Paige and Chloe (11 page)

"Good morning, you're up earlier." Maggie stated sarcastically
as she stopped mopping the floor.
I glanced at my watch noticing that it was just after eleven. Duke had told me
to come here this afternoon but I needed to get this out of the way, I had work
later on this afternoon, that's if I could be arsed to turn up, as I was having
a particular bad come down from the shit I'd injected last night.
"I have a meeting with Duke." I stated strutting over her clean floor.
"I'm not sure if he's up yet." She shouted after me.
I glanced over my shoulder briefly to see her look of discontent and I smirked
deliberately trying to wind her up, she had no fucking right to look at me in
such away.
Where did that woman get off?

I turned the knob on the office door to find that it was
unlocked and eagerly pushed it open.
Duke raised his glock in my direction but slowly lowered it when he realised it
was me.
"Don't you ever walk into my office again without fucking knocking, do you
hear me?" He spat but his furious expression only made him sexier.
I nodded and made my way further into the office to sit on the chair opposite
him.
"Oh please make yourself at home Paige." He gestured to the chair
sarcastically in front of him, that I had already sat in. Duke stood and limped
around his desk to perch himself on the edge directly in front of me, "To
what do I owe this pleasure, I'm a busy man."
I notice the bandage on his right hand that wasn't there last night, I was
going to ask about it but he didn't look like he was in the mood for
pleasantries. I shook my head trying to clear my thoughts, because I knew as
soon as I told Duke, shit would hit the fan.
He looked at me expectantly, "I caught Woods and Chloe getting it on at
the party last night."
Duke frowned, "You must've been mistaken, Woods wouldn't do that and come
to think of it nor would Chloe."
I scoffed, "Well that's what I thought you'd say, so I took this as
evidence." I removed my phone from my handbag and pressed play so that
Duke could watch the short video of the secret rendezvous in the grounds of the
clubhouse, before they moved into the shadows.
I noticed his expression change as he watched the short clip and then he eagerly
tapped away on my phone.
"What are you doing?" I asked grabbing for my mobile.
"Calm down, I've just sent the clip to my phone."
I snatched my mobile from his grasp and sat back into the chair to scroll
through my phone to see that the clip had been deleted. I frantically went to
my messages to get the clip from the text Duke had just sent himself but he had
deleted that also, I stared at him clearly annoyed.
"You don't need that Paige, if it falls in the wrong hands it could do
some serious damage."
My mouth fell open in shock, "That's what I want it to do!" I screamed
as I stood so that I was now nose to nose with him.
"What I'm finding difficult to digest Paige, is why you would want to hurt
Chloe so much? You know what the repercussions would be, if your dad finds out."
I smirked and saw the confusion on his face,
"Because I've had to deal with enough pain in my life, it's about time she
had some back."

Woods

I opened the passenger side door
and Doris jumped out wagging her tail excitedly and ran in the direction of
Chloe. She crouched and lovingly stroked her, giggling as Doris rolled onto her
side to give Chloe better access to rub her tummy. I strolled over to my girls
and sat on the kerb as I watched Chloe interact with the Jack Russell, she was
just a natural and brought out the best in everyone and everything.
"Aren't you supposed to have guard dogs to protect you, not lick you to death?"
she sniggered as Doris got even more excited by her touch.
"She wasn't my choice, Lauren chose her."
Chloe's face became flushed at the mention of Lauren's name, "Erm, how is
she?"
"She's good but I think we've scarred her for life." I sniggered
remembering her mortified expression when she caught us together.

I stood, tapping the side of my
leg indicating that it was time for a walk, Doris instantly fell in line by my
side as I held out my hand for Chloe to take. Pulling her gently to her feet,
she fell comfortably towards my chest and I leaned down to claim her mouth.
Chloe instantly deepened the kiss and grinded her hips against my body as I
instinctively placed my hand at the back of her head to claim her.
Chloe broke away mid kiss, "Sorry, I forgot we're in public." She
eagerly looked around the car park to see if anyone was looking.
"Stop it, its fine. The majority of the guys are at the clubhouse today or
at the Bird Cage because of the fallout from last night."
"Aren't you supposed to be there?"
"No, Duke will call if I'm needed." I stated, already feeling
anxious, as I knew that I could receive a call from him at any moment because
of the threats made by Paige last night. I knew that I'd pissed her off by
turning down her advances and she'd want revenge because that's the kind of
girl she was.
I hadn't let Chloe know of the altercation as I didn't want her to worry or
even scare her away. I still didn't know if a relationship could be possible
although it was starting to feel natural being in her company. Remembering
Chloe's comment the previous evening, I grabbed her hand which took her by
surprise and strolled through the park with Doris by our side to see just how
normal this all felt.

