Looking over her shoulder as she hurried down the escalator, Tia saw Vaughn getting into a scuffle with the security guards as he tried to break away from them.
She sighed, knowing that ditching Vaughn was one more thing she had to worry about, though the main problem now was how the hell she was going to explain this to Harry …
8
Wan Huang cut a line of cocaine with the edge of his Amex black card. He leant forward on the mahogany wooden chair and smiled, his handsome face lighting up as he stared intently. ‘Here you go. It’s yours.’
Smiling back, the girl dressed in a tight black jumpsuit giggled as she took another sip of vodka from the plastic tumbler. ‘I don’t know, I’ve never had any before.’
Wan’s eyes twinkled. ‘Then this is your time to try some. Come on, Shelby, there’s nothing to it.’
A glint of hurt passed over her face. ‘My name’s not Shelby. It’s Ellie.’
Standing up, Wan’s shoes squeaked on the sticky, beige lino floor as he walked towards her. He kissed her gently on her neck and ran his fingers through her shoulder-length dyed red hair. Then, feigning innocence at the same time as thinking that he didn’t care less what her name was, he winked. ‘What do you take me for, hey? Of course I know it’s Ellie, I was only joking.’
Glancing up at him, Ellie looked hurt. ‘Why do you do that to me? It’s not funny.’
Wan shook his head. ‘You need to have more of a sense of humour.’
‘I don’t see the joke in forgetting me name.’
Ruffling her hair, Wan laughed. ‘Oh come on, Ellie, how could I forget it? We’ve been seeing each other for a while now, haven’t we? If I didn’t know your name by now, I think that would make me a pretty rotten boyfriend, don’t you?’
Hearing the word boyfriend, Ellie visibly glowed with happiness. ‘I guess it would.’
‘So come on then, what do you say – why don’t you take a couple of lines, help you relax?’
Pouting her full red lips, Ellie shook her head. ‘I ain’t into drugs; you know that. Not powder, anyway. I don’t mind them pills you give me and I don’t mind alcohol either, but not that, especially after what happened to Sophie.’
Wan raised his eyebrows. ‘She’s nothing to do with you.’
‘I know but …’
‘But nothing, El. How many times have I told you not to listen to rumours? If you must know Sophie was too greedy. She liked to do everything in excess. I’m not asking you to do that, I’m asking you just to have a little fun with me, for fuck’s sake. That’s all.’
‘I don’t know.’
Wan nodded as he glanced out of the window of the small, grubby flat above the Golden Dragon Chinese takeaway in Brewer Street, a place his family had owned for the past eighteen years.
Ellie was becoming hard work and from what she’d told him about her background, he was genuinely surprised at how unwilling she was to just roll over and please. Most girls like her were easy, like putty in his hands, but for some reason Ellie was different, and from what he had heard she was also quite jealous of him giving attention to the other girls. Which made it even more frustrating that she didn’t just sit up and beg when he told her to.
Picking up his jacket he sighed and nodded. ‘No problem, Ellie. If you’re not interested in having a bit of fun, that’s okay. I’m not going to force you, am I; you know I’m not like that. Your choice. Always. Listen, just let yourself out when you’re ready. There’s no rush.’
He headed for the door and although he didn’t let Ellie see, he smirked when she called after him.
‘Wait, Wan! Where are you going? I thought we were going to spend the afternoon together?’
He turned around, putting on his best sympathetic smile. His dark brown eyes, twinkling. ‘I think it’s best if we don’t. I can see that you’re uncomfortable with the whole thing and I’m not into making you feel awkward.’
Ellie, just like Sasha had earlier, shook her head and rushed across to him, her big green eyes full of vulnerability. ‘I’m not uncomfortable. I love being with you. It’s just that I don’t want to do powder, that’s all.’
Wan held her gaze, knowing exactly how to play it. Play her. After all, he’d played this game with dozens of other girls before.
He took her face gently into his hands and kissed her again, this time on the lips. Long and sensual. ‘Look, I don’t know what sort of boyfriends you’ve had in the past but I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to. I love the fact that you’ve got your own mind. You should never let anyone push you into anything.’
Ellie’s eyes filled with tears, her pretty face crumpling up. ‘None of them have been like you. They’ve just treated me like shit.’
