Читать книгу The Choice - Kerry Barnes - Страница 12

Poppy and Brooke sat on either side of Liam on the plane, while Arty sat with Ricky. Arty didn’t want Ricky to feel like a gooseberry. ‘D’ya reckon you’re gonna be all right? I mean, there ain’t no chance of your brain going funny again, is there? ’Cos ya did give us a right royal fucking shock.’

Ricky crossed his eyes and put on a funny face, making Arty laugh.

‘No, Art. They fixed me up. I’m as right as rain. I just can’t take another blow to the head for a while. I’ve got a plate behind my ear, and they sorted out all that water on me brain, so I’m ready for the sun.’

Arty stared at the last of Ricky’s yellow bruises and wondered how he could be so upbeat. He’d been in a chemical coma after the vicious beating. The doctors were reluctant to say he would survive, and yet, here he was, with his round girlie eyes and his prominent dimples, smiling back at him.

‘You’re a lot like your father, ya know that?’

Ricky beamed. ‘So everyone says, and if I am, then I’ll be proud of meself. I’m so glad I found me dad and you guys. It’s like I was never away all those years. I’ve still got a lot to learn, though.’

Arty guessed what he was on about. ‘Ricky, you just take your time and let me and Liam take the lead. Any grief, and you get behind us, yeah? Because, right now, something’s going on. I’ve never heard me ol’ man so shit-scared for me. Neither has Liam for that matter. His dad’s face was so serious. The situation is tense but it’s nothing me and Liam can’t handle.’

Ricky nodded and looked across at Liam. Chuckling away, he said, ‘He’s in his element, ain’t he?’

Arty laughed along. ‘Like a pig in shit. That Poppy really likes him, ya know. I think she’s a bit of a geek, and they say opposites attract.’

Ricky thought about Zara and his father. ‘Yeah, that’s supposed to be the way, but I worry that Zara and me dad are too alike.’

‘You really like Zara, don’t ya?’

Ricky blushed. ‘Yeah, I do. She’s ace, ya know.’ He held up his wrist. ‘She gave me this gold bracelet with BRAVE engraved on it … I wish she’d been my mum, instead of Jackie.’

Arty noticed a sadness creeping over Ricky’s face. ‘Was she really as wicked as they said she was?’

With a deep breath, Ricky replied, ‘The truth is, Arty, me ol’ man only knows part of it. If he knew the full extent of what she put me through, he would kill her. Not that her death would be on me conscience, but the risk of me dad going back to prison would. I fucking hate her.’

Arty didn’t press for details. He could tell that whatever it was that Ricky had endured it had been cruel at the very least, and the expression on Ricky’s face suddenly changed from a soft, sweet, schoolboy look to one of Mike Regan’s in a rage. Those piercing pearl-grey eyes dulled, and his brows knitted together.

‘Well, let’s try and treat this as a bit of a break. We’ll soak up the rays, have a dip in the pool, and shop.’

Ricky laughed. ‘Shopping? What are ya? A girl?’

Arty screwed his nose up. ‘And so, Ricky, me ol’ son, are you gonna wash out ya smalls every day, then?’

Ricky rolled his eyes. ‘Point taken, mate.’

As the plane changed its course, the boys knew that they were not far away from their destination. Arty glanced over at his friend and realized what the problem was. Ricky was worried about the impending descent and the effect this would have on his ears. Ricky had discussed this with Arty on the flight, telling him that as they descended there would be a corresponding change in air pressure that would send sharp pains around his tender scars where the doctors had operated on his brain to stop the bleeds.

By one o’clock in the afternoon, the aircraft began its descent. Arty panicked as he watched the agony on Ricky’s face. He pulled him close and covered his friend’s hands with his own, trying to help with the pain. Ricky was sweating profusely, and Arty was attempting to comfort him.

‘Suck on these sweets.’ He handed Ricky a few sherbet lemons. ‘See, I said we’d take care of you. Fuck me, I should ’ave been a nurse.’

Wasting no time, Ricky began sucking on the sweets until he felt his ears pop and the pressure begin to release. The colour then came back to his cheeks. ‘Christ, I thought for a minute I was going to have another haemorrhage.’