As we leisurely strolled through
the park enjoying each other's company, Doris left my side and bounded over to
a family sitting at a picnic bench under a tree. I noticed the bloke lean down
to stroke the back of her head and feed her something from their lunch. It
wasn't until Chloe and I made our way over to the picnic area that I realised
it was Spike, Louise and the twins.
Chloe instantly tried to pull her hand away but I held firm, I don't know why
maybe to test the water with the one guy that I knew wouldn't judge. Spike
looked at our entwined fingers and instantly glanced in my direction with a
knowing smile before shaking his head.
"Please join us, we have more than enough food." Louise stated as she
shuffled further up the bench towards Spike, to make room for us.
Chloe caught my eye and I nodded for her to take a seat but surprised her again,
when I straddled the bench and pulled her closer so that she was sitting in my
embrace. I could see that she was embarrassed although she didn't protest but I
wanted to see how it all felt especially in front of Spike.

Louise had put together a
delicious spread and the conversation was kept light, although I knew Spike was
dying to bombard me with questions once he had me alone. We finished our lunch
and Louise and Chloe packed away the containers before playing Frisbee with the
twins. I watched as Chloe ran around the field after the children, looking
untroubled as a smile spread across her face as if she didn't have a care in
the world.

"Well I never saw that one
happening," Spike stated surprised. "How long has it been going
on?"
"I've liked her for a while but it's been difficult for obvious reasons."
Spike sniggered, "Really! And what reasons may those be?"
I ignored his sarcasm, "Friday, we got together Friday."
"So it's new, really new."
I glanced over at Chloe, she smiled and waved when she saw me staring and I
couldn't help but smile back.
"Fucking hell you've got it bad but you're asking for trouble Woods. Hound
and Duke will hit the fucking roof when they find out, and they will. Things
like this don't stay secret for long."
"I know Spike but I want to see if there is a connection before everyone
else gets involved."
"I understand man but I'm just stating the facts. Say it was Diesel, Duke
or Hound in the park today, they would've kicked your fucking arse all over the
place."
I sniggered although I knew the seriousness of his statement, "Yeah I
know."

I stood to retrieve my mobile from
my pocket as the vibration indicated that I'd just received a text.

I want to see you at the
clubhouse now!

I read the text and quickly held
it up so Spike could read it, "And so it begins!"
"What you gonna say if Duke knows?"
"I really don't know."
"Well you better start thinking quickly. You can either deny it and hope
that he doesn't have any evidence or admit it and take the fall out which won't
be pleasant."
"Ahhh,"
Spike looked at me expectantly, "Enlighten me."
"Paige saw me kissing Chloe last night at the party."
"Paige!" I nodded my head, "Well you're done for, it was nice
knowing you."
"Well thanks for your support."
Spike rubbed his head, "Do you want me to come with you, safety in
numbers?"
"Nah, I'm a big boy. I'll just have to take what's coming to me." Spike
shook his head in disbelief as I stood and made my way towards Chloe.

"What's up?" Chloe asked
breathlessly as she jogged towards me.
"I've gotta go babe, Duke wants to see me."
I saw the look of horror on her face, "Do you think he knows?"
I shrugged but I knew full well why he wanted to see me, "Do you want a
lift?"
"I don't mind keeping Doris here at the park for a while then drop her off
at yours later."
I walked closer to Chloe and pulled her into my arms, "See that's why I
know we would've been good together." I whispered in her ear before
kissing her lightly on the forehead. As I pulled away I saw her confusion and
gave her a tight smile knowing that this was the last time I would be able to
touch her. "Thanks anyway but I'll take her with me as I may need her for
protection." I sniggered.
Chloe smiled sweetly, "Okay."
"I'll call you later."
I turned and waved to Spike as I made my way across the field towards the car
park, trying to decide what I was going to say to the inevitable question.

