The Downfall Series Box Set

by Edie Baylis

  Anna smiled, loving the feeling of warmth which trickled down from where his lips had been right into the core of her being. “You know I’m not supposed to have anyone in the house. It was a close call before and Seth was suspicious.”

  Aiden grinned. “We’ll just have to be careful then won’t we! What they don’t know can’t hurt them. Or us...”

  THIRTY

  “FOR FUCK’S SAKE DIGGER!” Eliza snapped, her patience wearing thin. “How many more times do I have to tell you? We need to go and get her back. Now!”

  Digger scowled, trying not to look at the CCTV screen Eliza was watching which showed a girl in Room Nine riding a punter’s face like a bicycle.

  As the girl sat on the man’s face looking like she was all but suffocating him, the man – a heavy-set guy, naked apart from a pair of frilly pink knickers thrust his hips into thin air, his engorged member broken free from the tight lacy underwear.

  Digger stared in morbid fascination when the man began ejaculating over his own stomach for what seemed like for ever. “Christ!” he muttered in disgust.

  Eliza slapped Digger sharply on the arm. “Are you even listening to me or are you too busy getting off watching men come over themselves?” He might well have turned gay the amount of attention he’d given her recently.

  Digger scowled. “I heard you Eliza, but I’ve told you before we need to watch Lacey for the next few days to work out her movements. We need to get this bang on.” God, the woman was impatient. Did she not realise by now these things took time to do properly?

  Eliza slammed a notebook down sharply on the desk. “We haven’t got fucking time have we! That fat bastard is on the prowl and what if she disappears again? Have you thought of that?” She wasn’t prepared to sit around and let that little bitch slip through her fingers for the second time.

  Neither did she want Lomond steaming in and taking the girl in plain daylight. Exposing them all in his desperation to all and sundry. She needed to be in control of this.

  “Chill out Eliza!” Digger snapped. “I’ve got Lomond under control. Trust me, it’s all sorted. Lacey will be back. I just need a couple of days to spec everything out to make sure there are no fuck ups and it can get done in one go.”

  Eliza huffed petulantly and stared at her long nail extensions. He’d better come up with the goods. Men were so bloody laid back half the time and it made her sick.

  “I’m watching her tonight myself and then either I, or Aiden will repeat that tomorrow,” Digger said. “If everything adds up, we’ll take her the day after.”

  Eliza nodded. “Fine. Aiden’s with that snotty bitch Anna tonight. He’ll be doing some digging at the Wrights whilst they’re absent, but I’ll make him available tomorrow – that’s unless the Wrights get back and in that case, he’ll be on another job.”

  She’d been surprised to hear Aiden’s rather random idea of taking Tina and Anna’s mother out, but guessed it made sense. The way he’d planned it meant that Anna would become even more reliant on him, plus there was an extra bonus. Tina had agreed to give him half the life insurance money of which he was willing to split with her and Digger. Money for old rope.

  Digger nodded. He wasn’t quite sure why Aiden had volunteered to dispatch an old woman, but it made no bones to him. It was quite obvious Aiden was trying to prove himself. The bloke wasn’t stupid. He knew full well that pulling off a stunt such as this for a few quid proved he was up for anything they could possibly ask of him and it was no secret he wanted more responsibility at Elipse, as well as more money to boot.

  Digger shrugged. He couldn’t blame the guy. He’d have done the same himself. Aiden was bright enough as well as useful, so they could do a lot worse than having him on side.

  Suddenly he noticed the little girl sitting motionless in the corner of the office. Jesus Christ! “What the hell’s she doing here again?” he hissed.

  Eliza glanced at Emily uninterestedly. “Oh her? Don’t worry about that. I’ve finally got it into her thick skull that she’s to just sit here and say or do nothing if she knows what’s good for her.” She glared at the child. “That bitch of a social worker dumped her on me last minute this morning. It won’t be long now before we’re signed off and then we can just leave her at the house with a nanny and rarely have to set eyes on her.”

  Digger sighed and eyed the child suspiciously. “The kid best keep her mouth shut.” Eliza shouldn’t be discussing anything with her around.

