Daniel Butler opened his eyes and groaned. Lauren might be old enough to be his mother, but she gave a damn good blow-job. He’d never been with a bird that solely wanted to concentrate on his cock before. She’d even snorted her cocaine off of it.
Orgasm done and dusted, Daniel sat up. His head felt heavy, as though it wouldn’t rest on his shoulders alone. Yesterday had been a mad one to say the very least. He and Lee were still half-pissed from Christmas Eve when they’d gone on a lunchtime pub crawl and met Lauren and her sister. The women had spent the morning visiting their dying mother in a care home and it had been Lauren’s idea to get totally obliterated. She’d had the cocaine on her. ‘Whereabouts are we?’ Daniel mumbled. He remembered getting in a cab back to Lauren’s, but didn’t have a clue what area it had taken them to.
‘Epping, and your brother’s fine, before you ask. My sister is taking good care of him,’ Lauren smiled, fondling Daniel’s penis once again. She and her sister liked a toy boy. Why wake up with some beer-bellied middle-aged man when you could pull a young stallion?
‘Me stomach feels like me throat’s been cut,’ Daniel muttered. Dinner had gone out the window once Lauren produced her big bag of gear yesterday and he hadn’t eaten properly since Christmas Eve.
Lauren leapt out of bed. ‘Zoe and I will cook you and Lee a nice fry-up. You’re not in a rush to go anywhere, are you? There’s plenty more champagne in the fridge and cocaine in my closet,’ she chuckled.
Daniel grinned. Usually when he woke up after a heavy night with a stranger he couldn’t wait to get away, but Lauren was pretty for her age and had a very fit body and big tits. She was obviously also loaded. He remembered being extremely impressed by the cars on the drive and the gaff when he’d arrived. ‘Nah. Me and Lee ain’t gotta rush off, babe.’
As soon as Lauren vacated her bedroom, Lee entered and reminded his brother that they were meant to be going to Kent to meet Nathan and see their father.
‘Look at the state of the pair of us. We can’t go anywhere like this. Was Zoe a good shag, bruv?’ Daniel enquired. ‘Her sis was. Probably the best I’ve had,’ he bragged.
Lee grinned. ‘Same ’ere. Zoe couldn’t get enough of me.’
‘Snap. Which is why today we’re staying put. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, Lee. They’ve got plenty more gear and bubbly, so Lauren reckons. Fuck Dad. He didn’t even bother ringing us yesterday. As for Nathan, we can meet him some other time.’
Lee shrugged. ‘It’s your call.’
As far as Vinny Butler was aware, nobody but those closest to him and the Old Bill knew his son had been arrested, so he was shocked when he answered his phone to a number he did not recognize and Eddie Mitchell was on the line calling from prison.
‘How you doing, pal? Long time no hear from. I thought you’d forgotten I existed,’ Vinny quipped, trying his hardest to sound jovial.
‘I’m OK. Went out clubbing last night. You got a pen handy?’ Eddie joked back.
Vinny grabbed one. ‘Yeah. Why? What’s up?’
‘I know about Little Vinny. Do yourself a favour and use my brief. His name’s Larry Peters and this is his number,’ Eddie said, reciting it. ‘Sack that Darren, he ain’t no good. My man’ll have your boy out the nick in no time.’
Startled, Vinny replied, ‘How d’ya know? He’s innocent, of course.’
‘I know that, you muppet. I wouldn’t be offering to help if I thought any different. I’ve already spoken to Lal. It’ll cost you, but he seriously is different gravy and he’s expecting your call.’
‘But who told ya?’ Vinny asked again.
‘I’m Eddie Mitchell, Vin. Not a lot passes me by, even in this dump. Get on the blower to Lal now, eh? I’ll bell you again tomorrow. Laters,’ Eddie said, hanging up the phone.
Vinny’s hands shook as he dialled Larry Peters’ number. If a banged-up Eddie knew of his son’s arrest, who the hell else knew?
Bella D’Angelo was fuming. Her father had no right to have taken her kids to see Vinny and Michael without her permission. But it was Michael’s reaction to Antonio that had upset her the most. She’d thought more of him as a man than to take his bitterness out on a ten-year-old child. ‘You are seriously out of order, Papa. They are my children and I will decide if and when they see their father or Vinny,’ Bella screamed. She found it extremely difficult to refer to Vinny as Antonio’s father, always would.
