Ruthless Girl: An absolutely gripping, gritty crime thriller Read online

  If that was the case, if one of them was still alive, that could be a big problem indeed. Because whilst they couldn’t have known of Anna and Tanya’s involvement, they had known Josephine. They had watched her go inside to visit Aleksei not long before all of this had played out. And if they had survived and were watching from a distance, they would know that Josephine was fully alive and well.

  Pulling off the covers, Anna picked up her own phone and wrote out a text.

  Urgent meeting. My place. One hour.

  Walking to her wardrobe, Anna hurriedly pulled out some clothes. It had to be them. Who else could it be? And knowing this, how was she going to deal with it and still keep up the façade in front of Freddie and the others? Was the wall of deceit they had all constructed with such careful lies about to crumble for good?

  Fourteen

  Josephine looked nervous as they reached Anna’s floor so Tanya nudged her with her arm. ‘Chill out, babe. We’re going to Anna’s, not hell.’

  ‘I’m Jewish, we don’t believe in hell,’ Josephine responded.

  ‘Oh. Well, what do you believe in, then?’ Tanya asked.

  ‘Well…’ Josephine tilted her head to one side. ‘I guess the closest thing we have to that is Gehinnom. But that’s not exactly a bad thing. It’s more like a sort of spiritual washing machine. Your soul gets cleansed of all the bad.’

  Tanya stared at her. ‘Well, I can’t use that in this scenario, can I?’ she said. ‘Just…’ she waved her hand. ‘This is not the worst place in the world to be, is what I was getting at. Come on, put on your big-girl pants and suck it up.’

  Josephine prepared herself. She did not feel confident walking into Anna’s home at all, but she could at least try and look like she did, for Tanya’s sake if no one else’s. Tanya rapped lightly on the door, then opened it without waiting for an invite. ‘Anna?’ she called out.

  ‘Here,’ came the immediate response.

  Anna walked into the hallway from the lounge. She glanced back towards Ethan, who was sitting on the sofa with his hand-held games console. His tongue stuck out of the side of his mouth where he was concentrating so hard.

  ‘Ethan?’ Anna called. He glanced up. ‘Can you pop into your room with that for a bit? I just need a catch-up with Tanya and Josephine.’

  ‘Sure,’ he replied.

  ‘Thanks, darling.’ Anna ruffled his floppy light brown hair as he walked past.

  As he disappeared from view, Anna beckoned the two women through to the kitchen and they each took a seat at the breakfast bar, opposite Anna who leaned over it from the other side.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Tanya asked, keeping her voice low so it wouldn’t travel into Ethan’s hearing. ‘Everything OK?’

  ‘No, not really,’ Anna replied heavily. ‘There has been a car following Freddie and he had Riley look into it. She rang him this morning with news. It’s Aleksei’s.’

  Josephine gasped and then clamped both her hands over her mouth as her eyes widened in shock. ‘It can’t be,’ she whispered through her fingers. ‘He’s dead.’

  ‘Obviously,’ Anna replied, giving her a withering look. ‘But it’s still his. Which means whoever is driving it, is following Freddie. They may be following more of us, at the moment we don’t know. But that much is certain.’

  ‘Shit,’ Tanya muttered under her breath.

  ‘Yeah.’ Anna exhaled slowly. ‘The one thing I keep coming back to in my head, is that we can’t be certain that both of Aleksei’s men were inside the building when we blew it.’

  ‘They definitely went in, I saw them when I was watching out for you through that knothole in the wood,’ Tanya replied.

  ‘Yes, but what if one, or both of them, came back out after you stopped watching?’ Anna replied. ‘The second you saw us you got ready to help us over, then we were talking for a good couple of minutes before we pressed the detonator. They could have seen us, already started running our way. Or one could have come out to do a perimeter sweep.’

  ‘It is possible,’ Tanya admitted. She sat back and ran her hand down her face.

  Josephine looked down at the breakfast bar, her skin greying as the weight of what this could mean hit her. ‘And if they did,’ she said slowly, ‘they knew I was there that night. By now they would know I’m alive and not under the rubble with Aleksei. Which means they would know I had everything to do with it.’

