A Family Divided (Dividing Line #3) (23 page)

“
Bastard,” roared Ryan, slamming on the brakes, sending them both lurching forwards in their seats when a car pulled out of a side street and almost slammed into them. Ryan snapped as he recalled what had happened to Rachel and he threw the car door open and leapt out.

“
Ryan, don’t…bloody seatbelt,” muttered Jez when the thing wouldn’t come undone.

“
Are you blind you fucking moron?” roared Ryan, banging his fist down on the bonnet of the Vauxhall that had almost collided with them.

In response the driver got out, all bravado, no idea who he was dealing with.
“You were going too fast.”

“
You weren’t looking, you could have killed someone.”

“
Want to make something of it?” retorted the man, shoving him roughly in the chest.

Ryan gave him an evil smile.
“Thank you.”

With that he laid into the man with his fists, knocking him to the floor. Still Ryan didn
’t let up, pummelling him, kicking him in the back, transferring some of his pain onto the quivering wreck on the floor.

“
Stop it Ryan, you’ll fucking kill him,” said Jez, who had finally managed to free himself from his seatbelt. He grabbed Ryan and dragged him away, who fought back, struggling to get at the man again. “Calm down,” yelled Jez, keeping a firm hold on him. “Do you want to go to prison?”

Ryan shrugged him off and took a deep breath, glaring ferociously at the man as he lay groaning on the ground, blood seeping from his nose, eyes swollen, front teeth cracked.

“Get in the car. I’ll sort this out,” Jez told him.

Ryan climbed back in the car and slammed the door shut. Jez crouched down by the injured man, reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his wallet.

“David Dawson. Thirty three Clyde Road, Didsbury. I’ll keep this. If you mention a word of this to anyone I’ll pay you a little visit and what he just did to you will be a walk in the park compared to what I’ll do.” He took a wad of notes out of his pocket and threw them at him. “That’s for the inconvenience. Now fuck off.”

The man snatched up the money, hauled himself upright, staggered to his car and scrambled inside, hitting the central locking. Jez straightened up and looked around to make sure no one had seen but they were in a network of small backstreets and there was no one around, the surrounding buildings disused with no CCTV coverage.

“Get in the passenger seat. I’ll drive,” Jez told his brother.

For a moment he didn
’t think Ryan would obey, then he deftly jumped into the side seat.

Jez got in, pulled the door shut.
“I’ll take you home.”

“
I don’t want to go home.”

“
Yes you do. Anyway, Rachel needs to sort out your hands.”

Ryan looked down at his bruised and bleeding knuckles. He hadn
’t even noticed.

“
I’m fine.”

“
No, you’re really not. Do you remember when Rachel lost Danny’s baby?”

Ryan nodded, gazing out of the window.

“Do you remember you said what an arsehole he was for the way he treated her?”

Another nod.

“You’re acting exactly the same.”

He appeared offended.
“I am not.”

“
Yeah you are, sulking, not wanting to be around her. Just like he did.”

For once, Ryan appeared uncertain of himself.
“I’m not,” he repeated in a weaker tone.

“
You and Rachel are so close. I thought you’d get through this together but you’re pushing her away. Why?”

“
Because she’s carrying on as though nothing’s happened.”

“
No she’s not.”

“
She was laughing and smiling this morning with Leah. She’s got back to normal so easily and I can’t.”

“
Ryan, she collapsed at the funeral. She was in hell, she still is but she’s putting on a front because you have three other kids. You haven’t forgotten about them, have you?”

“
Don’t be stupid.”

“
Talk to her and you’ll see I’m right. She needs you and you need her. Come on, I’ll drive you.”

“
Alright,” he sighed.

“
You’re doing the right thing,” he said as he started the engine.

When they arrived at the Law home, Ryan obediently followed his brother to the front door, head bowed.

“Hello Rachel?” called Jez as he stepped inside.

“
Hello?” she called back, emerging from the lounge. Jez noted her eyes were red from crying. Beth had already gone.