Wrapping his arms around her, he held her tight, then drew her away and spoke in a hush. ‘And it makes me sick to hear that. You didn’t deserve that. And that’s why I don’t want you to do this. I don’t want to be like the rest of the men in your life.’
‘They weren’t men. They were boys, not like you. You make me feel safe,’ Ellie said in a rush of panic.
‘I’m glad to hear it, but I think we should just be friends. We can still hang out, do stuff together, but in all honesty, you’re probably a bit young for me anyway.’ Then pretending he’d forgotten, Wan added, ‘How old are you again?’
‘Fifteen.’
‘That makes me feel well old. I’m almost eleven years older.’
Ellie shrugged. ‘But that’s okay. I don’t mind. I like it.’
Wan turned again for the door. ‘It’s not though. I keep forgetting your age cos you act so maturely. Of course you don’t want to take a line of coke. I get it. I’m just so used to dating someone my own age who wouldn’t think twice about taking a few lines. To them it would be no big deal; taking a few lines of coke is just the same as having a drink … I’m sorry, okay?’
Ellie’s voice was filled with desperation. ‘I don’t want you to be sorry, you ain’t done anything. I don’t even know why I’m making such a big deal out of it … Look.’ She hurried across to the small, wooden table where the lines of cocaine sat.
‘I don’t know if you should,’ Wan said, as he absentmindedly touched his short, black, gelled hair.
‘Well I do. I was just being stupid. Come on, give me another chance. Please.’
Taking out a ten-pound note from his pocket, Wan began rolling it up. ‘If you’re sure, cos I’d hate it if you were only doing it for me … but then, I guess it would be nice to spend the afternoon together.’
‘Yeah it would and I want to do this. You’re not forcing me to do anything,’ Ellie said with a smile on her face.
Laughing warmly, Wan shrugged. ‘Well in that case, just snort it up through that.’
Without saying anything, Ellie took the rolled-up ten-pound note from Wan then proceeded to bend over the lines where she snorted one after the other. As Wan watched her he saw her eyes roll back. ‘What do you think, Ellie? You like it?’
But Ellie didn’t answer. She staggered across the room, holding on to the table and then to the chairs and the words that did try to come out sounded garbled and incoherent. A moment later she dropped to the floor.
Wan stared at her and smiled. He kicked her side to see if there was any response. There was nothing. It always amazed him at how fast the ketamine he’d secretly cut into the cocaine worked. It was a matter of seconds before they collapsed into an almost catatonic state. Not that having a girl almost comatose was to everyone’s taste, but for what he wanted now, it did the trick nicely.
Leaving Ellie on the floor, he walked out of the small lounge, taking his phone out of his pocket as he did so. He dialled a number and almost immediately it was answered. ‘She’s spark out now, you can bring him up.’
As he made his way down the stairs, a small, fat Turkish man in his mid-sixties walked up and met Wan who nodded, and without bothering to stop continued on down the stairs as he barked out his instructions. ‘You’ve got fifteen minutes. I don’t want you making any marks on her face or her body. Nothing too rough – you got that? But anything else, enjoy yourself. I’ll see you in a bit … Oh, and no photos of her either.’
Outside in the fresh air, Wan’s phone rang in his hand. He looked at it and saw it was Franny. The last thing he wanted to do was speak to her. She was asking too many questions and just the way she looked at him made him feel uncomfortable. The less she knew the better because he hadn’t quite decided what he was going to do with her yet.
For the time being though he’d just get her to look after running the clubs and the girls, because he had to give it to her, she was good at that. Profits were up since she’d taken over running things. The promotions she ran and her overall knowledge of the club game made her an asset, at least for the time being. Because as much as he’d made a deal with her, a good, lucrative deal for him anyway, and a promise to protect her, he had a feeling that Franny Doyle might spell trouble. And if that turned out to be the case, well, he wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of her. After all, promises were just there to be broken.
9
At the same time as Wan was having a cigarette outside the Golden Dragon, a few streets away Tia hurried down Shaftesbury Avenue.
She touched the large, red bruise on her cheek and winced. She was sick of it, sick of being a punching bag for her old man, but what other choice did she have for now?
