Bad Blood

by Kelleher, Casey

  ‘You’re looking really well, Dad.’ The tension in the room was so dense you could almost see it, and the last thing she wanted was for everyone to start focusing on Terry and his recent spate of bad luck. Not after all this time. It was going to be hard enough as it was, without reinforcing her dad’s belief that Terry was still up to no good just because he’d been mugged. ‘You haven’t aged a day.’ Kelly smiled warmly. Her dad had always been a handsome man – even his career as a boxer hadn’t put paid to that. In fact, if anything, Kelly thought that the crook on his nose and scar above his left eyebrow had always made her father look even more handsome. The older he got, the more handsome he became. Even now with his hair flecked with grey and the deep set laughter lines framing his eyes, he still had that lovable rogue quality to him.

  ‘Must be that Oil of Olay stuff.’ Harry winked. ‘And so are you, Kelly, darling, it’s like time has stood still.’

  In truth Kelly looked awful. She looked older than her twenty-four years. Pale and bloated, the puffy bags under her eyes gave away how tired she looked: like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

  ‘How rude of me, I haven’t even offered you both a drink. What do you fancy, Kelly? How about some champagne? That okay for you, Terry?’

  Terry nodded as he watched Harry stride to the other side of the bar, place four glass flutes on the counter and pop the champagne cork loudly – Harry was a flash bastard. Terry felt his gut twist with jealousy as he looked around the plush room that reflected the man’s vast wealth. Everything in the room screamed money; Harry even had the family crest displayed proudly in the centre of the bespoke snooker table. Terry would bet his life that even the cream plush carpet he was standing on cost more than his and Kelly’s entire worldly possessions. Everything about this gaff oozed expense. Watching him now, dishing out expensive drinks like he was lord of the manor, Terry felt like a proper mug for coming here. Raymond was still shooting him daggers and he could tell by Harry’s stilted tone that he wasn’t really welcome here. They were putting up with him for Kelly’s sake. Nothing had changed, except that maybe Kelly was too dumb to see it. Too dumb or too desperate.

  ‘The house is amazing, Dad.’ Kelly smiled. The sheer size of the place was incredible and secretly Kelly was blown away by the wealth of it all.

  ‘Well, it’s a far cry from the old house in Ealing Common, huh?’ Harry said sadly. ‘Sold it shortly after you left. What with your mother and everything . . . it just didn’t seem right to stay there.’ Kelly nodded, leaving her dad’s words to hang in the air. She had fond memories of the old house, the house they had grown up in. It hadn’t been anywhere near the scale of this place, but it had been beautiful all the same. Kelly had many happy memories from back then. Her dad was right: nothing had felt the same after her mother had died.

  ‘How is everyone? How’s Evie?’ Kelly asked cheerfully, convinced that she probably wouldn’t even recognise her younger sister now.

  ‘Oh you know our Evie, always good as gold that one. She’s an angel.’ It upset Harry to think that Kelly didn’t really know her sister. Evie had only been nine when Kelly had run off with Terry. Kelly knew nothing about her. Just like he didn’t know anything about his own grandchildren. ‘Unlike your brother. Now he is a whole other story.’ Harry laughed, lightening the mood, as he passed around the glasses of champagne before necking half of his in one go.

  Taking her glass, Kelly nodded knowingly; he was talking about Christopher.

  Her oldest brother, Nathan, had been the only one that had actually kept in touch with her over the years, albeit in secret, when Terry was at work. Nathan had visited her and the kids a handful of times. He’d pop in with sweets for the kids, and often gave some money too before he left. He had been the one to give her their dad’s address, and he had kept her up to date with all the family news. Kelly might have been the eldest of all her siblings, but Nathan, just two years younger than her, was by far the most level-headed and sensible.

  He was the total opposite of their younger brother Christopher, who had flung his weight about as though he was untouchable, even as a child. When Evie had come along and taken his place as the baby of the family, Christopher had become a right terror. He would gain attention any way he could, and even now as an adult, he was still at it. Old habits die hard and all that, she guessed.

