Tainted Love: The gritty new thriller from the #1 bestseller

by Kimberley Chambers

  ‘Is my dad OK? He’s not going to be murdered is he?’ Ava asked worriedly.

  Smiling sarcastically, Vivian reassured Ava as nicely as her hatred of Vinny would allow her to. ‘Of course your father is OK. He always is, isn’t he? The devil looks after his own and your dad is one of those lucky people he takes extra special care of.’

  Bella D’Angelo was becoming more worried by the minute. She’d been phoning Michael for the past hour or so and still his phone was switched off. Even if his battery had died, Bella had fully expected Michael to have called her by now. He should be begging her forgiveness, not bloody blanking her. What the hell was she meant to say to her parents if she still hadn’t made contact with him by the time they arrived?

  ‘You’ve not eaten much, Mum,’ Antonio pointed out.

  ‘I’m not that hungry at the moment, love. You and Cami eat as much as you want. I’m going to make some calls, see if I can track Michael down.’

  Bella topped up her wine and sat at the kitchen table. It was obvious now why Vinny had asked to meet her in person. He must’ve got wind of Nathan’s existence and wanted to put a spoke in her and Michael’s relationship. Vinny’d never met Nathan, Katy had confirmed that to her.

  Bella scrolled through her phone, then put it to her ear. ‘Hello, Vivian. I hope you’re keeping well, and Queenie is on the mend. Would it be possible for me to speak with Queenie briefly, please?’

  Vivian put her hand over the mouthpiece. ‘It’s Bella,’ she hissed.

  Queenie snatched the phone. ‘Got a lot to answer for you have, you fucking whore,’ she yelled.

  To say Bella was taken aback was an understatement. Did Queenie think it was Katy on the phone? ‘It’s me, Queenie – Bella.’

  ‘Yes, I know who it fucking is. The Italian slapper. When was you gonna tell my boy the truth, eh?’

  ‘I beg your pardon! Listen here, Queenie, I don’t know what twisted lies Michael has told you, but it was his bit of fluff who turned up on our doorstep earlier, not mine,’ Bella shrieked.

  ‘Twisted lies! That’s some statement coming from you. Michael knows, Bella. We all know.’

  ‘Michael knows what?’ Bella whispered, dreading the answer.

  ‘That Antonio is Vinny’s son.’

  Dropping the phone in shock, Bella let out the most piercing scream imaginable.

  Michael Butler neared his family home with a face like thunder. After leaving his mother’s, he’d headed straight to Canary Wharf to have it out with his brother, but there’d been no sign of Vinny, so he’d decided to confront Bella instead. He wanted the truth straight from the horse’s mouth, she owed him that much at least.

  Nearly hitting a vehicle while overtaking, Michael decided to slow down before he killed himself. No woman was worth that, even Bella. And if what his mother had told him turned out to be true, she was the most worthless woman ever to breathe the same air as him.

  ‘Mum, stop it! You’re scaring me, and Camila,’ Antonio D’Angelo cried. He’d never seen his usually composed mother in such a state before. And now she was demanding he phone his grandparents and tell them they couldn’t come to England for Christmas after all.

  ‘Just do as I fucking say, Antonio. Tell Nonna and Nonno I am ill and we will visit them over New Year instead,’ Bella screamed at her son.

  Leading his sobbing sister into the lounge, Antonio did as his mother asked and was relieved when his grandfather realized something was wrong and told him he would still be flying to England as planned tomorrow, but he wasn’t to tell his mother.

  Seconds after ending the call, Antonio was even more relieved when he heard a screech of tyres on the gravel outside. He looked out the window and hugged his little sister. ‘It’s OK, Cami. Michael’s home now.’

  When his mother yelled at him to take Camila upstairs, Antonio did no such thing. He opened the front door, ran up to Michael and flung his arms around his waist. ‘Mum’s acting weird, and it’s not because of Katy because she was fine about her after she’d left. I don’t know who Mum spoke to when she went into the kitchen, but she told me she was ringing people to track you down. We even ordered Chinese for you, and then whoever she spoke to must have said something bad because Mum started acting like a nutter. She drank lots of wine, was crying and even made me ring Nonna and Nonno to tell them not to come to England,’ Antonio sobbed.

