Dividing Line Read online

  Dividing Line

  (Dividing Line Series #1)

  Heather Atkinson

  Copyright Heather Atkinson

  CHAPTER ONE

  Henley Towers and the Montford Estate in Manchester are poles apart. The former is a modern apartment block complete with underground parking, balconies and flash cars. In contrast the Montford Estate is a rundown, graffiti-stricken eyesore with boarded-up windows and burnt out wrecks on bricks. However, the interesting thing about these two residences is that they are next door neighbours, two completely different worlds divided by a single wire mesh fence so that the residents can look at each other with either envy or disgust, depending upon which side they live and the residents of both hate each other. This hate has led to the rise of two rival gangs. The Montford estate is ruled by the Law family and the Henley by the Maguires. Between these families an uneasy, fragile truce exists. But this peace is about to be shattered.

  In the local working men's club the party is in full swing. Banners proclaiming 'Happy Thirtieth Birthday Karen' adorn the walls. Danny Maguire stands at the bar, surveying the scene with disinterest in his bright blue cat-like eyes. Tall, athletic and handsome with thick dark hair, naturally most of the women present are trying to attract his attention but he pays them no mind. Danny is the younger son of Frank Maguire, head of the most powerful criminal family in Manchester and the Maguires have a fearsome reputation. He glances sideways at a group of half a dozen members of the rival Law family, who glare at him from the opposite side of the room, resenting his presence here.

  Although Danny is on the legitimate side of the family business he still has a reputation that precedes him and the Laws are reluctant to start anything.

  Outside the club two women totter to the entrance, their high heels creating a loud staccato that reverberates down the dark street. The first woman, a curvaceous blonde, stops and turns to the dark haired girl lagging behind her.

  “Rachel, will you hurry up? The party will be over by the time we get there.”

  “Sorry Beth but my heels are killing me. I don't know why I put them on, and these bloody cobbles don't help.”

  Rachel pauses to adjust the strap of one shoe, leaning against a wall for support. Beth sighs in frustration and takes her by the crook of the arm, assisting her to hobble along.

  “I'll help you. Now come on before that Amanda gets her claws into my Chris.

  Rachel rolls her eyes as Beth half-drags her up the steps and into the club.

  Danny is bored. The music is puerile, the beer warm and the women dull. He turns to his best friend and cousin Jake, who is of similar age and looks.

  “I'm off mate,” says Danny.

  “You've only just got here. Have a drink on me.”

  “No thanks. I'll just go.”

  He turns to leave and freezes as the most incredible woman enters the room. Her short turquoise dress accentuates her dark hair and eyes and her high heels show her long slender legs to their fullest. Danny's jaw drops open as he gapes at her in amazement.

  Jake rouses him from his stupor. “Danny mate, you alright?”

  Danny blinks a couple of times then turns to look at his friend. “Yeah. You know what, I think I will have that drink.”

  Jake looks pleased and claps him on the back.

  Jake continues to prattle on but Danny tunes him out, his attention focused on the woman in the turquoise dress, who hugs the birthday girl and hands her a present. Jake realises who he’s watching and grins.

  “Gorgeous isn't she? Her name's Rachel Thomas.”

  Danny watches Rachel limp to a table with a petite blonde. He guesses her shoes must be hurting from the way she’s walking. He realises he’s right when she kicks them off under the table and covertly massages her feet.

  Rachel looks towards the bar and sees Danny watching her, his blue eyes appearing to glitter in the dim light. She smiles coyly and he smiles back.

  “Who's he?” she asks Beth.

  “That's Danny Maguire. Owns a few nightclubs. Absolutely loaded.”

  “He's gorgeous.”

  Just then a gaggle of girls crowd round their table, obliterating her view of him.

  Danny struggles to see over the sea of women that seems to have descended between him and Rachel.

  “I'd be careful if I was you mate,” says Jake. “She hit her last boyfriend in the face with an iron.”

  Danny's eyebrows go up and he grins. “What a woman.”

  “Don't you think that sounds a bit mental? But hey, look who I’m talking to.”

  There's a gap in the crowd and Danny catches another glimpse of Rachel. He’s gratified to see that she’s looking right back at him.

  Rachel grins broadly. “Did you see that? He was looking at me again. His eyes are amazing.”

  “That's great but there's something you should know. He's Frank Maguire's son.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah. From what I hear Danny isn't in the family business but a lot of trouble does tend to come his way.”

  “You shouldn't listen to gossip Beth,” replies Rachel, barely listening. She catches another glimpse of Danny and the butterflies in her stomach start fluttering again.

  “I'm going over,” says Danny, running a hand through his hair.

  “Wait,” says Jake, grabbing his arm. “There's something you should know.”

  “What?” he sighs impatiently.

  “She lives on the Montford.”

  Danny's face falls.

  “He's coming over,” says Rachel excitedly.

  Beth looks concerned. “There's something else. He lives in Henley Towers.”

  Rachel's smile drops.

  The crowd parts and Rachel and Danny find themselves staring directly at one another, their frowns breaking into smiles.

  “Sod it,” says Danny, walking over to where Rachel is sat.

