She pulled on the seatbelt, pressed the button for the garage door and started the engine, gripping the wheel tighter as her hands still shook, willing the bloody door to hurry up.
Jez stopped throwing himself against the garage door when he heard the main door rolling up. The bitch was trying to escape. But how the hell did he get in? He was surrounded by fucking bushes.
“Time’s run out Mummy dearest,” he said darkly, standing to one side and aiming the gun at the lock on the door. The thing was solid metal and there was a good chance the bullet would ricochet off and hit him, which was why he hadn’t shot it open in the first place but he had no choice.
He tensed as he fired the gun, praying he didn’t get a bullet in the face but instead there was a ping and a clang and the door popped open.
Jez rushed inside as Estelle slammed her foot down on the accelerator and the car sped out of the garage, the top of it just catching the bottom of the garage door with a screech of metal. Jez ran after the car, firing as he went but Estelle wrenched the wheel from side to side and - as he was running and so fucking angry - all his bullets missed.
“Shit,” he yelled as he watched the little blue car speed through the gates that had been battered open by The Tank and onto the main road before disappearing.
Estelle only allowed herself to relax once The Homestead had entirely vanished from view. She expected to hear the sound of pursuing engines but she appeared to be the only one on the road. Besides, they had bigger fish to fry.
She wound down the window and cackled loudly, feeling a little hysterical with relief. It was good to get one over her sons.
Her good mood ebbed when she realised she’d fled the house leaving behind all her money, clothes, possessions, the lot. At least she still had her cigarettes and a wrap of coke in her pocket. She’d survived on less and she would survive again.
With a gasp Tanya turned and ran back the way she’d come, half-expecting to feel a bullet slam into her body but Ryan wasn’t a sharpshooter and he didn’t dare shoot her when she was carrying Cara. She surmised the girl had spotted her uncle over her shoulder because she started to cry again, little arms reaching out to him. But, to her consternation, Ryan didn’t follow. She peeked around the corner and saw him heading the other way, gun at the ready, as though he was stalking someone.
“Jared,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes.
The roar of another engine outside drew her attention to the window. She dreaded seeing more of the Laws’ people pulling up but instead she saw her own light blue car bouncing down the drive at top speed, managing to spy peroxide blond hair through the window. “You treacherous bitch,” she hissed at the retreating figure of Estelle. Still, what could she expect from someone who had betrayed her own children?
Panic set in as she realised her last escape route had been stolen by a drug-addled whore. Even if she did manage to get outside the house she had no way of getting out of the grounds, they were too vast. Her only chance was to lock herself and Cara into the basement where Jules had been held and hope they didn’t think to look there.
Before she had the chance to head towards the door leading to the basement, a loud bang just around the corner had her scurrying forwards into the lounge. She shut the door, muffling the sound of gunfire and crouched behind the couch with Cara, who had gone still and silent. She was trapped. All she could do was pray her son got the upper hand.
Rachel was feeling uneasy and she couldn’t put her finger on why. She knew it wasn’t just because Ryan and the others were at that very moment attacking The Homestead. Something else was the cause, something much closer.
It was then she spied the nurse, who seemed to be haunting her marching through intensive care. To the untrained eye she appeared to be like any other nurse but finally Rachel realised what had been bothering her. The woman always appeared to be purposeful, as though she was in the middle of carrying out some vitally important task but she never actually seemed to do anything.
She watched the woman walk off the ward and Rachel decided to follow, almost pausing by Riley to tell him where she was going before changing her mind. He would only insist on going instead and she got the feeling the nurse could be a distraction to lure him away. Paula and Fletch were in the canteen getting a bite to eat so she was on her own. Besides, she was sure she could easily take the woman should it come to that.
Leah was returning to the ward with a bottle of water when she saw her mum heading down the corridor. Overtly there was nothing weird about that but there was something odd about the way she moved, like she was all tense and concentrating on a single purpose.
Getting the feeling something was wrong, she decided to follow.
Ryan crept down the corridor, not bothering with Tanya, although it had been a struggle not to snatch Cara from her arms but he’d spied the gun tucked into the waistband of Tanya’s skirt and he hadn’t wanted to put his niece in the middle of a gunfight. Besides, the way she’d run told him she was heading straight towards Mikey anyway, who was most anxious to deal with the Slattery matriarch.
Instead he’d spied his own quarry, catching a glimpse of a big blond bastard sneaking around the corner. He was unsure whether he was luring him into a trap or running away but either way, he was going to bring him down once and for all.
The sounds of fighting died away this end of the house, which was a relief. The house was huge and every time he turned a corner he expected to be confronted by Jared and half a dozen of his men but there was no one.
It was only when he entered the kitchen at the rear of the house that something finally happened. He was actually elated when a huge, meaty fist lashed out at him from the doorway. Ryan managed to jump back before hurling himself head first at the massive bulk that appeared before him.
