Reckoning (31 page)

“That’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Come back here.”

He pulled her back onto the bed and rolled between her thighs, Jules opening her legs in welcome. As he entered her all thoughts of killing him melted away into pleasure.

CHAPTER 31

Katia was seriously worried. Hayden had been silent the entire journey back to the flat and she prayed he wasn’t thinking about abandoning her. She needed him. In fact she was so afraid that she didn’t dare speak until they were back in the flat and she’d settled the boys in their bouncy seats in the living room.

“We need to talk,” he finally said.

In a way it was a relief, the tension had been getting too much. Katia nodded and followed him into the kitchen.

“I know all about your past history with Alex and the sort of business you ran with him,” he began gravely, “and I’m willing to forget about it because I know you were trafficked and forced to work in that trade by Alex. But he’s gone now. Are you still working as a prostitute?”

“No,” she said indignantly.

“Do you traffick other women into the country and force them to work as prostitutes?”

“No. I’ll admit that was the deal I had with Vic Slattery, Jared’s father, but he’s gone now. Jared likes class, I run a high class escort agency. The women work because they want to, they’re treated well, protected and they earn good money. If you don’t believe me you can see if you like.”

“Yes, I would like to see,” he said, voice hard.

“Good. Then you’ll realise I’m telling the truth,” she snapped.

“I’m sorry if I’ve upset you but I have to make sure I’m making the right decision. This is my life we’re talking about.”

Katia desperately reined in her temper, she needed this man. “I understand.” She forced a cheerful smile. “Coffee?”

“Please.” He took a minute to enjoy watching her moving about the kitchen. There was a fluid elegance about her every movement that was a joy to watch. “What do you think will happen to Jules?”

“I think they will end up killing her.” She purposefully kept her back to him as she asked, “you care about her?”

“I respect her and Ryan is a friend of mine. Or at least he was, he’ll see me as a traitor after this.”

“Probably.” She was being slightly brusque with him but she couldn’t help it, she was afraid she was going to lose him so she was building up her defences against it.

He turned her to face him. “Look at me.”

“Why should I? You’re going to leave me, in the end everyone leaves me, Alex, my parents. You’ll be no different.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Yes it is,” she said, tears forming in her eyes. “You think I am a dirty prostitute but I had no choice, I needed money for my little sister so she can have a good life while I sleep with horrible men for money. Well I no do that anymore, I in charge now and I no do that to other women because no horrible man force me to do horrible things now.” The more upset she grew the more her strong grasp of English slipped, her Slovakian accent gaining in strength.

“I’m sorry, it’s okay,” he said pulling her to him. “Please don’t get upset.”

“I am upset because you don’t trust me.” She looked up at him, blue eyes huge and shiny with tears. “You the man who give me my boys back, I never lie to you. Please don’t leave me like the others did,” she ended in a whisper.

“I don’t want to leave you Katia but I won’t be a party to anything like human trafficking.”

“That is Jared’s business, not mine. He trafficks women in from Eastern Europe to use in his low-class brothels but that is not my business, not anymore. I will prove it to you.”

“Sshhh,” he said when she raised her voice. “You’ll upset the boys.”

“I don’t want you thinking bad of me.”

“I don’t,” he said gently. “I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

“I not beautiful,” she said coyly.

He tilted her face up to his. “Yes you are, you’re exquisite.”

With that he kissed her.

Katia let the teaspoon she was holding drop and eagerly kissed him back, locking her arms around his neck. He tasted so nice and fresh, like minty toothpaste.

“I want you now Hayden,” she whispered, aware of her boys in the next room.

Breathing hard, he pushed up her skirt and hoisted her up as she unfastened his jeans. Her legs went around his waist as he settled her on the kitchen unit.

“Hayden,” she groaned when he slid inside her. She liked saying his name.