  “I don't care,” says Rachel as she watches him approach. Beth shakes her head and gets to her feet, leaving them to it.

  Just before Danny reaches Rachel's table a skinny pockmarked man plonks himself down in the seat vacated by Beth.

  “Alright Darlin? Fancy a drink?”

  “No thanks,” she replies, her eyes still on Danny.

  “I think you do,” he leers, grabbing her knee.

  Rachel pushes him away. “Get lost.”

  Danny appears at the man's side and glares down at him. “The lady said get lost.”

  “Alright Danny, no problem,” he replies, hastily getting to his feet.

  “Thanks,” smiles Rachel.

  “You're welcome. May I?” he says politely, indicating the vacant seat beside her.

  She nods.

  He sits beside her and extends his hand. “Danny.”

  “Rachel.”

  He notices how beautiful her eyes are, so dark they’re almost black, framed with thick long lashes. “How come I’ve never seen you around here before?”

  “I'm a nurse so I don't get many evenings off.”

  “Really?” His interest is piqued. This means the girl has brains and he likes uniforms.

  As they talk, everyone and everything around them recedes into the background. Although their lives are completely different they have a lot in common and Danny realises he is actually enjoying himself. All the women he usually comes into contact with are boring and slow but this one is clever, bright and witty. He likes the way she is in the healing profession and obviously cares about people but at the same time there’s something dangerous in those black eyes of hers.

  Rachel is thinking exactly the same about Danny. It’s refreshing to meet a man whose IQ is bigger than his shoe size and he radiates strength and power, a real alpha male. She would like to see more of him but knows the
re is a particular fly in that ointment. So she decides to come straight out with it.

  “You do know I'm from the Estate?”

  He nods. “And I’m from…”

  “Henley Towers,” she finishes for him.

  “Does that bother you?”

  “No.”

  “Me neither,” he grins. “Do you want to dance?”

  “I’d love to but my feet have been shredded by these stupid shoes.”

  “No problem.”

  She looks at him questioningly.

  He holds out his hand with a cute, lopsided grin. She grins back, takes his hand and allows him to lead her to the dance floor where he lifts her up so her feet are dangling a couple of inches off the ground. She is surprised by his strength and laughs out loud. The song is slow and sultry and he keeps her close as they move. Danny senses the tension building in the room. There are people here from the Montford and the Henley and that means violence is inevitable. The Montford gang in the corner practically foam at the mouth as they watch Rachel and Danny together.

  Just this dance, he thinks to himself. Then we can go somewhere else.

  He smiles down at Rachel. They lean in to kiss, their lips barely brushing before there is a loud crash and two men begin furiously fighting to their left. Others join in and it erupts into a violent free for all.

  Danny sweeps Rachel into his arms and carries her to the exit as chaos engulfs the club, people running in all directions, screaming. Two men stop to confront Danny as he and Rachel try to make their escape. He gently puts her down then punches the first man in the face, who drops to the floor like a stone. Rachel knees the second one in the groin, which has the same effect. Danny smiles approvingly then, keeping her close, he runs to the door.

  They fly through the exit and out into the fresh air. Rachel is relieved to see that Beth is already outside, unharmed. The wail of police sirens becomes audible and everyone scatters.

  “Come on,” says Danny, pulling Rachel along with him.

  “I haven't any shoes on,” she exclaims, indicating the broken glass on the path.

  He throws her over his shoulder and runs down the road as though she weighs nothing, both laughing out loud at the ridiculousness of it all. Eventually Danny slows to a walk and puts her down.

  “One of my pubs is just along here,” he says. “We can lay low until everything dies down.”

  Rachel agrees and casually they stroll down the road, the sirens receding into the distance.

  Rachel is pleasantly surprised by The Wherry Tavern. She remembers it as a seedy dive reeking of cigarettes and stale vomit and frequented by local villains. Now it’s modern and stylish with an unusual round bar in the centre of the room and what's more, it smells clean. From what she can see the clientele are still villains, although these days they wear tailored suits and expensive watches. As they head to a table in the corner Danny is swamped by men shaking his hand and wanting to chat, however he brushes them all aside and sits Rachel down with a drink.

  “They know I’m from the Montford, don't they?” says Rachel, clocking the strange looks she’s getting from the other customers.

  “Don't worry, you're with me,” says Danny confidently. He regards her curiously. “Is it true you hit your last boyfriend in the face with an iron?”

  She appreciates him asking her directly and not going to the local gossips. “Yes,” she replies, tilting her head proudly.

  He leans forward in his seat as she explains, entranced.

  “Steve was a bullying control freak. When I told him I'd had enough and was leaving he flipped out and attacked me. So I hit him with the iron, which was still plugged in.”

  Danny exhales slowly. “Wow.” He can see it took her a lot to tell him this and he respects her for it. It can't have been easy. Her lovely dark eyes cloud over with the memory of it then she looks at him and smiles and the cloud disappears.

  “Scared?” she grins.

  “Oh yeah,” he replies softly, leaning in for a kiss.

  He rolls his eyes when the moment is interrupted by a polite cough. He looks up to see two uniformed police officers standing by their table.