  ANNA MISJUDGED THE height of the table as she placed her glass down unsteadily, but luckily Aiden managed to stop the expensive champagne flute from crashing to the floor.

  Despite the near miss, Anna giggled uncontrollably. The champagne had gone right to her head, but it was the second bottle, so it wasn’t altogether surprising.

  She’d been on edge when Aiden had first arrived, knowing she wasn’t allowed anyone in the house, but with the Wrights away and the need to spend some time with the man in front of her, she’d thrown caution to the wind. She was starting to come out of herself and beginning to enjoy life a little. And she liked it.

  Anna attempted to focus her glazed eyes on Aiden who got up from his chair and walked around the other side of the table towards her. Standing behind, he pushed her hair out of the way and began trailing his lips down the nape of her neck.

  A strange combination of desire coupled with shyness flooded Anna at the feel of his mouth on her skin and she remained frozen, staring at the table. She hadn’t had sex with him since that first time several weeks ago and she was nervous. Nervous in case it hurt like it had before and because she still didn’t have a clue what to do in situations.

  “Come here Anna,” Aiden murmured, pulling her to her feet. Seeing her stagger slightly, he smirked. The stupid cow was trolleyed from a couple of glasses of champagne.

  He would have to ensure he made her feel like a princess. He’d get the frigid cow to enjoy herself if he wanted to keep up the act, being as she had doubts over his sincerity. He had no idea how he would pull it off, but he’d give it a damn fine try.

  Unbuttoning Anna’s blouse, Aiden softly stroked her skin and slipped her bra straps over her shoulders, felt her stiffen. He suppressed his sigh of frustration. “What’s the matter?” he whispered, trailing his lips along her shoulder blade.

  “I-I need to listen out for Toby....”

  Aiden’s fingers inched along the inside of Anna’s thigh. “Don’t worry about him. He’s fast asleep. We’ll hear him if he wakes.” If I manage to get you going you won’t notice if he falls head first out of the fucking window! “Just relax Anna,” he murmured, his lips next to her ear as he slipped his fingers inside her knickers and gently pressed down on her clitoris.

  “Ohhhh!” Anna gasped, a strange sensation flooding her.

  Turning Anna around Aiden bent her forward against the table, his fingers continuing to work inside her.

  “Aiden? Ohhhh...!” Anna cried, heady currents of sensation flooding from within her.

  Aiden smirked, hoping he’d bring her to where she needed to be tonight. “We’ll hear anything that we need to.” Including if anyone unexpectedly returns. He upped the speed and pressure of his fingers. “Just relax and let me make you feel good ok?”

  THIRTY ONE

  SETH LOVINGLY WIPED THE soft soapy sponge over Jane’s breasts as she lay back between his legs in the oversized bathtub.

  Jane allowed the hot scented water to lap around her body and tried to let the feel of Seth’s fingers on her skin relax her. What a disaster. They had failed to locate their daughter.

  Seth reluctantly accepted Jane was right. He hadn’t had any spark of instinct, which made him feel the little girl wasn’t anything to do with him either. Initially he’d made excuses - after all, was it that surprising to have no connection with a child he’d never seen?

  But whether he liked it or not, he had to agree. The child bore no resemblance to either of them and certainly gave no impression of being unhappy, of
which Jane was convinced would be the case. Her sixth sense was usually bang on, so finding no reason to spend any longer staying in the hotel, they’d packed up and got on the road.

  Seth’s eyes narrowed. He would wring Mulligan’s neck for this. That fat fucker wasn’t any better than all of the other pointless leads they’d previously had. He was angry with himself for allowing that burning glimmer of hope into his soul and in turn, giving that to Jane. He knew she was devastated.

  He’d be calling that pointless bastard first thing in the morning to question why they’d been sent on a wild goose chase. Mulligan couldn’t have got it more wrong and he wanted a bloody good explanation. That and his money back.

  Seth clenched his teeth. It wouldn’t surprise him if Miller had given him the name of a shite PI just to piss him off. He’d be having words with him too.

