Retribution

by Heather Atkinson

  She sighed and looked down at her battered hands. “I’ve lost my husband, my home and now my daughter. That’s Slattery’s fault and I’m going to kill him for it.”

  “Tanya was the one who put you in the coma and she’s dead.” His eyes glittered. “I made sure of it.”

  “Jared could have stopped her stabbing me or he could have called an ambulance. If he hadn’t left me to die I might not have gone into the coma. I’m going after him Mikey. Don’t get in my way.”

  “Then let me help you.”

  “I don’t need any help.”

  “Yes you do. No one knows where he is for a start.”

  “I’m a bounty hunter, remember?”

  “And we have access to resources you don’t.”

  “Not done you much good so far, have they?”

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “Not yet but I will.”

  He studied her carefully for signs of deception but she appeared to be telling the truth. “You have a family now, you don’t need to do things alone anymore.”

  “Correction, I had a family.”

  “Don’t shut out the rest of us just because you’ve split up with Jackson.”

  “I’ve lost Cara too,” she said, unable to prevent a tear from spilling down her cheek.

  “Kids are tough, she’ll bounce back.”

  “How can that ever happen when she’s terrified of me? Whenever I try to make things better I only make them worse,” she said miserably.

  “Maybe you should stop trying so hard and just let things happen?”

  “That’s shite advice.”

  “No it’s not, it’s good. Give her some space and time and she will come round, you’ll see.”

  Jules didn’t appear convinced.

  “Do you know where Slattery’s hiding?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Do you?”

  “No and don’t answer my question with another question. Do you know and you’d better give me the truth?”

  She sighed. “No.”

  “And if you do find out, will you tell us?”

  A shrug was her response.

  “I want you to tell me Jules. Slattery is fucking dangerous, even more so now he’s a wounded animal. You don’t go near him alone and that is an order.”

  “You can’t order me about.”

  “I’m your boss.”

  “Then I quit,” she yelled.

  “No you don’t because I don’t accept your resignation.”

  “I don’t have to work for you, I have my own businesses.”

  “Fine, do them then but I can guarantee that after a week living the nice legit life you’ll be bored shitless.”

  Her pursed lips told him he was right.

  “I’m not the enemy here Jules. Neither is Jez. We’re only trying to do our best for you and letting you go after Slattery alone would be insanity. I agree he’s got to go but we’ll do it together, all of us, like we do everything.”

  “You had your chance to kill him and you failed. Now it’s my turn.”

  “We did our best,” he said, feeling a little guilty.

  “Well it wasn’t good enough.”

  “Jesus, you sound like Amber.”

  “How dare you?” she hissed.

  The corner of his mouth lifted into a smile. “Thought that would get your attention.”

  “You going to take me home then? I’m tired and sweaty after beating that soft arse into submission.”

  “And you need to sort out those cuts on your hands before they get infected.”

  “Yes nurse.”

  “I’m not a fucking chauffeur,” he said when she remained in the back seat.

  “Oooh that’s a good game. You be the chauffeur and I’ll be the posh spoilt brat.” Her grin fell. “I didn’t mean that in a sexual way.”

  “Just get in the front.”

  “Okay.”

  Rather than get out and open the door, she scrambled in between the two front seats.

  “Ow,” said Mikey when she stood on his hand.

  “Sorry,” she said, settling herself in the passenger seat. “Don’t tell me I hurt you?” she sighed when he sat there, clutching his left hand.

  “Haven’t you caused enough carnage tonight without injuring me too? I only hope I can drive.”

  “Stop being a girl,” she said. “Why are you smiling?”

  “Because you sound like the old Jules.”

  “I’m not, I’m different.”

  “And the same too.”

  “That makes no sense.”

  “It does to me.”

  “Then that’s the important thing. You going to sit there holding your hand all night or are you going to drive?”

  He sighed and started the engine, wincing when he put it into gear.

  “There’s not even a mark,” she said.

  “It’s bruised internally.”

  “I thought you were a big tough gang boss.”

  “Even big tough gang bosses have human bodies that hurt when someone stands on them.”

  They lapsed into silence, Jules seeming to drift into her own world, which she often did now. He was glad she was more her old self but she was right, she was definitely changed too but who wouldn’t be after what she’d been through? It had been naïve of him to think she would be the same old Jules. Not that it had altered his feelings for her, because it hadn’t.

  He pulled up outside her apartment building. “Want me to come in with you?”

  She hesitated before saying “no, I’ll be fine.”

  “You need those cuts sorting on your hands.”

  “I can manage.”

  “No you can’t. Let me help.”

  “Fine, if you’re going to go on at me,” she said, throwing off the seatbelt and getting out of the car.

  He followed, trying not to look too eager. This was progress.

  Jules walked inside first, tossing her keys onto the coffee table, which was littered with books and papers.

  “You studying?” he said, gesturing to them.

  She nodded. “Mesoamerican history. Something nice and simple to ease myself back into it.”

  “Jules, some of us can’t even spell Mesoamerican. Go easy on yourself, okay?”

  “Yes Mum,” she muttered, shrugging off her jacket with a wince.

