Carnage Read online

  “What’s so bad about that? Ah,” he said when she pointed to her bruised face.

  “She was so happy and he seems to really like her too. They’ve gone to the cinema together. I said she’s to be back no later than ten.”

  “You’ve changed your tune.”

  “I have. I think they’re okay and I’ve not seen Leah this happy in a long time. But I think we’re going to have a love sick teen mooning about the place.”

  “It’s worth it if she’s happy again. So, do you think we’ve done what we can with regards to the Wrights?”

  “No, not yet. Michelle said she’s going to kick Dominic and Darren out when she knows this job is a permanent thing, Battler and Bruiser took her on for a trial period. She also told me something very worrying about Danielle, the second oldest child. Apparently she has a very inappropriate obsession with Jacob, which isn’t at all reciprocated. She can also become rather violent when jealous. Stabby was the word Michelle used.”

  “What?” he said, alarmed.

  “I think Michelle’s got her under control.”

  “I don’t like this at all.”

  “Me neither.”

  “What if she goes after Leah?”

  “That won’t happen.”

  “She’s already stabbed someone. What’s to stop her from doing it again?”

  “We’ll get it sorted,” she said, kissing him. “Relax.”

  “How can I relax now?”

  “It’ll be fine, she’s carefully watched. Things are on the up for our girl. Let’s not ruin it.”

  “Okay but it she hurts Leah…”

  “I know but it’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

  “Oof,” gasped Mikey. He’d drifted off on the couch after a long day at work followed by a double whisky and had been rudely woken by a weight on his stomach. He opened his eyes to see Jules gazing down at him with concern and the boys sat on the couch, laughing.

  “Sorry babe, were you asleep?” said Jules.

  “Yeah,” he groaned. “Why did you punch me in the stomach?”

  “I didn’t punch you, I lay down on you with an affectionate nuzzle.”

  “How much do you weigh?” he said, hauling himself up to a sitting position.

  “Cheeky sod,” she said, slapping him with the pile of brochures he’d only just noticed she held in her hands.

  “What’s that?”

  “Wedding venues.”

  He grinned. “Great. Let’s have a look then. What?” he added when she frowned at him.

  “I was wondering whether you’d run out of here screaming.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Because you’re going to be tied to me for life.”

  “That’s what I want and not just metaphorically,” he said, kissing her.

  “Later,” she said, indicating the children with her eyes. “We’ve been looking through these, haven’t we boys?”

  “Yes,” replied Josh, grinning.

  “And we’ve found a place we’d like for the wedding reception.” She opened up the top brochure and held it out for him to see. “It’s a barn.”

  “You want to have our wedding reception where cows and horses shi…I mean live?”

  “It’s only built in the style of a barn,” she said wryly. “It’s never actually housed any animals. It’s perfect, set in its own grounds, fifteen miles outside the city, no buildings around, only one road leading up to it. Total privacy.”

  “You worried about someone gate-crashing?”

  “We have a lot of enemies who would take great delight in spoiling our big day,” she said quietly.

  “I’m not going to let them. Security will be tight. Why don’t we take a look at the place tomorrow morning?”

  “Exciting,” she grinned.

  Hayden’s fist slammed into Derek Lawson’s face, knocking him sideways, the blood spraying from his mouth creating an ugly slash on the bare, peeling wall.

  “Urgh,” said Katia. “What a disgusting pigman.”

  Derek Lawson was ugly. Not even the most compassionate person on the planet could have described him as pretty with his huge blubbery lips, bulbous purple nose, large blue eyes that protruded slightly from his face and unruly curly hair. Katia in particular found him repulsive, his face offending her ideals of aesthetics. On top of that, he’d attempted to organise the local villains into a rebellion against their rule, one which they’d easily crushed. After executing all those involved Derek was feeling the full force of their wrath. Besides, Katia felt there was something he was keeping back.