  ‘Bingo,’ Anna replied. ‘Which, if looked at closely, could unravel everything. Your betrayal of this firm…’ Josephine’s cheeks flushed red and she re-hung her head, ‘… and mine and Tanya’s involvement in both keeping that betrayal a secret, and in everything else that happened that night. If all – or any – of that comes out, we’re all completely fucked. You know as well as I do that loyalty means absolutely everything in this game. And if Freddie finds out we’ve been hiding things from him…’ She trailed off, not wanting to voice any of the potential horrible outcomes.

  Tanya blew out a long breath and crossed her arms as she thought it over. ‘OK. We’re only assuming we’re dealing with one of those men at the moment, right?’ she said eventually. ‘It might not be them. What are the other options?’

  ‘It could just be someone else who worked for Aleksei, out for revenge for the club shooting,’ Anna admitted. ‘But it seems unlikely. If they have no boss – no idea what even happened to their boss – why would they continue on the vendetta? He didn’t have the biggest following after fleeing Russia and none of his men were leader material, not really.’

  ‘What about his family?’ Tanya asked, glancing at Josephine. She wouldn’t enjoy the question, but they needed to know.

  Josephine shook her head. ‘No one that would come back at the firm like this. The only family he had were his wife and sons. The boys are kids, not even as old as Ethan. And the wife, Sophia, she was just there out of duty. She raised the kids and put up with him so long as he brought home the bacon. That was it.’ She looked down at her hands and blinked rapidly as the threat of tears began to prickle. Reminders of Aleksei were always hard, but especially ones like this.

  Anna straightened up and paced the kitchen, pushing her dark hair back off her face. ‘We need to find out who is in that car somehow. And before Freddie,’ she added, exchanging looks with Tanya. ‘And somehow, we have to do this entirely under the radar.’

  ‘How the fuck are we going to do that?’ Tanya asked, her expression drawn.

  ‘For once I have no idea whatsoever,’ Anna replied. ‘But we’re going to have to come up with something good. And fast.’

  Fifteen

  Seamus pulled the car to the side of the road and leaned over to open the passenger door for Jim, who was waiting on the corner as had been arranged by Freddie the night before. Freddie had asked Seamus to take him along on the errands today and acquaint him with some of the lighter tasks. Seamus knew of course that by ‘lighter tasks’ Freddie meant jobs that didn’t give away too much information to this newcomer. He was being tested, watched to see if he could really be trusted.

  ‘How’re you doing on this fine afternoon then, Jim?’ Seamus greeted him brightly, his melodic Irish accent cheery in the quiet car.

  ‘Yeah, good thanks, mate,’ Jim replied gruffly. He looked around at the inside of the Audi Seamus was driving and raised his eyebrows appreciatively. ‘Nice motor you’ve got ’ere. It yours?’

  ‘Yes, she’s me pride and joy,’ Seamus said proudly.

  Jim eyed the luxury interior and the high-spec tech and nodded. ‘He must be paying you a fair wedge, to afford one like this, eh?’ He glanced sideways towards Seamus.

  ‘I do well enough,’ Seamus answered shortly. He didn’t make a habit of discussing his finances with people he knew, let alone strangers.

  Jim took the hint and changed the subject. ‘So, what are we doing today then?’

  ‘We are collecting payments from clients in Soho,’ Seamus answered.

  ‘What sort of clients?’ Jim asked. ‘Protection?’


  ‘That’s the one.’ Seamus glanced sideways at him. ‘You’ll probably remember how it all works from your days with the old faces.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah, ’course,’ Jim replied. ‘It’s just been a long time since I’ve been out in the real world. It’s all a bit of a distant memory these days, the ins and outs of it all. Plus, a lot has changed. We didn’t even have mobiles back in my day,’ he said with a chuckle. ‘Or these bloody cameras everywhere,’ he continued, pointing at the CCTV head on top of a traffic light which was angled down towards them. ‘I mean, what’s that about? Seems they record everything down to your fucking bowel movements nowadays. I don’t know how anyone gets away with anything.’

  ‘With great planning and skill,’ Seamus responded. He turned the next corner as the light went green.

  ‘So, what’s it like working for Freddie?’ Jim asked.