I nervously stood outside Duke's
office and took a deep breath before knocking on the door.
"Come in." I pushed the door open and smiled, "How you doing
Woods?" Duke asked as I walked into the room and sat on the sofa.
"Fine man and you?" I looked at him intently trying to read his
expression to see what sort of mood he was in but he wasn't giving anything
away.
"Have you got something to tell me?"
"Regarding?"
"Stop fucking me around, you know full well what this chats about."
"Look..."
"It stops now!"
"But..."
"But nothing Woods. I can totally understand that you can't help who you
fall for but...fucking hell Woods, she's Hound's daughter!" Duke stood and
made his way around the desk to perch on the edge in front of me.
"I know what you're saying but..."
"Do you love her?"
"It's way too early for that." And it was, I truly cared for her but
it wasn't love, was it?
"Good, so you can end it now before anyone gets hurt."
"I wanted to see how things went before we said anything, to possibly
explore how we both feel."
I stood fucking annoyed that at twenty-six I was being dictated too, in regards
to who I could or couldn't have a relationship with.
"Don't look at me like that Woods, you know I'm right. If you loved her it
would be different as you could possibly justify your actions and all the hurt
you're gonna cause but is it really worth the fall out for a quick shag?"
"It's not like that Duke, stop being a prick. What if we were to see each
other for a while and then realised that it was something worth fighting for?"
"I'm afraid you don't have the luxury of time. What you're not getting here
is that she's Hound's daughter. How would you feel if I was shagging
Lauren?"
"I'd fucking kill you!"
"I rest my case, it's no different. It ends tonight, am I making myself
clear?"
"This is bullshit Duke and you know it!" I ran my fingers through my
short hair agitated.
"Am I making myself clear Woods? I don't wanna be telling you again."
Duke's harsh tone filled the room as he stepped closer to make sure I
understood what he was saying, and the implications that were involved.

I turned and stalked out of his
office, slamming the door behind me. Deep down I knew it would come to this but
it didn't stop it fucking annoying me now that it had. I was hoping that now
Duke had found love himself he would understand or maybe even turn a blind eye
but I was obviously mistaken.
"Is everything okay Woods?"
I glanced towards the bar as I stomped through the clubhouse to see Diesel and
Hound staring at me.
"Just fucking marvellous!"

Hound

The Bird Cage had open auditions
today for strippers and it was usually a good crack to see people from all walks
of life giving it a go, that when Diesel called and asked if I wanted to join
him and Spike at the club I jumped at the chance.

We walked towards our usual table to hear Duke talking
heatedly on his mobile and by the look of things, he was hitting the bottle
hard.
“She still not taking your calls?” Diesel asked referring to the one sided
conversation we just heard.

Taylor and Duke had been shot at on Saturday evening
resulting in them coming off Duke's motorcycle. Taylor was a great woman, she
was perfect for Duke in every way but I wasn't sure if she was cut out for this
kind of life. Since the incident she had ignored his calls and that's why he
was sitting here alone drowning his sorrows. He wanted her as much as she
wanted him but the two just needed to listen to their hearts rather than their
heads and stop analysing every goddamn thing.

Duke shook his head obviously not wanting to talk about it,
“What are you doing here anyway?” he asked looking between the three of us.
“We thought you may need some moral support.” Spike stated as he pulled an
uneasy expression while looking up at the first auditionee trying to make her
way up the pole.
“Fucking hell, it wants to get better than this otherwise it’s gonna be a long
evening.” I said as we all burst out laughing as the overweight auditionee fell
off the pole.
“Priceless!”

"Sorry to bother you Hound
but is it possible to have a quick word?"
I glanced in the direction of Natasha, wiping the tears from my eyes as I
laughed hard watching the young girl pick herself up from the stage, and run
towards the back of the club clearly embarrassed.
I followed Natasha to the bar so we were out of earshot of everyone, "Paige
hasn't turned up for work again today. It's been two days in a row now and she
hasn't even bothered to call in sick, she just hasn't turned up. To be honest it's
turning into a regular occurrence and after her little performance with Coco on
Friday, I thought you should know."
"What went on with Coco on Friday?" I wasn't aware of anything
happening but her facial expression had now piqued my interest.
"Well erm..."
"Natasha I'm not gonna blame you babe, I just need to know what I'm
dealing with."
"Well Paige erm created quite a scene on stage, pleasuring herself before later
attacking Coco with a broken bottle." Natasha nervously told me, not
wanting to be the brunt of my mounting anger.
"So how comes I haven't heard about it? If she's masturbating on stage and
attacking people shouldn't you have called Diesel?" Natasha knew the protocol,
if there was a problem regarding the club, Diesel was the first port of call,
then Bear and finally Justice.
"I was going to but Justice was here when it all kicked off and said that
he'd deal with it."
"Justice?" Natasha nodded her head. "Do you think she's
using?"
She shrugged, "I don't know for sure Hound but I wouldn't be surprised.
Sorry to give you the bad news but I wanted to talk to you first before raising
it with Diesel."
"And how's Coco doing?" She was a good looking girl, I only hoped that
Paige hadn't disfigured her.
"She has superficial wounds but Justice managed to smooth everything over,
I think he's taking her out on a date as compensation."
I sniggered, "I'll have to thank him for that. Look I appreciate you
telling me first Natasha but I'll deal with it from here."
Natasha smiled at my words, she was a cracking looking young lady and a fucking
good manager. Since being in charge, she had increased profits and had enticed an
older wealthier clientele to the club that had in turn reduced the amount of
arsehole punters, creating less aggravation for us. I wasn't sure if Duke would
move her to the new club once it opened in Epping because if she worked wonders
here, she could most certainly work her magic there and make it as successful.

