Lost Angel

by Mandasue Heller

  Lisa gave him a regretful smile and apologised yet again. Then, biting her lip, she said goodbye and went home. She felt terrible, and wondered if she’d done the wrong thing by telling him. He wasn’t going to have any say in what happened, so maybe he’d have been better off not knowing.

  Ryan’s head felt like it was imploding as he walked miserably back into his house. He couldn’t believe that the Hyneses were just going to kill his baby without even telling him about it. That was so wrong. But there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Johnny had already proved that he was capable of doing just about anything to keep Ryan and Angel apart.

  His dad was waiting behind the front door. The punch caught Ryan completely off guard and knocked him flat on his back.

  ‘Pleased with yourself, you little bastard?’ Gary loomed over him with his teeth bared and his fists clenched. ‘Bringing twats like that round to my door and scaring the fucking life out of your mother?’

  ‘It was a misunderstanding,’ Ryan told him again, holding a hand to his bleeding mouth as he gazed up at his father.

  ‘Misunderstanding?’ Gary roared as he kicked him in the ribs. ‘I’ll give you fucking misunderstanding!’

  Johnny drove around the area for a good thirty minutes without seeing a soul. The streets were deserted, and his heart was growing heavier by the minute. There was just no place he could think of where Angel might have gone, other than to Lisa’s or Ryan’s. She was really upset – but was she upset enough to do something stupid? That was what was worrying him now. They had backed her into a corner when she’d been at her most vulnerable, and it had pushed her over the edge. And he was as much to blame for that as Ruth was. She might have made the decision to arrange the abortion, but he’d gone along with it without giving a second thought to what Angel might have wanted. They were treating her like a child who had no right to make her own decisions. But, like Lisa had said, Angel was a young woman now. She would be sixteen in a matter of weeks, and that wasn’t so much younger than Ruth had been when she and Johnny had got married. And Ryan seemed genuinely to care about her, whereas Johnny hadn’t given a toss about Ruth.

  Deep in thought, he didn’t realise he was heading towards his mum’s estate until he pulled up outside the flats. He switched the engine off and peered up to the third floor. It was a long shot – a really long shot – but he was here now.

  Cathy had made up the spare bed and given Angel an old nightie to wear. Then, after making sure that the girl was settled, she’d gone to bed.

  Angel had been on the verge of falling asleep when the door creaked open. Her heart gave a painful lurch when she squinted at the silhouette outlined in the dim light and realised that it was Les. His leering smiles in the kitchen had unnerved her, and when her grandmother had left them alone while she made the bed he’d put his hand on her leg and stroked it up and down. She’d wanted to run out of there but she’d been too scared. Then her grandmother had come back and brought her to this room, so she’d thought she would be okay.

  ‘You awake?’ Les whispered as he crept towards the bed.

  Angel held her breath. She could smell alcohol and the rancid scent of sweat. He sat down heavily, and her body bounced as his weight bore down on the mattress.

  ‘I’ve never seen anyone as pretty as you,’ Les crooned, reaching out and stroking her shoulder as she lay hunched under the quilt. ‘You remind me of a girl I used to know. She was my girlfriend. Her name was Jillian. She said I was the best boyfriend she ever had ’cos I treated her real good . . . Do you want me to treat you good, an’ all?’

  His breath was coming in short, wheezy little bursts as his stroking continued.

  Angel bit her lip to keep from crying out. She just wanted him to think that she was asleep and go away.

  ‘I can show you a good time,’ Les whispered as his fingers found the edge of the quilt and peeled it down slowly. ‘You and me could have some real good fun. And I’ve got lots of money, so if you play nice I’ll buy you anything you want.’

  The doorbell rang. Les jumped, and Angel heard him breathe in sharply.

  The bell rang again, and then the caller started hammering with the knocker. The noise woke Cathy and she wandered out into the dark hall.

  ‘Les . . . ?’ she hissed. ‘Les, where are you?’

  Les got up and tiptoed to the door. ‘I’m in the bathroom,’ he called through the crack, trying to throw his voice to make it sound as if he was on the other side of the corridor. ‘See who it is and go back to bed.’

  Cathy put the chain across and opened the door a crack. Her jaw dropped when she saw Johnny standing there.

