by Karen Clow
“No I’m not fucking coming! I need to make some calls. If taking Davy fucking Sheridan out is the only way to put an end to this madness, then so be it. Just answer me one thing before you go, do you love me Maria, because before I have someone murdered I need to know this marriage is worth it!”
“You know I love you” she replied, although barely able to talk through her tears. “I always will, but this is not about us it’s about protecting my children!”
“You’re wrong this is about us. If you leave me tomorrow then it’s over Maria! I can’t do this anymore either. I’ve tried so hard to make you happy, but no matter how hard I try, I don’t seem to get anywhere. Like you say babe, enough is enough, but I want you to know I will fight for my kids!”
“Your kids Mickey, are you referring to the triplets, because the twins aren’t yours?”
Without thinking, he slapped her face.
“Don’t even fucking go there Maria! How could you even say that? You said something like that once before, have you any idea how that makes me feel. I’m sorry Jimmy died and you got stuck with me, obviously you were happier with him treating you like a fucking punch bag. Oh and let’s not forget shagging behind your back with anything that had a pulse! But as their real father, as you so cruelly keep reminding me, you would have been happier with him. In fact the more I think about it, maybe you’re right Maria; maybe we should call it a fucking day! Truth is babe, I don’t fucking care much one way or another, because I can’t prove to you how much I love the girls and no doubt a judge would side with you on that one, but the triplets are mine and believe me Maria, I will fight for them tooth and fucking nail! So you do whatever you think is best for you and your kids and I’ll do what’s best for me and mine!”
She could see he was devastated by what she’d implied about the twins.
“I never meant it the way it came out Mickey” she said in desperation. “I know you love them and I’ve never regretted marrying you. I never loved Jimmy the way I love you, but.”
“Save it Maria, I don’t want to hear it. I’m going out; maybe you should go with Billy or Shaun to pick your kids up from school. I’m not their father, so I won’t need to hurry back.”
As he moved away from the bed, he opened the cases, it was his way of telling her that she could pack and he wouldn’t try to stop her. Making his way to the door, turning he glanced briefly at her.
“Sorry I hit you. Don’t save me any dinner tonight I’ll be late, if I’m back at all. Apologise to Shaun and Ann for me, tell him I’ll call him in a few days.”
Maria just stood there riveted to the spot; she couldn’t believe what he was doing. She felt as though she was going mad as she tried to ask herself how this had happened. She loved him and she wanted him in her life, she always thought he felt the same way, but now he was leaving and she couldn’t stop him. When she called after him, he didn’t even turn round. He just left slamming the door behind him. Feeling sick, she ran towards the en-suite, only just making it to the toilet as she vomited.
Downstairs his parents had heard the dreadful row that had taken place. When he walked into the kitchen, his mum asked if everything was okay.
Picking up his car keys from the worktop he replied, “No Mum, everything’s not ok, Maria’s leaving me in the morning, she’s taking the kids with her!”
Both his parents looked devastated.
“Not you two,” said Den “you’re so happy, what’s happened son?”
Mickey looked as though he was about to burst into tears.
“Ask Maria Dad, I’m going out. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
Despite them begging him not to go, he just walked away. His dad followed him into the study and tried to reason with him. Mickey went over to his safe where he took out the money he had won at the game along with a small hand gun. Den begged him to stay, insisting that they could sort everything out.
“Maybe I don’t want to sort it out Dad; maybe I should have done this a long time ago.”
Then he walked out through the front door, slamming it behind him. Moments later they heard his car pulling away.
Den walked back into the kitchen.
“I’m going to talk to Maria,” said Mary “listen out for the babies while I’m gone love.”
“We’ve more important things to worry about than talking to Maria; Mickey’s taken a gun with him. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen. I’ve never seen him so upset.”
“Oh God Den, you don’t think he’ll do something stupid do you?”
“Let’s hope not, my guess is he’s going to Sheridan’s place. I’m going to call Tony; he can get there before him and hopefully talk some sense into him. Whatever happened between him and Maria has triggered something off, she must have said something.”
“Yes and I intend to find out what! If anything happens to my boy I’ll never forgive her!”
Seconds later she stormed off up the stairs.
Den was on the phone to Tony when Billy and Jess returned. Billy could hear from the conversation that something was very wrong. He could also see that Jess was uncomfortable being there.
Upstairs, Mary walked into Maria’s bedroom. She was sitting on the bed clutching her stomach and sobbing. Looking up as Mary walked towards her she could tell by her face that she was angry.
“Where’s Mickey Mum, is he alright?”
“No he’s not alright Maria; we’re really worried about him. He’s left and he’s taken a gun with him. I think you had better tell me what you said to make him so angry!”
Maria was hysterical as she tried to talk about what had happened.
“Calm down Maria, I can’t understand what you’re saying. What did you say to him?”
Her tone appeared to have the desired effect when Maria stopped sobbing.
“We were fighting about Davy Sheridan Mum. I told Mickey I was going to leave and take the kids with me, I only meant for a while until this thing with Davy was sorted out. Then I misinterpreted something he said and everything just went mad. Oh God Mum, he will be ok won’t he?”
