by Alex Kane
Arabella did as requested and removed the blindfold. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she took in her surroundings, amazed at what she was seeing.
‘Welcome home, Ms MacQueen,’ Eddie said, standing by the coffee table in the centre of the living room. A huge grin spread across Eddie’s face as he drank in her reaction. An ice bucket with champagne sat in the centre of the table, two flutes either side. There was a vase of flowers on the window ledge to her left and a ‘welcome home’ banner hung on the centre of the back wall.
‘Eddie…’ Arabella started. Then she stopped, the sudden lump in her throat almost suffocating her.
‘You like?’
She manoeuvred around the coffee table towards him and slung her arms around his neck before kissing him gently. ‘I love it. But I have to admit…’
‘Oh god, what? Did I get the wrong champagne?’
‘No it’s not that. It’s just… well, I was expecting the latest vacuum cleaner.’ Arabella gave a devilish grin and Eddie laughed.
‘It’s good to have you home wee yin,’ he said. ‘Just do me a favour, eh? Don’t get involved with that crowd again. They’re bad news, Arabella. I swear if I ever see any of them again I’ll knock fuck out of them.’
Arabella winced at how quickly Eddie’s mood changed when he talked about her old friends. She’d been stupid to go along with them. But it wasn’t just their fault. It was her. She was the destructive one, the one who couldn’t say no to a couple of little lines of coke, along with the booze.
‘Let’s not waste our breath on those idiots. I’m back now and I won’t be making the same mistakes again. From now on it’s just you and me.’
Eddie’s expression softened and he bent down to kiss her. ‘Hey, why don’t we take the bottle to the bedroom?’
Arabella smiled and lifted the bucket. She wanted to forget prison, forget being locked away from Eddie and her life for the past year. Getting drunk and having sex with Eddie was a start.
* * *
Arabella rolled onto her back and lifted the cigarettes from the bedside table. Opening the box, she pulled one out with her teeth and lit it.
‘How’s that for a welcome home present?’ Eddie laughed, adjusting his position on the bed and leaning over Arabella. Taking the pack from her, he lit up too and the room was filled with a double haze of blue smoke.
‘You really do rate yourself highly,’ Arabella smiled.
As much as she was joking around, Arabella was more than glad to be home and back in Eddie’s bed. Her stupidity had landed her in a place she never could have imagined she would have ended up.
Arabella’s thoughts of her friend were interrupted by Eddie leaning in for a kiss. ‘So tell me, was your head turned in there?’
Pulling away, Arabella frowned. ‘Eddie, don’t be so disgusting.’
‘Ah come on, I’m only kidding.’
‘Actually, if you must know, there was one good thing to come from being in that hellhole,’ Arabella said, flicking the ash into the ashtray on the side of the bed.
‘Oh aye?’
‘Her name is Roxanne. She’s just about at the end of her sentence of ten years. If it wasn’t for her I don’t know if I’d have gotten through my own time.’
Eddie raised a brow and Arabella knew he would be thinking the typical guy thing. Had there been more than just friendship? She chose not to dignify the thought with a response.
‘You were in there for almost a year, Arabella. How come you never mentioned her before?’
Thinking about the question, she had to be honest. She didn’t really know why she hadn’t told him. Rox was part of Arabella’s life on the inside. When Eddie had come to visit her at prison, she’d kept inside life and outside life separate. Not that she had anything to hide.
‘There was nothing to tell. Anyway, she’s getting out soon and she wants to meet up.’
Eddie paused, giving Arabella a hesitant look. ‘What is she in prison for, Arabella?’
‘Attempted murder,’ she said without hanging back. ‘And before you say anything, no, I don’t have to worry about her.’
‘Attempted murder?’ Eddie’s frown grew deeper and Arabella could feel herself getting annoyed.
‘It’s not like it sounds.’
‘Oh, so she accidentally tried to kill someone? Or was she falsely accused?’
Arabella sighed. ‘No, but all I’m saying is, don’t judge. She’s my friend and I really want us to stay that way once she gets out.’