I quickly jogged over to where the
guys were and followed their stares to see an attractive red head swing around
the pole.
"Sorry guys I've gotta make a move, Paige needs some furniture moving in
her new house." I lied but it was the first thing I could think of.
"Do you want a hand?" Diesel asked looking at me through narrowed
eyes, as if he could see right through my lies.
"Yeah I would actually."

We rode our motorcycles over to
Paige's house which wasn't far from the Bird Cage.
"What does she need moving?" Diesel asked.
"Sorry man I lied." Diesel raised his eyebrows obviously intrigued as
to why I had brought him here. She hasn't come into work for the past two days
and I don't know what I'm gonna find. I'm hoping she's just ill but my bet is that
she's either high or drunk."
Diesel didn't look amused but he held his tongue, and fell in line as I made my
way to her front door.
I banged loudly, "Paige, are you in there babe?" I glanced around the
car park to see her car parked in one of the spaces further down the street. I
banged again, "Paige!"
Diesel crouched to look through the letter box, "Shit! Stand back
Hound." I quickly moved out of his way as he swung his leg and made
contact with the door just above the lock, with three swift kicks the door flew
open.
Paige was lying on the floor in a puddle of her own vomit and urine. I ran into
the living room and flung myself down beside her, grabbing Paige under her chin
I quickly tipped her head back to open her mouth and swiped my fingers around
her opening to make sure her airways were clear.
"Paige!" I shouted slapping her on the cheek, probably a little
harder than needed but the adrenaline was pumping around my body.
I saw a flicker of her eyelids and slapped her again, this time she started to
stir and I felt a ray of hope. Placing my arm under her legs, I used the other
to support her back and carried her to the bathroom, and climbed into the
shower with her. I turned on the water and held my little girl in my arms under
the warm spray trying to wake her fully but was still unsure as to what she had
taken and how much.
I knew Diesel would be calling Doc or James to get them over here to deal with
Paige but they couldn't get here soon enough for my liking, I couldn't let
anything happen to my little girl.
I played out different scenarios as to why she may have taken something harmful
in the first place and whether she'd purposely taken an overdose, I knew she
had been unhappy but I didn't think things were that bad, for her to possibly want
to take her life.

I couldn't remember the last time
that I'd held her or even told her that I loved her, my relationship with Paige
was a strange one, in fact Paige had a strange relationship with everyone. She
wouldn't show affection unlike her sister and I couldn't remember when she last
enjoyed time with the family. She referred to Maggie and I, by our Christian
names rather than calling us mum and dad, and I thought it was just a
rebellious teenage thing at first but this had now carried on into her adult
years. It was as if she was trying to punish us but for what, I just didn't
know.
I noticed that her body was slowly getting warmer and her pulse was stronger
than earlier but still weak, I only hoped that Doc arrived soon.
I glanced down at my precious daughter in my arms, "Why did you do this
Paige?" I whispered as I held her close to my chest.

There was a light knock on the
door before Diesel opened it and stepped in, "Doc's here, we need to get
her into the bedroom. He wants to check her vital signs and possibly hook her
to an IV to get some fluids into her system."
I stepped from the shower cubicle and walked to her bedroom, leaving a trail of
water in my wake. Placing Paige onto the bed I stripped her from her wet
clothes not allowing anyone else to help me or look at her in this vulnerable
state, this was my baby girl and I needed to do this, I was her father. In her
unglamorous state I noticed how fragile she looked, possibly a little under
nourished and there were grazes to her cheek and shoulder but as I looked
closely I could see the tell tale signs of an addict, the marks on her arms
indicating that this certainly wasn't the first time that she had injected.
I placed her carefully into her bed and stood back allowing Doc and James to now
fuss around her, giving my baby the attention and care that she deserved.
"She really needs to go to hospital dad." James said looking
concerned.
Doc shook his head, "You need to learn quickly, no hospitals are involved
unless it's absolutely necessary. Now stop your whinging and get on with making
her stable."
Doc's tone surprised me but I was grateful as the two of them busied themselves
to make Paige comfortable.

