CRUEL SECRETS Read online

  Ditto was a nervous wreck by now. “Blue, hurry up. If he comes back …”

  Kelly rolled her eyes. “Where’s Keffa?”

  “He has popped home to fetch the keys. He said he will come back. You can travel with him. Me, Reggie, Phoenix, and Solly will follow behind. S’posed to be a right nice gaff.”

  Kelly laughed. “So, Ditz, it’s gonna be a bit of a holiday, yeah?”

  Ditto shook his head and looked at her with his innocent, sensitive eyes. “I will feel safe there, though.”

  She returned to the bedroom and noticed her phone flashing once more. Three more missed calls; that was odd, and not like him. Then, she almost jumped when it rang again. This time she answered and waited. Something wasn’t right.

  “Hello!” came the distinctive voice at the other end.

  Kelly’s nerves tingled, her throat tightened, and her heart raced.

  “What do you want?” she replied, with an air of confidence.

  She heard him laughing. “Oh, dear me, it’s more like what do you want? Ya see, it’s like this. I have your boyfriend and you have my money. Fair swap I’d say.”

  Hearing some men in the background laughing, angered her. She paused for a moment, trying to get her thoughts in order. She had no proof that Peter was there, only that Eddie was calling from his phone. She was livid that he was playing the bully boy again. The sound of his voice took her anger to another level. Would he really hurt an innocent man? And yet he was more than capable of harming Peter. Could she let that happen?

  “You, Eddie, are a bare-faced fucking bastard!”

  “Yep, I am, so this is what I want. You have an hour to bring me my money, or Peter, here, will lose a finger for every fucking minute you are late.”

  “I don’t even know if you have him. All I know is you have his phone.”

  Eddie was raging. The cocky cow was playing games. “Frank, cut his fucking hand off!”

  Kelly could hear the sound of metal and then Peter screaming, begging not to be hurt. In a panic, she shouted, “Stop!”

  Eddie was still raging. “Stop, you say?”

  “Don’t you fucking hurt him, you nasty cunt!” she screamed.

  “Well, little girl, fetch me my fucking money. You have one hour … I think I will take off his little finger anyway, a present for when you arrive.”

  Kelly knew he meant it. “If you touch him, Eddie, I will hunt you down … you can ’ave your money. I don’t want it anyway. But do not hurt him.”

  “Right, I will meet you at my house. Once I have the dosh, I will make a phone call, and your boyfriend will be released.” He couldn’t have Kelly calling the police and getting them all nicked. It was best to let her believe he had Peter locked up somewhere else.

  With no time to argue, she pulled up the floorboards and stuffed the money inside a suitcase. She had remembered his address off by heart but had no idea where it was. Calling for a mini cab could take a while, and she didn’t have that long. Her mouth was dry, and she knew she couldn’t panic. She had to keep it together and concentrate on what she was doing.

  Ditto, Phoenix, and Solly were standing at the bottom of the steps, with Legend on the lead, as they waited to load up the car. Reggie, though, was like an old woman, still neatly packing his suitcase. Like a bat out of hell, Kelly came running down the steps demanding the car keys. Ditto saw the look of panic on her face and the heavy suitcase in her hands.

  “What’s going on, Blue?”

  “Nothing, Ditz, just please give me the keys. I ain’t got time to explain. Please, Ditz, please,” she cried.

  Dumbfounded, Ditto handed them to her. Straightaway, with only one stall, his motor was down the street, at some lick too. Reggie came bounding down the stairs dragging his suitcase. “Where the fuck has she just gone?”

  Ditto looked from Reggie to his new car; it was swerving haphazardly up to the junction.

  “She ain’t had enough lessons to drive that beast!” exclaimed Reggie.

  “Fuck, Reg, I don’t know what’s going on. She begged for me keys and just shot off with a suitcase. Something ain’t right.”

  Ditto tried to call Keffa but his phone went over to voicemail.

  *

  In the middle of trying to punch in the postcode on the sat nav, and trying to steer at the same time, she almost hit a lorry turning right at a mini-roundabout. At that point, the device sprang into action. “In two hundred metres, turn left.”

  Kelly took a deep breath; she had to concentrate on her driving, for she couldn’t afford to be pulled over, not now. The sat nav read one hour to reach the final destination and she felt her face flush with anxiety.