  ‘Well, it’s both of the brothers I work for really,’ Seamus replied. ‘As will you. And it’s wise to remember that,’ he advised. ‘Paul may be the quieter of the two, but the brothers work as partners. And it’s good. They’re fair bosses. If you’re willing to work hard, get your hands dirty and prove your loyalty, they reward you well.’

  ‘That’s good.’ Jim looked out of the window, then back to Seamus. ‘So the brothers work together. The family, they close? They see much of their mum and that?’

  ‘Mollie?’ Seamus remembered what Freddie had said about Jim being friends with his father, years before. He must know Mollie too. ‘Yeah, they see her all the time. They look after their own.’

  ‘She keeping well, is she?’

  ‘So far as I know.’

  ‘They still in the same area, are they, the rest of the family?’ Jim probed. The last time he’d seen Mollie, she was still living in the dusty rows of the East End. Seamus gave Jim a sharp look and Jim held his hands up. ‘I’m just thinking about dropping in sometime to say hi. We’re old friends, it would be nice to catch up.’

  Seamus exhaled through his nose. This game of twenty questions was annoying him already. He wished Freddie had asked someone else to take Jim out today. ‘Freddie and Paul moved their mother to Wanstead about ten years or so ago. Hermitage Close.’

  ‘That’s nice of ’em,’ Jim replied. ‘Looking after their old mum like that, eh?’ He gave Seamus a crooked grin and rubbed his hand over the salt-and-pepper stubble of his chin and meaty cheeks thoughtfully. ‘Very nice.’

  They continued the rest of the journey in silence, much to Seamus’s relief. Jim’s blue eyes, already slightly hooded with age, crinkled further. Seamus had given him some food for thought. It had been a long time indeed since he had last seen Mollie. On this side of the hard twenty-five years he had endured, out of all the people related to his murder charge, she was the last one standing.

  Hermitage Close. He committed it to memory. He would be paying a visit to Mollie, when he got the chance. Because they had a lot to talk about.

  Staring into the depths of the crystal glass as he swirled the amber liquid it held, Freddie racked his brains for somewhere they hadn’t already thought of. They had checked all of Aleksei’s businesses, contacts and previous known whereabouts a hundred times. He wasn’t in any of them and every single one of his men they’d found seemed to genuinely have no idea where their boss had gone. But he was somewhere. He had to be.

  Bill shook his head and sighed heavily. ‘There’s nothing, Fred. I can’t think of a single fucking thing. Which, to me, says he’s grabbed his stash bag and is holing up in a hotel somewhere we wouldn’t think to look.’

  ‘Meaning we have more chance of finding dirt on Mother Teresa,’ Freddie replied, his tone flat.

  They all had stash bags. It was only sensible in their line of work. In a hidden location, known only to themselves, each of them had a bag filled with clean money, a fake passport, some form of weaponry and a spare set of clothes. That way, should it ever come to it, they could go on the run at a moment’s notice with no chance of the police – or enemies – being able to trace them.

  ‘It’s the only explanation. But if he’s still local maybe Sarah can pick up the car on CCTV, see where it goes back to,’ Bill offered. ‘And if she can’t, perhaps me and Zach can hack the city cameras and have a look ourselves. If we know a day and time it’s been around we could give it a go.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Freddie responded. ‘She’s looking into that at the moment. Give her until tomorrow and then we’ll revisit it.’

  The door opened and Anna walked in, closing the door behind her quietly. ‘Well, you’re certainly a sight for sore eyes,’ Freddie said with a tired smile. ‘And dressed to kill. What’s the occasion?’ He looked her up and down appreciatively. She was wearing her deep red fitted dress with matching lipstick; his favourite dress on her. The red seemed to accentuate her long dark hair and deep blue eyes.

  ‘We’re all going out tonight, remember?’ Anna replied, walking over and touching his shoulder affectionately. ‘Club Anya. All of us.’

  ‘Oh, shit.’ Freddie sat upright and placed his glass on the table. ‘I’ve been so wrapped up in this Aleksei business I completely forgot. What time is it?’ He looked at his watch.

  ‘It’s OK, no one is meeting for another hour. Ethan’s settled at your mum’s.’ Anna frowned in concern at the lines of stress etching into Freddie’s face. ‘Look, we can just cancel if you’d rather.’ Half of her hoped he would agree so that she could focus on launching her own investigation into who was behind the wheel of the blacked-out Range Rover. Underneath her calm exterior the dark mystery was eating away at her.

