When he smiled, Holly smiled too and the atmosphere in the car relaxed, telling Beth they’d done the right thing. Her other children could use a break from their brother too. A voice at the back of her mind nagged her that one day Archie might get them all back for abandoning him but she ignored it. They’d earned this break.
“How about we go out for tea?” said Riley.
“Yes,” exclaimed Alfie and Holly in unison, their voices for the first time in a long time sounding happy and carefree.
Beth smiled. Finally they felt like a normal family.
Catherine was extremely concerned the next day when she arrived at work to find Mikey had arrived for his daily visit with Jules and the staff wouldn’t let him pass. So, for the first time, he was letting them see the formidable gang boss side of him, the one used to getting his own way. Catherine found him at reception, arguing with two nurses.
“What on earth is going on?” demanded Catherine, sliding off her coat.
Mikey was relieved to see her. “At last, here’s someone with some sense. They won’t let me see Jules.”
“Why not?” she asked the nurses.
“Because Jules said she didn’t want to see anyone,” replied Leanne.
“I see. And what brought this on?”
“Her husband brought her little girl to visit. Apparently it didn’t go well.”
“Jules thinks she’s a burden,” interrupted Mikey, unable to contain himself. “All her life she’s been so independent and now having to rely on others is killing her. You have to let me in so I can tell her she’s not a burden.”
“I agree isolating herself isn’t going to help,” said Catherine. “Having family and support at times like this is vital but we do have to abide by the wishes of our patients.”
“You can’t stop me from seeing her,” he exploded.
“Will you please calm down Mr Maguire and remember where you are?” chided Catherine. “Our patients come first and if you can’t behave I’ll throw you out myself.”
Mikey looked so surprised it was almost comical. Catherine guessed he wasn’t used to people speaking to him like that.
“I’ll go and speak to her,” she continued. “I’ve developed a rapport with Jules, I believe I might be able to get through to her.” She pointed at Mikey. “And you will wait here. Patiently.”
Catherine was a bit nervous of his reaction, although she didn’t show it but to her relief, he smiled and held up his hands. “I apologise, I should have behaved better.” He turned to the two nurses with his most charming smile, which immediately thawed them to him. “I’m sorry ladies, I had no right to shout at you.”
“It’s okay,” they said in unison, flustered by his good looks and that amazing smile.
Reassured that he was once again calm, Catherine headed into Jules’s room to find her lying flat on her back, staring at the ceiling. She tilted her head to see who had come in, decided Catherine was uninteresting and returned her gaze to the ceiling.
“I’m told you don’t want to see anyone,” opened Catherine.
Jules just sighed then nodded.
“Why not?”
“I no good.”
“What do you mean?”
“Better if I die.”
It wasn’t the first time Catherine had heard this from a patient. She found it sad that some people felt the fact they’d survived was wrong. “You’re not going to get through this without that family of yours.”
“I no good.” She grunted when the right words wouldn’t come. “For fuck’s sake.”
“At least you can still swear,” said Catherine with an amused smile.
“Not funny,” Jules hissed through gritted teeth.
“You’re right, it’s not funny Jules. Your family told me repeatedly what a great sense of humour you have. Apparently you let nothing get you down. I’m seeing precious little of that right now. In fact they told me so much about you I felt I knew you before you even woke up and do you know why they kept talking about you? Because they love you so much.”
Jules rolled her eyes.
“You know,” continued Catherine, undeterred. “We have another coma patient down the hall. He’s been here for the same amount of time as you but he hasn’t woken up yet. Do you know how many visitors he’s had? Two. His girlfriend and his brother. His girlfriend dumped him three days after he was brought in and hasn’t been back since and his brother visits once every two weeks. You’ve had at least one visitor every single day. So why don’t you stop moping about feeling sorry for yourself and work on getting better for them? Why don’t you try and show the same consideration they’ve shown you for the past seven weeks?”
Jules’s eyes softened and she appeared to be wavering.
“I know your visit with Cara didn’t go as planned yesterday,” continued Catherine. “But she’s young and resilient and when she sees you growing stronger and gaining weight she will come round. But you’re not going to get to that stage lying here staring at the ceiling. So please, start showing some of that toughness you’re so famous for and start getting better.”
Jules sighed and pointed at herself. “Me. Arsehole.”
“Maybe a little bit,” said Catherine, making her grin. “And there’s that famous smile. Your family said it can be so beautiful or it can make them want to smack you.”
Jules actually laughed and nodded.
“Mikey’s waiting to see you.”
Her gaze went hazy. “Mikey,” she said in a soft, dreamy voice.
Once again Catherine wondered what the deal was there. They were first cousins but there was definitely more to it than that. Whatever that was, she didn’t want to know. “Shall I send him in?”
“Okay.”
“Good girl,” said Catherine, leaving the room with a smile on her face, relieved.
Mikey was pacing the reception area, the receptionist eyeing him warily. He stopped when Catherine appeared. “Well?”
“You can see her now.”
“Thank you,” he said before rushing down the corridor, feeling nervous. It would be the first time he’d been alone with her since she woke up.
