Reckoning

by Heather Atkinson

  “Shit, get yourself to the hospital sharpish,” said Mikey. “Take Mark and Grant with you.”

  “They’re needed here. Declan’s with Cathy,” replied Jez before jogging for the door.

  “Take Shane, let him cut his teeth doing some bodyguarding,” Mikey called after him. He gave Shane a hard nod, who nodded back and followed Jez outside, looking a bit bewildered.

  “I hope Cathy’s okay,” said Jules. She was very fond of Cathy already, she was smart and sassy, a lot more than Amber. Jules wasn’t sure if her slight dislike of Amber was for genuine reasons or simply because she was Mikey’s wife, she didn’t like to analyse her thoughts too closely, Jules wasn’t used to feeling jealous of other women, in fact it was a first for her.

  “Me too,” said Mikey.

  He looked to Jules, who stared right back at him before they both looked at the office door then back at each other, wondering if they had time to go back in there.

  “We really need to get back to the compound,” said Grant.

  Mikey sighed again. “Fine. I need to call my mum anyway.” He couldn’t put it off any longer.

  As they walked to the door, Grant and Mark leading the way, Mikey reached for Jules’s hand. She allowed him to brush her fingers before snatching her hand away.

  CHAPTER 17

  “Cathy, are you okay? How’s the baby?” exclaimed Jez, rushing to her side. She was in a cubicle in A&E, her mother by her side.

  “It’s okay, calm down,” said Cathy, taking his hand. “The bleeding’s stopped. They’ve just done an ultrasound, the baby’s fine.”

  “Thank God. So what’s caused the bleeding?”

  “That’s what they’re investigating. We’re both okay, so don’t panic.”

  Jez released a long, slow breath as he gazed into Cathy’s eyes, reassured she was alright.

  He took a moment out of his mild hysteria to say hello to Cathy’s mother Maureen, who gave him a fond smile. Despite his dubious reputation and murky business dealings, Maureen and her husband were very attached to their son-in-law, mainly because his love for their daughter shone through. They had thought they would be continually worrying about him cheating on Cathy, men in his position always attracted gold diggers and tarts but it had never been an issue. When he wasn’t working he was at home with his family. They’d heard all the rumours about the terrible things he’d done but Maureen ignored them. Her little girl was happy and that was all she cared about.

  “Where are Jack and Ruby?” Jez asked his mother-in-law.

  “With Charlie. He distracted them with ice cream,” she replied. Charlie was her husband and a very doting granddad.

  “So they don’t know anything’s wrong?”

  “No, we just told them I had a hospital appointment,” said Cathy. “They’re fine.”

  Jez smiled down at his wife, stroking her hair back off her face. “You think of everything,” he said before kissing her, Maureen turning her head to give them some privacy.

  Outside the cubicle Declan and Shane waited. The latter kept looking towards Declan, trying to mimic his stern, straight presence.

  “So,” Shane said when Declan had been silent for some time. “Are you related to Mikey?”

  “I’m his cousin.”

  “Are you related to Jez and Ryan too, like Jules?”

  “Nope. Just Mikey.”

  “Oh. What are you looking for?”

  “Jared Slattery,” he replied impatiently.

  “I saw him back home in Nottingham.”

  “Then you’ll know what he looks like. Keep your eyes open.”

  Shane nodded and mimicked Declan’s steely gaze, scanning each passer-by suspiciously. “Is he likely to turn up here?”

  “You never know. Times like this it’s best not to take any chances.”

  “Times like this?”

  “War.”

  That one word shot a chill down Shane’s spine. Declan looked at him with a small, sympathetic smile. “Scary, isn’t it?”

  “No,” retorted Shane a little too quickly.

  “Yeah it is. When I first started working for Mikey and Jez a war started. With Alex.”

  “Alex Maguire,” said Shane almost with awe.

  “Yeah, prick that he was. He had it all and he threw it away. Personally I think he went mental, couldn’t handle the power. It sends some people that way.”

