He’d never make this much money in his lifetime.
This could change his life.
All he had to do was reach out and take it.
Listening carefully, he strained to hear if there was anyone outside in the corridor. Anyone around.
Nothing. Only silence.
The only noise came from above him. A faint thud of footsteps as the other cleaners swept and moped the dance floors upstairs. He could hear trays of glasses clanking together as they were pushed through the glass washer.
Nothing down here. Silence, interrupted only by his pounding heart inside his chest.
Allowing his fingers to curl around the bag, Haluk slipped the package inside his jacket pocket, before quickly shutting the safe behind him. Gathering up the hoover then and the rest of the cleaning products from where he’d dumped the cleaning caddy down on the floor, Haluk made his way out of the office.
Shoving everything inside the cleaning cupboard at the end of the hallway, he took a deep breath to gather himself.
Shit! What are you thinking, Haluk? You can’t do this.
His conscience getting the better of him.
A thief, a liar. This wasn’t him, he didn’t steal.
He should put it back, he decided, wiping the sweat that was forming on his brow along with the sticky droplets of perspiration he could feel shimmering on his top lip. He cursed himself now.
Was this really how low he’d become?
Walking back to the office, Haluk took the money out of his pocket with every intention to put it back where he had taken it from.
Only he couldn’t.
Shit!
He’d closed the safe behind him. He didn’t know the code.
Staring at the desk, he wondered if he should just leave it there. But then what if Mr Harris grew suspicious of him? What if he worked out that Haluk had gone into his safe? Or worse than that, what if someone else came in here and took the money before Alfie found it tonight? Staff came and went in here all day long. Haluk would probably still get the blame. He was the last person in here; he’d be prime suspect.
Haluk would lose his job then anyway.
No, he’d done it now. There was no going back, so he shoved the money deep inside his pocket and prayed that Alfie Harris would never be any the wiser.
Taking the stairs two at a time. Hurrying now, it was stuffy in here. Loosening his collar as he reached the top of the stairs, he couldn’t wait to get outside and breath in the cool morning air.
He was almost at the main door. Almost there, when he caught a movement in the corner of his eye.
Stepping out of the shadows was Gem Kemal. The club’s head of security.
Why was he still here?
Haluk’s heart was now pounding so hard, it felt fit to burst. Something about the look on Gem Kemal’s face told him that he’d somehow been caught red-handed. But the man couldn’t possibly know that Haluk had just stolen the money, could he?
‘You in some kind of a hurry?’ Gem Kemal said, stepping out. His huge frame blocking the doorway as he stood there with his arms folded tightly across his chest, the stern look on his face.
‘I was just leaving. I’m all done,’ Haluk said, his voice shaking with nerves as he stared around the club and realised the place was completely empty now. The trays of glasses abandoned on the bar tops. The mops and brushes discarded in the middle of the floor.
All the other cleaners had gone.
But no one had told Haluk to go too.
Then he saw Alfie Harris standing with his back against the bar. His face devoid of any kind of expression, but something in the man’s demeanour told Haluk Demir that he was in a whole world of shit right now.
They knew. How? He didn’t know, but without a doubt they knew.
Haluk felt suddenly sick. His stomach twisting inside him, a sinking feeling in the depths of his gut.
Alfie Harris finally spoke.
‘You get everything you need, did you?’
‘Er. I don’t know what you mean… I’ve finished my shift…’ Haluk froze. Pulling his jacket in around him tighter. The money bag digging sharply into his ribs.
‘We think you might have something that doesn’t belong to you,’ Gem Kemal spoke now, stepping towards the man. Eyeing Haluk’s jacket where the money was concealed.
They knew! Shit, they knew.
Haluk wanted to throw up. He should never have been so stupid to do what he did. Karma always got you in the end, and this was his. Caught red-handed, he’d lose everything because of this one costly mistake.
‘Empty your pockets.’
Without so much as an argument, Haluk did as he was told. Taking out the bag of money from his inside pocket he passed it over to Gem. He turned to his boss.