‘Don’t say that. Jesus, you had me sweating for a minute.’

As the plane landed, Arty looked for his passport and phone in among the safety leaflets and magazines stuffed in the pouch of the seat in front of him. Then his attention was diverted to two men roughly the same age as himself, who were making disparaging remarks regarding Liam and the two girls. At first, he thought he had misheard, until one of the cheeky bastards laughed.

‘Cor, I bet he thought all his Christmases had come at once, sitting between two lookers.’

The other young man, now in on the joke, replied, ‘No, mate. I bet the girls thought all their Halloweens had come at once.’

Arty looked over at Liam who must have just caught the end of their joke. Instead of looking ready for a punch-up, he actually appeared hurt. Clocking Liam’s gutted expression instantly had Arty gunning for the opinionated bastards. He watched the passengers all shuffling, ready to get their bags together, and then he noticed Ricky’s bottle of water still in the pouch. He smiled to himself, retrieved the full bottle, and unscrewed the lid. As the two men fiddled with the overhead lockers, Arty tapped one on the shoulder. ‘Is that my bag, mate?’ he asked. As the guy turned to face him, he stared him straight in the eyes and poured the contents of the bottle down the front of his trousers. Arty stepped back. With a voice a little louder than necessary, he said, ‘Er, mate, you should’ve used the toilets. A bit too old to piss yaself, ain’t ya?’

The young man glared and then looked down at his light-coloured chinos. Sure enough, it did look like he’d wet himself. Then he spotted the bottle in Arty’s hand. ‘Why, you fucking shit!’

Ricky and Liam were now laughing very loudly, and they were joined by Poppy and Brooke. The furious man looked across at the group and decided it was best to keep his mouth shut.

Poppy leaned into Liam, feeling sorry for him, and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Will you help me up, Liam?’ she asked, in her sweetest voice.

Liam looked over at the angry man and grinned. ‘’Course I will, my babe.’ Then he returned the kiss. Inside, he was elated. His pretty bird had gone out of her way to make a public show of affection for him and he felt a million dollars. Not many women would have done that: most would have edged away.

Brooke, however, was impressed with how Arty had managed the situation, and a sense of excitement ran through her. She wasn’t used to men who could handle themselves. All the boys that she’d dated in the past were proper geeks and would run away from any confrontation.

As Liam helped Poppy, and Arty did likewise with Ricky, they made their way through the terminal. Once they were outside, Liam spotted Terrence.

Terrence, a tall man, dressed in beige linen trousers and a white casual shirt, was leaning against a Bentley stretch limo. He looked fit and well, with a tan that set off his white hair and blue eyes. In his late sixties now, Terrence had once worked for Arthur Regan, Mike and Eric’s father. He was only a kid back then but soon got in with the firm and joined them on two heists that made him a mint. They called him Terrence The Skid because he could handle any vehicle and was their top getaway driver. He was fearless behind the wheel of a car and could easily outrun the police, having done it many a time. He wisely invested his money in property and prudently made friends with the local Spanish mayor. Now with two restaurants and a nightclub to his name, Terrence was going straight, except for the fact that he took a significant cut in any drugs that were sold on his premises.

As soon as he saw Arty and Liam, he pushed himself away from the car and walked over with his arms outstretched to hug the boys. Arty was first to embrace the man, followed by Liam, and then Terrence turned to look at Ricky. Arty knew that once Terrence clapped eyes on him, he would get emotional.

Ricky grinned as his vague memories of Terrence came flooding back like a film. Visions of Terrence teaching him to dive, when he was six years old, flashed through his mind.

‘Fuck me, ’ave I missed you. Come ’ere and give ya Uncle Skid a hug.’

Ricky fell into his arms and allowed the man to hold him for more than the customary two seconds for a greeting embrace.

Arty and Liam smiled at each other as they both noticed the tears welling up.

‘Look at ya! I would’ve recognized you anywhere. You’re like ya grandfarver was back in the day. It’s good to have you back, my boy.’

Ricky’s cheeks glowed. ‘And it’s good to see you too, Uncle Skid.’

‘Terrence, I need to get some clobber, mate. We didn’t have time to pack,’ said Arty, itching to get some new clothes.

