The Choice

by KERRY BARNES

  Mike took a few deep breaths as he surveyed the room. Everyone by this time had stopped talking, their eyes focused on Gerry, Mike, and Zara. It was like settling down to a front-row seat at a boxing match, although all bets would be on Mike as the winner. They weren’t to know that this would get a whole lot worse, though, and Zara would be the one to beat.

  The guests’ eyes now focused on Zara. She was standing to the right of the door and glared with pure venom in her eyes. As Gerry wiped his mouth, he and Zara were at daggers drawn.

  But Gerry was on an alcohol roll. The liquor in his system, mixed with the fresh air from walking outside, pushed him to yet another level of confidence. ‘And you, ya one-handed slut, only live off your old man’s reputation. Just so that we’re clear,’ he drawled, slurring out his words to everyone looking on, ‘he was another first-class prick.’

  The guests were having a ball. They knew when they’d been invited back to Gloria’s home after the funeral, that they would receive the finest nosh and drinks that money could buy. But what no one had counted on was being there to witness the fight of the century.

  Now the guests’ eyes turned to Claudia, who tried to drag her husband away, knowing only too well that once he started, he wouldn’t stop. He just needed three or four brandies, and he thought he was the hardest man on the planet.

  Without anyone seeing it happen, Zara launched herself away from the wall before Gloria or Mike had a chance to stop her. Gerry was in full view of the other guests, blatantly laughing at her. She, an Ezra. It was a total piss-take and it wouldn’t be tolerated. And, even worse, the prat continued to laugh at her as she ran towards him. Yet she would have the last laugh. She might be slim, female, and have only one hand, but she could do a lot of damage with a raging mind and fire in her belly.

  Savagely, she hurled herself at him. With her right leg pulled back and using all her strength and her skills in Taekwondo, she kicked Gerry directly in the solar plexus, knocking him completely off his feet. No one saw the rapid movement until he landed noisily, banging his head on the sharp edge of a glass coffee table. Like a beached whale, he struggled to get back up. But, before he did, her foot came up and slammed down hard on his face again and again until a high-pitched scream of terror let out by Claudia put a stop to the punishment.

  Gloria realized that perhaps things had gotten out of hand somewhat and managed to pull Zara away. Mike, though, hadn’t been able to slip through the throng of guests quickly enough before the beating was over. But, of course, she didn’t need help. Gerry lay there, now a mangled mess. Gloria held Zara back, telling her to calm down, but Zara was beyond reason, and it showed in her copper-coloured eyes that were glowing red. ‘You ever call my father a prick again, and I swear to God, I’ll fucking gouge your eyes out and throw you into an acid bath.’

  Those final chilling words had the guests – or more accurately, now, the onlookers – all standing there with their mouths open. Gerry was a Face. Not many people would ever have dared to upset him due to his volatile behaviour and his criminal connections, but those hadn’t stopped Zara. And one-on-one, he was no match for this disabled woman.

  Zara’s eyes locked on to Claudia’s. Zara deliberately stared at her and a cruel grin crept along her face as if to say, ‘Don’t ever underestimate me again.’ The message was loud and clear for all to see.

  Many guests had secretly questioned how Zara Ezra had so much authority, and many wondered if the stories of her past, regarding how she could take out a grown man, were actually true. However, the evidence was there – before their very eyes. Everyone had seen it, and everyone knew one thing: cross Zara Ezra, and you did do so at your peril. No doubt this spectacle would also become a talking point for guests for months to come, when exaggerating the gory dramatic details for effect. That cold look in Zara’s eyes, those swift, precise movements, and the lack of fear were enough in themselves to put her up there with the likes of the hardest villains in London.

  Most men would have been annoyed that their girl had taken up a fight with a man she’d been left alone to fight against, but Mike couldn’t have been prouder of her, and, furthermore, he knew that if her father was up there looking down on her, he would be proud too.

  ‘Get that piece of shit in his car and away from here. He should never have come!’ shouted Zara.

  Claudia pulled, tugged, and dragged Gerry into the passenger seat of their Porsche Boxster. Just as he clambered into the front, she took one last look at Zara, and her mouth ran again.

  ‘You won’t get away with this. You’ll see – when I tell Colin Crawford what you’ve done.’

