been placed in her backside, one of the few places untouched by the fire. After leaving Cara in the care of a neighbour - not Mrs Barton, the interfering old biddy - Jules had remained by Alice’s side for hours waiting for her to wake up. She wasn’t finished with her yet.
Eventually Alice’s eyes flickered open, the vibrant blue so pale her eyes were almost as grey as Jules’s. When they fixated on her she recoiled then moaned into the bandages.
“Shut the fuck up and listen to me,” Jules whispered in her ear. “I’m not going to tell the police about what you did to me and the other girls.”
When the pain eventually relinquished her Alice looked at Jules with a mixture of relief and puzzlement.
“When you can eventually talk again you’re going to tell the police Leighton did this to you. If you’re thinking about protecting him then forget it. He came home just as I was leaving the house with Cara, he heard you screaming and he did nothing. The coward ran away.”
Alice let up a wail, her eyes filling with tears.
“He doesn’t give a shit about you, he never did,” Jules went on. “So you’ve no reason to protect him. Tell them he started the fire after you argued. Then, when I turn eighteen, you will give me power of attorney because you’re going to be physically capable of fuck all. I want everything Alice - the house, the bank accounts, the cars. You owe me. If you don’t I’ll tell the police about what you’ve been up to, it’ll be easy enough to prove. I’ve stayed in touch with some of the other girls you abused. Together we’ll put you away for life. The fire service were asking about your cage in the cellar and I told them you kept dogs in it. If you don’t do what I want I’ll tell them what it was really used for. Work with me on this and I’ll look after you, I’ll make sure you get the best care. No shitty care home for you where the staff don’t give a crap and let you sit all day in your own faeces. Don’t even think Leighton might return and save you. He’s done a runner and he’s not coming back. Why would he? He doesn’t want you in that state. But I promise I’ll find him and make him pay for abandoning you.”
Tears stained Alice’s bandages but she nodded her assent, resigned to her fate. All the fight she’d possessed had been burnt out of her.
“Wise choice,” smiled Jules.
Jules walked out of the pretty semi-detached house in the suburbs, her face hot and eyes full of unshed tears. She’d just helped settle Cara into her new foster home and it broke her heart to leave her behind. She’d pleaded with Social Services to allow them to stay together but they’d resolutely refused because they weren’t related by blood, despite the obvious bond between them. Cara had cried every time she’d tried to leave but eventually she’d allowed herself to be distracted by her foster parents with toys. If all went smoothly they would adopt her. Cara had a chance at a decent life, they were good people. They’d also said Jules could visit whenever she wanted.
Social Services had palmed Jules off on her own foster family but already she was disobeying all their rules and basically doing whatever she wanted, spending the nights at Jasper’s flat. All she had to do was keep playing the system for another fourteen months until she was eighteen and then she would be free. And rich.
Jasper was waiting for her down the street astride his Yamaha Virago. His dream bike was a Harley but he was a long way from affording one of those. However he hoped his new venture meant he would soon be in possession of one.
“I’ve got a surprise for you,” he said, holding out her helmet for her to put on.
“What is it?”
“If I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise. Hop on.”
They rode through the city and into the countryside, to Jules’s surprise. They rolled to a halt outside a squat two storey building sheltered from the road by dense woodland. Paint peeled off the walls, all the windows were broken and the roof was punctuated with holes. They climbed off the bike, pulled off the lids and stared up at it.
“What’s this?” she said.
“This is the official Lucifer’s Shadow clubhouse,” he said proudly. “I know it’s a bit of a shit hole but we’ve managed to recruit a few blokes to the club who are pretty handy at the old DIY. They’ll have it done up in no time. Anyway, when you turn eighteen and you get access to Mummy and Daddy’s bank accounts we can buy something better.”
The corner of Jules’s mouth lifted into a smile. Clearly Jasper thought he was going to get his grubby mitts on the Parker fortune but she had no intention of letting him anywhere near it. If she did it would be gone in months. However she would allow him to continue with his delusion and if he tried to argue she’d convince him to see things her way. The weight of the knives strapped to her wrists assured her she would win too. She’d got herself a second knife to accompany the original, she liked them, they made her feel powerful. But most of all she couldn’t wait to try them out on Leighton Parker. He’d disappeared into the ether, probably convinced the police had uncovered his dirty secret. She’d find him one day, of that she was certain and she’d bring the wrath of God down on his head.
