Bane (Memphis #1)

by D H Sidebottom

  This company held a piece of me that would forever belong to Sparrow Towers, to this very building I was stood in. I’d devoted my blood and my soul to it, and I knew I had left Geoffrey down.

  However, my pride was too great to drop to my knees in front of this bitch and beg. I had only ever begged once in my life. It hadn’t worked, and I had sworn to myself that I would never do it again.

  Sinking my teeth into my lower lip, I swallowed back the lump in my throat, and nodded. Stepping forward, I slammed Rik’s coffee and muffin onto my desk – my old desk - and snatched up the box that now held the belongings I had amassed in the five years I had worked here.

  Caroline tossed her hair back then shot me a small wink and waggled her fingers with a mocking wave. Biting back the anger and forcing myself not to punch her in the face, I turned on my heels.

  “Milly.”

  Rik’s deep voice, and the use of my pseudo name, made me turn. He stood leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded over his chest and one of his eyebrows elevated as his dark eyes locked onto my face.

  I lifted my own brow when he just stood staring at me. His eyes narrowed but for a long time he remained silent, as if he was brooding. For a brief second his gaze dropped to my mouth and then, in a blink, they were fixed back on my eyes.

  “Where are you going, Milly?”

  Caroline spun her head around, confusion spreading across her face. Much the same as me really.

  “Home.” I answered as nonchalantly as I could. I refused to let this arsehole see my upset.

  “Why?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” I hissed, “Would you like me to do your lunch run before you fill out my P45?”

  He looked shocked for a moment, jerking his head back at my smart reply, but then he clicked his tongue. However, I caught the slightest twitch of his lips. I swear no one had ever stood up to him before me. “Are you leaving us?”

  Bewildered, I shook my head and squinted at him. “What?”

  “I thought me and you were going to spread everything out on the table and study every piece…” His eyes glinted, that hint of teasing back. “…of the company.”

  “Rik?”

  Both me and Rik turned to look at Caroline. Her eyes were narrow and glaring as she stood with her hands on her hips. “I’ll go over everything relating to Sparrow. After all, I am your secretary.”

  “His secretary?” I snorted, unable to hold back the laugh. Just the thought of her doing anything remotely skilled seemed wrong. I was amazed she even knew how to write her own name. I assumed she was one of ‘those’ secretaries. You know, the ones who took care of their boss’ physical needs, not their occupational needs. “Congratulations, Caroline.”

  “What the fuck do you mean by that?” she spat back.

  Rolling my eyes, I sighed and blew out a weary breath. “Think about it, love. But not for too long, your brain cell might burn out. But then again, blowjobs don’t require cells.”

  I heard her gasp as I turned back to the door. There was a slight scuffle behind me and I turned to find Rik glaring at Caroline with his fingers wrapped tightly around her wrist. Slowly he shook his head at her and then moved his glare to me. “Stop being a damn child and get in there.”

  Once again, my shock rendered me open-mouthed and speechless.

  Blowing out a long breath, Rik tipped his head to the side, his glare still in place. “You’re not being replaced. Caroline is taking your office. She will be doing secretarial work, and you’ll be in my office… with me.”

  I stiffened. “I’m sorry, what?”

  He growled quietly. “Why do you have to be such a fucking stubborn mare? You’ll be sharing my office. That way we can work together more closely while I get used to things. I’ve even had a nice little desk moved in for you.”

  Turning my head, I looked through the glass wall adjoining the two offices and, true to his word, another desk sat to one side of the room, the couch that had once sat against the wall now shifted to a different wall.

  Although I was relieved to find I still had a job, I wasn’t sure I could work in the same room as Rik. I was only just holding on. The emotions Rik had brought with him when he’d walked in that morning were starting to burn the façade I’d had in place for so long. Being so close to someone who not only knew me, but my past, was growing harder and harder to deal with. His closeness would make me face it, plus I didn’t doubt he would have questions, so many questions.

  Dropping Caroline’s hand, her shocked eyes as wide as her mouth, Rik held out his hand and gestured towards his office. He held my stare, the dare in his eyes almost mocking me.

