Conviction: Devine

by Sidebottom, D H

  His slow strides towards me made me back up until I hit the wall and something stuck into my spine. I shrank back, peering up at him nervously when he loomed over me with a threatening look. “What are you doing here?”

  Shrugging stupidly I tried to give him a grin. “I’m just . . .” An idea quickly formed and I straightened my shoulders, pulling my chin up defiantly. “I was actually thinking of becoming a member.”

  He stared. He blinked. Then he started to laugh. He obviously thought I was a tame little kitty that jumped a mile when the big bad wolf knocked on my door.

  Squaring up to him, I narrowed my eyes. “Is something funny?”

  He nodded, laughing harder. “You are! You? In here?”

  I watched him until his amusement calmed and his laughter settled, then I leaned towards him. “I think you ought to ask Jake what my sexual preferences are before you pass judgement. Although,” I lowered my voice and gave him a smug smirk, “watching you get fucked up was pretty damn arousing.”

  He pulled back briskly, glaring at me with a snarl as his fingers curled around my throat and he slammed my back against the wall again. Whatever had been stuck in my back pierced my skin, and I felt a trickle of blood.

  “I swear, Jake’s girlfriend or not, you breathe a word of this then I will make sure Jake is picking you up in pieces.”

  I pushed his chest as sadness tipped over into rage, amazed that I was actually able to move him. “For one,” I snapped, holding up a finger, the pain tearing through my back making me feel sick, “I’m the type of girl who would never share someone’s secrets. Two,” I pressed on, my fury making me poke him hard in the chest, “we all have fantasies, Kris. How the hell do you know what you were doing isn’t something I would like to try? And three, what you do in your life doesn’t matter one little bit to me. If you’re into men, women or even sheep, I don’t—fucking—care!”

  I spun round and stormed to the door on the other side of the corridor, my back squealing in pain as the blood started to drip down my backside and trickle down my leg.

  “Shit!” I heard Kris murmur just as the pain became intolerable and I passed out.

  “Keep still,” a female voice urged sternly when I woke with a start. A hand pressed to my back, holding me down when I started to wriggle. I winced, hissing as a pain nicked my lower back. “Nearly done.”

  I looked over my shoulder to see who was playing nurse and when I found Genesis threading a needle through my skin, my mouth popped open and I started to worry even more. “What the hell?”

  She rolled her eyes as if annoyed with me. “Oh, simmer down. It’s not that bad.”

  My eyes landed on a quiet Kris standing at the edge of the room, his expressionless gaze fixed on me. I continued to watch him, trying to gauge his mood but he was such a closed character that even an expert would have struggled.

  “I’m okay, don’t worry. There’s no need for all these apologies, Kris. I’m a big girl, I can handle a small prick now and again,” I joked, giving him a wink.

  His lips twitched, actually twitched, as a glimmer lit his eyes. He dipped his head, giving me a quick nod before he became subdued and stern again.

  “Done!” Genesis hissed, snapping at her latex gloves as she stomped away and flung them into a small bin. “Don’t get it wet!”

  I moved to sit and looked at her. She narrowed her eyes on me, her head tipped marginally to the side as if I was scum not allowed to look at her. “Thank you?” I said, as if it were a question.

  Her lip curled and she scoffed. “I would say it’s not a problem but then we’d both be aware I like to lie.”

  I frowned as she glared at Kris then left the room, the door banging closed behind her. I wasn’t sure if there was supposed to be some hidden message in her statement.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  I snapped my gaze to Kris, his question making me shake my head. “What about?”

  He nudged his chin towards me. “Your back. Why didn’t you tell me I was hurting you?”

  I lifted a brow and gave him a sardonic smile. “I think you were a little too angry with me to be bothered whether you were hurting me.”

  “What?” For a moment he looked hurt, blinking hard, but then he swallowed and his expression disappeared again. “You think I like to hurt women?”

  I shook my head, regretting my stupid mouth and what came out of it. “No, I didn’t mean that. You were just . . . angry with me.”

  “That doesn’t excuse what I did.”