  ‘No, let’s go. We could all use some fun,’ Freddie replied, pushing his chair back. ‘Come on.’ Putting his hand in the small of Anna’s back, he guided her out of the office. Bill followed after them, grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair.

  Feeling the warmth of Freddie’s hand through the thin material of her dress, Anna couldn’t help the brief smile that flickered onto her lips. But as the tinted car windows flashed through her mind once more, the smile faded. Were her days of peace and love with Freddie numbered once again?

  Sixteen

  The club was heaving, the atmosphere was alive and the drinks were flowing in the VIP area of Club Anya where the group had gathered, when Tanya finally made her appearance. Anna laughed at the joke Freddie had just shared with them all and looked up in time to see her friend crossing the busy floor. She immediately stood up and walked to meet her at the rope which separated them from the rest of the room.

  ‘Hey, where have you been?’ she asked, signalling to one of the bar staff to bring Tanya a champagne glass.

  ‘Well, I wanted to look me best, didn’t I?’ Tanya replied with a broad smile.

  ‘You always look fabulous,’ Anna commented, before looking her up and down. Tanya was wearing the emerald green dress she usually only broke out when she was trying to seduce someone who had caught her eye. They jokingly called it her ‘hunting dress’. Anna raised an eyebrow. ‘My, my,’ she said with a grin, ‘we’re breaking out the big guns this evening, I see. And who’s the lucky man?’

  They walked back towards the table, where the rest of the firm and their close friends sat enjoying the evening. ‘Who says this is for a man?’ Tanya replied. ‘Maybe I just fancied wearing it.’

  ‘Really…’ Anna replied, her tone full of amused sarcasm. She opened her mouth to pursue the conversation but was cut off by their good friend, Bill’s wife Amy.

  ‘Well, if you ain’t a sight for sore eyes, Tanya Smith,’ Amy greeted her warmly. ‘It’s been a bloody age since I’ve seen you last and that just won’t do.’

  Amy Hanlon was as small and slight as Bill was big and burly. Physically they made an odd match but in every other way they were the perfect couple. She was Bill’s source of strength and motivation and although not part of the firm herself, was very involved through her support of him. Anna and Tanya had become very close to her over the years.

  ‘I know,
everything has been so nuts lately,’ Tanya replied, leaning in for a hug. ‘The new restaurant is pretty much ready now though, so we won’t be such absent friends for too much longer. You’re coming to the opening, aren’t you?’

  ‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world,’ Amy replied. ‘Tuesday, ain’t it?’

  ‘Yes, assuming everything goes to plan,’ Anna replied.

  ‘It bloody needs to,’ Tanya said with a laugh. ‘Now that we’ve sent out all those fliers with the date on.’

  As they took a seat around the main table, Tanya’s glass arrived and Freddie immediately picked up one of the chilled bottles of champagne and leaned over to fill it. ‘Alright, Tan?’ he asked. ‘You look lovely tonight. Don’t she, Sammy?’ he called, looking over to Sammy with a glint in his eye.

  Sammy grinned. ‘You certainly do, Tanya.’

  ‘Oh, really?’ Tanya responded casually. ‘Well, thanks, both of you. I haven’t stopped today, barely had a chance to look in the mirror.’ She smiled and sipped from her champagne, relaxing back into the rounded booth and crossing her long, slim legs as she locked gazes with Sammy.

  Anna watched with amused wonder, shutting her mouth as she realised it had gaped open. Freddie winked at her, before turning back to his conversation with Seamus and Bill. ‘Well, well, well…’ she muttered to herself under the music. So this was who had piqued Tanya’s interest then. That was certainly a turn-up for the books.

  Turning to open up a conversation with Amy, Anna watched Sammy and Tanya’s silent exchange more subtly. Was this a good thing? It would be if it worked out. They could just be themselves with no need to hide any part of their less-than-legal lives. But if it didn’t work out – if things turned ugly – then this could be very bad indeed. They would still have to work together and be in close contact. It was certainly a risk. Though, of course, she reasoned as her eyes wandered towards Freddie, nothing worth having ever came without risk.