  “So ugly Derek,” she said, side-stepping the pool of blood rapidly spreading around him that oozed from his numerous injuries. “It was your idea to try to take what we have with your pathetic army of pigmen. What I want to know is who gave you the idea?”

  “No one,” he mumbled, his thick lips even more swollen than usual.

  “Come now Derek, I know you couldn’t have come up with that all by yourself.”

  “Well I did,” he said before spitting a stringy, bloody globule beside her expensive cream stiletto.

  “Hayden,” she said.

  Hayden slid the blade behind Derek’s left kneecap, making him groan with pain, his bulk impotently thrashing about on the floor.

  “If you tell us we’ll make your death quick and painless,” said Katia. “If you don’t we’ll make it last days. We’ll leave you down here in this stinking cellar with the rats. They’ll love the smell of your blood. They’ll soon be tucking into all that wobbly flesh of yours.”

  His eyes bulged with panic. “I hate rats.”

  Katia smiled. “I know.”

  Derek’s eyes frantically searched the dark, shadowy corners of the room, suddenly able to hear scurrying and scratching. “It was Mikey Maguire and Jez Law.”

  “How the hell did you contact them?” she screeched.

  “They approached me,” said Derek. “The others too. They said if we banded together we’d be strong enough to take you on.”

  “Well you weren’t. You and them are all so stupid,” she screamed, eyes bulging, stamping her foot. “How did they contact you?”

  “By phone and Skype. I demanded we see their faces, so we knew we were talking to them.”

  “So they didn’t come down here?”

  “No,” he sighed. “Wish I hadn’t listened to them now.”

  Katia looked down at him, gaze cold. “I’m going to ensure you regret it for what little remains of your life.”

  “Wait, where are you going?” he called when Hayden and Katia made for the door. “Please don’t leave me.”

  The door slammed shut behind them, blocking out all the light. Derek started to cry, curling up into the foetal position on the grimy floor amid his own leaking bodily fluids. The scurrying sound increased in intensity, it felt to be all around him. When something brushed against his face, lapping at the blood, he unleashed a scream.

  “Leave him in there until he dies,” said Katia as they headed back upstairs where three of their men waited.

  “I don’t think that’ll take long,” said Hayden, closing the soundproofed door behind them at the top of the stairs, blocking out Derek’s terror-filled cries.

  “The fucking Maguires and Laws again,” seethed Katia.

  “They were part of this rebellion?” said Mick.

  “Yes they were,” replied Hayden. “You have to hand it to them, it’s a smart move.”

  “Do not call them smart,” scowled Katia.

  “But it is. They managed to start a war without setting foot down south. They saw Derek and other local crews were getting fed up of us ruling the roost, so they primed them and sent them after us.”

  “It was just a shame for them that Derek and the others were so stupid and ugly,” she hissed. “They’re probably sat in Manchester thinking they are so clever when they are not, they are very stupid and we are going to make them pay.”

  “Has Amber got back to you with any details about t
he wedding yet?”

  “No but she will.”

  “How can you be sure? She got cold feet last time.”

  “You didn’t hear how angry she was. That little ginger gnome is full of rage. She wants payback in blood and she’s going to get it.”

  “And what about Amber once this is done?”

  “What about her?” she shrugged. “She is nothing to us.”

  “So you’re just going to leave her be?”

  “No. She might talk to someone about who was responsible. She will have to go once all the fuss has died down.”

  Mick listened to all this feeling increasingly uncomfortable. He didn’t want to go to war with the Maguires and Laws. Everyone who’d gone after them in the past had wound up dead. Such was their talent for survival that the rest of the criminal underworld had decided to leave them be. After the last attempt to kill Jules Maguire when she’d woken from the coma had been foiled and the perpetrators nailed to the front of a pub everyone had decided it would be stupid to fight them. Mick had always harboured the hope that Hayden’s connections to Manchester would have somehow ensured they built a peace with that family, maybe even worked alongside them. That would have been the most profitable route to go down. But deep down he’d always known that would be impossible after Hayden had betrayed them by helping Katia get her sons back from Mikey after he’d abducted them, almost killing her in the process. He was the traitor so they could never trust him again. Katia and Hayden were smart and very good at what they did but they failed to realise that the Maguires and Laws were experts at war, they’d gone through it so many times. Ryan and his sister Jules were even bone fide genius’s able to outmanoeuvre seasoned generals. Mick was afraid they were going to find themselves seriously outclassed.

