“You’re welcome handsome,” she smiled, patting his face before hobbling away. Ryan thought if she was the best of Hayden and Katia’s crew then they had nothing to worry about. He stuffed his own phone into his jacket pocket and spoke into the one the old woman had given him. “Hayden?”
‘I’m here. I know where Cara is.’
“The Homestead. It’s not difficult to work out.”
‘Don’t you want to know how she is?”
“Naturally.”
‘Upset, scared but they’re looking after her. It seems Tanya wants to be a grandmother to her and she wants Jared to be a father, although he doesn’t seem to be settling into that role very well.’
“You’re not telling me anything I haven’t already worked out for myself.”
‘But I can tell you everything you need to know about Jared’s security, how many men he has and your best way in.’
“In exchange for what? Sparing your miserable existence?”
‘Come on Ryan, you know as well as I do that trying to kill a woman then stealing her kids from her was wrong. I thought this incident might have brought that home.’
“There’s a world of difference between Katia and Jules.”
‘Yes. Jules has killed a hell of a lot more people.’
Ryan was irritated when he couldn’t think of a comeback to that. “I take it you and Katia are still together?”
‘Yes and there’s a lot more to her than you know.’
“I know enough about her. I got a good measure of her character when she tried to kill me.”
‘That’s all in the past now,’ said Hayden quickly. ‘I know you think I betrayed you all but that was never my intention. All I was thinking about was doing the right thing, it was tearing me apart knowing what I’d helped do to Katia.’
“Oh please, my heart’s bleeding.”
‘Please Ryan, I’m only trying to help.’
“The question is, who are you trying to help? Us or yourselves?”
‘Both. We want the Slatterys gone as much as you do. They’re a couple of psychos and as long as they’re breathing none of us are safe.’
Ryan hesitated. It could all be a trap, a plot Hayden had worked out with Jared but Ryan had known him a long time, knew he lived by a certain code of honour. Deep down Ryan understood he’d sided against them with Katia exactly for the reason he’d said and part of him could understand that, even though Katia would raise those boys with hate in their hearts for his family and that one day, when they were strong enough, they would come for them. That was what Mikey had been trying to avoid by abducting them in the first place. But he couldn’t see Hayden luring them into a trap, his sense of right and wrong wouldn’t allow it, unless two years of living with Katia had had a detrimental effect on his morals.
“And you don’t want anything in return?” said Ryan.
‘Just the Slatterys dead and gone.’
“And who will fill the power vacuum they leave behind?”
‘Who knows? There’s a lot of players down here.’
“Will you be one of those players?”
‘Who knows?’
Ryan knew he wouldn’t get another answer out of him but it was pointless anyway. They were going to Essex and they were going to kill the Slatterys, there were no two ways about it. He just hoped they would be able to control whoever stepped in to fill the breach. “Alright Hayden, I’m listening.”
Jez stepped out into the corridor to call Mikey to find Ryan talking furiously into his phone, face like rock, although he couldn’t hear what he was saying. After warning Mikey about Dwyer he hung up to wait for his brother to tell him what the hell was going on.
“Who was that?” said Jez when Ryan had ended the call, eyes flashing.
“You’re never going to believe it.”
“Try me.”
“Hayden Brody.”
Fury jolted Jez’s body. “What the fuck does that back-stabbing bastard want?” he snarled. “What are you looking at?” he spat when a passing doctor frowned at him.
The doctor jumped and hurried off down the corridor, head bowed.
“Calm down,” said Ryan, taking his arm and steering him back onto the ward and into the relative’s room.
“Go on then, what did the twat want?” demanded Jez. “Our turned backs so he can stick the knife in again?”
“Will you please get a hold of yourself so I can get a word in edgeways?”
Jez took a deep breath and straightened the cuffs of his shirt. “Sorry.”
“He called to tell me Cara’s at The Homestead. She’s okay, they’re looking after her but she’s not at all happy.”
“I’m not surprised, surrounded by that bunch of dicks.”
“Hayden gave me a lot of very precise information as to The Homestead’s security and our best way in.”
“We don’t need his info, Jules told us all about The Homestead after she was kept a prisoner there.”
“But Jules didn’t get to see the entire house. Hayden has and Jared has asked him to shore up security, they’re expecting us and they’re going to fight hard. Fortunately for us Jared’s men are inept and won’t pose much of a threat.”
“They can’t be that inept, they managed to storm the Compound.”
“Only because they had inside help. And we have too.”
“Do you think we can trust him?”
He nodded. “Yes, I do.”
“Alright, your word’s good enough for me.”
“Oh thank you,” said Ryan sarcastically.
“We need to tell Mikey. Hayden’s intel will make our lives easier, as long as it’s accurate. My worry is that when the Slatterys are dead and gone, will we have Katia the Slovakian slapper running Essex?”
“Who knows was all Hayden was willing to tell me.”
“Which means yes.”
“Naturally but I’m not sure how strong they are and there are quite a few new crews down there.”
“Good. Hopefully they’ll get locked in a war and kill each other. Then we can put in our own puppet.”
