Jacqui Rose 2 Book Bundle

Gypsy sighed, looking at herself in the mirror. She wasn’t bad looking. A lot of people told her she looked like Bridget Bardot. Gypsy suspected a lot of her looks were down to the facelifts, along with the expensive weekly facials and that night creams she used religiously. ‘Fucking hell Gypsy, do you really have to slap that beauty mask on your face at night? Sometimes I think I’m shagging that geezer, Michael Myers, from Halloween.’

Frankie did make her laugh. Apart from his controlling nature he was good to her. And especially good to their son, Johnny, who was the apple of his eye. After Johnny she hadn’t been able to have any more children. Frankie had been gutted. Secretly she’d been relieved. Pregnancy hadn’t suited her. If she was honest, neither had the first few years of motherhood.

She’d suffered with depression for a long while after the birth of Johnny. She hadn’t been able to explain to Frankie what was going on. He couldn’t understand why she wasn’t on top of the world. He’d wanted her to go to the doctor but she refused, knowing whatever they said or did wouldn’t help.

The combination of the way she felt, trapped in the house with a young child, and Frankie’s possessiveness had been too restricting for her. She’d had two nannies to help. Although they hadn’t really been nannies in the conventional sense. They’d been two ageing strippers who’d worked in one of her husband’s clubs but had, according to Frankie, started to put the punters off with their wizened bodies and crinkled fannies.

Frankie was a generous man. A man who, even in the business he was in, was naturally given to looking out for others. Wanting to help and to reward the strippers’ loyalty, he’d employed them as home helps. She hadn’t minded. They’d been good with Johnny and she’d liked their company. But even with all the help, Gypsy still felt as if her wings had been clipped.

It was only when Johnny had started secondary school that she started to feel more like her old self and taste the freedom again. The more she tasted it, the more her hunger for it grew and with each passing year it got worse.

One way or another she needed to convince Frankie to loosen the rope – or one day he might wake up to find she’d cut the rope herself.

Her white Swarovski iPhone began to ring. Smiling, she saw it was Johnny.

‘Hello darling, how’s …’

Before Gypsy could get the rest of her words out, the colour began to drain from her face as she was interrupted by a hysterical Johnny. Within a moment Gypsy hung up the phone and began to run.

CHAPTER SEVEN (#ulink_52e19dc6-8319-5ea9-aaf5-cc1c2d4735db)

Nicky’s face was covered in blood. The water in the men’s room turned red as it poured into the clogged sink. For once Nicky’s bleeding nose wasn’t a result of being hammered by a fist or a foot, but by too much cocaine – which Nicky thought was better than being caused by too little.

It wasn’t the first time it’d happened. He knew it wouldn’t be the last. Nicky was in no doubt his nose would continue to bleed. Bits of flesh would continue to fall out and the cocaine would continue to erode the cartilage until it caved in completely.

But he couldn’t stop. Though at least he had a plan. If, or rather when, his nose did fall apart, all was not lost. He’d shoot snowballs or start to smoke more crack. He realised it was more difficult to function once he became heavy on the crack, but if that was the only way, so be it.

After washing his face in the men’s room, Nicky went into the main bar of the ‘Swag’ club; a lap dancing venue off Frith Street. The atmosphere was electric. He liked the place; it was classy, unlike a lot of the bars dotted around the area. Black velvet wallpaper, white leather seating and expensive chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The music was pumping out the latest sounds from New York.

It was a friendly establishment; he’d never seen or heard of any trouble in there. Most of the punters were male but Nicky always noticed a few women scattered around the dimly lit venue, sitting uncomfortably, pushing back into the seating, trying to distance themselves as far as physically possible to what was going on around them. Girlfriends, wives, all being brought along by their partners to join in the voyeuristic fantasies.

The lap dancers were tall, lithe women in their twenties. Good-looking girls who wanted to earn extra money, rather than the girls in the clip joints and peep clubs who needed to earn extra money. They gyrated expertly to the music in front of the clients, moving seductively, grinding their semi-naked bodies against the men’s laps; tempting them to pay for another dance.

Nicky liked it. But he wasn’t really interested in it. Not the drinking nor the women interested him, although he knew most of the girls by name. He wasn’t even really interested in the music. What he was interested in was the top-grade powder he could score.

He’d driven his father’s car back home, then taken the stuff Gary had given him on tick. Now he wanted more; needed more. He hoped Gary would be as obliging as he had been earlier.

Nicky smiled and spoke to the topless blonde Croatian woman sitting in the corner on her break. He raised his voice to be heard over the heavy beat of the music.

‘Have you seen Gary?’

She looked up at Nicky and grinned; a stoned glazed grin.