  I was getting dizzy with his mood swings, his regret clashing with his fury.

  I shook a hand and climbed off the couch, wincing at the soreness in my back. “Let’s just forget about it, hey?”

  He gave me a nod. “Adam’s on his way to fetch you.”

  “What? I don’t want Adam to fetch me!”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’ll be angry with me.”

  Kris stared at me, his brows closing together. “So, you’re scared of Adam and not me?”

  “Yes.”

  He gazed at me in shock before he started laughing. “Fucking hell! I’ve never met a woman like you before!”

  I paused, not sure if he was being sarcastic or flattering. “Right.”

  He shook his head and pulled out his phone, sending a text before sighing and grabbing my hand. “Come on. I’ll run you home.”

  I stared down at our joined hands, my eyes zeroing in at the united touch. It was something I would never have expected, especially after he’d literally stabbed me in the back. Kris, oblivious to my shock, pulled me through the endless corridors, my eyes widening at what each window unearthed on our way out.

  “So,” I plucked up the courage to ask as we slid into Kris’ car. “How long has Jake had this place?”

  Kris shot me a warning glance. I huffed and blew out a resigned breath then diverted my gaze to the window. “I’m sorry but I think I should know what I’m dealing with. I’m new to all this. I love Jake but I’m becoming more and more . . . uneasy with what I learn about him.”

  “Isla.” I turned to look at him when the tone of his voice softened. “Jake is a good man. Whatever business he has or whatever he chooses to do doesn’t alter that fact.”

  “Doesn’t it? How can someone who kills people, runs illegal fight clubs and owns a bloody brothel be a good man?”

  Kris regarded me for a moment. He braked suddenly, making me swallow with nerves. He was quiet for a moment, the dark street we’d stopped on making the moonlight eerily bounce off his pale skin. “You need to see,” he said suddenly as he shifted the car back into gear and sped off.

  I gawped around, my eyes trying to take in everything at once. Young girls and boys pulled their drip stands behind them and smiled as they made their way towards us. They were all pale, all of them with blotchy and broken skin. Their arms were covered in wires and tubes yet each one had a huge grin and greeted us with happiness.

  I covered my mouth with my hand as the grief became overwhelming and my heart wept.

  “Kris!” A young boy of around ten came bounding over to us. Kris scooped him up and the boy flung his arms around Kris’ neck. “Where’s Jake?”

  “He’s busy, Ben. But he’ll be in soon.”

  A young nurse with bright copper hair slowly towards us. I didn’t miss the way Kris stiffened and he lowered Ben back to the floor. “Daisy,” he said with a firm nod.

  She peered at him for a moment before returning his nod. “Kris.” The atmosphere around us became suffocating as the two stared at each other. It was pretty clear there was history between them, however the way they regarded each other told me it wasn’t good.

  “My holiday was cool!” Ben said, oblivious to the tension between his friend and his nurse.

  Kris blinked then looked down at Ben, grinning. “Yeah? You gonna fill me in while Isla takes a look around?”

  Ben nodded then smiled at me. “You’re Jake’s lady friend.”

 
I couldn’t help but gasp. “I am. How do you know that?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Because you’re as pretty as how Jake described you.” I was struck dumb but managed another smile and a nod.

  “Thank you,” I choked out.

  I watched him hobble down the corridor, Kris picking him back up when it was evident the young boy was struggling.

  “He’s good with them,” Daisy said softly, making me turn to look at her.

  “He’s a man of many surprises.”

  She gulped, a sad smile covering her face. “Yes, he is.”

  I looked around the hospital ward, hating the scent of death in the air, my heart crying at the devastation surrounding me. “Are they all terminal?”

  Daisy sighed and nodded. “Yes, I’m afraid so.”

  I shook my head trying to fight the tears as a baby whizzed past me in a walker, another nurse chasing her as they both giggled with glee. “Dear God!”

  Daisy, sensing my desolation ushered me into a small room that was clearly the staff room. I sat in shock as she made me a drink then came to sit beside me. “Heart-breaking, isn’t it?”