‘I am sorry you feel that way, but I was only trying to help. You chose not to spend the day with your children and they were very sad.’
‘I needed to be alone. Was taking your advice and working out how I was going to sort my life out. That’s going to be even more difficult now though, thanks to your meddling,’ Bella replied sourly. Antonio hadn’t even looked at her on arrival. He’d blanked her and gone straight to his room.
‘Why don’t I take us all out for lunch?’ Giovanni suggested. He did feel guilty, and sorry for Antonio. The child had barely uttered a word all morning, apart from demanding to be driven back home.
Bella opened the front door. ‘This is my mess, Papa, so I will be the one to mop it up. Ciao.’
Vinny Butler was on the phone doing his best to reassure Sammi-Lou that all was going to be fine when his daughter yelled, ‘Dad, there’s a woman outside who wants to speak to you.’
‘Sammi, I’ve gotta go. But please don’t make your way to the police station. It’ll only complicate matters. He’ll be home later today, honest,’ Vinny promised, before ending the phone conversation. Gary Allen had insisted on knowing the ins and outs of a maggot’s arse and Vinny had needed a chat with him today as much as he needed a leg chopped off.
‘Who’re you? And what d’ya want?’ Vinny asked. The woman was visibly upset. ‘Only it’s Boxing Day if you hadn’t realized,’ he added sarcastically.
‘I’m Richie’s wife. My mum’s looking after the kids,’ the woman wept.
‘Richie who?’
‘Woods. Look, I know he was doing a job for you on the inside, Vinny, and you must’ve heard what happened to him. Can we talk somewhere more private?’
‘Wait by my car. I’ll get the keys,’ Vinny hissed. ‘You been earwigging?’ he yelled at his daughter, as the door opened and hit her.
‘No. I was straightening Nan’s mat,’ Ava lied. She’d actually heard every word and wondered who Richie Woods was. Her dad was a legend round this neck of the woods, she knew that much. Even the older kids at school treated her with the utmost respect, and Ava had decided long ago that being Vinny Butler’s daughter was a good thing, not bad. ‘Where you going?’ she asked nosily.
‘Out. Tell Nan I’ll ring her later.’
Vinny gestured for Richie’s wife to get in the passenger seat. He then drove the car in silence. It was hardly his fault her useless husband had allowed Preston to get the better of him, was it? Word had it, Preston had now left hospital and been shipped out to Long Lartin, a category-A prison in the West Midlands. He’d also heard a rumour that Shirley Preston had croaked it, but that was yet to be confirmed.
‘Where you taking me?’ Kaz asked, a hint of anxiousness in her voice.
Vinny didn’t reply until he’d stopped the car behind a building. The area was desolate today, as he’d known it would be. ‘What is it you want? Money? Only it ain’t my fault if your old man couldn’t hold his own, is it?’
‘Apart from the money your blokes brought round, which I’ve already spent on bills and presents for the kids, I don’t have a bean,’ Kaz sobbed. ‘My Richie died helping you. Surely you owe me and the kids something?’ she added bravely.
Vinny turned to face Kaz and treated her to one of his most penetrating glares. ‘Your Richie actually died trying to help you, sweetheart, not me. He felt guilty knowing you were struggling and begged me for a bit of work to take the onus off you. Perhaps you shouldn’t have kept nagging and telling him how tough you were having it, eh? How did you expect him to earn dosh in a prison? However, I ain’t a total ogre. So I�
��ll get one of the lads to drop by in the next day or two with a couple of grand condolence dosh. That’s the end of any debt you think I owe, and in return for my generosity I expect you to keep your trap shut about my involvement in all of this. OK?’
Kaz nodded. She’d been hoping for at least five grand, but a couple was better than nothing.
‘Oh, and another thing: you ever betray me or turn up at my mother’s gaff like that again, I will set your house on fire with you inside it. Now, do we understand one another?’
‘Yes. I can walk home from here. Thanks,’ Kaz mumbled, scrambling to open the car door. She’d never had any personal dealings with Vinny Butler in the past and seriously could not get away from him quick enough. The rumours about him were definitely right. The man was a psychopath.
