by Bill Ward
In fact, he was going to need more than just a knife when it came to confronting Powell. He knew just the person to call. Mike had lost one of his best brothels in Leeds thanks to Powell’s actions. If Victor let him know who was responsible and where to find the culprit he was sure to seek revenge. When he returned to the house he would call Mike and make some arrangements. Mike would be able to provide men and guns. They knew each other quite well and would make a good team. Powell didn’t have a chance.
Victor turned his mind back to Afina. He had no interest in just killing Afina. That would be far too easy. He intended to make her pay and just the thought of those pleasures was enough to make his cock start to stir. It was going to be difficult to grab her off the street, there were too many people about and he had no weapon. He was undecided what to do and he had to be careful. If he fell into police hands he wasn’t going to be able to get away again so easily.
He decided he had to be patient and choose the right moment for taking care of Afina. If she hadn’t left Brighton after everything that had happened so far, then it was a pretty safe bet she was planning on staying. Perhaps Mara was the reason she was still here. He was confident he would be able to get to Afina through Mara, when the time was right.
He would also have to keep a close eye on Mara. She had already admitted to knowing Powell but the way she told it, she had only had sex with him once and then he had moved on to Afina. Why he would choose to have the skinny, pale skinned Afina rather than Mara was beyond his comprehension but hell, every man had different tastes in girls. He would have to confront Mara but tonight was not the right time so he turned away and walked back to the house.
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
Mara’s prison visit to Stefan had been organised for eleven. She arrived early at Lewes prison and was put through a thorough search procedure before being admitted to meet with him.
“Hello Stefan,” she greeted him, sat in one of the two chairs at the small metal table. There was just one guard in uniform standing at the side of the room.
“Good to see you, Mara.”
“How is it?” she asked.
“Quite reasonable actually. Nothing like our jails back home. This is a picnic by comparison. Good food and I even have a television.”
“It’s all Victor’s fault. He called me and wants me to work in his new business. Can you believe his nerve! He also boasted he was responsible for getting rid of you and Dimitry.”
“If Victor is branching out on his own then he must have some support back home from powerful people. You need to be careful.”
“I’ve spoken with the people in Bucharest and they want me to take over the business, at least for the time being. I need to urgently find a new property in Brighton as they have some girls ready to travel.”
“Are you sure you want to get so involved? It could be dangerous. Why don’t you take your money and go back home?”
“And what do I do when I get there? I like being in England and making money. This is my chance to get off my back and make some money through other girls.”
“I guess that’s true but Victor might try to stop you. Have you told anyone back home Victor is responsible for this mess?”
“Not yet.”
“Do so as soon as possible and get some muscle sent to help you.”
“They are sending someone with the girls next week.”
“Good. Listen, have you heard from Danny?”
“No I haven’t. Do you think he’s been arrested?”
“I have no idea but he had two girls he was delivering for me and I was even beginning to wonder if he had something to do with this mess.”
“I need to get hold of him because they want to send his girls over next week and he will need to pay for them.”
“Damn! I don’t know his number. I had it in my phone and the police have it. He probably tried calling me.”
“Perhaps he’ll come by the house once he thinks it’s safe.”
“I hope so. He gave us fifty thousand pounds so I can’t imagine he will just forget about the money.”
Mara’s brain was suddenly racing. She was shocked to discover Powell had given Stefan fifty thousand pounds. Was he really that rich he could afford to toss away so much money? No wonder Stefan had welcomed him with open arms. “If he does turn up to collect the girls how does he pay for them?”
“By bank transfer, like before. He has the account details and soon as you see the money’s in the account, you can let him take the girls.”
“How will I know if the money is in the account?”
Stefan thought about her question for a moment. “I forgot you don’t have access to my account.” He leaned slightly closer. “Do you remember our mothers’ maiden names?”
“Of course.”
“I have an email account of my middle name, dot our mothers’ maiden name, at gmail dot com. The password is Corina followed by the month of my birthday. Every other letter is a capital.”
“Corina? I didn’t know you liked her music.” Mara didn’t like her music despite her being very popular back home.
“Well I do. Now, have you got all that?”
“Yes.”
“So if you go into my account you will find a folder called UBS which has my account details. My password is the same for the account as I just gave you.”
Mara recited the details again in her mind. “Okay, I’ve got that.”
“If you hear from Danny, don’t give him the girls until the money is in the account. Do you understand?”
“I’m not stupid.”
“No you’re not. Make sure you are tough with the new girls.”
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. I’ll come visit you again next week and let you know how it’s going.”
“Thanks Mara. At the end of the day family is everything.”
“Only when it suits you, Stefan.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have a short memory! Not long ago you were letting Dimitry and Danny do what they want with me.”
“I told them not to go too far. That was because we are family.”
“Thanks for nothing!”