Eddie held his hands up and pursed his lips. ‘Hey, I’m not judging. If you’re happy then that’s all that matters.’
Arabella smiled in her victory. Eddie was protective but he could also be a softie if she wanted him to be. She was glad their relationship was still intact after her prison stint and that she still had someone like him to protect her from herself.
‘Good. Because I want you to meet her. She has a partner too, so maybe we could all get together at some point.’
Eddie smiled and nodded in agreement, but Arabella knew deep down that he wasn’t convinced that her friendship with Roxanne was going to last, or that it was a good thing at all.
She’d just have to prove him wrong.
Chapter Seventeen
Eddie shook his head as he sat back on his seat in the office at the van centre. Was this really his life? Would the only excitement he was ever going to get come from hiring out vans? Yes okay, he owned his own business and yes, it brought in good money and his credit score was good enough that he was able to buy a business for his girlfriend. But there was something so dissatisfying about it all.
His thoughts were pulled from him when there was a knock at the door. ‘Mr Corrigan, here are the time sheets from the staff for this week,’ Sandra, his secretary, said.
Eddie smiled as she sat them on the desk. ‘Thanks.’
He swung on his chair and watched as Sandra left the office. He stared down at the staff time sheets and sighed. He remembered the days when he was just a young teen, riding around on his dirt bike down by the fields at his old primary school, often not sober. The buzz of knowing that he could come off at any moment was what had kept him going. Or when he wouldn’t think twice about taking ecstasy, just so he could have the night of his life with the boys. The number of life-threatening activities he’d pursued told him he should have died a long time ago, but he didn’t. He was still very much present, yet he didn’t feel alive.
Those days were long behind him. But he missed them greatly, so much so that when Arabella had been arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery, possession and GBH, he couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. How could her life be so much more exciting than his? Before they’d met, she’d been a tearaway teen. Always getting into trouble with the people she called friends, taking drugs, drinking and partying. Now she was friends with a proper criminal, and Eddie’s life was plain and boring.
He was glad she was home, of course he was. When she’d been in prison, he’d found the need to feel close to someone overwhelming and he’d had numerous one-night stands with other women. He was a man and he had needs. Arabella didn’t need to know about that and she would never find out. He’d been careful not to allow them into his life, except for one. The last one had turned into somewhat of a relationship. That hadn’t been his plan. He regretted the conscious decision he’d made to invite that girl back to the flat, back to the bed which he shared with Arabella. As good a shag as she was – as they all were – it still made him feel like shit to think of his inability to be faithful when things got tough. But he just couldn’t seem to stop himself. If she hadn’t gone to prison, he’d never have done it. He’d never have dreamed of cheating on her.
Shaking off the memories and the guilt gripping his stomach, he pulled his mobile out of his pocket and stared at the screen. No messages from Arabella. He wondered how she would get on, as the new owner of Hair Envy. As much as Arabella had no clue how to run a business, he was sure she’d get the hang of i
t. Even if she didn’t, she had Scarlett to do all the leg-work. Scarlett. He closed his eyes as her name floated around inside his head, before shaking it out again. Hair Envy was a thriving business in the heart of the city and he couldn’t let either himself or Arabella mess that up. Eddie had come too far in his life to ruin things.
He hadn’t been in trouble since he was a teenager, when his dad would bail him out of the mess he’d got himself into. The car thefts, house break-ins, the class C drug dealing. But he wasn’t a teenager anymore. He didn’t have a dad or his money to rely on to get him out of sticky situations. In fact, his dad was the only reason that Eddie had a business at all. The van hire company had been left to Eddie in his dad’s will, on the strictest instructions that he hunker down and run it properly. With his dad dead, Eddie was responsible for himself and if he threw away the business for the sake of an adrenaline rush then he’d be left with nothing. His mum had left before he could remember who she was, and he had no siblings. That was one thing he had in common with Arabella, that their mothers had abandoned them.
