Anything For Him (16 page)

‘No shooting!’ Liuz shouted, holding his hands up. ‘Please, do what she says. Take her bag.’

Ordinarily I’d have been offended by that. Take my bag? The cheek of it! But I’d get it back later anyway, providing Masked Man returned it. ‘Yes, take it. Please, just go.’

Masked Man and Beefcake continued to stare, so I risked another peek at Liuz. He, too, was flushed, and lowered his fists to his sides.

‘Who are you? What do you want?’ Liuz asked.

Masked Man blinked slowly, as though Liuz’s question bored him. ‘Doesn’t matter who I am,’ he said, his voice gravelly, very different to the one I’d heard earlier. ‘This doesn’t concern you and the woman.’

‘Oh, so this is about me, is it?’ Beefcake said, his cock finally deflating to a semi-erect pose. ‘Come on then, out with it. What the fuck is this all about?’

‘You know,’ Masked Man said, his tone ominous and full of meaning.

Oh, he was good at this.

‘No, I don’t fucking know, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked, would I, you stupid cunt.’ Beefcake glared, eyes hard, his finger so tight on that trigger.

Didn’t this man feel any fear at all? I sensed none of it coming off him – or Masked Man for that matter. Liuz and I appeared to be the only ones who saw danger lurking up ahead. One slip of either finger on those triggers and we’d be propelled into something I really didn’t want to be involved in – a witness in a story I’d so far only ever written about from an outsider’s perspective. And what if Liuz got hurt? What would I do without him?

That spurred me to try to be the peacemaker, the one who sorted this whole mess out and made Liuz grateful I’d been there. ‘Listen, please. If this is something between you two, please, just go. Do this somewhere else.’

‘Think I’m going to let this slimy bastard get away now I’ve finally cornered him?’ Masked Man asked. ‘Think I’m going to let him get away with all the shit he’s done to me over the years?’

God, this guy was brilliant.

‘And what the fuck have I done to you over the years?’ Beefcake took a step forward.

My stomach bunched. I needed the toilet. The two men stood about four feet apart now, and if one of them took a shot, the injury from such close range would make one hell of a blood splatter. I shook off my thoughts, annoyed with myself for worrying about the mess rather than ending this thing or keeping quiet so I could file the information away.

Beefcake rolled his shoulders. ‘I don’t even recognise your voice, you prick, and if I don’t know what I’m supposed to have done, how the fuck can we sort this out?’ He paused, for effect I guessed. ‘And you know when word of this gets out, my men will hunt you down, find you, torture you – maybe for a few days, maybe not – then give you a nice new pair of concrete shoes and introduce you to my old mate, the Thames. All that, even if I’m dead.’

He sounded so menacing, and I believed him. Beefcake’s reach was clearly long and wide. What the hell was Liuz doing getting involved with him? Did he need money so badly, being hooked up in a dodgy business deal with Beefcake far outweighed any consequences?

I was in deep – with this mess and with Liuz – but I wasn’t going to desert my man now. When the chips were down, that was when your boyfriend needed you most. You didn’t just walk away at the first sign of trouble. Still, I kept quiet, giving Liuz a sideways glance to check how he was doing. He wasn’t about to get involved, standing out of the way like that, and I didn’t blame him. So long as he stayed where he was, I had a feeling he’d be safe.

‘You think that bothers me?’ Masked Man asked, levelling his gun a bit more. If he pulled the trigger, he’d blow the back of Beefcake’s head off. ‘You took everything from me. I’ve got nothing left. So being dead would be a blessing. But I’ll see you dead before I hit that fucking water.’

Beefcake cocked his head a tiny bit. Something about that action freaked me the hell out. It was as though he didn’t care he faced death.

Maybe he didn’t.

‘Take a shot,’ Beefcake said, looking ridiculous with his pants down. ‘Come on, take a fucking shot.’

Masked Man nodded, as if to himself, and squinted, finger tightening.

The door burst open, shoving into Masked Man. He went sprawling and landed on the floor, scrabbling to try and stand again. The new guest at our fright party looked a lot like Beefcake, except he was taller and had the strong air about him that he never took no for an answer. He slammed the door before kicking Masked Man under his chin, snapping his head and torso back. Masked Man growled, recovered quickly and pushed himself backwards using his free hand on the floor, raising the one holding the gun and pointing it at Beefcake.