‘He’s in the back. Oh, Maggie came in; she seemed desperate to see you.’

Maggie. He’d forgotten she was coming home. Shit. He’d wanted to explain to her what had happened before other people started talking. He certainly didn’t want her to speak to Gina; that might ruin everything.

He was tempted to go and find Maggie and just hope she hadn’t seen Gina. Except the draw of getting some powder was too strong, and the grip on Nicky’s arm a moment later by the tall wiry black man was even stronger. He was going nowhere.

Gary Levitt was sitting in the back room of the Swag club smoking a cigar. He couldn’t abide the taste of them but he thought it looked good and added to his image. He wanted people to see him as sophisticated; not just some toerag dealer from Bermondsey. He glanced up from preening his manicured nails as Nicky Donaldson was marched into the room.

‘Nick-Nick. I’ve been wondering where you’d gone. I wanted to know where my money was.’

Nicky blanched. A look of confusion crossed his face. He’d only seen Gary a few hours ago. He’d told him he’d got a couple of weeks to straighten everything out, but here he was with a cigar longer than his dick hanging out of his mouth, demanding his cash.

‘I … I … I haven’t got it.’

‘Don’t stutter Nicky man, it makes me think of Porky Pig and I always fucking hated that cartoon.’

Nicky could feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead, partly because he needed to score, but mainly because he was eyeing up the cosh that the goon standing behind Gary was holding in his hand.

‘I thought I had two weeks, Gary. You said two weeks.’

‘Yeah, you’re right I did. Now I’ve changed my mind, a man’s entitled.’

‘Listen, I can get you some of the money in the next couple of days, not a problem.’

‘But it is, Nicky. It’s very much a problem. I don’t want it in two days; I want it now. I suppose I could always ask your Dad for it. I’m sure Daddy wouldn’t want to hear you’re in any trouble.’

He chuckled at the deepened fear showing on Nicky’s face. Gary could no more approach Max for money than he could the Pope; he wasn’t stupid. As much as he knew Max probably wouldn’t give a shit about Gary putting the squeeze on his son, he was still as scared as the next man was of Max Donaldson. Though one thing was clear – by the expression on Nicky’s face, Gary clearly wasn’t as scared of Max as his son was.

It amused Gary to play games with Nicky who was soft by nature. The man had so many beatings and took so much gear that even the changing wind seemed to frighten him.

‘Fine Nicky; I’ll give you a couple of days to bring me some money, but I don’t want you to forget.’

‘I won’t. I promise.’

‘I’m sure you won’t, but I want to leave you with a little reminder, a little memo.’

Gary Levitt nodded to one of his henchmen and leaned back in his chair, too uninterested to watch as Nicky’s face came into contact with the cosh.

CHAPTER EIGHT (#ulink_7ae96daf-0f09-5bb8-8098-f5f41032afbd)

Maggie sat deflated on the steps of the walk-up in Greek Street, waiting for Gina and watching the crowds of people go by. It was getting late and the last of the summer sunshine had disappeared.

She’d been all over Soho looking for Nicky and after making her way round all the bars she’d finally decided to give up, guessing he was probably crashed out in some dive or drug den sleeping off the night before. She’d then taken herself off to Gina’s flat in Robert Street on the other side of Euston Road, bracing herself for trouble, but like everywhere she’d gone, there’d been no one in. The frustration of getting no answer had brought her to tears. The second time she’d cried that day. Even though she’d been on her own, she’d quickly wiped them away, feeling embarrassed.

Her next stop had been the sauna on Brewer Street. An old haunt of Gina’s, a place Maggie knew she still liked to hang out in. Although Gina’s mouth was clamped shut like a good Catholic girl’s legs when it came to providing any information about her own business, Gina Daniels did enjoy listening to other people’s gossip, especially if it involved their downfall; and in the sauna on Brewer Street gossip overflowed like a blocked toilet.

Another reason Maggie knew Gina enjoyed visiting the sauna was to get herself a bargain from the junkies who went in on a daily basis with their stolen goods, hoping to get enough money to score some brown or a bit of crack.

Perfumes, make-up, watches, even expensive lingerie, made its way to Sonya’s Sauna in Brewer Street. All sold for next to nothing – for the price of a hit.

‘Hello Maggie love, it’s good to see you. Gina ain’t here. I saw her earlier though with a big fucking smile on her face. Jammy cow got herself a pair of Gucci shades for twenty quid. She’s probably gone to see Joanie in the walk-up on Greek Street to gloat. If I see her I’ll tell her you’re looking for her shall I?’

Maggie had looked at the Tom behind the reception in the sauna and smiled. She’d known her for years; the last thing she wanted though was Gina to know she was looking for her.

‘No, don’t say anything. I want to surprise her.’