Aftermath (Dividing Line #6)

by Heather Atkinson

  “I can see how concerned you are for Rachel’s safety,” he said sarcastically, “so you’ll be pleased to know she won the fight. Jules was down on the ground bleeding badly. Rachel was just about to bring a lump of wood down on her head when she told her she was my sister Jules who, funnily enough, I’ve never heard of before. I know it’s nothing to do with Riley’s side of the family so here we are, in this paradise,” he said, throwing out his arms to indicate the room. He fixed her with a hard glare. “We’re not leaving until we’ve got what we came for.”

  Estelle dragged deeply on the cigarette and exhaled noisily, adding to the cloud building up in the room. Rachel had to stifle a cough, her eyes threatening to water.

  When Estelle remained silent Ryan reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a thick wad of notes. “Ten grand cash. I bet that would come in very useful. You could stuff yourself silly with drugs.”

  Estelle’s eyes alighted on it hungrily. When she reached out her hand Ryan snatched the cash back. “Ah, ah, ah, not yet. Information first.” He waved it before her enticingly, saw the greed fighting with the desire to keep a long-held secret. Just as he knew it would, greed won.

  “Alright, you want to know that much then I’ll tell you, but no good can come from digging up the past.”

  “Homespun wisdom, from you?” he said with a raised eyebrow.

  “Do you want to know or not?” she snapped.

  “Please enlighten us.”

  She scowled at the derision in his voice, taking another puff on the cigarette before stubbing it out in the ashtray, to Rachel’s delight.

  “She was born eight years after you.”

  “Why don’t I remember you having a baby? I remember other things from when I was eight that I have no wish to recall but there they are all the same, forever trapped in my head. I remember you being heavily pregnant but you…”

  Rachel regarded him with concern when he abruptly went silent, his entire body immobile with the rage paralysing him. Rachel touched his hand and he recovered the power of speech.

  “You told me you lost the baby.”

  “I did in a way.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I sold her,” she shrugged.

  Rachel’s mouth fell open while Ryan struggled with his anger. “Who to and for how much?” he eventually said, voice low and dangerous.

  “Five grand. I suppose you want me to say I sold her to a nice family with a farm but they were some posh bastards in the city who couldn’t have kids of their own.”

  “You sold your own child?” said Rachel, revolted.

  “Don’t look so righteous Madam, you don’t know what it was like. I couldn’t cope with another baby. I was doing right by her. Beautiful little thing she was too. They were well made up with her. I knew they’d love her and look after her like I never could.”

  Rachel wondered if Estelle had actually done the right thing by one of her children for once, but if it had been so right then how had Jules - aka Venom - ended up running round with Lucifer’s Shadow Motorcycle Club killing people?

  “When I found out there were people desperate for kids I tried to sell you too but no one wanted you,” Estelle told Ryan. “I couldn’t get rid of you for love nor money and I tried hard, believe me. You were too old and too fucking lairy.”

  “You vicious bitch,” spat Rachel.

  “It’s okay babe,” said Ryan, taking her hand. “I wish I could say I’m surprised but I’m not.” He turned his gaze back on his mother. “Is there no depth you won’t sink to?”

  Estelle merely shrugged and lit up another cigarette.

  “So how did you meet this nice rich couple?” said Ryan almost casually, leaning back in the couch and stretching one arm out behind Rachel. “Hardly the usual type you associate with.”

  “Her father arranged it.”

  “I’m amazed you know who he was. What’s his name?”

  She smiled, puffing out smoke between her teeth. “That’ll cost you another ten grand.”

  “You grasping old cow,” said Rachel.

  “What’s ten grand to you? Nothing, pocket change. Trust me, it’ll be money well spent.”

  When Ryan produced more bundles of money and dumped them on the table with the rest Estelle’s face fell. They’d expected this tactic and had been holding out on her. If only she’d thought of that she could have upped her price.

  “Twenty grand cash there Estelle,” said Ryan. “If you don’t give us the name we’ll leave and take it all with us. If you try to extort more money from us the same rule applies. It’s up to you.”

