Not wanting to be left out of the fun, Calvin jabbed Gilly sharply in the ribs before they left him.
*
‘Did you see the look on the cheeky bastard’s face?’ Josh complained to his brother.
Calvin smiled widely. ‘He ain’t fuckin’ laughing now, is he?’
Josh chuckled. ‘No. Stupid bastard! He could have got off lightly if he’d played it right.’
‘What the fuck’s wrong with you, bruv? You going soft or what?’
‘Like fuck! I’m just knackered and wanted to call it a night. I’m glad we let him have it though. I don’t think our Trina will have any more trouble with him. The dickhead shit himself!’
‘Yeah, well, he’s only good at slapping women around, isn’t he?’ said Calvin. ‘He’s out of his fuckin’ depth when it comes to dealing with anyone with a pair of balls. Anyway, that’s both jobs taken care of now. What’s next? Do you wanna go for a drink somewhere? Then we can ring Trina and let her know what’s gone down.’
‘Nah, there’s no rush, is there? It’s getting late now and I’m knackered. Let’s leave it till the morning,’ said Josh and, satisfied with their night’s work, they set off for home.
56
July 2011
Ruby watched the last of her girls putting on her coat and walking past reception.
She waved a cheery goodbye to Ruby and Tiffany. ‘See you tomorrow.’
‘Bye,’ they shouted in unison until Ruby turned her attention back to her partner. ‘I’ll just try giving Josh and Calvin another ring before we go home.’
‘OK, but I don’t think you’ll have any joy at this time of night,’ said Tiffany.
Tiffany was right and when her calls rang out unanswered Ruby decided to leave it till the next day. ‘Come on, let’s get off home.’
They switched off the PC and left everything ready for the following night, then made their way down the stairs. Tiffany walked out of the building first, leaving Ruby to lock up. She was just about to turn the key in the lock when she heard movement behind her and Tiffany let out a scream.
Ruby swivelled around to find Kyle glaring into her face and clutching a baseball bat. He had brought a gang of men with him, all mean looking and wielding weapons. Her heart raced as she saw one of them grab hold of Tiffany.
Kyle gripped Ruby’s arm while snarling at her, ‘Open the fuckin’ door! You ain’t going anywhere.’
Ruby felt the first stirrings of panic, but she brazened it out. ‘Let go of my arm then. I can’t fuckin’ move it!’
He released his grip on her so she could unlock the door. She couldn’t escape anyway. Kyle and his men had formed an impenetrable barrier. As she tried to put the key back into the lock her hands were shaking and she found it difficult. Kyle jabbed her in the ribs with the baseball bat.
‘Get a fuckin’ move on!’
‘Alright! I’m trying,’ she replied, with an edge of desperation to her voice.
For Ruby the scene was too painfully familiar. Kyle: angry and threatening. And his group of bully boys: equally menacing and dangerous. It took her back to that traumatic event in her childhood. But this time she wasn’t alone; she had Tiffany with her. Ruby wished this thought brought her comfort. But it didn’t. It made things worse as she dreaded what was about to happen to the two of them.
Eventually she got the door open and Kyle rushed her upstairs, jabbing her in the back with the baseball bat while another of his men stayed with Tiffany and the rest of them raced ahead. By the time Ruby reached the top of the stairs, Kyle’s gang were already laying into the place, smashing the furniture up with baseball bats and slicing up the sofas with machetes.
The last attack on the club had been bad enough, but this time it was obvious they were intent on inflicting even more damage. Ruby looked on helplessly, restrained by Kyle’s vicious grip on her arm once more, as the gang trashed the club.
‘Oh my word!’ she yelled. ‘You bastards!’
Kyle swiped her across the face and Ruby instinctively retaliated, launching herself at him and sinking her nails into his scalp. But he brought the baseball bat down hard and Ruby screeched as she felt the painful blow. Giving her no chance to defend herself, Kyle brought it down again, and again, each blow more vicious than the last.
Ruby fell to the ground, noticing as she did so that Tiffany was getting a hiding from another of Kyle’s men. She could hear her girlfriend’s tortured screams as the man set about her with a baseball bat.
