Shattered (Dividing Line #5) (33 page)

“Tell me what?” he said impatiently.

“She tried to get close to Ryan at the hospital when you were laid up. The stupid bint thought she could kill him. I mean, as if she was capable of that. Ryan and Mikey pretended to let her escape after they’d planted a tracker in her handbag and sent her back into your camp. Col was in on the plot to kill Ryan too. They probably kept it from you because they’re terrified of what you’ll do.”

“You’re a fucking liar,” he snarled loud enough to draw the attention of the nearest tables.

“Ask Katia but don’t be too hard on her,” Rachel said with mock-sincerity. “She just wants to fit into your world. Even your girlfriend wants to be me.”

“You’re so full of shit. Katia wouldn’t dream of doing something so stupid and Col wouldn’t let her. Now you’re going to come with me Rach, nice and quietly.”

“Get stuffed.”

“Look under the table and you’ll see one very good reason why it would be wise to obey.”

“Yes, you’re pointing a gun at me. Perhaps you should look under the table too?”

Alex leaned back in his seat and saw the gun clutched in her hands pointing right back at him. “Very good Rach but Col has orders to shoot the nearest person unless you cooperate.”

Charlie, Kian and Declan sat looking from Alex to Rachel, knowing they should do something to help her but they had no idea what that was. All were impressed by how well Rachel was keeping her cool.

She shrugged. “Tell him to go ahead.”

“I’m not bluffing.”

“Yes you are. Not even you are mental enough to open fire in a room full of people. That would initiate a nationwide manhunt, meaning you would lose your empire permanently and you’d never get to see your twins born. Plus you’d lose out on your revenge.” Her eyes moved past him. “And you’re about to find yourself outnumbered.”

Ryan marched up to them and stood by Rachel’s side, his hand resting on her shoulder. Mikey, Jez and Riley surrounded Alex. Rachel saw Battler and Bruiser sit down at an unnerved Col’s table. It was so good to see them all safe.

“Alex, we’ve just met with some of your patch-wearing friends,” said Ryan. “I wouldn’t bother asking for their help again. They’ve developed permanent deafness. Permanent everything really.”

“I don’t need them.”

“Yeah, right. Come on Rachel, we’re leaving.”

“She’s not going anywhere, not unless she wants a bullet in her stomach.”

“You do and I’ll blow your bollocks off,” she retorted.

“We all know neither of those things are going to happen,” said Ryan. “Now come along Rachel.”

She slid the gun back into the waistband of her trousers and pulled her shirt over it before getting to her feet. She breathed a little easier when Alex hid his gun too. She had feared there was just enough insane in him to pull the trigger.

“I’ll catch up with you later,” said Alex, finishing Declan’s tea.

Ryan bent over to whisper in his ear. “And the next time you won’t be walking away, I fucking promise you that.”

The amused smirk Alex gave him made Ryan want to pull his head off but he restrained himself.

Battler and Bruiser walked out with them, no one speaking until they were outside. Rachel saw Alex’s men stood outside the van smoking, dressed in overalls, for all intents and purposes looking like workmen on a break. No one was giving them a second glance.

“You did good boys,” Ryan told Declan and his brothers. “Get in the car with Mikey and Jez, we’ll take this one,” he said, indicating the two silver people carriers they’d swapped for the black four by fours after the attack on the clubhouse.

Rachel got in the back of one vehicle with Ryan while Riley drove and as they pulled out of the car park she saw Battler and Bruiser getting into the battered four by four that had served them so well. Soon that car would be on fire on some deserted wasteland.

Ryan hugged her tight. “You’re okay?”

“Fine,” she replied. “You?”

“Yes. Not all of Lucifer’s Shadow were there when we hit the clubhouse but most of them were.”

“Jasper got away,” Riley said from the front, hands tightening on the steering wheel.

“Oh God, I’m sorry Riley.”

In response he slammed the car into a higher gear and stomped on the accelerator.

“Easy Riley, don’t break the speed limit,” said Ryan and he eased off. “We’ll get Jasper soon. He’ll be even more closely aligned with Alex now he’s lost most of his patches. What I want to know is, how did he find our house?”

“Kennard planted a tracking device on the bike.”

“I should have foreseen that.”