DS Terry was in a foul mood. Darren Fitzgerald had supposedly gone down with a sickness bug (which the whole station knew was a load of old codswallop) and Larry Peters had been drafted in as a replacement.
There wasn’t a copper in the country who didn’t dread the news that Larry Peters was getting involved in an arrest. He’d always been a mastermind at getting clients off on technicalities, and his reputation had risen sky-high when he got Eddie Mitchell off both murder and manslaughter for killing his wife. Terry guessed Mitchell was the one who’d instigated the swap in briefs, even from his cell. It was common knowledge among the authorities that Vinny Butler and Eddie Mitchell were pals, although Butler was yet to visit Mitchell in prison by all accounts.
After another fruitless couple of hours questioning Little Vinny, who now had Peters sitting next to him and would only reply ‘No comment’, Terry was called out of the room and told his boss needed to speak to him.
Knowing that Little Vinny was lying through his teeth, Terry entered his boss’s office full of optimism. ‘He hasn’t folded yet, but he will if we keep him here.’
‘He’s not going to fold and you know that as well as I do, Terry. The lad’s a Butler, for fuck’s sake. The tape will be deemed inadmissible, especially with his father having known about it and given a statement.’
‘But he’s guilty. I know he is,’ Terry argued.
‘And Jamie Preston has now killed a man inside. How do you think that’s going to look in a court of law?’
‘Not great. But I intend to get Little Vinny to spill his guts anyway.’
‘Listen to me carefully, Terry. I’ve had a long, hard think about the evidence we have and the position we’re in and I’ve come to the conclusion that some stones are best left unturned. The press would have a field day if they even got a sniff we’ve made a cock-up and locked up the wrong bloke. Both you and I worked on Molly’s case originally. Do you want to be demoted and end up with egg all over your fucking face? Because I sure don’t. There’d be a lot of heads on the chopping block if this got out, you get my drift?’
‘I know what you’re saying, boss, but Preston never killed Molly Butler. I’d put my house on that.’
‘And if you lose your job you won’t have a fucking house. Whether Preston is guilty or not, he’s no good. If he hadn’t stabbed a bloke to death a few days ago, you can guarantee he’d have been out soon, terrorizing Essex and flogging drugs with his old cellmate, Glen Harper. Do you seriously think a man like that is worth risking all you’ve worked for, Terry?’
Digesting the underlying threat, DS Terry defeatedly shook his head. ‘No, boss.’
Bella D’Angelo tapped on her son’s bedroom door. Cami thankfully seemed happier now, and was downstairs watching Home Alone for the tenth time. ‘Can I come in, please?’ Bella asked, her tone gentle.
‘Whatever.’
Bella entered the bedroom. Antonio was lying under his duvet with his back towards the door. She sat on the edge of his bed and put the tray on the floor. ‘I made you some sandwiches and a chocolate milkshake.’
‘I’m not hungry.’
Bella stroked her son’s hair. ‘You have to eat, otherwise you will become ill. Look at me, please. We need to talk.’
Antonio propped himself against a pillow, arms folded and a sullen expression on his face.
‘I know you hate me at the moment, but I want you to know that I love you very much and will do anything I can to make you happy again. Tell me what will cheer you up and Mummy will sort it.’
Antonio shrugged.
‘How about we invite Edward for a sleepover?’
‘I don’t think Edward wants to be my friend any more.’
‘Why do you say that?’
‘Because I told him Michael left us. Then I rang him again earlier and his mum said he is busy for the rest of the holiday. It’s because of you, I know it is. I’m not going back to that school because everybody will know what you did.’
‘You don’t have to go back there. We can choose another school and you can start afresh. Would you like me to call Vinny and make some kind of arrangement for you to meet him properly?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because I don’t like him.’
‘Why don’t you come downstairs and watch Home Alone with me and Cami? You love that film, don’t you?’
‘I don’t want to watch it again.’
Bella stroked her son’s cheek. ‘You tell me what I can do to make you happy then.’
Pushing his mother’s hand away, Antonio yelled, ‘Go away and leave me alone. That will make me happy.’
Michael Butler was in an agitated mood. He couldn’t get hold of Daniel or Lee, and Katy’s lovesick behaviour and constant fussing over his every need was beginning to drive him insane.
