Hunted Read online

  Jules willed the hand holding the knife to his throat to move, to drag the sharpened blade across the tender skin, opening him up. The prospect of watching his blood spill onto the floor was an alluring one but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t get her hand to move.

  “Fuck,” she yelled, sheathing the knife and dragging her fingers through her jaw-length, jaggedy hair.

  “Why did you do that to your hair? You had such lovely hair,” he said quietly, keeping his head bowed.

  “I had some dangerous people after me,” she muttered, pacing the length of the cage, trying to conjure up the will to put this wretched creature out of its misery and still unable to find it. Up until her thirteenth birthday she’d been a normal, happy little girl. Yes, she’d realised something wasn’t really right in that house but it hadn’t affected her so she’d merrily continued on with her life, blissfully unaware of what was around the corner. The day of her thirteenth birthday had seen the obliteration of that girl but she hadn’t been eradicated completely. There was still a part of her that dwelt inside the hard, merciless woman she’d been forced to turn into and that girl balked against killing her adored daddy. Jules feared what would happen to her fragile psyche if Leighton Parker was dead. The thought that he was the only thing tethering her to sanity constantly plagued her.

  “Are they still after you?” he said in the timid little voice that irked her.

  “No.” She sighed and hung her head. “A man wants me to be with him because he likes who I am. He must be fucking mad,” she chuckled humourlessly. “He could give me everything I want but I turned him down because I’d end up ruining his life. That’s the first selfless thing I’ve ever done. All I learnt from you was how to get my own way. Even when life was good I was spoilt bloody rotten.” She was talking to herself and Leighton knew it, but he still listened intently. “I suppose I’m learning.” Maybe Cassandra was having an effect, or Mikey.

  “Don’t leave me, please,” he called when she strode to the cage door.

  This time she only replied once she’d stepped through it and locked it back up. He scurried towards her on all fours and went up on his knees to grasp the bars, looking up at her imploringly. “Don’t leave me.”

  “I’ve got to go, I have a job now,” she sniffed, smoothing down her hair in a futile attempt to tame it.

  “Doing what?”

  “Never you fucking mind.”

  “I’m interested.”

  Her face split into a malicious smile. “You really want to know?”

  “Yes I do. I’m interested in my daughter’s life.”

  She crouched down before him, eyes narrowing as she peered at him through the bars. “I’m working for Mikey Maguire.”

  “So you finally made your approach?”

  “I did and it worked. I’m officially in the family business.” Her grin broadened. “Now I’ve found my real family I don’t need you anymore.”

  His blue eyes flickered. “You will always need me.”

  Leighton’s uncertainty filled her with a sadistic pleasure. “How can you be so sure?” With that she got to her feet.

  “No, stay with me, please. Don’t leave me alone in the dark. Jules,” he bellowed as she walked away.

  She froze, thrust back her shoulders and spun on her heel. “Did you just fucking shout?”

  Frantically he shook his head and scrambled back into a corner of the cage. “N…no…I wouldn’t.”

  “You did, I heard you,” she said, advancing on him. “You know that’s against the rules.” She’d trained him like a dog not to make any loud noises for fear of alerting someone to his presence while she wasn’t there. He buried his face in his hands and whimpered when she snatched up the cattle prod.

  “You’ve been naughty Leighton. Time to take your punishment.” Those were the same words he’d said to her right before the horrific pain had started.

  He cried into his hands as she raked the cattle prod back and forth across the bars, sending sparks flying, her malevolent laugh a disturbing accompaniment. This was the one thing he couldn’t abide, it terrified him because she’d trained him that way.

  When she was satisfied he was subdued she let the weapon drop but he didn’t dare look up, keeping his face buried in his hands.

  “I’ll be back tomorrow,” she said coolly. “Just behave yourself or you’ll get more of the same.”

  This time when she left he didn’t beg her to stay.

  “I don’t believe it,” said Gill. “A body?”

  Rachel nodded. “In the foundation of the annex.” She and Ryan had decided to let her parents know about the gruesome discovery before they heard it second hand.

  Gill shuddered. “I’ve been in there.”

  “We all have Mum,” said Rachel. “Anyway, we thought we might go away for the weekend, when the police give us their permission.”

  “Why do you need their permission?” exclaimed Gill, slightly hysterical.

  “Because our house is a crime scene,” sighed Rachel. “We’re not in any trouble, it’s nothing to do with us. It was put there before we moved in, they reckon it’s five or six years old.”

  “So it’s nothing to do with the Maguires?”

  “No Mum. Anyway, when Ashley says we can leave we’re going back up to Abercraig Castle in Aberdeenshire to see how work’s progressing on The Steadings. We thought you might like to come with us?”

  “Do we ever love,” smiled Rick. “That sounds lovely. Do we need to book any accommodation?”

  “No, we’ve got our own suite with enough rooms for everyone,” said Ryan. “We’ll fly up there, it’s too long a drive, and we can pick up hire cars from Aberdeen Airport.”

  “Sounds lovely, I’ve always been very fond of Scotland,” said Gill excitedly. “My granddad was Scottish you know, from Inverness. We’ve still got a drop left of the Abercraig Whisky you bought us. It’ll get us in the mood for our holiday,” said Gill, bustling into the kitchen.

