by Nicola Jane
“Did you go back because of what I said?” he growls.
“No, of course not. I wanted him to give Michelle and Ziggy back,” I say.
“Why don’t you ever just talk to me first? You make these stupid fucking decisions and for what?” he yells. “You cause me more trouble!”
“You never wanted to talk, remember! But won’t happen again, will it,” I snap. “I’m not your problem anymore. We’re over. Done.”
“This is all very lovely.” Reggie sighs, reaching for me. I resist, but he tugs me hard and I fall against him. “Lovers break-ups are always interesting, especially when they involve my wife. But I’d like to get reacquainted with Anna now, so . . . ” His fist hits my stomach and I double over, coughing hard. “We’ll discuss the docks in an hour.”
“What are you doing to her?” yells Riggs. “Take the docks. Have what the fuck you want and return what’s mine.”
“Oh, you can have the crack whore and the kid, but Anna is mine,” smiles Reggie. He shoves me hard with his foot and I fall onto my side. “An hour.” He disconnects the call and then smiles down at me. It’s not the nice smile he saves for important business associates. It’s not even the same smile he saves for the people he hates. This smile tells me that he wants to hurt me. He wants to hurt me bad.
I swallow two pain killers. My ribs ache. I watch Malia sleeping soundly in her old bed in her old room. She was pleased to see all her toys and spent hours playing while I lay on her bed watching. A shadow creeps up and Reggie peers into Malia’s bedroom. “She looks happy to be home,” he whispers. “Come and have dinner.”
I’m not hungry, but what’s the point in telling him that? He’ll still force me to eat. I wince with each step and grip my ribs. The pain is making me feel nauseous. I sit at the dining table and one of the house staff brings out the evening meal. “Did you let Ziggy go home?” I ask quietly. I can’t stand the thought of Ziggy being distressed.
“That’s not your concern. You are home where you belong, and I don’t want to hear another word from your mouth about Riggs or anything to do with him.”
“I just want to know that Ziggy is okay. He’s Malia’s friend and . . . ”
Reggie grips my hair and tugs my head closer to him, and I wince as pain shoots through me. “Anna, don’t push me,” he warns.
A tall blond enters the room. She smiles confidently and doesn’t seem at all put off by the scene before her. Reggie releases me and stands, greeting the woman with a kiss to each cheek. I’ve never seen this woman before, but even I have to admit she looks good standing next to my husband. They speak quietly to one another and Reggie gently strokes his thumb down her jawline. It’s a gentle move and one I’ve not seen from him for some time, especially towards me. “Go to bed, Anna,” he says dismissively over his shoulder. He takes the woman by her hand and leads her from the room.
I give it a few seconds and then rush after them, peering around the door to see them head upstairs. When they’re out of sight, I creep towards the downstairs office. I press my ear to the door and listen for any signs that someone is inside. When I’m confident it’s empty, I sneak in, careful to close the door as quietly as I can behind me. I rush over to the telephone and sigh with happiness when I hear the dialling tone. I call Eva because it’s the only cell number I know by heart. It rings a few times and then she answers.
“Eva, it’s me,” I say quickly. “Has Riggs got Michelle and Ziggy back?”
“Anna, thank god, you’re okay. Where are you? Did he hurt you?” she asks.
There’s a rustling sound and Eva curses. Riggs’ voice fills the line. “Anna, where are you?”
“That doesn’t matter right now. I don’t have long. Is Ziggy home?”
“No. Reggie said he’d call with a location, but we’re still waiting.”
“Okay. He’s going to be preoccupied for a short time. I’ll look around here and see if I can find them. There’s a basement.” I reel off the address.
“Are there guards around?” he asks. I move the slats on the blinds and look out the front. There’s one guy leaning against the wall outside and I relay that to Riggs. “Something isn’t right, Anna. He wouldn’t leave you alone to find a phone. He wouldn’t risk you just walking out the front door and only leaving one man on guard.”
“I have to go.” I sigh. “Before he finds me here. Take care, Riggs. I’ll do my best to find them for you . . . ” I pause. “And I’m sorry, for everything.”