“
Have you got a first aid kit? Ryan’s hurt,” he said.

“
What happened?” she said, stepping towards her husband.

Ryan held up his hands.
“I banged them against someone’s face. A lot.”

“
Oh my God. Sit down, I’ll fetch the first aid kit.”

While Ryan went through to the lounge, Jez followed her into the kitchen.

“Who did he hit?” she asked him.

“
Some bloke who almost ran into us. I think it brought back what happened to you and he lost it. Don’t worry, I paid the bloke off. I had a little chat with Ryan. He’s not dealing with what happened to Thomas.”

“
I know. I’ve tried talking to him about it but I can’t get through.”

“
He thinks you’ve got over it.”

“
I haven’t.”

“
I know. Deep down I think he does too. Try talking to him again, I think he might listen now.”

“
I will. Thanks Jez.”

“
You’re welcome. I’ll leave you to it but give me a call if you need me.”

“
I will.”

He gave her a peck on the cheek before leaving. Rachel took the first aid kit and two whiskies for them both through to the lounge. Adela was picking up the kids after school and taking them out for tea so they could have a sneaky drink.

She opened the kit and started dabbing at the cuts on his right hand with some TCP while he downed his whisky in one go. He put the empty glass on the table and contented himself with watching her. After gently placing plasters over the worst of the cuts she turned her attention to his left hand, which wasn’t as bad. When she’d finished tending to him she raised his hand and kissed his fingers one by one before cradling his palm to her cheek.

“
I miss him too Ryan, constantly,” she said hoarsely, fighting back tears, “but I put on a show for the kids. You know how upset Leah’s been about it all, she’s been drawing those freaky black pictures. But you should know that it hurts all the time and it’ll never go away. It’ll get easier to bear but it will always be there.”

“
Is it like that with the first baby you lost?” he said gently.

“
Yes but this time I got to hold Thomas, to see how beautiful he was, we even have a photo and that is a blessing. That’s what I’m clinging onto to stop myself going insane.”

A tear ran down his cheek.
“I can’t deal with it. I’ve never felt pain like this before.”

She took his face in her hands.
“You need to talk about it. You’ve not spoken about it in weeks.”

“
I can’t.”

“
Yes you can. You’re strong Ryan.”

“
I thought I was.”

“
You are. Now say it.”

He shook his head.

“Please say it because if we don’t get through this, we’re finished.”

“
I don’t want that.”

She was so relieved she started to cry herself.
“Then say it, for our marriage.”

“
We lost our son,” he rasped. “We lost Thomas and I miss him so much. It kills me that we’ll never bring him home or hold him again.”

He gripped her hard as he started to cry, his body shaking, his tears mingling with her own.

When he eventually calmed down and the crying subsided he felt like a weight had been taken from his shoulders. He sank back into the couch, cradling Rachel to his chest.

“
I’m sorry I’ve been such a fool,” he said.

“
You’ve been grieving. Don’t push me away Ryan, we need each other and I can’t lose you.”

“
You haven’t and you won’t, not ever. I love you so much.”

“
I love you too.”

They ended up in bed together but it wasn
’t about sex, it was about finding each other again and Ryan was immensely relieved that he hadn’t lost his prowess. Afterwards, as she lay in his arms, she said, “I don’t want any more children Ryan. I can’t go through that again.”

“
I agree. I’ll have the snip.”

She smiled up at him.
“You will?”

“
Of course. You’ve been through enough. We’ve got our children and we couldn’t ask for better.”

She kissed him.
“Have you any idea how much I love you?”

“
It can’t possibly be more than I love you.” He ran his finger down her face. “And we won’t let anything come between us again.”

“
Agreed.”

He cracked his first smile in weeks.
“So, tell me more about this hotel idea?”

“
The auction’s tomorrow afternoon at two o’clock.”

“
How much is it up for?”

“
Four hundred thousand, but there’s been a lot of interest so it’s expected to go for a lot more. Strang is interested.”