  He desperately tried to contain his rage. He knew he couldn’t achieve or change a thing at this precise moment, but by hell – the shit would definitely be hitting the fan very, very soon. In the meantime, they were back to square fucking one.

  A boiling hot core of red anger remained burning brightly at Seth’s heart. They shouldn’t even be in this position and there was only one person to blame for that. Both he and Jane knew who that was and he should have taken her advice and finished Digger when he’d had the chance.

  Gritting his teeth and feeling the familiar pounding getting stronger in his veins, Seth’s thoughts were halted by Jane shifting positions in the huge round bath, raising herself so that she faced him. Leaning back slightly he groaned as she slowly sank down onto him.

  Seth placed his hand on Jane’s face as she began to move on him, her eyes closed. “Jane.... I...”

  “Shh...” she whispered. She didn’t want to talk about Grace or the situation. She was angry. More than angry, but resigned to what had happened and the only way she knew how to deal with that was to take control.

  She needed release. She needed to remove some of the frustration which had built up within her. It wouldn’t change the outcome of what had happened, but it would take her mind off the heartbreak she was experiencing for a few minutes. And she needed that more than anything.

  AIDEN SLUGGED DOWN a tot of whisky and stared at Eliza as she perched seductively on her office chair. He knew she was waiting for her, but he was knackered and the day wasn’t anywhere near over yet. Not by a long shot.

  “So,” Eliza purred. “Are you ready for tonight?”

  Aiden nodded. “Yep. Seth’s definitely back?”

  Eliza’s eyes narrowed. “Of course he is! Do you think I don’t know what I’m doing?” She eyed him maliciously from under her false lashes. He might be decent eye candy and she appreciated what he’d been doing lately – all of it, but regardless of any of that, she wouldn’t put up with sly comments from the shit head. She glanced at Aiden’s crotch feeling a twinge between her legs in readiness of what she expected from him after this briefing.

  Aiden wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. “I didn’t mean it like that. Just double checking – it’s a habit...” He grinned and attempted one of his cheeky winks he knew went down well with the ladies. Whether he was knackered or not he still had to keep this particular bird on side otherwise things would get difficult.

  Placated somewhat and feeling she’d got her point across well enough, Eliza flashed her dentist-whitened smile. “Glad to hear it. Good job with Anna last night too,” she smirked.

  Aiden grinned despite himself. Yeah, he’d certainly made Anna’s legs shake. Now she’d been baptised in the art of sexual pleasure he knew she wouldn’t be able to get enough of him. This was unfortunate from his side as he had no desire to have any more of her, but at least it was useful to the cause. That was what they paid him for after all.

  Eliza blatantly crossed her legs in front of Aiden’s line of sight, giving him an eyeful. “When will you be introduced to her dear mother? I need that working capital you’ve promised.”

  Aiden smiled. “It’s all in hand.” He didn’t intend on giving Eliza anywhere near the amount she was expecting. When Tina gave him his half of the insurance pay-out, he’d give this plastic slut enough to let him get out of here. She wouldn’t get a penny more unless she wanted Digger to know how she’d been working him. Two could play at blackmail couldn’t they?

  No, he wouldn’t be spending any more time doing her underhand errands. He’d set up on his own perhaps? That was unless Digger and Eliza made him a fully-fledged partner. And while they were at it, he’d insist that greasy fat pervert Lomond was binned off too.

  When Aiden had taken Anna breakfast in bed this morning, along with two paracetamol to ease her hangover, he’d casually slipped questions into the conversation about her family to pretend he was interested.

  It hadn’t taken her long to confide she hadn’t seen her mother for a while. He’d pushed on in a concerned way - after all she was supposed to be the light of his life. She was his Princess and he needed to keep acting the part of the Prince.

  “You should go and see her Anna. My father got killed in a motorway accident and I always wished I’d spent more time with him,” Aiden had choked.

  His father wasn’t dead at all. He was still very much running his scrap metal business down on the coast, happily shacked up with a twenty-five year old slapper last time he heard, but Anna didn’t need to know that.

  “Why don’t I come along?” Aiden had taken Anna’s hand. “I’m not trying to muscle in on your family, but being as we’re serious about each other I think it would be good.”

