She had two options, she realized. One, she could let Ryan know that she was on to him and give him a chance to break it off; or, two, she could tackle the woman and warn her off.

  Much preferring the second option, she decided that she would ring that number in the morning and put an end to whatever was going on – and God help the bitch if it turned out to be someone she knew!

  The bed suddenly dipped on Ryan’s side, and he said, ‘You still awake?’

  ‘Why?’ she replied coolly, guessing that he was about to apologize and wanting to string it out.

  ‘I was looking for painkillers in the bathroom cabinet but I couldn’t find any. Have you got any in your drawer? I think I might have whiplash.’

  ‘Whiplash?’ Nicole sat up at that and turned to face him. ‘How d’you get that?’

  ‘A car ran into me when I was on my way home. That’s why I was late – ’cos I had to wait for the police and arrange to get the motor towed.’

  ‘Are you serious?’ Nicole asked, momentarily forgetting all the other stuff. ‘Is it badly damaged? My dad’ll go mad if it’s written off. It cost him a fortune.’

  ‘Can you forget about your dad for one fucking minute?’ Ryan snapped, twisting his head round to glare at her. Immediately regretting it when the muscle in his shoulder spasmed, he muttered, ‘Fuck!’ and started rubbing it.

  ‘Here,’ Nicole said, reaching into her drawer and pushing the notepad aside to get at a strip of paracetamol tablets that were under it. ‘Do you want a glass of water?’

  ‘No, I’ll have whatever you were drinking when I came in.’

  Nicole handed her glass to him and tentatively touched his shoulder. ‘Want me to massage it for you?’

  ‘Thanks, but these should do the trick,’ he said, popping two tablets out of the strip and washing them down with the last of her drink. ‘Christ, that’s strong. How many of them have you had?’

  Not nearly enough, she thought, clenching her teeth when unwelcome images of the unknown woman touching his skin leapt into her mind. Was that why he didn’t want a massage: because he was still thinking about her?

  Sinking back against her pillows when Ryan lay down and turned his back to her, Nicole waited until she heard his breathing grow deeper and then poured herself another drink. Whoever he’d been seeing, the fact that he was still coming home each night told her that all was not yet lost. If she could eliminate the other woman and get pregnant, it would cement their relationship and ensure that nobody ever came between them again. And tonight would have been the perfect opportunity to try, since her chart told her that she was ovulating. But she’d waited this long, so one more day wouldn’t kill her.

  Ryan had already left for work when Nicole woke up the next morning. Feeling sick when she remembered the text message she’d read on his phone, she sat up and held her head in her hands when a pain throbbed behind her eyes. Cursing herself for pouring that extra drink, she reached for the strip of painkillers she’d given to him and dry-swallowed two of them before gingerly getting up and pulling her dressing gown on. With the sheet of paper on which she’d written the number in her hand, she grabbed her phone and made her way downstairs.

  After making a cup of coffee and lighting a cigarette, she sat at the kitchen table and tapped the number into her mobile. Blinking in confusion when Lexi came up on the screen, she cleared it off and typed the number in again. The same name appeared, and the room went into a spin when she realized that the number she had taken from Ryan’s phone must already be in her contact list – which could only mean one thing: Lexi was the woman he’d been screwing behind her back.

  Screaming, ‘NOOOO!’ she swiped the still-full cup off the table. Lexi? That ugly desperate bitch who had hung onto her coat-tails for years when they were kids . . . why the fuck would Ryan want her?

  Hands shaking with rage, she snatched the paper up off the table and compared the number written on it to Lexi’s stored number. Sucking deeply on the cigarette when she saw that it was indeed the same, she slumped back in her chair. Ryan had adamantly denied that he had any interest in the bitch – and she knew she would get the same response from Lexi if she went at her all guns blazing demanding answers, because they would have already planned what to say if their secret ever came out. But had they been at it since Lexi moved back to Manchester – or was Ryan the reason Lexi had moved back, because it had been going on for longer than that?