While Doc and James were dealing
with Paige, I made my way into the kitchen, and stripped down to my boxers to
put my clothes into the tumble dryer, while I sat at the kitchen table with my
head in my hands contemplating all that had gone on.

"How you doing Hound?"
I looked up to see Diesel leaning on the door frame, "Where did I go
wrong?" I tried to rationalise Paige's actions.
"You didn't. You've raised four cracking kids, you know what it's like,
she's probably pushing boundaries trying to work out who she is or where she
belongs."
I shook my head, "No it's more than that, I know it is. Paige is strong,
I've never seen her this vulnerable, this broken."
"Well, only she can tell you what's up when she wakes." Diesel
stepped further into the room, "Sorry, I nearly forgot I found this."
Diesel handed me a DL sized white envelope with Frank written on the front in
Paige's handwriting.
"Fuck! You know what this means."
Diesel looked at me unsure.
"She didn't mean to wake up."

An hour later Doc, James and
Diesel had left, leaving me to care for Paige. She needed to rest, the IV was
still connected to hydrate her and Doc had said that he would drop in later
this evening to check on her progress.
Before Diesel had left, he'd explained that he needed to tell Duke what had
gone on this evening and I understood why. She was a club member's daughter and
an employee, this shit could blow up in the clubs face so we needed to be ready
in case there was any fallout. Diesel also stated that he would find out who
her supplier was, which I was grateful for because after I had dealt with Paige
I was gonna pay the fucker a visit.

I let out a long sigh as I sat on
the bed, I held the envelope with my name on it, unsure if I wanted to read
what was in there.
Paige had intended for me to read this when she had gone,
was it still okay to read it now that she was going to survive? These words
would be her most inner thoughts, was I ready to go to such a dark place?
No, this letter was intended for me, I needed to read it and would deal with
the consequences later.

Frank,

How do I try to explain all of
the pain and hurt I've suffered over the years? How do I try to explain that
although I tried to tell you on more than one occasion of this pain and
suffering, I was rejected and turned away because my family had already passed
judgement on me. I had been branded a troublemaker, a brat, moody, obnoxious, the
list is endless but did you and Maggie ever wonder why I was all of these
things?

You were supposed to protect
me, you were supposed to save me from all of the terrible things in the world
but you brought the devil into our home, you brought the devil into my bed.

I will never be able to
forgive you for inviting Uncle Harry into my life and allowing him to do the
unspeakable to his 'special niece'. You, Maggie and Chloe are to blame more
than the person who committed the crime because you could've saved me, I so
wanted you to save me.

I've carried this pain
around with me for so long, trying to find ways of coping but today I've decided
to end it because I can't live with the hatred I have for myself any longer. Paige

By the time I was nearing the end
of the letter, tears were falling onto the paper, making the last paragraph
hard to read.
How had I not known what was going on under my roof?
I had
let Paige down on so many levels, her words reflected her hatred towards me and
on reflection, I didn't deserve her forgiveness. I had done the unthinkable and
had invited a monster into our home who had subjected my daughter to the most
abhorrent thing ever.
I scrunched the piece of paper in my hand as the hurt slowly turned to anger. I
was going to kill him, the club didn't need to get involved with this, this was
a father taking revenge for his daughter.

"I'm gonna be sick."
Paige turned onto her side and I managed to reach for the bowl and put it close
to her mouth before she heaved. I placed my hand to her forehead, Paige's skin
was clammy and pale, and she now had a slight temperature. Once she'd finished
vomiting, I placed the bowl on the floor and held her arms lightly as I slowly
positioned her back onto the bed, taking the face cloth from the bedside
cabinet I placed it onto her brow to try to keep her cool.
I was pulled between making the journey to Norwich to pay my brother a visit
and wanting to stay and take care of Paige, as I should've done all of those
years ago.

"Frank I need to tell you
something." She whispered hoarsely as her throat must have been dry from
retching.
I stroked her arm gently and she pulled away, shit I didn't think a simple kind
gesture would make her recoil. I instantly tried to rack my brains of the last
time she allowed me to hold or even touch her, and I couldn't think of a single
time apart from when she was a little girl.
"You don't have to tell me anything Paige, I've read your note."
Her eyes grew wide but she instantly looked away not wanting to make eye
contact, she had nothing to be ashamed of, it was I who felt ashamed for not
protecting her.
"I need to go out but I want someone to stay with you, is there anyone I
can call?" I knew that she had pushed everyone away over the years and didn't
have many friends, and that I'd struggle to get anyone to come and sit with
her. She shrugged and rolled over on her side so that her back was towards me.