Running Scared, page 14
‘Babe, wait,’ he said, following when she jumped up and marched into the bedroom after slamming her glass down on the coffee table. ‘I’ll explain everything when I can, I promise.’
‘Whatever,’ she muttered, pulling her clothes on under cover of the dressing gown. ‘You know what I went through with my ex and you swore you’d always be honest, but it’s been nothing but a pack of lies from the start. And you know what the worst thing is? I wouldn’t have even cared that you’d been in prison, as long as you hadn’t raped or murdered someone.’
‘You really think I’m capable of that?’ Theo looked hurt.
‘How am I supposed to know?’ She threw up her hands. ‘All I know is you don’t get fourteen years for nothing.’
‘I told you I was set up.’
‘Yeah, and that’s probably another lie,’ she said, snatching her handbag and jacket off the chair in the corner. ‘I feel like I don’t even know you.’
‘Don’t say that,’ Theo pleaded, trying to take her in his arms.
Pushing him aside, Lexi walked out into the hall.
‘Please don’t go,’ he begged, going after her and jumping in front of the door. ‘It’s gone midnight. You can’t be walking round on your own out there. It’s not safe.’
‘Move,’ she ordered, folding her arms.
‘OK, if you insist on going, at least let me drive you.’
‘No thanks.’
‘I can take you, if you want?’ Ryan offered, coming out of the living room.
‘And why would I go anywhere with you when you’re as much of a liar as he is?’ Lexi glared at him. ‘Remember what happened at that party, do you? And how you denied you’d seen anything when the police questioned you, so they thought I’d made it up and dropped the charges? Well, I do, so, no . . . I don’t want a fucking lift off you!’
‘What’s all this?’ Theo asked.
‘Ask your boy,’ Lexi spat, yanking the door open and walking out before slamming it behind her.
19
The cab ride home from Stockport racked up a much higher fare than Lexi had expected, and she asked the driver if he could wait a minute while she went inside to get the rest when she spotted that Debs’s lamp was on.
‘Hey, what are you doing home?’ Debs asked when she cracked her door open and peeped out. ‘I thought you were staying at lover boy’s tonight?’
‘I’ll tell you in a minute,’ Lexi said. ‘Can you lend me twenty quid for the cab? I’ll pay you back first thing.’
Clocking her friend’s red eyes, Debs said, ‘Yeah, course; give me a sec.’
She left her door ajar, and Lexi immediately felt guilty for disturbing her when she heard a man ask who it was.
‘Not your wife, if that’s what you’re worried about,’ Debs replied curtly before coming back to the door.
‘Sorry,’ Lexi whispered when her friend handed over the money. ‘I’d have gone to the cash machine if I’d known you had company.’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ Debs said. ‘I’m bored with him anyway, so give me a minute to get rid while you pay the cabbie and I’ll make us a brew.’
Nodding, Lexi headed downstairs and paid the driver. As she was going back into the house, a balding, overweight man in his fifties or sixties, who looked like he’d dressed hastily, rushed out clutching his jacket and yelled for the cab to wait. Closing and locking the front door behind him, Lexi went upstairs and plonked herself down on Debs’s sofa.
‘So what happened?’ Debs asked. ‘I take it you and Theo had an argument?’
‘If me finding out that everything he’s ever told me was a lie can be classed as an argument, then yeah.’
‘What d’you mean?’ Debs sloshed milk into the cups of tea and carried them over.
‘Remember all those countries he told me he’s been working in for the last few years? Well, guess what – he was in prison.’
‘You’re kidding me?’ Debs looked as shocked as Lexi still felt. ‘What for?’
‘No idea?’ Lexi shrugged. ‘He reckons he was set up, but you don’t serve fourteen years unless you’ve been found guilty of something really bad.’
‘Fourteen years?’ Debs whistled softly through her teeth. ‘Wow.’
‘Exactly! Oh, and remember I told you he’s got a kid he hardly ever sees?’
‘What, no kid?’
‘No, there is a son; I met him tonight. But he’s not a kid, he’s twenty-seven. And I know him.’
‘Really? Who is it?’
‘Nicole’s husband.’