  Mike could sense Willie behind him and knew he had to stop him before he gave away their next plan.

  ‘Stay back, Willie,’ he hissed under his breath. ‘Don’t say a fucking word.’

  Zara knew the score regarding Colin Crawford and was calm enough at that point to keep her mouth shut. She waved sweetly at Claudia and laughed as she witnessed her zigzagging down the drive.

  Just as they all went back inside, Arthur appeared from the rear garden. He’d been down in his grand lodge, as he called it, where he’d taken up winemaking. ‘Anyone like to try my home-made wine?’ He was hit by stunned silence. ‘What’s going on? Have I missed something?’

  Mike looked at his mother, who was casually straightening her dress. ‘No, Arthur, we were just saying goodbye to Gerry and his missus,’ she replied calmly.

  Arthur frowned. ‘What the fuck were they doing here?’

  Gloria gave him a puzzled look. ‘I thought you invited them, love?’

  Arthur loosened his tie. ‘Me? Why would I invite that twat and his so-called B-list actress? Calls himself a villain? He’s nuffin but a ponce, a loud, brash one an’ all. And as for his wife, well, don’t get me started on her. Anyway, never mind, I’ve got this lovely home brew to try.’

  Gloria waved her hands. ‘Jesus, Arthur, get that out of here. It bleedin’ well stinks. I don’t want my guests coming down with gut-rot,’ she said, laughing.

  Ricky stood in amazement at the whole mad scene. First his grandmother, then his father, and then, finally, the nutter of all nutters, his stepmother-to-be. They were all so handy with their fists, and as for the mouths on them – wacky didn’t cut it.

  Once the mourners left, passing on their good wishes, the rest of the family took to the dining room, ready for some serious talking.

  Mike stood up first. ‘I know this is me brother’s funeral, but in the light of what’s just happened, maybe we need to put this plan of ours into action more quickly.’ He stopped and looked at his mother. ‘Sorry, Mum, do you mind?’

  Gloria had just settled herself heavily in a chair. Stretching out her legs, she sighed. ‘I dunno. Today has been many things, and, to be honest with you, I’m not proud of scrapping like an old fishwife in full view of all our guests. I’m ashamed of meself, so what can I say, Son?’

  Ricky suddenly burst out laughing. ‘Well, I’ll tell ya, then. Nan, you were brilliant. That well-deserved wallop, and you at your old age an’ all. I’m one proud grandson.’

  ‘’Ere, less of the old, Sunshine.’

  ‘And as for you, Zara, putting that old geezer on his arse, it was a right laugh.’

  Instantly, Zara blushed with embarrassment as they all looked over at her with smiles and respect. And Ricky’s words had lifted their spirits from the sombre and stifled mood. Moments later, they were relaxing and joining in the banter as if nothing untoward had happened. Soon after, though, it was back to business. It seemed that there was no point in asking Gloria to leave. She was just as much a part of the firm as Arthur, and always had been.

  Zara stood up and looked at Willie. ‘It’s been three weeks since we found out that Torvic was murdered, so, now all that messy business is over with, it’s time to sort out this Colin Crawford and his quack. Willie, this is your call. I’ll step back and do whatever you ask, mate. I’ve my men willing to help. They can be pulled away from t
he restaurants, so they’ll be at your disposal.’

  Willie was stunned. He’d never been given so much respect and power. It had always been the case that he was further down the totem pole, and that was how he liked it. He wasn’t a leader as such and would never want to be. So, although in theory it was his turn to call the shots, in reality, he wasn’t the right man to decide the plan, which relied very much on Zara’s smart brain. He turned his head to look at his son, who was still a little peaky. That troubled expression had bothered him, and now, in front of the firm, it was time to get to the bottom of it.

  ‘Liam, tell us. We’re family. What’s worrying you, Son?’

  Liam looked at all the eager faces, one by one, until his eyes rested back on his father’s. ‘I know what they did to me was bad, and yeah, the quack was hell-bent on finishing me off … Well, I do want him hurt badly.’

  ‘Yeah, I’ll chop his fucking hands off!’ growled Arty.