  “So this definitely isn’t anything to do with the Maguires?” whispered Rick when she’d gone. “It’s not Alex, is it?”

  “Course not,” said Rachel. “I don’t know where he is but he certainly isn’t in Devon.”

  “That’s a relief,” he breathed. “I thought the sod had come back to haunt us.”

  “You’ve no worries on that score,” said Ryan, recalling the moment he’d slit the bastard’s throat in retaliation for what he’d done to Rachel, only he’d applied more pressure and almost severed his head. A fitting end.

  There was a heartbeat of silence as Ryan briefly retreated into the past before Rick cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly, knowing what he was thinking. They’d refused to tell him exactly what had happened to Alex Maguire but Rick could see in his son-in-law’s eyes that he’d been the one to kill him. Rather than worry him it reassured Rick that Ryan would do whatever it took to protect his daughter. If that included murder then so be it.

  CHAPTER 3

  “Morning boss. Reporting for duty,” smiled Jules as she walked into Mikey’s office at the Maguire compound. It pleased her that she was no longer escorted around the massive complex of offices and warehouses. There was no Grant standing on sentry duty at the door anymore. That must be a step in the right direction.

  Mikey leaned back in his seat, twiddling a pen between his fingers. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “You look a bit on edge.”

  “No, fine.” Jules felt wired, she always did after a visit to Leighton. His presence flicked something inside her, playing havoc with the faulty wiring he’d put there. She’d calm down in a couple of days but until then it was vital she retained a tight grip on herself.

  He stared at her doubtfully before speaking. “I’ve got an important meeting in an hour and I want you to be there.”

  Jules was pleased. Finally he was letting her in on the big stuff.

  “Do you know Mark Cameron?” he continued.

 
“The contract killer? I know of him but not personally. He’s got a spotless reputation.”

  “I want to convince him to work exclusively for us. My cousin Declan and his brothers have gone back to Ireland to visit their mum and I want someone else there with Maguire blood to show him we’re one big happy family.”

  “Mark won’t go for it, he’s always been freelance.”

  “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

  “Alright Don Corleone,” she grinned, her smile falling at his stony expression. “Sorry.”

  “I predict another appointment with your therapist is imminent. You really need to learn more self control.” He paused, waiting to see if she was going to come out with any more smart comments but she kept her mouth shut, shuffling from one foot to the other. “Are you on drugs?” he frowned.

  “No,” she retorted. “I smoke and drink but that’s it.”

  “Then why are you so wired?”

  “I’ve not had my full nicotine fix this morning.”

  “Go and have a cigarette for God’s sake and calm down. Not in here,” he exclaimed when she produced a cigarette from the pocket of her leather jacket and thrust it between her lips. “You can go outside, this is a no smoking building.”

  “Nice to see you’re sticking to EU regulations,” she said wryly.

  “I’ll meet you in five minutes,” he added as she went out the door.

  Jules hurried downstairs stuffing the cigarette back into her mouth, sparking it up the second she was outside. She leaned back against the wall and toked on it deeply, willing herself to calm down. If she carried on like this Mikey was going to click on that something was wrong and he’d uncover her dirty secret. She had grown used to Jasper and his lack of attention to anyone but himself, he’d never noticed how jittery she got sometimes. Not even he had known about Leighton. She’d told no one and she wanted it to stay that way but she was working with Mikey Maguire now and he was sharp, he’d spotted her agitation immediately. It was vital she contained the Leighton situation. God only knew how Mikey would react if he found out.

  Jules puffed on the cigarette with such vehemence it disappeared in under a minute so she immediately lit up another one, willing her body to stop tapping and twitching. She was beginning to wish she’d got those coping techniques off Cassandra.

  “Christ, what a mess,” she sighed.

  “What did you say?”

  “Jesus, you scared the shit out of me,” she cried as Mikey emerged from the building.

  “Why are you so squirrely? What’s going on?” demanded Mikey. “I’ve never seen you nervous, not even when we were discussing having you killed, so it must be really serious to get you so rattled.”

  “I’m fine now. Honestly,” she added irritably when he continued to stare at her.

  “This is an important meeting and I don’t want your nerves screwing it up.”

  “That won’t happen,” she said, forcing the desperation out of her voice. This was the first time he’d let her near anything remotely interesting and she wasn’t going to let him take it from her. Taking a deep breath she forced the trembling to subside by the sheer strength of her will. “See, I’m fine. The nicotine’s taking effect.”

  He appeared unconvinced but nodded at the car anyway. “Let’s go. I’m driving.”

  Mikey’s cool presence soothed her. He seemed so in control as he drove them to their meeting. She focused on his words to keep herself from getting twitchy again.

  “I want to build a tight ring of security around us,” he explained as he drove. “Me, Jez, Declan and his brothers, Grant and you. We’re the core of the businesses and I’ve built up layers of protection between us and anything illegal. The fucking police will have to go through a hell of a lot of people to get to us.”

  Jules was impressed and a little touched to be included. “Why are you including me?”