She’d decided against telling Jasper about her biological parents. Instead she’d made up a lie about her parents being a couple of junkies from Salford. If he knew the truth he’d start to get ideas above his station and encourage her to contact the Maguires or Laws in the hope of finally joining one of the big criminal families he so admired but Jules had other ideas. They would only find out about her when she deemed the time was right. Until then it would remain her secret.
“Careful,” said Jasper as they stepped inside, avoiding some dubious debris lying on the floor. The interior was just as dilapidated as the outside but Jasper talked excitedly about his grand plans. The way he made it sound they’d be living in Kensington Palace when the work was completed. She thought he was in for a disappointment.
They entered what she surmised had once been a kitchen but anything marking it out as such had been ripped out. A massive figure awaited them, gazing thoughtfully into the overgrown back garden, standing tall and proud, his back so broad it obscured most of the view into the garden.
“Dane, you’re already here,” said Jasper.
He turned to face them, dark eyes hardening when he saw Jules. “What’s she doing here?”
“I wanted to show her the place and get her opinion. This will be her home too when it’s finished,” replied Jasper.
“Why don’t you get yourself a grown-up girlfriend?”
“Jules is a woman in every way,” he replied in what Jules thought was a bit of a creepy, leery way. “And she’s going to be my queen.”
“Queen?” said Dane flatly. “Does that make you the fucking king Jasper? We’re supposed to be partners.”
“We are,” he replied, clapping him heartily on the shoulder. “But Jules is part of it too.”
Dane looked past him to her. “You think you’re tough enough for this, little girl?”
Jules smiled at him from under her eyelashes, but the look was far from sweet and innocent. Instead it was lascivious, demanding and it knocked the dissent right out of Dane. She could feel how she’d changed inside since she’d set Alice Parker on fire. She’d finished growing up in the space of a few hours after ripping her destiny from the hands of others and taking it back for herself.
The police hadn’t believed her lie about Leighton being responsible for the fire but their hands had been tied when Alice supported her story. Mummy Dearest was residing in a care home, permanently crippled by her injuries, her spirit broken. She’d already had her solicitor draw up the documents ready for Jules to take power of attorney when she turned eighteen.
“I’m going to check out the garden, I’ve not looked round it properly yet,” said Jasper cheerfully
, stepping out the back door into the Amazon rainforest.
Dane waited until the door had swung shut behind him before speaking. “You’re not wanted here Jules, you’re out of your depth. There’s no room for kids.”
He stood his ground as she sauntered up to him but she saw his gaze wander up and down her body, noted the heave of his big chest, the shame in his eyes at being attracted to a teenager.
“I’m here to stay Dane so the sooner you accept that the better. Besides, you need me.”
“Why would I possibly need you?”
“Because my IQ’s through the ceiling while Jasper can’t even dress himself without my help and you know it. He’s been calling himself ‘king’ all week. Already the power’s going to his head. He’s going to be a nightmare when the club’s up and running, he won’t be able to handle being president. He’ll turn into a dictator and cause chaos. You’ll need me to help keep him in line.” She flashed him her grin, which she knew got on his nerves. “We’ll do great things together Dane.” She took another step closer and rested her hands on his chest, taking great pleasure in how solid he was, the muscles rippling beneath the tight black t-shirt. She smiled when his nipples turned rock hard with lust. “Cold are we, or getting hot?”
He took a step back out of reach. “I wouldn’t touch you with a fucking ten foot pole. You’re poison, venomous.”
“Venom,” she said with a wicked smile. “I like that.”
He gave her a hard look before stalking outside to join his friend. Jules watched the two of them together from the window, Jasper even scrawnier and unappealing beside the magnificence that was Dane. One day the Great Dane would give in to her and she would finally experience an orgasm, which she had absolutely no doubt he could provide.
Jules raised her left sleeve so she could study the hilt of the knife Jasper had given her, running her fingers up and down the coiled body of the snake, touching its exposed fangs. Finally she’d decided on her tattoo. She could just picture the green scales of the reptile following the contours of her own sleek body, curling round her in an embrace. The ink would mark the start of her new life. Now all she had to do was come up with a new name, one untainted by either her biological parents or the Parkers.
Dividing Line Origins (Short story anthology - Dividing Line Series) Page 7