“Must we talk about this?”
“Yes. Tell me.”
He sighed. “Her place.”
“And what were you doing round there?”
“Cara and Emily had been playing together. They had such a good time Cara wanted to sleep over, so I took a bag of her stuff round. Me and Cindy got talking. Her husband died and you were in the coma. She understood what I was going through.”
“Because it felt like I’d died?”
He didn’t want to lie to her again, so he nodded. “And well, one thing led to another.”
“Fuelled by alcohol?”
“Yes. If I hadn’t been drunk it wouldn’t have happened.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes I do and so do you.”
“Were you drunk the second time?”
“It’s not important.”
“Yes it is,” she snapped, trying not to shout, conscious of George asleep down the hall.
“No,” he sighed.
She took in a deep breath as pain jolted through her chest.
“I can’t believe how easily you’ve given up on us,” he said.
“Face it Jax, everything’s changed. You thought we could go back to how we were before the coma and so did I but we just can’t. My relationship with Cara has been destroyed and I can’t get past you knocking up Cindy. If you’d just slept together then it might be different.”
“You seemed okay with it, telling me to stand by her, that it was alright for me to go to the scan.”
“I thought I could do it. She’s your chance at finally having the baby you’ve wanted your whole life, something I can never give you now. I can’t watch you raise a child with another woman. Every time you go round there I’ll be wondering if you’re having sex with her.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you Jules.”
“You already did it,” she exclaimed. “Twice.”
He had no idea what to say to that so he looked down at the floor.
“I think you genuinely like her,” she continued. “Answer me truthfully, do you?”
“Well, she’s a nice woman and we get on.”
“I know you Jax. You don’t shag about. You only go with women you feel a genuine connection with and you do with her. That’s why you opened up to her in the first place.” She knew her suspicions were right when his eyes filled with guilt. “I can’t give you what you want anymore,” she said, taking his hand.
Tears shone in his eyes. “But I love you.”
“And I love you too but it won’t work.”
Gently he took her face in his hands. “You know, on our wedding day I couldn’t believe my luck. I couldn’t believe you’d chosen to marry me, after years of waiting for you and you were everything I thought you’d be and more.”
“Please don’t Jax,” she said, a tear sliding down her cheek.
“I’m still that man and you’re still that woman. We can make it work.”
She shook her head. “No we can’t because I’m not that woman anymore. What the Slatterys did to me changed me. Venom’s always so close to the surface now.”
“I can help you with that, I did before.”
“No, you can’t because she’s who I am, who I’m meant to be. And I can never carry a child for you.”
“You don’t need to anymore.”
“Because of Cindy.”
He nodded.
“Why don’t you get that that’s half the problem? When I see her, I’m reminded of how hollow and empty my body is. I can never carry a life again and she’s a permanent reminder of that. I refuse to live my life feeling like that. We’re done Jax. Please accept it.”
“And what about Cara? You’re giving up on her too.”
“Right now I’ve no choice but to back off but I hope that as she gets older she’ll mellow a bit to me and we can get back on track. If she is ready for a relationship with me one day then I’ll be there for her, I’ll always be there for Cara but I can’t do the same for you.”
“So you want her to stay with me?”
She nodded. “You’re her dad. I would never take that away from her.”
He sighed and released her, staring miserably at the floor. “I’m never going to convince you, am I? You’re the most stubborn woman in the world.”
She took a deep breath. “No, you’re not. We’re over. I’m going to see my solicitor about a divorce tomorrow. I’m so sorry,” she added when he let his tears fall.
Jackson shot to his feet, wiping his eyes on the backs of his hands. “You know what Jules, fuck you,” he yelled before storming out, slamming the door shut behind him.
She heard him stomp downstairs, the front door banging shut behind him, Jez yelling at him to keep the noise down.
A minute later there was a gentle knock at the door. “Can I come in?” said Cathy.
“Yeah,” said Jules, hastily wiping away the tears.
Cathy sat beside her on the bed and took her hand. “You okay?”
“Not really.”
“He didn’t seem too happy.”
“He’s not. I told him I’m seeing a solicitor about a divorce tomorrow.”
“You’re certain that’s what you want?”
She nodded. “My family’s gone. The Slatterys destroyed it.”
“No they didn’t, we’re still here. Don’t forget a family is more than a husband and kids.”
“Thanks,” she smiled.
Jez appeared in the room, glowering. “You okay? Want me to go and twat him?”
“Jez, please,” said Cathy.
“That won’t be necessary,” said Jules. “We’re definitely getting divorced. I can’t get past what he’s done.”
“Is it a relief, making that decision?” said Cathy.
“Yeah, actually it is. I can’t go back to that house and I refuse to live a life constantly being paranoid.”
“And Cara?” said Jez.
“She’ll stay with Jax. I just hope one day I can rebuild my relationship with her. Now that’s been sorted I can get on with my life. First on the list is to find a place to live.”
“You’re welcome to stay here,” said Cathy. “We’ve plenty of room.”
“That’s really nice of you but I want my own space. I need a place I can call my own. Having no home feels to be making a big hole in my life. I’ll get on that tomorrow, straight after seeing my solicitor.”