‘Leave her alone, you bastards!’ she shrieked, and she was punished with another savage blow from Kyle.
Eventually he stopped, but his anger was still evident as a stream of abuse spewed from his mouth. ‘You fuckin’ bitch! Did you honestly think you could get away with taking one of my fuckin’ men out? Whore!’
Ruby looked at him, confused as well as terrified. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
He aimed a sharp kick at her stomach, making her double over in agony. ‘You fuckin’ liar! I know you sent your bastard cousins. Did you really think they could scare me into leaving you alone?’ You must be fuckin’ joking!’
As he spoke, he carried on kicking her then resumed with the bat, smashing it down onto her back. Amid the haze of pain and terror Ruby realised what had happened. A feeling of dread circled her senses, overshadowed at the moment by the agony of the attack. Her cousins must have killed a man in reprisal for Kyle’s threat to her business. The stupid pair of bastards!
When Kyle had exhausted himself, he stopped the attack and began talking. His tone was still angry, but this time he was managing to hold it more in check. He was now focused on delivering a message rather than just hurling abuse.
‘So, your cousins want me to leave you and this place alone, do they? Not a fuckin’ chance! In fact, you’ve just made things a lot fuckin’ worse for yourself. From now on you’ll do everything I say unless you want to see your girls go missing, one by one.’
Ruby felt the sting of his words as acute as the pain from her battered and bruised body. She knew she couldn’t afford to lose any more girls. She’d already lost three of her best thanks to Kyle and his gang. And the thought of what he might do to any of her other girls terrified her.
‘OK, OK, I’ll do anything you say,’ she pleaded.
‘Oh, you will! But not now. You look a fuckin’ mess!’ Ruby became conscious of the blood on her face, which was dripping onto her clothing. ‘Get yourself cleaned up and you can ring me tomorrow. I want you to arrange another meeting with me and this time it will go ahead. Unless you want to face the consequences.’
‘Alright,’ said Ruby. ‘I’ll do it.’
‘Right. That’ll save you and your club. And when I’ve finished with you, I’ll be arranging to spend some time with your girlfriend too. But that can wait till another night. I want you first. Oh, and as for your cousins, I’ll make sure them two cunts are fuckin’ dealt with!’
Ruby felt a chill of terror as he glared at her before summoning his men and leaving her and Tiffany, battered and devastated, amongst the wreckage of their massage parlour.
As soon as they were gone Ruby looked over to where Tiffany lay whimpering. ‘Are you OK?’ she asked.
‘Think so,’ cried Tiffany. ‘But it fuckin’ hurts.’
‘Me too.’
Ruby got up off the floor, her body tender and throbbing in places. She went over to her girlfriend.
‘Fuck! You’re bleeding,’ said Tiffany.
‘It’s OK. It’s nothing,’ Ruby responded, subconsciously placing her fingers on the bridge of her nose then quickly pulling them away when she felt the sting of a bruise beginning to form.
Ruby was trying to play it down even though she could already feel the blood congealing in her throat. She stuck out her hand and helped Tiffany off the floor then checked her over. Although there was no sign of blood, her face was flushed and already beginning to swell.
‘Bastard’s hit you in the face,’ she murmured,
her terror already being replaced by anger. ‘Are you sure you’re OK?’
Tiffany managed a faint smile. ‘Yeah. What about you?’
‘Sore,’ said Ruby, stroking her tender back. ‘But I don’t think I’ve broken anything.’
‘Me neither. But it fuckin’ hurts.’
‘That Kyle’s a crafty bastard,’ Ruby said. ‘He knew just how much pain to inflict without doing any permanent damage. He wants us fit for work so he can carry on earning his fuckin’ protection money.’
She dared to examine the waiting area. It was a mess. Her sofas had been split in several places, the foam bursting out of them. The pictures, which she had so carefully selected, had been dragged from the walls. Some of them were broken into pieces, and the coffee machine and planters had been knocked over, their contents leaving a muddy mess on the sumptuous pink carpet. Even the walls had angry gashes down them where the gang had hacked away with their machetes.
