Rotten to the Core (22 page)

Paul had been upstairs
for
most of the night and the place had
again
been packed, there had been no trouble up
t
here, but then there rarely was,
as
the guys in the gentlem
e
n’s lounge
always seemed
quite happy with everything that was provided for them. The new girls were grinding to the rhythm of the music and
were having
lots of admiring glances
;
it always
surprised
Paul how fickle men could be, flash a bit of tit and arse and the loving wife or girlfriend waiting at home was forgotten in an instan
t
.

Sure, Paul could appreciate beauty when he saw one
,
but he wouldn’t go as far as leering or pestering. He felt very old
-
fashioned in that respect
:
if you have a nice bird, look after her
was his maxim;
he
had been
brought up to believe that you don’t truly love someone unless you have that respect for them. He was a rare breed
,
he knew, most men in here had and would pay for a blowy behind the
ir
wom
e
n’s back in a heartbeat.

It was getting late
.
Paul, in a rare
quiet
moment
,
nipped downstairs to see how Kate was getting on
.
He pe
ep
ed
through the swing doors,
not
want
ing
her to see him and think that he was checking up on her
;
it wasn’t
that
he didn’t think she could cope
:
he just wanted to make sure that she was ok
ay
.

He could see her laughing and joking with the other bar staff
and going
from customer to customer serving drinks, smiling and chatting away. She
was seemingly
unaware of the
admiring glances
she was getting from the men around her. Paul could see the looks that she was getting and he was
surprised
when he realised that he was feeling jealous. Kate was having a very strange effect over him; he had decided a long time ago that women were best left alone. At least in a long
-
term relationship sense
,
h
e had plenty of offers from young gorgeous girls, but he could see them for what they were and what they were after,
which
didn’t interest him. Sure
,
he had a few flings, he was human, but beyond that there was no real interest. He had been hurt before, and could just about admit even to himself that it had cut him real
ly
deep. That was years ago now
,
though, and despite the heartache he had felt at the time, he had got something special out of that relationship, something that was worth every second of the heartache
that he had
endured.

He wouldn’t be making the same mistake agai
n
. He was a bit old
-
school like that, call it old
-
fashioned. He wanted more than a fling; he was waiting for someone with something special
about
. Shaking his head
,
as he went back upstairs to the bar, he wondered if he was going soft in his
old age,
as
Kate had really got under his skin. Pushing the double doors open, he tried to put her out of his head
:
n
o doubt
,
he would have a long queue of thirsty customers waiting for him.

25

Jay had a thumping headache; it was probably
from
the stress of
running
around
making drops
for fucking Billy-
b
oy all week. He had been given an “in”,
or
at least that’s how Billy had made it
seem
.
Jay
wasn’t happy though
:
he was talked down to
and he had to swallow his
pride
and just get on with everything he was told to do.
Being
treated like a dog’s body was wearing thin.

He knew that Billy still hated him, but he also knew that Billy was trying to do his upmost to please his sister
;
Jay
had been given the job for
Kate’s
benefit only.
Jay
knew that he
had
not
been
accepted by Billy, or Billy’s cronies, he was
barely
tolerated
by them
. He could see th
at by the
way they looked at him, like they all had no ounce of respect for him. Billy made sure that Jay was kept busy running around doing jobs like a
n
errand boy, and it was starting to grate.
He
had a few ideas of his own
as to how to change that, though
.

Jay
pulled up outside a block of flats
;
he had just dropped of
f
a package for Billy round the corner, about the fiftieth package this week and while he was in the area
,
he figured that he may as well make a bit of wedge for himself on the side. Stepping out of his beamer
,
he locked the doors and did a quick scan of the road
.
If there were any little
hoodie
s
hanging
around
he would make sure that they wouldn’t dream of touching his car, but it was a quiet day.
The car
was alarmed up to the bollo
cks
anyhow so he
thought
it would be fine.

