Jack had got a remote control sports car from Santa for Christmas, which he was very proud of and Archie kept looking at it like he wanted it, another reason why he’d hidden himself away in here, so he could play with it in peace without having to worry about Archie trying to take it from him.
His heart sank when the door opened and in came Archie, who was careful to close the door behind him. Jack stared up at him from the floor, clutching his car to him.
“Give me that,” said Archie, pointing to the car.
“No, it’s mine,” he retorted.
“I want it. Give it to me.”
“No,” said Jack louder, determined not to give in.
“If you don’t I’ll just take it from you.”
“Go away you big stinky meany.”
“You’re such a stupid little shit,” hissed Archie, hands balling into fists.
Jack was younger and smaller but rebellion rose within him. He would not allow Archie to bully him anymore. “You’re stupid. And ugly.”
“I’m going to batter you,” said Archie, advancing on him.
Jack looked hopefully to the door when it opened again, relieved to see Ethan and Aaron walk in.
“Archie, what are you doing?” said Ethan.
“Taking his stupid baby toy off him,” he replied, pointing to the red car which Jack still clutched to his chest.
“No you’re not. That’s Jack’s present, not yours. Leave him alone.”
“I want it.”
“You’re not getting it,” said Ethan moving to put himself between Jack and Archie. Aaron, without hesitation, placed himself at his brother’s side. “You’re always picking on Jack. Leave him alone. You’re just a bully.”
“Get out of the way,” snarled Archie, attempting to push Ethan aside but, to his surprise, he was unable to. He was even more stunned when Ethan and Aaron both pushed him, sending him staggering backwards.
“You’re going to regret that,” glowered Archie, charging at them.
Calmly, Ethan drew back his fist and punched him full in the face. Archie dropped to the floor, stunned by this turn of events, blood dripping from his nose and tears in his eyes.
“Yay,” cheered Jack, delighted.
Archie glared at them. “You’re so going to get done for this,” he said before letting up a wail.
The door burst open and Cathy charged in, followed by Rachel and Beth.
“Oh my God, Archie,” exclaimed Beth, kneeling by his side and pulling him into her arms. “What happened?”
“He…he hit me,” he gasped between sobs, pointing at Ethan.
“Is this true?” Rachel demanded of her son.
“Yeah but he was trying to take Jack’s car from him. It wasn’t fair, he’s always picking on him because he’s smaller.”
“Is that what happened Jack?” said Cathy, kneeling before her son.
He nodded. “Archie was being really mean. He wanted my car and I said no. Then he said he was going to batter me.”
“Archie,” exclaimed Beth.
“It’s not true,” he wailed. “They’re all picking on me.”
None of them believed it for a second but Beth was so delighted her little boy was letting her hold him for the first time in months that she didn’t have the heart to tell him off, even though he’d done wrong. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”
Neither Cathy nor Rachel objected to Archie being treated so gently, they both knew the constant struggle Beth had with him. Neither did they want any more unpleasantness on Christmas Day.
“You okay?” Rachel asked Ethan.
“My hand’s a bit sore but I’ll be okay,” he said casually, even though his hand was bruised.
“Good boy sticking up for Jack, both of you,” she smiled, ruffling Aaron’s hair. “Are you alright Jack?”
The boy nodded, nuzzling into his mum. “Ethan was awesome,” he grinned, making the boy preen with pleasure.
“Good. Who wants to play some party games?”
“Me,” the three boys called in unison, the unpleasantness already forgotten in their eagerness.
CHAPTER 3
It was late in the evening and all the family had gone back to their respective homes and hotels. Holly and Beth were both tucked up in bed, exhausted after their busy day and Alfie was in his room listening to music. Archie was alone. Finally.
Riley found the boy in the lounge, staring at the television, glued to his games. He didn’t react when Riley walked in. In fact he didn’t acknowledge his presence until Riley switched off the television. Rather than protest like a normal child, he just stared up at Riley in cold silence. Archie’s face was bruised, his nose puffy and swollen from Ethan’s fist. He had to give that kid his due, he could certainly punch, just like his dad.
“I know what you did today,” began Riley.
Archie didn’t reply, content with staring up at him, which annoyed Riley.
He knelt before the boy, eyes hard. “Why do you want to hurt your mum? Have you any idea of the damage you could have caused her if she’d fallen?”
He forced that sweet smile. “What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean. You spread that butter on the pantry floor on purpose, to try and make her fall. I know you don’t want her to have the baby.”
Riley’s suspicions were confirmed when the boy’s left eye twitched.
“Don’t you want another sister?”
“I’ve already got one.”
“Wouldn’t you like another?”
“No,” he hissed.
“Let me tell you something,” said Riley, sitting cross-legged before him. “I was engaged once to another woman, years ago, before I met your mother. We were going to have a baby together but some bad men killed her and the baby.”
Fury shot through him when Archie just shrugged but he determined to remain calm, for Beth’s sake. “I was a broken man for many years. Then I met your mother and all of you and I was happy again. Now we’re going to have this baby and life is perfect.” His gaze hardened. “I will allow nothing to spoil that. Not even you.”