  He saw Anna frown as she tried to weigh up the situation, so felt he’d needed to add a tiny bit more incentive to the equation.

  “Unless for some reason you don’t want me involved in your life to such an extent. Maybe you don’t feel as strongly about me as I do about you...?” Aiden whined.

  This had been the winner. The reference to the importance of their joke of a relationship has been what tipped the balance in his favour. Anna had quickly and readily agreed that he was right.

  Now he’d just got to make sure it was all plain sailing, otherwise he’d be stuck with not only Anna again tomorrow night, but also – God forbid – her fucking mother as well. Still – everything was in place, so there was little chance of that being an option. He knew what he was doing after all.

  Eliza rubbed her hands together and watched Aiden stare blankly at the desk in front of him. She aimlessly wondered how long it would take him to notice if she started playing with herself.

  Still smiling sweetly, Eliza placed one of her legs up on the desk and slipped her fingers into her knickers. “Don’t forget I’ll need you for this business with Lacey the day after,” she said casually, knowing it was only a matter of seconds before he noticed what she was doing.

  “God Eliza, I’ll have no time to sleep with all the work you’ve got me involved in!” Aiden quipped, glancing over and nearly choking when he saw where Eliza’s hands were.

  “Mmm, but sleep is very overrated!” Eliza murmured, staring straight at Aiden. Beckoning him to fuck her. To take her right now.

  Unable to help himself and regardless of his bone-weary exhaustion, Aiden felt the familiar tightening in his groin. Fuck, he thought, seeing Eliza’s eyes linger on the steadily growing bulge in his jeans. He’d got no choice in the matter now.

  “Meant to say, I want you to drop another note through the Wright’s door later before you visit the ‘in-laws’,” Eliza smirked, studying Aiden’s obvious arousal. Yeah, when they read this one it would up the ante without a doubt. It was more than time... She opened her legs impatiently. “Come on then! What are you waiting for?”

  Wearily Aiden rose from his chair and began undoing his jeans.

  DIGGER GRINNED WIDELY as he accepted the drink Steve Lomond placed on the table. He was usually the one buying the drinks. Lacey’s movements and whereabouts had now been confirmed for two days and nights in a row, so it was fair to say they were pr
etty much home and dry.

  The route had been worked out and Eliza had settled on a snatch point where there was no chance of anyone spotting the actual take. It was all good.

  Digger frowned. It was a good job they’d wrapped up the planning when Lomond had burst into the office earlier. If he’d realised they knew where Lacey was, his desperation for the little bitch would have overtaken any necessity to sensibly execute her return.

  He fished his cigarettes from his pocket. “Fancy one of these Steve?”

  Lomond swivelled his owl-like head around and his beady eyes stared at Digger. “No thanks. We need to get going.”

  Digger looked confused. “Get going? I thought we were out for the night? Having a few beers and all that?” Lomond’s generosity had obviously been overstretched by the three pints he’d funded.

  Steve Lomond smiled. It was more of a sneer than a smile, but due to the general state of the man’s face it was relatively difficult to differentiate as to what half his expressions signified at the best of times. He really was a pig-ugly fucker.

  “I was just beginning to chill out,” Digger griped.

  “Who said we’re not out for the night?” Lomond grinned, unusually jovial. “At least for a bit longer anyway.”

  When Steve Lomond pushed his great bulk up and out of the wooden chair, Digger felt he should probably do likewise. He quickly tipped what remained of his lager into his mouth and got up. “Where’s the next stop then?”

  Lomond grinned. “It’s a surprise....”

  THIRTY TWO

  LACEY DESPONDENTLY PUT her things into her handbag and prepared to set off for Pegasus Place. She glanced at the clock. Almost 9...

  She sighed. She may as well live at the bookshop and probably would do so if it were possible. The atmosphere at the hostel was at the point of being unbearable. She’d tried to speak to Jennie several times since her outburst, but her former friend had made it very clear she’d said all there was to be said and wasn’t prepared to discuss it further. Apparently she knew what she’d done...