  Shane wanted to pinch himself again. This was the closest he would ever get to the legend that was Alex Maguire but this man had known him, spoken to him, he was even related to him by blood. To Shane, it was amazing.

  “You ready for what’s going to hit us?” said Declan casually.

  “Yeah,” replied Shane, full of bravado.

  “It’s going to get rough, really rough. Let’s hope you don’t bottle it.”

  “I won’t. I can handle myself.”

  “So I hear but this isn’t scrapping on some sink estate. This is going to be brutal, dangerous, life-threatening,” said Declan with relish.

  “I’m ready,” said Shane gravely.

  Declan smiled and shook his head. “You really have no idea what’s coming.”

  Shane opened his mouth to throw a gobful at him, then thought better of it and kept his big mouth shut. This was a Maguire he was talking to.

  Brogan and Duane were waiting to greet them on their return to the compound.

  “How are the preparations going?” Mikey asked Brogan.

  “All done Boss,” he replied. “It’s as safe as houses.” His eyes scanned the four of them. “Where’s Jez?”

  “Hospital,” replied Mikey. “His missus has been taken ill.”

  “I hope it’s nothing serious.”

  “It is,” he replied grimly before striding inside, Jules, Grant and Mark following.

  Brogan and Duane glanced at each other. “I’ll let Jared know,” said Duane quietly once they’d all disappeared inside.

  “And quick,” replied Brogan. “There isn’t much time.”

  “We’ve got everyone on the lookout,” said Grant once they were all ensconced in Mikey’s office. “But if Jared is in Manchester he’s laying low.”

  “He’s a slippery bugger,” muttered Mikey, something heavy and uncomfortable settling in the pit of his stomach that wasn’t to do with Jake’s death. His shit detector was going mad. The sooner Jared was found the better. “I want you two to double-check the preparations,” he told Mark and Grant. “I don’t trust that lot out there to do it unsupervised.”

  They both nodded and left.

  “What do you want me to do?” said Jules cheerfully with a suggestive wink.

  Mikey’s eyes burned. “Don’t tempt me.” He frowned when she took a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket. “No.”

  “Sorry, wasn’t thinking,” she smiled. “I like a smoke when I’m horny. And who’s fault is that.”

  He couldn’t resist a small smile. “Fuck me lady, cigarettes or not, I want you.”

  “Yeah, well, you can’t have me.”

  “I could have back there, at the club.”

  “Maybe,” she said, replacing the packet in her jacket pocket.

  “Yeah I could.” Just the memory made him go hard again.

  Jules smiled wickedly. “Down boy.”

  He smiled back, eyes twinkling.

  “So, am I forgiven?” she said.

  “For what?” He recalled what had happened to his brother. “Oh, yeah I suppose.”

  “You know it makes sense.”

  “No I don’t. I’m not sure of anything anymore.”

  Jules’s smile fell. “Mikey, what the hell is going on here?”

  He glanced at his wedding ring. “Buggered if I know.”

  “You’ve got a nice wife and a kid. Don’t ruin it for me.”

  A variety of emotions raced through Mikey, none of which he wanted to deal with. “I’ll call my mum,” he muttered, snatching up his phone.

  “And I’ll go outside for a ciggie,” she
said.

  Mikey watched her go, eyes fixed on her backside before shaking himself out of it and dialling.

  “Wolf, come up to my office, quickly,” said Dane into the radio as he stared at the bank of security monitors. His nightclub - Club Decadence - was open for a special VIP event, the theme angels and demons. Dane himself was dressed up as a devil, wearing his traditional tight black leather trousers, bare torso painted red, a black goatee beard stuck to his face and little red devil horns nestled in his dark hair. Wolf arrived two minutes later, dressed in a smart suit. No matter the theme at the club Wolf always resolutely refused to join in the spirit of things. However he did live up to his name with his wild dark hair and mutton chop beard that ran from his temples to his chin.