Life was bad enough with Harry without her sister Tammy adding to the mix. But for all that Tammy was, she didn’t blame her. Tammy had suffered just as much growing up in the abusive care home as she had, and Tia supposed that her sister behaving the way she did was her way of surviving. Though she hoped one day that they could put everything behind them and just start again.
Sighing, she pulled out a packet of cigarettes from her jacket pocket and dashed across the road.
‘Look where you’re fucking going, will ya?’ An irate cab driver leant out of his window, waving his fist at Tia but, ignoring him, she lit the cigarette and continued to hurry along the street, feeling her mobile phone buzzing in her pocket.
She had no doubt it was Vaughn and without bothering to even think about answering it, she rushed down Wardour Street, weaving in and out of all the milling tourists.
At the corner of St Anne’s Court, Tia curled up her nose at the smell of urine, jumping over a pool of vomit as she arrived at the entrance to a block of flats.
Seeing the silver buzzer covered with dirt and specks of blood, she used her knuckles to press it, speaking into the intercom breathlessly. ‘It’s me.’
A moment later the door was opened and Tia made her way slowly up the rubbish-strewn stairs, trying not to inhale the stench of alcohol and dirt.
Panting and feeling her phone constantly vibrating, Tia – too scared to look to see if it was Harry calling as well as Vaughn – walked to the end door, which was covered in graffiti.
She knocked softly, calling out at the same time. ‘Only me.’
The door was immediately opened by a young girl who smiled, her hazel eyes twinkling as she spoke. ‘Hi, Mum, thanks for coming.’
Immediately, Tia wrapped her arms around her oldest daughter, hating the fact that it was here, in this filthy block of bedsits, that she had to come and visit her. ‘No problem, darlin’, you know I’m always here for you, Milly,’ Tia said as she took off her jacket and cream cashmere scarf.
Giving her mum a half-smile, Milly threw herself back down on the second-hand, tatty brown couch. ‘I’m surprised he let you out.’
Not wanting to think about the grief she’d get once Harry knew that she’d given Vaughn the slip, Tia forced another smile. ‘He’s not all bad.’
Silence fell between Milly and Tia with them both knowing what Tia had said was a lie.
‘He’s bad enough to do that to your face, ain’t he?’ Milly said as she finished off the satsuma she’d been eating.
Automatically, Tia touched the bruise on her cheek. ‘It wasn’t him, I banged into—’
Interrupting, Milly, worried and upset for her mum, spoke angrily. ‘Stop, Mum! Stop trying to cover for him. The only thing you banged into was his fist. I don’t know who you’re trying to mug off – yourself or me?’
‘Mills, come on.’ Tia reached out for her daughter but Milly quickly snatched her hand away.
‘Enough, Mum, you know what a pig he is. I hate him and it’s not just because he threw me out.’
Taking off her jacket, Tia stared at her daughter. ‘Problem was, Mills, you gave him the excuse he was looking for. Always out partying, hanging out with right wrong ’uns.’
‘Yeah well it was better than coming home to him.’
‘Oh, Mills, it wasn’t that bad,’ Tia said, knowing that was just wishful thinking.
Milly shook her head, her long blonde hair, so similar to her mother’s, dropping over her eyes. She bit her lip not wanting to cry, not wanting to upset her mother either. ‘It was and you know it was … And anyway, he was always going to kick me out when I turned sixteen.’
Frustrated at the fact that what her daughter was saying was true – after all, Harry had threatened it so often everyone knew where they stood – Tia turned her anger for Harry onto her daughter.
‘Yeah, but like I say, you didn’t have to go and make it easier for him, did you? Fuck’s sake, Milly, why play into his hands? Why stay out late? Why get yourself into trouble?’
‘Cos that’s what teenagers do, Mum. They go out.’
‘Yeah well, maybe if you hadn’t—’
‘If I hadn’t, every night I would’ve had to stay around listening to him treat you like dirt and watch him sleep with anything that moves just to wind you up. So, my bad for not wanting to be around for that, Mum,’ Milly said sarcastically.
‘Mills, all I’m saying is if you hadn’t done what you did, who knows – things might’ve been different.’
Milly’s eyes filled with the tears she tried not to show. ‘Oh, that’s right, I forgot, it’s my fault he dragged me out of the house by the hair. But thanks, Mum, thanks for being on my side.’