  ‘So, how are my grandbabies?’ Harry couldn’t hide the emotion in his voice as he asked after his grandchildren. It broke his heart that he’d yet to meet them both. He prayed that now Kelly was here, offering an olive branch, maybe that would finally change.

  ‘God, they’re far from babies now, Dad. Billy’s almost seven going on seventy and Miley is six in a couple of weeks.’ Cutting her dad off from seeing the kids had been the only thing that Kelly had felt truly guilty about over the years. Like she and Terry had agreed at the time, if Harry couldn’t accept Terry as her husband then it was all or nothing. Kelly had chosen her husband. For better or for worse. ‘They’re good, though, thanks. Bit of a handful at times, but you know kids . . .’

  Harry smiled. ‘Oh I remember. You lot used to try to run rings around me when you were that age. Wasn’t a thing that I begrudged giving any of you back then. Your mother always warned me not to be so lenient on you all, but I never listened. Thought I knew best . . . Probably where I went wrong. Spoilt the lot of you.’ Harry sighed. ‘No wonder Nathan and Christopher grew up to be such stubborn little bastards.’ Harry laughed, speaking fondly of his boys. It went unsaid that Kelly was in fact more stubborn than both her brothers put together. ‘You wait until yours fly the nest, it’s a shock to the system, I’ll tell ya. Evie’s back from boarding school next week, and I tell you what, I can’t wait to have her home. The boys are always out and about, so most of the time I’m left rattling round this big old place on my own.’

  Harry was pleased that Kelly had turned up here like she had today, but he also knew that the girl wasn’t just here to make small talk. If she wasn’t going to get to the point then he would. ‘So, what is this visit really all about, Kelly?’ Harry asked as he topped up his daughter’s glass. ‘Don’t get me wrong, it’s lovely to see you. Just, why now?’

  ‘Everything is fine, Dad, I just thought it was about time.’ Embarrassed, Kelly could tell by the way her father was looking at her that he could see right through her, just like he had always been able to.

  Harry had always been able to read his children like books. Sometimes, growing up, it had felt like their dad had known them better than they had known themselves.

  ‘Really?’ Harry looked at Terry now. The pair of them coming here out of the blue after all this time . . . Something was definitely up.

  Suddenly tears of humiliation stung her eyes. Kelly felt foolish now. All these years she’d acted the ‘big I am’ and now here she was, back home with her tail between her legs.

  ‘Actually, Dad, everything’s far from fine.’ Kelly choked, suddenly unable to hold back her tears. Surprising even herself, she broke down sobbing. ‘We’re in the shit, Dad. Terry got mugged last night and the money that they took, we were counting on it. We owe it to some people, you see . . .’ Kelly trailed off. She’d said it now. Placed her cards on the table for all to see.

  She needed money.

  Terry stared at Kelly, mortified as she blurted out her sob story. The earlier speech she had given him before they had left the house about not acting desperate had been clearly forgotten. Terry felt like a right dip-shit, standing here while his wife laid it on thickly.

  ‘So . . . what? You thought after seven years of not seeing me, of keeping my grandchildren from me, that you could just waltz in here and ask for a hand-out?’ Harry asked as he sat back down on his bar stool, stung. He was beyond angry, but worse than that he was hurt. No matter how calm he tried to remain, he couldn’t hide the genuine pain in his eyes.

  Kelly was a piece of work.
/>
  ‘This ain’t the “Bank of Harry,” you know,’ Raymond spoke up, unable to help himself; he was gobsmacked at the cheek of the girl.

  He knew it.

  The second she had skulked in here, with Terry trailing behind her, he had known that she was on the ponce.

  Not five minutes ago, Harry had held his arms open to welcome his daughter back, and now his friend sat there looking like he’d had the wind knocked out of him. He’d clearly believed that Kelly had come to make peace with him because she missed him. Like the girl had had some sort of an epiphany and suddenly wanted to make things right between them both.

  She had just wanted the money. Of course. The girl had always been all about the money. Well she could put on the water works as much as she wanted, Harry wouldn’t fall for that crap.

  Glaring at Terry, Harry frowned as he shook his head.

  ‘I thought you were working?’ Harry himself had worked his way right to the top with his bare hands. So men like Terry, he just couldn’t comprehend. How he could just stand here and let Kelly beg like this, Harry couldn’t fathom. It was a fucking insult. Terry should be providing for the girl. He was her husband.