The fire of battle filled his eyes and in that moment she fell in love with him even more.
“Oh I’m going to enjoy crushing him again. It’s becoming quite a hobby of mine. What ideas have you got for the place?”

“
You really want to see?” she said excitedly.

“
I really do,” he grinned.

“
Okay, don’t move. I’ll get my notes.”

He reclined back in bed while he waited for her to return, hands clasped behind his head, feeling so much better. Why hadn
’t he just spoken to Rachel sooner? Because he’d wanted to be the strong silent type and bottling it all up had only made it ten times worse. He was fortunate she hadn’t chucked him out ages ago. The fear of what could have happened almost knocked him dizzy, he could have lost the best thing to ever happen to him. How could he treat her like that after he’d seen her lying in her hospital bed, lost in a coma? The full of force of what he’d done struck him hard. From now on he swore never to take Rachel for granted again. His family were the single most important thing in the world to him and he would not jeopardise them.

“
I thought we could set up a holding company,” she said as she returned to their bedroom with her notebook full of plans. “We’ve got a lot of businesses now and it would be good to have them all safely under one umbrella. It would be better for tax purposes too, one large payment coming from the holding company rather than lots of smaller ones from the individual businesses.”

“
Makes sense, it would make things a lot simpler.” He enthusiastically joined in the conversation, her excitement infectious. This was the new start they needed, something they could do together. Rachel loved his idea to include a small casino in the hotel too and flung herself at him. They fell back onto the bed together and made love again before falling asleep, holding each other tightly.

CHAPTER 19

The next morning Ryan kissed Rachel’s neck and whispered in her ear, making her laugh while she made the coffee. Leah made her customary joke about physical affection between her parents being disgusting but she said it with a huge smile, glad they were getting along again. It felt like life was finally back to normal.

A knock at the front door took Rachel from Ryan
’s side. “I’ll get it, you finish the coffee. I can’t work that stupid machine properly,” she smiled.

He kissed her hand.
“Come back soon.”

“
I will,” she winked back.

Happily she strolled through the house to the front door, her smile falling when she opened it to DCI Taylor and two uniforms.

“Oh hello. Is this about the accident?”

Taylor appeared distinctly uncomfortable.
“I’m afraid not Mrs Law. Is your husband home?”

“
Yes,” she frowned. It must be bad if he wasn’t using her first name.

“
I need to speak to him.”

“
Ryan,” she called, bringing him to the door, not wanting the children to see the police officers.

“
What’s this about?” said Ryan.

“
Ryan Law, you’re under arrest for common assault.”

“
What?” Rachel exclaimed.

“
On a Mr David Dawson. You have the right to remain silent…”

“
This is ridiculous,” said Rachel as Taylor continued to read him his rights.

“
Mummy, what’s going on?”

“
Go back into the kitchen Leah.”

The tone of her mother
’s voice scared her. “Who are they? What do they want with Daddy?”

“
It’s alright Cupcake. These are the police and they think I can help them with something.”

Ryan sounded so calm and reassuring she smiled.
“You’re helping the police? That’s good. Teacher at school said we should always help them.”

“
And she was right.” He turned to Taylor. “Please don’t cuff me in front of my daughter,” he said quietly.

Taylor nodded in agreement.

Rachel kissed Ryan. “I’ll call your solicitor. I love you.”

“
Love you too,” he managed to say before being led away. Rachel cuddled Leah to her as they watched him being marched to the waiting unmarked car.

“
Will Daddy be back soon?”

“
Course he will, as soon as he’s finished helping them. Now go and finish your breakfast, Adela will be here soon to take you to school.”

After Leah had returned to the kitchen, Rachel snatched up the phone and called Alex. She had an emergency meeting to arrange.

It reminded Rachel of the old days, cloistered in the Maguire compound with Alex, Mikey and Jez to discuss how they were going to get Ryan out of this fix. Declan was in on it too, which told her he was now a solid member of the family business.

