“Mikey,” said Jules, hurrying to his side, wrapping her arms around his chest and attempting to drag him back out of the line of fire.
“Ow, shit that hurts,” groaned Mikey. The numbness was wearing off and he wished it would come back.
She propped him up against the wall so she could look at the wound. “The bastard,” she said. “Can you walk?”
“I’ve not much choice,” he said, feeling the energy draining out of him along with the blood. He raised a lazy half smile at the fear in her eyes. “Jules, you look scared.”
“I am, for you,” she said softly.
Their gazes locked and he took her hand.
“Someone’s coming, they must have heard the shots,” said Jules almost sadly as they heard footsteps pounding up the stairs. She broke her gaze with Mikey to call to Grant, “there’s more.”
“I’m still tied up with these two,” he called back, shooting round the corner. “Yes, got one of the wankers.”
Jules checked her gun and sighed. “I’m out.”
“I’ve only got one bullet left,” replied Mikey. “It’s not looking good. I’m sorry Jules, you’d have been better staying well away from us.”
She flashed a grin. “We’re not done yet. Watch this,” she said, drawing her knives from their sheaths.
Jules managed to plant herself behind the door seconds before it opened. The first man who tore through it got one of the knives in the gut. As he dropped to his knees, gasping, the man behind him got the second straight in the neck. She drew the knife out, plunged it into his heart, withdrew it a second time and stuck it into the back of the first man, who was on his knees. Pinning the dead body down with one foot she yanked out both blades, wiping them on the man’s clothes.
“Colour me impressed,” said Mikey weakly.
“I know. Now on your feet, we need to get down to the cellar. Put your arm around me.”
“Anytime,” he smiled.
“Now is not the time for a flirt. Jesus you’re heavy.”
“Ow,” he cried when he fell back to the floor, Jules unable to bear his weight.
“Grant,” she called. “I can’t get him up. You have to help him. Stop arsing about with that prick.”
“Hold on,” he said, taking aim again and firing. “Got him,” he said when the man at the opposite end of the corridor finally fell. He checked his gun. “Crap, I’m out.”
“Me too,” she replied. “Let’s move.”
“If Mark’s not outside the cellar with a car we’re all dead,” said Grant as he hauled Mikey to his feet, who gritted his teeth, doing his best not to cry out.
“Yeah, thanks for pointing out the bloody obvious,” she said. “Let’s move.”
Jules led the way armed with her bloodied knives, Grant hauling a weakened Mikey along with him.
“Riley, thanks for coming,” said Jez, extending his hand for him to shake, which he accepted.
“I’ve got one more day’s leave and I was wanting to spend it with Beth and the kids,” he scowled.
“I know and I’m really sorry but I need you Riley.”
“Alright, I’m listening.”
When Jez had finished explaining, Riley sighed and shook his head. “What the hell is wrong with you people? Can’t you stay out of trouble for five minutes?”
“It would be nice but this isn’t our fault. Some southern prick thinks he can take what we have.”
“I’m just glad Ryan’s already left for Devon.”
“Me too,” said Jez, even though it was a lie. He was only willing to admit to himself that he wanted his big brother. “I’m not asking you to join in the fight, I just need you to protect Cathy. Stay with her until she’s discharged then take her to a safe house. I’ll send some of my men to relieve you there. It shouldn’t take long, you’ll be back with Beth in no time.”
“I’d better be.”
“I really appreciate this.”
“Yeah, so I believe. Now, the first thing we need to do is track down the men Jared has sent after you and neutralise them.”
“You can’t do that here,” he said.
“There are ways to neutralise someone without killing them.” His eyes flicked to Shane. “Who’s this?”
“This is Shane, he started working with us today. Shane, this is Ryan’s other brother, Riley.”
“Pleased to meet you,” said Shane, nodding at him respectfully. He knew all about Riley Cutter, he’d read about him in the newspapers. Apparently him and Ryan shared the same dad while Ryan and Jez shared the same mum. Unlike them Riley wasn’t a gangster, he was in the army. His resemblance to Ryan was freaky, only his eyes were a different colour.