  ‘Yeah, well, if we can nobble him, at least he won’t be able to do it to anyone else. But as for this Lucas bloke, I dunno if I want him hurt …’ He paused and looked down. ‘Ya see, he’s me brother, or half-brother, maybe, but he’s still me brother, and I think I wanna meet him.’

  ‘To bash the fuck outta him, I hope!’ said Willie, his voice now raised.

  ‘No, Dad, I wanna just meet him,’ replied Liam, in a gentle tone aimed at lowering his father’s temper.

  Zara intervened before a row kicked off. ‘Let’s not be too hasty, Liam, because, so far, this Colin and Lucas have no idea that we know it’s them who’ve done this to ya. Staffie, by sheer chance, and then by using his brains, worked it all out. His uncles, Nicolas and Mack, have gone into hiding. They’ve vowed not to say a word, so no one knows except us. We need to keep it that way.’

  Liam looked up and smiled. ‘Oh yeah, I won’t say a word. Not yet. You’ve no worries on that score. I just thought maybe it would be nice, though, to have a brother.’

  Arty suddenly spoke up, annoyance in his tone. ‘Liam, you have a brother. In fact, you have two, me and Ricky. This Lucas is an outsider. The cunt stole your kidney. His family left you to fucking die. Why, for Christ’s sake, would you want to meet the bastard now? Me, I’d like to meet him and ram a knife down his throat – or gut him like a fish and take back your kidney. Jesus, Liam, you’re going soft, mate.’

  Zara raised her hand. ‘Arty, of course you three are as close as brothers, but we mustn’t forget this happened to Liam, and so we must respect his decision.’

  Willie looked at his son and rolled his eyes. ‘I don’t get you, boy. The little shit is walking around merrily with your kidney. You could’ve died.’

  ‘I know, Dad, I know. But, maybe, he didn’t even know about me if he was really sick. Would he have planned it? Nah, I don’t think so. The poor bastard wouldn’t have had a clue. And, Dad, don’t you feel anything? I mean, this Lucas is your son as well, ain’t he?’

  Willie shrugged his shoulders. ‘Fuck if I know. Son, he could be anyone’s. I barely remember sleeping with the tart.’

  Liam sighed. ‘Dad, he is your son, yeah? Look, since we got back from Spain, I’ve been doing a lot of research on the internet, right? You can’t just take out a kidney and give it to any old Tom, Dick, or Harry. You have to be a match. So, it follows, I must be a match. And besides that, Dad, he’s definitely my brother.’

  Willie jutted his jaw, now clearly annoyed with the way the discussion was going. ‘And how the fuck can you be so sure? Tell me that?’

  Liam looked at Arty, who looked away. This wasn’t any of his business, but if he’d been asked his opinion, he would have told Liam that his dad was on the money. ‘Because I looked him up on Facebook and he’s just like you, Dad, and me.’

  Willie raised his eyebrow, a smirk beginning to form. ‘What? A good-looking fucker then, is he?’

  They all laughed at that one and at once began to relax. Gloria brought in the bottles of drink and poured everyone a glass. ‘Me, I’d find his mother. This Shelley sounds like a right thick prat. You could take her somewhere and ask her a few questions, like who knew about it, who was in on it, and who should rightfully pay the consequences.’

  No one interrupted Gloria, not even Arthur. As the matriarch of the family, and a powerful personality in her own right, she’d been involved in a fair bit of skulduggery off her own bat, and, even at her age, she was still the woman behind the man and would give anyone who tried to hurt her kids a row.

  Back in her youth and being the wife of Arthur Regan had brought with it expectations: to be ladylike, discreet, and classy. That was all well and good back in the day, and she’d pulled off the part very well, but after all they’d gone through, the requirement to be the perfect, classy wife had been superseded by the need to be the fighter, to protect her family, and if that meant fight like a wild cat, then so be it – she’d done it. She’d kill for her family and had done so not so long ago. The family had strongly suspected that she’d shot their archenemy Tracey Harman, the woman who’d severed Zara’s hand off, but she’d always remained silent about that episode in her life, and the family had respected her for not only doing what she felt she had to do but for keeping schtum herself about it.