  “I . . .”

  “Your man has been the angel these kids needed.”

  My face turned to hers, my shock mixing with my confusion. “Jake?”

  She nodded. “You have no idea, do you?”

  I shook my head, my jaw low as I stared in shock.

  “Jake is their sponsor. He pays for them to go on holiday before they . . . pass away.”

  “Bloody hell. I had no idea. All of the children?”

  She nodded. “Each and every one. For about five years now.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  She shrugged. “What’s to understand? Some men are bad and there are the rare few out there who care, who are touched by something so horrific that their lives change forever.” I looked at her, my tears flowing hard.

  “But he’s . . .”

  Ignoring me, she carried on. “Months he spent here with Tilly.” Her eyes glazed over. “I’ve never seen anyone so determined for a child to survive. The sound that man made when she died will never leave me.”

  “Tilly?”

  “Yes. Tilly, Jake’s daughter.”

  I SHOPPED AND PACKED the bags in a daze, unaware of all the junk food I had bought. My heart ached, physically grieved for the man I had fallen in love with. The fact he hadn’t told me about Tilly hurt but I was more heartbroken for him. There were so many sides to the hard man I knew that I became more confused the more I learned about him.

  I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Gen was the mother to his child. I had no idea how I knew but her hard exterior and his relationship with her suddenly made sense.

  The cashier mumbled something and I stared at her. “£18.74,” she repeated with a bored sigh.

  Numbly I stuck my card into the machine and stared when it asked me to enter my PIN. My mind went blank and I keyed in the number, blinking when it pinged and refused it. Trying again, I gulped when it refused the sequence for a second time.

  I smiled nervously at the glaring cashier, checking my purse for any cash. “Shit.” Attempting for the final time to enter the correct PIN I groaned when it spat it back yet again. Growing frustrated, I started to unpack the bags. “I’ll just have to leave it.”

  “It’s okay,” someone said. “I’ll get it.”

  I turned, frowning at the vaguely familiar man before my brain kicked into gear. “Seth!”

  “Hello again, Isla.” He beamed as he pulled a twenty from his wallet and handed it to the cashier.

  “Thank you. You saved my life. If I don’t fill Leah’s belly she’ll be a nightmare.”

  He laughed, paying for his own groceries as I bagged them for him, my cheeks heating as I swiftly slipped in the super-sized box of Durex. “I’m sure I can stretch to eighteen quid.”

  “Oh no, I’ll give it back to you. My brain’s just on strike today.”

  He smiled. “I’ll make you a deal. You let me take you out to dinner and I’ll allow you to repay me.”

  I paused as I placed a loaf of bread into his bag. “I’d rather just give you the twenty back.” I winced at how rude I sounded but I didn’t want him getting the wrong idea.

  He flinched, his face reddening, and he stiffened. “No worries.”

  I gawped when he snatched his bag from my grasp and strolled away, leaving both me and the cashier staring after him. She shrugged as she handed me Seth’s change. “Now you owe him more,” she said as she dropped the coins into my palm.

  I was still dazed by the day’s events as I climbed into my car. Starting the engine I squinted when a car’s headlights flashed off my rear-view mirror and blinded me.

  “Idiot! Turn your headlights down!” As if he’d heard me, his lights dipped and he pulled away.

  My phone buzzed, cutting into the blast of Pet Benatar as the Bluetooth in my posh new car answered my call for me. “Babe, where are you?” Leah shouted. “I’m famished!”

  I huffed, pulling out of the shop’s car park. “I’m on my way. Put the kettle on!”

  “Will do,” she shouted, her voice echoing around the inside of the car. Why she had to shout every time she phoned me on her mobile was beyond me. She reminded me of my mother.

  The music filled the car once again when she ended the call. I blew out an irritated breath when some headlights caught my mirror again. I wasn’t sure why, but all the hairs on the nape of my neck stood upright, my sixth sense kicking in and making me aware that something wasn’t right.