“Okay but you can stay here until you move into your new place and I won’t take no for an answer,” she said. “I like having you here.”
“That’s lovely of you but I’m not sure Jez does,” she whispered back with a conspiratorial smile.
“Course I bloody do,” he said. He sighed when wailing started up from further down the hall. “That’s George away. Thanks a lot Jackson.”
“I’ll see to him,” said Cathy, getting up and leaving the room.
“So you’re sure you’re okay?” Jez asked Jules.
“Yeah. Like I said, it feels like my life is finally starting over again. Don’t worry, I’m fine. But if you don’t mind, I would like to be on my own for a bit, think things through and I’ll start searching for properties on the internet.”
“Yeah, course. I’ll give you a shout when tea’s ready.”
“Thanks.”
She let her reassuring smile drop when he’d gone, allowing the rage she’d desperately been keeping at bay to sweep over her. Her life was fucked again and she was going to take the life of the person responsible.
She took out her phone and stabbed at the keys. “Howie,” she hissed, careful to keep her voice low. “You’d better have a fucking location for Slattery.” She sighed when he babbled his excuses. “I don’t give a fuck what your contact said. Throw any amount of money at him he wants, I don’t care, you know I’ll cover it. Just get that location.”
She’d known Howie a long time, they’d met when Lucifer’s Shadow had been going strong and he’d always been an excellent font of informatio
n, helping her find targets. He’d also pretended to stab Jez when he was coming out of an MME match, allowing her to step in and save the day and play the heroine. On top of that he’d snuck into Manchester Prison the little concoction she’d created to kill Jake, Mikey’s brother.
‘I’m doing my best,’ said Howie.
“You’d better,” she hissed before hanging up, resisting the urge to hurl the phone at the wall.
She stood in the middle of the room, furiously breathing in and out, fighting the urge to tear apart Jez and Cathy’s beautiful home. For a moment she feared it was going to overwhelm her, however she managed to stuff it back down inside herself where it lay, seething. But she wasn’t going to let onto anyone. They’d know what she was up to and when she confronted Jared she wanted it to be just the two of them.
CHAPTER 31
Rachel and Ryan swept into the police station in a cloud of indignation, bursting into Ashley’s office ready for battle.
“How dare you question our underage daughter,” began Rachel. “Our solicitor is going to be having serious words with your chief superintendent.”
“Calm down Mum,” said a remarkably calm Leah. “Ashley didn’t do this, I did. I came here to tell him everything. He didn’t know what I was going to say.”
“Oh,” said Rachel. “I apologise Ashley.”
“It’s alright,” he replied. “I understand emotions are running high.”
Rachel and Ryan took up positions either side of Leah, as though they were on guard duty.
“Leah’s explained everything,” said Ashley. “You should be proud of her, she’s a very strong, brave girl.”
“We are,” said Ryan, patting her shoulder.
“And I don’t think any of this is her fault. Who put the idea of vigilantism in her head in the first place?” he said with accusing looks at Ryan and Rachel.
“They didn’t,” said Leah, tilting her chin. “Because Mum and Dad aren’t into that.”
“One day I’ll get one of you to admit it. The question now is, what’s to be done about this information she’s given me? I can’t use any of it because, as you said, it was given without an appropriate adult present. It’s inadmissible.”
“Can’t you treat it as an anonymous tip-off?” said Rachel.
“No. What I would like to do is for Leah to relate everything to me again officially in an interview room with one of you present.”
“Absolutely not,” said Ryan.
“Leah came to me for help,” he said.
“She doesn’t need your help, we can sort this.”
“I would highly recommend you do not do that. Leave this to the professionals.”
“I should think we’ve more experience in this sort of thing than you do,” said Ryan, eyes narrowing.
“Doubtful and you’ve not done a great job so far.”
“Please,” said Leah, looking up at her dad. “I came here to make things better, not worse. This is my fault and I want to sort it out.”
“Coming to the police is not the way.”
“Sometimes it’s the only way, especially if it stops you getting into trouble.”
“Think about it Leah,” said Rachel. “If you tell the police something then it gets leaked to the press. Do we really need this, on top of the Dartmoor Butchers thing?”
This caused Leah to pause. The last thing their family needed was more unwanted press attention. “But…I thought this was the only way,” she said, much less certain.
“It is,” said Ashley. “I can help. I can arrest Reid and stop him from terrorising your family. He’s not going to give up.”
“Stop it Ashley,” said Ryan.
“But it’s true. What if he sets you up again, or Rachel?” Ashley knew Ryan’s only Achilles’ heel was his family and he was quite willing to exploit that if it got him a killer.
“Maybe there’s another way we can do this,” said Rachel. “One that means you can still use the information Leah gave you but that keeps her out of it.”
“Now I don’t like the sound of that,” said Ashley. “I don’t know what sort of police you’re used to dealing with but I do things by the book.”
“And that’s to your credit,” said Rachel. “But I’m sure we can find a way around this. Just give us some time to come up with something.”
