Snatched (36 page)

‘Open it, then,’ Terry said impatiently.

Opening her eyes now, Leanne’s voice was tiny as she asked, ‘Is this what I think it is?’

‘I don’t know,’ Terry said softly. ‘You’ll have to look at it and see.’

Hands shaking, Leanne flipped the lid back. Gasping when she saw the ruby and diamond ring twinkling back at her, she said, ‘Oh my God, it’s gorgeous.’

‘You like it?’ Terry asked, taking it out of the box and reaching for her hand.

‘I love it,’ she gasped, her eyes glistening as he slipped it onto her finger. ‘You know which hand that is, though, don’t you?’

‘I know,’ Terry murmured.

‘But you’re still married,’ she reminded him.

‘I know that as well,’ he said. ‘But I won’t be for ever. And when I’m not . . . well, I thought we might as well stop messing around and go for it. What do you think?’

Unable to look at him as the guilt settled over her again, Leanne bit her lip and gazed down at the ring.

Reaching for her when he saw the tears on her cheeks, Terry held her to him and stroked her hair. He figured she was probably overwhelmed because she hadn’t expected this. But he’d surprised himself just as much as he had her, because he hadn’t intended to look at rings when he’d headed into town with Connor that morning – and he certainly hadn’t intended to spend that much money. But something had clicked when he’d been talking to Sue in the café, and he’d realised that he’d been holding his and Leanne’s lives on hold this past year because of guilt. But if Sue could forgive him, it was time he forgave himself. And he’d already committed himself to Leanne, so this just seemed like the next logical step to take.

‘I love you,’ Leanne murmured, her face still buried in his jumper. ‘You know that, don’t you? No matter what happens, or what anyone says, I really do love you.’

‘Ditto,’ Terry said softly.

15

Sue’s face spoke volumes when Dave pulled up alongside her at their usual meeting place on Monday morning. Giving her a quizzical look when she’d put Connor onto the back seat and climbed in beside him, he said, ‘Everything okay? You haven’t changed your mind again, have you?’

Shaking her head, Sue flicked a surreptitious glance in Connor’s direction to let him know that she didn’t want to discuss it now.

‘As long as you’re sure,’ he said uncertainly. ‘Because you know I’d rather you just came right out with it if you have.’

‘We’ll talk later,’ she muttered, hoping he wasn’t going to press her in front of Connor.

Murmuring, ‘Okay,’ Dave set off.

Dropping her outside the housing office on Alexandra Road fifteen minutes later, he offered for her to leave Connor in the car with him.

‘Best not,’ she said, when Connor immediately began to whimper. ‘He’s already pissed Julie off, so I don’t want him winding you up as well.’

Frowning when Sue pulled Connor out of the car and walked him quickly up the ramp, Dave sat back to wait for her, his mind ticking over ten to the dozen.

It had taken weeks to get her this far, and if she’d changed her mind and he had to go through the whole take-as-long-as-you-like routine again, he’d go absolutely fucking crazy. But he would do it if he had to, because he was more than halfway to achieving his goal and there was no way he was dropping the ball now.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like her, because he did. Well, more fancied than liked, if he was honest, because Dave had never considered it natural for blokes and birds to be mates. They had completely different interests and priorities in life, so he’d always found it best to stay the hell away from them during the day, only coming home in time for a drink and a fuck. But while Carole understood that, Sue seemed to think that he actually liked hearing her whingeing about how crap her life was. And that had started to grate on him, so she’d better be a bloody good shag by the time he got her into bed to justify all the effort he’d put into getting her this far.

But who knew . . . if she
was
good in the sack, he might just consider training her up and keeping her on as a plaything – after he’d done what he’d set out to do and destroyed Terry.

As long as she kept that weird fuck of a son of hers out of his way.

And Dave, like just about everybody else, apart from Sue, Terry, the doctors and Pauline, had no doubt that the boy was putting the silent act on as a means of getting attention. But it wasn’t just this about him that irritated Dave. It was the fact that he looked so much like his father. Every time Dave laid eyes on him, it was Terry he saw looking back at him.

Still, it would be easy enough to keep the little shit in line if he had to be around. A hefty backhander with the threat of worse to come usually did the trick.

