When she burst into tears Ryan pulled her to him and she buried her face in his chest, sobbing. Ryan threw Rachel an accusing look, who looked down at the floor.
Mikey watched all this with a puzzled frown. For the first time since Thomas’s death it seemed there was some sort of trouble between Ryan and Rachel.
Leah quickly calmed down and took a seat by her aunt’s bedside. They all watched Ryan plant a gentle kiss on his sister’s forehead, resting a hand on the top of her head, grey eyes as hard as slate. “Mikey, we need to talk.”
Mikey nodded and released Rachel, who seemed reluctant to let him go. He gave her a questioning look but she just shook her head before turning her attention to her daughter.
“Do you know where Cara is?” Ryan asked him the second they were outside the room.
He nodded. “The Homestead, Slattery’s family home and base of operations. Fortunately me and Jez have developed a contact with an up-and-coming crew in Essex who want to topple the Slatterys. Unfortunately they’re not strong enough to manage it on their own. They’ll give us their back-up and whatever we need.”
Ryan nodded. “Good. We need to move as soon as possible. That poor little girl must be terrified.”
“At least they’ve not taken her to hurt her. Jules always said Tanya Slattery was obsessed with kids, Jared told her it was ever since her own daughter died. She must have gone bat shit crazy when she found out she had a granddaughter and Jules wasn’t going to give her up without a fight
“And they’re going to fight us hard to keep her.” Ryan looked around to make sure no one was listening before saying, “this time we eradicate them completely.”
Mikey nodded. “I completely agree.”
“Ryan,” said a voice.
Jez came tearing down the corridor and wrapped him in a bear hug. Ryan hugged him back, so pleased to see his brother. He knew it wasn’t just what had happened to Jules that was making him feel this way, it was his disintegrating relationship with Rachel too.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” said Jez. “Now we can go and get Cara back.”
Ryan nodded. “Yes we can. Hello Cathy,” he added, hugging her too.
Cathy’s eyes were red from crying. “I can’t believe this has happened,” she said, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. “I hope you kill all the bastards who did this to her.”
“Babe, keep your voice down,” said Jez, indicating a passing porter, who frowned at her.
“Sorry but I’m just so angry. I need to get in there,” she said, charging past them into Jules’s room.
“There’s something else you need to know,” continued Jez. “Something we only found out after I’d called you.”
Ryan swallowed hard. “What?”
“Jules was pregnant, she and Jackson had only just found out. She lost the baby and because of the damage done to her, they had to perform a hysterectomy to save her life.”
“Rein it in Ryan,” said Mikey when his eyes darkened and his face became an impassive mask.
“I’m trying,” was all he said.
Ryan turned and stormed back into Jules’s room, standing at the foot of her bed, wrestling with himself in an attempt to stop himself from tearing the entire building apart in his rage. He hadn’t always loved his sister, in fact when she’d first come into their lives he’d been all for getting rid of her because he’d felt she’d posed too great a threat. Then she’d saved his life after she’d tracked him down when a couple of serial killers had abducted him and they’d started to work on their relationship. When she’d been abducted by Slattery and they thought she’d been killed he’d realised he loved her. In the intervening years since then they’d developed a close relationship, his kids adored her and her daughter adored them and she didn’t deserve this. He was going to pull off Jared Slattery’s head with his bare hands, as well as his mad mother’s.
Mikey was desperate to talk to Rachel alone. She and Ryan were barely communicating and he got the feeling it was more than a simple tiff, they were far too strong to let something like that come between them. Clearly Ryan wasn’t happy about Leah being in the middle of this and he couldn’t blame him, in fact he was astonished Rachel had allowed her to come. However Leah was getting older and it was harder to fob her off. But still…
He found an opportunity when Jez and Ryan went to see Riley and Leah remained with Jules, refusing to leave her aunt’s side. Cathy had already left to pick the kids up from her parents.
“Rach, what’s going on?” said Mikey as they headed to the canteen to get something to eat.
“What do you mean?” she replied.
“Don’t give me that, I’m not daft. Something’s going on between you and Ryan. I’ve never seen him so pissed off at you and I don’t think it’s just because you brought Leah with you. Why the hell did you do that by the way?”
“Because I want to be with my daughter,” she snapped, eyes turning black. “Is that so bad?”
“No but there was a time when you wouldn’t have let her anywhere near Manchester and now you have when you know the Slatterys are involved. I don’t get it.”
“There’s nothing for you to get. It’s between me and Ryan.”
“You know what we’re going to have to do and we can’t do it if you and Ryan are at each other’s throats.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“Maybe not yet but it’s getting that way and soon everyone else will notice too. Jesus, I thought nothing could come between you two.”
“Nothing has come between us.”
“Don’t lie to me, I can read you like a book.” Gently he took her arm to stop her as she was trying to stride ahead of him. “Please Rach, we might not be biologically related but you’re my sister. Let me in.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
She took his hands. “I need you to trust me Mikey, please. I will tell you soon but not just yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because I need to tell Ryan first.”
“Tell him then.”
“I can’t.”
“Jesus Rach, what’s going on?” he said when her eyes filled with tears. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”
“No, nothing like that.”
