Conviction: Devine (22 page)

She snapped her eyes back to me then nodded. “Of course.” Her smile was full of something that had my heart rate quickening, her eyes still glancing between me and the man at the door.

As I slid off the stool he walked up to the bar, disregarding me as he leaned over and spoke quietly to the barmaid. I hastily stepped out of the pub and hurried through the market square.

“Shit!” I hissed when I sensed him following me. I should have just phoned Jake to fetch me but his exhaustion concerned me and I’d wanted him to sleep.

The many narrow streets and alleyways had me wishing I was back home, my lack of direction hindering me against his knowledge of the area.

I was so angry with myself. I was one of those stupid tourists that thought roaming the streets in a strange place alone would be okay. How many times had the news been full of murders? Most of them were holidaymakers in strange places.

And as if I wasn’t stupid enough, I found myself in an alley—with a dead end.

He leered at me as I spun round. “Aww, found the end, love?”

I frowned when I was hit with his English accent, along with his bad breath when he backed me up against a high wall.

All Jake’s training came to mind, but now I was pregnant, fighting would prove to be more of a danger than just allowing the man to take my money.

Shoving my bag at him, I shook my head. “Please, just take it.”

He looked down at my bag then laughed. “I don’t want your money.”

“Then what do you want?”

He grinned, his yellowing teeth making my stomach churn. His hand shot out and his fingers curled around my throat. “I want your ass, bitch!”

Oh shit. I couldn’t cope with being raped again. But more than that, I knew Jake would never survive it.

“Please don’t.” I shook my head, hating that I was begging. He was strong, his grip on me tight and already causing my lungs some grief when they struggled with the small trickle of air seeping in.

As I shifted my leg to knee him in the balls, he kicked me in the shin and slammed me harder against the wall, the back of my head bouncing off the brickwork and sending a searing pain through my skull. Tutting, he shook his head at me. “Don’t take me for a fool, Isla. I love a fight and believe me, I’d love you to give me one.”

I stared at him when he called me by my name. I thought back to whether I’d told the barmaid my name. I knew they were in it together and until then, I’d just thought it was a thing they had; she would call him up and tell him another daft English bitch was out on her own. But now I knew it was more personal.

“Who are you?”

He winked at me. “Your latest problem.”

I cried out when his hand shoved up my dress and I struggled against him, my body flipping around as I tried to hurt him and free myself without any risk to the baby but he was too strong. Crying out when he spun me round and smashed my forehead into the wall, the tears started to come. All I could think of was how much this would hurt Jake. He would never handle it. The fact someone had hurt me again when he was unable to help me would torture him; someone taking his most treasured possession like this would kill a part of him.

“Please,” I begged when his hand shoved up my dress. “Please don’t. I can pay. I have money. Lots of money.”

“Although I’m tempted by your offer, love,” he spat as he ripped at my knickers, “my life wouldn’t be worth living if I didn’t carry out orders.”

“Orders?” I froze, my heart chilling with the ice that trickled through my veins. “Whose orders?”

I felt him go completely still behind me as the sound of a gun cocking had my eyes widening.

“I hate filthy cunts that have no fucking manners,” a woman drawled as if bored.

I dared not move as my attacker’s weight shifted off me and he slowly backed away. “For fuck’s sake.” He sighed.

I turned slowly, my eyes widening further on the woman as she trained a gun at his head. Shaking her head, she sighed. “Why does your boss never listen, huh?” She tutted. “I warned him that Isla is under my protection. My husband warned him. Now I’m afraid he’s another man down.”

I stared at her, wondering what the hell she was talking about. I wasn’t under anyone’s protection apart from Jake’s. I’d never met her in my life. And how come everyone knew my name?

His head shook as he backed further away, his hands coming up in front of him as he tried to placate the woman. “No, please. I promise, I’m gone. I won’t cause any more bother.”