He kissed her, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, pressing her back against the unit, burying himself deep inside her. He didn’t care what she was or that she’d been Alex’s mistress. He wanted her with a desperation he’d never experienced before.

Katia knew she’d found the man she needed in Hayden when he made her come like a freight train.

Jared returned downstairs to the lounge, a little breathless but happy.

“Judging by the noises emanating from upstairs I take it you had your fun?” Tanya asked him, not looking up from her interior design magazine.

“Oh yeah,” he grinned.

“Have you got her out of your system now?”

“No,” he frowned. “Stop trying to make me get rid of her because it’s not going to happen.”

“As you wish,” she said, tossing the magazine aside. “Anyway, we’ve more pressing matters to discuss. What did you think of Hayden?”

He shrugged. “Time will tell.”

“I’ve got Curtis keeping an eye on him, just in case he’s set this up with Mikey.”

“I don’t think that’s likely. Mikey wouldn’t risk handing the kids over after all the trouble he went to in getting them in case he didn’t get them back.”

“He might come back for them.”

“Not a chance, he’s a dead man.”

“Apparently the word is in Manchester that Mikey and Jez are far from dead. They’ve been seen.”

“Where?”

She shrugged. “All over the place. They’re being called ghosts.”

“What a load of crap, there’s no such thing as ghosts.”

“I agree and so will other people. Eventually everyone’s going to realise that they’re still alive and when they do the panic will set in and they’ll probably throw their weight behind the young princes and not our men.”

“No they won’t, they’re done, everyone knows that.”

“You don’t seem to understand that Mikey and Jez are writing themselves into folklore. Playing the superstitious line is smart, they’re becoming legends and people are reluctant to take on legends.”

“I suppose you’re right,” he sighed, sinking onto the couch beside her.

“Mikey and Jez need to be killed before they do any more damage.”

“I’ll get onto Nilsen.”

“Maybe.”

“Have you got a better idea?”

“We’ve got one of their inner circle. Use her.”

“We can’t, they think she’s dead.”

“Imagine their joy when they find out she’s still alive. They’ll be willing to do anything to get her back.”

“They’re not getting her back,” he frowned. “She’s staying here, with me.”

“Jared, this is business and that means more than some little tart you’ve taken a shine to.”

“I’ll think about it, okay? In the meantime I’ll get onto Nilsen.”

Tanya picked her magazine back up and regarded him disapprovingly over the top of it knowing he had no intention of giving Jules back. When he wanted something he was like a child with a toy. He didn’t share.

After giving Nilsen a bollocking over the phone, Jared hung up and threw the phone at the wall. “He is such a prick. When he’s finally got control up there I’ll have him killed and put in someone better.”

“Good idea.”

“At least he’s kept it from the Starklaws and Brogan that Mikey and Jez aren’t dead. He’s managed to get something right.”

“Does he know about Jules?”

“No. No one in Manchester does.”

“Good.” Jared looked on edge and she wanted to cheer him up. “Why don’t you bring Jules down for dinner?”

“Really?” he smiled.

“Yes. It’s time I got to know her properly and I’ll try to teach her how to behave like a lady.”

He kissed her cheek. “Thanks Mum,” he said before rushing to the stairs.

Tanya watched him go with a smile. She’d humour him until she could convince him to use her as a weapon against their enemies.

“Did you enjoy dinner Jules?” asked Tanya amiably once they’d settled themselves in the lounge with after dinner drinks.

“It was very nice,” she replied, looking disdainfully at the glass of sherry in her hand. “Do you have any lager? I hate sherry.”

“No,” hissed Tanya. “You’ll drink it and you’ll like it.”

Jules tried not to roll her eyes. Tanya had been on at her all through the meal about the way she’d held her cutlery, using a napkin, chewing quietly. She’d so reminded her of Alice Parker that she’d almost leapt over the table and stabbed her in the eye with her solid silver fork. Jules took a tiny sip and shuddered. “It’s too sweet.”