‘I’m so sorry, Mr Harris. As soon as I took it, I realised my mistake and I tried to put it back…’ Haluk’s voice was quivering in fear, trembling as the words tumbled from his mouth.
Only, Alfie Harris wasn’t buying his excuses.
‘Save it,’ he ordered, not wanting to hear the lies and bullshit that he knew the man would try and shower him with. ‘You know what, Haluk? I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, I really did.’ Alfie Harris shrugged. ‘But money has been taken out of my tills for weeks now, the books just aren’t adding up and when I called Gem in and told him about this little problem here at the club, he suggested that it might be you. Said he’d had his suspicions about you for a while. Taking money from the club when no one was looking. Dipping into my tills. There was only one way to find out for sure, so I set you up, and you fucking took the bait.’
Haluk looked at Gem, puzzled at what he was hearing. Then back to Alfie Harris.
‘But sir, I haven’t taken any money from your tills. This is the first time I’ve ever stolen anything in my life. I’m so sorry for what I have done. Please believe me.’
Alfie Harris nodded. ‘Oh, I bet you are sorry, but nowhere near half as sorry as you’re going to be once I’ve finished with you.’
Alfie Harris was beyond annoyed and he didn’t believe a word of Haluk’s lies. This bloke had been fleecing him for months. Fucking people! You gave them so much as an inch, and the bastards would try and take a mile. Never satisfied with what they had, it galled Alfie that people actually believed they had a right to take what was his. He’d worked his bollocks off for this club. He’d put everything he had into it, and it was starting to pay off.
Only now he had his own fucking staff stealing from him.
Treating him as if he was some kind of cunt.
‘See, I like to think I’m a very fair man, Haluk. Giving all you illegals a bit of cash in hand work. Cutting you a bit of slack when others wouldn’t dream of it. Only, none of you can be trusted, can you?’
Mr Harris had indeed been generous. Haluk had fucked up massively. He was crying now. Tears of shame and fear pouring down his face at how low he had stooped today.
‘Get him out of my sight,’ Alfie said speaking directly to Gem, acting as if Haluk wasn’t even standing there. As if he didn’t matter. Invisible once more. ‘I want him dealt with properly.’
Gem stepped forward, only too glad to oblige.
Grabbing the man tightly by his neck, he dragged Haluk out through the back doors of the club so that he could execute the man’s reprisal without any form of interruption.
He felt a flicker of guilt then.
When Alfie Harris had called Gem in today and told him of the money that had been going missing, Gem had thought that his game was up. That his boss was onto him. Only he’d quickly passed the buck and set Haluk up, lucky for him, Haluk had taken the bait just as he’d hoped. Not many men would be able to resist the temptation of an open safe, full of money.
Alfie Harris was not a man to be fucked with, that had just been made plainly clear.
As Gem led Haluk out the back alleyway to give the man the biggest kicking of his life, he shrugged away the tiny flicker of remorse he felt.<
br />
Someone had to take the fall, though, and Gem was just glad that fucker wasn’t going to be him.
Chapter Eleven
Sitting on the edge of her friend’s bed, Amber Richards could tell by her miserable-looking reflection in the mirror that Megan Harris was in a foul mood this evening. That, and the fact that Amber had been here for almost fifteen minutes and the two girls had practically sat in complete silence. The only noise in the room was their favourite Sugababes album playing in the background on Megan’s mini hi-fi system, and the fact that Megan wasn’t even bothering to sing along spoke volumes in itself.
‘You sure you’re okay, Megs?’ Amber said, knowing her friend well enough to know that she was anything but all right.
‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ Megan said bluntly, pretending that she was just concentrating on applying her make-up in the mirror. Too angry to talk.
Though Megan wasn’t fooling anyone. Least of all Amber.
‘It wouldn’t have anything to do with that leggy blonde sitting in your kitchen, drinking wine with your dad, would it?’ Amber said boldly. Knowing that’s exactly what Megan’s problem was. Though why her friend had got in such a mood about it, she couldn’t seem to fathom.