  “Then you’ll never find out.”

  “Yes we will and you know it. Now hurry up because I’m rapidly running out of patience.”

  “Fine but you might be sorry you asked.”

  “Spit it out,” he said, temper fraying.

  “Terry Maguire.” She smiled at their shocked expressions. “That’s right, Uncle Terry. He was one of my regulars for a long time. He was only fifteen when he first came to me. I popped his cherry.”

  “How can you be sure Jules is his daughter if you were turning tricks at the time?” said Ryan.

  “Because he was my only client back then. He never was a full shilling, I spotted that right away even if no one else did, not even his stupid bastard brother.”

  “Don’t you dare talk about Frank like that,” said Rachel.

  Estelle just gave one of her annoying shrugs, which infuriated Rachel. She wasn’t used to being so easily dismissed.

  “Terry insisted I didn’t see any other clients for two years, he paid me well enough so I didn’t need to. As soon as I fell pregnant I told him, I thought he’d pay for an abortion and that would be that but he insisted I kept it. He arranged the deal. Ten grand for our kid and we split the money fifty fifty.”

  “Disgusting,” said Rachel.

  “What the fuck do you know about it? When have you ever had to struggle like I’ve struggled?”

  “You wouldn’t have struggled if you hadn’t got addicted to drugs. It’s your own stupid fault and your kids suffered for it.”

  “You stuck-up, arrogant bitch.”

  “No Estelle,” said Ryan, voice low. “You don’t get to talk to her like that.”

  Estelle held her tongue. She could never hope to win that argument. Clearly he’d put his wife on a pedestal. “Anyway,” she sighed, getting bored with the conversation, “a couple of months after we sold her Terry left one day and I never saw him or Jules again. I wish I’d kept my lovely little girl and got rid of you. I even put it to Stuart Cutter once but he went mental, so I was lumbered with you.”

  “I’ll kill her,” yelled Rachel, leaping to her feet but, before she could make a move, Ryan’s arms encircled her waist and pulled her back down to the couch. He put a firm arm around her shoulders and kissed her hair. “It’s alright Babe, it’s alright.”

  “No it’s not Ryan. This old tart doesn’t know what an amazing son she’s got and the only one who’s losing out is her, only she’s too fucking thick to realise it.” She turned her black eyes on Estelle. “If our boys turn out to be half the man their dad is we’ll be very lucky.”

  Estelle laughed, chugging out smoke like a demented train. “And what about the girl, little Leah? Do you hope she turns out like her daddy too? Her real daddy I mean. What a disappointment, going from having Danny Maguire as a dad to that,” she said, waving the cigarette at Ryan. “I bet she grows up to be as useless and pathetic as him.”

  Rachel opened her mouth to retort but Ryan got there first. He shot to his feet and loomed over Estelle. “Don’t you fucking dare talk about my daughter like that you bitter, dried up old whore,” he roared.

  Silence filled the room, punctuated by Ryan’s angry breathing. For the first time in her life Estelle kept her mouth shut, afraid of provoking him further. It was very rare for Ryan to shout, usually when he was angry his voice went the other way, low and hard. She recognised she
’d pushed him to that blurred red place beyond rage.

  Rachel took his hand and pulled, urging him to sit back down, which he did, furious gaze never leaving Estelle. He cleared his throat and when he spoke again he was once more calm and composed. “Do you have an address for the family who bought Jules off you?”

  “Sorry, we don’t exchange Christmas cards,” she said sarcastically, feeling it was safe to do so now he had control of himself.

  Rachel was about to ask if she’d ever thought about making contact with her daughter then changed her mind. The baby had been an inconvenience to Estelle and like everything that inconvenienced her she’d pushed it out of her life. It was even stuffier in the dirty room, the smoke wrapped around her, suffocating. Rachel was desperate to get out but was waiting for Ryan to say the word. This was his show.

  “We’re done here,” he said and Rachel casually got to her feet, forcing herself not to run outside and breathe in the fresh air.