As she stared around at the devastation, Ruby could feel tears forming in her eyes. Even though she tried to fight her overwhelming emotion, she couldn’t help but cry. Not only had she and Tiffany been left bloody and bruised, but the club had been ravaged too. Unlike the last attack, this one was intended to inflict maximum damage and Ruby knew she’d have to shut up shop for at least a few days while she carried out repairs. It would probably cost a fortune to put right too.
Tiffany walked painfully towards Ruby and gently wrapped her arms around her. For a few tearful minutes they remained wrapped in each other’s arms trying to comfort each other as they took in the extent of the damage.
‘I can’t believe what they’ve done,’ sobbed Tiffany.
‘Bastards!’ cursed Ruby.
‘I heard what he said,’ whispered Tiffany as though she was afraid to say the words out loud.
‘What about?’
‘About you meeting him. And then me.’
Now the immediate danger had passed, Ruby’s terror was turning into fury. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t let it get that fuckin’ far!’
‘What are you gonna do?’ asked Tiffany.
‘I don’t know yet. Shit! I can’t believe how far Josh and Calvin went. I never thought they’d do something like that. What a pair of fuckin’ idiots! And now we’ve got to pick up the pieces. I could have fuckin’ told them Kyle would never stand for them killing one of his men.’
Tiffany went to speak, but her words were drowned out as Ruby continued with her rant.
‘Just how the fuck did he know they’re my cousins, and that you’re my girlfriend?’ Tiffany shrugged while Ruby carried on speaking. ‘I need to ring Josh again. I want to know just what the fuck happened tonight.’
She grabbed her phone and dialled the numbers of both her cousins but there was still no reply. Frustrated, she slung the phone inside her handbag knowing she would have to wait until the following day to find her answers.
*
Still feeling hyped up, Kyle jumped into the passenger seat of the BMW while one of his gang took to the wheel. He looked back at the other gang members and exchanged high fives.
‘Good job, lads,’ he said, grinning. ‘That should fuckin’ show ’em what’s what!’
His gang members shared his enthusiasm and for several minutes they offered their input, jeering and laughing about the damage they had inflicted. Their high spirits eventually lulled to an excited murmur and Kyle turned back round to face the road ahead as he became occupied with his own thoughts.
They’d certainly put Ruby in her place for now but he was still furious at the death of Ash. And he knew that, in terms of revenge, this was only the start. By the time he had finished, Ruby and her cousins would wish they’d never fucked with him.
A smile played across his lips as he thought about his forthcoming meeting with Ruby and what he was going to do to her. It would be the ultimate humiliation. He knew her feelings about men; he’d been sure to do his homework. So, what better way to get revenge than to force her to spend a few hours acting out all his depraved desires?
And, after that, he’d move onto her girlfriend. It gave him a sick buzz knowing that the time he spent with Tiffany would hurt Ruby even more than the time he spent with her, especially as Ruby would have already had her turn so she’d know exactly what he had lined up for her girlfriend.
Even then he wouldn’t be finished because he still had the cousins to deal with. After what they had done, he knew he wouldn’t stop until they were ruined. But that could wait for now. His first target was Ruby and he was looking forward to seeing just how much he could make her squirm.
57
July 2011
‘Thank Christ I’ve got hold of you!’ Ruby said into her mobile phone. ‘I was trying all yesterday. Why the hell didn’t you tell me you’d killed one of Kyle’s men?’ she asked her cousin, Josh. ‘I can’t fuckin’ believe you’d go that far!’
‘We were going to call, but it was late so we decided to hit the sack and ring you today. Why? What’s the urgency?’
‘What’s the urgency? Are you for fuckin’ real, Josh? You’ve killed a man! And Kyle’s livid. Him and his gang came to the parlour last night. They smashed the place up and beat me and Tiffany up too.’
‘You’re fuckin’ joking! Are you OK, cuz?’
‘Just bruised,’ she said, rubbing the painful area on her back, ‘but they really shit us up! It was bad, Josh.’ She could feel her voice crack with emotion but she tried not to let it show.
‘Shit! I’m sorry, Ruby. I honestly thought he’d leave you alone after what we did to that guy.’