  If it wasn’t for Geoffrey, and my friends, I would have about turned and never looked back. But this wasn’t just my job on the line. It was my friend’s livelihoods. And it was Geoffrey’s legacy. The cost of my sanity could just be the saving grace for McKayla keeping a roof over her head and Tony keeping his new Merc.

  Without saying a word and keeping my chin high, I strolled past Rik, refusing to look at him as I walked into the office. Heading straight over to my new desk, I placed my box on the top. I had to wonder how the hell he had managed to bring in a desk and set up my computer all in the space of the thirty minutes I had ran down to Starbucks.

  The adjoining door closed and I looked through the glass to see Caroline spitting feathers at Rik. She looked furious, her mouth moving frantically, but the soundproof glass hampered my ability to listen in. Rik leaned towards her. I was shocked by the hostility on his face as he spat something at Caroline. Her eyes widened as she reared back. She nodded rapidly, looking as though she was going to burst into tears as she shrank away from him.

  Rik then picked up his coffee and muffin from where I had put them on Caroline’s desk and walked back into the office, his face again showing no hint of emotion over what had just occurred with Caroline. He sat at his desk and pressed the switch that turned the glass to frosted, completely blocking Caroline’s view into the office.

  Taking a sip of his coffee he then lifted his eyes to me, watching me closely as if he expected me to mouth off. Ignoring him, I shook myself off and sat, clicking the mouse to bring my PC out of sleep mode. My phone alerted me to a text and I slipped it from my bag.

  Camron: Can I see you? Need to talk.

  Scoffing, and biting my lip when anger curled inside me, I shook my head and placed it on my desk without replying to him.

  “So,” Rik spoke. I could feel his eyes on me but I refused to look at him. “Do I call you Milly, or Esther?”

  Tensing, I swallowed back the fear and concentrated on the screen, feigning indifference. “Milly. “

  He was silent for a second, weighing up the tone of my voice.

  “So, how are your parents?”

  My eyes snapped up to him. His eyes on me were calculating, and curious. I wasn’t sure if he was goading me. “Fine.”

  His eyes held firm on me, the usual composed expression on his face angering me slightly. He tipped his head to the side, assessing the hatred in my voice as he ran the tip of his thumb over his lips. My gaze dropped to watch the movement, the action strangely mesmerising me. He had the plumpest bottom lip I’d ever seen. The top one was thinner, giving him the sexiest mouth ever. I couldn’t tear my eyes away, my stare following each sweep of his thumb. Eventually blinking and taking back control of my gaze, I shifted in my seat and looked away.

  Getting up, I grabbed the files I needed from the cabinet and walked over to the table, spreading them out over the large surface. Geoffrey had always held both electronic and physical files for each client. He had been old school, his need to ‘touch’ information giving Sparrow another department - the Client Record Unit. But, now that I needed various files to browse through with Rik, I smiled to myself at Geoffrey’s old ways. It saved me having to sit next to him while we stared at the same screen.

  Grabbing my glasses from my bag, I perched them on my nose and turned to Rik. “Are you ready?”
/>
  I froze. The way he was looking at me made me shift slightly. As if assaulted by a sudden memory, his deep blue eyes were piercing, boring into me with a fire I couldn’t understand. His teeth were buried into his bottom lip and I worried the way he was gripping the takeout coffee cup that he was going to spill it over his clean white shirt.

  “Rik?”

  He blinked at the sound of my voice. Coughing to clear his throat he seemed to shake his strange behaviour off and nodded, his voice now relaxed and easy. “Sorry. Yep, go for it.”

  I was getting whiplash with his mercurial ways.

  He moved across the room, throwing the rest of his coffee down his throat and tossing the cup into the bin. His scent permeated the air the closer he got. A shiver raced through me, shocking me and my heartbeat.

  “You okay?” he asked when I suddenly grabbed hold of the edge of the table.

  Trembles tore through me; violent shakes of memories I didn’t want to remember.

  “Esther?”

  I stared at him, not sure which face I was seeing, Rik or Will, Will or Rik. The scent was choking me and my chest squeezed so tightly I couldn’t breathe.