  *

  Peter was sick with dread. He may have handled his brother’s incarceration with support and confidence, but this was a whole new level. He had never even met a real gangster, and now he was tied to a chair blindfolded. If Kelly didn’t turn up in time, they would remove a finger. There was no point in screaming and crying – all he could do was pray.

  Smug with his plan, and cocky as fuck, Eddie knew he would get his money and his revenge. He would also give Kelly a good hiding for the trouble. He felt the sharp pains in his arm return and checked in his pocket for the painkillers. Hurriedly, he downed them with a brandy.

  The men took their drinks into the kitchen, away from Peter.

  “So, are you sure this girl won’t call the filth and have them crawling all over this place?” asked Cyril.

  Eddie shook his head. “Yeah, she thinks we got him someplace else. She don’t know he’s here.”

  “Eddie, I’ve known you to be ruthless, but you are normally tidy around things. I don’t want to get involved in anything that’s gonna risk me fucking liberty, not now I am retired, son,” he said, as he placed his drink down and glared at Eddie.

  “Fuck off, Cyril, don’t be such a fucking tart!” growled Eddie.

  “’Ere, Eddie, he has got a point. Who’s this woman, anyway, and who’s that slab of meat in there?” questioned Frank.

  Usually, they would do as they were told, but there was unrest, and Eddie could sense it. He felt the pain in his arm again and looked from one to the other. He imagined he was the wounded wolf in the pack, and they were all looking to the alpha male to take his place. His attention turned to the timer of his new watch which had just pinged. The hour was up and Kelly was late.

  *

  Meanwhile, Kelly was stuck; a skip lorry was temporarily blocking the road. She grappled with her phone to call her father, but in doing so, the car jumped forward and stalled again. Panicking, she tried to restart the engine and ram it into first gear. Unfortunately, she only succeeded in finding third and stalled again. This time, the phone slipped out of her hand and under the seat. Luckily, though, the lorry pulled into a driveway to enable her to pass. There was no point in continuing to fish under the seat; the phone would have to wait. She was late.

  *

  Eddie looked at his watch, came to a decision, and glanced over at Frank. “Right, it seems to me that she’s ignored my offer of a fair exchange, so, Frank, let’s get to work!”

  “Okay, boss,” grinned Frank.

  Cyril glared at Eddie. “I hope you know what you’re doing, son.” He could see Eddie was on edge and acting irrationally, as if this was personal. If so, they should not be a party to it.

  Eddie shot him a sideways glance. “If you wanna turn ya back on me, then fuck off!”

  Cyril didn’t like the sound of that and thought better of rubbing Eddie up the wrong way. Frank was standing in the doorway, waiting for the nod.

  The victim was still trembling. He had prayed for an hour and was feeling sick. He could hear everything but was effectively blinded by the black hooded bag. Frank retrieved the heavy-duty cutters from the tool bag. It always made for a cleaner cut.

  He looked at Peter’s well-kept hands and realised this man was no blue-collar worker. He swallowed hard, feeling uneasy; besides, he al
ways knew the person he was cutting up. Without any warning, he pulled the hessian sack off Peter’s head. Turning to Eddie, he grinned, “I never work unless me man can see.”

  But as soon as he turned back, to face his victim, he gasped and stepped away. Peter was grey-faced and wide-eyed, like a terrified child.

  He knew that look. His little granddaughter had been run down in the street. Frank had been watching her, when, for no reason, she skipped into the road – aged just five years old – and a car, driving up fast behind them, swerved – but clipped her – sending her flying in the air. He could never get that image out of his mind, her eyes pleading with him to stop the pain. He called the ambulance and cradled her head. Racked with guilt and grief, he watched his most precious thing suffer. As soon as they reached the accident and emergency room, she was whisked away and into surgery. The doctor returned with good news; he had worked on her for hours and saved her life. The doctor had been so kind and gentle. He had even sat by her bed until she had woken up and then spent hours by her side, aiding her recovery, and Frank knew that his potential victim was that doctor who saved her life. Now, he was staring at him, and he felt a wave of anguish. Without even looking at Eddie, he whipped out his Stanley knife from his back pocket and cut Peter free.

  “What the fuck!”

