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“I suggest,” began Ryan. “That we use Declan’s own tactics against him. We draw him out. You’re right Jules, we do need to use you as bait.” He fixed his sister with a frown. “But only when you’re calm and in possession of yourself.”

  She just frowned back at him.

  “We need to work it so we are in charge of the situation. We also need to ensure that the location of the confrontation is on our terms but Declan has to think that he found Jules all by himself, so he won’t realise it’s a trap.”

  “And how do we do that Einstein?” said Jules. “No one knows where he is.”

  “We use the police to pass on the message.”

  Jules chuckled. “Is all this city smog addling your brain bruv?”

  His only response to that comment was an arched eyebrow. “The attack at the hospital will soon be all over the news. Fortunately Cathy was shrewd enough not to mention Declan to the police. You can pass the information we wish to send to Declan onto the mole you’ve been cultivating, who can then circulate it to the media who will take up the cry and post it everywhere, that way Declan won’t miss it.”

  Mark nodded. “He’s bound to be monitoring every media outlet.”

  “Precisely,” said Ryan. “Plus, as the source will be the police Declan won’t realise it’s the bait in a trap…”

  “Until it’s too late,” grinned Jules.

  “But you have to be the bait Jules,” he added. “That’s the only part of the plan I don’t like but he won’t show himself for anything less.”

  “I’ve no problem with that. Send a wolf to catch a mouse,” she said, grin increasing. “And I know just what information we can put out there for him to follow.”

  Cathy reclined back on the bed in her new room in the private hospital, which was much more luxurious than her last room.

  “Very nice,” she smiled.

  “This is the care home where Rachel stayed after she was attacked by Alex,” explained Riley. “And then Jules and Mikey after they were shot at the wedding. This place has been good to our family.”

  “Well it’s lovely. It should only be for a couple of days, then I can finally go home.” She frowned with concern. “Are you alright? You’re sweating buckets.”

  “I’m fine,” he said, wiping a hand across his forehead. “Just tired. I’ve got to get home.”

  “I don’t think you’re in any fit state to drive, you’ve gone really pale.”

  “I’ll be fine. I…” He doubled over as pain gripped his stomach and vomited on the floor. His eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed in a heap on Cathy’s bed.

  “Riley,” exclaimed Cathy. “Help,” she cried.

  Miller waited at the restaurant where she’d arranged to meet up with Paula but almost an hour had passed and she was a no-show. She’d only hung on for so long in case Paula had got caught up at work but it seemed she wasn’t coming and she was growing tired of the sympathetic looks she kept getting from the waitress who thought she’d been stood up.

  Disappointed, she decided to return to the office, relieved to find just Stevie there.

  “Have you heard the news?” he said.

  “What news?”

  “Cathy Law was attacked at the hospital. She’s okay but the woman guarding her was badly injured. She’s in surgery.”

  “Paula Lawrence?” she exclaimed.

  “Yeah. She used to work at this station, didn’t she?”

  Miller didn’t reply as she raced out of the door.

  Declan thought how Jordan’s silence and stillness as Ronan dug the bullet out of his leg was weird. He’d had no painkillers but he was betraying absolutely no reaction to the agony he must be in.

  “Got it,” said Ronan, pulling the small slug out of the hole in Jordan’s leg and dumping it on the table. “You’re lucky it missed the bone or I wouldn’t have been able to patch it up for you.”

  “I can’t believe I was shot by a woman,” was Jordan’s reply. “And it wasn’t even a woman like Jules Maguire, just some soft stay-at-home mum.”

  “Obviously not so soft,” said Ronan.

  “Cathy’s made of tougher stuff than even she realises,” said Declan. Now they’d retreated back to their hideout the disappointment of another failure was starting to get to him. He’d thought this would have been over by now, Jules would be dead and Mikey and Jez would be in torment, grieving horribly over her loss. Then, while they were so distracted, someone inside the prison would take the opportunity to kill them, hopefully in a long, drawn-out, painful way. “So what do we do now?”

