Caelan gave me a soft smile from where he stood leaning on the doorframe a short while later. “Bath’s ready.”
He came to stand beside me and peered down at the new numbers. “Co-ordinates, maybe?” I mused.
“Nah,” he disagreed, “the first number is only three digits long.”
The earlier bafflement in the graveyard when I couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong suddenly hit me, and I gasped. “The grass!”
“Sorry?” Caelan queried, coming to sit beside me.
“The grave. It had grass on.”
“Well, yeah, they generally do.”
Shaking my head, I turned to him. “But, the GM had to have put that key down there with the body.”
Caelan’s eyes widened when it dawned on him too. “And the grave hadn’t recently been dug up.”
“Exactly. So, it had to be at least six months ago when he planted that key.”
“Shit. He’s been planning this whole game for a while. This makes him so much more ruthless, his games much more calculated.”
“Way more. This has to be down to…”
We both jumped when the iPad lit up. Grabbing it from the table, I clenched my teeth when his voice crackled through the speakers. “You didn’t think I would take his life,” the GM spoke.
“You fucking bastard!”
“You should be grateful I gave your step-father a swift, clean death, Dr Griffiths.”
Caelan put his hand on my arm and shook his head when I opened my mouth in anger. “Don’t give him the satisfaction, Nessa.”
Biting my tongue, I tried to control my raging breathing. My chest heaved with every ounce of air I dragged in, and I began to pant with the effort.
“This afternoon,” the Game Master continued, “at two pm exactly, you will both walk into the King and County public house on Connaughton Street. You will buy a single drink each, drink it at a table, and then leave.”
I closed my eyes in dismay. Shit. The pub he specified was notorious for gangland criminals, the local drinking hole to the roughest and hardest men, and women for that matter, in the region. Furthermore, it was the GM’s choice of pub that revealed he knew exactly who I was and that he wanted me to know that.
“Fuck!” Caelan hissed under his breath. The worry on his face made me wince. Of course, he was a copper, and I had no doubt he was well-known to every single man that would be in the pub.
“It’ll be okay,” I expressed with a small smile. “Trust me.”
He huffed. “For you maybe, not so much for me.”
Although I tried to alleviate his worry, I couldn’t help but feel anxious myself. I wasn’t sure how it would go down, me walking into the epicentre of the London mafia with none other than a ‘pig’. It could go either way, in my favour, or it could all go horribly wrong.
With every hour that passed, the Game Master proved to be much smarter than I thought. He had a reason for sending us to the King and County, his logic unknown to me as yet. Still, I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to find out his motive.
However, Caelan and I, as expected, would follow our orders, and yet again feed our master’s sick and twisted amusement. He had rolled the dice once more, and Caelan and I took another step across the playing board.
Day 3
14:00
Caelan grabbed my hand and we both blew out a long breath. Then I pushed open the door to the King and County and took a step inside.
As I suspected, it was packed with its usual gathering of criminals. If it wasn’t a public house, it could easily have been mistaken for a prison recreation room. Except, these men hadn’t been foolish enough to get caught and detained at her majesty’s pleasure.
All heads turned our way, and when an unnerving silence cloaked the room like a suffocating shroud, Caelan’s hand tightened in mine.
I squeezed back and took a wobbly step forward. I just had to make it to the bar. One step at a time.
My lungs squealed under the atmospheric pressure that sucked all the oxygen out of the air. My heart beat fast and my soul hid in the shadow of my sorrow, both contradicting each other and making me lightheaded.
The barman set his eyes on me, before moving his gaze to Caelan and narrowing them into a glare.
My intuition had been spot-on. Everyone knew precisely who Caelan was.
“Two Jack, no ice,” I ordered quickly, bringing his attention back to me. My voice sounded loud in the silence of the room, and I was amazed at how much confidence I projected in the four words.
His gaze switched from me to the corner of the room. He was asking for permission to serve me. I kept my stare straight ahead, refusing to be intimidated.
I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or disappointed when he then proceeded to fix our drinks. I wanted an excuse to just up and leave. However, as the saying goes, ‘who wants never gets.’
“Didn’t expect to get served,” Caelan admitted under his breath, his voice quiet enough for only my ears.
I handed the barman a twenty, instructing him to keep the change and praying it was enough of a bribe, and picked up my drink. As I brought it to my lips, eager to down the shot in one so we could get the hell out of there, Caelan stopped me with a hand on my arm. “We were instructed to sit down and drink it.”
I could hear the impatience in his voice, his hurry to leave as fast as we possibly could as compelling as my own.
Swiftly scanning the room, I was pleased to find an empty table in the corner by the front door, and I quickly made my way over to it. Caelan sat down opposite me, and as soon as both of our backsides met the seat did we promptly swallow our drinks down in one.
Caelan gave me a rushed nod, and we both stood back up, slamming our empty glasses on to the table.
We were so nearly there! So, so close.
Just as I pushed open the door to leave, the voice behind me made me close my eyes in dismay. “Nessa!”
“Fuck!” I hissed under my breath.
I could feel Caelan’s confused stare on me, but I didn’t look to him. Instead, I took a deep breath and turned around.