  “Good riddance,” said Estelle. They ignored her and walked to the door but to their chagrin she followed. “Fuck off out of it the pair of you.”

  “Goodbye Estelle. I doubt you’ll ever see us again,” said Ryan flatly.

  “Until you want more information, then you’ll be back flashing the cash, thinking you’re God’s gift to fucking mankind. I hate you. I wish you’d never been born. I should have stuck a knitting needle up my fanny like the other women and aborted you down the toilet where you belong.”

  Rachel halted, unable to walk because she’d been seized by a fury so violent it paralysed her. Only when the wave of anger ebbed back slightly was she able to move again.

  Estelle swallowed hard as she looked into her daughter-in-law’s shark’s eyes.

  “That’s it,” whispered Rachel. Her hand shot out, grasped Estelle by the throat and slammed her back against the wall. “You’ve spoken to him like that for the last time. That nasty gob of yours needs shutting,” she said, drawing back her fist.

  “Aren’t you going to stop her?” shrieked Estelle, trying to prise Rachel’s hand from her neck and failing. She wasn’t used to physical violence, she’d always been spared it because of who her boys were.

  “Why should I?” replied Ryan casually. “It’s about time you were put in your place.”

  Estelle could only watch as Rachel’s fist came towards her and she screwed her eyes tight shut, helpless to stop the blow. Instead there was a loud thud next to her head and she opened her eyes to see Rachel’s fist embedded in the flimsy plaster. It was a testament to the power of her that she’d put a hole right through it.

  “The only reason you’re still in one piece is because you’re his mum and our boys’ grandmother,” said Rachel.

  She shoved Estelle aside who watched them leave, considerably less lairy than before they’d arrived, rubbing her sore neck. She sighed with relief when the door slammed shut behind them, her hands shaking. Her mood quickly lifted when she saw the pile of cash sitting on her coffee table.

  CHAPTER 3

  Shane wanted to run away when he saw the Laws storming up to him, Ryan’s face tight with anger while Rachel’s black eyes flashed. Estelle had a habit of making people feel like that. Shane threw his lads a warning glance, telling them to behave themselves but, judging by the way they hung their heads, they fully intended to.

  “A word in private,” Ryan told him with a nod of the head.

  Shane was reluctant to step away from the security of his group but he didn’t dare refuse, attempting to look nonchalant as he followed him. Rachel came too, smiling to herself when she saw Chug slumped against a brick wall cupping his aching genitals, going out of his way to avoid eye contact with her.

  Shane cringed when Ryan reached into his inner jacket pocket then exhaled noisily when he pulled out a notepad and pen.

  “You alright?” frowned Ryan.

  “Fine,” he replied, voice higher than normal.

  “I’m leaving you my phone number.”

  Shane resisted the urge to grin inanely.

  “It’s a business number and untraceable. I want you to keep an eye on Estelle’s flat, discreetly of course, and let me know if you see anything of interest.”

  “Like what?” Shane almost added the word Sir before resisting.

  “I’m sure you’ll know it when you see it. You seem to have a couple more brain cells than the rest of your cronies.”

  “No problem, you can leave it with me.”

  “And you don’t share this number with anyone, got it?”

  “Got it,” he replied, accepting the piece of paper. Cool crisp notes were pressed into his hand.

  “There’s five hundred. You’ll get double that if you come through.”

  Shane nodded in what he hoped was a man-of-the-world way, as though he was paid five hundred quid every day when inside he was jumping for joy. If he played his cards right he might get more work from the Laws, then he’d be well on his way to realising his dreams and getting off this estate, just like the man standing before him had. He’d built up an empire and was worth millions. Shane was determined that would be him one day.

  Rachel and Ryan climbed back into the unmolested Range Rover and set off in silence. Rachel’s anger ebbed away as they left the city behind, hitting the quiet country road that would take them to the East Midlands Airport for their flight to Aberdeen.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that to your mum.”

  Ryan didn’t reply, fiercely slamming the vehicle into gear, making the engine growl.