Mikey wondered if she was having an affair but there was no way he was coming out with it. “Okay,” he said, putting an arm around her, smiling when she rested her head on his shoulder. He kissed her hair. “Let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.”
CHAPTER 18
Riley was pleasantly surprised when he opened the front door to find Ryan on his doorstep.
“Jesus, I didn’t know you were in town,” he smiled, pleased to see him, shaking his hand.
“Unfortunately it’s not for a good reason.”
Riley caught the look in his eyes and his stomach sank. “What’s happened?”
“Can we come in?”
“Sorry, course you can. Hi Jez. You both look done in.” Anxiety gripped Riley. Something bad had happened. His brothers rarely looked anything but calm and collected.
“Is the family home?” said Jez.
“The kids are at school but Beth’s here.”
“Hello boys,” she smiled, walking through from the kitchen with a smile. “Ryan, I didn’t know you were here,” she said, kissing him on the cheek. “Is Rachel here?”
“Yes, Leah too.”
“Great, I can’t wait to see them.” She caught the look in his eye and her smile fell. “Oh God, what’s happened? Is it Rachel?”
“No, it’s Jules.”
“Jules?”
“She’s in intensive care,” began Ryan. “It seems Jared Slattery somehow found out he’s Cara’s father and came for his daughter.”
“Oh God,” said Beth, eyes widening. “Is she okay?”
Ryan took a deep breath. “No. She’s in a coma.”
When Beth’s eyes filled with tears, Riley pulled her to him.
“W
hat about the baby?” said Beth.
“She lost it,” said Jez. “She was stabbed. The damage was so bad they had to do a hysterectomy, so even if she does make it she’ll never have any more.”
Tears started to roll down Beth’s cheeks and she buried her face in Riley’s chest.
“Jesus,” said Riley. “Slattery did that to the mother of his child?”
“Jules told Mikey it was his mother, Tanya, who stabbed her.”
Beth looked up at Riley. “I want to see her.”
“Course. Get your coat.” When she hurried off to fetch her coat and handbag, Riley looked back at his brothers. “I take it you want me to help you get Cara back?”
“We appreciate the offer but we’ve already got plenty of bodies for that.” Jez glanced at Ryan before continuing. “There’s something else we want you to do.”
“Anything.” He might not be Jules’s biggest fan but he wanted to help out his brothers. Technically Jez wasn’t his brother, biologically he was only related to Ryan as they shared the same father but he’d come to think of him that way.
“We want you to guard Jules,” said Jez, eyeing him warily, no idea what his reaction was going to be.
Riley’s face hardened slightly but other than that he betrayed no emotion. “Excuse me?” was all he said.
“We need as many bodies as we can get down south,” said Ryan. “You’re the only one we trust to do the job properly up here.”
“You want me to guard the woman whose boyfriend was responsible for the murder of Zoe and my daughter?”
“We know it’s a big ask,” said Jez. “But we have no choice. There’s no one we trust more to watch over our sister.”
“I’ll tell you what I’ll do, I’ll put my best men on it.”
“We want you to do it,” said Ryan. “Your people are good but they can be bought. We know you won’t sell Jules out for any price.” When Riley still seemed hesitant he added, “if not for Jules, do it for Jackson and Cara.”
Riley looked down at his feet and nodded. “Alright, I’ll do it but I’ll treat it like any other assignment. It’s the only way I can make it work.”
“That’s fine, whatever works best for you. Thank you, you’ve no idea how much I mean that.”
“Yeah,” said Jez, shaking his hand. “Thanks mate.”
Riley just nodded, jaw tight.
Beth reappeared wearing her coat and carrying her handbag. “I’m ready.” She frowned at the three men, sensing the tension in the air. “What did I miss?”
“Ryan and Jez want me to guard Jules while they go down south to get Cara back.”
Understanding filled Beth’s eyes. “And what did you say?”
“I’ll do it.”
She hugged him. “Thank you.”
Katia was waiting for Hayden at the flat they shared. He was annoyed to see Robbie Jordan was there too. Robbie had come up with Katia from Manchester after Alex and all his men had been slaughtered in the war with the Maguires and Laws. Robbie was the only one of his family left alive. The Jordans were from Essex too, they’d been the Slatterys’ main rivals down there until Jared had kicked them out. Robbie’s mum had wanted to seize everything the Maguires and Laws had, almost killing Ryan and Rachel in the process but their attempt had failed. After Robbie’s brother Nick had been killed by Alex for having an affair with his wife Beth, Robbie had found himself all alone in the world. He and Katia had stuck together after Alex’s murder and he’d had high hopes of them becoming an item, he worshipped her. Then Hayden had come along and swept her off her feet and now he found himself relegated to second place, used as a glorified babysitter to protect her boys. Katia had been left paranoid about their safety after Mikey had snatched them.
Alex Junior and Daniel were now two and a half and both were big for their age, especially Alex. He was his father in every way, right down to his cold eyes and unfriendly ways, although he did adore his mummy. Daniel was more laid back and friendly, just like the original Alex and Danny Maguire. Katia had even given them the surname Maguire, in honour of their biological father.