CHAPTER 33
Rachel hung back, watching the nurse head down a little-used back staircase. She felt uneasy about following her into a quieter part of the hospital but she knew she was up to something and she wanted to know if she was a threat to Jules. She would allow no one else to hurt her sister-in-law.
Rachel waited twenty seconds before opening the door and following the woman downstairs. This stairwell, unlike the rest of the hospital was dark and dingy, a single light bulb casting a feeble glow, the walls yellow and peeling. When she’d worked at this hospital many years ago this wing had been in pristine condition, busy and bustling and it was a shock to see it so neglected. But things changed and the posh new high-tech wing meant this one had been allowed to slip into decay. No doubt it would one day be renovated into offices, the old wards completely obliterated. It was even more suspicious why the ‘nurse’ would come this way, there were no patients, no other members of staff. Rachel was even more certain she was here for nefarious purposes.
The sound of the woman’s footsteps echoed up the stairwell towards her as she followed, marching on at a brisk pace and Rachel had to hurry to keep up. At least she was wearing trainers and not her usual high heels, it was a good thing she’d dressed for battle.
At the bottom of the stairs the corridor - which was even dingier and more depressing than the staircase - branched off into two different directions and Rachel spied the woman just turning the corner at the end of the corridor to her right. She set off at a jog, determined not to lose her, skirting round a swivel chair and a tatty desk with a broken leg abandoned in the middle of the passage.
As she turned the corner she was confronted by the woman standing facing her halfway down the corridor, her hands balled into fists and sporting a malevolent smile. This was no ordinary nurse.
“You work for Jared Slattery, don’t you?”
The woman’s smirk broadened. “No. Tanya sent me. Jared’s gone soft, he doesn’t want Jules dead but Tanya does and what she wants she always gets.”
“Not this fucking time,” hissed Rachel, eyes turning black.
As she advanced on the woman she was aware of movement behind her and she turned to see two men
appear around the corner, both wearing black suits with white shirts and similar smirks.
“Not looking too sure of yourself now, are you Rachel?” said the woman.
“I’ve face worse odds,” she shrugged.
“Doubtful,” said the woman before charging at her while the two men ran at her from behind.
Ryan sent Jared staggering backwards into the kitchen, using his momentum to knock him off balance. Unfortunately the movement knocked the gun from his hand and it went sliding across the tiled terracotta floor. Ryan slammed his fist into Jared’s face, following it up immediately with a blow to the stomach but Jared managed to get in a punch to Ryan’s chest that knocked the wind from him and he dodged sideways, avoiding the second fist that was swung at him. Ryan was surprised, he hadn’t fought anyone with strength like it since Alex Maguire. But he’d killed him and he was going to do the same to Jared.
When Jared drew his own gun Ryan managed to kick it from his hand and when he ran for it Ryan hurled himself at him again, bowling into his back and sending him sprawling onto the floor. Before Ryan could take advantage of this, Jared had flipped onto his back with a speed and agility that belied his size and lashed out with his foot, catching Ryan square in the stomach, winding him for a second time.
Ryan managed to overcome the shock when he saw Jared wriggling on his belly, straining for the gun. He grabbed Jared’s lower left leg and dragged him backwards, climbing on top of him and attempting to snake his arm around his neck, Jared furiously throwing himself from side to side in an attempt to shake him off.
“Shit,” muttered Ryan when one of Jared’s men appeared in the doorway, aiming his gun at him. He was left with no choice but to relinquish Slattery before he could throttle him, throwing himself to one side as the man opened fire, ducking behind the island in the centre of the kitchen. Fortunately the man was a bad shot so he missed him, so bad in fact that even Jared was forced to take cover under the kitchen table.
“Be careful you stupid bastard, you nearly hit me,” bellowed Jared.
The man just shrugged but remained where he was in the doorway, gun still in hand.
“You should train your men better Slattery,” Ryan yelled across the room. “They’re fucking useless.”
“Listen to me Ryan,” Jared called back. “I never wanted to hurt Jules.”
“You let your Mummy hurt her though, didn’t you?” he snarled, his angry words bouncing around the room. “You did nothing while she lay there bleeding, knowing she was losing the child in her belly while watching her daughter being stolen from her, you pathetic mummy’s boy.” He drew the large knife from his belt, gripping it in one steady hand. “You could have helped her but you chose not to.”
“I wish I had, I love her.”
“You don’t know the meaning of the word.” Ryan glanced out from behind the island to see Jared’s man stepping into the room, following the sound of his voice. That’s right, come closer, he thought.
“You’ve no idea what I’ve been going through,” said Jared.
“Oh bless,” retorted Ryan. “Jules lost her baby and your mother did her so much damage she had to have a hysterectomy. So if she does survive she’ll never be able to have a child again.”
Ryan’s words devastated Jared and he furiously shook his head. “I never wanted any of this. Jules was talking about letting me have regular visits with Cara when Mum came up behind her and stabbed her. I didn’t intend to hurt her.”
“Lies,” said Ryan, his eyes locked on the approaching heavy.
“I’m not lying,” exclaimed Jared.