‘Is that why you killed him?’ asked Ruby. Then, before he had chance to respond, she added, ‘You don’t know him, Josh. The guy’s a fuckin’ savage! And, to be honest, I’m shit scared of what he’s gonna do next.’
This time Ruby did give in to her feelings. Her fear of reprisals overrode any need to put on a brave front as the worry about her imminent meeting with Kyle hung over her. Then a thought occurred to her. ‘What about Gilly? You didn’t kill him too, did you?’
‘Nah, he was a piece of piss. The guy shit himself as soon as we took him outside the pub. I don’t think you’ll be having any more trouble from him.’
She let out a weary sigh. At least one of her problems had been dealt with. But then she thought of something else. ‘Kyle’s threatened to deal with you and Calvin too.’
‘I’d like to see him fuckin’ try!’
‘You don’t know what you’re dealing with, Josh.’
‘No, you don’t know what you’re dealing with. Believe me; we’re used to taking care of fuckwits like him. He ain’t no big deal! You’ve gotta do them before they fuckin’ do you.’
‘Is that why you killed that guy?’ Ruby asked again.
She could hear Josh let out a puff of air, as though in irritation. ‘Not really, no. We didn’t really mean to fuckin’ kill him. We were just gonna send out a warning, but the guy wouldn’t cooperate so we just fuckin’ did what we had to do.’
‘Brilliant, well now we’re all in the shit!’ Ruby fumed. ‘Because this won’t stop here, Josh, I’m telling you.’
Josh raised his voice to counter Ruby’s rage. ‘Alright, alright! Shush a minute and listen to what I’ve got to say.’ When Ruby went quiet, he carried on, ‘If you really think it’s gonna go further, then we’ve got to fuckin’ get to him before he gets to us.’
‘No!’ said Ruby, shocked.
‘Well what’s the fuckin’ alternative? Wait for him like sitting ducks?’
Ruby knew he had a point but she didn’t like to think about how this was going to end. On the other hand, she didn’t want Kyle to beat her. ‘I don’t know,’ she said, already considering his suggestion.
‘Right, I’ll tell you what,’ said Josh. ‘You have a think about it and let me know when you’ve made a decision. But, in the meantime, we’ll be looking out for him, and if this Kyle or any of his gang tries anything with us, they’re fuckin’ dead men.’
Ruby was at home and was supposed to be making phone calls to arrange repairs to the club while Tiffany was out shopping for some replacements. Despite their injuries they had decided to get things back to normal as soon as possible. Ruby didn’t want to spend time moping around. As she’d told Tiffany, their injuries weren’t major so she didn’t see why they couldn’t crack on with things.
But for Ruby it was also an act of defiance to show Kyle and his gang that they couldn’t keep her down for long. Why should she lose money while the club remained shut? There was also the risk of the girls going elsewhere if they had to go too long without working. Besides, Ruby needed a focus to take her mind off things. It wouldn’t do her any good to dwell on the vicious attack of the previous night and the ongoing menace from Kyle and his gang.
The problem was that once she’d finished her call with Josh, she couldn’t concentrate on anything other than the predicament she was in. Ruby was in torment. She wished her cousins hadn’t gone so far by killing one of Kyle’s gang. But, even if they’d just given him a warning, would it have been enough? Kyle was so ruthless that she now doubted whether a warning alone would stop him.
But the damage had been done and she was already suffering repercussions. The evil look in Kyle’s eyes last night as he had made his threats told her that he would stop at nothing in his quest to punish her and destroy her cousins. She didn’t like to dwell on Josh’s suggestion because she knew what it entailed and deep down she knew that the only way they would find any peace would be by wiping out Kyle and his gang.
Killing people was so abhorrent to her. If only there was another way! But despite the way she felt, Ruby couldn’t come up with any other solution to their problems. As Josh had said, what was the alternative?
Thoughts were going around on a loop inside her head. Eventually, when she’d played them over several times, she pushed them aside, and got back to her phone calls. But disturbing thoughts kept returning: Kyle’s threat to deal with her cousins, the terror of last night’s attack and her imminent meeting with Kyle all refused to go away. They hovered in the background snarling at her conscious mind like a ferocious beast that wouldn’t stay down.
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