  Unable to believe that they could have been seeing each other for any great length of time without her suspecting a thing, Nicole decided it must have started after she’d invited Lexi round for dinner that night. The mistake she’d made was kicking Lexi out straight after arguing with Ryan, because the whore had probably caught up with him and wormed her way in with him out of spite.

  Sure that she was right, and determined to stop them in their tracks, Nicole brought up Lexi’s number and rang it.

  Lexi answered a few seconds later.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Weren’t expecting to hear from me, were you?’ Nicole said when she heard the question in her ex-friend’s voice.

  ‘Not really, no,’ Lexi said. ‘What’s up?’

  ‘You tell me,’ Nicole replied coolly.

  ‘Nic, I’m not in the mood for games,’ Lexi sighed. ‘I hardly slept last night, and I’ve got a banging headache, so if you’re ringing to apologize, great, I accept. But I need to go now.’

  ‘Me apologize?’ Nicole squawked. ‘Are you fuckin’ kidding me? You screw my husband then expect me to apologize? I’ve met some barefaced people in my time, but you take the—’

  ‘Whoa! Hang on a minute,’ Lexi cut in, sounding confused. ‘What you talking about? I’ve not been anywhere near Ryan.’

  ‘Oh, really?’ spat Nicole. ‘So how do you explain him sending you that text message last night? And don’t bother denying it, because I saw it. Baby I know you’re mad at me, but we’ve got something good . . . You dirty fucking slag!’

  ‘Nic, listen, you’ve got it all wrong,’ Lexi said. ‘I—’

  ‘No, you’re the only one who’s got it wrong if you think I’m going to let you get away with this,’ Nicole hissed. ‘If you ever go near my husband again, I’ll kill you – and that’s your one and only warning!’

  ‘The text wasn’t from Ryan, it was from his dad,’ Lexi said. But Nicole had already hung up, so Lexi didn’t know if she’d heard her.

  Furious, Nicole let out a scream and hurled her phone across the room before swiping the ashtray off the table. Then, leaping to her feet, she started throwing everything that was close to hand.

  Outside, Adam had been about to ring the bell when he heard screams and the sound of breaking glass coming from inside. Remembering that he still had his key, he quickly let himself in. It was almost a year since he’d stepped foot in there and the garish pattern on the new wallpaper made his eyes go funny. Averting his gaze, he rushed into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Nicole when he saw that she was about to hurl one of the wrought-iron dining chairs through the patio doors.

  ‘What the hell’s going on?’ he asked, forcing her to put the chair down.

  ‘Leave me alone,’ she roared, twisting free.

  ‘Has something happened to Ryan?’ Adam pressed, wondering if his brother-in-law had taken a turn for the worst after the crash. Wes had reported seeing him walking and talking after he got out of the car, and he hadn’t heard anything since. But his sister was massively upset about something, and he could only assume – hope – that this was the face of grief.

  ‘I hate him!’ Nicole spat.

  Hope deflating, because she wouldn’t be saying that if Ryan was dead, Adam guided her to a chair, and said, ‘Sit down and tell me what’s going on.’

  ‘How did you get in?’ Nicole asked, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her dressing gown.

  ‘I’ve still got my key,’ he told her as he switched the kettle on before picking up the cigarette that was smouldering in the mess of glass and ash in the corner. ‘I hope that wasn’t Mum’s Waterford ashtray? She’ll go mental if you’ve smashed that. It was antique.’

  ‘I don’t give a shit!’ Nicole glared at him through her tears as he extinguished the cigarette under the tap. ‘This is my house and I can do whatever I want, so fuck off if you’re going to start criticizing me.’

  ‘I’m not having a go,’ Adam said, taking two cups out of the cupboard and spooning coffee into them. ‘But what the hell’s happened to make you flip out like this?’

  ‘None of your business,’ Nicole muttered, pulling a tissue out of her pocket and blowing her nose. ‘Why are you even here?’

  ‘To see my little sis, obviously,’ said Adam. ‘I’ve been meaning to come round for a while, but I’ve been busy with the club so I haven’t had a chance.’

  ‘Busy doing what? Snorting coke and catching diseases off your whores?’

  ‘Wow, harsh.’

  ‘But true.’