  Frank turned around with the blade in his hand. “You back off, Eddie, and let him go.”

  Peter felt a sudden surge of adrenaline; he launched himself from the chair and ran towards the hallway. Eddie was quick though and grabbed his arm. Simultaneously, there was a banging at the door followed by a woman’s voice. “Open up, Eddie!” Kelly was so desperate to save Peter, she hadn’t even bothered with a plan; she had the money, and Eddie could do what he wanted to her, just as long as no innocent person was hurt.

  Eddie let go of Peter, using his good hand to open the door. That gave Peter the opportunity he needed. In a frantic panic, he didn’t even acknowledge Kelly but ran past her, like a professional sprinter, down the drive and into his car. The skid was loud and left an impressive tyre mark on the drive. Eddie snatched Kelly by the hair and threw her inside, slamming the door shut.

  He pushed her heavily into the lounge where the three men stood, awaiting their next move. She toppled over, the weight of the suitcase causing her to lose her balance. But she soon managed to compose herself and to stand up. As if her past had just slapped her in the face, she said, “Hello Uncle Cyril, Uncle Frank.”

  Cyril, open-mouthed, stared at her. He could see she was Eddie’s daughter, no question. Finally, the penny dropped. Now he knew why Eddie was being so cagey: the firm would never have countenanced helping him, as it just went against the grain on every level.

  Eddie grabbed her hair again and held her face to his, but Frank lunged forward and gripped Eddie’s bad arm. “Leave off, Eddie, that’s ya fucking daughter. Let her go, you arsehole.”

  Eddie had to bite down on his back teeth. The pain shot through him and he released his hold on her. Cyril then pulled her away, hugging her. “Now, Eddie, what the fuck is going on? ’Cos I, for one, don’t like this one little bit, I gotta tell ya.”

  As the men backed away from him, fussing over Kelly, Eddie hated her even more.

  It was Blakey who stepped forward.

  “Who was that bloke you had tied up?” he asked, aggressively.

  Frank answered before Eddie could speak. “I’ll fucking tell you. He was my granddaughter’s doctor. He saved my little Ellie from dying, and this cunt wanted me to cut his fucking fingers off …”

  Blakey pulled his fist back, as he looked at Eddie. “I should knock your fucking head off. Since when do we hurt people like that, eh?” He lowered his fist, flaring his nostrils. Eddie knew Blakey was one devious bastard but had never been afraid of him – until now. Blakey had a look that put the shit up him.

  Kelly gave Cyril a thankful smile and stepped away. She placed the suitcase on the sofa and opened it. “There ya go, Eddie, and it’s all there, all £1 million.” With eager eyes, Eddie glared over at the case and nodded.

  “Oh, and by the way, I didn’t steal anything from you. That blue diamond was in my toy comforter. I thought it was a gift from you. I guess I was fucking wrong because you tossed me away and only thought of yaself. So there ya go, take ya money, and never cross my path again.”

  The men looked at each other and then at Eddie, who was visibly shrinking.

  “Blue fucking diamond, eh, Eddie?” questioned Frank with a deep, threatening tone.

  Cyril shook his head. “Well, Eddie Raven, I thought you was straight up. I really thought you was the mustard. Cor, you had me fooled, ya sly cunt.”

  His face flushed, Eddie was humiliated. He hadn’t expected Kelly to go running her mouth off, and he had to think quickly. They had sussed him. He had killed Mickey and Jack over their double-cross scam, and he was patted on the back for it.

  “No, Cyril, ya got it all wrong. Naomi gave me that diamond, when she found out her ol’ man, Jack, had fucked me over.” His explanation sounded lame, at the very least.

  Frank was livid. He had liked Jack and Mickey, but he had to agree that deceiving Eddie on a job was below the belt. So, at the time, he had sided with Eddie. He knew Mickey and Naomi well. He wasn’t best pleased that Eddie was fucking the kid, but he was well aware that Naomi loved her father and would never do him over, not even for Eddie.

  At that moment, a set of lights glared through the window. A car had pulled up fast on the drive. Cyril turned to see who it was, thinking it might be the police. However, it was a Range Rover and a big black man was hammering on the door.

  “Open the fucking door, Eddie, or I’ll smash it down!” screamed Keffa.