“Anna, I didn’t mean what I—” he begins, but I disconnect the call. I can’t listen to him tell me he’s sorry and he’ll get me out of here because I can’t be strong if I’m waiting around to be rescued. I learned a long time ago that I can only rely on myself.
I get out of the office unseen. The house has three floors plus a basement. If he was going to hide Michelle and Ziggy here, then the basement is where I’d find them.
The door to the basement is locked. I rummage around the kitchen to find a key but come up with nothing. I go back to the office and find a ring of keys in the top drawer of Reggie’s desk. There’re around ten keys.
Going back to the door, I try each and every one. My hands shake so bad, I almost drop the bunch several times. I get to the last key and hold my breath as I insert it.
The lock clicks open, and I do a silent cheer, but then something hard presses against the back of my head and I freeze.
I close my eyes when the sound of the hammer cocks back and I realize it’s a gun. “Well, well, well. You looking for something, sweetheart?” It’s a female voice. I swallow the lump in my throat.
“Are you gonna at least let me turn around?” I ask.
“Sure. I’d like to see the look on your face when Reggie comes,” she says. I slowly turn around. There’s a reason I thought this woman looked good at Reggie’s side— she has the same cruel eyes. “Pretty little thing, aren’t ya,” she mutters. “I can see why the kid’s cute.”
“Does Reg know you have a gun in the house?” I ask. “He hates weapons around his princess.”
She arches her brow. “Oh hunny, haven’t you heard? I’m the new princess in town.” She smiles confidently. Reggie enters the kitchen and stops suddenly when he sees the gun pointing at me. “I was wondering what kept you,” he says. “What’s going on?”
“Little miss cute was trying to get in the basement,” says the woman.
“I was looking for wine, Reggie. I know you keep all the good stuff locked away and it’s my first night home. I should be able to get shit-faced on the good stuff,” I snap. “And your mistress here pulls a fucking gun on me.”
“Crystal, baby.” Reggie sighs. He gently takes her arm and removes the gun from her grasp. “We don’t need that.”
“Are you just gonna let her creep around the house like that?” she asks.
“You mean my house? Mine and Reggie’s?” I cut in. It pains me to even say our names in the same sentence, but half the game is making him believe I want to be here. It’s what might keep me alive. “Why did you bring me back here if you’ve found a replacement?” I ask him. “A cheaper one at that.”
Crystal’s hand lashes out and she claws at my face. Reggie grips her around the waist and pulls her away from me. I hold my cheek and smile. “Cheap and nasty,” I add.
“Enough,” yells Reggie, trying hard to control the crazy woman in his arms.
“I want her gone, Reggie,” she yells. “Her and that little brat.”
“Wow. Are you going to let her badmouth your daughter like that?” I ask. “Can I get the wine or not?”
“No. Stay where you are,” he growls, then he drags Crystal from the room. As soon as they leave, I pull the door open and rush down into the cellar. It’s dark and I feel around for a light.
“Ziggy? Michelle?” I whisper. There’s no response. I find a switch and the room is bathed in light. It’s empty apart from the racks of wine.
Footsteps hit the steps and I pretend to browse the bottles. C
rystal appears, followed by Reggie. She must have gotten free because he looks pissed and she’s ready to pounce at me again. I’m not worried— Reggie is only okay if it’s his hands on me, but he won’t allow someone else to hurt me. He grabs her wrist and tries to pull her away.
“So, am I going or staying?” I ask casually, pulling out a bottle of red and reading the label.
“Going!” she screams.
“Reggie?” I ask.
“I’m in charge,” she yells. “Not him.” I wince at her words. She’s clearly new to Reggie, still in the honeymoon stage of their relationship. I hear his hand connect with her flesh, but I don’t watch. Instead, I go back to browsing the wine. Blow after blow reigns on her until she doesn’t make a sound. I glance up and she’s on her knees, doubled over on the ground. The empathetic person in me wants to go to her, but it’ll only make things worse for us both. “Go upstairs and get naked,” he growls. I go back to the wine. “Anna,” he yells. “I’m talking to you.”