“You don’t have supernatural powers Ryan.”

“I should have outthought a fool like that. My carelessness almost got you killed.”

“But it didn’t. Declan and his brothers were brilliant by the way and you should have seen Charlie’s driving. They’re real assets.”

“I will forever be indebted to them for keeping you safe. Well, we can’t go back to the safe house now. We have to bring this to a close, it’s dragging on too long.”

She caught the determined look in his eye. “You already have a plan, don’t you?”

“Yes, one which will end with Riley getting his revenge and me and you confronting Alex alone.”

“I like this plan.”

“It’s not set in stone yet, there are a few details I haven’t managed to work out.”

They sank back into the seat to discuss a way of bringing all this to a head, Riley listening to every word, amazed at how well they worked together, bouncing ideas off each other. He thought how much he’d like a relationship like that then he thought of Beth.

After mulling it over with Rachel all the kinks and flaws in Ryan’s plan had been ironed out.

“It’s not going to be easy to pull off,” she said, a little taken aback by their own audacity.

“Admittedly it is going to take some arranging and everything will have to be done with split second timing. One error and it won’t work.”

“But it can work, can’t it?”

“Yes, most definitely.”

CHAPTER 33

Alex was sick and tired of hiding and he wasn’t going to do it anymore, which was why he walked straight into The Wherry Tavern with Col and his brothers. Katia was waiting for him in the office with Robbie, who had become her personal bodyguard, his gunshot wound patched up.

Alex had brooded the entire journey back to Manchester about what Rachel had told him. He’d said nothing to Col about it yet, he wanted to tackle them together to better gauge their reactions, giving them no time to come up with a story between them.

“My Love, you are safe,” said Katia, throwing her arms around his neck the moment he walked into the room. When he didn’t respond with his customary ardour she frowned. “What is wrong?”

“You two have been keeping something from me,” said Alex, narrow eyes flicking between Katia and Col.

“No we haven’t,” she said.

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I am not, I would never…”

“You met Ryan Law at the hospital, you tried to get close to him to kill him when I specifically told you to stay away. How dare you disobey me?”

“My Love, I have no idea what you are talking about,” said Katia, remaining composed. The only way to get out of this was to convince him he’d got it wrong, otherwise she shuddered to think of the consequences.

“I’m talking about a stupid fucking set up that went wrong and Ryan and Mikey used the opportunity to plant a tracking device on you. You led them straight to us.”

“Please listen to me,” said Katia, making sure she didn’t break eye contact with him. “I don’t know where you got this story from but it is all lies. We would never disobey you. Who told you this?”

“Rachel.”

“She is trying to divide us with her lies, it is what she does. You should know that.”

“Katia’s right,” said Col. “Rachel fed you a load of bullshit to try and stir things up.”

“Remember how she made your brother think she loved him, that she was on your side when all the time she was having an affair with Ryan?” said Katia.

“Yes,” he replied grudgingly.

Katia could see the anger in his eyes was no longer aimed at her. Instead she’d managed to divert it back to Rachel so she continued to press home her advantage. “She is jealous because we have our two sons and she lost one of hers,” she said, pressing his hand to her stomach. “She wants to turn you against me but we won’t let her, will we?”

“I want to believe you but if you’re telling the truth, how did they find the safe house?”

“It is simple. They followed Vladimir. They turned up at the house soon after he arrived.”

“And Ryan knew Vladimir was involved with the brothels,” added Col.

“Of course,” said Alex, a weight lifting off his shoulders. He hadn’t been disobeyed, he was still very much in control. “How could I let her get to me? I more than anyone know what she’s like.” He pressed Katia’s hand to his lips. “Can you forgive me?”

“Yes My Love. It is already forgotten.”

He kissed her then looked to the Sugar brothers. “Get out.”

Col didn’t let on that he was miffed about not getting an apology. He couldn’t really as Alex’s accusation was true and he was relieved that he was walking out in one piece, thanks to Katia’s charms and quick thinking.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” said Alex, gently laying her back on his desk and pushing up her skirt.

“It’s alright,” she whispered as he kissed her thighs, working his way up to her panties.