“What are you going to do about it?” he sneered. “You can’t hurt me. You’re not my dad. My dad was famous. You’re not famous.”
“There are more important things in life than being famous. Plus I would never hurt you Archie. Believe it or not I do love you, like a son. But know this. If anything happens to Beth and our baby, guess who’ll be blamed?” He leaned in closer to him. “It’ll be you, the boy whose already hurt so many people. And do you know what they do to nasty little boys who keep hurting people?”
Archie suddenly looked less sure of himself and shook his head.
“They lock them away in a hospital with bars on the windows, where you can never escape. It’s a horrible place full of crazy people. No toys, no games or television. Is that where you want to go Archie?”
“N…no.”
“In that case, don’t pull any more stunts like you did today because I swear to God, if your mother has one accident, if anything happens to our baby then I’ll have you locked up in that horrible place and I’ll make sure you’re never let out. Is that what you want?”
Archie’s eyes filled with tears and he shook his head. Archie was good at crying crocodile tears but this time Riley knew they were genuine.
“Then I suggest you go out of your way to make sure your mum is safe and happy at all times. Do we understand each other?”
“Y…yes,” he sniffled.
“Good. Now get yourself to bed and have a good think about what we’ve talked about.”
For once Archie didn’t argue, he just got to his feet and rushed out of the room and upstairs.
Riley smiled to himself. That had been easier than he’d thought.
Jared Slattery gazed out of the window of the farmhouse in Berkshire he’d bought under a pseudonym, the sight of the rolling fields sprinkled with snow doing nothing to ease his misery. It was the festive season but he w
asn’t feeling very festive. His empire had fallen into the hands of that Slovakian slag Katia and her crew, his beloved mother was dead, murdered by Mikey Maguire, his daughter was all the way in Manchester and Jules, the love of his life, was locked in a coma. Admittedly that had been his mother’s fault and he’d been happy to leave her to her fate but now she was actually gone he couldn’t shake the guilt. For so long it had been just him and her after his sister had died of a drug overdose, united against the bullying of his father until Jared had become strong enough to take him out and become the new head of the family. Now she was gone too and he was all alone.
After going into hiding he’d snuck into Berkshire and quietly set up a crew around him composed of the local villains. They were doing quite well. No one had been strong enough to organise anything solid in the area, the local criminal fraternity a hotchpotch of wide boys and wannabes and he’d turned them into more. Best of all, he’d set up a chain of command that ensured his protection and anonymity. He was painfully aware that he was not only being tracked by the Laws and Maguires but by Katia too, who would be quick to stick the knife in when she found him.
For now he was safe and earning again, however it was Jules’s condition that tormented him the most. The daughter they’d had together - Cara - was safe and living with Jules’s husband, the cage fighter Jackson Driscoll. Jared was happy for her to remain with him. The one time he’d come into her life he’d terrified her and torn her world apart. He wasn’t a fit father and he didn’t want to hurt her any more than he already had. One of the men who worked for him was Mancunian born and bred and still had close ties to Manchester, so he was able to keep tabs on Jules and her condition and by all accounts she hadn’t improved. It was only a matter of time before her life support was switched off. He tried to console himself with the fact that it would be for the best if that happened. A woman as vivacious as Jules wouldn’t want to be stuck like that but it did nothing to ease the pain inside him.
Jared swigged from the bottle of whisky in his hand. His mother and sister were dead, his daughter was far away from him and always would be. If Jules died too he didn’t see the point in continuing his miserable existence.
Declan had just arrived back in Manchester. He’d come back early from Ireland so he could spend some time with Amber. In fact he was on his way to meet her while she was pretending to visit her parents. However he was being followed. Everyone thought he was fucking stupid, including the wanker who was following him.
He hurried around a corner and ducked down behind it, waiting for whoever was shadowing him to follow.
A slender, bearded man rounded the corner and came to a halt. “I’m not here to hurt you,” he said, looking down at Declan, making him feel small and silly. “If I’d wanted to do that I could have done it earlier. I just want to show you something.”
“Who are you?”
“I work for someone you may know.”
Declan noted the man’s southern accent. Jared was out of the game, which left one possibility. “Katia?”
“Bang on the money.”
When the man reached into his pocket, Declan was tempted to bolt down the alley he’d unwisely walked into but he forced himself to hold his ground, relieved when the man produced a couple of pieces of paper which looked unnervingly like photographs.
“You really want to see these,” said the man. “Believe me.”
Declan snatched them from his hand and retreated a few steps to flick through them, feeling increasingly sick the further he went on. The photos showed himself and Amber together. They often went on days out away from Manchester, where they could just be together without the risk of being recognised. The photos were compromising, it showed them kissing, holding hands, in one he even had his hand up her skirt when he’d thought they were entirely alone on a woodland walk.
“How the fuck did you get these and how did you know?” he said, voice hoarse.
“Simple. We identified you as the weak link in the Maguire-Law firm so we followed you. It was only a matter of time before you did something we could use against you.”