‘Did you see the state of her?’ Megan turned and looked at Amber, raising her eyes at her friend’s bluntness. Of course her bad mood had everything to do with her father’s new girlfriend, Jennifer Dawson. ‘She’s only what, seven or eight years older than us, max! She’s too young for him!’
Megan was fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall now. Embarrassed that she felt so upset that her father had finally brought his girlfriend home to meet her. It wasn’t just that he had a girlfriend. He’d had loads over the years, of course he had. But he’d never brought one home with him before. He’d never cared enough about any of them that he’d wanted to introduce them to her.
‘She was practically draped over him when we walked in on them. Seriously. Who does that?!’ Megan said wrinkling her nose at the memory of leading Amber into the kitchen to get a drink when she’d first arrived, only to find her father and his new bird locked in an embrace, up against the sink.
Megan had taken an immediate dislike to the older girl on sight. Despite the fact that her father had seemed so happy. So loved-up. He hadn’t even noticed that Megan and Amber had come into the room at first. At least when he did, he’d had the good grace to look uncomfortable about his behaviour. Immediately stepping away from Jennifer so that he could make the necessary introductions.
Jennifer had been all smiles and compliments, but Megan didn’t bother reciprocating. Instead she’d got her and Amber both a drink, before quickly making their excuses not to join them. They’d both been hiding away up here instead ever since.
‘Well, it didn’t look like there were any complaints coming from your dad, babe! In fact, he looked proper loved-up if you asked me! It’s cute, in a way. Isn’t it? Seeing him so happy?’
‘I guess.’ Megan shrugged.
Though the last thing Megan thought it was, was cute. Megan had never seen him like that before, and it stirred up something inside her that she hadn’t even realised she’d feel until now.
Jealousy.
For sixteen years, she’d had her dad all to herself, ever since her mum had upped and left them both when Megan had been just a baby. Just the two of them, and now suddenly there was another woman in the house to contend with.
A woman who her dad seemed to be totally wrapped up in.
‘I mean, come on, who wouldn’t be loved-up though? She’s bloody gorgeous,’ Amber said honestly, not realising that it was the last thing Megan wanted to hear. ‘Did you see what she was wearing? She looked a bit like that supermodel Gisele that’s everywhere right now. Only even prettier, don’t you think?’
Megan shrugged. Not wanting to agree with her friend, though there was no denying that Jennifer Dawson was indeed beautiful. Dressed to perfection. Her hair and make-up pristine. When they’d walked into the kitchen, the whole room had been filled with the woman’s warm laugh and the sweet smell of perfume. It was as if she had cast some kind of spell on everyone in the house, her mate included.
‘It did look serious, didn’t it?’ Megan said, knowing that Amber would tell her the truth. ‘I mean, he’s never brought a girlfriend home before and I know he’s had girlfriends, it’s just… they’ve never been serious enough that he’s wanted to introduce me to anyone, and he said that he’s taking the weekend off so they can spend some proper time together. He never takes time off work!’
It was more than just that though.
Her father had been acting different lately. Megan had been trying to convince herself that he was just busy with his new business venture, but she knew that it wasn’t just that. Even at home, he seemed so preoccupied. Always on his phone, and when he wasn’t on that, his head seemed to be elsewhere.
This girl had really got to him, and it made Megan feel suddenly insecure. As if she had another woman vying for her father’s attention, and she was worried that she’d be somehow forgotten.
‘Maybe it is serious then! Your dad did look pretty happy to be fair. Who knows, eh? Does it bother you if it is?’
‘I guess not,’ Megan lied, shrugging her shoulders as if to play down her fears, silently scolding herself. She was being pathetic. Her dad had every right to be happy. He’d spent his whole life devoted to her. He was a great dad. The best. Playing the role of both father and mother. Megan had never wanted for a thing in her life. He’d always been there for her when she needed him.
She knew he deserved to be happy.
