The Annie Carter Series Books 1–4. Jessie Keane
But Toby’s attention had drifted on. ‘Jesus!’ he said. ‘Not again.’
‘So, are you enjoying yourself?’ Kieron asked Annie as they stood in front of a painting showing a tranquil scene of a river and a bridge.
Annie was gazing intently at the painting. Thinking that she wished she could vanish into a scene like that, lose herself somewhere peaceful. Lose the guilt. Lose the ability to think. To imagine. To not constantly see Pat Delaney – this man’s brother – dead at the bottom of the sea.
‘Yeah, very much,’ she lied.
She sipped her drink. Fruit juice again. Kieron had tried to get her into champagne, but it was a lost cause.
‘Hungry?’ he asked her a touch desperately. She was hard work tonight, stiff as a block of wood, distant. Unlike herself. Something must have upset her.
‘No,’ said Annie.
Since Pat had gone, her appetite had waned. Sometimes at night she had bad dreams. Even awake, she had flashbacks – the door to her room crashing open, Pat reeling into the room, drunk, drugged, dangerous, threatening rape and God knows what else.
She’d had a bolt fitted to her bedroom door at the new place. With that on, she could get a little sleep. Just a little. She knew it was silly, but she had been unable to sleep at all without it.
‘I’m pleased Red and Orla could come,’ said Kieron.
‘Yeah,’ said Annie.
‘They weren’t sure they’d be able to make it.’
‘Oh.’
‘Business, you know. I might have known Pat wouldn’t show up, of course. Perhaps it’s just as well. He can’t seem to behave himself these days.’
Oh, he’s behaving himself now, thought Annie.
‘I’m pleased you came, too,’ said Kieron determinedly.
‘Sorry, Kieron, I’m a bit tired tonight,’ said Annie. Poor Kieron, he looked anxious. She had to try to behave more normally. That was what Max had told her. Behave normally. How did you do that, when you had blood on your hands?
‘It’s okay,’ said Kieron more gently. He put a friendly arm around her shoulders. ‘You’re here. That’s all that matters.’
Annie wondered afterwards how it all kicked off.
She was aware of a commotion behind her. Then someone grabbed Kieron’s arm. She was shoved sideways. She stumbled and her sore knee shot pain up her leg. Had someone passed out in the warmth of the gallery, and knocked against them?
‘Oh, not your fucking minder again,’ she heard Kieron say.
There was a moment of complete bewilderment. Then Annie saw that Max was there. He had hold of Kieron’s shirt front and was shaking him and glaring into his eyes. Max’s eyes were glittering. They looked murderous.
‘Fucking hell,’ gasped Kieron as all around them people drew back. ‘You again.’
‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’ Max demanded.
‘Max!’ said Annie.
‘I knew it was you, you little bastard,’ said Max. ‘You want to fucking-well watch your step.’
‘I’m not afraid of you,’ said Kieron, going purple as Max exerted more pressure.
‘No? Well you cunting-well ought to be, you tosser.’
‘Ready to kill another Delaney, are ya? Well not me. I’m not scared of the likes of you!’ gabbled Kieron.
Annie’s head was spinning. She hadn’t even seen Max come in. He must have moved like a rattlesnake. Toby ran up with Paolo and started making calm-down noises.
‘Fuck off out of it,’ snarled Max, and they both scuttled back.
All the other gangs were looking the other way, Annie realized with dismay. No one wanted to upset Max, or side with him against the Delaneys. Picking sides would be unwise. No one wanted to start anything.
‘You’re talking out of your arse,’ hissed Max, glaring into Kieron’s eyes. ‘You think I don’t know that it was that fat bastard Pat who did for our Eddie? I ain’t even started with you Irish cunts yet. And if I see you lay a fucking finger on her again, I’ll fucking-well kill you, and that’s a promise.’
‘Stop it, for God’s sake,’ said Annie, horrified. ‘Max – please.’
Max ignored her plea. ‘I’m warning you,’ he said to Kieron.
‘Carter,’ said a cool voice at her shoulder. ‘Get your hands off my brother.’
It was Redmond. Annie turned and there he was with Orla and three minders. Where was Max’s backup? She couldn’t see anyone. He had come in here alone, she realized, and had seen Kieron with his arm around her and had jumped to the wrong conclusion.
Max gave a sneer and dropped Kieron. He sagged against the wall.
‘Now just get out,’ said Redmond.
‘I’m going. I want a word with you,’ Max said to Annie.
‘You don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to,’ said Kieron.
Max gave Kieron a look that should have dropped him dead.
‘It’s okay. I’ll get my coat.’ Annie’s legs were weak, she felt as if she’d just avoided death herself. ‘Okay, Max. Let’s go.’
Max drove them in his big black Jag. He parked the car near the Embankment and they walked along by the Thames. The Houses of Parliament loomed across the black, glittering river. Big Ben chimed out eleven. Annie sat down on a bench, shaking with cold and still trying to get over the night’s events. After a moment Max sat down, but at the other end of the bench. There was a large space between them.
‘I’m calling in the debt,’ he said. ‘I sorted the Pat Delaney problem for you, now it’s time to pay up.’
Annie looked at him. So that was it. He wanted her to sleep with him again.
‘Don’t look at me like that,’ said Max. ‘All right. I’ll admit it. You drive me crazy. Most of the time I don’t know whether I want to fuck you bandy or wring your bloody neck. But all I want right now is the truth. I want to know what happened on the day of your mother’s funeral. Something changed for you that day. I want to know what it was.’
Annie looked at the ground. She hated herself for feeling a twinge of disappointment.
‘All right,’ she said. ‘I met Celia.’
‘Celia? I thought she took off somewhere a long time ago.’
‘She did.’ Annie glanced at Max. ‘She was frightened of what you’d do. Because of Eddie. One day, she was gone. There was a note, nothing else.’
‘Go on.’
‘She showed up at Mum’s funeral.’ Annie’s mouth dried as she remembered that fateful day. ‘She didn’t mean anyone to see her there, but I was waiting outside because I didn’t want to upset Ruthie. I didn’t want a scene. So it was by pure accident that I saw Celia out by the gate and went to speak to her – not that she wanted to speak to me. She was trying to get away, but I stopped her.’
‘And?’ prompted Max when she hesitated.
Annie gulped. ‘She had no right hand. A present from you, those who did it told her.’
Max paused, taking it in. Annie could almost see his mind ticking over. She didn’t know, or even want to know, what was going on in his head.
‘I told you once, Annie. What happened with Celia had nothing to do with me or my boys. Whoever