BETRAYED

by Jacqui Rose

  Star leant forward to Del’s ear, cupping her hand round her mouth as she whispered very loudly, ‘Mummy’s got a baby in her tummy. I heard her talking to Claudia about it.’

  Del immediately looked at Claudia, who looked uncomfortable.

  ‘Well? Claudia?’

  Claudia shrugged. ‘I dunno.’

  Moving Star out of the way, Del stood up, scraping back the chair on the highly polished floor. He walked to Claudia and grabbed her arm, not too hard, but hard enough to let her know he meant business. Pulling her out of Star’s earshot, Del stared at Claudia. ‘Don’t mess about. If she is pregnant, I need to know.’

  ‘I … I …’

  Del shook Claudia’s arm. ‘Claudia, tell me.’

  ‘Yes. But she said you already knew. She was angry with me because she thought I’d told you.’

  Del looked bemused. ‘Why the hell did she think that?’

  ‘Don’t ask me. She said you’d had a phone call about it. So I guess she put two and two together and came up with five. Apparently that’s what you were arguing about when you … well, let’s say it how it is, shall we? When you smashed the place apart.’

  Del let go of Claudia as he thought. Arguing about it? They hadn’t been arguing about that, they’d been arguing about Teddy. Del glanced over at Star who was busy playing with Bunny’s hair. Oh Christ. It hit him. They’d both been talking about separate things. He’d been talking about her shagging Teddy Davies and she’d been talking about the baby. That’s why she’d said she was happy about it. What had he done? Fuck.

  ‘Claudia, have you told the doctor she’s pregnant?’

  As she shook her head, Del Williams charged out of the door.

  36

  Milo Burkov paced up and down the tiny flat, looking around him. At one time he was sure it’d been a decent place but it was clear the present occupier had let it get messed up. A bit like the occupier himself. Milo sighed, bringing his foot back to a kicking position. He booted as hard as he could, ignoring the squeal of the recipient on the floor.

  Teddy rolled about in agony. He held onto his stomach, but realised it was his side that was aching. In fact, his whole body was in excruciating pain. He looked up just as Milo crouched down, grabbing hold of his hair.

  ‘I’ll ask you again. How did Del’s girlfriend end up at the house?’

  ‘I don’t know. I swear.’

  Milo stared at Teddy. He’d always thought he was a disgusting slug of a man. He slapped Teddy on the face.

  ‘I want the truth, Detective.’

  ‘I did what I said I’d do. I gave you Del on a plate. It’s not my fault Bunny showed up instead.’

  ‘So if I speak to Bunny, she’ll tell me you had nothing to do with her being there?’

  Now this was a tricky one. Teddy gazed at Milo through his one good eye. If he said yes and Milo did go and speak to Bunny, he’d be in more shit than he was already. He chewed on the inside of his mouth. If he admitted he’d said something to Bunny now, he was terrified what Milo might do to him. There was nothing else for it. Teddy closed his eyes and pretended to faint.

  Milo had no time for cowards. He didn’t know any Russian men who behaved like women.

  Finishing off his cigarette, Milo pulled out his phone from his jacket. It rang and was answered almost immediately.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Del. It’s Milo. I wanted to give you my condolences. All of this is a huge mistake.’

  Del couldn’t believe what he was hearing. ‘“A huge mistake”? You shot my woman. That ain’t a mistake to me. That’s a fucking tragedy.’

  ‘And you shot one of my men. I think that makes us even, don’t you?’

  Del shouted down the phone. ‘No, not by a long way, pal. It’s only just getting started. You brought my family into it. You crossed the fucking line, Milo.’

  Milo’s voice was acidic. ‘Don’t let your ego get in the way, Del. I’m letting you off the hook. I’m giving you one last chance. We can draw a line under this. Shake hands and move on … You’d be very unwise to make us your enemy, Del.’

  ‘No, Milo. You’d be very unwise to make me your enemy. This isn’t over.’

  ‘If that’s what you want.’

  ‘It is.’

  The line went dead and both men looked at their phones, wondering which one of them had hung up first.