  “I’m starting to think that going for the kids is going to be our best shot,” said Ronan. “But we don’t hurt them, we only use them as hostages to draw Jules out.”

  “Riley will have set more of his people to watch them. You saw how hard it was to get past one of them. Imagine what it would be like going up against a group. Plus they’re staying at Jackson Driscoll’s house, who’s a prize winning cage fighter. It’s too risky, especially with Jordan injured.”

  Jordan wasn’t listening, he was still laid on the couch, watching the news with interest.

  “Then I’m out of ideas,” said Ronan. “Unless there’s any other family members we can target?”

  “There’s always Beth, Jules’s best friend and Riley’s wife. She has kids too. Jules would come out of hiding for them. They wouldn’t be a problem as long as Riley wasn’t there.”

  “I don’t like it, especially as they aren’t part of the family business,” said Ronan.

  “Since when did you become so moral?” retorted Declan, starting to lose patience with the man. When it was one of his own causes he was willing to do whatever it took but, because it was his, Ronan was coming over all saintly.

  “Oy, I’ve always been moral.”

  “You might want to look at the television,” said Jordan.

  He spoke quietly and as they were caught up bickering they failed to hear him.

  “You had no problem killing that old biddy in Belfast when it suited you,” Declan told Ronan.

  “Because she was a police informant. I didn’t do it for fun. I snapped her neck so quickly she didn’t know what happened.”

  “You enjoyed kicking her dog to death.”

  “Because the mangy sod peed on my shoes.”

  “You need to look at the television,” repeated Jordan.

  “That’s not enough cause to kick a dog to death. You could have just washed your shoes.”

  “Do you want my help or not? Because it doesn’t sound like you do anymore.”

  “Shut the fuck up and look at the motherfucking television,” Jordan screamed at them.

  Finally he had their attention. Everyone knew that when Jordan shouted you ignored him at your peril.

  “What are we looking at?” said Ronan.

  “That,” he replied, pointing to the television screen. The view was from a drone, looking down on forest land. It was slowly cruising over a wooden cabin set in the middle of the trees. “It’s on one of our maps.”

  “That’s Lucifer’s Shadow’s clubhouse,” replied Declan. “The original was blown up but Jules had it rebuilt. It was one of the few times she’s shown any sentimentality.”

  “And look what’s parked at the side of it,” smiled Jordan.

  “A black Volvo,” he breathed. “That’s what she drives. What is this programme anyway?”

  “It’s the news but the footage is from the Forestry Commission when they charted the area, apparently it’s ancient woodland but some developer wants to knock it down to build houses. There’s been rumours of backhanders being paid to council members to get permission.”

  “That’s where she is. I didn’t think she’d be hiding out somewhere I know about.”

  “Which made it the perfect place to hide,” said Ronan. “She knew you wouldn’t bother to check.”

  “Let’s get out there.”

  “Just hang on,” said Ronan. “Jordan’s wounded and we can’t storm the p
lace with just the two of us. I’ve invited a friend to join us, he’ll be here in a few hours. We wait for him to arrive and give Jordan time to rest, then we’ll be good to go.”

  “And in the meantime she could move again and we’ll lose her.”

  “Why should she move? She thinks she’s safe there. A little patience, please Declan.”

  He looked to Jordan, who nodded in agreement.

  “Fine,” he muttered. “I’ll get the weapons ready while we wait.”

  Riley woke and wished he could drift back off into oblivion. The last time he’d felt this bad was after he’d almost been murdered by Lucifer’s Shadow, Jules’s old biker gang, although she’d played no part in the attack on him.

  “Riley?” said a soft voice.

  At first he thought that voice was Zoe, his pregnant fiancée who’d been killed in the attack. When he opened his eyes he realised it was Beth, his pregnant wife. He tried to reach out to touch her lovely face, which was slightly blurry, there seemed to be something wrong with his vision but his hand refused to respond to his command.

  “Why do I feel so bad?” he managed to rasp.