“That would be the best outcome. I also think Hayden is hoping this will square him with us. He doesn’t want to fight us.”
“But Katia will after what we did to her precious Alex.”
“Apparently she’s over that now, although I’m not sure she’s over Mikey abducting her children. I don’t think any mother could forgive that and by all accounts, Katia is a doting mother.”
“Of course she is, she’s raising a couple of psychos. Chips off the old insane block. Well, Daniel isn’t so bad but Alex is just weird. He’s going to be a bigger lunatic than his daddy was when he’s older.”
“Let’s not think about that. Right now our priority is bringing Cara home and unfortunately we have to do exactly what Hayden wants in order to achieve that.”
“Yeah,” sighed Jez. “We’ve no bloody choice. Our family comes first. We’ll tackle the rest of the bastards at a later date.”
“Precisely.”
“And at least DI Dwyer’s buggered off for now. That is one spooky bastard I can tell you and he was blatantly taking the piss out of me.”
“No,” said Ryan with mock shock.
“We need to dig deeper into him. I get the feeling he could cause us some bother.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “If it’s not one thing it’s another. One thing at a time, let’s get Cara back and concentrate on Jules’s recovery.”
Jez nodded, pain flashing in his eyes, “That’s all I’m thinking about right now.”
Ryan patted him on the shoulder and nodded.
“Actually, I need to call Grant and make sure everything’s ticking over.”
Ryan left him on his phone and returned to Jules’s room to find Jackson lost in his own world, gazing at Jules. The only other person in the room was Rachel and they looked at each other awkwardly, wishing the others would come back.
“Where’s Leah?” said Ryan gently.
&
nbsp; “I sent her with Beth to get something to eat when Dwyer turned up.”
He nodded. “Good.”
“At least I can do something right.”
“I wasn’t criticising,” he frowned.
“I know you didn’t want me to bring her here.”
“You’re right, I didn’t but I’ve seen how maturely she’s handling everything. Maybe I was wrong?”
This threw Rachel, as he had intended it to and she went silent. He stood by her side and put his arm around her shoulders. Usually she would have leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder but instead she just stood there, rigid. At least she didn’t pull away. So he moved closer, planting a kiss on the top of her head and he felt her relax a little. However when Leah and Beth returned to the room carrying drinks and snacks for them all she leapt away from him on the pretext of giving them a hand. Still, she couldn’t hide from him forever.
“How did it go?” Katia asked Hayden.
He stared at the phone in his hand. “Okay, I think. Ryan listened to what I had to say and he appreciated the information I gave him.”
“So when are they going to attack The Homestead?”
“He didn’t say and there’s no way he’d ever tell me because he doesn’t trust me.”
One of Katia’s fears was Hayden thinking he’d done the wrong thing and returning to Manchester. “Did talking to him make you have any regrets?”
He smiled and ran a hand through her hair. “No way. I’ll never regret you and the boys. You’re my family and you always will be.”
She smiled with relief and kissed him. “Thank God for that because I love you Hayden Brody.”
“And I love you too and if everything goes to plan we’ll soon have everything we ever dreamed of.”
She touched his face. “I already have.”
Hayden ground his mouth against hers and they staggered back into the bedroom. He was doubly celebrating because not only had his talk with Ryan gone much better than he’d anticipated, he’d also arranged it so hopefully Robbie Jordan would be dispatched at the same time as the Slatterys. All his headaches gone in one fell swoop.
CHAPTER 21
“Mr Maguire,” called a voice. “Just the man I wanted to see.”
Mikey slid his mobile phone into his jacket pocket and sighed. He could spot a copper a mile off, it didn’t make a difference if they wore plain clothes.
“I’m DI Dwyer,” added the man, confirming Mikey’s suspicions.
“What do you want to talk to me about?” said Mikey innocently.
“I thought that would have been perfectly obvious. Shall we get a coffee?”
“No, I want to get back to my cousin. You want to talk to me we do it here and now.”
“As you wish,” said Dwyer, looking up at the sky, which was threatening rain. If Mikey thought a bit of water was going to deter him from his purpose he was wrong. “You’re the only witness to what happened at Mrs Driscoll’s house.”
“Actually I didn’t see anything. I turned up to find her bleeding on the driveway.”
“And what were you doing there?”
Mikey knew lying was pointless. No doubt Jules’s phone records had already been checked. “Jules called me. She said someone was in her house and she wanted my help.”
“Why would she call you instead of the police?” When Mikey cocked an eyebrow Dwyer smiled and shook his head. “Sorry, silly question. Please continue.”
“So I drove straight there.”
“Where were you when she called?”
“In my car.”
Dwyer huffed with frustration. “Which was where?”
Mikey knew he couldn’t lie about his whereabouts because the phone records would show where he was when she’d called. But he refused to compromise his new headquarters so he came up with a lie. “I was driving around.”
“Where were you going?”
“Nowhere in particular, I just like to drive.”
“Go on,” said Dwyer, his eyes telling him he knew he was lying.
“I went straight to Jules’s house when she called but I was too late. I found her on the driveway and the door to her house wide open.”