Riley just nodded curtly, he didn’t have time for introductions. “So no one knows you’re working for Jez?” Riley asked Shane.
“No, I only started today.”
“Good, then no one will look twice at you. That could be useful.”
Shane swallowed hard, not liking the way Riley was looking at him. His gaze was just as intense as Ryan’s however, unlike Ryan, he got the feeling Riley didn’t want to help. It was a huge relief when Riley turned that steely gaze on Jez.
“I need to use you for bait.”
“Bloody marvellous,” sighed Jez.
Ryan tiptoed up to Rachel, who was standing at the kitchen counter preparing some vegetables for dinner with her back to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her neck. “Miss me?”
She turned in his arms to kiss him. “Yes, I did. Very much.”
“You should be more on your guard, I could have been anyone.”
“You only got near her because we allowed it,” said a deep voice.
Ryan turned to see Battler and Bruiser standing in the doorway he’d just walked through. “I’m very glad to hear it. So you watched me tiptoe up to Rachel like a moron?”
“Yeah,” grinned Battler. “It were fucking funny.”
Rachel slid her arms around Ryan’s neck. “Welcome home Babe. How did you get on?”
“I decided to leave Mikey and Jez to it, I didn’t want to get caught up in all that.”
Rachel’s dark eyes clouded with worry. “Do you think they’ll be okay?”
“I do actually. They’re both capable enough.”
“Did you drop off Estelle?”
“I did,” he said, breaking into a smile.
“Ryan, what did you do?”
“I dumped her on a boat belonging to a smuggler friend of mine. As we speak she’s on her way to Brindisi.”
“Italy,” exclaimed Rachel.
“I had hoped she would remain unconscious until she was way out to sea, she’d consumed an entire bottle of vodka. Unfortunately she woke just as the boat was setting off. She wasn’t very impressed. Fortunately she’s Malcolm’s problem now. I do hope she doesn’t cause him too much trouble or he’ll be asking for more money.”
Battler released a deep rumble that they all assumed was a laugh. Even Bruiser was smiling. “If you ask me Italy’s too good for her,” said Battler. “You should have packed her off to the fucking arctic or Benidorm, somewhere really shitty.”
“I had no choice in the matter, it was where Malcolm was going, a decision he’s already probably regretting. Bruiser, how’s Daina?”
“Good,” he replied.
Ryan was surprised by this single word, Bruiser didn’t like to talk. “My, she must be a sorceress,” he smiled.
Bruiser just smiled and folded his arms across his chest.
“How are things in Manchester?” said Rachel.
“Not too good,” replied Ryan. “Mikey looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders and I really think Jez didn’t want me to leave.”
“I can’t say I blame him,” she said. “You’re the man to have around in any emergency.”
“Why thank you, but it’s war, no doubt about it.”
“How can an Essex boy think he can take over the north?” scowled Battler. “F
ucking cheek.”
“I quite agree,” said Ryan. “Some people have over-inflated opinions of themselves, but Jared’s smart. He’s enlisted some of the lower echelons of the Mancunian criminal hierarchy to attack the businesses. Someone even had the audacity to attack Dane’s operation. Naturally they are now regretting their foolish mistake. But Jared has a lot of support behind him. That’s what comes when two families have held sway for so long, everyone else gets restless then starts to resent them.”
Rachel’s eyes were bright with worry. “And what if Mikey and Jez can’t win this one? They’re so young, they’re still learning.”
“Rachel, they’re grown men who have done some pretty nasty things and who can be ruthless when they need to be. You’re still thinking of them as boys.”
“They are to me, especially Mikey. You know he’s like my little brother.”
“I haven’t forgotten but he can do this, I’ve every confidence in them both. I was seventeen when I first started fighting the Maguires.”
“You’re not like most men.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “And what is that supposed to mean?”