  “Well,” said Jules with a knowing wink at Josh and Zach. “What do you think?”

  “It’s a lot nicer than I was expecting,” replied Mikey, staring up at the large brick building.

  “What were you expecting, straw on the floor and our guests eating out of troughs?”

  “To be honest, yes.”

  The roof was large and vaulted, supported by thick wooden beams and three massive pillars running the central column of the building. Two enormous chandeliers occupied the spaces between two of the pillars. An attractive wooden bar ran the length of the rear wall and a DJ stand was tucked in the corner. There were several windows but they were rather small, the building having been designed for people requiring complete privacy. It was a popular venue with celebrities wanting to enjoy their special day with the minimum of press intrusion. Circular tables bedecked with pristine white tablecloths were arranged throughout the room, except for the space near the DJ stand, which had been set out as a small dance floor.

  “So, do you think it’ll do?” said Jules.

  “Hmm, let me see the outside again,” he said, smiling to himself when Josh and Jules looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

  He stepped through the massive oak door complete with a heavy pewter knocker depicting the Green Man with the ring in his mouth. He surveyed their surroundings. An expansive lawn extended out around the barn, beyond which was thick woodland. To their right was an isolated hill dotted with trees and bushes. To their left was the only road leading up to the barn terminating in a gravelled driveway. The manager of the barn, a tall, spindly man looked like he already knew they were going to hire his venue, his eyes practically dancing with pound signs like some manic cartoon. He’d told them the nearest house was a mile away. It would be easy to maintain security here.

  “Well?” repeated Jules.

  Mikey smiled at the impatience in her voice. She’d obviously fallen in love with the place and, truth be told, so had he. “I think it’s perfect.”

  “Finally,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him while the boys cheered.

  The manager’s greedy reptilian smile for some inexplicable reason sent shivers down Mikey’s spine.

  CHAPTER 14

  For the first time in his life, Jacob walked to college brimming over with excitement. His date the day before with Leah had gone really well, better than he’d ever expected. They’d hardly seen any of the film, all over each other the entire time in the back row. He kept replaying over in his mind how she’d put that wanker Ricky Cotton firmly in his place, actually choosing him over the most popular guy in college. He still couldn’t quite believe that one. The scared, paranoid part of himself still feared it was an elaborate trick, a ploy to raise his hopes then smash them down again but there was something so in-your-face honest about Leah that it was becoming increasingly hard to believe that.

  He couldn’t wait to see her at college. Biology was his second lesson of the day. As he walked, that paranoid little voice started up again, telling him he was being stupid, that she’d ignore him at college, not wanting everyone to know about the two of them. He tried reasoning with that whiny voice that she’d kissed him full on the lips in front of Ricky Cotton and his friends, which was hardly being subtle but it refused to be silenced.

  “Why do you look so glum?” mumbled a voice.

  “Danielle,” he said with surprise when she suddenly emerged on the pavement before him like some vengeful wraith. “Where did you come from?”

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” she said, glowering at him through her long dark hair.

  “Why did you need to wait for me? We live in the same house.”

  “I want to talk to you away from Mum.”

  “About what?” he said, already knowing the answer.

  “That girl you’re seeing. Leah Law. Dad’s telling everyone you’re seeing her. Her family’s loaded and for some reason he thinks they’re going to give him lots of cash.”

  “Why do you want to know about Leah?”

  “Because she thinks you’re hers but you’re not.”

