[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

G stared at him, startled. He glanced down at the grip on his arm, then back up at Miki’s face.
“Let go of me at once. I will do whatever I please. Who the hell do you think you are, to talk to
me like that?”
“Keep Stella out of this,” Miki persisted. I was startled myself, at the passion in his voice. He’d
been very close to her all those years ago: I guess I hadn’t considered whether that was still so.
“You think I don’t see what’s going on between you two, how things have been getting worse?
Since you took on this deal, you’ve hardly been home – you don’t look after her. Shit, I told her -”
He bit off his words, but G was leaning back into him by then.
“You told her, what? Not to marry me in the first place?” He saw Miki’s face twist with shock.
“She told me that, dear boy; did you think it was a secret between the pair of you? She told me
that her brother was worried about her, and I told her that he was a weak fool, that he was only
trying to grab the attention for himself - not that we should have expected anything else from an
usher who was drugged to the eyeballs all through our wedding service and had already fucked
three of the assorted waiting staff before we cut the cake.”
Miki flushed very deeply. I couldn’t catch his eye. I’d never known that he opposed Stella’s
marriage; it was a strangely heartening thought.
“You’re a bastard,” Miki hissed back. “A bully. She’s always been loyal to you, and I’ve worked
my fucking balls off for you.”
“What the hell do you think this is, happy families?” G looked disgusted. “This is a business –
you’re an employee. Every scrap of respect you have, I granted you: everything you have, I gave
you-”
“No,” Miki interrupted. He glanced at me. “Not everything, you fucker.” He straightened up
suddenly, turning away from me, pivoting swiftly on the balls of his feet. He swung his fist up
from his side and across his body and punched G squarely on the jaw. The movement had an
awesome grace of its own.
G stumbled back with a grunt, his hand flailing up towards his face: there was a second’s
shocked silence. I heard a gasp from Kit, somewhere to the side, out of my line of sight. Then
there was a rush of activity, accompanied by angry shouts and cries. G flung his arm out in Miki’s
direction and three of the minders surrounded him, moving with surprising speed. Miki was
grabbed, his arms wrenched up behind his back.
Things were chaotic and confused, as if the seriousness of the whole situation had suddenly
crystallised. G was rubbing his chin, barking furiously. A couple of the men looked reluctant to
lay into Miki – another couple looked between me and G, even less sure of their ground. One of
the mobiles continued to buzz, its persistent, plaintive ring tone cutting through the human
babble.
Kit moved to my side. “Freeman?”
PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.docudesk.com
“We should go now,” I said, sharply. While there’s distraction to cover us.
He remained where he was. When I turned to face him, his mouth was set stubbornly. “Stella – G
was talking about Stella, wasn’t he?”
I nodded. I glanced over to the back door where I’d entered: it was unattended.
Kit grabbed my arm and pulled me back around. I was startled: his grip was stronger than I
expected. “He’s not going to hurt her, is he? She’s cool. She was good to me.”
I stared at him. To me, too. “She’ll be fine.”
Kit’s eyes were dark. He shook his head. “Shit, Freeman, you think you’re the only guy who can
see things clearly, don’t you? G is furious. You’ve really fucked him this time, ruined his
business. If he takes it out on her…”
“I’ll look after her,” I said.
G moved without warning, back in front of me. The skin on his jaw was red, but he was resisting
touching it. In the background, I saw Miki had wrestled his way out of the men’s hold: their
attention was split between him and G, and their heart wasn’t in the job. Several of them had
already left the room, and I didn’t expect them back.
“You won’t look after anyone, Freeman,” G hissed. There was panic and hysteria in his eyes.
“What do you think you’ve achieved here? Mayhem and hate, that’s all, and I’ll return it to you,
tenfold. You’re as pathetic as that little shit, Miki - riddled with your own weakness. And I know all
too well what that is.” His eyes glanced off Kit’s face, though he talked only to me. “All you’ve
done today is to ruin the boy’s life, and that of his brother. You have no room to bargain with me,
now. Everyone will soon know what fun this little whore has been having, just as Miki suggested
– and how his brother’s been turning a blind eye to it all.”
Kit was stirring at my side - I put a hand on his arm, to hold back any rash protest. “That’s an
empty threat, G. You can’t use photos that have been wiped from the system, along with
everything else. With no evidence, it’ll be the word of a policeman against the obvious spite of a
commercial - common - criminal. No, the investigation will be re-opened and you’ll go down this
time.” He was gaping at me. “I should have done it before,” I said, almost softly. “That was my
weakness.”
“I have copies -”
“No,” I said. I was weary of this, now. I wanted to be gone. “They were with the tapes, so I have
them all now.” They’d be burned, along with the original film. Kit and his brother were free of it.
Kit was wide-eyed, a flush of relief on his face. “Freeman… thanks -”
“Later,” I said. He shut his mouth, abruptly. “Get out, G.” I hissed the words, matching G’s own
tone. “I won’t say it again. And don’t go anywhere near Stella.”
The man glared at me. He was still a powerful character, even in defeat. “So how will you stop
me, Freeman? Stop me going to my own house, to collect my own property – to inform my own
wife what’s happened?” Miki moved back over to join us, suit crumpled, rubbing at an arm that
had been twisted and sprained. He was panting lightly; his body shook with tension. G glanced at
him with disgust, then back to me.
“Will you use your fists, like this childish streetfighter whom you used to fuck so eagerly on my
business’s time? This is all your own show, isn’t it, Freeman, nothing official. You have no other
PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.docudesk.com
recourse. You might think you’re judge and jury here, but no-one else recognises that. I’m still a
private citizen, with all the associated rights.”
“You won’t go near her,” I repeated. “You’ll never speak to Stella again unless she requests it.”
There was something in G’s eyes that was both more and less than fury: a kind of agony. “She
chose me, Freeman. She’s been with me for years. We have a life together. She’s mine! You
can’t stop me living my life, and you won’t make me run, I swear to you. I have powerful friends [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

zanotowane.pl

doc.pisz.pl

pdf.pisz.pl

razem.keep.pl