“You’re…different, in a good way.”
Ryan glanced at Battler when he released a snigger.
“Sorry,” grinned Battler, holding up his hands.
“Do you think I’m different too?” said Ryan icily.
“Well, yeah,” he replied. “You’re like…well you’re….Christ Rach, what have you started here?”
But she wasn’t listening. “I really hope Mikey and Jez can handle this,” she said, anxiously chewing her lip.
“I’m sure they can,” replied Ryan.
“He’s right,” said Battler, wrapping his huge arm around her. “They know what they’re doing and Christ knows they’ve survived enough wars.”
“Yeah, it’ll be fine. You’ll see,” rumbled Bruiser.
All three of them stared at him in surprise.
CHAPTER 20
Hayden was struggling to control his temper. Amber was really starting to piss him off.
“Josh needs his blankie, he won’t sleep without it,” she insisted for the eighth time.
“Then why didn’t you pack it?” he barked.
Her pretty little cupid’s bow mouth pinched. “Don’t speak to me like that, my husband is your boss.”
Hayden huffed out a breath. Everyone said how nice and sweet Amber was but she just got on his tits. She really didn’t have a clue what was going on around her. “I’m well aware of that but I can’t take you home, Mikey’s given me strict instructions and I will not disobey them.”
“Josh needs his blankie,” she insisted, stamping her small foot.
“Fine, I’ll get it. I’ll leave one of my men to watch you,” he muttered, striding for the door.
“He needs his yellow duckie too,” she called after him.
Hayden just rolled his eyes, slamming the door shut behind him. They were in the middle of a serious fucking war and all that daft bint could think about were duckies and blankies.
As he drove back to Mikey’s house he knew he wasn’t really mad at Amber, he was mad at himself for getting tied up with Mikey and Jez in the first place. If he’d stayed working freelance he would have been tucked up at home, safe in the knowledge that it didn’t matter who won the war because a man like him could always find work. Now his life was in danger because he’d decided to take a regular wage.
“Well done, idiot,” he muttered to himself as he drove. That silly ginger cow didn’t even consider that she could get him killed by making him go back to the house. He slammed the car into gear. Christ he was pissed off.
Katia stared up at the house, which looked dark, but that meant nothing. They could be upstairs asleep or in the bath. There were any number of explanations.
Desperation made her careless. Her sons were in reach and any thought of caution went out the window, the gun tucked into the waistband of her jeans making her feel invincible. She’d never actually carried a gun before, although Alex had shown her how to use one and she marvelled at the way it bolstered her courage.
She picked up a rock from the garden and used it to smash one of the panes of glass in the back window. After banging out the jagged shards stuck in the frame she slid inside, landing on her hands and knees, fortunately missing the broken glass lying on the floor.
Katia leapt to her feet, heart thudding, drawing the gun but it seemed her entrance had disturbed no one. She made her way deeper into the house, the luxury surrounding her setting her teeth on edge. What right did that bastard have to live like this? He deserved nothing except a bullet in the head and a shallow grave.
Methodically she searched the downstairs rooms, but all of them were empty. That left upstairs and she hoped his wife and son were here. Her strong maternal instinct wouldn’t allow her to harm the child, although she was fine with using him as leverage but she was looking forward to inflicting lots of pain on his wife, just to let Mikey know the agony she’d been enduring since he’d stolen her babies.
Silently she ascended the stairs then checked the bedrooms one by one, stealth morphing into panic when she realised the house was empty.
“No,” she cried, kicking over a bin. Her rage and frustration overwhelmed her and the next thing she knew she was tearing apart the master bedroom, smashing valuable vases, throwing make-up and perfume across the expensive bedclothes, hurling an alarm clock into the free-standing mirror. “Where are my boys?” she screamed into the air.
Katia stared into one of the smashed shards of mirror, saw her angry blue eyes, blond hair all over the place, her teeth bared. Her shoulders shrugged with the violence of her breathing, heaving air in and out of her lungs, fuelling her rage.