“I wouldn’t have thought you’d got those marks on your face because you misinterpreted something. My boy’s not a wife beater, so tell me the truth, what did you say?”
Maria started sobbing again, as she told her what she’d said about the kids. Mary couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She knew her son was a great father and she was angry.
“You little bitch Maria, how dare you say that!”
“Oh Mum I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it. It was said in the heat of the moment.”
“So you should be fucking sorry, how could you be so wicked? Let me tell you something madam, my boy adores those girls and if the truth be known he never did half for Charlie what he does for them! He’s so fucking proud of them, you know he loves them. Let me tell you something about my boy; he’d die for them if he had too! If anything happens to him, I’ll hold you responsible and I will never forgive you!”
“Please Mum,” sobbed Maria “I never meant it.”
Mary turned to walk away, briefly glancing at her as she approached the door.
“It’s my boy you should be begging for forgiveness Maria. You don’t deserve him, he’s always treated you like royalty and he’s given you and the children everything! God only knows how this is going to turn out, but I wouldn’t blame him if he did leave you!”
With that she walked out slamming the door behind her.
Mickey was just about to join the motorway when his phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID and thinking that if it was Maria he wasn’t going to speak to her, but it was Tony. Answering the phone, he told Tony he was driving.
“I know pull over. I know what happened your dad called me, pull over Mickey.”
Several minutes later, he pulled into a layby.
“There’s something I’ve got to do Tony, I’ll speak to you later.”
“Talk to me now Mickey! I know where you’re going and this is not th
e time!”
“You’re right Tony; I should have done it months ago, now it’s cost me my family!”
“Come to the club, we’ll talk about it.”
“No offence, but I have to do this today.”
Tony could hear the anguish in his voice; he didn’t want him to hang up.
“I know Mickey and we will do it today, just come to the club so we can work something out. I’ll help you; let’s just make sure it’s done right so no one other than Davy gets hurt.”
There was a long pause; Tony thought he’d hung up.
“This is my problem Tony, I’ll deal with it, that way no one else is involved.”
In all the years they had been friends, this was the first time that Tony felt he couldn’t reason with him. He tried again to convince him to come to the club.
“Have I ever let you down Mickey? Let’s not give Davy the satisfaction of killing you, or sending you to prison for twenty years.”
Mickey had listened to what he said; he couldn’t deny that he had never let him down.
“Ok Tony I’ll meet you at the club, but it’s going down today. Shit or fucking bust it’s gonna happen!”
Tony was relieved that he was at least going to talk about it; “Ok Mick I’ll see you at the club.”
Just as Mickey was about to pull away his phone rang again. It was Maria. This time he didn’t answer it. He let it go straight to the answerphone; she was the last person he wanted to speak too. It rang several times more as he drove towards London until he finally switched it off.
Tony had the good grace to call Den and tell him that he had managed to talk Mickey into meeting him. Den had sounded so relieved. He knew Tony was one of the few people Mickey may listen to. Den’s hope was he could talk Mickey into coming home.
Back at the house, Maria was frantic. She kept repeating to Mary how sorry she was. Jess had stayed out of the way upstairs, because she didn’t want to interfere. The triplets were crying for their feed when Shaun and Ann arrived.
The moment they walked in they could see something was very wrong. Mary asked them to come into the kitchen with her and Den, while Billy stayed in the lounge to help Maria feed the babies. Shaun was horrified to hear what had happened; he even offered to drive back up to London to find Mickey.
“I’ve already asked Tony to meet him,” said Den.
“Thank the sweet Lord;” said Shaun “Tony will make him see sense. Now I’d like to speak with Maria and if you don’t mind I’d prefer to do it alone.”
“There’s nothing I want to say to her anyway Shaun,” said Mary “tell Billy to bring the babies out here, me and Ann will have them.”
“Now don’t go being like that Mary,” said the big Irishman you know you think the world of her, as does Mickey. They’ll sort this mess out, so let’s just try and help shall we. Your Mickey’s a decent bloke; we all respect him especially the way he’s looked after Maria and those girls. All families have their problems, so let’s just wait and see what happens with Tony, he’ll look after him. I’m sure things will turn round; we all know they’re crazy about one another. From what you’ve said she’s just trying to protect her kids, as I’m sure you would if it were you.”
“You’re probably right Shaun, but he’s my son and no matter what their differences might be, she shouldn’t have said what she said about him and those girls. He’s a wonderful father to them, it would break his heart if he lost them and he doesn’t deserve it!”
“Aye we all know that darling, you raised him to be a good man, but let’s just give it some time.”
“His mum’s right Shaun,” said Den “he doesn’t deserve this. He’s always done right by her and those girls; we’re just worried that’s all.”
“Aye, it’ll be right Den you just wait and see. Now come on and help Billy with the babies.”
Shaun knocked and entered the lounge. He looked over at Billy who had Melissa in his arms.
“Suits you Billy,” he said “now help Den take the babies out to the women so I can talk to my lassie here.”