  Cyril laughed. “Who’s this, then?”

  Eddie now looked a shade sickly.

  “If you fucking hurt her again, I swear to God you’re a dead man!” came the voice from outside.

  Frank cocked his head. “You no-good dirty swine, have you hurt Kelly before? I swear, boy, you have crossed the fucking line. You ain’t playing with a full pack.”

  Blakey laughed. “I think our guest wants to come in, and I wanna hear what he’s got to say.” He didn’t wait for a reply, as he opened the door to come face-to-face with a six-foot-three black man wielding a gun.

  Blakey grinned. “It’s Denzel Washington. Come in, mate. Eddie’s in ’ere.”

  Baffled by the meathead’s cool manner, Keffa nevertheless kept the gun pointed in front of him and followed Blakey into the lounge. As soon as he was in the room, his eyes surveyed the dynamics. Aware that Kelly was standing next to Cyril, he also saw Eddie in a very different light; he had certainly lost his arrogance.

  Frank spoke up. “No need for the gun, mate. You wanna take Kelly out of here, take her.”

  Despite the invitation, Keffa wasn’t taking any chances with this lot, and he continued to hold the gun, pointing it at Eddie. He swiftly sidestepped him and reached out for his daughter; she naturally put her arm around his waist. “It’s all right, Keffa. I was just going to leave. Eddie has what he wants. Don’t ya, Eddie fucking Cako?”

  Eddie gave her a sideways glance and sneered. “I should have let you die at birth. You’re no daughter of mine!”

  “You’re so right, Eddie, I am no daughter of yours or the daughter of the nutcase you left me with. Ya should have left me with Naomi. Maybe I would have grown up normal.”

  Cyril shot a look at Kelly. “What did you say, babe?”

  Eddie was backing away; his arm was killing him, and he had just found himself in a hornets’ nest with his daughter waving a stick.

  “Oh, come on, Cyril, please don’t tell me ya didn’t know that me real mother was Naomi! This bastard took me from her; he gave me to his nutty wife and left me there to rot in hell.”

  Cyril’s nerve in his face began to twitch. He had heard it all now: first the lie about the diamond and now this. He felt an anger rise from his feet and almost explode through his hea
d. “That true, Eddie?”

  Eddie laughed. “Don’t be fucking stupid. This girl’s full of shit. Look at her. She is one cocky bastard, determined to fuck me up, all ’cos I got locked up, and her mother was a bit strict …” Turning to face Kelly, he snarled, “But she obviously didn’t teach you respect, did she?”

  Cyril looked Kelly up and down; for a second he was buying Eddie’s logic. She did look cocky and she was mouthy enough. Besides, that little yarn she was spinning seemed too far-fetched. He knew who Naomi was but still couldn’t register that Kelly was her daughter. Naomi had gone missing years ago. Little did he know that she had done so at the same time Kelly was born.

  Kelly saw the expression on Cyril’s face and knew she had to convince him. The men in the room were all about reputation and honour among thieves. She’d heard it all in the nick; she knew what was acceptable and what wasn’t. She moved away from Keffa. Standing in the doorway, she slowly turned, lifting her top. The men stared in disbelief, not assimilating at first what she was doing. Then Cyril gasped. Frank cried out, “Jesus Christ!” and Blakey rushed over to pull her top down.

  She turned back to face them, “Now, Eddie, tell them. Me so-called mother wasn’t just a bit strict … She was a torturous bitch, and she beat me to an inch of me life.”

  Keffa was livid and growled at them, “You all call yaselves men? Well, you all need to take a closer look at yaselves, ’cos, in my fucking book, Eddie has overstepped the mark, ain’t ya, Eddie! And you, boys, ain’t far behind him. Now, I expect you all to do the right thing.” He nodded his head but maintained his cool front.

  Just as she and Keffa left the house, Kelly heard Cyril say, “You’re nothing, Eddie Raven, you’re absolutely nothing now. You keep looking over your shoulder. Someone will come for ya. Just you wait, boy!”

  Keffa opened his car door for her to step inside; she was still shaking with anger and fear. Keffa sat in the driver’s side and pulled her close; he then made a call to a mate to return Ditto’s car to him. “It’s all right, Bluey, it’s gonna be all right.”