  Del’s face lit up as he saw Bunny’s eyelids flicker. He watched her as she opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the light and her surroundings as if she hadn’t opened them in a hundred years.

  ‘Bun. Bun. It’s me. You’ve been shot. You’re in hospital.’

  A flat reply came. ‘I know, Del.’

  Del stood up, concerned, leaning over Bunny who kept her gaze fixed on the ceiling. ‘The doctors say the baby’s going to be all right. Why didn’t you tell me? I mean I know you thought I knew, but I thought you were talking about something else. I couldn’t be happier, Bun. You and me. Well, you, me, Star and this little one.’

  Del placed his hand on Bunny’s stomach. She turned her head towards Del, wincing slightly at the pain as the drugs began to wear off, her eyes full of tears. ‘No Del. There is no you and me.’

  ‘What? You don’t know what you’re saying. It’s all that medicine they’ve put in you.’

  ‘No Del, I know exactly what I’m saying. You put our daughter at risk by your business deals and the men you associate with. I don’t want to be with a man like you.’

  ‘But they were never after her. It was me they were after.’

  ‘But it’s still me lying here, not you.’

  ‘I … I just mean, she’s okay ain’t she?’

  Bunny’s voice was full of scorn. ‘And that makes it all right does it?’

  ‘Of course it’s not all right but she was never in any danger.’

  ‘There you go again. Thinking you know everything. Telling me it’ll be all right.’

  Del sighed. He hadn’t imagined that the moment Bunny woke up she was going to chew his ear off.

  ‘But it will, Bun. Trust me.’

  ‘Stop it. Stop telling me to trust you. I can’t. I won’t.’

  ‘Well I’m saying it’ll be fine. Star will be fine. I’ll sort it.’

  ‘How can you possibly say that? You don’t know what’s going to happen. Do I need to remind you that I’ve been shot? What if I’d had Star in the car? Would you still be saying the same thing then?’

  Del exhaled heavily, trying to keep his patience. He knew Bunny was right, but he hated her being so angry with him. He’d been so worried about her; terrified she was going to die. Was it so bad to want her to be happy and try to reassure her everything would be all right? Instead of Bunny being as pleased to see him as he was to see her, she’d woken up and launched into one. Women. Even in intensive care she still managed to moan and do his head in.

  ‘Bun, listen.’

  ‘No, you listen, Del. I want you to take Star to Marbella. Get her out of the way for a while.’

  Del looked stunned. ‘I can’t do that.’

  ‘Don’t give me that.’ Bunny stopped. She was exhausted, drained and hurt and unable to think about what a narrow escape she’d had. She was furious with Del, but all she cared about at the moment was Star. It was always about Star. Her reason to keep on fighting.

  ‘Bunny …’

  ‘No, I want you to go. Please go.’

  ‘I think you better do as your wife says.’

  Del gave the nurse a steely stare as he thought better of ironing him out against the wall, then stomped towards the exit, purposely talking in a raised voice.

  ‘Don’t worry, I’m going, pal. And for your information she ain’t my wife – but she might as well be ’cos I can’t really tell the difference between the frigging pair of them. Do yourself a favour mate and stay well clear of fucking women.’

  37

  Alan Day reached for his nitrolingual spray. His chest was tight and to make matters worse he’d been su
ffering from a bad case of constipation. Papers and court documents were piled up on his desk with empty gum and Starburst wrappers scattered around, accompanied by coffee-stained mugs.

  His mobile rang. It was Del. He answered, his oily court manner breaking through. ‘Del. How can I help you?’

  ‘I need you to sort out some papers for a passport.’

  ‘Another one?’

  ‘Listen, Alan, I pay you to sort things out for me. I don’t pay you to be asking me questions.’

  ‘Whatever you say.’

  ‘I want to sort out a passport for Star. I’m taking her to Marbella.’

  ‘No problem. You can come to my office any time.’

  ‘Alan. I pay you enough to come to me. I’ll probably be at the hospital or at home. Give me a call when you’re on your way … oh and Alan, don’t make me wait.’

  Alan held the phone to his ear long after Del had hung up, wondering if any of it was worth it.