“No it’s not. I let her make me think badly of you. I have invented fresh tortures I will inflict on her for the insult to you.” He positioned himself between her legs and gazed down at her. “You are my future, my whole world and I will not let you down again. You are mine,” he said as he pushed into her.

“Nothing will keep us apart,” she said, wrapping herself around him.

He looked down at her, eyes feverish with lust and zeal. “If they try I will kill them.”

She smiled and pulled him down to her, kissing him hard, shock running through her when she realised she was imagining it was Ryan Law between her thighs. The surprise made her gasp, which Alex fortunately took to mean she was enjoying his attentions. It was a relief when she opened her eyes to see it was indeed Alex on top of her, she loved him so much but Ryan had a way of getting under a woman’s skin. Now she was able to understand why Rachel had her affair.

Reports came in to Mikey, Jez and Ryan that Alex had been glimpsed all over the city. He was keeping on the move, not staying in one place long enough for any would-be snipers to find him. As he was no longer hiding they decided to be equally bold so they returned to the Maguire compound to regroup.

Rachel watched Mikey take the chair behind the desk that had once been occupied by Frank, Danny and then Alex. He looked completely at ease in the power seat, as though this was the natural progression he’d expected his life to take but it still made her sad, she wanted more for him.

“Alex has been seen all over the place,” said Mikey, taking a bottle of scotch out of the desk drawer and pouring them out a shot each. “The pub, the car lot, the gym, even one of my fucking nightclubs.”

“He wants this over with as much as we do,” said Jez. “This has dragged on for longer than any of us expected.”

“Plus the body count is attracting a lot of unwanted attention,” said Mikey. “On top of that some cheeky bastards tried to turn over the bookies but my men sorted them out good and proper.”

“Let’s just blow the fucker’s head off,” said Frankie. “I’m sick of England, I need to be back in Bonnie Scotland before I start talking funny and acting like a pansy.”

“We need to launch a coordinated attack,” said Ryan, “one that takes out all his allies at once, leaving him vulnerable and I think I know how we can do it.” Although he and Rachel had come up with this plan together he was going to take the credit for it as part of their campaign to make Frankie think Rachel was losing her touch.

Frankie clapped his hands together. “I knew you’d find a way Pal.” He looked to Mikey. “Don’t get comfy in that chair.”

A tense silence descended on the room that only Frankie seemed oblivious to.

“We have to lure Alex to a location of our choosing,” continued Ryan as though Frankie hadn’t spoken. “And in order to do that he has to think he’s found us. Battler and Bruiser are already working on setting that up. I’m also waiting for Dane Black to get back to me. Apparently Lucifer’s Shadow has a chapter in Leeds and some of their members have been seen here.”

“Fucking Yorkshiremen,” said Frankie. “They’re worse than you Mancs. Lock up your sheep.”

When it was clear he was finished, Ryan continued. “We’ve still got Dane’s back-up. The last thing he wants is more of his rivals in the city. Riley, I want you to work with him to sort them out.”

Riley’s face lit up. Jasper would be hiding with his cronies from Leeds.

“What about the Russians?” said Mikey.

“I’ll get my police contacts onto that. If the coppers are busy with them it’ll keep them off our backs. With the MC club and the Russians dealt with, that just leaves Alex himself, the Sugar brothers and the group of mercenaries he’s hired as his personal bodyguard.”

“I recognised some of them stood by the van at the garden centre,” said Jez. “Nasty bastards too, a mix of crazy ex-military and violent ex-cons.”

“They’ll be sticking close to Alex, it won’t be easy to separate them from him,” said Mikey.

“That’s why I want Jez, Mikey and Frankie to deal with them. Where I’m thinking of leading them it will be easy to pick them off one by one until Alex is alone, where me and Rachel will deal with him.”

“Sure you’ve got the stomach for this?” Frankie asked Rachel sarcastically.

“Yes Frankie. I’ve been looking forward to it,” she said, eyes turning jet black.

“Fucking beautiful. The bitch is back,” he grinned. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down Sweetheart.”

“Anyway,” said Ryan, trying to contain his temper with the man. “I’ve got to meet a contact of mine who can help us out on the Russian front, so to speak. I suggest you all prepare for the final assault because it will be coming soon.” He looked to Rachel. “Are you ready to go?”

She nodded and walked out with him, glad to get away from Frankie.