He wasn’t quick enough, though. Beefcake Number Two lunged forward, smacking the gun out of his hand and stomping his thick-soled boot onto Masked Man’s chest.

‘Don’t fucking move,’ Number Two said.

‘That’s it. Hold him steady.’ Beefcake strolled over, hiking his pants up along the way. He zipped then buttoned up and loomed over Masked Man.

This had gone completely wrong. I quickly shifted my gaze to Liuz. He didn’t know what to do, I could see that, and I didn’t either. It wasn’t my call. This wasn’t on the original agenda. I pleaded with my eyes for him to give me a signal on what to do, but he wouldn’t look at me, his gaze riveted on the other three men. I turned away to see what Liuz was seeing, and had to hold back a whimper.

Beefcake had kneeled beside Masked Man, and his gun was about an inch from our intruder’s forehead – right between the eyes.

Oh, shit. Oh my God. What the hell were we going to do now?

I had no choice but to watch. If I made a run for it, I might get shot.

‘You took your time,’ Beefcake said, voice casual.

‘Didn’t know who this geezer was, did I?’ Number Two said. ‘Could have been some bloke visiting.’

‘What, in a fucking mask?’ Beefcake snarled.

Number Two shrugged. ‘Well, yeah.’

He said that as though people wearing balaclavas were all the rage. And maybe they were in his world. Normal attire for people in their line of business, nothing weird going on here, please look away folks.

‘You want me to do the honours?’ Number Two asked.

‘No, this bastard’s mine,’ Beefcake said. ‘I haven’t got my hands dirty in a long time. Reckon I’ll forget how to shoot before long. A refresher will do nicely.’

Oh, no. Beefcake was going to kill Liuz’s friend.

I felt sick and flattened one hand to my chest. ‘Oh, God. Please, just stop this. Let me go home. Let me and Liuz go. This is nothing to do with us.’

Beefcake trained his gaze on me. ‘Listen, love, you might be a nice fuck, but your voice is getting on my damn nerves. Shut the fuck up, all right? You can scream again later, once this bollocks is sorted out, know what I mean?’

He expected me to fuck him after this?

‘Violence always gets me horny.’ Beefcake smiled, looked me up and down, then turned his attention back to Masked Man. ‘Now then. Let’s see who the fuck you are.’

He yanked off the balaclava and tossed it aside. Frowned. ‘Teddy?’

Teddy? Beefcake knew him?

‘I do not want this in my place,’ Liuz said, stepping from beside the bed to stand behind Beefcake.

‘Listen, mate.’ Beefcake looked over his shoulder. ‘Your place, my place, doesn’t matter where – he’s greeting his maker. What does matter is that if we do this here, now, your debt’s clear, know what I’m saying?’

I widened my eyes, the implications sinking deep into my marrow. Liuz had one hell of a dilemma. He’d be free of Beefcake if he allowed this scenario to go on – but would he really? Liuz would have something on Beefcake, but he’d be a liability, and who knew, one day it might be Liuz on his back with Beefcake’s gun pointed at his face. But could my man let his friend, his associate, be shot in cold blood? The poor man had only taken on a simple job for Liuz, and the shit had really hit the fan.

I stared down at Teddy, now unmasked and, oddly, not looking frightened at all. What was it about these gangster types? Didn’t they get scared about anything?

‘Now, Teddy,’ Beefcake said. ‘I reckon it’s time for you to let me in on what’s bothering you. What did I do to you?’

‘You know,’ Teddy said. ‘What you did to my Marlene.’

‘But she got in the way. It couldn’t be helped. If she’d have just stayed upstairs like she’d been asked, she wouldn’t be six feet under, would she?’ He shrugged. ‘Not my fault I thought she was someone else. You remember, Teddy? She had to stay upstairs while we hid the goods.’ He laughed, eyes drifting upwards as he recalled a memory. ‘Those were the days, when we were just starting out. Stashing pot and a bit of coke in your sideboard. Jesus. Look how far I’ve come.’

The pride in Beefcake’s voice sickened me. No remorse whatsoever for poor Marlene. The fact that these two had known one another for a long time shocked me, as did the way Teddy hadn’t told Liuz about his relationship with Beefcake being an issue when he’d agreed to rough him up. He’d had his own reasons for doing this.

Two quick
pffts
of sound broke the silence. Beefcake reeled backwards, and Number Two crashed to the floor. What the fuck was going on? Liuz yelled and jumped back, away from Beefcake, and stared from one fallen man to the other. I did the same, screaming, fright flinging me to the headboard. I clutched it for comfort, but nothing was going to make me feel better for a long time to come.