Ashley looked from Rachel to Ryan, whose face had once again turned into granite, then to Leah with her huge, pleading eyes. “Fine, I’ll give you forty eight hours to come up with something and if you don’t then we do it my way.”
“We’ll see about that,” said Ryan, taking his daughter’s hand. “Let’s go Leah. We’ve already spent too long in this place.”
Robbie walked into Katia and Hayden’s flat, still feeling pissed off that she’d gone ahead and married the wanker. She should be his, they’d be amazing together but he was further than ever from living his dream.
“Are you okay?” he asked Katia when he walked in, concerned by how pale she was.
“Fine, just tired,” she replied, forcing herself to be pleasant to him. “It was a long flight.”
“Did you have a good honeymoon?” he said as he hung up his jacket in the hallway.
Her dreamy looked annoyed him. “Yes, it was wonderful.”
“Is Hayden here?” he said, hoping he didn’t sound as angry as he felt.
“No, he’s gone out to buy some food, we’re low after being away.”
Robbie felt some of the anger inside him ease off. He loved to be alone with her.
“I brought you back a present,” she smiled. “It’s in the kitchen.”
Robbie was delighted. Despite her marriage to Hayden, their relationship was still special. He was quite sure she hadn’t bought any of the other members of her crew a present. Some of the anger inside him eased. Hayden would never come between them, on that he was determined.
As he disappeared into the kitchen, Hayden popped out of the spare bedroom, which was closest to the front door, hastily searched Robbie’s jacket while keeping one eye on the kitchen doorway, grinding his teeth together when he heard the little creep laughing with Katia. She’d said she would keep him distracted long enough to make the switch.
Finding his phone in the right pocket he took it out and replaced it with a replica that didn’t work. He hoped Robbie would just think his phone had given up the ghost and get another one. He retreated back into the spare bedroom with Robbie’s phone, quietly closing the door behind him.
He sat on the bed, smiling when he saw the app on Robbie’s phone that linked to the cameras in their flat. As he watched the footage stored on his phone he was torn between delight that he was finally going to get rid of the albatross around his neck and pure, undiluted frenzy about his and Katia’s private life being intruded on so horribly.
Hayden had wait in the bedroom for almost an hour, Robbie insisting on Katia showing him all their holiday snaps.
It was with a sigh of relief that she closed the front door behind him and locked it. She then hurried into the spare bedroom, where Hayden sat on the bed, face like thunder.
“Well?” she said, his expression already telling her the truth.
“Robbie planted the cameras. There’s no doubt.”
“I want to see.”
“Trust me, you don’t.”
“He’s my friend,” she announced proudly. “And if he has betrayed me I need to see exactly what he’s done with my own eyes.”
With a resigned sigh he brought up the footage and held the phone out to her. Katia felt sick when she saw herself on the screen, flat on her back in bed, her thighs locked around Hayden’s waist, her cries of pleasure resounding loud and clear. Most disturbingly, the camera zoomed in on her face, blocking out Hayden.
With a grimace she thrust the phone back at her husband, who stopped the footage, the sound of her own cries mercifully silenced.
“Is there more?” she said.
“Yes, I’m afraid there is.”
“
Like that?”
He nodded, eyes troubled. “Yeah.”
“I can’t believe my friend would do this to me,” she whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek.
“He’s not a friend. He’s a pervert and he needs to be stopped.”
“I need to think about this,” she said, sinking onto the bed beside him.
“What’s to think about? After this we can’t possibly keep him around.”
“I know but I still need to think. This is such a shock.”
“Come here,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “You remembered when we started setting up our own crew how we said we’d never let anyone get the better of us, no matter who they were?”
She nodded.
“Well that falls into that category babe. Robbie’s betrayed our trust and now he’s a liability. What if he betrays us to our enemies too?”
“He wouldn’t do that to me.”
“He’d do it to me though, to get me out of your life.”
Katia knew he was right. Robbie had to go if she was to protect her family. But she still baulked at it, even after seeing the evidence of his betrayal with her own eyes.
“Keep your elbows tucked in,” chided Mikey. “That’s what the upper cut is about. Protect your ribs.”
The gym he owned was closed for the evening, so he was sticking to the promise he’d made to Jules to put her through her paces. The relaxed, affable woman who had strolled through the doors over an hour ago was gone, replaced by a fury who seemed hell bent on beating the shit out of him. He’d thought Jules was handling the break-up of her marriage well but on the contrary, it seemed that in typical Jules fashion instead of dealing with her emotions she’d stuffed them down inside herself and now they were threatening to overwhelm her.
Jules grunted with annoyance, glowering at him as she tucked her elbows into her sides.
“Better,” he smiled. “I take it from that look you’re going to come at me even harder?”
She lashed out at him, Mikey only just managing to block the powerful right uppercut. He was quite sure if that blow had connected he’d have been lumbered with a cracked rib. “I see you’re tapping into that anger. Instead of burying it, use it.”
“I intend to,” she muttered. She didn’t want to take it out on Mikey and the only reason she wasn’t going at him harder was because her feelings for him were so tender. Plus she wanted to save all that rage up for Jared Slattery and unleash it on him but she thought if she didn’t have a proper fight she’d go crazy.
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