  Instead of comforting the child, Michael pushed him away. On the journey home, he’d so desperately tried to convince himself his mother had got the wrong end of the stick, but Antonio’s words were all the confirmation he needed. Bella had obviously either rang his mother, Vinny, or both?

  When Michael stormed towards the house like a raging bull, Antonio chased him, grabbed his arm and asked him what was wrong.

  Michael glared at the boy with distaste. He could see both Vinny and Little Vinny in the child’s features now. Bella had always lied that Clint, the American boyfriend she’d dreamed up in that sick head of hers, had had black hair and piercing green eyes and Michael felt a fool for believing her. Suddenly he could see things clearly, like staring through a freshly cleaned pane of glass. ‘Get upstairs and take your sister with you,’ he ordered Antonio.

  ‘Daddy,’ Camila cried gleefully as her father walked in the hallway.

  Michael stroked his daughter on the head. ‘Go upstairs with Antonio, darlin’. Daddy needs to talk to your mother.’

  ‘Come on, Cami,’ Antonio mumbled. Michael had been far kinder towards his sister than he had to him and Antonio had no idea what he’d done wrong.

  Michael stared at Bella and for the first time ever loathed what he saw. He grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the wall. ‘How could you do this to me? I loved you so much, you bitch. Was Vinny a good fuck, was he? Better than me? Well, was he?’ Michael shrieked.

  ‘Let go of my neck, Michael. Please, you’re hurting me,’ Bella begged.

  Michael spat in Bella’s face. ‘You repulse me. You’re nothing but a lying low-life fucking whore.’

  When Michael released his grip on her, Bella slid down the wall. ‘Please, Michael, let me explain. Antonio isn’t Vinny’s. I swear,’ she sobbed.

  Michael grabbed Bella by the hair. ‘Stop fucking lying! You’ve done enough of that to last you a lifetime. You and Vinny are welcome to each other, sweetheart. You can suck his cock until the cows come home for all I care. You’re both dead to me. Cami’s all I care about now. And don’t you dare even contemplate scarpering back to Italy with your tail between those easily spread legs of yours. Because I swear on Cami’s life, if you take my daughter away from me, I will hunt you down and fucking kill you. Understand?’

  ‘Michael, I love you. Please listen to me. I will tell you everything from the very beginning, I swear to you,’ Bella wept.

  Grabbing his phone charger, Michael ran up the stairs and began packing a case. Bella chased after him, pleading with him to allow her to explain.

  ‘Where are you going, Michael? What’s going on?’ Antonio asked, bemused.

  Michael blanked the child and, remembering where Bella kept the passports, chucked his, hers and Camila’s in his case.

  When his daughter clung to his legs, Michael picked her up and hugged her. ‘Daddy’s got to go away for a while, but he’ll see you real soon, OK?’

  Camila clung to her father’s neck as though her life depended on it. ‘Don’t want you to go away,’ she wept.

  Bella could never remember feeling so devastated in all her life. Even her brother dying did not compare to the heartache she was currently experiencing. ‘I need you and so do the children, Michael. Please don’t do this. We can sort things out in time, I know we can,’ she pleaded.

  Thinking he was helping, Antonio decided to chip in. ‘Mum’s right, Michael. You’re the only dad I’ve ever had and I need you.’

  Michael glared at the child he had once treated as his own. ‘Dad! I ain’t your fucking dad and never will be. Mummy has mugged us all off, boy. Your
real dad is Vinny Butler, my cunting brother.’

  Albie Butler loved Sundays. He’d work at the club, tidy up after the strippers had finished their shift, and would get to the Blind Beggar by four at the latest to indulge in a drinking session and game of cards. Since he’d been diagnosed with angina, Albie only allowed himself one heavy day on the sauce per week.

  ‘Your Vinny’s just walked in, Albie,’ Big Stan said.

  Thankful he was sitting with his back towards the door, Albie didn’t bother replying. It was common knowledge that he and his eldest son didn’t see eye to eye.

  After going on a pub crawl, it had been Vinny’s idea that he and Carl head back to the Blind Beggar where they’d started out. He knew his old man would be in there and fancied ruining the old bastard’s day.

  Having receiving his usual hero’s welcome, Vinny walked over to his father and tapped him on the shoulder. ‘All right, Daddy Dearest? Losing or winning, are we?’