‘Arty, just get in the motor, will ya? We can’t hang about, fella. I’ve been given strict instructions to get you to a safe villa. It’s me new drum that not a single soul knows about, including me missus.’

Poppy and Brooke were now smiling. They both knew that this was another world. Of course, they’d watched the gorgeous tough guy Vinnie Jones in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels – but that was pure theatre! The way this man and Ricky’s dad and his friends spoke and acted, though, with their flash cars and their serious demeanour and urgency, was altogether a different ballgame. And it was cool.

The excitement of seeing Ricky again had caused Terrence to take his eye off the ball. He didn’t notice the unsuspecting tatty car following them. Even as he weaved about along the winding roads into the mountains, he still didn’t see the red Ford Focus that allowed other cars to get in front.

The Ford Focus followed the Bentley for about fifteen miles and still showed no signs of catching it before the limo shot up a private drive. The driver slowed down and glanced across to the right to see a gated entrance and the gates closing automatically. Retrieving a phone from the passenger seat, he took a snapshot before driving away.

‘Now, lads. I’ve everything you need except a housekeeper, so I’m afraid you’re gonna have to clean up ya own shit, yeah? The fridge is loaded with food, the pool’s clean, and the bar’s stocked. You two lovely ladies, you have the top floor. The windows ’ave shutters you can lock, and, lads, I’ve three handguns with your names on ’em. One other thing. I know gin is all the rage these days, so I’ve twenty different Vera Lynns, all ready for ya in the drinks cabinet. I can’t say fairer than that!’

Poppy’s and Brooke’s eyes were on stalks. Vinnie Jones had nothing on Skid. Poppy loved his outfit. And, of course, she couldn’t help but spot the gold Rolex and the mirrored sunglasses – did all gangsters wear these? she mused. Then she thought about what he had just said. Handguns.

Terrence spotted Poppy’s reaction as he peered into the rear-view mirror. He could see she looked nervous, but he didn’t know why. ‘All right, back there, Poppy?’

The lads went quiet, waiting for her response.

‘Er, what’s the matter?’ asked Terrence.

‘Um, Poppy and Brooke, well they … Ya see, it’s like this, Terrence …’ Arty was at a loss for words. He didn’t really know how to explain that the girls weren’t from their world.

Ricky took over. ‘Uncle Skid, the girls don’t really know what’s going on. It was only a few days ago that they were at uni. Their muvver’s an MP. It’s kinda complicated.’

Terrence stopped the car directly outside the impressive-looking villa. He twisted himself around to face the look of shock on both the girls’ faces. ‘Jesus. Listen, girls. All I can say is, you’ll need to learn fast. Uni students, eh? Well, if ya both have brains, the lads’ll ’ave to teach ya stuff that you ain’t ever had to learn before.’

Poppy then smiled and nodded. ‘Look, we’ll be okay, I am sure.’ She chuckled. ‘Is there anywhere we can do some target practice? Mind you, I have to say, we have been clay pigeon shooting, and Brooke is first class, aren’t you Brooke?’

Brooke beamed. ‘Oh, yes. So, loading and handling a gun for a different sport isn’t alien to me.’

Terrence almost roared with laughter at that remark, but he didn’t want to embarrass who he now believed to be two very middle-class young girls … and pretty to boot. Instead, he allowed his smile to reach his eyes. ‘Good on ya. Maybe you can teach Liam, then, ’cos you ain’t a shit-hot shot, are ya, Liam? D’ya remember, you nearly shot me cat last year? Poor ol’ Lucky ain’t never been the same.’

Liam couldn’t help laughing at that wisecrack, and he was joined by Arty and Ricky, who were doubled over, which instantly broke the worried tension.

They stepped out of the car and followed Terrence into the villa. Brooke marvelled at the inside. The entrance hall, which was wall-to-wall marble, led into a massive lounge, which boasted an enormous fireplace surrounded by sofas. Just off the lounge was a dining area with eight fashionable white leather chairs set around a long oak dining table. Although this was impressive, it was the huge bifold doors opening up to an amazing view of the mountains beyond that stunned the girls. Brooke had only seen something like this on TV while watching the X Factor contestants performing at one of the judge’s houses.

