Summer Storm (Broken Circles Book 1), page 3
“Don’t fucking move.” I growled in my most terrifying voice, watching as he shuddered when I pointed the gun to his head. “Well, hello there. We meet again.” The brawl behind me had restarted in earnest, Clive not knowing when to quit. “Clive, boy. Stop your carry on.” I swung my upper body in an arc, pointing the gun down the hallway toward him, Warren remained underneath my foot, no threat to me whatsoever. Silence. All that came was silence and several pairs of eyes glued to me as if waiting for some grand finale. “Ah, Gripp. A man who precedes his reputation. I didn’t think I’d ever get the honour.”
“It’s Shaun,” he grumbled, non-too kindly.
“Now it is, yes. Charlie had many a thing to say about you, a choice word or two if you like. Traitor. Snitch.”
“No. I wanted other things.”
“Ah, your young man. And how did that work out for you?”
“Peachy,” Shaun snarled, nothing and no one intimidating him.
And why would it? Charlie had been missing a while now, most likely languishing in a shallow grave somewhere, so Gripp was free from the man, just like Chrissie was. It became clear why I’d walked in on what I had - they were here to collect Warren’s son and not to retrieve the money Charlie had owed but would never pay.
“Shame. Could have used a man like you. Instead, I have me a Clive.” I looked pointedly at the prick who was still pinned down.
“I’m not for hire.”
“No, I guess you’re not.” At one point in time, his answer would have aggrieved me because I’d wanted a man like Gripp to work for me. He would have been a fine addition. With things changing, he was best left to his new life, he was a better man in love than he was a criminal. I let out a sigh then turned my attention back to Warren, removing my foot from his back. He turned over carefully, clearly in pain, and scanned his surroundings. “You, Clive.” I cocked my head to the side. “Are a source of great disappointment.” My eyes flitted to Kayleigh for a second then turned back to Clive, who was now leaning against the wall, blood dripping from his nose, Gripp having let him up. He sat at the opposite wall, the bat in his hand resting over his knees. He looked far from calm, back to the gruff man people normally saw. He was a scary motherfucker when he wanted to be yet wasn’t a patch on my men when they got started, and I could have seen to it he would have matched their ferocity had I managed to get him into the organisation when I’d expressed interest. “Where’s your boy?” I asked Warren.
He inadvertently glanced at the bathroom door and I wondered if Warren was about to do something really stupid. “I’m not leaving without him. I’m taking him home.”
Laughing heartily, I gave him my assurances. “Of course, you’re taking him home. It’s the least I can do for you. I’m sorry about this uneasy coincidence, I wasn’t aware until recently that you were married to a whore.” I sneered at Kayleigh sideways. “You might want to get looked at on the way home.” Pointing down to his arm and the blood oozing through the sleeve of his jacket, I winced in sympathy. “Clive get you with his bat, hhmm?”
“Daddy?” I hadn’t noticed the door opening until a frightened voice spoke and a child’s head appeared through a gap in the door, peeking around into the hall. Pulling my gun out of sight, I didn’t want to scare the poor kid anymore than he most likely was as he rushed forward and fell to his knees at Warren’s side crying daddy, daddy, again and again.
“No!” Kayleigh screamed.
Silencing her with a look so deadly, she had the decency to dip her head and shut her mouth. She’d betrayed me, and I was collecting, she understood I was a far greater evil than the men rolling around on the floor in front of her.
“Everyone out except you two.” I pointed to Clive and Kayleigh. “We still have some business to attend to.” My hiss was tainted with displeasure.
The unknown man holding Kayleigh against the wall, stepped away and nodded toward Gripp, the bat forgotten on the floor. Gripp scooped up the child and hugged him close while the man helped Warren up from the floor with great difficulty. He was struggling to take a decent breath, Clive having done some hefty damage with that fucking bat of his. Warren needed a hospital before he went anywhere else, I imagined Chrissie having a fit if he turned up looking the way he did.
I walked forward into his space and spoke with genuine feeling. “You and the Princess give him the home he deserves. My wife will be happy to know no harm came to the boy.”