  “Hasn’t your body gone through enough punishment without you adding to it?”

  “I’ve had enough of being lectured for one day. If that’s all you came for you can piss off.”

  “Alright, I won’t go on.”

  “Good.”

  “Right, where do you keep your first aid kit?”

  He followed her into the open plan kitchen. She opened a cupboard door and handed him a box.

  “Sit,” he told her, gesturing to one of the chairs at her new kitchen table.

  Resignedly she sat and held out her hands. He opened up the kit, took out some wipes and began to clean her hands.

  “I wish you’d stop hurting yourself,” he said.

  “This sounds like the beginning of another lecture.”

  “It’s really not.” He hesitated, he didn’t want to annoy her and have her throw him out but he just had to know. “So, are you and Jackson really over?”

  “Yeah,” she sighed. “I went to see my solicitor this morning to start divorce proceedings. I’ve cited irreconcilable differences.”

  “Not adultery?”

  “Nah, didn’t feel right. I understand why he did it. I might well have done the same. By the way, I want to say thanks for not having sex with me yesterday.”

  “I still can’t believe I did that,” he sighed.

  “You were right. I was vulnerable and hurting and you saw that. You always understand me so well and I really appreciate it.”

  He put down the swab. “This is probably the totally wrong time to say this but I can’t keep it in any longer.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Do you think - maybe in
the future - there’d be any chance…for us?”

  Her gaze softened. “I wish I could give you a definite answer but I can’t. Right now I’m just concentrating on getting through each day.”

  He nodded. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. But at least you didn’t say no.”

  “Because that would have been a lie.”

  They gazed at each other, eyes gentle.

  Mikey continued dabbing at the cuts on her hands. “Then that’s enough for now.”

  CHAPTER 33

  Amber gripped the phone, fury coursing through her, teeth grinding together as she listened to what Declan had to say, who was watching Jules’s flat from the car park across the street.

  ‘He’s been in there with her for about half an hour now,’ he said.

  “Half an hour?” she spat. “He’s shagging the bitch, I know it.”

  ‘Now we don’t know that.’

  “What else have they been doing up there all that time?”

  ‘Jules looked injured and exhausted.’

  “Good.”

  ‘Maybe he’s giving her some medical treatment?’

  “He’s not a fucking doctor. I know exactly what that bastard’s giving her.”

  ‘Hold on, he’s leaving. He’s getting in his car. He’ll be on his way back to you.’

  “Covered in the scent of that slag.”

  ‘Just take it easy. We don’t know they were shagging. The state she was in she probably wasn’t up to that.’

  “Are you sticking up for him?”

  ‘No but…’

  “You are, you’re sticking up for him.” She pulled the old waterworks trick, allowing the tears to fall, voice choked with sobs. “If I don’t have you fighting my corner I don’t have anyone.”

  ‘Hey, I’ll always fight your corner. But we’re making assumptions, we have no proof.’

  “Alright, what do you think they were doing then?”

  Silence.

  “You think they were shagging too?”

  ‘Maybe is all I’m going to say but you’ve got to calm down. He’ll be home soon and he can’t know anything’s wrong. If he finds out I’ve been following him he’ll be furious.’

  Amber hated how afraid he was of Mikey but she swallowed down the stream of bile she wanted to spew at him. “You’re right. Sorry.”

  Good because if he finds out he’ll hurt you too and I’m not having that.’

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m fine now.

  ‘Try and relax. Are the kids in bed?’

  “Yeah,” she said, ignoring Josh playing on the couch and Zach asleep in his playpen.

  ‘Go and have a glass of wine and a hot bath. Make sure you’re calm by the time he gets home.’

  “I will, promise,” she said in her sweetest voice, bored of the conversation.

  ‘Thanks babe. I’ll call you tomorrow.’

  “Looking forward to it already.”

  ‘Love you. Bye.’

  He hung up and she gave the phone the v-sign before tossing it onto the couch beside Josh. Time for that glass of wine.

  She exited the living room, heading into the kitchen intent on opening one of the many bottles of Prosecco she stored in there.

  When she’d gone Josh picked up her phone and started jabbing at the buttons.

  Amber had just downed the glass of wine when she heard the front door open and close. She took a moment to breathe deeply, swallowing down all the violent rage and hate, smoothing out her scowl and popping a breath mint into her mouth before walking out into the hall, the picture of calm and wifely concern.

  “Everything okay?” she said.

  “It is now,” he said, kicking off his shoes. “We didn’t manage to stop Jules fighting but fortunately she won. She was in a bit of a mess though. I took her home.”

  He seemed to be telling the truth but, as she knew, Mikey was a good liar, it was vital in his line of work. Her eyes scanned his clothes but he looked immaculate as always, not as though he’d hastily dressed. “Is she okay?”

  “Yeah, I think so. She started divorce proceedings this morning. I think she needed to get some stress out of her system.”

  Panic threatened to overwhelm Amber but she managed to contain it. It was bad enough when Jules was married but now she and Jackson had split up Mikey might want to leave her for his own cousin. Defiance replaced the panic. She would not lose her cushy lifestyle, on that she was determined and she would fight to the death to keep it.