She quirked an eyebrow at him and blew out a breath as if she was debating his plea. Pursing her lips, she sighed. “I warned Mr Nessi. He never fucking listens does he? And now I’m afraid he needs to be aware of how serious I am.” Stepping forwards, the tone of her voice changed, the malice in it making me still as her head tipped to one side. “I think he needs a stronger message.”

We all looked as a car pulled into the alleyway. The woman smiled as a man stepped out, his eyes assessing the situation quickly before they landed on the woman and a softness instantly replaced the fury. He perched on the bonnet of the car and folded his arms across his wide chest. “Sorry to interrupt. Carry on, baby.”

The woman blew him a kiss and turned back to my attacker. “I’m bored,” she said casually as she pulled the trigger and blew his head to bits.

I sucked in a breath when his blood and brains sprayed all over me, bits of his skull catching in my hair as my pink dress instantly changed to red and I stumbled back against the wall in shock.

“It’s okay,” the woman soothed as she swiftly came to catch me. “It’s okay, Isla. It’s okay. It’s over now.”

My breathing was rapid, my pants becoming uncontrollable as I leaned on her for support. The man rushed over to us, scooping me into his arms before I fell to the ground.

He quickly carried me to the car, a few men climbing out of the rear and assessing the mess that greeted them. I knew they were cleaners. I knew how it worked. I’d lived with Jake long enough to understand.

“I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure yet.” He smiled softly, the wrinkles around his eyes making him appear gentle and gracious, yet the glint behind them made me aware he was anything but what he appeared to be. The same darkness was in them that Jake’s eyes held. “I’m a friend of your husband. Mason Fox,” he said. “And this is my wife, Ava,” he finished just before I passed out in his arms.

I
WOKE WHEN ARMS
slid around me and Jake’s amazing scent filtered into my head, his unique citrus and musky smell making my heart clench.

“Baby,” I whispered with a whimper. Just the sight of him had the sobs starting as the past hour finally caught up with me.

“Sshhh, sweetheart, I’ve got you,” he said then placed a gentle kiss on my head as he lifted me from the car. I turned to look over my shoulder and smiled at Ava. She must have been supporting me in the back of the car.

“Thank you. I . . .”

She smiled and winked. “No worries. I had fun.”

I stared at her when Mason laughed loudly. “Don’t frighten the poor girl, Ava.” He looked at Jake. “Come for dinner. Ava will cook.”

Jake grinned. “If Ava’s cooking then you’re on.”

Mason grumbled something incoherent under his breath.

“Aww, baby, they all know you, don’t they?” Ava laughed. “Say seven-ish?” she asked Jake as she slipped into the front seat of the car.

Jake nodded in reply before they sped off and he carried me into the villa, his tight hold on me making me snuggle into him as I took huge gulps of his familiar smell, the need for him to console me becoming overwhelming.

“Who are they?” I asked as he gently sat me on the toilet and started to run a bath.

“Mason and Ava Fox used to run South London before they moved out to Portugal. They’re Katie Fox’s parents. We’ve been friends for a long while.”

I nodded. “Is he the reason we came here?”

He flicked a glance at me. “One of the reasons.”

“And the other?”

He came to kneel in front of me, his eyes full of pain and love. “You. I wanted to spend some time with you.” His expression darkened when he looked down at my clothes, the blood and bits of brain causing a darkness to ooze from him. “Deacon Nessi is a dead man!”

“Who is he?” I asked quietly as Jake lifted my dress over my head.

“He was the one who sent someone to tell your mum of Seb’s death.”

I frowned. “I don’t understand. I’ve never heard of him. Why would he do that?”

Jake looked guilty for a moment, sadness covering his face. Lifting his palm to my face, he cupped my cheek. “I think it’s more to do with me. I’ve had intel that he was working with Freddy Brackendale. Both of them wanted North London, the area that is mine, and has been mine for a long, long time.”

I nodded to let him know I understood. Sometimes Jake had a tendency to ramble on in terms that I didn’t understand, so he always waited for me to nod and advise that I was with him.

