RUN
Mandasue Heller
MACMILLAN
For my precious mum, Jean Heller
You were, and always will be, my idol
Contents
Prologue
PART ONE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
PART TWO
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
Epilogue
Prologue
She shivered when the moon disappeared behind a thick bank of clouds, plunging them into inky darkness. Rain began to spatter the windscreen as the car tyres bounced slowly over the cobbles, and the sudden swish of the automatic wipers made her jump. Hugging herself, she gazed up at the rear windows of the derelict row of shops to her left and the uninhabited terraced houses to the right. Most were concealed behind metal sheeting or smashed, and they were all as dark as the alleyway they were driving into, which told her that there was no one around to help her.
He eased to a stop alongside a padlocked gate halfway along the alley and cut the engine before jumping out and walking quickly around to her side. An icy blast of wind whipped her cheeks when he opened her door, and her legs felt like jelly as she unhooked her seat belt and climbed out.
‘Don’t even think about it,’ he warned, gripping her tightly by the arm when he caught her casting a surreptitious glance back down the alley in search of an escape route. ‘I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.’
‘You already are,’ she replied shakily, wincing at the pain of his fingertips digging into her flesh.
He let go after a moment, and she rubbed at the sore spot as he turned and slotted a key into the padlock. The gate opened on to a rubble-filled yard at the rear of an empty shop unit, and he waved for her to go in ahead of him.
‘I can’t,’ she croaked, taking a stumbling step back. ‘It’s too dark. There could be rats.’
A squeal of fear escaped her lips when he seized her by the wrist and hauled her into the yard, and tears flooded her eyes when her ankle twisted painfully as he marched her across the debris. He stopped at the steel back door and unlocked it with a mortice key before shoving her into a tiny, pitch-dark hallway. A steep flight of stairs faced them, at the top of which was another door.
The hallway reeked of mildew and rotten food, but when they reached the top of the stairs and he opened the door, an even fouler smell hit her in the face. Covering her nose with her hand, she stumbled over the threshold into the flat above the shop.
The front room was dark, but the moon had emerged from behind the clouds and tiny pinpricks of light were leaking in through the holes in the metal covering the window. As her eyes began to adjust, she was able to make out the outlines of a sofa, a single bed, a cluttered coffee table, and what appeared to be an upturned cardboard box holding a portable TV.
Behind her, he locked the door and then slid his hand along the wall in search of the light switch. Squinting in the unexpected brightness, she inhaled sharply when her gaze landed on the origin of the putrid smell.
‘Oh, my God!’ she cried, staring in horror at the battered body sprawled on the floor between the sofa and the window. ‘Is she . . .’
‘Dead?’ he finished for her. ‘I’d say so, judging by the stench she’s giving off. Not that she was too bothered about hygiene when she was alive,’ he went on, a glint of disgust flaring in his eyes as he gazed down at the body. ‘And she actually thought I’d be interested in a skank like her. What a joke!’
‘I don’t understand.’ She stared at him as if she’d never seen him before. ‘What did she do to deserve this?’
‘She couldn’t keep her big mouth shut,’ he replied, gazing coolly back at her. ‘And the other one’s lucky she was out when I called round there, or she’d have got the same.’
‘Is that why you’ve brought me here?’ she asked. ‘Are you going to kill me, too?’
He opened his mouth to speak, but the sound of a brick knocking against another in the yard below made him snap his head around.
‘What are you doing?’ she gasped, her voice rising to a squeak when he yanked a gun out of his pocket.
‘Shut your mouth!’ he hissed, pushing her out of the way and rushing over to the window. Straddling the body, he pressed his face up against the glass and peered through a hole in the metal sheeting. Several shadowy figures were moving through the darkness below, heading towards the door. A bright light suddenly flared, causing him to wince as it hit his eyes.
‘Armed police . . .’ a voice boomed. ‘Come out with your hands in the air!’
‘We’ve got to do as they say,’ she sobbed, her legs shaking wildly as she backed towards the door. ‘They’ll shoot us both if you make them come in! Please . . . I’m begging you!’