He eyed me with scepticism, probably wondering where my compassion had been for his woman when I’d held her in a room of a rundown warehouse. Maybe this would make amends for the unfortunate incident my wife had orchestrated, I was giving him what he wanted, just like I had done before. He got to walk away and start a new chapter of his life. How lucky he was.
“Okay, let’s wrap it up,” I said once I was sure the others had left the block of flats.
Kayleigh started screaming, Sandir pushing her hard against the wall with a hand to her mouth. “I suggest you shut the fuck up.”
Clive stood with his head hanging. He knew the score, knew that punishment would not end well for either of them. How did he ever think he could get away with stealing my money and riding off into the sunset like he hadn’t betrayed the last person in the world he really shouldn’t have? Man was delusional, or maybe pussy-whipped, I couldn’t figure out which.
Standing toe to toe, I tipped his chin upwards and stared at him. “You silly fucker. I hope she was worth it.”
Jolie Summers
“Jolie Summers, you get your arse in here girl and fucking explain yourself.”
Inebriated again, so she was. I had five minutes to get out of the house and to the Tube otherwise I could kiss yet another job goodbye because I’d stopped to engage with a drunk person. Liking this particular job, I didn’t want to lose it and vaguely deliberated whether it was worth the lashing I’d get later.
“Work, Mum,” I hollered back, avoiding the living room. “Gonna be late, see you later.”
“Jolie!”
Nope, keep walking. Ignore the woman screaming her head off, ignore the names, ignore she’s drunk. With a bit of luck, by the time I got home, she’d have passed out in her chair or, God forbid, got up and gone to bed. At least she didn’t smoke, I didn’t have to worry about her burning the whole flat down. For emphasis, or just to be a teeny-weeny bit of a bitch, I slammed the front door behind me when I left.
“Your Mama griefing again, Jolie?”
“Ain’t she always?”
Without waiting for a reply, I skipped down the four flights of stairs that kept my mother housebound. Or lazy, wasn’t sure which to be honest. Bounding out onto the street toward the Tube station, I couldn’t be tardy again, no way, I’d used up all my viable excuses, and sleeping with the boss to keep my employment was in no way appealing. Not that Bill would expect that, of course.
Being a supply teacher for three days was challenging, but the three days bar work? I didn’t bat an eyelid slinging drinks into the small hours of the morning. A no-brainer job in a bar that served a more upmarket clientele had its perks, like better behaved patrons mostly and excellent tips when the bar was busy. I loved teaching, I did, but those three days I worked didn’t pay the bills, and neither did my mother. She spent her benefit money on booze, leaving me to pay everything else, including the debts she’d amassed before she’d decided sitting in a chair all day was the best use of her life. I barely had any money left to scrape together at the end of the month.
Which was fine. We had a roof over our heads, food in the cupboard for when mum decided she wanted to soak up some of the alcohol swimming in her veins, and enough money to travel to work. I wasn’t greedy, we got by sufficiently.
The Tube was packed out at five o’clock on a Thursday evening, people going home, people starting their weekend early, and people like me setting off to work. The eclectic mix of men and women were always fascinating to watch, so that’s what I did while I listened to music through my earphones. A favourite pastime to make travel less boring when I wasn’t in the mood to read.
Forgetting about home, I looked forward to getting into the bar and being so busy I wouldn’t have time to contemplate the amount of time my ex, Jared, was spending in my house when I wasn’t there. He was an all right bloke, kept mum company but he bored me to tears. I’d known him for too many years for the sex to have been comfortable, maybe he’d thought that too when he’d added the word cheater to his relationship resume. Staying friends would have been better, less awkward, especially since the guy was pissing me off more than he should have been able to.
Off one Tube and onto another, three stops, and I was at Caulder’s, ready to throw my weight into an eight-hour shift, hoping the place was busy enough to accrue some half decent tips. Thursdays were always touch and go. Not quite the weekend - it would be busy, or it wouldn’t - I crossed my fingers for a reasonable showing.
“Hey, Carol,” I called out as I walked into the break room at the back of the building.