Chapter Sixteen
Riggs
It’s been three days since I spoke to Anna. Three days of sitting in this truck, watching Reggie’s house, and I still don’t have Ziggy home. Men come and go all day long, but I’ve only seen Reggie once. He stood on his doorstep for seconds like lord of the fuckin’ manor before going back inside. A doctor arrived this morning and left after ten minutes. The thought that Reggie’s hurt Anna makes me sick.
I dial a number and press the cell to my ear. “Reggie,” I say coldly. “The docks are open and ready. What am I expecting?”
“Two containers. Unload them into the waiting lorries. Once it’s done, Ziggy will be returned to you.”
“And Michelle?” I ask.
“Ouch. Not Anna?” he asks, and I realize he probably has me on loudspeaker with Anna nearby.
“You’ve made it clear that’s not going to happen, so . . . ”
“You’re giving up?” he says. “What if I told you there is a way?”
“I’m listening.” I sigh.
“Leave London. If you and your gang leave London, you can have Anna.”
“That can’t happen,” I say firmly. “My club’s been here for too long and we worked hard to get our part of London. You want me to give everything, the docks, the businesses? I won’t give it up to the mob.”
“Oh well, I’ll just have to keep her, although I’m not sure how much more she can take. She doesn’t have as much stamina these days. Did you find that?” He’s goading me.
“Not really, Reggie. Maybe she just doesn’t perform for you. With me, she couldn’t get enough.” I hate talking about her like this, like she’s a whore.
The call disconnects and Cree sighs. “Why can’t we just put a fucking bullet in him? Blow him up or something?”
“You were the one telling me we can’t cause that sort of unrest over a woman and now you want me to blow him up?” I smirk and he laughs. “We’ll bide our time. He can’t keep her in there forever. Eventually, he has to trust her. Before, when she was in a relationship with him, she said she had a lot of freedom. He never expected her to leave him, so she could come and go as she pleased.”
“Yeah, but then she left him. He won’t ever trust her again. You wanna sit out here for years waiting?”
I shake my head slowly. The thought of not having Anna for years kills me inside. I have to get her back. The front door opens, and I sit up in my seat, holding my breath. I release it with disappointment when a blond steps out, Reggie following behind her. She stops at the top step and turns to him. “She look beat up to you?” asks Cree, squinting.
“I can’t see shit from this far back, but she’s definitely got black eyes.” I reach for the binoculars off the back seat and take a closer look. “Yeah, brother, she’s a mess.”
Reggie strokes a hand down her face gently and then his fingers grip her neck. He moves his face closer to hers and speaks with venom, spittle hitting her. She winces and I see fear there. A hand reaches from inside the doorway. There’s no mistaking that it’s Anna’s. I notice her wedding band is back in place. She places her hand gently on his shoulder as if to calm him. He releases the blond and I see her shoulders sag in relief. Anna steps out of the house and he wraps his arms around her and kisses her. I pass the binoculars to Cree. I can’t watch that shit because it makes me question how real it is. Cree groans. “Fuck, man, he’s practically fucking her on the step,” he mutters.
“Thanks for that.” I sigh. “I don’t need the image painting.”
“Relax, you know it’s fake. She’s in survival mode, and by the looks of things, he’s beating up on blondie, which means Anna is stepping up the good wife routine.”
I ball my fists. “Yeah, it’s what all that entails that bothers me.” My cell rings. “Chains, what we got brother?” I answer.
“Two containers. All filled with kids’ dolls. You want me to take the head off one and see exactly what we got?” he asks.
“Yeah. I need to know what’s gonna flood our streets.”
There’s some rustling. “Coke, Pres. If all these dolls are full, then he’s looking at a million easily. Maybe more”
“Right. I’ll let the mayor know. Get it loaded into the lorries before they get suspicious. Tail them. I want to know where it ends up.”
I disconnect and then dial the mayor. “Finn,” he whispers. “I’m in a meeting. Is it urgent?”
