gently kissed his lips and then pulled away. ‘No, Mikey, there isn’t because outside of me and you, there’s my business, and that’s when I’m the boss. But inside this house and outside of work, I might just let you take control.’ She winked. ‘Er, well, every so often perhaps.’
‘What, like this?’ he replied, as he rolled on top of her and grabbed at her underwear, ripping her knickers away from her. She looked at the passion in his eyes and felt her heart race. She loved the way he was so animalistic in the bedroom, and yet she could be just the same. She snatched the back of his head and pulled him close, biting his bottom lip.
Disturbed by the phone ringing, Zara tried to pull away.
‘Leave it, babe.’
‘No, not today. We still have business to attend to.’
Mike rolled off and stared up at the ceiling. She was right. Torvic and his granddaughter, Tiffany, were still tied up in the secret room at the back of the hangar.
‘Hello, what’s up?’ asked Zara, as soon as she answered the call.
‘Fuck me, Zara, the hangar. Torvic and Tiffany have gone!’ said Neil, her business partner.
Mike could tell from the shock on Zara’s face that something was awry. He jumped up from the bed. ‘What the hell’s going on?’
Instantly, Zara sat upright. She put the phone on loudspeaker so that Mike could hear. ‘You what? How can that be? The fucking room was locked. No one apart from us knows how to open it, and I have the … Oh shit, wait. Did I bring the remote with me? Hold on!’ She turned to Mike. ‘Where’s my jacket?’
He bent down and picked up the padded jacket that had been thrown on the floor before they’d ripped each other’s clothes off in the early hours.
She snatched it from him and searched the pockets. To her horror, they were empty. ‘Oh no! Damn it, I must’ve fucking left the remote there!’
Mike shook his head and expelled air heavily from his mouth. ‘Fuck me!’
For a moment, Zara looked at Mike and considered whether he viewed her as an idiot, because, right now, she saw herself as exactly that. After all they’d achieved last night, she’d blown it completely by leaving behind the bloody remote device that opened up the back room.
Seriously agitated, Mike was running his hands through his hair and pacing the floor. ‘It’s all my fucking fault!’
Zara was puzzled and gave an exaggerated frown. ‘How do you work that one out?’
His face dropped in shame. ‘’Cos if I hadn’t distracted you so much before we left, you would’ve remembered the remote. Bloody hell, we were tired, you were tired. I should’ve let you finish up before I decided to propose and get all fucking soppy.’ He sighed heavily.
‘Mike, have a bloody day off, will ya? It wasn’t your fault. You’re right. It was a hell of a long night and shit happens. Now we need to get ourselves together.’
There was silence as all three, including Neil, who was still on the phone, tried to take it in.
‘Neil, give me a minute. I’ll call ya back. I need to get my head around this.’
She placed the phone back on the bedside table and turned to face Mike, who was now jumping into his jeans.
‘What the fuck d’ya think’s happened?’
Mike was white-faced and angry. ‘I dunno, but we all need to meet up. I’ll call the lads. If that bastard is on the loose, then whoever set him free has more clout than us. Fuck me, we don’t even know who we’re dealing with.’
Zara wrapped her silk robe around her naked body. She would have drooled over Mike in just his jeans and with his huge muscular chest on show, but not this morning. The fear of Torvic taking revenge shot through her like shards of glass. Her stomach churned when she thought of what she’d made Torvic do to his own son. The acid had burned the man’s skin from his bones. Jesus, she thought, what if he planned to do the same to anyone in her firm? Would she ever be able to forgive herself?
Mike was now frantically trying to find his phone. His main concern was for Ricky, his son, who’d been recovering in hospital following Torvic’s son’s brutal attack on him. Ricky was supposed to be discharged at lunchtime.
Mike was sweating profusely. He couldn’t let anything happen to Ricky – not now, when he had just been reunited. He’d lost contact with his son from the age of six, until meeting him unexpectedly in Maidstone Prison only months before their final release.
In all that time apart, both Ricky and his father believed each other to be dead, so now they had an unbreakable bond, and Mike was buggered if he was going to let Torvic get his hands on him now.
‘Ring my phone, Zara. I can’t fucking find the poxy thing.’
With her body shaking, she dialled his number; Mike pulled his phone from his back pocket.
Zara rolled her eyes. ‘Babe, we need to calm down and think this through.’
Mike didn’t answer her; he was calling the hospital. After a few minutes, he yelled, ‘Aw, for Christ’s sake, why don’t they bloody pick up?’
‘Mikey, seriously, you need to calm down. Call Ricky’s mobile.’
Mike took a deep breath. She was right, of course. He really wasn’t being clear-headed.
Ricky’s phone rang twice before he answered. ‘Dad, are you coming to pick me up? The doctor said I can go home in an hour’s time. They’re—’
‘Son, listen to me. Stay put and I will get Staffie to pick you up. Do not, and I mean do not, leave that hospital with anyone other than him.’
‘Dad, what’s going on?’
‘I ain’t got time to explain. Please, just do as I ask.’
‘Of course, Dad. No worries.’
Mike sighed with relief. ‘Right, I’m gonna get the lads over here now and make a fucking watertight plan.’
Zara raised her brow. ‘Er, no, we’ll meet at my house. It’s more secure. I have cameras.’
Mike was about to demand otherwise but he was aware she was in charge. It was agreed and that was that. He bit his lip and nodded.
Zara quickly pulled on her jeans, threw on a black jumper, and tied her hair back into a ponytail.
‘Let’s go. We’ll call the others on the way.’
* * *
Once Zara had reached the entrance to her long drive, she pressed the fob clipped to her car visor and the ornate metal gates opened. She drove slowly, surveying the land on either side of the drive, looking for anything that was out of place. The early morning dark clouds made the house in the distance appear eerie. It was dauntingly large and resembled a castle – just how her father had designed it. Paranoia wormed its way through her mind as she began thinking all sorts