It was almost two hours before Sue came out again, and Dave could see at a glance that she’d been crying. Groaning to himself, because he was already bored off his skull from having had to sit and wait, he reminded himself why he was doing this and put a caring look on his face.

‘What happened?’ he asked, getting out of the car to open the back door for Connor. ‘What did they say?’

‘That I’ve basically got no chance of being rehoused this side of Christmas,’ she told him, her voice catching as a little sob escaped. Biting her lip, she shook her head, struggling to hold the tears in. ‘Sorry, I’ve just been doing this in there, and I swore I wasn’t going to do it again.’

Telling her that she didn’t have to worry about him, that he was here for her, Dave put his arms around her.

‘Not here,’ she hissed, pulling back. ‘Connor’s watching.’

Backing off, Dave said, ‘Fine, but we need to talk, so I’m taking you somewhere where he can play while you tell me what’s going on. Okay?’

It wasn’t a question, it was a statement, and Sue was too weak to resist. Grateful for his strength because she could feel her life was unravelling by the second, she nodded and climbed back into the car.

Taking them to a McDonald’s over in Longsight, where nobody would recognise them and disturb them, Dave sat Sue at a table in a quiet corner. Whisking Connor up into his arms then, he carried him to the counter to order himself and Sue a coffee and Connor a Happy Meal.

Watching as they went, Sue smiled sadly. She’d made the right decision. Now Connor could have two men in his life, both good, strong men who would protect him. She just prayed that Dave didn’t get too attached and expect her to exclude Terry, because it wouldn’t be fair.

Grinning broadly as he carried Connor, every inch the proud father, Dave felt him struggling and heard the whimpering and gave his legs a tight squeeze, hissing through his teeth, ‘Keep that up and you’ll be sorry, you little mardy arse.’

Stiffening with fear, Connor stayed stock-still in his arms as they reached the counter. Dave had really hurt him just now, pressing on the bruises that his own son had created. But if Connor had been scared of Fred, he was absolutely terrified of Dave.

Carrying him over to the indoor play area when he had collected the order, Dave plonked Connor down in the ball-pit and told him to stay there until he gave him permission to get out.

‘And make like you’re having fun,’ he snarled. ‘’Cos if you upset your mam, you’ll have me to answer to.’

Plonking the Happy Meal down on the table beside the pit then, Dave went back to Sue, still smiling, but with a light of fondness in his eyes now.

‘Great kid, that,’ he said, sighing as he sat down facing her. ‘Wish my lads were as well behaved. But with a mother like theirs, it’s no wonder they’ve turned out like they have. He’s lucky to have a lovely woman like you as his mam.’

‘Thanks,’ Sue murmured, feeling the tears starting up again, because no matter how bad she was feeling, he always made her feel special and secure.

‘Anyway,’ he said now, reaching for her hand across the table. ‘Let’s have it. And no bullshit about how you’re fine, because you were already upset when I picked you up this morning. So, what’s going on?’

Exhaling wearily, Sue stirred her coffee slowly with her free hand. ‘Julie’s told me to get out,’ she said after a moment. ‘When you dropped me off yesterday, she just came right out with it.’

‘Bitch,’ Dave hissed, frowning deeply. ‘Why?’

‘You,’ Sue murmured. Then, correcting herself in case he thought she was blaming him, she said, ‘Well, not so much
you
; more
me
for bringing you up to the flat.’

‘I didn’t even come in,’ Dave said indignantly. ‘What’s her fucking problem?’

‘Just the fact that I brought someone from the estate there,’ Sue told him, shrugging. ‘She’s got a thing about people knowing where she lives.’

She didn’t bother mentioning that she’d already had a go at Julie about all the men
she
had taken back there in the year since she’d known her, because then Dave would guess that Sue had been with their mates and think she was a slag – just like everyone said.

‘Told you to get your own place from the kick-off,’ Dave was saying now.

‘I am trying,’ Sue reminded him quietly. ‘But the council reckon I’m not in urgent need because I’m staying at Julie’s.’

‘But you told them she’s kicking you out?’

‘Yeah, and they said I’ll need to prove it by getting a letter from her telling me to leave by a certain date.’

‘So get one.’

‘I will. But they still might not find me anywhere. They reckon I’ll have to go into a hostel.’

‘Well, that’s good, isn’t it?’ Dave peered into her eyes. ‘The way you were talking, I thought you were going to be out on the streets, or something.’