“Hey, girl!”
Carol was this fantastic lady I’d instantly liked from our first meeting over two months ago. The older woman had taken her time to show me everything I’d needed to know, impressed I was a fast learner and there to work, not find a sugar daddy like some of the younger servers coming through the bar like a revolving door. Oh, I could flirt all right, was naturally sunny in my disposition, buoyant when the need arose, but as for wanting an old man with money to look after me? No, thank you. Each to their own, but not for me.
“Busy yet?” The club opened around half five and I hadn’t been in the bar having come through the side door.
“Nah, not yet. Jenny says VIP is booked for later, the big boss is coming in with his guys. Best service required. She’s asking if you’re up for it?”
“Yeah, sure.” It took me off the main floor for most of the night. I’d never met this ‘silent’ boss of ours yet. When Bill had employed me, I’d got the impression he owned the bar until Carol mentioned there was an owner who rarely showed face, that Bill did the grunt work and kept the place afloat. There was no reason to ask any more, I was perfectly happy working for Bill, the man was pleasant and fair.
“I’d rather have a sensible head serving his group than any of those gold diggers. I know serving comes with a certain level of flirting but ugh…”
I laughed. “It’s okay. You don’t need to tell me.”
“Between you and me, right?”
Carol didn’t need tip money. She worked a decent office job that gave her little social interaction or stimulation, had a fella at home with a good job too, but she loved working the bar and had been at Caulder’s before she’d been employed in her office job. Some weeks she did just one shift, some she did four.
“How many this week?”
“You have me the rest of the weekend, darling.” Winking, she went back to whatever she’d been doing on her phone.
“Great. Some intelligent conversation then.”
Carol snorted. “Starved for it, are you?”
“Most days. Then I see you and all is right,” I smirked.
“Bill’s wandering around.”
“Well, thank fuck I’m not late again.”
“Truth. Bill’s all right, you know. I reckon he’s just a little enamoured with those cute pink buns of yours. You know they look like cat ears, right, and he has a thing for pussy.”
Gaping at her, I couldn’t hold in the laugh and ended up collapsing into the chair in a fit of giggles. “Pussy, you say?”
“Oh yeah. Seriously Jolie, you may be one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen, darling. You’re sexy as fuck too, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, okay?”
“Nothing innocent going on here, Carol.”
“No, I know, love. You’re a rare creature, don’t let the fuckwads snuff it out.”
The door to the break room crashed open and in flounced one of those fuckwads. Dramatically falling into an unoccupied chair, CeeCee flung her bag on the table, coffee spilling over the side of Carol’s cup.
“Hey, ladies.” Carol spared CeeCee the smallest of glances before going back to her phone. “You got VIP again, J?”
“Guess so, and it’s Jolie,” I reminded for the umpteenth time.
“How comes you get special privileges, you ain’t been here long enough to keep bagging VIP.” She eyed me with a shrewdness that often made me uncomfortable, the woman was full of menace underneath her fake smiles and mumbled underhand comments she didn’t try too hard to disguise.
I shrugged while Carol forcefully put her phone down on the table and turned to CeeCee. “Because she’s not the one fucking the customers.”
“Nah, J’s probably fucking the boss,” she laughed.
“It’s Jolie.”
“Not everyone thinks with what’s between their legs,” Carol snapped, standing. “Watch yourself, CeeCee.”
Grabbing up her bag and phone, Carol disappeared out of the door taking with her the extra layer of protection she often gave me against the vile woman glaring daggers in my direction. I didn’t particularly need Carol to run interference, but she was always welcome.
“I don’t get it.” CeeCee dug about in her enormous bag, pulling out a neon pink makeup case and snapping it open.
“What?”
“You’re not terribly amazing to look at no matter what that bitch tells you. Small tits, no arse to speak of, yet the customers fucking love you. You get VIP when you shouldn’t, not really, you’re still a newbie. So…” She side glanced me while swiping blush across her cheek. “How does that work?”