He found her attempting to push herself upright and failing.
“Here, let me help,” he said.
Jules didn’t fight when he gently slid his arm around her waist and hoisted her into a sitting position, settling her back into the pillows.
“Better?”
She smiled and nodded.
He perched on the edge of the bed and took her hand. “So why didn’t you want to see anyone?”
“I think…better I die.”
For Mikey, what she’d said completely overrode how she said it. “Don’t you dare think like that. We’ve been pining for you to wake up and now you have we’re all over the bloody moon. You get your mind off thinking crap like that. Do you hear me lady?”
She actually smiled at the fury in his green eyes. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he said, ferocious expression softening.
“I can’t talk…”
“But you will. Jesus Jules, you’ve got to give yourself some time to recover. Stop expecting everything all at once.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You tell me off?”
“Yes I bloody well am telling you off and if you ever try to keep me out of here again I will break down the fucking door. Got it?”
“You arsehole.”
“Fine. If that’s what it takes to get you back on the road to recovery I’ll be an arsehole. I’ll be the biggest arsehole in Manchester and I won’t give a fuck.”
Jules’s lips twitched. Not only did Mikey make her laugh but he spoke to her like a normal person. Her own childlike speech didn’t seem to bother him, in fact he didn’t even seem to notice. Neither did he look at her with appalled horror, like Jackson did.
“You make me feel…” She sighed and trailed off when the word wouldn’t come. “Normal,” she exclaimed when it suddenly popped into her head. “Jackson not lik
e my speak.”
“I don’t know why not. It’s adorable.”
“Prick.”
“I see you haven’t forgotten the important words.” He took her hand. “Is that one reason why you don’t want to see the family, because of your speech?”
She nodded, wishing she could put all her fears into words - her fear that Leah wouldn’t look upon her with love and adoration anymore, fear that the children would beat her in a spelling contest, fear that they’d think she was a spent force and eject her from the family business. And fear that she would lose her husband and daughter. But she couldn’t get her stupid mouth to say the words. However she knew Mikey would read all that fear in her eyes.
She guessed he did when he nodded in understanding. “We all love you and we want to support you. Shutting us out will only hurt us and you. Besides, your speech is better than Jez’s.”
He beamed when she chuckled.
“Give them a chance. They so want to help.”
She nodded and took a deep breath. “Okay.”
He squeezed her hand. “Nice one.”
She smiled back at him. “Thank you.”
“I once said I’d do anything for you and I still will. That will never change.”
Jules actually thought she was going to cry. Jesus, she was going soft but his words soothed the terrified, lonely part of her. He’d given her something to cling onto, something her husband had failed to do for her.
“What the fuck’s this?” said a voice.
Mikey was disappointed when Jackson walked in. With a sigh he released Jules’s hand and got up off the bed. “There you are, finally.”
“Why the hell were you on my wife’s bed?”
“I was comforting her. I would have left it to you but you weren’t here.”
“Well I am now, so you can back off,” said Jackson, jealousy welling up inside him.
Rachel had told them all to go easy on Jackson, the poor guy was going through so much but fuck that. He wasn’t doing his job as a husband and Mikey would not allow Jules to be let down. “Too late, as usual. Jules told the nurses not to let anyone in her room because she thought it would have been better for us all if she’d died. I was telling her how wrong that thought was, or should I have left her all alone feeling like that? Is that what you think I should have done?”
Jackson’s anger was eradicated in a moment and he looked to Jules, appalled. “You don’t really feel like that, do you?”
Tears filled her eyes and she nodded. Jackson was shocked. Jules rarely cried.
“Babe,” he said, rushing to her and sweeping her into a hug.
Mikey looked on jealously as Jules hung onto her husband, silent tears rolling down her face. He was distracted by his phone beeping. Pulling it out he saw it was a message from Jez demanding to know where he was. They were arranging the set-up today for whoever was stealing their drugs. He looked back at Jules, who was still clinging onto her husband and decided to leave them to it, failing to see Jules’s eyes flick to him as he snuck out.
Outside Jules’s room he was confronted by Catherine. “Is she alright?” she said.
“Yeah, now she is. What can we do to help her?”
“Just keep reminding her that she’s loved and wanted, that she’ll still have a place in the family.”
“I’m sure she’d feel better if she could get her speech back on track.”
“I’m sure she will, these things are often temporary.”
“But not always?”
“No, not always.”
Mikey nodded sadly. “Well, I’ve got to go. Jackson’s in there with her.”
“Okay. Goodbye Mr Maguire.”
Mikey tramped out of the building and outside to his car, suddenly feeling weary. He feared what would happen if Jules didn’t physically recover. Not that it would change his feelings for her, because it wouldn’t but there was no way she’d be able to continue working for them and that was not a conversation he wanted to have.
These miserable thoughts flickered through his mind as he drove back to the bungalow.
“What’s up with your face?” said Jez when he entered the office they shared at the bungalow. “Jesus, sometimes it’s really depressing working with you.”
“I went to see Jules.”
“What’s happened?” he demanded, looking panicked.