  ‘It’s not actually,’ Adam said piously. ‘I haven’t used in months, and I’ve hardly been near the club, ’cos I’ve been too busy fundraising.’

  ‘Since when have you been interested in charity?’ Nicole looked at him with suspicion.

  ‘It’s for the club,’ Adam said as he carried their drinks to the table. ‘It needs a major overhaul, but I’ve ploughed enough into it.’

  ‘You mean Dad has.’

  ‘I haven’t used his money, I’ve been using my share of the family profits. But it needs way more than I’m willing to put in, so now I’m schmoozing investors.’

  ‘Good luck with that,’ Nicole snorted. ‘It wants blowing up, if you ask me.’

  ‘And that’ll be my next step if I don’t get the dosh I need,’ Adam said. ‘I thought it was a good idea at the time, but I want rid, so now I need to do it up so I can offload it at a profit. Speculate to accumulate, an’ all that.’

  ‘If you came to ask me to invest, forget it,’ Nicole said, reaching for her cup.

  ‘Wouldn’t dream of it,’ said Adam. ‘But never mind me and my troubles. What’s Ryan’s done to get you in such a state? Forgot your anniversary?’

  ‘He’s been cheating.’

  ‘You what?’ Adam scowled. ‘He’d better fuckin’ not have been, or he’ll have me to deal with.’

  ‘Oh, shut up,’ Nicole snapped. ‘We both know he’d kick your arse, so don’t start acting tough.’

  ‘There’s plenty of ways to skin a cat,’ Adam said, irritated by her assertion that he wouldn’t be able to take Ryan in a fight. In reality, he knew he probably couldn’t if it was one on one, no weapons allowed. But he would happily put a bullet through the prick’s head.

  ‘I’m dealing with it,’ Nicole muttered.

  ‘Looks like it.’ Adam cast a pointed glance around the room.

  ‘I am,’ she insisted. ‘I’ve already warned Lexi to stay away from him.’

  ‘Lexi?’ Adam frowned. ‘You’re not talking about that girl you used to hang around with who accused me of trying to rape her, are you?’

  ‘That’s her,’ Nicole spat. ‘Lying whore! I went through Ryan’s phone last night and read a text he’d sent her, but she had the cheek to deny it when I rang her.’

  ‘I thought she left town years ago?’

  ‘She moved back a few months ago. I bumped into her in town and invited her round for dinner.’

  ‘Why? She ruined my life, so why would you even talk to her?’

  ‘I wasn’t thinking. I was on my way to a party and I’d had a few drinks. I didn’t think Ryan would see her because he was supposed to be working late that night, but he came back early to pick up your money. We had a row and he walked out, then I told her to leave as well. That’s when I think it started.’

  ‘Don’t be blaming me,’ Adam said testily. ‘You’re the one who invited her round, even though you knew she was the reason Dad cut me out of the business. So much for family fuckin’ loyalty.’

  ‘I haven’t even seen you in months, so don’t bother trying to make me feel guilty,’ Nicole shot back. ‘And I’m the one who should be angry, seeing as it’s my husband she’s been screwing.’

  ‘The way I see it, she’s fucked us both over,’ said Adam. ‘Question is, what we gonna do about it?’

  Jaw muscles twitching as she visualized Ryan and Lexi together, Nicole snatched her cigarettes up off the table and lit one. ‘I want her gone,’ she said, squinting at Adam through the smoke. ‘And by gone, I mean permanently.’

  ‘Now we’re talking,’ Adam said, grinning slyly.

  21

  After the shock call from Nicole, Lexi had tried to ring Theo to tell him to warn Ryan that his wife was on the warpath; but his phone had gone to voicemail, and the message she’d sent straight after still hadn’t been delivered. Biting her lip, she re-read the text that had caused all the trouble. It had come from an unrecognized number and when she’d seen it, just before Nicole rang, she had wondered if Theo had sent it from Ryan’s phone thinking that she’d blocked him because she’d ignored his calls the previous night. Now she knew for sure that it was Ryan’s number, she decided to ring him direct. Half expecting it to go to voicemail – or, worse, for Nicole to answer it – she was surprised when Ryan picked it up a few seconds later.