Declan’s annoyance at continually being considered the weak link was superseded by the sheer fear of what Mikey would do if he found out he’d been shagging his wife. “What do you want?”
“We’re not after destroying your entire firm. All we want is your connection to Toni McVay. Sabotage your family’s deal with her and no one will ever know you’ve been porking the dwarf.”
“Don’t talk about Amber like that.”
“Aww, is it love?” he said sarcastically. “You must have a bleedin’ death wish.”
“It’s none of your fucking business.”
“Oh yes it is because if you don’t sabotage your deal with the McVays then these photos will get sent to Mikey Maguire.”
“Do you think I’m giving you them back?” said Declan, sliding them into his jacket pocket.
The man rolled his eyes. “Do you seriously think I gave you the only copies? I’m not a fucking amateur. If it’s not done then those images will be winging their way to Mikey Maguire. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” he muttered.
“On the back of one of those images is a phone number. Call me when it’s done. I’ll see you around.”
Declan didn’t reply, he just glared at the man until he walked off.
“Fuck,” yelled Declan when the man had rounded the corner. His heart pounded and he felt sick. If Mikey found out what he’d been up to with his wife he would kill him stone dead, family or not. Plus he shuddered to think what he’d do to Amber. Mikey wouldn’t risk the city finding out he’d been made a fool of. He had no choice, he had to sabotage the deal with the McVays. But how?
Jules was in the best care home money could buy, elegantly decorated, every attempt made to inject some cheer into the surroundings but Leah hated it. She loathed the clinical smell and the silence. A normal hospital was quite a noisy place, people talking, staff scurrying about but here it was silent. The patients made no demands for food or drink or entertainment. There were no complaints about how uncomfortable the beds were and no one asked when visiting time was. Every room they passed was silent, the blinds drawn for privacy. She hated it that her lively, vivacious aunt was stuck in here, as silent as the rest. It felt like a tomb. Plus it was roasting, the heating constantly up high to keep the patients warm and coming in from the freezing cold to the baking heat made her feel slightly sick.
Rachel and Ryan came to a halt in the middle of the room. Jules’s appearance came as more of a shock to them as they didn’t see her as often as the others. The weight had fallen off her, her hair lank and lacking its usual shine. But it was the stillness that was the worst, the only part of her moving her chest as she breathed. The only sound was the bleep of the machine monitoring her heart.
Rachel - who had more experience of sickness due to her past as a nurse - stepped forward first, planting a gentle kiss on Jules’s cold cheek.
Ryan approached next, standing on the opposite side of the bed to his wife, placing a hand on Jules’s forehead. The two boys remained at the back of the room, looking uncomfortable while Leah stood at the end of the bed with tears in her eyes.
“She’s so thin,” said Ryan, causing a tear to spill down Leah’s cheek.
She jumped when her phone vibrated in her coat pocket. As her parents’ attention was on Jules she snuck it out of her pocket to peek at the screen, panic jolting through her when she saw it was Reid calling. Hastily she stuffed it back in her coat and mercifully the vibrating stopped.
“Are you coming to say hello sweetheart?” her mum asked her.
Leah swallowed hard and nodded, moving round the bed to stand beside her. She took Jules’s hand, shivering when she felt how cold her skin was. Suddenly the pressure became too much and she felt like she couldn’t breathe.
“Leah?” said Rachel as she raced out of the room, letting the door slam shut behind her.
She ran into th
e relative’s room, which was mercifully empty, sucking in deep breaths, leaning on the windowsill, the view looking out over the gardens, which in summer were a riot of colour but were now icy and bleak, mirroring how she felt inside. She sighed inwardly when the door opened behind her.
“Leah, are you alright?”
Damn, it was her dad. She found it harder to lie to him, to put on a front. There was something in his eyes that had a habit of drawing the truth out of her but she was determined this time he wouldn’t succeed.
“Fine,” she replied.
He stood beside her, his gaze on the window, to her relief.
“Why did you run out of there?” he said.
“It was a shock seeing her like that.”
When he wrapped an arm around her she nuzzled into him, taking the opportunity to swallow down her tears and get a grip of herself.
Ryan was surprised when Leah clung onto him, she hadn’t hugged him like that in years.
“She’s never going to wake up, is she?” she said, her tears staining his shirt.
“Don’t give up on her. If your positions were reversed, she wouldn’t give up on you.”
This statement made Leah feel worse and she caved into the tears. She was eternally grateful when her dad didn’t speak, he just held her. Maybe she should confess everything about Reid? If anyone could sort it out he could. But he’d be disappointed in her, think she was an idiot for getting involved in this mess in the first place and she couldn’t bear to see that in his eyes. She’d assumed that being a Law she’d naturally step into the role of vigilante, just like her parents had but she hadn’t bargained on the fact that they’d had years of experience and actually knew what they were doing, unlike her. Leah was rapidly being forced to confront the fact that she wasn’t a hardnosed gangster but a kid who only had experience of a few playground scraps. It made her feel pathetic.
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