  “Esther!”

  Rik’s sharp voice finally broke through and I swallowed down the bubble of acid stuck in my throat, gasping when I could finally take a breath.

  “Your aftershave.” It was all I could manage.

  Rik frowned at me. Very gently, he took my arm and guided me over to the couch. “Are you asthmatic? You didn’t use to be. Do you have an inhaler?” He crouched before me, taking off my glasses and looking at me with a worried expression.

  I shook my head, wincing when the woody scent refused to evaporate.

  “What the fuck did you do now, Bane?” Brandon’s voice cut into the room and both Rik and I turned to look at him stood in the office doorway.

  “Fuck off!” Rik spat. “This isn’t me. She had an asthma attack or something.”

  “Pfft,” Brandon scoffed coming to sit next to me. Taking my hand, he smiled softly at me. “You okay?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.” My voice was croaky and suddenly feeling stupid, I grimaced. “Sorry, ignore me.”

  Rik narrowed his eyes on me but his expression was soft. The striking colour of his eyes held me, something that stared back at me through his gaze making my heart beat a little quicker. But then his eyes dropped to Brandon’s hand in mine, my fierce grip on him as I tried to find reality surely stopping the blood flow to his hand. His thumb was tracing over my knuckles in a soothing stroke, the feel of it bringing my rampant heart beat back into control.

  “Do you need some water?” Brandon asked.

  Nodding, I gave him a grateful smile. “Yes. Please.”

  Giving me a quick wink, he left the office in search of the kitchen.

  Feeling guilty I looked up at Rik who had moved to the other side of the room, his broad back to me as he stared out of the large window over London. I could sense he was angry with me. “I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “That wasn’t on you.”

  He spun around. His tongue was clasped between his teeth. “Then what was it?”

  Knowing he deserved some sort of explanation, I lowered my eyes to my lap, cringing at the stupid weakness overwhelming me. “Your aftershave,” I spoke quietly. “Henry Newman?”

  He looked surprised, but then nodded.

  I nodded with him. “Uhh, a friend of mine used to wear it.” Shrugging, I could feel the heat creep up my cheeks. “It just brought back memories for a moment.”

  He was still for a second, staring at me with curiosity in his eyes. However, he gave me a small smile. “Good or bad memories?”

  Dropping my eyes to the carpet, I sighed. “Both.”

  “Okay.” He looked at me as if he was trying to delve deep inside my head. I moved my eyes, not willing for him to see my secrets. “I’ll bin it.”

  “What?” I snapped my eyes to him. “You don’t have to do that!”

  He just shrugged, disregarding me as he scooped up a pile of papers. “No loss. Not sure I even like the shit anyway.”

  Brandon appeared again, holding out a plastic cup of water to me. “Here.”

  I felt the coolness shift over Rik again, his attention purposely shifted away from me now that his partner had returned. I could sense some tension between the two. But their relationship had nothing to do with me.

  Quickly, gulping down the water, I buried my stupid embarrassing moment, and set back to work, thankfully the rest of the day spreading out without another meltdown moment.

  Eight

  My feet stuttered alongside the skip in my heartbeat, both in sync with one another.

  John smiled as he pushed himself up from where he sat on my doorstep, the dark hour only providing an outline of his face. A face I would recognise in any shaded corner. Grimacing when he saw the blood rush from my face, he gave me a short shrug. “You knew it was only a matter of time, Esther.”

  “Milly,” I hissed back, blowing out the smoke from my cigarette and flicking the stub into the garden. “My name is Milly.”

  John nodded slowly. “Milly.”

  For a moment we stood silent, regarding each other, until I swallowed and narrowed my eyes. “What does he want?”

  “What does he always want?”

  Closing my eyes, I sighed and plucked my keys from my bag. “I suppose you better come in.”

  He followed me through the small house as I switched on the lights and kicked off my shoes, my feet aching after being on them all day. Tabitha, my cat, purred and wrapped herself around my legs. “Two minutes, Tabby.”