  Zara smiled and looked at Gloria. ‘I agree, Shelley should be the first person we need to get our hands on, and I think that it should be my job to do it, woman to woman. So, it’s kind of ya, Gloria, but me and the firm are on to it. You’ve no need to bruise those pretty hands of yours. First, we need to know everything there is about this Colin and Shelley. That shouldn’t be hard. The man has his fingers in a lot of dirty pies as well as legitimate businesses. As for Shelley, well, she’ll be a creature of habit, no doubt, and from what Nicolas told you, Staffie, she likes to have her regular beauty routine. I think I could do with a haircut meself.’ The look on Zara’s face said it all: it was clear what she intended.

  ‘That’s not a problem. I bet me uncle will know where she goes.’

  Zara tapped her chin with her forefinger. ‘Hmm, and if he doesn’t know – which a lot of men won’t, will they – tell him to pull out her credit card records. I’m sure her regular beautician or hairdresser will be on there somewhere, and if she’s that way inclined, her gym membership will be on there as well.’

  It was left to Staffie to respond. ‘Yeah, no worries. I’ll sort it tomorrow, although, to be honest, Nicolas and Mack are shitting themselves at the moment. Crawford’s men have made such a mess of Mack that it’s put the wind right up ’em.’

  A sad smile tugged at Zara’s face. ‘Yeah, no doubt. It’s shocking what’s happened to Mack. This Colin geezer really does need taking down a peg or two. He’s just entered the realms of a new rule book, and, as far as I can see, when this gets out, his good name as a straight-up fella will go out of the window.’

  ‘And once I torture the cunt, I can say, with me head held high, that it was ’cos he got personal, and I’d every right to fuck him up and take his money for my boy’s future,’ Willie said bitterly, with a mean look in his eyes.

  Mike looked away; it wasn’t his place to pull Willie back into line. And if Colin had orchestrated the kidney transplant, then his demise was guaranteed.

  Lou sat listening, with thoughts of his own. As the man who always said the least, he felt he should mention the fact that Lance had been in on the capture of Torvic, having supposedly worked with Eric, and yet after his return from Spain, he hadn’t been near or by. ‘I thought Lance Ryder would’ve shown his respects. Why hasn’t he shown his face, today of all days?’

  There was stunned silence, all the men and Zara looking at each other.

  ‘Do we even really know anything about the bloke, and, more to the point, should we be trusting him anyway?’ remarked Lou.

  Surprisingly, it was Liam who spoke up. ‘Yeah, too right we should trust him. He was Kendall’s father, and he was the first to help us. I like the man, and I’d put my life in his hands. Anyway, I ain’t supposed to
say this, but Poppy told me that her ol’ man was called away on some mission. She didn’t say much, only that he needed to keep underground or summat like that.’

  Mike frowned. ‘I don’t really understand that bloke, ya know. I mean, who does he work for?’

  Zara sighed. ‘Look, my father always said he was a law unto himself and would work for the highest bidder. He keeps his cards close to his chest because the man was in the Services. He was in some special ops team.’

  Staffie scoffed. ‘Well, I don’t know if he’s that bloody good. He didn’t find that Torvic geezer, did he? That was you, Zara, and when Torvic escaped, where was Lance then? He was in Spain, and as far as I know, he didn’t find out anything about Liam’s kidnapping either, so it makes me wonder if the man’s a fanny merchant.’

  ‘On the surface, I would normally agree with you, Staffie, but I know from Izzy that there is so much more to that man. And you know how much I trusted my dad’s judgement.’

  Staffie knew then she was serious because she rarely called Izzy ‘Dad’.

  She sighed and carried on. ‘Anyway, he did us no harm, did he? Don’t forget, he lost a daughter to Torvic’s family, so I trust him. Anyway, if the man has other stuff to do, it’s not for us to judge. We need to get our own house in order, starting with Shelley.’

  That last remark was enough for Staffie to realize that he’d shot his mouth off without considering the individuals present in the room. He recollected something about Zara calling Lance ‘The Machine’, a man who’d been very useful to her father in times of real need. Accordingly, he lowered his head.

  The discussion and further gossiping regarding a man who wasn’t present was stopped dead in its tracks.

  Chapter 17

  After a night of drinking and listening to the men relive some poignant moments in their lives with Eric, Zara decided to head to her house. She didn’t want to drag Mike away. Besides, she felt the men needed to reminisce over the fun memories and not the issues that had hung over them more recently.