  ‘I am working, I’m down at the refuse depot still. But you know how it is, we have more money going out than we have coming in . . .’

  Raymond rolled his eyes at the man’s blatant audacity. Terry had a fucking nerve. Terry was a bin man as and when, for a bit of cash in hand on the side of his benefits. Yet for some reason the bloke frittered money away like he had his very own money tree growing in his back garden, and then had the cheek to turn up here and let his wife beg for a hand-out.

  ‘Who do you owe money to?’ Harry asked now as he fought to keep his temper.

  ‘The O’Sheas. Some firm over in Lambeth. Two brothers,’ Terry said. ‘I only borrowed a few grand here and there, to help us get by, but they keep adding interest and late payment fees . . .’ Terry’s voice dwindled off. He could barely look Harry in the eye.

  ‘How much?’ Turning back to his daughter, Harry couldn’t look at Terry for another second. The bloke was a fucking joker.

  ‘Twenty grand,’ Kelly said without missing a beat. The money that they owed the O’Sheas was half that, but seeing as there was the smallest chance that her dad might just help them out, and seeing as he was clearly good for it looking at this place, Kelly, as always, was in for a penny, in for a pound.

  Whistling, Harry nodded his head and stood thinking for a moment.

  He knew the O’Sheas. They were a right shady pair. A couple of times they had tried to arrange a meet with Harry so that they could talk business with him. Harry wouldn’t even entertain the pair of them. They’d tried to muscle in on Harry’s setup in Soho, trying to turn the Turks against Harry by stirring shit up between the two camps. Luckily Harry was too respected in the game for even the Turks to fall for the O’Sheas’ botched attempt at causing a turf war. Harry had made no secret of the fact that he didn’t want the O’Sheas anywhere near him or his growing empire. The O’Sheas worked the South East, and as far as Harry was concerned, grotty Southwark suited the pair of them to a tee. The men were wasters, ponces, and Harry’s intuition had proven once again to be spot on, merely reinforcing his belief about only working with people he trusted explicitly. His boys and Raymond were his right-hand men. It didn’t surprise Harry one bit that Terry would get caught up with that calibre of people. He was on the same level. And by the sounds of it, he was dragging his daughter down there with him.

  ‘Shall I have a word with them?’ Harry knew that with just one word of warning from either him or Raymond, the O’Sheas would quickly crawl back under whatever rock they’d just come from and that would be the end of that.

  They were small fish, in a very big pond.

  Terry shook his head. ‘No, we want to sort out our own mess. We don’t want any more trouble from them and we don’t want a hand-out from you either, Harry,’ Terry finally spoke up. ‘All we’re asking for is just a bit of help. Me and Kelly, well, we’ve been talking and we thought that maybe you could help us out. Let me work it off for you. I’m happy to do anything at all: DIY, gardening. Anything you need doing . . . I’ll be good for it,’ Terry added, desperately regretting coming here now as he watched Harry’s eyes twitch with irritation. Then he played the trump card, going along with what Kelly had told him to say. ‘And well, we are family and all that . . .’

  ‘I’ve heard it all now.’ Raymond laughed. Terry Stranks really did like a gamble and the way he was going Raymond was surprised that Harry hadn’t knocked him on his arse and used his flabby body to clean the floors as he turfed the man out. ‘That was a fucking good one.’

  ‘Oh, do you know what? We’ll just leave. I’m sorry we even asked now.’ Kelly got up and slammed her glass down on the table. ‘Come on, Terry. This was a mistake. Let’s go.’ The way that Raymond was sitting there looking down his nose at them was getting right on her nerves. Terry was really trying. They really needed some help. Raymond looked like he was loving every second of this.

  ‘Hang on,’ Harry said as he too stood up. Clenching his fists tightly at his sides, Harry could feel how tense his shoulders were. He hated Terry with a passion. They were almost the same age for fuck’s sake. The bloke had hooked up with his daughter when she had been only seventeen years old. She had been just a child in Harry’s eyes. To him, Terry was near on a paedophile.