Ryan was surprised to find that he actually believed him. “If you’re not then why haven’t you given Cara back?”
“Because Mum wants to be a gran to her.”
“How do you think she can possibly do that when she put her mother in a coma?”
“She’s still not woken up then?”
“No.”
When the heavy was just a few feet from him, Ryan picked up a pan that had got knocked over in the fight and threw it in Jared’s direction. Automatically the very nervous heavy turned that way and fired, drawing more curses from Jared. Ryan shot to his feet and threw the knife, which embedded itself in the man’s chest and down he went, surprise written all over his face.
Ryan leapt forward, snatching the gun from his hand as he fell, turned and aimed it at Jared, who he found had got to his feet, clutching his own gun and aimed it at his head.
“Stalemate,” smiled Jared, cocking the weapon.
Rachel remained where she was, looking from the woman to the two men before - at the very last second - side-stepping and sticking out her foot, sending the first man crashing into the woman and down they both went. Without pause Rachel threw herself at the second man, deciding to go for a shock tactic and driving her fingers into his left eye. It was the last thing he’d expected and he released a scream of surprise as she drove her finger in harder. From the corner of her eye she saw the other two had got to their feet, so she headbutted the man and down he went, clutching at his damaged eye in horror, leaving her free to deal with the other two.
“Impressive,” said the woman. “But not enough.”
The man and fake nurse charged her as one, Rachel dodging the man’s fist and actually managing to trip him again, causing him to fall on his friend, which she found hilarious. However there was no time to laugh as the nurse came at her, throwing furious punches that Rachel found she only just managed to avoid, a foot to her stomach doubling her up but she managed to keep going through the pain and grabbed the nurse’s foot, tipping her backwards.
The second man had got to his feet, leaving the other man still lying on the floor with a hand pressed to his eye. Rachel rushed at him, wanting to get out of reach of the nurse, going in low, throwing herself at his waist and knocking him back onto the man on the floor.
“For fuck’s sake,” cried the man he landed on.
Without pause Rachel leapt to her feet, kicked the uninjured man in the face, snapping his head backwards, just managing to leap out of the way as the nurse kicked out at her again. Rachel tried to punch her in the face but she blocked her arm and punched her instead, knocking her sideways.
It was fortunate Rachel had a high tolerance for pain because she managed to stay on her feet and flung herself aside to avoid the rapid onslaught of fists and feet that followed, clearly the nurse had gone through some form of martial arts training. But her movements were clumsy and a little panicked, obviously she hadn’t expected Rachel to be able to stand up to three of them, giving her the chance to get in a punch to the face, sending the nurse staggering backwards, just in time too because the second man had got back on his feet and was charging at her with the speed and aggression of a bull. Rachel grabbed hold of the nurse and shoved her at him but he managed to avoid her. The nurse kept on going and landed on top of the first man, who had almost got himself up off the floor.
“Jesus Christ, stop falling on me,” he wailed.
The second man advanced on Rachel, looking furious, attempting to pen her into a corner and if she allowed that to happen she was dead. There was no one else around, she hadn’t heard any signs of life since she’d descended that dank staircase and she cursed herself for leaving her taser in Devon. The nurse was getting back on her feet and she knew she had to bring this guy down before she managed it because she couldn’t take them both on simultaneously.
Pretending to retreat away from him, making him smile, Rachel suddenly darted forward, closing the gap, not leaving him enough room to hit her, drawing back her right arm and punching him in the stomach. Unfortunately the muscles she met there were rock hard and he barely felt the blow. He pulled a knife and grabbed a handful of her hair, using it to yank back her head. Rachel grabbed his arm holding the weapon with both hands, the man’s eyes widening with surprise when she actually managed to push it backwards, the tip of the knife aiming for his face. With a growl of frustration he shoved her aside and she
hit the wall.
“Mum?” said a small voice.
Oh God, please no, thought Rachel.
The second man and the nurse - who had finally got to her feet - looked at each other and smiled before advancing on Leah.
CHAPTER 34
Ryan’s nerves were completely steady as he stared down the barrel of Jared’s gun, mainly because Jared was staring down the barrel of his too. He had heard Jared was a terrible shot but up close like this not even he could miss.
“I didn’t want her to get hurt,” said Jared, finger tightening on the trigger. “I swear.”
“Alright, I believe you. But she still did get hurt and you did nothing to help her.”
“I know, I feel so fucking guilty,” he said, eyes flickering with pain. “It’s haunting me, I can’t stop thinking about her lying there, bleeding, in pain and watching her child being taken from her. The way she screamed Cara’s name…” He trailed off with a shudder. “It was fucking horrible, it keeps replaying in my head over and over.”
Ryan hoped he felt guilty enough not to be able to shoot her brother but somehow he doubted it. This was a matter of self preservation.
Ryan only realised someone was standing behind him when Jared’s eyes moved to something over his shoulder. He flung himself aside and a bullet went rocketing through the air where his head had been a second before, grazing Jared’s right cheek and the tip of his ear.
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