His phone rang then, jolting him from his thoughts. He answered it, listened to how excited Arabella was about going to see the salon for the first time. Eddie couldn’t help but wonder how Scarlett would cope with Arabella as her new boss. He was only half listening when she said, ‘I’ll see you later on tonight? Maybe we could go out for dinner or something? I wanted to talk to you about meeting Rox. She’s getting out soon and I really want to introduce you to her. She was my rock in there.’
‘Sure, I’ll see you back at home.’ Eddie hid the annoyance from his tone. He didn’t like the sound of Roxanne. Not because she was a criminal. But because Arabella seemed so besotted with her. He’d seen this kind of thing happen with her before. Growing up in care, not knowing how to create bonds and relationships with people, Arabella tended to jump into a new friendship with two feet, without truly seeing a person for who they really were. Those bitches, Amy and Shona, were a perfect example of that.
Opening Google, Eddie typed in Roxanne’s name. If she’d been in prison for ten years then maybe there would be something online that he could find out about her. And he wasn’t wrong. What he read surprised him. Arabella either didn’t know what this woman had done, or had been desensitized by her crimes due to spending so much time with her on the inside.
March 2010 – Glasgow
Female Glasgow Gangster Found Guilty
Twenty-eight-year-old Roxanne McPhail was found guilty today at the High Court in Glasgow of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs. She was also found guilty of attempted murder. Roxanne, who has quickly become one of Glasgow’s most feared female criminals, was sentenced to ten years in HMP Kirktonhill after the verdict was revealed.
Ms McPhail is said to have hospitalised Johnnie Munro after it is alleged that he owed her the sum of just twenty pounds. Ms McPhail was arrested at the scene of the beating, where she was later found to be in possession of cocaine and ecstasy.
The victim was not present in court for the sentencing, but it is believed that he is recovering from the attack and his drug addiction at home with his family. Johnnie Munro suffered a broken wrist, punctured lung and head injuries on the night of the attack, which left him in hospital for a month. No one from the Munro family was available for comment.
Roxanne McPhail’s partner, Jake Cairney, was seen leaving the court alone.
Eddie read over the ten-year-old article and raised a brow. Now this woman was ‘besties’ with his girlfriend. Roxanne sounded out of Arabella’s league, but highly interesting to Eddie. And by the sounds of it, it wouldn’t be long until Eddie got to meet her or her boyfriend.
Maybe these people were just the thing Eddie needed to fill the void. Maybe hanging out with them would give him his spark back. He missed the dangers of living life on the edge of a knife, and it had to be better than cheating on Arabella.
Chapter Eighteen
The boys on his team had done their jobs. Retrieve and sell. The merchandise was gone, sold on for plenty of cash. Jake had given them their cut and the rest went in his pocket. He smiled. It was a good side earner, something that Roxanne could take over perhaps once she got out. But only if she wanted to. She would be on probation, so she might want to lay low for a while. She wouldn’t want to risk going back inside. Ten years was long enough, he thought.
The phone in his pocket began to vibrate and Jake pulled it out. He glared down at the screen as the name flashed up at him and Jake did a double take. The sight of the name made him feel sick. Of all the people to get in touch, why him? Why now? It had been a good few years since they’d last spoken.
His stomach rolled as he hit the accept call button.
‘Jake Cairney. Long time no fucking speak,’ Cole said, his thick London accent snaking through the receiver.
‘Cole, what you been up to?’ Jake asked, feeling a genuine fear.
‘Funny you should ask, Jakey boy. Just so happens I’m in your neck of the woods. Looking into some business. Fancy a beer?’
Jake took a deep and steadying breath before he agreed to meet Cole. Meeting this man face to face was certainly going to bring back some memories that Jake would rather forget.
‘You’re in Glasgow?’ Jake swallowed hard and silent, but his throat was dry.
‘Yeah, I’ve got a proposition.’ Cole’s words hung between them and Jake knew he had to agree.
‘Aye, mate. Would be good to see you. Where you thinking?’