The vibration of a battering ram being repeatedly smashed into the steel door shook the floor beneath their feet, and she almost wet herself with terror when, seconds later, footsteps began to thunder up the stairs.
PART ONE
1
Manny’s nightclub had been a dive when Leanne Riley and Chrissie O’Brien used to go there in their teens, but it had changed beyond recognition. The tacky carpets, graffiti-covered walls, and ever-present stench of puke and piss were all gone; as was the filthy red-velvet bench seat where Leanne had shared her very first snog with some boy whose name she had long ago forgotten. Now ultra-chic and buzzing with pretty young things, the club had a completely different vibe – and Leanne wasn’t sure she liked it.
‘Not quite what I expected,’ Chrissie remarked as she gazed around. ‘Bit posh, isn’t it?’
‘And we’re a bit old,’ said Leanne. ‘I feel like a teacher at the school disco.’
‘Oh, well, we’re here now, so we might as well stay for a drink,’ Chrissie said, pushing Leanne towards the empty table she’d just spotted between the stage and the gents’ toilets. ‘Grab those seats while I go to the bar.’
Leanne quickly made her way to the table. Glad that it was tucked away in the corner because she felt so out of place, she pulled her phone out of her bag to check the time as she sat down. Nine o’clock. If Chrissie hadn’t bullied her into coming out tonight she’d be safely tucked up in bed watching TV by now. And she knew where she’d rather be.
Glancing up when a shadow fell over her a couple of minutes later, she assumed that the man who was smiling down at her was about to ask if he could take the empty chair.
‘Sorry, it’s taken,’ she said, quickly placing her hand on it. ‘My friend’s sitting here.’
Instead of walking away as she’d expected, the man’s smile widened. ‘It is you! I thought so, but your hair’s longer than I remembered, so I wasn’t sure. But there’s no mistaking those eyes.’
Intrigued, Leanne peered at his face. He was very good-looking, with short black hair, soft brown eyes, and a sexy smile; and his tight shirt showed off his muscular arms to such great effect she almost wished she did know him. But she was sure she’d never seen him before.
‘I think you’re mistaking me for someone else,’ she said, trying not to sound too disappointed.
‘No, I’m not.’ He shook
his head. ‘I never forget a beautiful face. It’s Leanne, isn’t it?’ Amused when she gave a cautious nod, he said, ‘It’s Jake . . . Jake Pearce? We were at school together.’
Leanne tried to place his name, but she didn’t remember any lads at school called Jake – or any who had been anywhere near as gorgeous as him.
‘Maybe this will help.’ He placed his glass on the table, squatted down beside her, and cleared his throat before saying in a high-pitched voice, ‘Leanne . . . will you go t’ pictures wiv us?’
‘Oh, my God!’ She clapped a hand over her mouth when a long-forgotten memory leapt into her mind. ‘Pissy Pearce?’
‘Ouch!’ Jake winced. ‘Cheers for remembering that. It took me years to shake that one off.’
‘Sorry,’ she apologized, staring at him in wonder. ‘But you’ve changed so much.’
‘Well, it has been twenty-odd years,’ he pointed out, resting his elbow on the edge of her seat. ‘I must have only been thirteen last time I saw you.’
Shivering when the heat from his arm warmed her thigh, Leanne shyly crossed her legs and stared at him again. Pissy Pearce, as they had all called him back then, had been a skinny boy with a scruffy uniform and wild hair that everyone had said was crawling with nits. The other kids had bullied him mercilessly, but Leanne had never joined in because she’d secretly felt a bit sorry for him – which was probably why he had taken a shine to her and asked her out that time. To her shame, instead of taking him aside to turn him down gently, she had told him to get lost in front of the whole school.
‘I’m so sorry about what happened,’ she said guiltily. ‘I felt really bad about it and wanted to apologize, but you moved before I—’
‘Forget it.’ Jake gave her a forgiving smile. ‘It was only kids’ stuff. Anyway, it was my own fault for thinking I stood a chance with someone like you.’