  Jacob swallowed hard. When she glowered at him like that through her curtain of hair she reminded him of that creepy girl from the horror films. She certainly had the complexion. “No she doesn’t. We’re just friends.”

  “Don’t lie to me Jacob.”

  “It’s none of your business anyway. Now I’ve got to get to college or I’ll be late.”

  When he attempted to step around her she blocked his way. “Dump her.”

  “No,” he retorted.

  “Dump her or…”

  “Or what?” he frowned.

  He glanced down at her right hand, appalled to see the knife she held. Its blade may have been small and stubby but he’d no doubt it was lethally sharp.

  Danielle released a cry of surprise when he grabbed her hand and wrenched it off her.

  “Give that back,” she said.

  “No,” he retorted, pocketing the knife. “I won’t let you hurt her.”

  “If she’s gone you’ll come back to me.”

  “What do you mean, come back to you? I’ve not gone anywhere.”

  “You have. All you can think of is her. I’m nowhere.”

  “Why should you be? You’re my sister not my girlfriend.”

  “You know we’re far more than that,” she purred, going from psycho to flirtatious.

  “We are not,” he said, taking a step back.

  “It’s always been you Jacob, ever since I was a little girl. All I’ve ever wanted is you.”

  “Well you’re not getting me. It’s wrong.”

  “Since when did that matter to you?”

  It wasn’t the first time she’d said these twisted things to him. It had started when he was fourteen and he’d got his first proper girlfriend. Danielle had thrown a huge tantrum, expecting him to dump the girl but he’d refused so she’d upped her game, coming into his room at night, touching him inappropriately. Once they’d been close but her weird behaviour had pushed them apart. Now he struggled to be around her without feeling sick. Although he’d never said anything to the rest of the family he’d been pleased when she’d been sent to the young offender�
��s institute, it meant he got a break from her intense creepiness. Neither did he have to bother locking his bedroom door at night. But it was one thing to torment him and another to threaten Leah.

  “I’m not having it Danielle, do you hear? If you hurt Leah, if you even go near her me and you are done. I won’t talk to you ever again.”

  “No,” she wailed, eyes filling with tears.

  “I mean it. I really like her. She makes me happy and if you truly love me you’d be glad about that.”

  “You don’t like her,” she snarled. “She’s dazzled you with her money and pretty face.”

  “She’s bloody awesome and if you mess this up for me in any way we’re finished. Now get out of my way or I’ll be late.”

  Danielle stood aside to allow him to pass, a tear rolling down her pale, grimy cheek. She stayed where she was until he’d disappeared around the corner. As always when he was out of her sight she felt lost and alone. Jacob made her whole, he was the other half of herself. Her hand slipped into her jacket pocket, caressing the other knife she’d hidden there. She preferred the small, subtle blades, ones you could hide in the palm of your hand that people had no idea were even there until it was plunged into their skin. Her breathing deepened as she recalled how exquisite that feeling was - steel penetrating flesh, the paling of the victim’s skin, the widening disbelief of their eyes, the warm trickle of their blood. It was beautiful really. She knew Jacob didn’t really mean what he said. Once Leah Law was out of the way then he’d see that the only woman for him was his sister.

  Jacob was so troubled as he walked through the college gates that he almost missed Leah standing there waiting for him.

  “Hello?” she said, waving her hand before his face.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I was miles away.”

  “Looked like it. What’s up?”

  “Just Danielle being a pain in the arse as usual.”

  “Oh no. You okay?”

  She looked so concerned that for a moment he wondered whether he was doing the right thing for her. Danielle wanted to hurt her just because he was seeing her. The sensible, unselfish thing would be to dump her, just to keep her safe. But he knew he couldn’t do it. For once he was happy. He’d actually woken up looking forward to the day ahead and he couldn’t bear for it to end, to go back to how it had been before, his life rolling out before him, grey and endless. Leah had filled everything with colour. Surely he deserved a life too?