The two men carried the babies through to the kitchen. Shaun shut the lounge door behind them. Maria looked dreadful as he walked over to her and said, “Don’t I even get a kiss then?”
When she turned to kiss him on the cheek, she broke down.
“Come on me darling, don’t go crying all over me. Tell me what’s going on with you and that husband of yours.”
She sobbed as she tried to tell him what had happened. All the time she talked he had his arm around her.
“I’m such a bad person Shaun, everybody hates me!”
“No one hates you darling! I didn’t come in to here make you feel worse than you already do, but there’s something I need to say. You’ve got a good man in Mickey; he’s always done right by you. Why would you want to go saying bad things about him with those girls?”
“I didn’t mean it the way he took it Shaun, he’s a wonderful father, but he doesn’t understand how I feel. I wish I could take back what happened, but I can’t. I live everyday with the fear that someone like Davy Sheridan will threaten my family.”
“Don’t you think Mickey feels the same?”
“Mickey copes with things, he strong Shaun, I’m not.”
“You’re wrong darling, I know him and this thing with Sheridan has really got to him. Why do you think he does most of his work from home now?”
“Because he knows it’s hard for me with five young kids.”
“That’s not why, he could afford for you to employ a full time nanny. The reason he stays home is because he doesn’t trust anyone enough to watch over his family. I know him, he tries hard to be strong for you, but inside he’s hurting. We all think because he’s tough he doesn’t feel things, well I know different. I was at the poker game. Anyone there could see that he held it together with Sheridan because he wouldn’t jeopardise the safety of his family. When he comes home darling, treat him with the respect he deserves and no more daft talk about leaving him, ok. Now shall we go and join the others? Ann is looking forward to seeing you.”
“I can’t Shaun.”
“You can, now come on.”
Gripping his hand, he could feel her trembling.
“I can’t face his mum and dad Shaun, they hate me. It’s better if I stay in here.”
“They don’t hate you, now come on darling you’ve survived worse than this.”
CHAPTER 51
Davy had no idea the trouble he was causing Mickey’s family as he sat across the table from Seb. All day he had been making calls, trying to raise cash, asking everyone he knew to lend him money. He needed to raise five hundred grand so he could pay the Turk back and retain ownership of his club. Relentlessly, he tried all his business contacts, but everyone came up with excuses. Truth was they knew he was a bad risk. Davy knew he had to think of something quick because he couldn’t afford to lose another club. Even kidnapping had crossed his mind. He had done it before and got away with it, but did he trust Danny enough because it wasn’t something he could do on his own. When he had taken the twins, he used Nathan as the go between to manipulate Spider into doing his dirty work. What he needed was another scapegoat like Spider, someone who was desperate for cash and more importantly, someone who wouldn’t be missed when he got rid of them after they’d done the job for him. Then he asked himself who he would kidnap. Ironically he had ruled out Mickey’s family because since the kidnapping he knew Mickey had stepped up security. It would be too big a risk to go there again. What he needed was someone who wasn’t connected to any form of mob activity, someone who would pay up and be too afraid to look for retaliation. Convincing himself that kidnap was his best option; he looked at Seb and asked to see his list of students. He knew that some very wealthy people had enrolled their kids at the new studio. Seb looked surprised and asked why he wanted it.
“I’m just curious Seb and proud that you’ll be teaching some of the most influential peoples kids. Once the word gets round
everyone will want their kids to attend your studio.”
“It’s all because of you, I think you’re right though, guess who called yesterday?”
Davy lulled him into a false sense of security by acting interested in trying to guess who the celebrity was. Seb left the table to fetch the list; moments later he returned and handed it to him. Jokingly, he asked if he guessed who it was. Davy rattled off a few names of actors. Seb kept smiling and shaking his head every time he guessed wrong. Davy could see that to his lover it was like a game. Jokingly he said if he guessed right did he get a prize. Seb thought about it for a moment.
“You’ll never guess Davy, but if you do, I’ll take you out for dinner anywhere you choose.”
“You’re on, just give me one clue.”
“Ok, his dad was in the film ‘King Arthur’.”
Davy grinned, feeling confident he knew the actor he said it was Ray Winston?
“Wrong, although wouldn’t it be great if it was?”
“Without a doubt Seb, he’s one of the greatest actors the worlds ever seen, probably because he’s a Londoner.”
They both laughed and then Davy took a couple more guesses.
“Let me think about it for a while Seb. Tell me about the kids on this list and who their families are then I can boast about you when I’m socialising with the hob-knobs.”
Seb was only too happy to tell him who the families were, it made him feel important. He was also grateful that for the first time since the poker game Davy seemed to be more amiable. Seb had been treading on eggshells with him since he returned from the game, he hadn’t even dared to ask him how much he’d lost, but he knew it was a lot by Davy’s mood and quick temper when he’d returned.
Danny walked in; he had been out collecting protection money with another of Davy’s heavies. Davy told him about the actor and asked him to have a guess. Danny looked at Seb and said he’d never seen the film King Arthur.
Danny asked Davy what time he wanted to go to the club that evening. Davy said around nine and then asked Seb if he’d be joining them.