“Take it easy, she’s fine. She got a bit…down.”
“What do you mean, down?”
“She told the staff she didn’t want to see anyone but I wasn’t having that so I got in to see her.” He took a deep breath. “She said it would have been better if she’d died, she thinks she’s a burden.”
“Christ,” sighed Jez, planting his hands on his hips and shaking his head.
“She was a bit more upbeat when I left, I told her she is loved and wanted. Then Jackson arrived,” he muttered.
“Meaning you had to leave?”
He nodded. “If that bastard would be a bit more supportive she wouldn’t have worked herself up into that state.”
“Stop having a go at him just because you’re jealous.”
“I am not…yeah, alright, I am,” he sighed, deciding denial was futile.
“Well I was fooled,” he said sarcastically.
“What if she doesn’t recover properly? What if she can’t work for us like she used to?”
“You mean what if she can’t beat up, torture and kill people for us anymore?”
“As much as I hate to say it, yes.”
Jez’s eyes were troubled. “I’ve thought about that myself and the only thing I can think of is giving her a back seat role, nothing violent.”
“She’d never go for that.”
“I don’t want to sound callous but she wouldn’t have a choice. Plus I’m worried about her enemies coming after her while she’s weak. She’s pissed off a lot of people over the years and there’ll be a queue of people wanting revenge. If she is permanently disabled she’ll be a sitting duck. The only answer for her might be to leave Manchester and go where no one knows her.”
“No, I am not having her forced out of her home,” Mikey practically yelled at him.
“Will you get a grip of yourself? And no one’s going to force her out, it would have to be her own decision. I’m only thinking of Jules’s safety here.”
“Yeah, I know. Sorry,” said Mikey, hating the thought of her moving away, of only getting to see her now and then like they saw Rachel and Ryan. “Anyway, we don’t know that it will come to that.”
Jez nodded.
There was a moment of sombre silence, broken by Mikey “Right, have you planted the tracking device?”
“I went out to the warehouse first thing this morning. It’s all sorted.” They didn’t keep any of their drug supply at the bungalow, instead they stored it in a small warehouse out in the countryside, permanently guarded by their men. Jez took out his phone. “And we can track it on here without ever leaving the comfort of our office. The shipment is due to leave in the next ten minutes, heading to Leeds.”
“Who’s accompanying this shipment?”
“Declan and Shane.”
“I’ll bet my left bollock it’s neither of them,” said Mikey.
“Me too but that’s the rota and we have to stick with it otherwise whoever’s nicking will know something’s wrong.” They carefully rotated the men they used to deliver each shipment and always changed the routes, making it practically impossible for anyone to hold up the shipment and nick it.
“Fair do’s. Besides, whoever it is could be nicking it before it even leaves the warehouse.”
Declan walked into the warehouse where Mikey and Jez stored their drugs. He’d made sure he arrived before Shane so he could sneak out some of the coke before it left the warehouse. Shane hadn’t noticed before so he failed to see why he would notice now. He was alone, the guards waiting outside the door.
He produced a penknife to slice through the plastic when instinct told him to wait
. Declan’s instinct was finely honed, despite the fact that everyone thought him stupid and it was frantically yelling at him that something was wrong. Quickly he put away the knife and took out the small scanning device he used for detecting bugs. As Mikey and Jez were paranoid about bugs he always carried it around with him. When he scanned the package it began frantically bleeping, making Declan’s heart pound. The package was loaded with tracking devices. Jesus, someone had noticed part of the last shipment was missing.
When the door opened he stuffed the device back into his jacket pocket but Shane didn’t notice, he was too busy munching on a donut.
“Alright mate?” said Shane. “Ready to go?”
Declan just nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
CHAPTER 10
Despite the fact that Jules hadn’t been awake very long, she was already drifting back off to sleep after eating dinner comprised of a mushed up cereal. She hadn’t eaten with her mouth for seven weeks and her body was still learning to cope, consequently she was practically on baby food, which only dulled her spirits even more.
She was disturbed by the door opening and closing and she woke to see a tall, skinny man with a Hitler parting standing beside her bed.
“Who…you?” she said, trying to push herself upright and failing.
Jules tensed when he reached into his jacket pocket, afraid he was going to produce a weapon. In this state she would be incapable of defending herself. However he produced something that wasn’t much better. A warrant card.
“I’m DI Dwyer, Mrs Driscoll. I’m investigating the attack on yourself.”
He took the seat by her bed without waiting to be invited and studied her carefully. Finally one of the Maguire-Law clan who was vulnerable. Perhaps here was the weak link in the chain, the one he could exploit to finally bring down that family. No wonder they’d been so anxious to keep him away from her.
“Go away,” she mumbled.
“I’m sorry Mrs Driscoll, I’ve stayed away as long as I can. A terrible crime was committed against you. Don’t you want to see the perpetrators brought to justice?” He smiled inwardly when her grey eyes burned. She knew exactly who had put her in the coma and he was determined to get it out of her. Jules’s eyes were exactly the same as Ryan’s, which for some reason irritated him.
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