“Did you go in the house?”
“No, I was more concerned with Jules. I called an ambulance and I tried to stop the bleeding but I couldn’t. There was so much blood,” he rasped.
“Did you see anyone else in the area?”
“No.”
“Did she tell you who was in her house?”
“No, not on the phone and when I arrived she was too weak to talk.”
“What’s your relationship with your cousin Mr Maguire?”
“Well, we’re close.”
“How close?”
Mikey wondered if someone had been blabbing but there was no way a member of his family would discuss anything personal with a copper, not even Jackson, who was on the outside of the illegal stuff. “Our families go to each other’s houses for dinner, that sort of thing.”
Dwyer stared at him, hoping to intimidate him into revealing more information but Mikey remained stubbornly silent. He was far too adept at dealing with police officers to fall for that old trick.
“So you didn’t see or hear anything?” continued Dwyer, forced to concede defeat.
“Nothing. Sorry.”
“An illegal taser was found in the house with Mrs Driscoll’s prints all over it. Any idea where that came from?”
“Nope. Whoever attacked her must have brought it, she knows they’re illegal for the general public to carry.”
“Then why were only her prints found on it?”
“Simple. The attacker wore gloves and she managed to get it off them. Jules is tough.”
“Maybe you should be leading the investigation? You seem to have all the answers,” he said cynically. “Have you any idea who would do this to your cousin?”
“Nope.”
“And if you did would you tell me?”
“Of course. I want them caught.”
Dwyer laughed. “Don’t treat me like an idiot Mr Maguire, we both know what sort of business you’re in but I must caution you against taking matters into your own hands.”
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yes you do. You know exactly who did this and you’re going after them. But if so much as one dead body turns up in this city - I don’t care if they’ve been flattened by a bus - you’ll be my first port of call.”
Mikey shrugged. “Do what you like.”
Dwyer’s left eye twitched with annoyance. “Just so we know where we stand.” He began to walk away then hesitated. “By the way, do you know where Cara is?”
“Cara, Jules’s daughter?”
“Yes,” he said impatiently.
“Jackson sent her to stay with relatives. Seeing her mum like that would only frighten her.” Thank God Jez had called him just before Dwyer had collared him.
“Which relatives?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Aren’t you concerned about her welfare?”
“Yeah, course but I know Jackson wouldn’t send her anywhere dangerous. He’s a great dad.”
“I’ve been trying to contact his parents but apparently they’re on holiday in Rome, so she can’t be with them.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. Anyway, what does it matter to you? It’s not like you can interview her.”
“The strange thing is, Mrs Driscoll collected Cara from nursery barely an hour before you made the call to the emergency services.”
“Maybe she dropped her off somewhere else?”
“Like where?”
“How should I know? What do you think I’ve got, supernatural powers?”
“Mr Driscoll told me his wife dropped the child off with him at the gym where he was training.”
“There you go then.”
“Then why did one of the Driscoll’s neighbours tell me they saw Ju
les pulling up her driveway with the little girl in the back of her car?”
“They must have been mistaken. Some of their neighbours are a bit old.”
“Perhaps. Well, thanks for your time Mr Maguire.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied, attempting to sound casual. Mikey tried not to roll his eyes when Dwyer stopped in his tracks.
“Just one more thing. We found drops of blood at the crime scene that don’t belong to Mrs Driscoll but we’ve not managed to come up with a match for them. Any idea who they could belong to?”
“Not a clue.”
Dwyer gave him a hard look. “Have a good day Mr Maguire.” His eyes bored into Mikey before he finally walked away just as the heavens opened, drenching Mikey in ice cold water.
As there was no further sign of DI Dwyer, Rachel and Ryan deemed it safe to check in at the hotel they’d booked into. Ryan had arranged in advance for Leah to stay over at Jez’s, on the pretext of her spending time with her cousins. He’d left it until the last minute to spring it on them. Leah was delighted with the arrangement but Rachel hadn’t seemed too happy about it. However, to his relief, she’d gone along with things.
Usually Ryan would be delighted to be alone with Rachel in a hotel room but not this time. They’d barely spoken since they’d arrived in Manchester but it had been okay because the others were there. Now they were alone there was no one else to help lighten the atmosphere.
Nervously Ryan perched on the end of the bed, for the first time in his life considering switching on the television just for some background noise. Usually the second they were alone in a hotel room together they were all over each other but now they could barely look at one another.
“I’m going for a shower,” said Rachel.
Ryan opened his mouth then closed it then decided to speak. If neither of them tried their marriage was finished for sure. “Would you like some company?”
“No thanks,” was all she said before walking into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Ryan sighed and hung his head when there was the click of the lock.
Deciding he needed a distraction, he took out his phone to study the challenge Jules had sent him but reading her e-mail caused his eyes to blur with tears. She sounded so chirpy and full of life. At the bottom he reread the sentence where she said she had some news for him and would call the next day but she hadn’t been given the chance. That news must have been about her pregnancy and now that child was gone and she’d never have another, if she ever woke up from the coma.
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