“Frank.”
His smile was broad and sincere as he made his way over to me. Although I felt a bitch for ignoring him, the genuine need to get Caelan safely out of there was paramount.
Frank’s impressive form loomed over both of us. He was built like a brick shithouse. Every inch of his skin was painted with sinister but colourful tattoos. His plain white tee stretched over the expanse of his massive chest, enhancing every single one of his muscles. He was formed like a machine. And trained to kill like a weapon.
While his smile was welcoming, his stare on me was anything but. “You good, Missy?” His voice was just as formidable as his physique.
“I’m good.” This time there was no confidence in my voice, and the slightest twitch of Frank’s lips told me he had heard the strain that clogged my throat.
Very slowly his smile faded, and his scrutiny moved to Caelan. He studied him carefully, his stern glower as threatening as a knife to the throat. Give Caelan his due, he remained firm, his jaw tilted upwards and his eyes fixed on Frank’s. His determination not to be browbeaten more than impressed me and I felt myself move a little closer to his side.
“He’s with me, Frank.” I wasn’t sure what the hell to say, but I felt a deep-seated need to make it clear that Caelan wasn’t to be touched.
Frank turned his glare on me, his eyes narrowing to slits. “You do know who he is, Ness?”
“I do,” I confirmed with more composure than I felt. Jutting out my chin and straightening my shoulders in defiance, I nodded subtly. “And, as I said, he’s under my protection.”
Frank’s jaw clenched, and I could feel the vehemence from him roll over me in waves. It was almost choking, as though he used raw fury as a weapon. My skin felt tight, and my heart thudded against my breastbone. Undiluted fear, not for me but for the man beside me, was becoming venomous in my bloodstream, polluting my bones with a toxin only F
rank could concoct, and making it difficult to remain upright.
After a long pregnant silence, he nodded once. “Only because it’s you will I give him a pardon, Nessa. But I give you fair warning, the next time this motherfucker comes within a metre of me, I will end him.”
Swallowing back the lump that had formed in my throat, I gave him a respectful nod. “Duly noted. Thank you.”
“Nah, don’t thank me, Missy, just consider it a debt paid.”
I couldn’t help but smile at his subtle wink. Relief poured through me, and I finally took a real breath. “Then consider your IOU paid in full.”
After giving me a hard, meaningful stare, he abruptly turned around, giving us our orders to leave.
Caelan almost stumbled through the doors and out onto the street. His breathing was ragged as his lungs sucked in what had been limited for the duration of our encounter.
“I’m not sure whether or not I want to know how the hell you and Frank Johns know each other.”
I clenched my teeth and answered his unasked question without making eye-contact. “He’s family. My cousin.”
Caelan’s eyebrows climbed high on his forehead as he looked at me in disbelief. “Can choose your friends, but not your family, eh?” He chuckled, quoting the well-known phrase as we climbed into his car.
My legs felt heavy, and I was glad to be sat once again. I wasn’t entirely sure how Caelan would be able to drive when I watched his body quake. Death had stared him in the face, his existence only allowed if Frank permitted it. Even I had been unsure as to how we would be greeted.
I closed my eyes and rested my head back against the seat, once again indebted to the blood that ran through my veins. I had to wonder though when my past would finally set me free. Or if it would ultimately turn against me instead of guarding me?
I was confused as to what the GM had gained from that little exercise. It hadn’t been a game as such, none of our family member’s lives had been beholden on whether we succeeded or not.
Yet, I had a feeling we would soon find out his reasoning, and I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to or not.
Day 3
21:05
I was a little more than tipsy, as was Caelan. We knew there wouldn’t be another game until tomorrow, so we had taken a bottle of Jack, two glasses, no ice, and welcomed the oblivion it offered us.
“So, we both decided it was time to walk away,” Caelan said. He’d been talking about his marriage and how his job had, in the end, been the ‘affair’ that had ended their relationship.
“It’s nice that you remained friends though,” I remarked.
He nodded, tipping back more whisky. “Yeah. And as bad as this sounds, I’m thankful we never had kids.”
“I’m with you there!”
Reaching for the bottle that sat on the table, I laughed when my body teetered too far forwards, and Caelan grabbed the back of my t-shirt to stop me face-planting the glossy wood.
“Think you’ve had enough, Nessa.”
“There isn’t enough alcohol in the world tonight!”
He gave me a sad smile and sighed when he saw the sorrow seep into my eyes. “How are you holding up?”
Shrugging, I poured us more wonderful liquid and placed the bottle on the floor by my feet for easier access. “I don’t think it's sunk in yet. Stuart was a good man, Caelan. Carolyn and Sam are his, but he never treated me any differently to them. He took me on like one of his own, and he didn’t deserve that!”
“No, he didn’t.”
“I’ve known some bastards in my life, but the GM, I don’t actually think he has a soul! He’s calculated and very, very dangerous.”
“Well versed with bastards, huh?” he probed, observing me.
“There’s that copper in you!”
I wasn’t prepared to allow him my secrets, primarily because he was on the force. I wasn’t entirely sure how he would handle my past, and I wasn’t willing to put that on our relationship quite yet. I needed Caelan, and I was selfish enough to lie to him to keep him onboard if I had to.