  Albie looked up at his son. Vinny looked drunk and that’s when he was at his very worst. ‘You OK, lad? Losing at the moment, but I’m hoping my luck’ll change soon.’

  Vinny smirked. ‘I doubt that very much. Once a loser, always a loser.’

  Michael Butler drove along the A13 at top speed. He’d rung Jay Boy, acted normal, and had been informed Vinny was in the Blind Beggar. Apparently, his brother had rung Jay Boy in the past half hour, trying to entice him out.

  Antonio had been hysterical when he’d left the house, lashing out at his mother. Michael had hated leaving Camila there, but he couldn’t take her with him. He had no idea himself where he was going to be staying yet, and his head was in too much of a mess to look after his daughter properly.

  On reaching Whitechapel, Michael drove past the Blind Beggar, parked outside his club, leapt out the motor and opened the boot. Antonio had taken up cricket at school last summer and Michael had also bought himself a bat to help the lad practise. Ironic it would now be used to cave in the head of Antonio’s father.

  ‘Where you going?’ Big Stan asked, when Albie put his coat on.

  ‘I’m gonna get off. I can’t be around Vinny in booze. He’s bound to start kicking off in a minute,’ Albie replied miserably. Vinny and Carl had sat themselves down on a nearby table and Albie felt as uncomfortable as always around his son.

  Stan tugged Albie’s arm. ‘Hold up. Your Michael’s just walked in with a cricket bat in his hand.’

  Staff and customers looked on in shock and horror as Michael approached his brother from behind. ‘You’re dead, you cunt,’ he said calmly, before repeatedly smashing the bat against Vinny’s head.

  Vinny fell to the carpet, his natural instinct to try and cover his head with his hands. ‘I wanted to tell ya, but I didn’t know how to. And I had no idea the kid was mine, I swear, bruv.’

  ‘Not in here, Michael. Take it outside please,’ the landlord yelled.

  When Carl tried to intervene, Michael clumped him with the bat as well.

  ‘Stop it, boy. You don’t wanna get yourself nicked,’ Albie shouted, his plea falling on deaf ears. Michael was behaving like a crazed madman and Albie knew something terribly bad must have happened as he’d never seen his youngest son like this before.

  ‘You treacherous piece of shit. Just fucking die, will ya!’ Michael shrieked, continuing the brutal attack.

  Too drunk to defend himself properly, Vinny’s face and head were soon covered in blood.

  ‘Do something. He’s gonna kill him otherwise,’ Big Stan shouted to the terrified drinkers. Nobody moved an inch. They were far too wary of the Butler brothers to intervene.

  Knowing he was the only person who could stop Michael getting a life sentence, Albie tried to grab the bat out of his son’s hands. ‘Whatever he’s done, it ain’t worth doing time over. Give me the bat. You’ve made your point.’

  ‘He’s in a bad way. You’re gonna fucking kill him,’ Carl shrieked, clambering on top of his boss to protect him.

  ‘Bad way! I’ll give him bad way. Him and that whore indoors are welcome to one another, the fucking Judases. Antonio’s his cunting kid,’ Michael yelled, clumping Carl.

  ‘Bella wouldn’t do that! Dear Lord, no,’ Albie muttered, clutching his chest.

  When his father tumbled to the floor, Michael automatically dropped the bat. ‘Dad, Dad, Dad!’ he shrieked.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Shirley Preston was beside herself with worry. The prison had phoned her earlier to inform her that an incident had occurred involving Jamie. Shirley’d begged them to explain what had actually happened, but the bastards had refused to do so. Chelmsford police were none too helpful either when she’d phoned them.

  At her wits’ end, Shirley rang Glen Harper’s mum. They’d swapped numbers after their sons had become pals. ‘Hello, Dot. It’s me, Shirley. I need your help, love. Jamie’s been involved in some kind of incident today and nobody will tell me anything. They’ve cancelled my visit tomorrow and I’m beside myself with worry in case Jamie’s done something daft. I dunno if your Glen mentioned it, but after he got released a gang of blokes started picking on Jamie. I was wondering if you’d ring Glen for me, ask him to find out what’s happened? I’m sure if anybody can put me out my misery, your Glen can.’