“The trouble with our world is that there are always two sides. Sometimes, the two sides work perfectly together and things in the circle run smoothly. However, there are times when it doesn’t work like that. Jealousy is a greedy emotion. Some people are never happy with what they have and they think they can just walk in and take what isn’t theirs.”

I nodded again. “Like that man today,” I whispered.

He screwed up his face. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” I smiled. “It’s okay. I’m stronger now, Jake.” I framed his face with both hands. “You have made me stronger. Life before you was a life full of false pretences. Everything was seen through rose tinted glasses. I didn’t want to see the realities of life, how this world really is. You were right.”

“Right?”

Nodding, I sighed. “The time you said I looked at life through a little window and only looked at what I wanted to see. Life isn’t like that. It needs to be seen in its entirety. Finally I’ve accepted that. I look at the bad and the good now. There’s nothing I can do to change things so now I greet them head on. I concede to what’s inside me, and what isn’t.”

“There’s nothing but beauty inside you, Isla.”

I scoffed. “I wouldn’t say that. You didn’t see what I wanted to do to that man today. It certainly wasn’t beautiful.”

He smiled then lifted me and gently lowered me into the bath before slipping in behind me. Taking the sponge when I leaned back against him, he kissed the top of my head and leaned around my shoulder so he could see to wipe the filth off my face.

He sighed. “I’m pretty pissed that you just took off.”

“I left a note.”

“You don’t get it do you?” His voice took on the tight tone that I recognised; he used it when he was fighting the furiousness inside him. “You’re the wife of the most wanted criminal in England, not just by the police but by other men in the circle. People will try and hurt you to get to me.”

I nodded, disliking the self-hatred he radiated.

“This is the very reason why I stayed away from you for a long time.”

“I know,” I whispered. “But what you don’t realise is that although I’m still learning, I will fight just as hard as you to stay by your side.”

“Sweetheart.” He sighed as he kissed my neck. “No one will ever get the chance to take you away from me.”

As if someone flicked on a switch, a sob burst from me. I turned into the man that had sworn since the first time he kissed me to protect me and buried my face into his strong chest. His arms enveloped me, his need to soothe my despair as strong as my need to get it out.

“Shush, sweetheart. It’s over. It’s over.”

I shook my head. “It will never be over, Jake.”

He chuckled and I lifted my face to stare at him, his amusement hurting me. “Isla, all you need to know is that if anyone touches you then they deal with me. When I say it’s over, believe me, it’s over.”

I studied him, the glint in his eyes making me shudder. “What have you done?”

He lifted a brow at me. “Surely you know by now that if anyone hurts you, they will pay . . . painfully.”

“You can’t play God, Jake. People have hurt me throughout my life. You can’t kill them all. And besides, you killed Dr Lovejoy before he even had the chance to hurt me, so I don’t think your reckoning works.”

Jake sighed dramatically. “I warned the doc to stay away from you. He didn’t listen.”

“So you killed him.” I rolled my eyes. Although I’d never had confirmation from Jake that he’d killed Dr Lovejoy, I gathered after many attempts to contact him that something had happened. I wasn’t sure how I felt about his affirmation.

“Uh-huh,” he mumbled nonchalantly as his tongue traced the shell of my ear. “Now shush, I need to love you.”

And he did. He gave me back what I had lost that day. We made love gently as Jake worshiped me in the depths of the water, his words this time full of so much love. They had the same effect as his dirty ones and saw me coming over him many times.

There were two sides to Jake. His loving side that only I was witness to, and his dark side, the side that had people running for cover when his wrath emerged. I loved them both. And although it was his dark side that maimed and tortured, it was his love and tenderness that hurt me the most. I was scared to the very depths of me that one day it would be snatched away. The world we lived in was like a roulette wheel; the ball dropped deciding whether we would have a peaceful day or one full of risk. A win or a loss, something neither of us could bet on.