  “She’s cute,” John said as he scooped Tabby up and picked up her bowl from where it sat on her mat. Passing it to me when I pulled a can of food from the fridge, he frowned. “I can’t see you as a cat woman, Esther.”

  “You never actually saw me as anything at all though, John, did you?”

  His jaw clenched, anger and remorse crossing his face. “That’s not fair.”

  Shrugging, I plucked Tabby from his hold and settled her down with her supper. “Fair or not, it’s the truth.”

  “Esther,” he growled, stepping towards me, his anger deepening when I stepped back. “I cared about you. I care about you, you know that.”

  Tears I hated blurred my vision. “Not enough to stop him.” My words came out choked, a heartbroken whisper.

  John’s face completely changed, his own heartache coming to the forefront when he yanked me close to him, his arms wrapping around me. His comfort and protection was eight years too late and I pulled back, shaking my head angrily. “No. Just say what you came here to say, then leave.”

  He blinked, flinching with the iciness in my voice but reluctantly took a step backwards. “He wants to see you.”

  “Tough.”

  Gritting his teeth, he scowled at me. “He’s worried, Esther. We all are.”

  My eyes widened and I scoffed. “Well that would make a change.”

  “Stop being so stubborn, and listen.”

  Growling under my breath, I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him. “Alright, go on.”

  He looked troubled for a moment, but then swallowed. I didn’t miss the worry reflected back at me from his deep chocolate eyes. John’s eyes had been the first thing that had drawn me to him. Looking at him, nine years after I had given him my virginity hurt. But I couldn’t let him see that.

  “You’ve been targeted, Esther.”

  My body seemed to stop functioning for a second. The beat of my heart stilled as the rush of blood in my veins froze.

  John grimaced. “Your father is worried.”

  Shaking my head, I turned my back on him, not allowing him to see the anguish filter into my own eyes. “My life doesn’t concern him now.”

  “You know that’s not true, Esther.”

  “Milly!” I hissed, spinning back around as my temper finally frayed. “If he cared he wouldn’t have done what he did. He wouldn’t have broken me
like he did. He wouldn’t have…”

  “No… Esther, listen,” John cut in. “Your dad is trying his best to find out who and why…”

  “I know why.”

  This time it was John who stilled. “Oh?”

  “But you needn’t worry. I can take care of myself.”

  “I know that, but…” He paused, clenching his teeth. My eyes narrowed on him.

  “But?”

  “I’m to shadow you, Esther.”

  “No!”

  “Just listen…”

  “No!” I spat sternly, my head shaking as fiercely as the tone of my voice. “Leave.”

  His shoulders sagged and he sighed. “I can’t do that. You know I can’t.”

  A small knock at the door had John quickly shifting into protector mode. “Are you expecting anyone?”

  “No.” I shook my head, glaring at him when he took his piece out of the holder inside his jacket. “Jesus, John, it’s probably just my damn neighbour wanting milk. Simmer down.”

  “Wait here,” he ordered as he disappeared into the hallway and closed the room door behind me.

  Five minutes he’d been back in my life and already I was shoved to the side like the little girl my family had always seen me as. It angered me more than it should have. I had told myself that my feelings where my father were concerned weren’t worth the air time they constantly plagued my mind with.

  Just as I grabbed the door handle to fling open the door and give John a few home truths, the sound of a gunshot had the air in my lungs freezing.

  “Fuck!”

  My training kicked in swiftly, and I thanked God for that as I belted through the small house to the rear door that led out onto the back garden. I’d made sure there was an extra exit aside from the front when I’d taken the lease out.

  Although I hated my father, it was living with him for eighteen years that had engrained survival instincts into me like they were second nature.

  The gravel cut my feet and just as I ran through the gate, a bullet embedded into the fence, narrowly missing me by a few inches.

  My heart was stampeding as fast as my feet, the once soft skin of my soles now torn up and bleeding as broken glass and sharp pebbles embedded into my flesh as I sped down the narrow alleyway behind my home. I’d made sure to check out the area when I’d moved in and intuitively I turned left at the end, heading towards the busy street that catered to the nightlife in the area.