Beefcake had a single bullet hole in his forehead, brain and grey matter littering the floor behind him and on Liuz. Blood pooled beneath Beefcake’s head, and he stared at the ceiling, sightless, his teeth bared. Number Two hadn’t fared much better. A hole graced his temple and, sprawled the way he was, he resembled every dead body I’d seen on TV, minus the surrounding white chalk line. The right side of his face and head were missing.

I fought my gag reflex, fought the urge to scream long and loud, and clamped one hand over my mouth. I stared, incredulous, as Teddy got to his feet, brushed himself down, and bent to retrieve his gun.

‘Now that’s sorted,’ he said, looking at Liuz, ‘I’m off.’

‘What?’ Liuz said, his features pinched, his mouth opening and closing.

‘I said, I’m off.’ Teddy smiled. ‘Just give me and my mate out there ten minutes, will you? Then call the police. By the time they get their asses round here, we’ll be long gone. Oh, and tell them exactly what happened, minus the bits about me and Marlene. No names mentioned, got it?’

Even though he wasn’t talking to me, I said, ‘Got it.’ I just wanted him out of here. Wanted this whole nightmare to be over.

Liuz nodded, one of thanks, I thought, and stepped aside to allow Teddy access to the door.

‘You got this one on me,’ Teddy said. ‘Well, rather than the full fee, since I had an old score to settle anyway.’ He laughed and opened the door, gloved hand lingering on the handle. ‘Fuck, I forgot that.’ He nodded at his balaclava.

Liuz picked it up and handed it to him.

Teddy nodded his thanks and walked out, closing the door quietly behind him.

I stared at Liuz, seeing the dead men in my peripheral vision, and shuddered. We were in this thing together, no doubt about it, bound by a terrible ordeal that I wouldn’t forget in a hurry. What if the police found out we’d held information back? What if we got into trouble?

‘Are you OK, Hannah?’

My bottom lip trembled. A wave of tiredness took over the adrenaline, and I slumped against the pillows. My whole body shuddered, and I was unable to process exactly what had happened. I glanced over at the window, saw the spider web of cracked glass showing between the partially opened curtains. The bullets had entered that way, then.

Liuz stepped over Beefcake and climbed on the bed, taking me in his arms and holding me tight. He stroked my back, and I rested my cheek against his chest, trying not to think about the transference of Beefcake’s blood from him to me. His heart thundered, and he shook a little. A sob built up inside me, but I wouldn’t cry. Not yet. Not until this whole thing was over.

With his chin on top of my head, he said, ‘I am sorry
.
Fuck, I am sorry. About everything, that he had to touch you again and – it wasn’t – this wasn’t–’

‘I know. What are we going to do?’

‘I do not know. We must call the police. Get our stories straight before they arrive. It is important we say the same thing. They will speak to us separately, I think. Please, I ask only this last thing of you. Please do not break down. When this is over, if you want to say the stop word, I will understand.’

Did I? All along I’d said it wouldn’t be me saying that word; that Liuz would have to be the one to end our association. But now? I recalled how I’d felt not five minutes ago at the thought of Liuz getting shot and me losing him.

I couldn’t.

Even if it meant spending time in prison if the police found holes in our statements?

That was a tough question. One I wasn’t prepared to answer just yet.

We spent those agonisingly long ten minutes in one another’s arms. Liuz sang to me, some Polish tune I didn’t understand, but the melody soothed me, and with my eyes closed I could almost imagine two dead men weren’t sprawled out on his floor. If it wasn’t for the metallic scent of blood, heavy on the air now, I could have pretended everything in our world was wonderful.

‘It is time,’ he said on a sigh.

My stomach muscles cramped again. ‘I know.’

‘We must go through this quickly, our stories.’

‘Yes.’

‘It will be all right,
Aniolku
,
I promise.’

I wished his promise could be kept, but I wasn’t naïve enough to believe it could be. It would never be all right. Not now. I’d have nightmares, I was sure of it, and I worried that our relationship would deteriorate with the recent turn of events. Could we get through this? Could we hold on to this terrible secret forever?

I knew I could.

But what about Liuz?

It was very hot at the police station – hot and stuffy and oppressive. As though they’d organised it that way so everyone felt on edge, unable to relax and would offer up their information, their truth, quickly just to get out of the place.