  ‘All right, Mum?’ he said quietly, his stomach churning at the sight of her. It had been a long, long time. ‘Sorry to disturb you, but I don’t suppose my daughter’s been here, has she? Her name’s Angel.’

  ‘I know,’ Cathy murmured, her eyes glittering with tears as she gazed at him. Her lovely boy had become a really handsome man.

  ‘Is she here?’ Johnny asked, surprised, because he hadn’t actually expected her to be. He’d half expected to find that his mother wasn’t even here, that she had moved out years ago, or died, or something. But she was here, and so was Angel. ‘I need to see her.’

  ‘She’s asleep,’ Cathy told him. ‘Why don’t you come back in the morning? It’ll give her time to think, and then we can all sit down and talk.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Johnny frowned. ‘This has got nothing to do with you. You don’t even know her.’

  ‘She’s scared, son. She came and found me, so I’ve got a duty to look after her.’

  ‘Are you having a laugh?’ Johnny gazed at her in disbelief.

  Back in the spare room, Les had no idea who was at the door. And he didn’t care. He and Cathy hadn’t slept together in years, and the drink had made him horny.

  ‘NO!’ Angel screamed when he slid his hand under the quilt and tried to work his way under the nightie. ‘Leave me alone!’

  Johnny heard her. He looked at his mother, and then barged his shoulder against the door, over and over until the flimsy chain snapped.

  ‘What the fuck . . . ?’ Les yelled, running out into the hall with the tip of his hard-on poking out through the flap in his pyjama bottoms.

  ‘Les!’ Cathy squawked when she saw it. ‘What the hell are you doing?’

  ‘If you’ve fucking touched her . . .’ Johnny roared as he rushed Les and knocked him to the floor. ‘I’ll kill you, you cunt!’

  ‘Daddy,’ Angel sobbed, running out into the hall and throwing herself into Johnny’s arms as he stood over Les.

  ‘Did he touch you?’ Johnny asked, his breathing heavy.

  She shook her head and burst into tears, scared that her father would go crazy if she told him the truth and end up in prison.

  ‘Go outside,’ Johnny told her, staring down at the man on the floor.

  ‘I want to stay with you,’ Angel cried, clinging to him.

  ‘GO!’ he ordered.

  ‘Come on, love,’ Cathy grabbed her hand and tugged her away from her dad.

  ‘I didn’t do anything,’ Les whimpered, his hands shaking in front of his face.

  ‘You beat the shit out of me for years,’ Johnny snarled. ‘And you told my mum I was a liar. Now tell her the truth.’

  ‘I never meant to hurt you,’ Les cried, tears rolling down his fat cheeks as a pool of piss started to spread out on the lino around him. ‘Honest to God, I didn’t. I was just trying to be your dad.’

  ‘What would an evil cunt like you know about being a dad?’ Johnny spat. ‘And what were you doing to my girl?’

  ‘I never laid a finger on her,’ Les squeaked. ‘I swear to God.’

  ‘So what were you doing in that room with her?’ Johnny demanded. ‘And why was she screaming?’

  ‘She came on to me,’ Les blubbered. ‘I was telling her to leave it out.’

  ‘Daddy, I didn’t,’ Angel sobbed. ‘I didn’t want him in the
re. I told him to leave me alone.’

  Johnny turned and glared at his mother. ‘Still think I was lying about him?’

  Cathy looked back at him mutely and wrung her hands nervously.

  A light came on in Johnny’s head.

  ‘You knew . . .’ he gasped. ‘You fucking knew and did nothing about it. And now you’ve let him get at my girl as well.’

  ‘Johnny, I didn’t,’ Cathy croaked. ‘I love you – I would never have let anyone hurt you.’

  ‘Save it,’ he hissed, marching over and snatching Angel away from her. ‘And you . . .’ He turned back to Les. ‘Come near me or mine again, and you’re dead.’

  He pushed Angel out of the door and took her down to the car.

  ‘I’m sorry, Daddy,’ she cried, clinging to him again when they were safely locked inside. ‘But I swear I didn’t do what he said.’

  ‘Ssshhh,’ Johnny soothed, holding her close. ‘Everything’s going to be okay. I won’t let anyone hurt you again.’ He swallowed hard now and said, ‘I know you’re scared, darlin’, but I need to know if you were telling the truth back there. Did he – you know?’