“So, there’s been no special someone in your life then?”
My heart ached when I thought of my Denny, and deciding to meet Caelan halfway, knowing he wouldn’t let up until I gave him something, I knocked back my drink and nodded. “Yes. I was married, but my husband died three years ago.”
“Shit,” Caelan hissed. Grabbing my hand, he slipped his fingers through mine. “I’m sorry. That must be hard.”
“It was.”
I felt him tense beside me. The pity in his eyes angered me. Caelan had no idea how much I should hate him. But I couldn’t afford to be sentimental. Not yet, anyway.
After a beat of silence, Caelan spoke, surprising me when he divulged, “My brother, Noah, was murdered.”
“That’s why you’ve remained friends with your sister-in-law?”
He nodded. “It was hard for Debbie. Their son was two when Noah died. I’ve tried to be there for them both as much as possible.”
I smiled. “You have a good heart, Caelan Fen.”
Winking playfully, he chuckled. “I know!”
“Modest too.” I laughed, refilling our glasses again.
The pain was starting to numb, and I felt more relaxed than I had in days.
“Anyway, tell me, how did you end up in this game?” I asked him, diverting the conversation away from the grief we both still felt.
“God knows!” He took a large swallow before speaking. “I remember going to bed. The next thing I knew I was suspended from a chain in the middle of some shit-stinking room being set on by the man in black and an iron bar.”
“Ouch!” I declared with a wince. “At least he didn’t hurt me. I’m the same. It was my birthday the day before, and yeah, I was drunk, but not too much to know I made it to bed that night. Next morning, I woke up in the hospital with you.”
“I’d been out drinking with my mate the night before,” he told me. “Maybe he spiked our drinks.”
“Where had you been drinking?”
“Lawrence’s in the precinct.”
I stared at him. Due to the amount of Jack I had consumed, his face was blurred but I was still able to focus. “Snap!”
“He had to have been in there with us!”
Snatching up the notepad we had jotted the numbers onto, Caelan wrote down the name of the club we’d both been in. “If I get a chance I’ll try and obtain the CCTV from that night,” he whispered.
I was unsure whether the GM could hear us, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he had rigged Caelan’s house with microphones.
“Why us, Caelan?” I asked quietly. “Nothing makes sense.”
Caelan shook his head and sighed heavily. “I dunno, babe. I wish I did. If I had something to go on, I could start getting my head around who the fuck is playing with us.”
“I have a feeling there’s more playing this game than we anticipate.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, tilting his head in puzzlement. “What makes you think that?”
“This is too hard to pull off by a solo player. Take the grave, for instance. That has taken months of planning, Caelan. The kidney transplant, someone had already opened and closed her up before me. The suturing was precise, skilled. You’re telling me the GM not only is an expert physician, but also a man practised enough to rig an old hospital room with pipework effective enough to turn it into a sealed tank. This isn’t a spur of the moment idea of someone’s. We weren’t just random people he picked out at a club. Every detail has been formulated and plotted. He can’t afford mistakes, and he knows it.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“Trust me, I’ve seen enough plots in my time to know this game isn’t haphazard. He’s meticulous, with every detail, and that tells me that our tormenter is always one step ahead of us. There’s a reason he sent us to that pub today, and if I’m perfectly honest, I’ve had a sense of dread ever since we stepped foot inside.”
Caelan nodded in agr
eement. “You and me both. It didn’t make sense. It was a fruitless exercise, with absolutely no point to it. Yet, I don’t doubt for one moment it was anything but unintentional.”
There was more to come, of that there was no uncertainty. The anticipation and conjecture were all part of the GM’s torture. He had played with me in a very different way today, sending us to the King and County. He knew way more than I thought he had. This was his way of telling me he knew exactly who I was. I could almost foresee his next step. He was manipulating mine and Caelan’s relationship, tormenting me in the meantime.
I had to admit, if I didn’t have Caelan, then I knew I stood no chance of reaching the end of this cruel game. That fact not only worried me, it absolutely terrified me.
Day 4
11:30
‘Do you have what it takes to win the race,
in a place where everyone now knows your face?
Will you make it to the end, or meet defeat,
as you take a trip down Connaughton Street?’
Yesterday now made complete sense.
My heart thudded against my chest as I cast a glance at Caelan. His jaw was rigid, his fists clenched tight as he stared at the timer above his best friend’s head on the iPad.
“You must walk this quest alone, Mr Fen,” the GM articulated. “If you make it to the end, there will be a car and driver waiting for you.”
‘If you make it to the end.’
The echo of the ‘IF’ replayed over and over in my head, plus Frank’s declaration yesterday.
“The next time this motherfucker comes within a metre of me, I will end him.”
“Oh, you clever bastard! Well played.” I could almost see his smug grin… If I could actually picture his face in my mind.
The GM knew damn well that Frank wouldn’t give Caelan another pass. It would show him out to be a laughing stock, make a fool of him in front of all who he ruled over!
“Three hours. That’s not too bad,” I said as I focussed on the timer. “Connaughton Street is quite short.”
Game Master Page 4