“Shit, I thought I’d sorted that wanker,” said Jez. “I put the wind up him then paid him off.”

“
Obviously you did a shit job of it,” said Declan, all mouth as usual, earning himself a glare from Jez.

“
No I fucking didn’t. This twat obviously thinks he’s untouchable. His brother’s Ben Dawson, owns a string of strip clubs and a high class escort agency. Both brothers think they’re the dog’s bollocks.”

“
We have to teach David that he’s not,” said Alex. For all he cared Ryan could rot in prison, but after his row with Rachel it was important he was on his best behaviour, in case she started to remember.

“
Do we have to? If enough of us give Ryan an alibi they’ll have to let him go,” said Rachel reasonably. “Obviously Jez isn’t going to make a statement against his own brother, so that makes it Ryan’s word against this David’s.”

“
I’m waiting for Taylor to get back to me. The bastard should have warned me about this before Ryan was nicked,” said Alex, furious. Taylor was someone else who was getting far too lairy for his own good.

“
We need to put the fear of God into this prick,” said Jez.

Rachel regarded them with worried eyes, they were getting the scent of blood in their nostrils. Glancing at her watch she saw they had to hurry. The auction was that afternoon and she didn
’t want to let Strang get hold of that property. But she was determined not to walk into that auction room without her husband, this hotel was supposed to be their new start. “Maybe we can do this in a less bloodthirsty way?” she said. “I have an idea.”

Ryan paced back and forth in the holding cell. Taylor had interviewed him and Ryan had told him perfectly politely that he’d done nothing wrong and wasn’t saying another word until his solicitor arrived. He realised it was Taylor’s intervention that meant he wasn’t facing the more serious charge of actual bodily harm. Common assault carried a maximum term of six months, but that was still six months too long. The cuts on his hands spoke volumes against him and he’d refused to say how he’d got them. How could he have done something so stupid, especially after he and Rachel had just got back on track. He glanced at his watch, it was eleven thirty. The auction was due to start in two and a half hours. He’d never forgive himself if he messed this up for her. He hoped she went to that auction without him but knowing Rachel she’d be working to get him out, that’s if she could forgive him for this. What if his arrest was one step too far?

David Dawson was puzzled but nevertheless very pleased when he opened his front door to an extremely attractive dark haired woman with very delectable legs.

“
Can I help you?” he said, putting on his best smile.

Rachel took in the damage Ryan had done him, which had been considerable, his face swollen and bruised, teeth missing. But she felt not a flicker of sympathy for him because he was trying to have her husband taken from her.

She returned his smile with her most flirtatious one. “Your brother sent me round to cheer you up.”

Thank you Ben,
thought David gleefully. He opened the door wider. “In that case, you’d better come in.”

He stood aside to let her pass, admiring the way her hips sashayed from side to side, her lovely round backside. David was aching all over but he was sure she
’d do all the hard work.

“
So, what’s your name?” he said, running his fingers down her bare right arm.

“
Rachel.” He was surprised when her gaze hardened, her eyes turning positively black. “Rachel Law.”

He took a step back.
“You’re
his
wife?”

“
Yes I am. Don’t look so worried, I’m just here to appeal to your better nature.”

“
I’d appreciate it if you would leave.”

“
Please, just two minutes.”

He
’d always found it hard to say no to a beautiful woman. “Alright, two minutes.”

“
Thank you. I want to apologise for what my husband did to you. It was well over the top and you didn’t deserve it but you should know, we lost our son recently and he’s taken it really hard. He’s been bottling up his feelings and unfortunately they all came out when you almost crashed into each other. You see, our baby was stillborn after I was involved in a car accident and you almost running into him brought back a lot of bad memories. If it’s compensation you’re after I’m willing to pay whatever you want, name your price only please, don’t press charges. Me and Ryan have just got our lives back on track after the worst tragedy of our lives. We have three other kids who need their daddy. Please don’t tear our family apart.”