Terrence led the way back to the entrance hall and into an enormous room leading off to the right. ‘’Ere’s the kitchen. It’s all stocked up. There’s the cooker, and, well, you lot can suss out the rest.’

Poppy and Brooke were looking at each other in astonishment. They’d never been inside such a plush villa. They knew one chapter of their lives was over. The suffocation of living with their mother, Rebecca, and their so-called father, Alastair, they thought had come to an end. Now they were being drawn into a new world – a very different world – they really didn’t know how they felt about it. It had all happened so quickly.

Brooke had been preoccupied, obsessed even, with her own problems. The rape incident had affected her very badly, and it had only been a few days ago that she’d agreed even to leave her bed, never mind the house.

Poppy, for her part, had been busy revising for end of term exams, her life focused on herself. But something had made her think more about Brooke. They had both lost their stepsister, Kendall, and maybe it was for that reason they’d suddenly become close. The fact that their own mother had consistently lied to them regarding who their real father was only made them realize that they’d been living in a fake family. How their lives could have flipped on their heads in just a few days was mind-blowing. Meeting Ricky, for example, in the hospital, after her mother had mown her down in a hit-and-run, only to discover he was Kendall’s boyfriend, proved how strange life could be. And while Kendall had been killed in the horrific assault, he’d been beaten near to death.

Nevertheless, they were here now, and excitedly she bit her lip, thinking about Liam. In such a short time, he had become her rock.

Terrence came back through the lounge and unlocked the door to the outside. The warm air instantly hit them, a stark contrast to the air conditioning inside.

‘Wow,’ said Brooke, as she spied the infinity pool. ‘That is beautiful.’

Arty and Liam looked at her and smiled. This was just the norm for them. They often spent their holidays with the firm in Spain, and Mikey’s villa was in the same league, so they were used to no less.

Poppy and Brooke, though, had only ever been on package holidays where everyone fought for a sunlounger around the pool.

‘Lads, come through to the bar. I need to get you geared up,’ he said, as he looked at Poppy and Brooke, who were still soaking in the surroundings. ‘I didn’t get a chance to organize flak jackets, but I’ll bring ’em tomorrow.’

The girls strolled back into the villa, and Ricky, ever the gentleman, decided he would escort them upstairs to their rooms.

Liam and Arty followed Terrence into the games room, which was more of a lads’ room, comprising a full-size snooker table, a poker table, and a well-stocked bar, with a huge curved TV screen set up on the wall.

‘Cor, Terrence, this is the mutt’s nuts, mate.’

Terrence nodded. ‘I had it put in for when your farvers come over for a break, so don’t you youngsters go and have wild parties and fuck it up, will ya?’

Arty laughed. ‘Terrence, have ya seen those two girls? The wildest they’ll ever get up to is a glass of Pimm’s over a game of Scrabble.’

‘I see one has a bruised face. She looks as though she’s been in a car crash!’

Liam exchanged glances with Arty. Terrence looked on, wondering if he was witnessing a private exchange, until Arty realized that his dad’s mate hadn’t been briefed on every event over in England.

Accordingly, he said, ‘Unfortunately, you ain’t far wrong, mate. Ricky met Poppy in hospital when he was recovering from the attack. Ya knew about that, right?’

Terrence looked at them both, all traces of humour now over. ‘No, not that. Mike told me a lot about what’s been goin’ on, and, quite frankly, I just couldn’t believe it at first. What he didn’t mention, though, was the business with the girls. He just said that they were with you and would I treat them like I would you lads.’

‘Well, Poppy and Brooke’s muvver is the local MP. She’s a dodgy prat. Anyway, she ran Poppy down, probably by mistake, ’cos it was dark, but she didn’t stop, so it was a fucking hit-and-run. I think she’s now on remand, but I don’t know if the girls know that.’ Arty noticed Terrence’s face, which was poised for more information.

‘The twins, Brooke and Poppy, had a stepsister called Kendall. She was Lance Ryder’s daughter, who was killed during the attack on Ricky,’ said Arty, eager to fill in the missing details.

‘About the twins. Who is their father?’