  “You were poisoned,” she said, choked up with tears.

  “Poisoned?” he murmured. He smiled at the feel of her cool hand on his forehead.

  “Zinc phosphide,” she said, voice trembling with emotion.

  “What’s that?”

  “Rat poison.”

  “But…how?”

  “Thank God you were here when you collapsed. You’d started bleeding internally. Didn’t you feel unwell?”

  “Tired…very tired,” he murmured. “Cold, sweating. Sick.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” she said, grasping his hand and kissing it.

  “Just…thought it was a bug. Had a job to do.”

  “Luckily a doctor here has experience of treating people suffering from zinc phosphide poisoning, so he diagnosed you pretty quickly, which saved your life.”

  “I’ll be okay?”

  “Yes sweetheart, you will. But you’ll be off your feet for at least a week.”

  “Can’t be. So much to do.”

  “No you don’t. Levi and Tia are running things, so the business is in safe hands. You are going to concentrate on resting, do you hear me?”

  Finally he managed to raise his hand to touch her face and he wiped away her tears with his fingertips. “Don’t cry,” he whispered. “You’ve cried enough in your life. No more tears.”

  “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. You just get better so you can get out of here and I can spoil you rotten.”

  He flashed a hazy smile, eyes growing heavy. “Can’t wait.”

  “Get some rest babe,” she said when his eyes started to close, planting a gentle kiss on his forehead.

  He pressed his hand to her belly. “Take it easy and don’t worry about me,” he murmured. “No stress for you.”

  Beth gazed down at her husband as he drifted off to sleep, incredibly touched that he was more worried about her and the baby than himself after he’d almost died.

  After kissing him again she hauled herself out of her chair and waddled into Cathy’s room, which was next door to Riley’s, at Tia’s request. Tia was a tough pocket rocket with short black hair feathering her pretty elfin face and the most gorgeous skin that Beth was incredibly jealous of. Tia wore no make-up but her coffee-coloured skin was flawless and had a natural glow. She was tiny and pretty but made of iron and capable of flooring a man twice her size. She was also one of Riley’s most trusted people. Although they didn’t think Riley would be a target for Declan they were taking no chances. Guarding Cathy’s door was Levi, Tia’s partner in every way, who looked like a younger version of Bruiser.

  They both nodded at her, giving her reassuring smiles as she entered Cathy’s room. Beth classed them as friends, they often had them round for dinner, although after what had happened to Riley she doubted anyone would be in a rush to come to their house to eat ever again.

  Cathy was sat up in bed, looking pale and unwell herself. “How is he?” was her first question.

  “He’ll be okay.”

  Cathy breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God. No lasting side effects?”

  “They don’t think so. The doctor said it was treated in time. This was the best place he could have collapsed.”

  “I want to visit him but after what happened my stomach is so sore…”

  Beth took her hand. “Don’t apologise, I understand. He’s out for the count anyway. He’ll be in here for a few days, so plenty of time for you to visit.”

  “I can’t believe it. Riley has always seemed so invulnerable. How are you holding up?”

  “Shocked, terrified. I thought I was going to lose him.”

  “But you didn’t. He’s still alive and he’s going to be fine. How was he poisoned anyway?”

  “Zinc phosphide. It’s found in rat poison.”

  “Rat poison? How the hell did he end up consuming that?”

  “I think I have a good idea.”

  “But…” Cathy’s eyes filled with sadness. “Oh no, please don’t say…”

  “Archie. I’m sure of it. He’s been very helpful lately, fetching Riley drinks. He never waited to be asked, he just kept offering. I thought it was strange the way Archie would smile while he watched him drink. I thought he was trying to build bridges with the baby coming but he was enjoying watching him drink poison.”

  “He wouldn’t, not even Archie.”

  Beth’s body had turned to stone, only her eyes betraying her emotion, which shone with tears. “Yes he would.”

  “How can you be so sure? Riley could have ingested it accidentally or it may be someone we’ve not even considered yet.”