‘Don’t be daft.’ Leanne blushed, still struggling to believe that this handsome, self-assured man had once been that boy.
Jake suddenly reached for her left hand and raised an eyebrow when he saw that her ring finger was bare. ‘Not married?’
Already flustered, Leanne shook her head and slipped her hand free.
‘Still young, free and single, like me, eh?’ Jake grinned.
Secretly pleased to hear that there was no Mrs Pearce, Leanne said, ‘So, have you moved back to England now, or is this just a visit?’
‘Moved back?’ Jake gave her a questioning look. ‘I never left.’
‘Really? I heard you’d emigrated to Australia.’
‘Nah, we only went to Liverpool. My old man took off a couple of months after we got there, and my mum wasn’t coping too well, so we . . .’ Jake tailed off and shrugged, before adding, ‘Let’s just say we didn’t stay in one place too long after that. What about you?’ He smoothly changed the subject. ‘Where are you living these days?’
‘Not too far from where I used to live,’ Leanne said evasively, hoping that he wouldn’t ask for her address. He was clearly doing okay for himself if his expensive-looking watch and clothes were anything to go by, and she would be ashamed to let him see the state of the bedsit she’d been living in since splitting up with her ex, Dean, the previous year.
‘Are you okay?’ Jake asked when he saw a frown flicker across her brow.
‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ she lied, determinedly pushing Dean out of her mind. ‘I’ve just got a bit of a headache.’
‘This music can’t be helping.’ Jake cast a pained glance at the DJ’s booth. ‘I’ve been here for an hour, and I haven’t recognized a single tune yet. The joys of getting old, eh?’ He grinned. ‘I bet our folks used to say the exact same thing about the music we listened to.’
‘Mine definitely did,’ Leanne agreed, smiling at the memory of her dad plugging his ears with cotton wool whenever she played her Oasis CDs, because he claimed Liam Gallagher’s voice made him feel suicidal.
‘Ours was way better than the shit they were into,’ said Jake. ‘I mean, come on . . . Elvis?’
‘I quite liked Elvis,’ Leanne admitted. ‘It was Status Quo I couldn’t stand, but my dad was mad about them.’
‘Yeah, my old man used to rave about them, too. And my mum was into Robson and Jerome.’ Jake shook his head and reached for his glass to take a swig of beer. Narrowing his eyes when he spotted a familiar face on the crowded dance floor, he nudged Leanne’s leg with his elbow. ‘Is that Carl Bates?’
Leanne followed his gaze. ‘No, it’s his son.’
‘Seriously?’ Jake was shocked. ‘Christ, Carl was half that kid’s size last time I saw him.’
‘Well, like you said, it’s been a long time,’ Leanne reminded him, amused. ‘A lot’s changed round here since then.’
‘You’re telling me,’ Jake agreed. ‘I didn’t recognize the place when I moved back a couple of months ago. I knew they’d demolished the old flats, but I hadn’t expected the new estate to be so big. I nearly got lost when I took a walk round there.’
‘Terrible, isn’t it?’ Leanne laughed softly. ‘We call it the maze, it’s that bad.’
Jake had been staring at her as she spoke. He smiled when she noticed and gave him a curious look, and said, ‘I’m glad to see some things haven’t changed. You’re still as gorgeous as ever, and I’d recognize that laugh anywhere.’
Leanne shyly dipped her gaze when a thrill of excitement rippled through her body. What the hell was happening to her? She had sworn off men for life after catching Dean in bed with another woman, and had refused to entertain the idea of ‘putting herself back on the market’ – Chrissie’s words, not hers. Yet here she was, getting all hot and bothered about a man she hadn’t seen in twenty-odd years. And not just any man, but the one she had cruelly humiliated the last time she’d seen him.
‘Sorry,’ Jake apologized, thinking that he’d embarrassed her by coming on too strong. ‘I wasn’t trying to hit on you, I just meant . . .’ Unsure what else to say, he gave a guilty smile. ‘Well, I suppose I’d best leave you in peace and get back to the lads before they think I’ve done a runner.’