  “I shouldn’t have lost it,” she continued. “I was there to keep you calm and instead I ended up going off on one.”

  Once again he didn’t reply, his gaze riveted to the road.

  “Ryan…”

  Without slowing down or giving any warning he swung the vehicle into a lay-by, causing the car behind to blare its horn as it drove by.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded.

  He switched off the engine and began pounding the steering wheel with his fists.

  “Stop it, you’re going to hurt yourself.” When he continued to bang his fists she unclipped her seatbelt, grasped his face in both hands and forced him to look at her. “Ryan I said stop it, do you hear me?”

  He glared at her, chest heaving, hands screwed up into big fists but Rachel felt no fear, he’d never hurt her. The next thing she knew his lips were crushing against hers, his tongue forcing its way into her mouth as he unfastened his seatbelt, his kiss full of raw need.

  Rachel was pushed back into her seat, releasing a surprised gasp when it was tilted backwards, flipping her onto her back. Ryan climbed on top of her, hands pushing up her skirt.

  “Ryan, this car doesn’t have blacked out windows. Anyone can see in.”

  He was beyond reason and stared down at her steadily as he unzipped his trousers.

  Rachel was pinned by his gaze, her heart thudding with excitement. He was just so alpha he took her breath away. It didn’t matter to him that anyone could see in, this was what he wanted, it was happening. All she could do was hang on tight.

  His determined eyes kept her tethered to her seat as he pulled down her underwear and tossed it into the backseat. She released a small mewl of excitement when he slipped a finger inside her. Feeling how wet she was his big chest heaved harder and his gaze darkened. He pressed deeper, a wicked smile lighting up his face when she moaned loudly. A second finger joined the first and she arched her spine, writhing with pleasure. What little restraint he had left snapped entirely when her hand cupped his crotch. He pulled her legs around his waist then gave her one deep kiss before thrusting inside her. Rachel cried out and wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his hair, welcoming his aggressive tongue into her mouth, enjoying the rasp of his stubble against her cheek.

  “Take this off,” he demanded, tugging at her blouse. Before she’d had the chance to unfasten the buttons he’d ripped it open and was kissing her breasts.

 
Voices from outside tried to pull Rachel from the bliss enveloping her. “Ryan, there’s someone outside,” she managed to gasp through the uncompromising thrusts. The pleasure swelled inside her, threatening to burst. “Oh God,” she moaned. Fuck it, who cares, she thought, enjoying the low growl rumbling in the back of his throat as his climax approached. She wrapped her legs around him tighter as she flew head-first towards orgasm and when it hit she felt like she’d been thrown into a brick wall. He ground his mouth against hers, swallowing her cry, growling louder when her nails dug into his back, sinking into the flesh. Rachel felt him pulsating inside her, his anger released with his seed.

  With one last moan her body relaxed. She was a little light-headed, every part of her thrumming and trembling.

  Ryan rested on top of her, breathing hard. When the last drop of his anger left him his head snapped up and he appeared appalled by himself. “Oh Christ, I did it again. Are you okay babe?”

  “Course I am, more than alright,” she smiled, pulling his face down to hers for a kiss.

  “I was just so angry with Estelle I lost it.”

  “So you weren’t mad at me for pinning her up against the wall?”

  “No Sweetheart, that was the best part of our visit. I hate the vicious old hag. The way she spoke to you…the things she said about Leah…it made me fucking furious.”

  His anger was starting to take hold again so she kissed him tenderly, sinking love into it rather than lust and it evaporated.

  He pressed his forehead to hers. “You’re sure I didn’t hurt you?”

  “Absolutely,” she said, running her fingers through his hair.

  “I forced you,” he said, sickened with himself.

  “You can’t force me because I always want you. You understand? It’s just not possible,” she smiled, cupping his face.

  “I shouldn’t have done it but when I’m that fucking mad all I can think about is being inside you. It’s the only thing that makes it go away.”

  “It’s okay,” she said, hugging him. “I was proud of you in there, you did really well. When you think how she used to affect you and how you were today there’s a world of difference.”