“Riley, can I have a word?” Jez asked once the meeting was concluded.

Riley stared back at him stonily but nevertheless he followed Jez out of the room and into the empty office next door.

“I want to say sorry for the hard time I’ve given you,” began Jez. “You’ve done nothing but help us and you saved my life. You have my trust and well, I think you’re alright.”

Jez thought it eerie the way Riley’s eyebrow arched disdainfully in exactly the same manner Ryan’s did.

“Is that it only I’ve got a lot to do,” he icily replied before walking to the door.

Jez laid a hand on his arm to stop him and Riley rounded on him.

“Get the fuck off me.”

“I’m sorry Jasper escaped because of me, I didn’t do it on purpose, I didn’t even know you were chasing after him. But I am grateful to you for saving my life and for saving Rachel’s. I had no right to treat you the way I did but I was jealous,” he finally admitted to the floor, unable to look Riley in the eye because he felt so silly and pathetic.

“Jealous?”

Jez sighed. He obviously wasn’t going to make this easy for him. “It’s like this. Me and Ryan were never close when we were younger. Actually I used to be bloody terrified of him then I found my balls and now we’re really close. When you came along I thought you’d come between us.”

“That was never my intention. I tried telling you that but you wouldn’t listen.”

“I know, I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it. But now I see there’s room for us both in his life.”

Riley was willing to forgive and forget. If he wanted to be a part of his brother’s life he had to accept Jez otherwise it wouldn’t work. “I suppose it’s not been the ideal circumstances for us to get to know each other. Okay, let’s start again shall we?”

“I’d like that.”

The two men shook hands, a new respect developing between them now the air had been cleared.

“Now, why don’t you show me where the guns are kept?” said Riley, patting Jez on the shoulder. “We’ve got a mutual enemy to destroy.”

Jez grinned back. “Follow me.”

Taylor was just as nervous about meeting Ryan and Rachel Law alone as he had been about meeting Alex Maguire. At least this time the meet was taking place in the warmth of a back room in a restaurant owned by the Laws and not a manky, deserted warehouse and he was sat at a table sipping the best coffee he’d ever tasted.

He held his breath when the door opened and they walked in, then released it again when he saw they both looked perfectly calm and personable.

“DCI Taylor, thank you for meeting us,” said Ryan, extending his hand.

Taylor shook it and resumed his seat, Rachel and Ryan sitting opposite him.

“You’ve been creating a lot of ructions,” opened Taylor.

“We have?” said Ryan while Rachel poured them both a coffee from the pot that had been left on the table. The staff had arranged everything in advance after being given explicit instructions they were not to be disturbed.

“The Lucifer’s Shadow MC up in flames, dead bodies everywhere.”

They chose not to reply, just in case he was wearing a wire. Taylor decided not to even bother trying to convince them he was clean, they hadn’t got where they were without a healthy dose of paranoia.

“Organised Crime are pissed off someone got to them before they could put them away but us local coppers are delighted. They were a major pain in the arse. I bet the crime rate will soon drop around here.”

“Did you know a tracking device had been planted on my bike at the police station?” Ryan dropped it into the conversation with an almost casual air.

The complete surprise on Taylor’s face convinced them he had no idea. “No. It must have been Kennard. What a wanker.”

“Precisely,” replied Ryan. “Fortunately it didn’t pay off, although my wife was put in danger and I don’t take kindly to that.”

Taylor resisted the urge to shuffle in his seat as Ryan’s grey eyes drilled into him. He allowed the silence to stretch out, a strategy Taylor himself had used many times in interrogations. It gave the person being interviewed the desperate urge to talk and fill the silence and he couldn’t take the pressure any longer. “I had nothing to do with that, I promise you.”

“Hmmm,” was all Ryan was willing to reply. “I suppose a really good collar would get you back in your superior’s good books after the thrashing you got for the warehouse burning down.”

“Yes it would. I take it this is part of your plan to bring down Alex?”

“I anticipate that soon you will make an arrest that will restore your reputation. I need to know that you will be available to move when I give you the signal.”

“I will be. When and where?”

“I’ll let you know.”

“You don’t know yet?”

“It’s in hand but you will have to move fast, timing is of the essence.”