  “What do you make of that pair? They look a bit suss to me,” said Dane, indicating two men in long black leather Matrix-style coats hanging around the bar.

  “Could be newbies?” offered Wolf. “A lot of people coming here for the first time are nervous.”

  “I get the feeling there’s more to it than that.”

  “They weren’t carrying anything, I searched them myself on their way in because I got a weird vibe off them.” Wolf frowned at the screen. “Why do their coats suddenly look bulky?”

  Dane leapt up. “Shit, get onto your men, I want that pair off the main floor right now.”

  Wolf got onto his radio as he ran after Dane down the stairs and out onto the club floor.

  “Not now Candi,” snapped Dane when a woman dressed as a naughty angel sidled up to him and tried to take his hand. He spotted the two men reaching inside their coats for what Dane thought could only be a weapon. His security team were fighting their way across the dance floor towards them. Dane got back on the radio. “Jim, spotlight on the two dicks in long black coats at the bar. Now.”

  The two men jumped when the spotlight flashed on them, squinting into the light. Fortunately they decided to leave whatever was hidden in their coats in place.

  A round of applause went up around the club when Dane jumped onto one of the tables and was handed a microphone.

  “It’s time to announce the winners of tonight’s cash prize, which amounts to one thousand pounds,” he called to the room. He often ran promotions like this so it wasn’t out of the ordinary, although he’d made this one up on the spot as part of his ploy to get this pair out of his club without scaring his punters. “Every entry ticket purchased this evening was assigned a number, which went into the draw and the winners are these two men standing at the bar,” he said, gesturing to them with a sweep of the arm, hoping no one picked up on the fact that he knew who they were without seeing their entry tickets.

  When Dane looked over again his security team had surrounded the men.

  “Gentlemen, if you’ll follow Wolf upstairs we’ll sort out your prize,” ended Dane before tossing the microphone back to Jim the DJ and jumping down off the table. He approached the two men, who were still tightly encircled by security, and they looked down at the floor, unable to meet his eyes.

  “They were carrying these,” said Wolf, opening his suit jacket to reveal two machetes.

  “Jesus, were you going to use them on my customers?” demanded Dane.

  The two men refused to answer.

  “Upstairs gentlemen, it’s time for you to get your prize.”

  After being marched upstairs the two men were catapulted into Dane’s office and landed in a heap on the floor.

  “Do a thorough check for weapons,” ordered Dane.

  He watched as they were searched. Now they were in the light he could see that one was young, probably no more than twenty while the other was a bit older, most likely early thirties. Dane looked out of the vast sea of glass that looked down on the club. Everything seemed to have returned to normal, thank Christ. Despite the massive window no one could see into his office as the glass was one-way. They could do what they liked to this pair and no one would know.

  “They’ve got these too,” growled Wolf, throwing a couple of small knives onto Dane’s desk. “Where the fuck did they get them from? I searched them personally and they weren’t carrying anything.”

  “It’s true,” said another of the bouncers. “I saw him.”

  “That’s because they collected the weapons from inside the club,” said Dane, frowning down at the two men, who had been forced to their knees for the search. “They disappeared into the toilets and when they came out their coats were bulkier. Who planted them for you?”

  Both men shook their heads and stared at the floor.

  “Look at me,” roared Dane, bringing his fist down on the desk, making their heads snap up. He looked to his men. “Anyone recognise them?”

  “Nope,” said Wolf and the others shook their heads.

  “Me neither. Any ID?”

  “None,” replied Wolf.

  “Who are you and who sent you?” Dane demanded of the two men.

  Both refused to talk.

  “That’s it, I’m not fucking about here,” said Dane, grabbing the elder of the two men and throwing him face down on his desk. He picked up the machete and raised it over his head. “Start talking or I start chopping.”

  “I can’t, he’ll kill me,” exclaimed the man.

  “Who will?”

  The man released a loud groan of frustration before shaking his head.

  “Have it your own way,” said Dane before bringing the machete down on the man’s hand, severing it mid-palm. The man screamed but no one could hear, the sound drowned out by the music pumping out down below.