  When I pulled up to a red light, I hit the door lock button when the car pulled up behind me and the driver’s door opened. Trying to focus through my mirror as the headlights still caught my vision, I couldn’t make out who was coming towards me. Taking a quick glance around the street, I gritted my teeth when I found it deserted due to the late hour.

  “Fuck!” I hit the Bluetooth button on the steering wheel.

  “Please speak a command,” the computerised voice demanded.

  “Call Adam.”

  The person grew close, his slow strides showing how confident he was as a ringing tone burst through the speakers. My palms started to sweat and my heart beat hard in my chest the closer he came.

  He reached the side of my door just as Adam answered. I screamed when he leaned down, his face peering at me through the window. I had never witnessed a more malevolent grin, his evil staring eyes making my throat struggle to contain the vomit that surged up my throat.

  “Isla!” Adam shouted. “What’s wrong?”

  I couldn’t move. My veins hardened and my brain froze as he rattled my door handle.

  “Isla?”

  “Fuck!” I squealed when eventually, and not before time, my brain realised what was happening. I floored the accelerator, Adam’s frantic shouting bursting my eardrums. I screamed harder when a lorry whizzed through from the other road, my foot only just hitting the brake on time. “He’s after me!” I managed to croak out.

  “Fuck!” Adam hissed. “Where are you?”

  “Prescraven Road. I’m nearly home.” Taking a glance in the mirror, I frowned but let out a sigh of relief when he remained in the middle of the road, watching me drive away. “I’m okay. He’s not followed me.”

  “I’ll meet you at yours,” Adam said as he ended the call and I pulled into the Deviant grounds, the gate guard raising the barrier and his hand to me in greeting. He stepped out of his hut as I tore through the grounds, my speed bringing some glares and shouts from people milling about.

  I grabbed my bags and shot out of the car, checking around me like a paranoid nutter before I hurried into the cottage and slammed the door shut, forcing each bolt into its housing as I rammed my key into the lock and secured the door.

  Turning, I found Leah staring at me with wide eyes. “Isla?” I blew out the breath I had been holding as my body started to shake. “Hey.” Leah rushed over to me. “You got another headache?”


  I shook my head as she steered me to the sofa and settled me down. The screech of tyres outside the window then the banging on the door notified us of Adam’s arrival.

  Leah looked from me to the door. I nodded and she let him in. Rushing over, he was beside me in seconds, his hand gripping mine as concern covered his face. “Who was it, Isla?”

  I swallowed and looked at him with sadness. He closed his eyes as if he knew.

  “Keegan had an idea when Seth came back,” he said.

  “Keegan knows?”

  He nodded and sighed. “I also found something on The Grange’s CCTV.”

  “Already?” My heart beat with both excitement and nerves. It was only when Carrie sat beside me that I became aware of her presence. “What’s going on?”

  Adam delved into a bag and pulled out his laptop, opening it and firing it up. I watched the recording with shock when Genesis smiled at Dr Lovejoy, their private conversation in his office loud in my head.

  “It’s coming together.” Genesis grinned. “The daft bitch has no fucking idea.”

  Lovejoy laughed. “She will very soon. And Seth?”

  “He’s working on it. However, my father needs confirmation that it’s all going to plan.”

  Lovejoy nodded. “I’ll go and see him. And what about Jake?”

  The cruellest smile lifted Gen’s face as her eyes twinkled. “The stupid man thinks my father is going to look out for him.”

  Lovejoy laughed harder. “Whatever did you see in him? He’s nothing but a fool.”

  Genesis shrugged. “Well, when he’s sent down, he’ll realise just how stupid he is. My father can’t wait to show him exactly how much.”

  The screen went blank and I gawped at Adam, the raging storm in my chest causing me to panic. “You have to get him out of there!”

  Carrie squeezed my hand, giving me a soft smile when I turned to her, my skin breaking out in goosebumps and tears stinging my eyes. “Don’t worry, it’s being sorted.”

  “Sorted?” I cried as I stood up too quickly and the floor shifted under my feet. “How the hell can you sort this when he’s in there alone?”