  “What can I do for you officers?” says Danny pleasantly.

  “We're here about an assault at the Working Men's Club. Where were you about an hour ago?” says the older officer.

  “We were here, weren't we Rachel?”

  “Yes,” she replies innocently.

  “Ask anyone,” continues Danny. “They'll tell you the same.”

  “I bet they will,” says the second officer cynically.

  “Why do you keep harassing me like this? You know I’m strictly legit. You're persecuting me because of who my father is,” says Danny.

  The second officer looks at Rachel. “You're off the Montford, aren't you?”

  She nods.

  “Decided to slum it have we Danny?”

  Danny's eyes glint with malice. “If I want to do that I’ll visit your old lady.”

  When he attempts to lunge for Danny, he’s restrained by his colleague. Danny and Rachel appear amused.

  “A Henley man with a Montford woman. I can't wait for this,” sneers the older officer. “We'll just sit back and let you tear each other apart, make our job a lot easier.”

  The two officers turn and stalk off, pleased with themselves.

  Rachel turns to Danny, a troubled look on her face.

  “He's right. If we continue this then there'll be trouble. You sure I’m worth it?”

  He runs a hand through her hair and gives her a gentle smile. He's finally met a woman who fascinates him, challenges him and he isn't about to give her up.

  “I'm sure.” As he leans forward and kisses her tenderly the clientele of the pub watch with worried frowns.

  He pulls back slightly to gaze into those black eyes. “Fancy coming back to my place?”

  She smiles. “No thanks.”

  “But I thought we were getting on?” he frowns.

  “We are. Look, I don't know what sort of women you're used to but I don't have sex on the first date.” She leans towards him and grins mischeviously. “You want me, you have to prove you want me for more than a quick shag.”

  For a moment he’s thrown. Danny is so used to women hurling themselves at him that he’s unsure what to do, but he respects her for her principles.

  “Fair enough. How about dinner tomorrow? A nice restaurant in the country, away from here?”

  “Sounds lovely.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Superintendent Jarvis sits glumly at his desk, pale grey eyes staring at the piece of paper on his desk. Another scumbag lowlife drug dealer has got off a twelve year sentence on a technicality. One of those stupid legal loopholes that do absolutely nothing to diminish the guilt of the criminal but the no-brained Court of Human Rights insists upon. He is sick of these bleeding hearts, morons that have no idea how the real world works, closeted in their big houses in the country away from the danger that a lot of people have to live with on a daily basis. These people care more about the villains than the victims and it sickens him. If he had his way every one of these retards would be made to live on an inner city council estate for six months, then see what they think of hugs for hoodies.

  He's just been contacted by someone who shares his sentiments exactly, someone with wealth and connections and even better, someone willing to actually do something about the crime tearing their city apart. Maybe now they can finally get some results, although they will be have to be careful, underhand even. It may even require some imaginative bending of the law, which he is more than willing to do to get some justice.

  Danny is frustrated. He’s been on three dates with Rachel and the furthest he’s got with her is a kiss and a feel up. He wants this woman so badly he aches and he can't wait to get the wrappers off her. It's not just her looks he adores. She's fun to be with, intelligent and sharp as a knife and the best thing is she doesn't seem to want to be with him for his notoriety,
which is usually the reason women are interested in him. She likes him for who he is, not what his family is and he doesn't feel the need to put on the tough guy act with her. He can be himself and he's never had that with a woman before. He thinks about her constantly and realises that, for the first time in his life, he’s in serious danger of falling in love.

  He takes his frustration out on the barrels of beer he’s stacking in the cellar.

  “Bloody hell Danny steady on,” cries Joe, manager of The Wherry Tavern. “You're going to cause Niagara Falls down here, bashing those barrels about like that.”

  “Sorry mate,” grins Danny self-deprecatingly.

  “Something up?” says Joe as he stacks the crates up against the cellar wall, his skinny arms trembling with the weight. Danny picks up a full barrel as thought it weighs nothing and Joe experiences a twinge of jealousy.

  “Women,” he mutters.

  “Oh yeah, you're seeing that Rachel piece, aren't you? Very nice.”

  “I know.”

  “Got anywhere yet?”

  “Mind your own,” Danny glowers.

  Joe realises his error. “Sorry Danny, I didn't mean anything by it. Just making conversation.” Joe knows that Danny probably hasn't got anywhere, which explains his foul temper but he thinks he has a way to redeem himself.

  “Her mate's upstairs, what's her name…Beth. She's with that muppet boyfriend of hers. She might be able to give you a few tips.”

  Joe is gratified when Danny grins.

  “Thanks Joe.”

  Danny runs upstairs, his eyes scanning the room. He sees Beth standing at the bar chatting to some tall gangly dweeb who he takes to be her boyfriend, Chris. They seem to be arguing. Chris grabs Beth's arm, his fingers digging into her skin. She tries to wrench herself free but he maintains his grip, a distinctly nasty look on his face. Danny marches up to him and taps him on the shoulder. Chris rounds on him angrily.

  “What?” he snarls. He realises who he’s talking to and his blood runs cold. “Danny, sorry. I didn’t know it was you.”