  Angel shook her head and buried her face in her dad’s chest. She felt dirty and ashamed, but she knew that he would go back if he knew that the horrible man had touched her, so she couldn’t tell him. Not now, not ever.

  Johnny exhaled shakily, relieved, and at the same time angry that he had played a part in pushing Angel into the grips of that monster. If Ryan hadn’t mentioned Johnny’s mother tonight, he would never have thought of coming here – and God only knew what Les would have done to the girl. But he had got here in time, so he had to just be thankful for that.

  ‘Let’s get you home.’ Johnny started the engine. ‘Your mum’s worried sick.’

  ‘I want to see Ryan,’ Angel sobbed. ‘Please, Daddy. I need to see him and tell him about our baby.’

  ‘Sweetheart, it’s late,’ Johnny said quietly, setting off. ‘Let’s just leave it till morning and then we’ll sit down and talk about it.’

  ‘No, you’ll lock me in and make me have an abortion,’ she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

  ‘I won’t,’ he promised. But she didn’t believe him. ‘What are you doing?’ he asked, slamming the brakes on when she started tugging at the door handle.

  ‘Getting out,’ she wept. ‘I’m going to see Ryan. And if you don’t let me I’ll just run away again.’

  ‘All right, just stop it.’ Johnny grabbed Angel and pulled her into his arms. ‘You can’t go running around in a nightdress at this time of night.’

  ‘I need to see him,’ Angel wailed.

  Johnny sighed. ‘All right, I’ll take you round there,’ he conceded. ‘But we’re only staying a few minutes, then I’m taking you home and you’re going to get some rest. We’ll work out what we’re going to do about this in the morning. Okay?’

  Too tired to carry on fighting, Angel nodded.

  Johnny drove back into Hulme. The lights were on in Ryan’s house when he pulled up outside, and several of the neighbours were standing on their steps staring at the door. Johnny heard the sound of muffled screaming coming from inside the house when he opened his door, and he told Angel to stay put before running up the path.

  He squatted down and lifted the letter-box flap. Ryan was lying on the floor, and his father was standing over him with a baseball bat raised above his head. The boy’s mother was screaming at her husband to leave their son alone, and a small girl was hopping up and down in distress on the stairs, a look of absolute terror on her face.

  Johnny kicked the door, and was about to do it again when Zeta yanked it open.

  ‘Stop him!’ she cried. ‘He’s going to kill h—’

  The word died on her tongue when she saw who she was talking to. She’d assumed that it would be the police, or a brave neighbour who’d had enough of the regular disturbances coming from this house and had come to tell them to pack it in.

  Johnny saw the shock in her eyes and guessed that she recognised him from earlier, although he’d been pretty sure that she hadn’t seen his face at the time. But there was no time to stop and talk, so he pushed past her and ran down the hall, kicking the man in the back of his knees and sending him crashing down.

  The bat flew out of Gary’s hand and went skidding along the lino, coming to rest in the living-room doorway. He groped for it, but Johnny stamped down hard on his hand before kneeling down and ramming the muzzle of the gun against his throat.

  ‘Don’t fucking move,’ he warned, his voice a hiss. Then, looking back at the woman – who was still standing there, her eyes wide with shock – he jerked his head towards the girl and said, ‘Close the door and take her upstairs.’

  ‘Do it, Mam,’ Ryan groaned, pulling himself up painfully when she didn’t move. ‘He’s my boss – everything’s cool.’

  ‘You all right?’ Johnny asked Ryan when the woman snapped out of her trance and hustled the child away.

  ‘Yeah,’ Ryan gasped as he hauled himself to his feet. ‘I’ve had worse.’

  ‘Angel’s in the car,’ Johnny told him. ‘Go and sit with her. But try not to get blood on my leather, eh?’

  Aware that he was trying to be kind, Ryan gave him a tiny pained smile and hobbled out.

  ‘I’ve got no argument with you,’ Gary bleated, his scared eyes swivelling up to Johnny. ‘I don’t even know you, so just go, and we’ll forget all about this, yeah?’

  Johnny shifted the barrel of the gun slightly and jabbed the muzzle into his flabby cheek. ‘Big man, ain’t you? Kicking the fuck out of a kid.’

  ‘You did it,’ Gary muttered nervously.

  ‘I had my reasons,’ Johnny replied coolly. ‘But it seems to me that you do it just for kicks. Those black eyes and bust lip your wife’s got – walk into a door, did she?’