‘I fancy a bit of fresh air. I’m gonna take a wander down the pub. I won’t be long,’ he told her.
After waiting so many years to finally get him in her clutches, Katy wasn’t going to let Michael out of her sight that easily. ‘Nathan and I will come with you. The pub on the green is child-friendly.’
‘Nah, you stay put, babe. I spotted a bookies as I drove ’ere the other day, so I’m going in there first.’
‘I didn’t know you gambled,’ Katy questioned.
‘I don’t as a rule. But I fancy putting a bet on the football today. I’ll only be a couple of hours tops, and if the boys turn up in the meantime, bell me and I’ll come straight home. Got a feeling they ain’t coming now though. Probably out on the lash somewhere.’
Last night’s lovemaking hadn’t been a patch on what Katy recalled in the past. But Michael’s penis had been back inside her where it belonged and that’s all that mattered. ‘You’ve not changed your mind about Bella, have you? Only I’d rather you be straight with me than sneak about to phone or visit her.’
‘Give me a break will ya, Katy? I won’t be getting back with Bella, ever. I just need a bit of space, OK?’
‘What time are my brothers coming, Dad?’ Nathan shouted out.
‘I dunno, boy. They might not be able to make it today after all, but you will meet ’em real soon, I promise.’
As soon as Michael left the house, Katy told her son the exciting news. ‘Mummy and Daddy are back together and we’re all going to live happily ever after now.’
‘Are you getting married?’ Nathan asked innocently.
Katy chuckled. ‘Not yet, but perhaps one day. When your dad comes back I want you to tell him how happy you are we’re back together and that you love having him living here. You mustn’t let him know I told you to say it though. Shall we have a practice? You say it in your own words. Pretend I’m your dad.’
Nathan nodded. ‘Dad, I am so happy you and Mummy are back together and I love you living here with me.’
Katy grinned and hugged her son. ‘You’re such a clever boy. That’s perfect.’
Vinny Butler stuffed five grand in the envelope, rather than the two he’d promised Sharon. Richie Woods might have been a bit of a dick, but he was trustworthy and Vinny felt a tad guilty for scaring his old woman. He’d needed to ensure her silence though. If Glen Harper found out that he
was behind Preston’s torment, Vinny could foresee trouble ahead and another gangland war was the last thing he needed at present.
He was about to drop the money off with Carl when Larry Peters phoned him.
Vinny Butler felt relief flow through his veins as he was told the good news. ‘Thanks so much, Lal. I’m on my way there now.’
Queenie Butler turned to her sister. ‘That was Vinny. Little Vinny’s being released without charge. I should bastard- well think so too. Must have been to hell and back, stuck in that nick having to go over his sister’s death again. I need to make some calls. We don’t want nobody knowing about this. You know what they’re like round ’ere with their “No smoke without fire” comments. I’ll ring Sammi-Lou first, then I need to get hold of Tara and Tommy, make sure they keep their traps firmly shut.’
‘I’m gonna pop back to mine for a bit, Queen. Something I need to do. Great news they’re letting him go. I’ll be back in an hour or two.’
‘What you gotta bleedin’ do?’
Vivian put her coat on. ‘A favour I promised. You make your calls and I’ll explain all later.’
Sammi-Lou knelt on the carpet and hugged her boys. ‘Daddy’s coming home soon,’ she informed them, tears of relief in her eyes.
‘Will he play my mouse game with me, Mum?’ Regan asked.
‘Of course he will.’
‘Will Dad be home in time to read me a bedtime story?’ Calum enquired.
‘Yes, he will, darling,’ Sammi grinned. It had been an awful Christmas, but they’d make up for that over the next few days.
Understanding the situation a bit more than his brothers, Oliver looked worried. ‘Will the police come back and take Dad away again?’
Gary Allen picked his eldest grandson up. ‘Of course they won’t. Your dad’s done nothing wrong.’
Meg Allen smiled. ‘You’d better ring Finn, Sammi, let him know.’ Little Vinny’s business partner had been sick of sitting around doing nothing and had left about half an hour ago to drive up to Bow Police Station.
Tainted Love: The gritty new thriller from the #1 bestseller Page 31