‘I just guess that I wasn’t expecting her to be so young, that’s all.’
‘Well, I think she looked nice. It could be worse, Megs. He could have hooked up with some right old nag. Then you’d have something to really moan about. Besides, just think, if this does all work out that girl could end up as your stepmum. How cool would that be? You could borrow all her fancy clothes! Maybe you could try and bag me those Christian Louboutins that she was wearing. I’d simply die if I got to borrow them!’
Megan rolled her eyes at Amber’s exaggerated plea, smiling at her friend’s typical response of always managing to see something that she could get out of a situation.
Amber giggled too then, glad that she was finally cheering her friend up.
‘You know, Megs, this could work in your favour in more ways that you think.’ Amber was on a roll now. She’d come over tonight with a proposition for Megan, and now it seemed she’d made perfect timing. ‘If your dad’s all loved-up and wanting to spend time with his new girlfriend, he’s not going to mind you staying over at mine for the weekend, is he?’
‘He wouldn’t mind me staying at yours anyway?’ Megan said, narrowing her eyes. Wondering what Amber was getting at.
‘Of course not. Only. We won’t be staying at mine. We can go out! Properly out.’ Amber was grinning, deliriously excited about her plans. All she had to do was get Megan to agree to them. ‘You know that bloke I’ve been texting, Reece Bettle? Well he’s only said he’ll sort me out with some fake ID for us both so that we can get into a club tomorrow night.’ Unable to keep the excitement from her voice, Amber hoped that her friend would be up for the idea. She’d promised Reece that she’d be there, no matter what, and she didn’t fancy rocking up on her own as Billy-no-mates.
‘He said he’d have a word with his friend on the door for us too. That we’ll easily get in… What do you reckon? You up for it? Tomorrow we can spend the day getting all dolled up, giving each other makeovers? Then we can try our luck getting into a club. Go on, Megs, it will be a right laugh.’
Megan raised her eyes, unsure about Amber’s plan.
‘He might let me stay at yours for the weekend, but there’s no way my dad will let me go to a nightclub,’ she said, already defeated and thinking the negative about Amber’s little plan.
‘Of course he won’t, you moron! You’re only sixteen! Th
at’s why we’re not going to tell him!’ Amber laughed, rolling her eyes sarcastically. ‘This is your dad that we’re talking about. The man who doesn’t let you go anywhere, jeez! I reckon we’re the only two girls left in our year who haven’t managed to blag our way into a nightclub yet.’
Alfie Harris was one of the most overprotective parents Amber had ever come across. The man didn’t let Megan out of his sight without at least fifty questions. Amber had thought it was sweet, at first, especially as her parents couldn’t give a shit about her or any of her siblings’ whereabouts half the time. They were mostly just glad that their kids had buggered off out somewhere and left them both in peace.
There was a whole world out there, though, that Megan and Amber had yet to discover.
‘Please, Megs. It will be amazing, I promise. You and me on the dance floor. Having a couple of cheeky vodkas. We’ll have such a laugh.’
‘I dunno, Amber. You know what my dad’s like. What if he checks up on me?’
‘What, with Jessica Rabbit down there keeping him busy? No offence, babe, but I doubt your dad will even notice you’ve gone this weekend.’
Megan nodded, Amber’s words hitting a nerve, just as she knew they would.
She was right, of course. Her dad had been so preoccupied lately. Firstly with his new business venture, now with his new girlfriend. He probably wouldn’t even give her a second thought. Maybe Amber was right. Maybe she should go out and have some fun for a change. She was bored of always staying in and being the ‘good daughter’, especially when her father clearly had double standards, picking up women that were less than half his age. Pissed off at her dad and not wanting to stay in and watch as he made out with some slapper, Megan nodded in agreement.
‘Okay! I’ll come,’ she said. ‘But you can come downstairs and back me up when I tell my dad that we’re going to be at your house all weekend. You know what he’s like. The last thing I need is him driving around there and catching us out.’
The Broken_A gripping thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat Page 9