“If you don’t drink it I’ll get Jared to pour the whole fucking bottle down your throat.”

Jules rolled her eyes before knocking back the entire glass, then put a hand to her mouth as her stomach heaved.

“Not like that,” exclaimed Tanya. She drew her hand back to slap her across the face then caught the look on Jared’s face, thought better of it and lowered her arm. Instead she picked up the bottle of sherry and refilled her glass. “Again, only this time sip it delicately, like a lady should.”

Jules took another sip, raising her pinky and frowning at Tanya over the rim of the glass.

“That’s better,” she smiled, taking her seat and picking up her own glass. “Lager indeed, there’ll be none of that from now on. You will drink only sherry or champagne.”

“I can’t drink champagne, it gives me horrible headaches.”

Tanya slammed her hand down on the arm of the chair. “Are you determined to thwart me Jules?”

In the corner of her eye Jules saw Jared raised the gun. “No, actually I love champagne.” Her heart rate slowed when Jared lowered the gun. He was holding a sherry glass too, which looked ridiculous in his enormous slab of a hand. She was willing to bet that secretly he’d like a good lager too.

“Good.” Tanya forced a smile. “So Jules, I hear your parents are wealthy?”

“Were. It all belongs to me now,” she replied, thinking this would go in her favour. She guessed she was right when Tanya glanced sideways at Jared and smiled.

“Really?” smiled Tanya, leaning back in her seat, gracefully cradling her sherry glass. “Do tell.”

“Well, my dad died…” She hesitated as the memory of Mikey holding the pillow over Leighton’s face unexpectedly came screaming back. Jules wasn’t sure which was more upsetting - the memory of her dad being murdered or the memory of Mikey.

“Jules, are you alright?” said Jared.

“Yeah, sorry,” she replied, clearing her throat. “Anyway, my mum got badly burnt in a fire, so she signed over control of their estate to me.”

“And is this estate in the thousands, hundreds of thousands, or the millions?” she said eagerly, eyes pregnant with greed.

“Fifty thousand pounds shy of a million,” she casually replied, taking another sip of the hated sherry.

“Impressive. It makes up for your total lack of grace and elegance. Didn’t they send you to a good school?”

“Yeah…I mean yes,” she added when Tanya’s countenance darkened. “A very exclusive private school but I was going through some issues at the time so I rebelled until I got expelled.”

“What sort of issues?”

“My so-called dad was prostituting me to his friends for cash,” she said, looking back at Tanya challengingly.

Tanya wasn’t fazed. “He wasn’t your real dad,” she said, as though that explained everything.

“No, he wasn’t,” she said darkly, wishing Tanya would stop prodding at a raw wound.

“Terry Maguire was,” interjected Jared, who had been silent up until now. “He shagged Ryan Law’s mum.”

Jules just nodded.

“And what’s she like, the Law matriarch?” said Tanya, leaning forwards in her seat.

“Horrible.” Jules looked to Jared. “You should know, you already met her. Remember Nottingham where we kicked your men’s arses? How’s the one Ryan threw down the stairwell by the way? I bet he’s still in hospital.”

Jared’s stare was forceful. “He is. Broken back.”

“See, that’s what you get when you fuck with my family.”

Tanya was on her feet in an instant. She strode over to Jules and drew back her hand to strike her but Jules, sick of this charade, threw the sherry glass on the floor and got up to meet her, wobbling on the high heels.

“Go on, I fucking dare you,” snarled Jules.

Tanya did, a full on punch to the face that sent Jules staggering backwards, but she quickly recovered herself and formed her hand into a fist. It was only the press of the gun in her back that stopped her.

“Go on then, get it over with,” said Jules. “You’re going to do it anyway at some point because I can’t be what you want me to be. I’ve had enough of this fucking weird game and if I die now then at least I won’t have to drink any more of that shit,” she yelled, gesturing at the spilt sherry on the floor. “So just fucking do it.”