‘How about that strippers’ place up at Charing Cross? Around ten?’ Cole suggested and Jake heard the smile in his tone.
‘See you there,’ Jake said before they hung up.
The sensation of wanting to throw up became a reality as Jake hunched over, allowing the contents of his stomach to exit his body.
* * *
Standing outside the strip club, Jake knew that there was no going back when it came to Cole Woods. If he showed an interest in becoming involved with him in his line of work even just by answering a phone call, then there was no backing out. However, Jake checked himself as he waited for Cole to arrive. Jake wasn’t some measly wee ned off the street. He was a well-known criminal. Both he and Rox were known in the city and people knew not to mess. Cole was on Jake’s patch, and he wanted to make it known that he wasn’t going to be made to feel threatened, regardless of the past. And Jake had killed before; he could do it again if he had to. Even Cole knew that.
With his mind in overdrive, thinking of scenarios that hadn’t even happened yet, Jake looked up to see Cole strolling towards him with a huge grin on his face.
‘Jake fucking Cairney. How are you?’ Cole said, sounding particularly cheerful.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Jake returned the smile. ‘Cole, my man.’
The men shook hands and Jake noted the determined grip Cole had. It was a reminder that Cole thought of himself as the harder man, without having to say the words.
‘Let’s see what these Glasgow strippers are all about, eh mate?’ Cole raised a brow and released Jake’s hand.
He followed Cole inside and they headed for the bar before taking a seat in one of the booths at the back of the room. Sipping on his pint of Peroni, Jake began to relax.
‘How long’s it been since we last saw each other?’ Cole asked, although Jake suspected that he was just testing the water to see how Jake would react to being reminded of what happened. It had been three years since that job.
‘Three years,’ was all Jake said in response.
‘Yeah, that sounds about right. That job you did with me and the lads down in London was fucking epic, mate. We made a shit ton of money.’
Jake nodded. ‘Aye,’ he said, hoping that Cole wasn’t about to mention the one thing from that job that made him sick to his stomach. ‘It was a good one.’
Jake unwillingly thought about that night, about what had happened. An unfortunate mistake. It hadn’t been part of the job, a drug run from London
to Glasgow, which otherwise went smoothly. Somehow Cole found out about it and while that helped Jake deal with it at the time, he always knew Cole would call in the favour one day. He was clearly here to collect.
‘So, anyone up here tickle your fancy then? You know, aside from the missus?’ Cole laughed. ‘I tell ya, Jakey boy, I didn’t take you for a kinky fucker. Sex games aren’t my thing, but each to their own and all that. Shame it ended so tragically.’
Jake shot Cole a warning look, shaking his head. ‘Oi, it was a one-off, alright? Not something I’ll be making a habit of. It was three years ago, and out of my head. And I intend for it to stay out. So I’d prefer you didn’t mention it again.’
Cole smirked. He wasn’t going to allow Jake to get away with that.
‘How can you keep something like that out of your head? Get real, Jake. If I killed someone in the way you did, I’d never get over it,’ Cole said quietly, a sly smile still set on his face. ‘And to know the family could take you down if they found out… I mean, they’re wealthy fuckers, aren’t they? They’d have paid good money to show the world what you did to one of their own. It’s lucky I was on hand to help dispose of the evidence; you know?’
Cole watched Jake as he took a breath, composed himself.
‘Like I said, I don’t want to talk about it. So I’m assuming this isn’t just old buddies catching up?’ Jake started.
‘Ah, you know me so well, mate,’ Cole replied, taking a large mouthful from his own pint. His eyes narrowed and Jake felt them burn into his skin. ‘I’ve got a business proposition for you.’
‘Oh?’ Jake asked, pretending that he didn’t know what was coming. He noticed how Cole’s eyes drew away from his as he watched one of the girls walk past them in her black lingerie. Cole licked his lips, sucking air in through his teeth.
‘And how does it involve me?’ Jake pressed, bringing Cole’s attention back to the table.