Hating to be reminded of that day, Tia went over to switch on the kettle. She felt so inadequate, so useless and certainly so undeserving to have such wonderful kids. She’d let them all down, but especially Milly.
Milly had always been the butt of Harry’s anger and spiteful words, and although she’d tried to protect her, she knew Milly had not only been unhappy a lot of the time, she’d also been frightened.
She’d longed to give her kids what she didn’t have, but simply put, she’d failed. And the final blow had come three days after Milly’s sixteenth birthday, when Harry had literally kicked Milly out.
Although it had happened six months ago, the painful memory of seeing her daughter begging and pleading with Harry not to turn her out made it feel like it’d happened only yesterday. And it’d been that, not Tammy moving in, not the constant cheating and not the way he treated Tia, which had made her move out of the house and try to win custody of her other kids.
At the time she’d managed to take out a few thousand pounds from the various safes in the house as well as money from the bank before Harry had realised and put a stop on all her cards. Most of the money had soon gone on legal fees, for all the good that had done, as well as on hotels, so she hadn’t even been able to help Milly as she’d have liked to and now this filthy bedsit was where Milly had to call home. Even now, if Harry found out about Milly living here or the fact that Tia was still in contact with her, she was certain somehow Harry would run Milly out of town.
Tia turned and looked at her daughter. ‘Sweetheart, I love you so much and you know I’m on your side. I’ll do anything for you.’
‘Then get me out of this place. I hate it and I hate being around here. I hate this area, Mum.’
‘Why? I mean, I understand why you’d want to get out of this place but Soho’s all right, isn’t it?’
Milly shook her head, not wanting to go into it so instead she said, ‘I just hate it, that’s all. Please, Mum, just get me out of here.’
Turning away from her daughter to stop Milly seeing her tears, Tia nodded as she made the tea. ‘I am, I’m trying, babe. I promise. I promise somehow I’ll get you out.’
It was a moment before Milly said warmly, ‘I know you will, Mum, and I’m sorry. I know you’re trying.’
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Tia picked up the mug of tea and took it to her daughter. She passed it to her, smiling. ‘So anyway, how are you doing? You’re looking really well.’
‘I’m looking really pregnant.’
Bending down to touch her daughter’s large, round tummy, Tia nodded. ‘Well it’s not long now and I can’t wait to meet him or her.’ She stood back up, trying to hide her worry. Because as much as she wanted to support her daughter and be fully there for her, she hated to admit it but this baby had already caused trouble and she was certain it was going to cause a whole lot more.
10
Like a lithe feline, Tammy stretched out naked on her sister’s bed and lit a cigarette as she looked around the plush bedroom, wondering how her sister could have so little respect for herself.
Whenever Tammy thought of Tia she saw her as someone who was weak. Someone pitiful. She was one of life’s doormats, letting Harry treat her the way he did. And in her mind the only person to blame was Tia herself.
In all the time Harry and Tia had been together, she’d never put her foot down when it came to the way he treated her. Right from the beginning of their relationship, Harry had cheated and lied, humiliated her and been easy with his fists. And from what she could see, her sister had either just turned a blind eye or had to cover a bruised one. Tia’s need for security, for a life away from the streets, surpassed everything else.
But men didn’t like weakness and in her opinion Tia didn’t deserve to have a man like Harry if she didn’t know how to handle him. He was powerful and yes, he was difficult and arrogant but he deserved a strong woman by his side to complement him, not a snivelling, ungrateful cow like her sister.
After all, Harry had thrown money at her sister, given her every luxury she’d wanted. He’d spoilt her and Tia still couldn’t see how lucky she was. All she’d done was sit in her own silent misery. No wonder he’d treated Tia like he had done. No wonder Harry had come to seek her out and unlike Tia, she’d shown him how a woman should treat a man.
However, when it came to her kids, Tia was a different woman. She was a lioness. She would do anything for them. And if Tammy thought about it, she’d guess that was the main reason Tia was still here.
The idea of her children being pushed from pillar to post, going from one shabby place to another – like they’d done when they were kids before eventually being taken into care – was something she knew that Tia wouldn’t ever contemplate.