  “Because you’re my cousin. Alex should have done this when he took over, I kept telling him but he wouldn’t listen.”

  Jules noticed how tense his jaw had gone. “It must have been hard for you fighting him?”

  He slammed the car into gear, making the engine snarl. “It was, which is why I don’t want to fight family again.” The lights changed to red and he hit the brakes a little too hard, jolting them both in their seats. He turned to face her. “But I will if I have to.”

  “You won’t get any trouble from me.”

  “Will I not?” he said, raising a doubtful eyebrow.

  Jules couldn’t be bothered to reassure him, she was far too wired. They completed the journey in silence and pulled into a parking spot outside a trendy coffee bar.

  Mikey muttered an oath under his breath when his mobile phone rang. He sighed and pulled it out of his jacket pocket, expression softening when he looked at the caller ID. “Hi Rach.”

  Jules watched with interest as his eyes widened. “Bloody hell. Do you need me to come down there?”

  Jules surmised the Laws were experiencing another catastrophe and wondered how much shit one family could find themselves in.

  “Alright, let me know if you need anything. Bye Rach.” Mikey hung up and stared at his phone as though it could give him more answers.

  “Something wrong?” she said, annoyed when he leaned away from her.

  “Ryan and Rachel were having some excavations done outside their house to build a new annex. The digger turned up a body.”

  “Jesus. Whose body?”

  “They don’t know. It was put there before they moved in. Now the police are all over the site and they’re still stuck in rented accommodation.” He shook his head. “They were so looking forward to moving in, it was a fresh start for them and the kids. Why does life keep throwing so much crap at them? It’s not fair.”

  “Life’s not fucking fair,” she said quietly, glowering out of the window.

  He glanced at his watch. “Let’s get inside. Mark’s not someone you want to keep waiting.”

  “Isn’t this a bit public?” she said, as they walked up the steps of the coffee shop.

  “Mark insisted on it.”

  “I can understand that I suppose.”

  The coffee shop was busy and it took them a moment to locate Mark. He was hunched over a table in a discreet corner, nursing a latte. When a man in a suit attempted to sit in the empty chair opposite him he glared at him until he went away.

  Mikey and Jules got their coffees and joined Mark at his table. He was a large figure, dominating the room, thick arms resting on the tabletop covered in tattoos, the ink a faded blue. He was good looking in a tired, craggy sort of way, intelligent deep set blue eyes studying them as they approached, assessing whether they posed a threat or not. After this close scrutiny he gave them each a nod and they took their seats.

  “Thanks for coming,” opened Mikey, unbuttoning his suit jacket to show he was unarmed. He took a sip of his coffee before continuing. “I have a business proposition for you, one I hope you’ll consider very carefully.” Mikey had huge respect for Mark Cameron, he’d helped them out when Rachel had been kidnapped by the Jordans, thanks to Alex. He’d also saved Ryan and Rachel’s lives by letting them know Alex had put a contract out on them. He’d always been faithful to their family and Mikey wanted it to stay that way. Mark was ex-army and one of the hardest and smartest bastards in Manchester. Not the sort of man you wanted working against you.

  Mark’s eyes fixed on Jules. “Are you part of the Maguire firm now?”

  Jules left it to Mikey to field the question. This was his show.

  “It turns out she’s a long lost cousin of mine, as well as Jez’s half-sister,” said Mikey. “So yes, she’s in the business.”

  Mark just nodded, giving nothing away.

  Mikey decided to get straight to the point. Mark wasn’t one for mincing his words so he thought he’d appreciate it. “I want you to come and work for me exclusively.” When Mark’s only response was to take a sip of coffee he decided to plough on. “
You’ll be paid a regular wage, which will provide you with a level of financial security that your ad hoc work can’t.” Mikey had heard that Mark’s mother had just been put in a care home specialising in dementia, a very pricey care home at that. Mark loved his old mum, which was why Mikey had decided to approach him now. Judging by Mark’s raised eyebrow he’d sussed him out.

  “Why do you need me when you’ve got Venom? Her reputation’s as good as mine,” said Mark. Jules nodded at the compliment.

  “Because I want you to head up my security as well as concentrate on your area of expertise. Your skills are second to none.”

  “You already have a head of security.”

  “I’ve put Grant in charge of another area of the business, so I have a vacancy. If you’re interested come and see me at my office tomorrow where we can discuss things in more detail.” Mikey had inherited his Uncle Frank’s paranoia about discussing anything incriminating in public, you never knew who was listening in. If the police were recording this conversation there was nothing they could use against them. However he knew the compound was completely secure, Grant swept it twice a day for bugs and before any important meetings. It was the only place he would discuss anything illegal, apart from his office at home, which was equally secure.

  Mark was clearly troubled about stepping into the Maguire compound and Mikey couldn’t blame him, it had swallowed a lot of people whole, never to be seen again.

  “If I wanted to set you up Mark I wouldn’t meet with you here. I’d just have sent Jules round.”

  Mark’s eyes locked with hers. “That would be interesting. I wonder what the outcome would be?”

  “Not good for you,” she replied, but her smile was playful.

  When Mark’s blue eyes twinkled Mikey realised she was flirting with him. Still, it seemed to be working.