The Aftermath (The Hurricane, #2)(46)

Love you forever

OC xxx



P.S. Why the f*ck do we have herbal tea bags?



I handed the note to Nikki as she walked through the door in a black suit. “Are you sure you don’t mind staying with her?” I asked quietly from the doorway.

“She’s my best friend, Con. Of course I don’t mind. I’ve given Tommy my flat keys, which is probably a really bad idea, but he’s going to go back to my place for a hoodie, my laptop, and some DVDs. He’ll probably end up hanging out here with us then if his dad doesn’t need him. I’ll make him do some practice papers on those psychometric tests.”

“He told you about that?” I asked curiously.

“Sure. We butt heads a lot but we’re becoming fairly good friends.” I raised my eyebrow at her.

“It’s not like that! Jesus, I knew your mind would be in the gutter about it.”

“Hey, as long as you’ve had all of your jabs, carry on.” She knew I was winding her up so she just rolled her eyes at me.

“See you later,” I said, grabbing my wallet and keys as I made my way to the door.

“When should I give it to her?” She asked me, waving the note.

“When you think she needs it most,” was my answer.

*



I walked up the steps of the law courts, flanked by Liam and Kieran like bodyguards, and met Danny at the top. Surprisingly Earnshaw was with him.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him, and he shrugged.

“It didn’t feel right at the gym yesterday. I know I don’t know you that well, but I thought I’d show my support.”

“Appreciate that,” I told him. Looking at him standing there with his hands in his pockets, I was selfishly glad Em had stayed at home. He wore his expensive suit far better than I wore my cheap one.

“Looks like I’m not the only one,” Earnshaw said, nodding his head toward the steps. Looking fairly respectable in dark trousers, shirt, white collar, and what looked like a hand-knitted sweater with a small hole at the collar, strode Father Patrick.

“Looking sharp, Father Pat,” Kieran said straight-faced.

“Thank you, Kieran. I think this jumper really brings out my eyes.”

The jumper was beige. I really had no idea whether he was being serious or not.

“Not that I don’t appreciate it. But why are you here as well, Father?” I asked him and he turned to Danny to explain.

“You ever lose your temper in front of Father Pat?” Danny asked.

“No,” I responded.

“Then that’s why,” he explained, lighting up another cigarette only minutes after putting out the last one.

“Jesus, I don’t need feckin’ babysitters, Danny,” I scoffed.

“Can we leave Jesus out of this, son? I have a feeling we’ll need him on our side later,” Father Pat reprimanded.

“Sorry, Father,” I apologized.

“You ever seen Frank?” Danny asked.

“No. You know I haven’t,” I replied grinding my teeth.

“When you do see that smug, slimy bastard, you’re gonna want to vault over the barriers and smash his nose into the back of his skull. I know ’cause I’ve been feelin’ that way since I first saw him. Now I’m old enough and wise enough to know my hip would give out long before I ever made that barrier and that destroying his face might feel good but it ain’t what Em needs right now.”

“And you don’t think I’ve got it in me to keep my temper in check in a courtroom, especially for something this important?”

“No, I don’t. I just said that, didn’t I? You’re young and impetuous, and the idea of anyone hurting your girl is gonna twist you up. When that red mist descends, you won’t see nothing but him and the great deal of space between his face and your fist. So to be on the safe side, I’m gonna stand one side of you and Father Pat will be on the other. Kieran, Heath, and Liam will be the human shield in front of you.”

“Gee thanks,” Earnshaw said, and Danny frowned at him.

“One in, all in,” Danny explained to him.

“Let’s get this show on the road then,” Kieran told them, and we all headed into court.

“I still think this is overkill,” I grumbled.

“Well, feckin’ deal with it,” he answered, putting out his cigarette at the last possible moment.

We were shown to seats in the viewing gallery by the court clerk who eyeballed me like a troublemaker he needed to keep his eye on. The judge came out of his anteroom and sat down just as Frank was brought up from the cells. The bastard was dressed sharply in a dark suit, and his newly cut hair was styled neatly back. If there was any f*cking justice in the world, he’d come up from the cells looking like he’d been run over.

As the judge was getting settled, Frank turned and caught my eye. This guy knew exactly who I was. With a sick smirk, he lifted his cuffed hand and waved. Just long enough for me to see Em’s tiny wedding ring glittering from his pinkie finger.





Chapter 17



“Motherf*cker,” I muttered.

“What is it?” Kieran whispered, turning around to face me.

“Pinkie finger, left hand. He’s wearing Em’s wedding ring.”