‘No way! Jeez, that must have been awkward?’
‘Just a bit,’ Lexi said, reaching into her bag to look at her phone when she heard a ping.
‘That him?’
‘Yep. He’s been ringing and messaging me since I left his place, but he can piss off if he thinks I’m answering.’
‘So tell me exactly what happened,’ Debs said. ‘From the start.’
After Lexi had told her the entire story, Debs mulled it over for a few minutes, then said, ‘OK, I’m not condoning him lying about the prison stuff, but I get why he was reluctant to tell you. I mean, it’s not the kind of thing you’d want to broadcast at the start of a relationship, is it?’
‘I would if I cared about them as much as Theo claimed to care about me,’ Lexi huffed.
‘Hon, I get why you’re angry, but whatever he did or didn’t do, he’s served his time, so don’t you think he deserves the chance to make a fresh start?’
‘Yeah, but he can make it without me. He’s had three months to come clean, but he never would have if Ryan hadn’t turned up tonight.’
‘Was it Ryan who told you?’
‘No, I figured it out,’ Lexi said, going on to explain about the wedding photos and how Nicole had told her that Ryan’s dad was in prison and he’d never even met him. ‘Turns out that was a lie as well,’ she finished. ‘Because it was obvious they’ve been seeing each other for a while.’
‘Maybe they met up after Theo was released and sorted things out,’ Debs suggested. ‘Ryan was still a kid when Theo went inside, so it’s only natural he’d want to see him if he got the chance.’
‘I suppose so,’ Lexi conceded. ‘But something wasn’t right.’
‘In what way?’
‘After Theo admitted he’d been in prison, he was going to tell me something but Ryan stopped him. Then he clammed up and said it was better I didn’t know.’
‘Are you sure this isn’t more to do with Ryan and Nicole than you and Theo?’ Debs asked. ‘She’s a stuck-up little bitch, so I can’t see her wanting an ex-lag in her life, and Ryan was probably scared to tell her he’s been meeting up with him in case she went mad. He must have got worried when he walked in and saw you there.’
‘If he’s too much of a wuss to tell his wife that he wants a relationship with his own father, there’s something seriously wrong with him.’
‘Some people will do anything for a quiet life. Especially men with ball-breaker wives.’
‘That still doesn’t justify Theo lying to me.’
‘I agree,’ said Debs. ‘But why don’t you sleep on it and see how you feel in the morning? I know it must have been a massive shock, but you two are good together, so don’t cut him off without giving him a chance to explain.’
Nodding her agreement, although she knew she would feel the same even if she slept for a full year, Lexi said goodnight and went to her own room. Taking her phone out of her bag after changing into her pyjamas, she swiped the screen to clear off the numerous missed calls and text message notifications, then climbed into bed.
For as long as she lived, she would never understand men. They were an alien breed to her: one minute declaring their undying love, the next keeping secrets and screwing around. She had genuinely thought Theo was different, but she now realized that she hadn’t really known him at all. He had spent the last three months telling her – in great detail at times – about all the exotic places he’d visited, when he hadn’t even been out of the county, never mind the country, and that told her everything she needed to know about him. With the best will in the world, there was no way back from that. No way whatsoever.
Over at Theo’s flat, watching his father pace the living room floor, as he’d been doing ever since Lexi walked out, Ryan said, ‘Dad, sit down, for God’s sake; you’re making me dizzy. She doesn’t know anything; we’re safe.’
‘You don’t get it,’ Theo said, slumping down on the sofa and agitatedly jiggling his leg up and down. ‘I really like her. She’s funny and smart, and sexy as hell. Man, is she sexy.’
‘Yo, too much information.’ Ryan held up a hand to stop him from going any further. It was one thing having these kinds of conversations with a mate, but it was downright weird discussing birds with his old man – and he felt particularly uncomfortable talking about Lexi like that. It had been a big enough shock finding her in his own house, but seeing her here tonight and realizing that she was the girl his dad had been banging on about for the last few weeks had been gut wrenching, and he was struggling to hide the jealousy that was eating away at him at the thought of his old man succeeding where he had failed.