“What did Jared want?” said Katia, who was sitting on the floor playing with her children. One of their favourite games was making towers out of building blocks, as tall as they could before knocking them down again, making Daniel giggle. Alex rarely laughed.
“Big news actually.”
Katia and Robbie looked up at him expectantly.
“Apparently Jules Driscoll’s daughter Cara is Jared’s kid. So what did Jared and Tanya do? They kidnapped Cara and they might have killed Jules in the process.”
Katia’s lips curled into a smile. “Good.”
“No, it’s not good. Actually it’s very bloody not good.”
“Why do you care so much?” said Robbie.
“Because Mikey, Jez, Ryan and God only knows how many more of them will come charging down here to get Cara back as well as to get a huge chunk of revenge on me for betraying them.”
Katia shot to her feet, appalled. “No, we can’t allow this to happen.”
“I have an idea.”
“What?”
Hayden looked to Robbie. “Do you mind giving us some privacy?”
Robbie was furious, he was always getting shut out of things but he didn’t want to make a fuss because he had his own plan that would hopefully bring about the downfall of Hayden fucking Brody. “No worries,” he said, casually getting to his feet and leaving by the front door.
Hayden watched him go with suspicion in his eyes. He knew Robbie hated him because he thought he’d usurped his rightful place at Katia’s side, not realising she could never see him in a romantic light, which was why he never liked discussing any plans in front of him.
“Well, what is your idea?” pressed Katia.
“I’m going to approach Ryan and tell him where Cara is.”
“No,” she said, gripping onto his hand. “He will kill you.” Katia had met Ryan up close, when she’d plotted to have him killed but he’d easily seen through her and, despite how very handsome he was, he was the most terrifying man she’d ever met.
“I don’t mean face to face. I’ll call him and let him know.”
“He probably already knows where she is, everyone knows The Homestead is Jared’s base.”
“Yes but I can give him other information, such as Jared’s security measures and how many men he has.”
“Why should he believe you? And why would that stop them coming for you too? If you’re in The Homestead when they attack they will kill you.”
“I have no intention of being anywhere near that place when they do attack. Jared’s men are less than useless, the Maguires and Laws will make mincemeat out of them but if I can give them inside information on Jared’s crew then it’ll give me some serious brownie points. Plus if they kill the Slatterys, that leaves the way clear for us.”
Katia’s eyes gleamed. “Oh yes, I like this very much.”
“Thought you might,” he smiled. “I can get hold of Ryan through one of his business numbers. We go way back, he’s likely to be the most receptive to what I have to say.”
“Or your history will mean he’s taken your betrayal more to heart than the others.”
“I know Ryan, he’ll listen. He doesn’t let emotions override logic. I can pull this off and it’ll be win-win for us.”
“You are so clever,” she said, sliding her arms around his neck. “But why did you not want Robbie to hear any of this?”
“Because that little snake hates me and he’ll run straight to Jared.”
“Are you sure about that? He’s been such a good friend to me.”
“Because he’s in love with you and he wants me out of the way. We must be careful.”
“This makes me sad, he is my friend.”
“But he wants to be more.”
Katia shook her head. “That will never happen.”
Outside the front door Robbie glared at the phone in his hand, linked to the came
ras he’d hidden in Katia’s flat. But he wasn’t angry with her. She needed and wanted him, she just couldn’t see it with Hayden around but he wouldn’t be for much longer. Then she would be all his.
Leah, Rachel, Jackson and Mikey were in Jules’s hospital room. Once the hospital staff had discovered exactly who their patient was they’d given up telling them only two visitors in the room at a time, especially as they were all polite and well behaved.
Leah released a horrified gasp when the door opened and in rolled a severely scarred woman in a wheelchair, head bald but for a few wisps of blond hair, hands curled and gnarled, the chair wheeled in by a carer.
“Alice,” said Jackson, getting to his feet. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Alice Parker - Jules’s adopted mother - looked up at him, tears falling from only one eye. The fire Jules had started with her tied up helplessly inside the family home had damaged the tear ducts in her other eye. “I heard what had happened to her on the news. It’s a good job I did because no one was going to let me know,” she said accusingly.
“Because you’re the last person Jules would want at her bedside.”
“I want to see my daughter.”
“You’re not wanted here.”
“I have a right to see my daughter.”
“She’s not your daughter, you were never any sort of mother to her so you can get out.”
Alice ignored him as she gazed at Jules lying on the bed. “How is she?”
“What do you care? All you did was make her life a living hell.” Jackson looked to the carer accompanying her. “Do you know she’s a dirty paedo who abused countless kids?”
“I did not,” she gasped, looking up at the carer in horror, who was regarding her with distaste.
Rachel got up to intervene before Jackson, in his grief-stricken state, went too far and blurted out what Jules had done to Alice in retaliation. “You should leave Alice, you’re upsetting everyone.”
“I want to see my daughter,” she said firmly.
Jackson brushed aside the carer, took the handles of the wheelchair and dragged it backwards out the door.
“You’ve no right to do this,” screeched Alice. “She’s my daughter, she needs me.”
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