‘Might as well be,’ Sue muttered, swiping at a stray tear with the back of her hand. ‘Me and Terry had to live in a hostel when we first had Nicky, and it’s the worst place I’ve ever lived in. There were mice and cockroaches running all over the beds, and you couldn’t leave anything in your room without someone breaking in and nicking it.’

‘Yeah, but that was a long time ago,’ Dave said, trying to cheer her up and make her see the positive side of it. ‘They’ll have cleaned up all that kind of shit by now.’

‘Will they hell,’ Sue said, a note of defeat in her voice. ‘There’ll probably be rats by now. And there was a girl in the housing office just now, kicking off about them still not giving her a house even though she’s been in the hostel for over a year. And she had two babies, so if they’ve left
her
there that long, they’ll probably leave me even longer.’

‘No, they won’t,’ Dave said confidently. ‘She probably deserved to be put there. But it wasn’t your fault that you lost your house, so they’ll have you in and out in no time.’

‘They won’t,’ Sue said flatly, the expression in her eyes hopeless. ‘They’ve told me I’m not a priority case. And because I’ve only got one child, I’m only entitled to a two-bed flat.’

‘You’ve got
two
kids,’ Dave reminded her, as if she’d forgotten.

A touch of irritation in her eyes now, Sue said, ‘I do
know
that, thanks. But apparently Nicky’s not an issue because she’s gone missing. And, according to them, it’s intentional on her part, so they’ve got no duty towards her. And it doesn’t help that she’s sixteen soon.’

Exhaling loudly, Dave said, ‘Well, you are in a bit of a pickle, aren’t you?’

It was such a ridiculous phrase, and it sounded even more absurd coming out of the mouth of a big strong streetwise man like Dave Miller, that Sue couldn’t help but laugh.

Looking into her eyes, Dave smiled. This was how he liked her, without all the moaning and the crying. Just laughing softly, and looking all girly and feminine.

‘I’ve got an idea,’ he said, the words springing out of his mouth as soon as they entered his head.

‘Oh?’ Sue sounded cautiously hopeful.

‘Move in with me,’ Dave said, shrugging as he added, ‘Just until you get your own place. Save you having to go into a hostel, wouldn’t it?’

‘No, I couldn’t,’ Sue murmured, dipping her gaze as a blush spread across her cheeks. ‘Thanks for the offer, but it wouldn’t be right.’

‘Why not?’ Dave persisted, wondering why this hadn’t occurred to him before now.

Reminding him that they’d only just become a couple, and that they had only kissed twice, Sue said, ‘I just don’t think I’m ready for anything else yet.’

‘Behave,’ Dave drawled, a teasing note to his voice. ‘We’re together now, so it’s not like we won’t do it at some point. But if that’s what’s worrying you, forget it, ’cos you can have your own room, if you want. And you can stay as long as you like. No strings.’

‘What about Carole?’ Sue asked, surprised that she was even considering it. But while it wasn’t what she would have wanted until she and Dave were sure that they were going to work out, she had to admit that it was better than the alternative.

‘What about her?’ Dave said, drawing his head back and frowning. ‘I’m not talking about
her
house, I’m talking about mine.’

‘I didn’t know you had one,’ Sue said, embarrassed again, because it hadn’t even occurred to her to wonder where he’d been living since he and Carole had split up.

‘I haven’t,’ Dave said, shrugging. ‘I moved in with me dad when I left the bitch. But he’s got to be ninety if he’s a day, so he won’t bother you. He never even comes out of his room any more; just lies in bed getting me to fetch and carry for him.’

‘Oh, that’s awful,’ Sue said sadly. ‘Is he ill?’

‘Nah, he’s just lazy,’ Dave chuckled. ‘But seriously, he won’t bother you. In fact, he’ll probably enjoy having a woman about the house again. Hasn’t been the same since my mam died.’

‘What about Connor?’ Sue asked, gazing across at her son. Frowning when she saw that he was exactly where Dave had left him, she tutted softly. God only knew what was wrong with him now, but he looked absolutely ridiculous sitting alone in the middle of the sea of multicoloured balls. Any normal child would have been rolling around and having fun. But not Connor. He was as stiff as a statue, his huge, dark eyes staring vacantly off into space.