He’d liked Lexi from the first time he ever saw her on the Kingston, but she’d been a timid little thing back then, always scuttling away before he had the chance to speak to her. And then Nicole had set her sights on him, putting paid to any chance of him and Lexi ever getting together. He’d still liked Lexi, though, and had genuinely felt guilty for throwing her under the bus when Danny Harvey had offered him a job in exchange for his silence – although it had been more of an order than an offer, because he’d sensed that Danny would probably have killed him if he’d refused. Now Lexi was back – and more beautiful than ever – he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. But she’d made it clear tonight that she hated him, so he would just have to suck it up.
‘I need to speak to her,’ Theo said, interrupting his thoughts.
‘There’s no point calling her again,’ Ryan sighed. ‘She’s not going to answer, so just leave her be. She’ll come round in her own time.’
‘OK, I’ll text her then; ask her to call me when she’s calmed down,’ Theo said, reaching for his phone. ‘Shit, my battery’s dead. Where did I put my charger?’
Irritated when his dad started throwing cushions around in search of his charger, Ryan said, ‘Here, use mine,’ and held out his phone.
Thanking him, Theo tapped out a quick message and handed the phone back.
‘Ready to get back to business now?’ Ryan asked, switching the phone to silent and placing it face down on the arm of his chair so he wouldn’t have to tell his dad if Lexi decided to answer.
‘Sorry. Yeah, go on,’ Theo said.
Across town, in his office at The Danski, Adam Harvey nodded as he listened to what his caller, Wes Caine, was telling him.
‘Good,’ he said, a sly smile raising his lips when Wes described the carnage. ‘Maybe the fucker will start to realize what he’s up against and quit prancing round like a fuckin’ don. As long as no one saw you?’ he added. ‘They didn’t, did they?’
‘Nah, man, I stayed well out of the way,’ Wes assured him. ‘The dude was some random I met at a boozer. He don’t know me, and he didn’t ask any questions when I told him how much he’d be getting paid.’
‘I hope you’re right,’ Adam said. ‘I don’t want him sussing out where any of this is coming from.’
‘Trust me, he won’t trace this back to you.’
‘Any injuries?’
‘His motor’s a write-off, but it was a piece of shit so I’m sure he won’t miss it. He looked a bit banged up, but I couldn’t see much ’cos I was watching from a distance. Nowt major, though, as far as I could tell.’
‘I meant the cunt not the patsy,’ Adam said, guessing that Wes was talking about the man he’d paid to crash into Ryan’s car, because there was no way anyone would describe a Range Rover as a piece of shit.
‘Ah, right, I get you,’ Wes said. ‘Nah, he seemed fine when he got out; yelling about the damage to his wheels, and ripping the dude a new arsehole. Mind you, I didn’t stick around too long in case someone had called the pigs, so he could’ve keeled over and croaked it after I left, for all I know.’
Liking the idea of that, Adam decided to pay his sister a long overdue visit in the morning. They hadn’t been on the best of terms lately, but she would need the support of her big brother if her hubby was dead or in a bad way – which would earn him a few brownie points with the folks, if nothing else. But even if Ryan had managed to escape serious injury this time, one way or another, the cunt was going down. And when it was done and his brother-in-law was out of the picture, Adam’s dad would have no choice but to put him in his rightful place at the head of the family business. If he didn’t, he’d only have himself to blame when Adam took over anyway and ousted him.
20
Nicole was sitting up in bed with a drink in her hand and watching a film on Netflix when Ryan got home in the early hours. Scowling when he walked into the bedroom, she grabbed the remote and turned off the TV.
‘Where have you been? I’ve been calling you all night.’
‘I was busy,’ Ryan said, draping his jacket over the back of a chair and pulling his T-shirt off over his head.
‘Too busy to answer your wife?’ she asked, the slur in her voice and the flush on her cheeks and nose telling Ryan that the drink wasn’t her first by far.
He went into the en-suite without replying and tossed the T-shirt into the laundry basket.
‘Who were you with?’ she demanded. Getting no answer again, she slammed her glass down on the bedside table, shoved the duvet off her legs and marched after him. ‘I said, who were you with?’