So, whilst all the time Harry had treated the kids well, Tia had been willing to stay and put up with anything Harry threw at her. But when things had taken a turn for the worse, and Harry had kicked out Tia’s oldest daughter, Milly, then finally Tia had tried to stand up to Harry. Though it was too little, too late.
Harry had wiped the floor with her and when Tia had walked out, Tammy had been sure that Harry would never forgive her. She’d been sure that Harry would never want to lay his eyes on her sister again and she’d thought that over time Harry would’ve forgotten about her completely. But she’d been wrong. So wrong. Because weakness was weakness and, predictably, her sister had come crawling back to Harry.
And it hurt. It bloody well hurt that once again Tia was the one who’d come out on top. And Tammy hated her for it. She hated the fact that Harry wanted someone as pathetic, someone as weak as Tia instead of her.
Oh yes, Tia may look identical to her, but when it came down to their personalities, they were as far apart as a spider was to a fly and if she had anything to do with it, not too far in the future, Tia would be gone again, but this time permanently.
‘What the fuck are you doing?’ Harry stood at the door staring with total contempt at Tammy.
Taking a long drag of the cigarette, Tammy pouted out her full red lips. ‘Waiting for you.’
‘In my wife’s room? Get the fuck out.’
Tammy flinched at the words, smarting at the fact that Harry wasn’t pleased to see her. Though of course she didn’t show it; she just smiled seductively. ‘Harry, baby, come on, let me help you unwind.’
Incensed, Harry ran towards her, dragging her off the bed by her long, blonde-streaked hair. His face twisted up in rage. ‘This is my wife’s room! I don’t want you in here. Understand? You may think this is some kind of joke, you little slut, and you may think it’s okay to wind up your sister, but don’t you fucking dare try to wind up me. You understand?’
Holding on to his hands to try to stop him pulling her hair so hard, Tammy nodded and gave a tiny squeal as the pain ripped through her head.
‘Okay, good, I’m glad we’ve got that sorted and if I find you in here again, I won’t be responsible for my actions. Understand?’ He let Tammy go, pushing her across the floor where she fell into a heap, and he stared at her hard.
Looking at Tammy of course made Harry think of Tia, which in turn made him feel angry.
Since Tia had come home yesterday, she’d been more distant with him than ever before, and that was saying something.
He was under no illusions and knew that Tia wouldn’t be within a mile of him if it wasn’t for the kids. When he looked at her, he could see the cold hatred in her eyes and the unhappiness that exuded from her. But what was he supposed to do? He’d tried with her, given her everything and still she was a cold-hearted bitch towards him. Yet she still had a way of getting under his skin. She always had done.
And it wasn’t just because she was his wife and in his eyes that meant forever or at least until he said so. It was more than that, so much more. She had a hold on him. He’d asked himself many a time why he didn’t just let her go, and each time he came up with the same answer, he couldn’t.
He just couldn’t let her go because he wanted her. Every minute of every hour of every day he wanted her, and he hated her for it. Hated the fact that she was right there in his head.
It wasn’t just her beauty. He knew that because her sister had the same face, the same nose, the same-shaped body but unlike Tia, Tammy meant nothing to him. She was just a bit of sport.
Taking Tammy as a lover, he thought it might have broken the spell Tia had unknowingly had over him but instead it’d only made it worse. It’d fucked with his head seeing the face and body of Tia without her actually being there.
And when Tia had actually found out he was sleeping with her sister, she hadn’t said anything. She hadn’t kicked off at all, which had made him want to hurt her all the more. He’d wanted her to scream and shout and show him she cared but all she’d done was look at him with even more contempt.
Even when she’d come home from court yesterday and found that he’d moved Tammy in, she still hadn’t reacted, and it pissed him off to no end. He wanted to get under Tia’s skin as much as she got under his; he wanted her to suffer like he did. And he did. He suffered because he hated her and was captivated by her in equal measures, which in turn gave way to an all-consuming jealousy, which was why he needed to know where Tia was at all times.
The thought of any other man even looking at her made him want to kill someone. It made him irrational with anger which, ironically, was directed at Tia. Though it wasn’t as if she didn’t deserve suspicion. It wasn’t as if she was purely innocent. Oh no, his wife was a slippery cow and she certainly couldn’t be trusted.