  ‘She winds me up,’ Gary wheezed. ‘Any man’d do the same if they had to put up with her.’

  ‘You ain’t a man,’ Johnny spat, disgust in his voice. ‘You’re scum and, if you ask me, they’d be better off without you.’

  ‘You’re not going to shoot me, are you?’ Gary squeaked, panic in his voice and eyes. ‘Please, mate, I ain’t done nothing to you.’

  A siren in the near distance broke the spell. Johnny guessed that one of the neighbours had probably called the cops after hearing the commotion. He clicked back the safety catch on the gun.

  ‘Aw, no . . .’ Tears of terror spurted from Gary’s eyes. ‘I don’t wanna die . . . please don’t kill me.’

  ‘I wonder how many times your wife and kids have felt exactly the same as you’re feeling right now when you’ve been kicking the shit out of them,’ Johnny mused.

  ‘I won’t do it again,’ Gary sobbed. ‘I swear on my life!’

  Johnny didn’t believe him for one minute, but he didn’t have time to argue about it.

  ‘If I find out you’ve opened your mouth about this, I’ll be back,’ he warned. ‘And there’ll be no talking next time. Got that?’

  Gary nodded his agreement. ‘Yeah . . . anything you say.’

  Johnny pushed himself up and went quickly back out to the car. Angel was sitting in the back seat with Ryan. She’d ripped a strip off the bottom of the nightie and was dabbing at the blood on his face.

  ‘He’s hurt, Daddy. Really hurt.’

  ‘He’ll be all right,’ Johnny reassured her, setting off smoothly. He turned the corner just as the police car came in at the other end of the road.

  31

  Dave and Hannah lived in a neat little semi in a quiet cul-de-sac in Stretford, not too far from Johnny’s place. Johnny had rung on the way, so Dave was waiting, and he opened the door when his friend’s car pulled up behind his in the drive.

  Johnny jumped out and went to help Ryan out of the back. ‘Wait there,’ he told Angel. ‘I’ll be back in a minute.’

  ‘I want to stay with him,’ she sobbed, still distressed about Ryan’s injuries.

  ‘Darlin’,
just trust me on this,’ Johnny insisted. ‘You can see him tomorrow, but I need to get him inside so Hannah can see to him.’

  Angel nodded and hugged herself as Johnny took Ryan into the house.

  ‘Jeezus,’ Dave said quietly when he saw the state of the boy. ‘Tell me you didn’t do this.’

  ‘Not this time,’ Johnny admitted. ‘This is his dad’s handiwork.’

  Hannah came bustling out from the kitchen. A look of pity came into her eyes when she saw Ryan and she beckoned them on in. ‘Bring him in here.’

  She was a health visitor, and that was as close to a medical person as Johnny dared to take Ryan right now.

  ‘He doesn’t reckon anything’s broken,’ he told Hannah as he helped Ryan into the kitchen and sat him down gently in a chair. ‘But there are a few nasty cuts that need looking at.’

  ‘Leave it to me,’ Hannah said calmly. She was already filling a bowl with warm water.

  ‘Thanks.’ Johnny kissed her on the cheek. ‘And I’m really sorry to bring this to you, but there was no one else I’d trust to look after him properly.’

  ‘It’s not a problem,’ Hannah assured him. ‘I’ve got the spare bed ready, so I’ll patch him up and give him something to help him sleep. He’ll be right as rain in the morning.’

  Johnny thanked her and told Ryan that he would come back tomorrow.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Ryan said sincerely. ‘I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. But I do love her – you’ve got to believe that.’

  ‘We’ll talk tomorrow,’ Johnny replied quietly, letting him know with a few discreet gestures that he didn’t want him to tell Hannah and Dave anything that they didn’t need to know.

  Ryan got the message and nodded.

  Johnny went out into the hall and pulled the door to.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Dave wanted to know.

  ‘I haven’t got time to explain right now,’ Johnny told him. ‘I just need to get Angel home. Can you do us a favour and stash this somewhere?’ He pulled the gun from his waistband.

  Dave looked at it and then back up at Johnny. Disappointment clouded his eyes. The gun had been Frankie’s, and Johnny had said that he was going to get rid of it ages ago. But Dave figured this probably wasn’t the best of times to start having a go at him about it, so he nodded and took the weapon.