Head On (Strength And Love)(42)

“Come on.” He climbs out of the car and gestures me to go with him.

I crack open my door. “Don’t you want me to wait here?”

“Ah.” He looks around. “It’s not the best area, honey. And after what’s happened to you…I’d feel better if you come inside.”

I climb out of the car, and shiver. It’s a cold, miserable day, and I miss the sun. I miss Ethan. Against my better judgement I miss him. He showed me what life could be like if I let someone else in and lived a little. But he lied. He told me he’d finished with all that, and then told Selina he’d see her soon.

My phone vibrates, and I pull it out of my pocket as Dave fiddles with a number pad on the door of the warehouse. It’s from Ethan. I scan the message quickly.

Isla,

You’re in danger. I know you read the message from Selina, and right now you don’t trust me but you need to trust me. Don’t let Dave see you reading this.

I meander slowly away from Dave, pretending to go look over the fence at the housing estate beyond. Dave curses behind me and jabs at a button that makes a buzzing noise. Some sort of intercom.

Heart pounding. I read the rest of Ethan’s text.

I told Selina I’d be back to work because I didn’t want anyone to know you were staying with me, and I didn’t want them to know anything was going on between us. It puts you in danger. Selina used to be involved in a man who is working with Dave Dunn. They are trying to take your dad down. They set you up, Isla. They also set me up. Selina used to date that man, and his name is Rick Smythe. You were right, someone was after me, too. This was aimed at both of us.

There’s a pause and then more text comes through.

I’m praying you’re not with Dave, but if you are, can you get away from him? If so, try. If not, I’m coming for you.

Dave, if you have her phone and read this, harm one hair on her head and you’re dead.

I don’t know who or what to trust. I feel out of my depth, totally at sea. All these men, and none of them are stand up citizens. Ethan could be telling the truth, or he might be trying to trick me again.

I shove the phone back in my pocket with trembling fingers. I know the name Rick Smythe. I met him once. Odious man, short and smarmy, with a pot belly. He wore a thick gold ring on his pinkie finger and slicked his hair back like something out of the Sopranos. He introduced himself to me at a function a couple of years ago and tried to chat to me. Dad pulled me away. Told me not to talk to him.

“Sorry. Was dealing with a call from our Eastern Connection.” A voice rings out of the intercom.

“Open the fucking door,” Dave snaps.

The voice on the intercom and the way Uncle Dave speaks back to him make my mind up. Something’s off here. The guy on the intercom sounds like Smythe from what I remember of him.

I don’t wait to see if I’m right. I turn tail and run, heading for the entrance we’ve just driven through. Dave sees and curses under his breath, and then he’s running after me.

“Isla, honey, where are you going? It’s not safe. Come back here. Your dad will be angry with you. He’ll kill me. We won’t be here long.”

I ignore his words and turn left to zip down an alley, but the ground is uneven and full of potholes and I go over on my ankle, crying out as it twists painfully and I hit the ground. I’m scrambling against broken glass and dirt and grit, trying to get myself up, and cutting my hands, when a hand grabs my arm painfully hard.

Jerked upright, I cry out again as Dave slaps me. I’m stunned and can only stare at him.

“Come on, you stupid bitch.” He drags me with him and I start to struggle, kicking and screaming.

“Shut the fuck up.” He punches the side of my head and I see stars.

Pain bursts behind my eyes, and it disorientates me. For a long moment, I can’t fight or speak as I reel from the blow. It’s all he needs to get me back to the door. It’s open now, and there’s Rick Smythe. Even more disgusting than I remembered. What the hell did Selina see in this guy? Ugh.

“Well, well, well. You’ve turned into a hot little thing, haven’t you?” He looks me up and down. “Tiny little thing but lovely big tits.”

He looks at Dave and grins. “We can have some fun with her if Daddy doesn’t do as he’s told.”

Dave drags me into the warehouse and pushes me forward so hard I go sprawling on my knees onto the floor. My ankle is screaming, my hands are cut and bloodied, my head throbs and now my knees are sickeningly painful after hitting the ground hard.

“I could have already had some fun with her if you’d let me do the deed instead of hiring that idiot, Foston. And now look at the mess we’re in.”

I stare at Dave with tears in my eyes. I may have thought him a bit creepy but I’d never have believed he’d do something like this.

“Yes, well,” Rick snaps, “then I wouldn’t have had a chance to get back at Ethan as well, would I?”

“And how well it all turned out.” Dave rolls his eyes.

I pull myself up from the floor and back up until I hit the wall.

“It’s make or break time. You’re going to have to come clean about your involvement now,” Rick tells Dave. “We’ll call Pete and you can let him know that if he doesn’t do what we want then we’ll hurt this one here.”