‘Well, funny you should ask. They thought their ol’ man was Alastair, the son of this Torvic bloke. But they only just found out their real dad is Lance Ryder.’

‘Mike told me about this Alastair bloke. Do the girls know he’s dead?’ Terrence suddenly lowered his voice.

‘No, but from what I can gather, they weren’t that close to him. In fact, they weren’t close to their muvver either. Kendall’s dad, this Lance bloke, is looking out for them now,’ said Liam, who had remained quiet up until this point.

‘Fucking hell. There’s a lot of coincidences,’ said Terrence, with a deep frown.

‘No, not really. The only fluke was Ricky dating Kendall. The blokes who attacked Kendall were after Ricky because he’s Mike’s son, but they killed Kendall. The sick twist is that not only did that bastard Alastair play a hand in killing his own stepdaughter but he fucking raped her first,’ said Liam.

‘The dirty fucker! Right, I’d better show you the gun collection.’

Terrence then walked over to the cabinet and unlocked it. As the door was opened, Arty grinned. ‘Cor, fucking tasty, mate.’

Ricky appeared in the doorway and made his way over to see what they were looking at. ‘I told the girls to check out the upstairs. Ya don’t mind, Uncle Skid, do ya?’

‘No, lad, not in the least. Right, now you’re all here, those three guns there are loaded. I’m supposed to have them separate from the ammo, but I didn’t see the point. Anyway, don’t get drinking and start playing silly buggers, ’cos I don’t wanna have to explain how the fuck any of ya got shot.’

Arty patted his shoulder. ‘Terrence, in case you ain’t noticed, we’re all grown men now.’

Terrence raised his brow. ‘Yeah, is that right? Well, you’re still kiddies to me. Okay, in that drawer, there are two small handguns for the girls. Now, look on those walls. See those red buttons? If ya press them, make sure no one is near the windows or the doors, ’cos you may well lose a foot. The minute you press any of the panic buttons, those metal shutters come down, and trust me, they’re fucking heavy and they hit the floor like shit off a shovel.’

As confident and self-assured as Arty was, he suddenly felt uncomfortable. ‘Terrence, tell me, mate. How serious is this business back home? We were given a quick briefing at the airport, but, I mean all this.’ He pointed to the gun cabinet. ‘What’s going on?’

Terrence leaned against the bar. ‘Sit down, lads. Ya wanna brandy?’

Liam nodded. ‘Yeah, sounds as though we’re gonna need one.’

As soon as the tumblers were placed in the boys’ hands, Terrence took a deep breath. ‘Okay, there ain’t been many times when Mikey Regan calls me in a right two and eight, so when he does, I pay attention. All you really need to know is that some geezer called Torvic, a dangerous fucker by all accounts, was held captive by Zara Ezra and Mikey, while they tried to get information out of him. Ya know, “the Mikey way”. Anyway—’

‘Hold it, Terrence. What do ya mean by “the Mikey way”?’ interjected Ricky.

Liam put a hand on Ricky’s shoulder. ‘Oh, trust me, buddy, you’ll live and learn, now you’re part of the firm.’

As Ricky turned to face him, Liam winked. ‘Our pops take no shit.’

Ricky thought back to the brief spell he’d spent in prison when he’d been reunited with his father, and how he had put the fear of God into people. ‘Yeah, Liam, I ain’t really surprised.’

Terrence was relieved that the boys’ fathers hadn’t kept them wrapped in cotton wool. Clearly, they were following in the footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers before them. But he didn’t know what they knew and what they didn’t. Although he and Mikey spoke on the phone occasionally, they never spoke about business. That was a no-no in their line of work. Fucking GCHQ and all that listening bollocks was apparently being extended from listening in on known espionage and terror related set-ups to any nefarious activity that was making serious money and denying the government of valuable revenue.

‘Well, this Torvic bloke was set up by Zara and Mike. Torvic’s sons got murdered, and his precious granddaughter was threatened. The deal was that Torvic would lead them to a man called Barak Segal in exchange for Torvic’s granddaughter’s life. Anyway, Zara and Mike had ’em locked up overnight only to find that the bastard and his granddaughter had escaped by the morning. This Torvic geezer is on the loose, and, apparently, from what Mikey told me, he’s one sick fucker who will come for one or each of you, out of revenge.’