  “Are the boys in bed?” he said.

  “Not yet. I was just doing some tidying in the kitchen before I took them up.”

  “I’ll take them,” he said. “I haven’t done it for a few nights so it’s my turn.”

  She wondered if this offer came from a sense of guilt but then again, she knew he did enjoy putting the boys to bed. Why she had no idea, she just found it boring. “Okay, thanks. Fancy a brew when you come back down or something stronger?”

  “Something stronger I think after the evening I’ve had.”

  “I’ll have it ready,” she said with a flirtatious smile.

  “Thanks babe,” he said before wandering into the living room.

  Amber returned to the kitchen to pour Mikey a whisky and herself another glass of wine. She thought Declan had been right, they hadn’t shagged, Jules had probably been too battered to manage it. However she had to do something because she was determined to keep her claws in Mikey Maguire.

  Mikey entered the living room just in time to catch Josh before he rolled off the couch as he’d fallen asleep and once again he was furious about the lack of care Amber showed her children. Thank Christ they had a nanny to look after them during the day, at least he knew they were properly cared for then. The nanny showed his kids more concern than their own mother did.

  He picked up Josh, frowning when he heard a small tinny voice coming from somewhere. At first he thought it was one of Josh’s toys, until he saw Amber’s mobile phone on the couch. It looked like Josh had hit one of the keys. The strange thing was, the number on the screen was one he recognised but had no idea Amber even had. He put the phone to his ear, frowning when he heard his own cousin’s voice on the other end.

  ‘Amber? Amber are you alright?’

  Mikey was about to ask Declan why his wife had been calling him when he went on.

  ‘Jesus babe, please talk to me. Do you need help? Has he hurt you again?’

  Mikey went rigid, tempted to bellow down the phone at his Judas of a cousin before sense took over. Instead he ended the call and replaced the phone on the couch, hiding it behind a cushion. Those few words of Declan’s had given him so much to consider that he didn’t know where to start. Instead he calmly took Josh upstairs to bed then came back down for Zach and took him up too. Mikey felt himself moving on automatic pilot, his mind frantically working while his body moved calmly, as though nothing was wrong. Being a Maguire he’d become adept at concealing his emotions. To his relief the boys were very tired due to being kept up after their bedtime by their mother, consequently they both fell asleep as soon as he put them down.

  When he was certain they were properly asleep he crept across the hall to the bathroom and locked himself in, giving himself space to think over those few words. Why did Amber have Declan’s phone number? They never interacted, she had no need of it and he knew he’d never given it to her, which could only mean Declan had. Why would he call his wife babe? The only time a man called a woman babe was when he was romantically entangled with her. Rage gripped him. Or fucking her. He was surprised to find that he wasn’t really that upset Amber had cheated on him, although if it did come out it would make him look weak in the eyes of his rivals. He’d been after a way out of this marriage and she’d given him one. It was Declan’s betrayal that hurt the most, his own cousin. It felt like Alex all over again but not even that lunatic would have shagged Amber. Declan had been off with him for a while and finally Mikey knew why. However was the fact Declan was having an af
fair with his wife enough to justify the dirty looks and hostility he’d received off him? Surely if that was the case Declan would have been extra nice, even a little sheepish but he acted as though he, Mikey, was in the wrong.

  Declan’s words echoed in his head. ‘Has he hurt you again?’ Those words implied that not only did Declan think that Mikey had hurt his wife but that he’d done it before. The rage swelled within him, tensing every muscle as all the pieces slotted into place. Finally he had an explanation for Declan’s odd behaviour and the feeling that Amber was hiding something from him. He could just picture Amber turning on the waterworks - she was very good at that - telling Declan how he hit her, controlled her, which was a total lie. Declan, wanting to be her white knight, would have fallen for her act without question. Why couldn’t he have confronted him about it instead? But no, Declan was weak and a bit thick, he’d always known it but he was family and he’d wanted to give him a place in the family business, he’d felt it only fair. He’d known what it was like to be shut out after years of being treated like the family freak thanks to his brother Jake setting him up to take the fall for his sick crimes, leading to him spending years locked away in a secure mental unit. He’d gone out of his way to make Declan feel included and this was how the bastard repaid him, by shagging his wife.

  His first instinct was to go and confront Declan. He didn’t care what Amber had to say, they were finished. Hope sparked inside him. Jules was getting divorced. Was he a step closer to finally being with the woman he loved? It was all he wanted. Despite recent shocking events, he smiled. The woman he loved was the new bare knuckle boxing champion. Jules was certainly one of a kind.

  Instead of confronting his wife and cousin, he carefully filed all this information away, he needed time to think it over and decide on his next move. He’d confide in Jez, he had to. Secrets had a habit of destroying people and they’d agreed they would never keep anything from each other. Besides, this affected Jez too because Mikey had the feeling that, despite what they thought, Declan - the duplicitous bastard - was responsible for ten grand’s worth of coke going missing. However what he needed was proof of his cousin’s treachery.

  There was a gentle tap at the bathroom door. Fortunately he’d locked it.

  “Mikey,” Amber purred through the wood. “Are you coming to bed?”