  * * *

  Star couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It was turning out better than she had hoped. Her Dad was back. Her mum was all right – but best of all, she was going on holiday. Just her and her Dad. Cushty.

  ‘I’m going to pack all me treasures and me spyglass in case I see some pirates. Do you reckon we will, Dad?’

  Del tried to show the enthusiasm Star deserved, but his mind was on other things; certainly not on pirates.

  ‘I don’t know, doll. We’ll see.’

  Del watched Star’s face drop. She was such a good kid. She’d coped so well with Bunny in hospital. At first she’d panicked, going into hysterical crying when they’d told her, but once he and Claudia had reassured her that Bunny was going to be fine she’d cheered up, seeing it, as she did everything, as an adventure.

  He tried again, trying to conjure up some excitement.

  ‘Okay, I can’t promise you pirates but I can promise you a good time. So why don’t you go and get everything you need while I make a few calls.’

  Star clapped her hands together and Del’s gaze followed her as she skipped out of the room. He didn’t know what Bunny was thinking. How was he expected to take her to Marbella when there was so much happening here?

  His phone rang. Shit. It was Edith. He hadn’t even thought about her. What the hell was he going to say to her?

  Alan Day hated hospitals. He hated waiting – and if he had known the woman who kept staring at him for no good reason, he most likely would have hated her as well. He turned to her, irritated.

  ‘So you’ve no idea how long he’s going to be?’

  Claudia stared. She hadn’t been able to take her eyes off this man since he’d walked in. He’d introduced himself as Alan but there was something so familiar about him.

  ‘Why don’t you call him? I’ve got his number if you want to try him.’

  Alan went into barrister mode. ‘I think you can safely deduce that not only do I have his number, but I’ve also tried calling him to see when and if he was going to arrive.’ Turning away, Alan rolled his eyes.

  ‘You don’t have to do that.’

  Alan looked taken aback. He blushed slightly. ‘Do what?’

  ‘Roll your eyes at me. I ain’t done nothing to you. You asked me a question. I answered it. Show a bit of respect, mate.’

  ‘I didn’t roll my eyes.’

  Claudia shook her head. ‘I ain’t stupid.’

  Alan gave a tight smile. His face said it all.

  Half an hour passed, and there was still no sign of Del. Alan looked at his watch. He really needed to get going. He was meeting another client on the other side of town soon.

  Alan stood up and walked over to Bunny, who was still sleepy from the painkillers. She looked up, startled to see him.

  ‘Bunny, I’m afraid I have to go. I’ve got another client I need to see, so can you give my apologies to Del? I’m going out of town tomorrow. I’ll be back the next day but that means I won’t be able to get these papers signed for your daughter.’

  ‘For Star?’

  ‘Yes, he wanted me to sort out a passport so he could take her to Marbella.’

  ‘Can’t I do anything?’

  ‘Well, you could sign the papers, but I have a feeling Del wants to do it himself.’ Alan stopped. ‘Sorry. Do you mind if I sit down? I feel a bit light headed.’

  Alan Day began to unbutton his shirt. He smiled at Bunny as she watched him, wide eyed. A strange feeling came over her. Cold panic. She turned her head away quickly. Sweat began to appear on her forehead. ‘Nurse! Nurse! I think I’m going to be sick.’

  Alan reached for a hankie from his pocket, hastily passing it to Bunny. He stepped back as the nurse rushed across and drew the curtains round Bunny, then pulled a face as he listened to her start to vomit.

  ‘I’ll sign it.’ Claudia stared hard at Alan.

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘I’ll sign the papers for Star.’

  ‘You?’

  ‘Is that a problem?’

  Alan gazed at Claudia, looking at her lazily. This place was making him feel queasy and all he wanted to do was get out of there. Screw Del – if he wasn’t going to bother turning up, he wasn’t going to bother worrying about who signed the papers. ‘I suppose not.’

  Alan took the papers out of his briefcase.

  ‘Just sign here.’ He handed his pen to Claudia. Slowly, almost trance-like, she moved towards him, her brain beginning to work overtime. She grabbed the pen and scrawled her name, passing it straight back to Alan. He gave a quick glance at Claudia, who still hadn’t taken her eyes off him, and leaned over the paperwork as Claudia watched him sign his name.