Dismayed, because she hadn’t meant to make him feel bad, Leanne was about to tell him that he hadn’t upset her when Chrissie arrived with their drinks.
‘Oi, Casanova, shift,’ Chrissie barked, nudging Jake with her knee. ‘You’re in my way, and she ain’t interested, so do one.’
A sly smile came on to Jake’s lips as he stood up and turned to face her. ‘Well, well, if it isn’t Christine O’Brien . . . Larger than life, and twice as bolshie.’
‘You what?’ Chrissie flashed him a withering look as she flopped into her seat.
Still grinning, Jake turned to Leanne and winked at her. ‘It was really nice to see you again, Lee. Take care.’
‘You too,’ she replied quietly, wishing that Chrissie hadn’t come back so soon.
‘Who the hell was that?’ Chrissie demanded when he turned and walked away.
‘Jake Pearce,’ Leanne said, sighing as she watched him go.
Chrissie’s expression was as blank as Leanne’s had been when Jake had first introduced himself. But then her eyes widened, and she said, ‘You don’t mean Pissy Pearce?’
‘Yep.’
‘But he’s drop-dead gorgeous! How the hell did that happen?’
‘I guess he grew up.’ Leanne reached for her wine.
‘Wow.’ Chrissie shook her head. ‘Who’d have guessed he’d turn out like that? How did you even know it was him? I wouldn’t have recognized him in a million years.’
‘I didn’t,’ Leanne admitted. ‘He recognized me and came over. I didn’t have a clue who he was until he reminded me about that time when he asked me out and I told him to get lost.’
‘Oh, yeah, I remember that. I thought it was hilarious at the time, but I suppose it was a bit brutal really, wasn’t it?’
‘More than a bit. I can’t believe I was such a bitch.’
‘Ah, you weren’t that bad. And, to be fair, he should have kn
own you wouldn’t give him the time of day back then. You were the prettiest girl in school and he was an ugly little sod.’
‘He’s not ugly now, though, is he?’ Leanne murmured, shivering as she recalled the intensity of Jake’s gaze.
‘He certainly isn’t,’ Chrissie agreed. ‘Although, I can’t say I was too impressed by that larger-than-life crack he came out with. If that was his roundabout way of calling me fat, I’ll give him what for, next time I see him.’
‘He was obviously talking about your personality, or he wouldn’t have mentioned you being bolshie,’ Leanne assured her.
‘Suppose not,’ Chrissie conceded, sniffing huffily. ‘Although, that’s just as bad.’
‘But true.’ Leanne grinned.
Unable to deny this, Chrissie took a sip of her wine before asking, ‘So what’s he doing here? I thought he’d emigrated?’
‘So did I, but they’d only gone to Liverpool,’ Leanne told her. ‘Apparently, his dad walked out on them not long after they got there, so him and his mum moved around for a while. But he’s back in Manchester now.’ Pausing when Chrissie gave her a knowing look, she frowned. ‘What?’
‘Nothing.’ Chrissie smirked. ‘Just, somebody seems to know an awful lot about somebody, considering they haven’t seen them in years. And I’m betting they wouldn’t be so quick to say no if that somebody were to ask them out again.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Leanne spluttered. ‘We were only talking.’
‘Jakey and Lee-Lee sitting in a tree,’ Chrissie teased. ‘K-I-S-S—’
Conscious that the young girls on the next table could hear every word, Leanne hissed, ‘It wasn’t like that. Anyway, he’s obviously not interested in me.’ She nodded towards the bar where she’d spotted Jake talking to a blonde in a red dress. ‘Look who he’s with.’
Chrissie glanced over and rolled her eyes in disgust. ‘Trust her to get her hooks into him!’
‘Do you know her?’ Leanne asked, watching as the woman pressed her breasts up against Jake’s chest and whispered into his ear.
‘We both do,’ said Chrissie. ‘It’s Sally Walker.’
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