  “Perhaps but in my heart I know. A mother always knows.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “What I should have done long ago. Call the police.”

  “Beth, you can’t. What will the family say?”

  “I don’t care. They don’t have to live with him and Frank called the police when it came out that Jake had poisoned those people, not Mikey. Some things are beyond even the family.”

  “You’re right but call Jules first. She’ll be able to send over the right coppers.”

  “I will.” She kissed Cathy’s cheek. “Right, I need to go home and sort out my son.”

  “I wish I could be there for you.”

  “This is something I need to do alone,” she said before leaving.

  CHAPTER 44

  Miller sat by Paula’s bedside, who had thankfully made it through the surgery. Her exhausted parents had nipped out to get a coffee, leaving Miller alone with her.

  She took her hand and Paula’s eyes opened. “Sandra,” she said weakly.

  “Hello,” she smiled. “It’s good to have you back.”

  “Sorry…the restaurant.”

  “Don’t worry about that. I can see you were otherwise engaged.”

  “I wanted to talk about Dwyer…has to be stopped.”

  “That can wait. You need to rest and get well.”

  “Look into the Portendorfer case, six years ago. Michael Portendorfer.”

  “Portendorfer?” repeated Miller, thinking she’d misheard.

  “Yeah. In prison for killing his wife. But he didn’t. Dwyer set him up.”

  “Who did kill her?”

  “Husband’s best friend, sure of it. No evidence. Dwyer wouldn’t listen. Easier to fit up the husband. No alibi.”

  “Okay, I’ll look into it. Thank you Paula.” The door opened and her parents entered the room carrying polystyrene cups of coffee. Feeling she was intruding she patted Paula’s hand. “I’ll be back to see you soon.”

  Paula’s fingers brushed hers. “Good.”

  Archie was in a state of high excitement. His grandparents had come round to the house because his mum was at the hospital with Riley. Finally that bastard was out of the way and couldn’t tell him what to do anymo
re. His grandparents had taken his siblings out into the garden to play in an attempt to distract them from their worries. Poor Ellie had picked up that something was wrong and had been crying. Archie felt bad for doing that to her but in the long run it was the best thing. Craig had been allowed to come over too and was as excited as himself.

  “It worked then?” said Craig as he walked into Archie’s bedroom.

  Archie grinned and nodded. “Yep. Unfortunately he was at hospital when he started bleeding inside but he’ll be ill for a while.”

  “Oh,” said Craig, disappointed the poison hadn’t had the full effect. “At least he’s out of the way.”

  “You brought it?”

  “Yeah,” he grinned, producing the large chisel from inside his jacket. “Did you get the hammer?”

  Archie retrieved it from under his bed with a grin.

  “Where’s the rest of your family?” said Craig.

  “Outside in the garden. It’s on the other side of the house so they won’t hear.”

  “It’s lucky you live in such a big house,” said Craig enviously.

  Together they snuck downstairs and into Riley’s office, closing the door behind them. Archie took down the picture concealing the safe and tossed it onto the floor.

  Craig jammed the end of the chisel into the side of the safe and pulled but nothing happened.

  “Give it here,” said Archie, snatching it from his grip.

  He rammed the edge of the chisel into the side of the door, picked up the hammer and whacked the top of the chisel. His enormous strength made short work of it and the safe door popped open.

  “That was easier than I thought it would be,” said Craig.

  “It’s only meant to keep us kids out really,” said Archie, peering inside. He reached in and pulled out a gun.

  “Wow,” breathed Craig, eyes widening. “That is so cool. What sort of gun is it?”

  “A Glock semi-automatic. All Riley’s people use Glocks.”

  “Do you know how to handle it?”

  Archie took off the safety, Craig grinning at the click it made. “Awesome. Let me have a go.”

  “Not here. Let’s take it to the park.”

  Craig watched in admiration as Archie put the safety back on and tucked the gun into the back of his jeans, pulling his t-shirt down over it to hide it, like he knew what he was doing.