One of the guys on the top floor
of the flats
, Robbie Challis, had
created
a mini
-
Kew Garden
s:
except the only bit of greenery on display was
of the
g
anja
variety
. Jay knew that he would be able to shift a bit of his own gear through him;
Challis
knew most of the junkies in the area.
Before, he
had been reluctant to do any sort of business with Jay
;
he didn’t like the idea of the pills and the harder stuff, he just liked to deal in weed and on several occasions it had got a bit heated when Jay had tried to muscle in on his little money making machine. Jay had tried to persuade Challis, and had cut him a good deal, but he had proved to be a stubborn one
;
Jay had finally offered a deal so good that
he thought
even Challis couldn’t refuse, but the fucking cheek of him
:
he did refuse it. It was like he was making a point, the fucking mug. What sort of bloke doesn’t want to
make a few quid, huh? Oh well, to
day
would
be different
:
t
oday Jay wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Word had got around that Jay was working for Billy, and Jay was going to use that to his advantage. He wouldn’t be offering any
sort of
deal today;
Challis has
been given
a
chance
and he had blown it
. Today he
would
be told. Jay wanted some serious money, and this little fucker
would
help him
to
make it.

No one need
k
no
w
that Jay and Billy’s relationship wasn’t as cosy as Jay
pretended. Because h
e worked for Billy, no-one in their right mind would fuck with him.

An hour later
,
Jay
opened the door of his
car a grand richer and a lot happier. He had his blade in his pocket, and was pleased on this occasion he hadn’t needed to use it. In fact
,
he
had
see
n
by Challis’s face when he
had opened his door that he wasn’t going to have any problem getting him on side, fear and defeat
had been
written all over
the other man’s
face.

This was going to be a lot easier than
Jay
had
thought
:
as far as Challis was concerned
,
if he didn’t shift a couple of grand’s worth of gear each week, Jay would be back, this time with Billy and some of the
other
boys. Jay liked the power Billy’s name had given him
;
he
guessed
that there were a few more little arrangements with people he could set up
.
B
efore long he would be sitting around, living the
high
life
;
everyone around him would be busting the
ir
arses to make money for him. Starting the engine, Jay smiled
;
he was chuffed, this was going to be too easy.

Jay
thought
that
a little surprise visit would be right up
Tanya’s
street,
would
relieve the boredom
she must feel
just sitting at home looking pretty. He liked Tanya, she was a stunner, a bit feisty, she wouldn’t take any shit, but there was something a little unhinged about her, and he couldn’t wait to see what she was like in the sack
;
he imagined that she could be a very dirty girl. He expected that she would be pleased to see him, as the other night she
had
made it clear that she was up for it, and
shagging
Billy’s missus would be a giant notch on his bed post.

26

Kate stretched out her long legs in the bed
;
reaching for the alarm clock
,
she was amazed to see that it had gone ten, not only because she never slept in this late, but because she was
surprised
that Jay was actually out of bed before her. Normally on a Sunday
,
she would have to creep out of the bedroom once awake, trying not to disturb him, as he would only
be angry
with her for waking him, especially as most nights he w
asn’t back
until gone three or four
in the morning
.

S
he
heard
the water
in the shower
running and the sound of his whistling filling the hallway. He sounded like he was in a good mood, which pleased Kate
;
maybe today they
c
ould spend time together. She had hardly seen him over the
p
ast few weeks, between Jay working with her brother and her new job at Goldie’s it was almost like they were living separate lives.

Kate
knew that things were strained between
her and Jay
, but she was convinced that if they just spent some time together and talked, they
c
ould be okay. Jay sounded like he was in a good mood,
and
Kate decided
to
keep it that way
.
T
hrowing off the bedcovers
,
she stood and wrapped her dressing gown around her
and
put on
her slippers
; then,
she
went to the kitchen to make him a fry-up.

Jay scrubbed himself clean under the hot shower
;
good mood was an understatement, he was flying. Yesterday
,
with Tanya
,
had been unbelievable. He had got up early
to see her
and was hoping that if he
planned things right today, he might be in for round two.
Tanya had been insatiable, X-rated
,
he
guess
ed
it
was
true what they sa
id
about those bored and ignored housewife types
;
he smiled to himself
;
they
went
all out to please. When he
had
arrived at her flat
,
they hadn’t even bothered to talk
:
they didn’t need to, they had both known what he was there for, and it wasn’t a cup of PG
Tips
. Tanya had known that Billy wouldn’t be home until late
,
as always
,
and that at some point Jay would be paying her a little visit, she knew he wouldn’t have been able to resist the play she had made for him
on
the night of the meal.
Tanya
wasn’t quite sure why she had
done it
, if she was honest with herself he wasn’t her usual type, but she was drawn to the danger of him
;
it excited her, and she ne
eded that excitement.