Ryan flashed a glance at her in the mirror over the sink as he folded his jeans and placed them on top of the basket and quickly looked away again when he saw that she was wearing one of her baby-doll nighties. She had obviously been waiting up for him, but she’d be waiting a month of Sundays if she thought he was having sex with her. They had barely spoken since she’d almost started a fight with one of his mates’ girlfriends for daring to speak to him at a party a few days earlier, and he was in no mood for her nonsense tonight.
‘Why won’t you talk to me?’ Nicole whined, changing tack when she realized that going on the offensive wasn’t working.
‘I’m tired,’ he said.
‘I’ll soon wake you up,’ she purred, walking over to him and sliding her hand down his stomach to his crotch.
‘Leave it out, Nic.’ He irritably pushed her hand away.
Eyes narrowing, she said, ‘You’d best quit treating me like a piece of shit, Mr Big Shot, or my dad’s going to have something to say about it. You seem to forget he only put you in charge because you’re married to me.’
‘No, he put me in charge because he knew your loser brother couldn’t handle the business and he needed someone he could trust to hold the fort,’ Ryan replied coolly.
‘I could have taken over if I’d wanted to,’ Nicole argued. ‘But you’re my husband and it’s your job to take care of me, so I let you do it.’
‘Whatever,’ Ryan said, reaching inside the shower cubicle to turn the water on.
Instantly suspicious, Nicole said, ‘Why are you taking a shower at this time of night? Trying to wash her smell off you?’
‘There is no her, and I’m not in the mood for this,’ Ryan said wearily. ‘I’ve had a rough night and I want to get cleaned up and go to bed. If you want to talk, we’ll do it in the morning.’
‘If I find out you’re cheating on me you won’t even be here in the morning,’ spat Nicole. ‘This is my house, don’t forget.’
‘You want me to leave?’ Ryan raised an eyebrow. ‘Just say the word and I’m gone.’
‘I never said that.’ Nicole hastily backtracked. ‘But why can’t you appreciate what you’ve got? I’m still young and gorgeous, and plenty of men would jump at the chance to take your place.’
Biting his tongue to keep from telling her to go out and get one then, Ryan reminded himself what was at stake, and said, ‘Nic, I’m tired and my head’s banging, so give me a break and back off. Please.’
‘Whatever,’ she muttered, flouncing out and slamming the door behind her.
Still fuming about Ryan’s rejection when she’d made a huge effort to look sexy for him, Nicole heard the shower door click shut and tiptoed over to the chair where he’d draped his jacket. Patting the pockets, she located his phone and, glancing round to make sure the en-suite door was still shut, carefully lifted it out. He had changed his password a few weeks earlier after he’d caught her checking up on him, but she had spied him entering his new one a few days ago and had memorized it. Hoping that he hadn’t changed it again since then, she tapped in the six digits and, casting another nervous glance at the en-suite door when the phone opened, clicked into his call log. He’d made several calls throughout the day, most to guys who worked for him whose names she knew. There was only one name she didn’t recognize: someone called Django. It sounded male, and the call had lasted for less than a minute, so she dismissed it and switched to his messages instead.
When she saw the most recent message he had sent, her blood ran cold.
Baby, I know you’re mad at me and I don’t blame you, but we got something good and I don’t want to lose you. Please call me xx
Heart pounding, she read and re-read the message. She’d been right all along. Ryan was cheating. The bastard . . . the absolute fucking bastard! How could he do this to her? She was way hotter than any of the bitches his mates were shackled to, and she knew they all envied him and wished they could have a piece of her, so why would he want someone else? It didn’t make sense.
Snapping out of her daze when she heard the shower go off, Nicole quickly jotted down the number connected to the message in the notepad she kept in her drawer before slipping Ryan’s phone back into his pocket. In bed when he came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist a few seconds later, she peeped at him through her lashes and felt physically sick at the thought of him screwing another woman. She wanted to scream and shout and demand to know who the bitch was, but she didn’t want to risk pushing him into the woman’s arms and face the humiliation of everyone knowing he’d chosen someone else over her. So, staying quiet, she breathed deeply in and out to calm herself down and clarify her thoughts.