‘Why did they kill the man’s sons?’

Arty tutted. ‘For fuck’s sake, Ricky, they would’ve had their reasons, wouldn’t they?’

‘I know that, but I wanna know why.’

Terrence poured them all another drink. ‘Because, Ricky, and Liam has just confirmed this, one of his sons was responsible for your beating … and another thing,’ he pointed his finger upwards to where the girls were, ‘he was supposedly their father … a bloke called Alastair. It’s all a bit of a mess. Torvic was importing a drug called Flakka into the whole of South-East London and had gangs of druggies doing his dirty work. But the bastard was killing and hurting innocent people. His son, Alastair, also killed his own stepdaughter by forcing that Flakka shit down her throat before he raped—’

‘Kendall?’ interrupted Ricky, horrified by what his uncle was telling them.

Terrence had been gauging the effect his news was having on the lads and particularly on Ricky. ‘Yeah, sorry, son. She was ya girlfriend, weren’t she?’

Ricky looked away, tears forming, and he suddenly felt very light-headed. He took deep breaths, as suggested by his nurse Constance at the hospital, whenever he experienced a flashback where he was subjected to that savage beating in Kendall’s flat. He got up from the bar stool and walked around in circles, processing this news, while Terrence, Arty, and Liam spoke quietly, trying to give Ricky some private time.

Terrence knew this would be difficult for Mikey’s son. In truth, he hadn’t wanted to get involved in all of this mess, but he owed Mikey big time for all the work the big man had given him, and, of course, for the rewards he was now blessed with. He needed to be there for the lad, and he would be.

Five minutes later, Ricky was back, sitting at the bar. His mind made up now, he said, ‘Evil cunts! Ya best show me how to use one of these guns, because if this geezer shows his face, I’ll blow the fucker’s head off!’

Arty and Liam had never seen Ricky get angry. But then, Ricky was a relatively new face, as an adult, anyway.

Ricky had just started school when Jackie, his mother, had taken him from Mike’s home, ostensibly to escape to Spain and to safety, following a war that had just taken place between the Regans and both the Harman and Segal families. Jackie, though, didn’t go to Spain. She used all the money she had siphoned from Mike to buy a house in Cambridgeshire, intending to shack up with Scottie Harman. But her illicit involvement with one of the Harmans was a step too far for Mike. Knowing what Mike would do if he caught her, she scarpered off to Ireland, back to her roots, to live in a caravan. No one knew where Ricky was until fate decreed that both Ricky and Mike would be reunited in HMP Maidstone.

The handsome, cheeky chappie with an innocent smile had transcended into someone far more frightening. Now his look of rage was identical to Mike’s. Even Terrence spotted it.

‘Cor, you’re your father’s son all right. It’s like watching Mikey all over again.’

‘So, are you gonna show me how to fire that thing?’

Arty got up and pulled Ricky away. ‘Listen. They’ll find this Torvic fella, so slow yaself down. Let’s get settled in and then we can have a little target practice, but first, mate, you need to get rid of that anger, ’cos no one learned anything when their mind’s on revenge.’

By the time Terrence had given them the complete rundown and left the villa, they were ready for the pool except they had no swimming gear, only their underwear. The situation was so bizarre to the girls that they were done with being so ladylike and self-conscious. The boys were in the pool in just their boxers, which was okay by them. Arty thought, though, that the girls might be a little embarrassed going into the pool wearing only a bra and knickers. But Poppy and Brooke didn’t need asking twice: they stripped off and joined them in a flash.

Enjoying the attention, the girls played around in the infinity pool. Meanwhile, the lads still had the looming threat firmly on their minds and kept ever vigilant. And they had to be even more so now that Poppy and Brooke were with them because they had lived somewhat privileged and sheltered lives, and so they wouldn’t really have a clue how serious this situation was. But their fathers had made it clear that if Torvic showed up, then there was to be no messing about: they were instructed to shoot to kill. It was the first time ever that they’d been told to kill anyone, so they weren’t going to take any chances. It was the day they had to grow up – to step into their fathers’ shoes and to take no prisoners.