  His dislike of Terry all those years ago had overshadowed everything. Harry had demanded that Kelly end the relationship. When she had refused to, he’d come down hard on her. He knew that now, but at the time he’d been like a man possessed. She was his daughter, his baby, he was trying to protect her. Harry had learnt the hard way in the end that he’d gone too far. Despite his threats and his ultimatums, Kelly had chosen Terry over her own family. Terry had won.

  Now that she had finally turned up at his door once more, there was no way Harry would give his daughter any reason to cut him out of her life again. If there was even the slightest chance of sorting things out with Kelly and finally seeing his grandkids, Harry was going to do everything in his power to take it. If that meant he’d have to suffer Terry, then suffer the man he would. This had gone on for far too long.

  ‘Course I’ll bleeding help you, Kel. I ain’t going to see my girl struggle, am I? I just thought that you’d come here to see me. To sort things out . . .’ Harry trailed off. It saddened him that she was only here for the money. That she hadn’t realised the error of her ways and just wanted to see her old man.

  ‘I do, Dad. I guess the money is the excuse I needed to give me the courage. I really have missed you, Dad, and I really need your help. We ain’t asking for a freebie. We want to pay back what we owe. Then get ourselves straight, Dad. Do things properly . . .’

  ‘Okay,’ Harry said, ignoring the glare that Raymond had just shot him. Then thinking for a few seconds he added, ‘The twenty k, it’s yours. And do you know what, Terry, there might just be something that you can help me out with . . .’

  Pausing, Kelly and Terry stared at Harry, unsure of where the conversation was going. He’d already said they could have the money, and by the sounds of it he was also offering Terry an in.

  ‘That job we were just talking about earlier, Raymond. We could use an extra body, couldn’t we?’

  ‘Hang about . . .’ Raymond started to object, but he was silenced by Harry’s raised palm. They might be one man down for the job, but Terry was a fucking joker and Harry must be mental to even consider letting the bloke get involved, family or not. Christopher may be a loose cannon, but Terry was an outright liability.

  Harry must be going soft in the head.

  ‘Whatever it is, I’m your man, Harry,’ Terry immediately butted in, hoping that Ray wouldn’t talk Harry out of his decision. As much as Flash Harry irked him, he was clearly doing well for himself, and Terry fancie
d a slice of the pie. If Harry was going to let him on board, then Terry was going to grab the opportunity with both hands.

  ‘Right then, that’s settled. Take a seat and let’s talk business,’ Harry offered.

  ‘You really mean it, Dad?’ Feeling giddy with champagne and excitement, Kelly smiled at her father like he was made from twenty-four carat gold.

  If her dad was offering Terry an in, then who knew where it would lead? Her father might keep him on and give him more regular work. They’d all be laughing then. No more value range supermarket shops, no more hand-me-down clothing for the kids, and no more hiding behind the frigging sofa from the likes of the bloody O’Sheas.

  ‘Course I mean it, silly. Now come here . . .’ Harry hugged his daughter close to him once more, kissing her forehead. ‘And you. Don’t you ever go leaving your old man out in the cold again. Do you hear me? I’ve bloody missed you, Kelly.’

  Kelly’s voice was small when she finally spoke. ‘I’m sorry, Dad. It’s just everything that happened—’

  ‘Sshh.’ Keeping his own counsel on his daughter’s relationship Harry squeezed Kelly tight. ‘It’s all water under the bridge now. You are home and as far as I’m concerned that’s all that matters.’

  Hugging her dad back, Kelly had forgotten how good it felt to feel her father’s arms around her. Glancing around her father’s extravagant games room, Kelly wished she’d come home years ago.

  Things were going to change for her now, big time.

  Grinning at her husband, Kelly felt happier than she had done in years.

  Her dad was right. After all these years, Kelly was finally home.

  Chapter Ten

  Taking the huge bouquet of flowers from her boyfriend, Cassie Wright smiled. ‘Ahh, thank you, babe. They are gorgeous.’

  ‘Only the best for my girl.’ Nathan Woods winked, before sniffing the air. ‘So, what culinary delights do we have in store for us tonight?’ Nathan grinned, as Cassie rolled her eyes.