From downstairs came the sound of a door opening. Katia drew the gun, tiptoed to the door and down the corridor, attempting to peer down the stairs to see who it was, praying it was Mikey or a member of his family, but all she could make out was a shadow. Katia’s heart sank. It wasn’t Mikey’s wife or his son, the shadow was far too large and Mikey himself was at the compound, hopefully being tortured by Jared. So who was it?
Hayden moved toys around in one of the downstairs rooms that Josh used as a playroom, searching for the bloody blankie and duckie. Jesus, what a life. Not so long ago he’d been in the army, commanding men in life and death situations. Now look at him. A babysitter with a gun. He managed to locate the duckie but not the sodding blankie. Tutting, he wandered through to the kitchen. Amber had said it might be in the tumble dryer, she couldn’t remember for certain, the dizzy cow. Still, it had been a revelation to him that a woman with a husband as wealthy as Mikey Maguire did her own washing, but she’d said she enjoyed it, which in Hayden’s opinion made her even more silly.
The grumbling monologue in Hayden’s head ceased when he felt glass crunch on the floor beneath his shoes. Looking up he noticed the broken window.
Without pause he drew his gun and spun around to see a wild-looking but gorgeous blond pointing the gun at him. Slowly he lowered his weapon, for the first time in his life feeling unnerved. Was he really seeing a person, or a spectre?
“You’re Katia,” he breathed.
She looked nervous but defiant as she kept her gun levelled at his chest. “I am and I want my babies back.”
“But…you’re supposed to be dead.”
“As you can see I’m not.” She drew in a deep breath before bawling at him, “where are my babies?”
“They’re not here.”
“I know that, I’ve just checked. Tell me where they are or I’ll shoot you.”
He saw the desperation in her eyes, the pain and anguish and he wanted to reunite her with her children, this was his chance to redeem himself but could he betray Mikey and Jez? If he did he could never stay in Manchester, they’d have him killed. But did it really matter? He didn’t have any family up here and the only friends he had were work colleagues and at least he’d be able to sleep at night a
gain. “They’re at a house in Cheshire,” he blurted out.
“Where? Tell me,” she cried, hands shaking and tears blurring her eyes.
“It’s in the middle of nowhere, I’ll have to take you there.”
“You think I’m stupid? I’m not going to fall for your tricks.”
“It’s not a trick, I always believed those kids should be with their mum, I just didn’t realise you were still alive.”
“Were you the one who injected me with poison then stole them?”
“No. Honestly,” he added when her eyes blazed. “I could have shot you the second you walked through the door but I didn’t because I recognised you.”
“You thought I was a ghost?” she said, sharp eyes mocking.
Hayden had, just for a moment and he didn’t like it, he wasn’t prone to superstition. “If you want to get your boys back we need to leave now, before Mikey decides to move them.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“And I don’t trust you but I’m your only chance at getting your kids back. So you can either shoot me now and you’ll never find them, or we can go and I’ll take you right to them.”
She chewed her lip before saying, “alright, I’ll go with you but I’ll keep my gun on you the whole time.”
“So would I in your position.”
“All I want are my babies. I don’t care about anything else.” She looked at the large cuddly duck in his hand. “What is that?”
“Nothing,” he said, letting the duckie drop to the floor. “Come on.”
Katia stood back to allow him to pass first then followed, careful to keep the gun trained on him. He led her outside to his car and jumped into the driver’s seat.
“Come on, chop chop,” he said.
“What is chop chop?” she frowned.
“It means hurry up.”
She climbed into the passenger seat, giving Hayden a good view of her cleavage. He dragged his eyes off her and onto the windscreen, it only just striking him how attractive she was.
Shane sat in a chair in the main entrance of the hospital fiddling with his mobile phone, it was allowed in this part of the hospital, he’d already checked. The last thing he wanted was to draw attention to himself by getting a telling off from the staff. Jez had placed himself by the vending machine at the opposite end of the reception area, on full display.
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