  ‘Yo. Who’s this?’

  ‘It’s Lexi,’ she said, her heart beating faster at the sound of his voice.

  ‘Lexi?’ he repeated. ‘You know this is Ryan not Theo, right?’

  ‘Yes, I know,’ she said, guessing that, wherever he was, he’d gone outside when she heard the squeal of door hinges in the background, followed by the sound of traffic. ‘I’ve already tried his phone, but it’s off, so I thought I’d best speak to you instead.’

  ‘He lost his charger last night and mustn’t have found it yet. But I’ll be seeing him later if you want me to pass a message on?’

  ‘Actually, I was ringing him to ask him to pass a message on to you.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘Nicole rang me five minutes ago. She saw the message your dad sent me on your phone last night and—’

  ‘Thought it was from me. Shit.’

  ‘I tried to tell her it was from your dad, but she was so busy threatening to kill me if I ever went near you again, I’m not sure she—’

  ‘You told her my dad was back in town?’ Ryan cut in, alarm in his voice. ‘You didn’t tell her where he’s living, did you?’

  ‘No, we didn’t get that far.’

  ‘Thank fuck for that.’

  ‘Sorry?’ Lexi frowned. ‘Am I missing something here? Only it sounds like you’re more concerned about Nicole finding out that you’re seeing your dad than about her thinking we’re having an affair.’

  Ryan didn’t reply, and it was only the sound of the traffic in the background that told Lexi he was still on the line. After a moment, he said, ‘I can’t speak on the phone, but we need to talk. Can we meet somewhere?’

  ‘I don’t think that would be a very good idea, do you?’ Lexi said. ‘Nic already thinks something’s going on, and if she finds out we’ve met up, she’s bound to think we were getting our stories straight.’

  ‘I don’t give a shit what Nic thinks,’ Ryan said, the bitterness in his voice causing Lexi’s eyebrows to shoot up in surprise.

  ‘Look, whatever’s going on between you two, I really don’t want to get involved,’ she said. ‘Just tell Nic to leave me alone. And you can tell your dad the same, because I really don’t need this.’

  Lexi cut the call and released a tense breath through her teeth. Hoping that would be an end to all the nonsense, she pushed the lot of them out of her mind, made a cup of tea, and then set about tidying, dusting and sweeping her room before gathering her dirty clothes together to take to the launderette.

  Almost ready to leave, she happened to glance out of the window as she was pulling her coat on and saw a flashy car driving slowly by on the road below. Jerking back in horror when the driver suddenly turned his head and looked straight at the house, she dropped to her haunches and peeped over the windowsill. She hadn’t seen that face in years – and had hoped never to again. He was older now, heavier, and nowhere near as handsome as he had once been, but there was no mistaking that it was Adam Harvey.

  When the car turned the corner at the end of the road, she slowly stood up; her entire body quivering with shock. It was possible that he was in the area to see a friend and had merely glanced out at her house in passing, but her instincts told her otherwise. It was too soon after his sister’s threatening phone call for it to be a coincidence, and she guessed that Nicole had sent him round to scare her. If so, it had worked, because she wasn’t sure she could face going out now, in case he was lurking somewhere nearby; waiting to pounce on her and finish what he’d started that terrible night.

  Still shaking, she sank down onto the armchair by the window and gazed out along the road. In no doubt that Adam was looking for her when the same car came back round a few minutes later, she wondered if he’d spotted her when he suddenly put his foot down and drove away at speed. But when her housemate, Six, came into view on the path below, she guessed Adam must have seen him and been spooked by his tough biker appearance.

  Turning her head at the sound of another vehicle approaching, she saw a small black car pull into a parking space a couple of houses down, and her stomach dropped through the floor when Ryan climbed out and walked over to Six. After a brief conversation, Six gestured for Ryan to follow him up the path, and seconds later someone tapped on her door.

  ‘All right, love?’ Six smiled when she peered out at him. ‘Some bloke wants to see you. Says his name’s—’

  ‘Ryan. Yeah, I saw him.’

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30