  Her eyes traced the flamboyantly written signature.

  Claudia began to back away, her breathing becoming shallow. Walking backwards she shook her head, muttering inaudibly under her breath. Alan waved the paper in front of her. She could see his mouth moving but couldn’t hear the words he was saying.

  ‘You need to take them to give to Del.’ Alan’s face was lined with annoyance. He waved the papers again, shoving them into Claudia’s chest before marching out of the intensive care unit.

  Claudia didn’t move for a moment. She clutched the papers against her body, leaning her weight against the wall.

  ‘Are you all right?’ The nurse looked at Claudia with concern. ‘Would you like to sit down?’

  Claudia’s voice was breathy. ‘I have to go … I have to go.’ Without saying goodbye to Bunny, Claudia hurried out.

  38

  Edith was beside herself with fury. Nothing was helping to calm her. Not her favourite tipple of gin, not the handmade chocolates from Selfridges, and certainly not seeing Alfonso Garcia’s smug face. On top of which, Del – the cause of her fury – wasn’t answering the phone.

  She’d been to the bank in Marbella expecting to withdraw some money; not much. Twenty thousand pounds. Twenty measly thousand pounds from her account. It wasn’t much to ask for, but the bank teller, with her perfect English, had tapped away on the computer and pulled a sympathetic face. ‘I’m sorry, Mrs Williams, you haven’t got the funds in there.’

  Edith had known it was a mistake. ‘Look again.’

  ‘Mrs Williams, I can see the balance here.’

  ‘I don’t fucking care if you can see the man in the frigging moon darlin’, I know the funds are in there.’

  The manager had eventually been called, a po-faced man who walked as if he had something sharp sticking up his arse. He’d taken Edith to one side and explained all too clearly that they’d had a phone call to limit her weekly funds and cancel all her cards. Edith had spat her disgust, shouting and screaming abuse at the manager, to no avail – and all in front of a smirking Alfonso, who’d been demoted to driver.

  ‘Then give me my weekly fund.’

  The manager, sick of Edith by now, had delighted in putting one hundred and eighty euros in her hand.

  ‘What am I supposed to do with that?’

  With a glint in his eye, the mana
ger had smiled at Edith and told her, ‘I couldn’t possibly say.’

  Standing by the pool in the villa, Edith wondered how it’d all gone so wrong. By rights she should be sipping martinis while looking out over the Marbella hills and playing the grieving widow, but instead she had less than one hundred and fifty pounds in her pocket and one very alive husband.

  ‘Do you want me to get you something?’

  Edith swivelled round and glared at Alfonso. ‘This is all one bleedin’ joke to you, ain’t it?’

  ‘Just doing my job like you asked me to.’ Alfonso’s beady eyes danced. Edith’s humiliation in the bank was something he’d played over and over again in his head. It didn’t come close to what she’d done to him, but it had still felt good.

  Edith screamed hysterically. ‘No, I don’t want bleedin’ anything – unless of course you know of a way of putting my husband in his place.’

  Alfonso amused himself with his own insincerity. ‘Now, I could’ve sworn you said it was sorted, Edith. Maybe that’s me getting my wires crossed.’ He grinned nastily. Edith leapt towards him. ‘Get that bleedin’ smile off your face.’

  ‘You’re the boss.’

  Edith lost control of herself completely and she clawed at Alfonso, drawing blood on both cheeks. He touched his face, staring at the drops of blood on his fingers.

  ‘That was a very silly thing to do, Edith.’ Alfonso turned and walked back towards the villa, a sly smirk breaking out on his face.

  Edith knocked back the gin in front of her, which was now warm thanks to the Mediterranean sunshine. She knew there must be something she could do to turn around her fortunes, but the problem was, she just didn’t know what.

  39

  ‘Bingo.’ Claudia got up from her bedroom floor, leaving her red shoe box of papers open as she clasped a handful of documents. She hurried out of her room and along the corridor to Del’s upstairs office. Without knocking, she barged in, using her foot to push open the door.