  ‘Try not to worry too much, Shirley. If something really bad had happened, surely they would have to tell you? My Glen’ll get to the bottom of it. Only problem is, he’s out on a bender today with the lads and hasn’t taken his phone with him. Silly bastard’s already lost two since he got out. I’ll ring him first thing tomorrow, I promise. I won’t get any sense out of him beforehand.’

  Thanking Dot, Shirley ended the call. She lived for her grandson, was so disappointed she wasn’t able to see him tomorrow, and all she could do was pray he hadn’t put the kibosh on his release. If he had, she couldn’t cope.

  Daniel Butler stared at Sarah the barmaid as she happily sucked away on his penis. His father had ordered him and Lee never to mix work with pleasure, but Daniel couldn’t help make an exception when it came to Sarah. She was very pretty, gave extremely good head and what his father didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

  ‘For fuck’s sake. Pass me that phone, girl. Whatever nuisance keeps ringing me is stopping me from coming,’ Daniel complained.

  When Sarah did as he asked, Daniel switched the bloody thing off. There was nothing more off-putting than his nan ringing while he was trying to shoot his load.

  Ordering Sarah to turn over, Daniel fucked her doggy style. He enjoyed sex immensely, but had yet to find a girl who tugged at his heartstrings. Katy Spencer had been his first crush, Frankie Mitchell his second and Bobbi the stripper the third. All three had turned out to be wrong ’uns and Daniel wasn’t sure true love even existed.

  Grunting and groaning, Daniel was about to come when his brother burst into the room. ‘Dan, come on, we gotta go. Dad’s done Vinny over and Granddad’s had a heart attack.’

  Erection deflating immediately, Daniel leapt up. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. Why has Dad done Vinny over?’

  ‘I dunno. But we gotta get our arses down the Beggar, make sure no one grasses.’

  Nosy Hilda could barely contain her excitement as she scuttled towards Queenie’s house. This was major gossip and she couldn’t wait to share the news.

  Ava answered the door. ‘Me nan’s busy,’ the child said, knowing full well that her grandmother disliked Hilda and wouldn’t want to talk to her.

  Elated that Queenie obviously didn’t have an inkling, Nosy Hilda informed Ava that the matter was very urgent.

  Queenie was chopping chicken up in the kitchen. Fred, the fussy little creature, was refusing to eat dog food any more. She marched into the hallway with the knife still in her hand. ‘What’s bloody urgent?’

  ‘I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’d better get yourself up the hospital, Queen. Your Michael’s beaten Vinny senseless with a cricket bat. Blood everywhere, by all accounts. And Albie’s had a heart
attack.’

  Ava screamed, Fred barked and an ashen-faced Queenie dropped the knife. It never just rained in her world, always bastard-well poured.

  Daniel and Lee Butler cut two mean figures as they stood at the bar in the Blind Beggar. Their father had always insisted if they wanted to be taken seriously in life they should wear suits, especially when working.

  It had been Carl who’d rung the club and informed Lee what had happened. Albie having a heart attack and Vinny being out for the count meant he’d had to call an ambulance. The Old Bill were bound to come sniffing around to see who’d beaten Vinny senseless, and before leaving the pub, Carl had told all the regulars to say it was a random attack by a tall dark-haired stranger who they’d never seen before.

  Daniel approached the female officer. ‘Why do you keep asking people questions about my dad? He arrived at the boozer after the attack on Vinny; I’ve already told you that. I should know. My old man was at the club with me and Lee beforehand. Ask my brother, if you don’t believe me. One of our barmaids was still there, helping us tidy up. She’ll also clarify that for you, if need be.’

  Frustrated by the lack of cooperation, the officer walked over to her colleagues and bluntly told them they were wasting their time. Word on the street was Michael Butler had charged into the Blind Beggar like a bull in a china shop with a cricket bat in his hand, but proving that was going to be extremely difficult if everybody including the landlord was sticking to the same story. As per usual, with any crime involving the Butlers, the truth was what they wanted it to be.

  Queenie Butler was totally beside herself as she waited in the corridor of the hospital. Being back at the Royal London awaiting news of a head injury brought back awful memories of the night her Roy had been shot. He’d never walked again and all Queenie could do was pray Vinny would be OK. All she’d been told was he’d been semi-conscious on arrival and was currently undergoing a scan.