Mara was deep in thought as she left the prison and headed back to Brighton in the back of a taxi. She was desperate to take a look at Stefan’s bank account and check the balance. It was a dangerous game to play but it might be worth it, if the account held a healthy balance.
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
“So did you tell Stefan about Powell?” Victor asked, as soon as Mara returned to the house.
“Of course I did,” Mara answered. “He was shocked but said to do nothing for the time being. He doesn’t want you ending up in jail as well. He suggests you get the next plane home.”
“I’m going nowhere, at least not until I deal with that bitch Afina.”
“Well I’m sure she’s already back in Bucharest.”
“Maybe but maybe not.”
“I have work to do,” Mara said dismissively.
She returned downstairs to her room and went straight to her laptop. Within a couple of minutes she had followed Stefan’s instructions and found herself staring at his bank account details. The balance was over two hundred thousand pounds. She looked at recent statements and identified that as payments went into the account, amounts equivalent to ninety per cent were immediately transferred out of the account. Her cousin was a very rich man even with his ten per cent share.
Mara felt a pang of jealousy. While she was offering her arse to anyone and everyone, her cousin was sitting on his arse banking loads of money. It was not an equitable arrangement.
She signed out of the account and spent some time thinking about her options. She had to urgently deal with Victor, which was easier said than done. He was the only obstacle to a better future and also a threat to her life. It was quite appealing to simply transfer the money to her account, go straight to the airport and get on a plane to somewhere very far away but they would hunt her d
own and she didn’t fancy spending the rest of her life looking over her shoulder and unable to return home.
Though the money would be nice, she was equally attracted to the opportunity of taking over from Stefan. She would be able to make a great deal of money over the next few years if Stefan’s bank balance was an indication of what she could expect. She would also earn the respect of the people back home. There weren’t any other women in the organisation trusted with real responsibility.
On balance the second option seemed best because it had the added attraction of being able to stay in Brighton and she still harboured the hope that one day she might succeed in seducing Afina. She wasn’t sure why it was but that damn girl had really messed with her head.
Mara telephoned Bucharest and informed them she had heard from Danny and he didn’t want the girls. He was doubting whether he had picked the right people as partners, given the recent arrests and publicity it created. He wanted to wait a month until the furore died down and then he would be back in contact. Although they weren’t happy at the other end of the phone, they did seem to have some sympathy for his view and they still had his deposit. Mara was told to hurry up with finding the new property and the new girls could then be put to work locally so she decided to spend the afternoon visiting agents.
Much as she didn’t like Victor, she had to admit he had his uses, he was especially good at getting new girls quickly under control, something she was going to find difficult without Dimitry’s large cock or Victor's penchant for delivering a beating. She found Victor upstairs and told him she wouldn’t be around in the evening as she was going out with friends. As he was permanently stuck in the house, she got a kind of perverse pleasure from telling him not to expect her back. She knew she would get an invite back to Emma and Becky’s but there was also the small possibility she would be able to spend the night with Afina.
She had one last task to accomplish before she left for the evening. There had been an idea knocking about in her head all day and on a sudden impulse she decided it would be a good idea to do it before leaving and before she change her mind. As she went outside to her taxi, she was feeling happy about her action and life in general.
Powell was surprised by how quickly Afina grasped everything about bar work. She worked hard and always smiled like she was really enjoying her work. Everyone liked working with her and the customers also approved. He struggled with the fact he found himself attracted to her despite the large age gap. What made the attraction stranger was that over the last twenty years there had been very few times he’d felt anything similar. For many years, he shut out his emotions and just dedicated himself to the memory of Vanessa and bringing up Bella. There had been some brief physical relationships but no one had really connected with him on an emotional level. So how someone so young could have such an impact was baffling. It could only be a midlife crisis brought on by the loss of Bella.
What he definitely didn’t want was to hurt Afina. She had been hurt enough. He felt he had little to offer her in the way of a future. One day she would want children and in time her crush on him would fade away and it could only end badly. Yet still there was an indisputable attraction, which wasn’t lessened by the fact he had enjoyed having sex with her. Every so often he would be looking at her in the bar and a picture would invade his mind, reminding him of the time they had spent together, and no matter how hard he tried to dismiss it, would act as an unwelcome stimulation to his body. At least those occasions were proof he was still very much alive.
There had been no sightings of Victor and Powell was beginning to think he had indeed left the country or at the very least was staying clear of Brighton. Maybe Victor did have some brains to go with all that brawn.
The return to something like normality had a negative aspect, it left him with more time to think and dwell on the loss of the two people he had truly loved in his life. He hadn’t had any nightmares about Vanessa or Bella for several days but found himself during the daytime talking to them in his head, asking their opinions as if they were there with him. What should he do with Afina? Should he sell the bar? The questions were endless.