  “Is this what you intended to do to my customers?” yelled Dane, yanking the man’s head back by his hair. “Lay into them with machetes, innocent, unarmed people just wanting to have a nice time. You fucking coward,” he said, bouncing the man’s head off the table, bursting his nose, more blood joining the pool running from his hand. With a grunt of rage Dane released him and he slid to the floor. He rounded on the younger man and pointed the bloody machete at his face. “You’d better start talking because I’m rapidly running out of patience. He was the lucky one because I only took his hand but I swear to God I will take your head off if you don’t tell me something.”

  The second man stared into Dane’s devil face, the dark eyes burning in the red skin and he was undone. “One of your staff planted the weapons,” he shrieked.

  “Who?” he snarled.

  “Candi, the barmaid. She’s been seeing Joel Starklaw.”

  Dane thought of the naughty angel who had tried to stop him on the club floor and was incensed he’d had a traitor in his camp all this time. He looked to one of his men. “Get her.”

  “She’ll be long gone by now,” said Wolf.

  “Then find her. She might know where they’re hiding out.”

  Two of his men nodded and left the room.

  Dane turned his attention back to the younger man, whose knees were trembling. “The Starklaws and Nilsen set this up?”

  “No. It was Jared Slattery’s idea.”

  “Shut it you idiot,” murmured the man with only one hand.

  “He’s not threatening to chop your head off.”

  “Jared Slattery, from Essex?” said Dane.

  The boy nodded. “We were to distract you, that’s all.”

  “Distract me from what?”

  “Shut up,” yelled the man, clutching his hand.

  Wolf knocked him out with one punch, silencing him.

  “I repeat, distract me from what?” said Dane, pressing the machete blade to his neck.

  “The attack on the compound,” he exclaimed, wide-eyed, unable to tear his eyes off that devil face.

  “The Maguire compound?”

  The boy nodded frantically. “We just started working for the Starklaws.”

  “That’s why they sent you, so we wouldn’t recognise you?”

  “Ollie Starklaw knew you’d be on the lookout for his crew. Him and Bobby Nilsen have sent some of their men to help Slattery att
ack the compound. Two of Mikey Maguire’s men have betrayed him.”

  “Oh fuck,” said Dane, dragging his phone out of his pocket.

  CHAPTER 18

  Jules stepped outside, lighting up the cigarette and dragging on it deeply. Christ she was horny after that encounter with Mikey. Idly she wondered if Jax would oblige and relieve her of her frustration.

  She leaned back against the wall to enjoy her cigarette, enjoying the weak sunshine. It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to get her head around her relationship with Mikey - cousin, boss, friend, wannabe lover, not that she’d ever go down the last road, that was one huge complication she didn’t need. After years of being completely fucked up she was finally getting herself straight. She had friends, family, her own business and she was raking in a ton of cash working for Mikey and Jez. On top of all that, she was…happy. An affair with her married first cousin would mess everything up big style and that she couldn’t allow. But the way Mikey touched her set her alight and she really liked and respected him on top of all that. She could count the number of people she respected on one hand.

  Movement caught her eye and she spotted Brogan and Duane chatting by the gates. What the fuck were they doing? They had work to do. “Oy, you two,” she yelled.

  They both turned to look at her. “What?” called back Brogan.

  “Stop arsing about and get on with your bloody jobs.”

  They threw her dirty looks before meandering away.

  “Pricks,” she muttered, glowering after them. Clearly they hated being told what to do by a woman, which grated because she knew she could kick both their arses blindfolded.

  She cheered up a bit when her phone rang and Dane’s name popped up on the screen. “Hello,” she purred. Even though they’d agreed to end their on-off affair she thought he might oblige her urgent physical need. “And what can I do for you?”

  “Jules, where are you?” he said.

  “At the compound. Why?”

  “You need to get out of there right now.”

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “I’ve just been questioning some bastard I caught who was about to launch a machete attack on my club.”