David didn
’t need money. What he really wanted was to get some revenge on the arsehole who had caused him so much pain. “You’ll give me anything?”

She nodded.

“I don’t want your money. I want you.”

“
Excuse me?” she said coldly.

“
That’s my price. You, in my bed,” he said, running a hand over her backside.

“
If you don’t stop that, I’ll rip your fucking hand off,” she hissed.

He was astonished by the ferocity in her pitch black eyes and the coldness in her voice. If he was really honest with himself, she scared him a little bit.
“In that case, you can piss off,” he told her, taking a step back, “and your thug of a husband will go to prison.”

“
No,” she said shaking her head emphatically. “You’re not taking him from me.”

“
You had your chance.”

“
I’m not going to let you do this,” she cried, reaching into her handbag and pulling out a gun.

David had never seen one before, except on the television and he almost lost control of his bladder when it was aimed at his head.

“I’ve lost so many people in my life and I’m not going to lose Ryan, especially not because of some jumped-up prick like you. I’ll see you dead first,” she yelled.

“
N…now just take it easy,” he stammered, holding up his hands. “There’s no need for this.”

“
If you don’t exist then there’s no complaint and Ryan will be set free, which is all I care about,” she said determinedly, pressing the gun to his forehead.

David was horrified as her finger started to squeeze the trigger.

The door burst open and three men ran into the room.

“
Please help me,” squeaked David, not daring to turn to look at them with the gun pressed to his head.

“
Just take it easy, okay?” Alex told him. “Rachel, put that down. This isn’t the way.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks.
“He’s going to have Ryan taken from me, I’m not going to let him.”

“
Killing him isn’t the way.”

“
It’s the only way.”

When she turned her head to address Alex, David tried to snatch the gun from her, but she kicked him in the crotch and he dropped to his knees. Rachel pushed the gun into his right temple.

“Don’t let her kill me,” he wailed.

Alex ignored him, his gaze fixed on Rachel.
“I suppose it is the only way to make this case go away,” he sighed resignedly.

“
No,” shrieked David. “I’ll drop the charges, I swear. Don’t kill me.”

“
We’ll bury him with the rest, no one will ever know,” interjected Jez.

David started to weep freely.
“I’ll call the Police right now, tell them I was wrong, that I saw the man who did it still walking the streets.”

Alex gave him a hard look.
“You’d better not be bullshitting us.”

“
I wouldn’t, really. Let me have the phone and I’ll do it now,” he said, gesturing to his mobile phone on the coffee table.

Alex looked to the others.
“What do you think?”

They all nodded solemnly.

Alex handed him the phone. “Do it but if you try to warn the Police we’re here, she’ll blow your fucking head off, make no mistake.”

“
I won’t,” he said, hands shaking so much he almost dropped it.

“
Put it on speakerphone,” ordered Alex.

He jabbed at the buttons with trembling fingers. A woman
’s voice came on the line and he asked to be put through to DCI Taylor.

“
Mr Dawson?” said Taylor’s deep voice.

“
H…hello.”

“
Mr Taylor, are you alright?”

Rachel jammed the gun harder into his temple in warning.
“Just a bit shook up. I…I think I made a mistake.”

“
What do you mean Sir?”

“
I identified the wrong person. I just saw the man who attacked me in town.”

There was a drawn out pause, before Taylor replied,
“Really?”

“
Yes really,” David retorted, trying not to get hysterical. “He was driving round bold as brass. You’ve got the wrong bloke.”

“
Are you sure?” he said, the scepticism clear in his voice.

“
Yes.”

“
But things are already in motion. You wanted to press charges.”

Sweat was starting to pour off David and he took a deep breath in an attempt to retain control of himself.
“Well I don’t now. You’ve got an innocent man. If you try to push this, I won’t testify against him and you’ve got nothing.”

“
Are you alone Mr Dawson?”

David
’s eyes flicked about wildly, like a trapped animal. “Yes.”