“Very. We need to meet now.”
“Shit.” He sighs. “That’s not good if you wanna meet in person. I’ll come to you. The Windsor?”
“Yeah. See you in thirty minutes.”
When we arrive at The Windsor, Pinky nods her head towards the back room. We find the mayor looking angsty and uncomfortable surrounded by bodyguards. We step into the room and they move back to the corners. “Mayor,” I say, shaking his hand.
“Make it quick, Finn. I’ve got a busy day.”
“We’re a few hours away from two containers full of cocaine hitting the streets of London. I don’t know anything about it, if it’s good or bad, where it’s come from.”
He glares at me and the blood vessel in his forehead threatens to burst. “Continue,” he mutters carefully.
“Reggie Miller is behind it. I’ve lost control over the docks and he’s using my men to unload it.” The words feel bitter on my tongue. “He wants to bring in more in a matter of days.”
The mayor slams his hands on the table and stands. “Are you fucking kidding me? How am I only hearing about this now?”
“I was trying to get it under control.”
“Well, you clearly fucked that up. How the hell did he get control of the docks?” He begins to pace.
“He took my son and my ex. They were at the park and he took them.”
“So you gave him the docks?” he yells.
“What the fuck was I supposed to do? It’s a temporary arrangement until I can come up with something better.”
The mayor leans forward across the table until he’s inches away from me. “You were supposed to let him have the kid and the ex and keep control of my FUCKING DOCKS!” he yells.
I stand up and my chair scrapes the hard floor. The bodyguards move closer, sensing my fraying temper. “I’ll sort it out,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Damn right, you will. You’ve risked the lives of hundreds. He’ll have half of London hooked on his shit because I can bet my life it’s better than what we allow out there.” He’s right. What we put on the streets is not as strong as what can be gotten in some places. Our rules are strict. It’s expensive, not as strong, and we control exactly how much we allow out there. Reggie will make it stronger, cheaper, and easier to obtain, meaning the streets will be flooded. Crime will go up and the mayor will look like he’s lost control of London.
“I’ve got the lorries being tailed. I’ll let you know where it ends up.”
“I’ll have the police force on standby,” he mutters, pulling out his cell.
“You c
an’t raid it until I get my boy back,” I say firmly.
He laughs, it’s cold and bitter. “The fuck I can’t. You want me to risk the streets for one kid? We’ll be saving thousands more.”
He puts the call into the Chief of Police, and I glance at Cree. I won’t be giving up the location until my boy is back safe.
We leave The Windsor just as my cell lights up. “Pres,” says Chains. “A packaging warehouse. It’s full of workers, but these boxes have been delivered around the back. I don’t think the workers know about the secret business out back. I think it’s the same kind of set-up Marshall has.”
“Right. Text me the address and get out of there. The Met will be all over it as soon as I have Ziggy.”
Next, I call Reggie. “Where’s my kid?” I growl. I’m done with the fucking about. I’m close to doing exactly what Cree said.
“Your men did a good job today. I’ll require the same service tomorrow.”
“Fine, just give me Ziggy and Michelle,” I growl.
“Tonight. I’ll send you the address. But Riggs, it’s a black-tie event, so don’t show up in club kuttes.”
Bonnie slips a dagger into the garter of her stockings. “You sure about this?” she asks. “Won’t Anna get the wrong impression?”
“I need Reggie to think I’m over Anna.” I tuck a gun in my holster under my arm.
“I think we’ll be checked for weapons,” she says.
“I know the security at the event. It’s on mutual ground, so Reggie will most likely be tooled up too.”
Chains straightens up his jacket. Leia watches him and I frown. Maybe having them go together wasn’t a good idea, but Mom convinced me. Leia’s got a good aim, so she’ll be worth having with us. I just wish it wasn’t on Chains’ arm.
Cree loads the van with guns. The plan is he’ll be outside with the rest of my men, just in case it all goes wrong.
We arrive at the Mayfair Hotel in central London. The charity event tonight is for victims of drug abuse. The irony.