Taking my time, I drank down the last of the coffee Carol had waiting for me when I’d arrived, then straightened in the seat. CeeCee was no friend of mine, never would be and if I didn’t want walked all over, I had to come out from behind Carol and show some teeth of my own.
“Maybe being a bitch is not what the boss is looking for, and Carol’s right, I don’t fuck the customers, nor do I fuck Bill. I’ve got a little fucking pride in my skinny arse.” With that, I stood up, leaving my cup where it was and picked my bag up from the floor. “You have a good night, CeeCee.”
By seven o’clock, I was in the skimpy uniform that showed off my flat tits and got to work straight out of the gate, a busy Thursday rather than mediocre. The VIP party weren’t due until nine so at quarter to, I hopped off the main floor to make sure the area was set up beyond the ropes.
Caulder’s Bar wasn’t huge but plenty big enough to have two areas cordoned off and reserved for VIP if needed. There was a stage, small as it was, and I’d yet to see more than a couple of people up on it, we didn’t do a lot of live music. Bill kept the ambience mellow at Caulder’s, the dance floor enough for a few people, the bar not trying to compete with the hip clubs drawing in the younger crowd in the area. Caulder’s was classy with attractive staff selling top shelf alcohol, Bill preferred frivolous spenders looking for a quiet night out and something pretty to look at. CeeCee talked shit, I didn’t rest my laurels on my looks, but I still knew I was no ugly duckling, and that wasn’t being facetious.
“Jolie.”
Swinging around I came face to face with the very man. CeeCee often called him sleazy yet I couldn’t find a thing about him that warranted her kind of derogatory name. “Hey, Bill.” He’d insisted I not use his surname, or call him boss, so Bill it was.
“You got this tonight?” He peeked behind me to where I’d been setting up the trays of hors d’oeuvres and buckets full of ice for the champagne that was to be brought over when they arrived.
“Sure. No problem.”
“Big boss would like to relax this evening. I don’t think you’ve met him, but I promise, he’s not as scary as he looks.”
“This the man who owns the bar?”
“Yes. Please keep CeeCee away, neither he nor his men tolerate her kind of bullshit, she’ll end up in a situation she can’t handle if she insists on pushing. Or fired at the very least.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” I laughed, then sobered as Bill shot me a look. “What does the big boss do?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Better you don’t ask that question, Jolie. Just do what you’re paid to do and be a good girl. There’s a bonus for working VIP tonight, Jenny thinks you’d be a good regular for the corner, said the last couple of times there were compliments from the customers. Don’t let me down and I’ll see to it.”
A bonus! For that I’d be on my best behaviour. “No problem, Bill.”
“Use some of that sassy attitude you have, but don’t go too far, try to enjoy yourself. These guys don’t grope and are respectful, I don’t see any cause for concern.”
“All right. Thank you for the pep talk.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He waved a hand in the air before taking off to go do whatever it was he did when the bar was open, preferring to stay behind the scenes.
With a last flurry, I made a quick bathroom stop, then was back on the floor in time to see a group of well-dressed gentlemen in dark suits crowding the bar. One was talking to Jenny, who pointed over to the corner where I stood with a beaming smile on my face, hands clasped in front of me. Service with a smile cost absolutely nothing and went a long way in collecting those much-needed tips.
Lifting the red velvet rope from the catch, I kept a smile on my face as each man walked up the few steps to the elevated VIP area… until man number five caught my eye.
My smile faltered, then slipped the same way ice slid down a warmed pane of glass. I may not have known his name, but I’d met this man before under very different circumstances and it was a memory I’d tried my hardest to push aside. I was staring into the face of a man who’d caused me many a nightmare, a face I’d never forgotten. A man I’d searched for in crowds but never found.
Sick, I felt sick.
Yannick
Pausing on the step, I took in the woman who’d grown even more beautiful over the years since I’d first had a fleeting glance at her. A chance occurrence had us meeting only once, but she’d left an impression, one I’d pushed to the back of my mind, knowing she was an impossibility. Her smile faltered, then disappeared entirely as I grappled for the right thing to say without being too obvious about knowing exactly who she was and the circumstances in which we’d met before.