It was confirmation he needed a new direction in life and he was starting to formulate an idea. It would not be a commercially motivated venture like the bar but something that was good for his soul. He needed to throw his energy into something worthwhile and reading the local paper had given him an idea. It was potentially dangerous but very emotionally rewarding.
Afina had the night off work and she had invited Powell to meet up with her friends and Adriana, to go for a meal in the Marina. Adriana, Mara, Emma and Becky would be going so he was once again going to be badly outnumbered as the only man present.
Afina had asked his advice on where to eat and he had suggested a recently opened Indian restaurant, which Bella had visited and recommended to him. He took a taxi to the bar, picking up Afina and Adriana, before continuing to the Marina. They were first to arrive and seated at a circular table, Powell ordered a bottle of inexpensive, pink Cava.
“Would you like some?” he asked Adriana.
She shot a nervous glance at Afina as she said, “Yes please.”
Afina smiled and said, “Just the one glass.”
The others arrived soon after and a second bottle of Cava was quickly ordered. Afina and Adriana had never eaten Indian food before so left Powell to choose, with the proviso it wasn’t too spicy. The restaurant was quite busy and they sat eating Poppadoms and drinking Cava, waiting for their starters to arrive. Powell looked around at the smiling faces and he once again felt the pain of loss for Bella, which was exacerbated by how his young companions were so alive and vibrant.
Powell was so focused on his thoughts, he didn’t notice the two men approaching the table until they were only six feet away. A sixth sense made him look up just in time to see the first man lift his arm up and point the gun in his direction.
He moved with lightning reflexes, honed by years of kickboxing training and grabbing the edge of the table lifted it like a shield and found it was light enough to propel in the general direction of both men. As the cutlery and glasses crashed to the floor, everyone at the table cried out in shock at what Powell had done, but in the same instant heard the sound of gunshots as the first man fired twice fired wildly before the table collided with his raised arms and the gun fell to the floor.
Both men staggered backwards under the weight of the table and the girls were screaming as they tried to run from their seats, heading in all directions, desperately trying to escape. The other customers reacted similarly and chaos ensued. The table was upside down on the floor with its legs sticking in the air. Powell leaped across the space previously occupied by the table and aimed a kick at one man’s groin, which doubled him up in severe pain and caused his weapon to fall noisily to the ground. The other man was trying to retrieve his gun from the floor where it had skidded under the next table.
Powell nimbly advanced and just as the man stood up, once again holding the gun, Powell kicked him and connected with the wrist holding the gun, deflecting the man’s aim and sending a bullet harmlessly into the ceiling. Powell was immediately spinning and lashing out in the direction of the man’s chin, sending him hurtling to the floor.
The other man was recovering from the kick to his groin and reaching down to his leg, took hold of a menacing looking knife, which had been strapped to the outside of his lower leg.
Powell warily advanced towards the man. He was determined to engage both men at least long enough for everyone else to escape and he was succeeding, as the restaurant was fast emptying.
I’ll fucking cut you in two,” the man threatened and lunged towards Powell, who easily stepped inside and grabbed the man’s wrist. He stretched the arm and bent it backwards, causing the man to drop his knife and scream in agony.
Powell used his legs to sweep the man’s legs away and send him to the ground. Powell maintained a hold on his wrist and the weight of his body falli
ng caused his arm to snap. Powell kicked him flush on the chin, silencing the piercing scream he’d started to emit, leaving him unmoving on the ground.
The other man was still out cold on the floor. Powell had time to glance around the restaurant and saw some diners were cowering at one end of the restaurant behind the bar area. He could see no sign of the girls. They must have escaped outside.
“Has someone called the police,” Powell asked out loud.
“Yes,” the Indian waiter who had served them responded. “They are on their way.”
“Good. You can all relax,” Powell said.
He saw people cautiously emerging from behind the bar as he was picking up both guns from the floor and covered the two men. A minute later he heard the sound of police sirens converging on the restaurant.
CHAPTER FORTY SIX
When Powell suddenly threw the table at the two attackers, Afina had instantly understood their lives were in danger and her first concern had been to get Adriana to safety. As the mayhem erupted, Afina grabbed Adriana by the hand and pulled her towards the entrance to the restaurant. Keeping low she could see many others heading in the same direction but her only focus was Adriana.
Once on the pavement outside she looked back through the glass windows of the restaurant to see Powell kicking one of the assailants. The other was already on the ground and Afina breathed a sigh of relief Powell was alive and looking in control of the situation. Everyone else emerging from the restaurant continued to run down the street trying to get as far away as possible from the source of danger. She could see no sign of the other girls and assumed they also had put distance between themselves and the gunmen.
In the swirl of bodies Afina didn’t at first realise someone was next to her and pushing something into her ribs.
