26
“This is not acceptable, Victoria.”
She was cradling the left side of her face, unsure whether the wetness between her fingers was blood or tears. She was definitely crying. It hurt. A lot. He’d snatched the phone from her hand, whacked her twice. She was so scared she could hardly breathe. Charlie was white-faced, furious.
“Who were you speaking to?”
“No one. Honest.” She lifted a hand to fend another blow. The phone smashed across her knuckles.
“You!” He hurled the mobile at Dan. “Outside.”
She peeped through her lashes, didn’t want to meet the contempt in Dan’s eyes. The poor sod had fallen f*ck, line and sinker and now they were both in it. Up to the neck.
Dan had come to her bed, as she knew he would. There’d been a bit of word play, bit of foreplay then a serious shag or three. What bloke didn’t turn over and crash out? She’d watched the rise and fall of his chest, waited for deep-sleep breathing, then rifled his pockets. She’d eased herself off the bed, crept to the furthest corner, prayed to any passing god to give her a break. She already had a plan. She reckoned it would be one call at the most. And Bev Morriss was her best bet. According to Sleeping Beauty’s fake Rollie it was ten to two in the morning; bit early for an alarm call, but tough tits. Except it wasn’t. ’Cause the old bag hadn’t picked up; the naffin’ answer phone was on.
She’d been dithering around, wondering what the hell to do next, when any choice disappeared. Charlie had burst in and was now calling the shots. “I’ve asked nicely. Now I’m asking again. Who were you speaking to?”
She met his glance. His colour was coming back, if anything his face was flushed. She’d never seen his hair loose before. How could anyone so scary look so good? “No one, honest, Charlie.” He took a step closer. She hoped she’d kept the panic out of her eyes. “Me mum. I tried me mum. Just to let her know I was all right, like.”
He gave her an incredulous stare.
“Straight up, Charlie. Cross me heart and —”
He grabbed her hair, yanked her head back. “Don’t tempt me.” He kicked her legs from under her. Then he pinned her to the floor, his knees under her armpits. “Want to know what happened to the last girl who f*cked with me?”
“Went clubbin’, did you?” She didn’t care any more. There was nothing she could do, and Charlie could do anything he f*cking fancied.
“In a manner of speaking, Victoria. Yes. You could say that.”
“Makes a change from cuttin’ them.”
He narrowed his eyes. There was an emotion in his voice she couldn’t identify: sorrow? pity? shame?
“You’re a stupid, stupid little slut.” He released her wrists, rose to his feet. “Get up. Put something on. I can’t stand the sight of you.”
There were red finger marks on her wrists, broken skin on her knuckles, angry bruises already coming out on her legs, God knew what her face looked like. It all hurt like shit. And she didn’t give a toss. She felt bad about Dan though. He’d been quite nice to her really, given her an Aero and a can of Coke. God knew what he’d be getting from Charlie.
“Me and him dint do nothin’, you know.”
Charlie was miles away; lucky sod. He scowled. “You what?”
“Dan. He was just bein’ friendly, like. We were only talkin’.”
She watched in alarm as he threw his head back, then recognised the strange sound as laughter. “Oh, Victoria, that’s good. That’s very good.”
She snatched the sheet off the bed, threw it round her shoulders, glared at him. “It’s true. We were just snugglin up, keepin’ warm. Looks on me as a daughter, Dan does.”
He was laughing so much, the tears were running down his cheeks. “He’s an old perv, then. You were shagging for Europe.”
She gulped. He stopped laughing, stared, asked the question for her. “How do I know that? How do you think I know, Victoria?”
Her gaze flicked to the condoms by the side of the bed. Charlie shook his head. “Don’t be silly. They could be anybody’s.” She watched as he made great play of peering at the ceiling above her head, then keeping his gaze up, strolled a circuit of the room. He spun round, with a wide beam on his face. “Smile, Victoria. You’re on Candid f*cking Camera.”
She felt sick. “You sad bastard. Is that how you get your rocks off?”
He tutted softly. “Come, come Victoria. You know me better than that. Let’s just say it doesn’t come naturally for everyone. A lot of guys need a little help; visual aids, shall we say?”
She sat on the edge of the bed, sank her head in her hands. “You been makin’ dirty vids of me and all them wankers?”
“You’re just one of the extras, Victoria. My clients are the stars. They like to see themselves in action. Most of them ask for it, of course. They want their bit on the side and are happy to pay for a little memento. And there are those who don’t. They generally end up shelling out more. A lot more. Rates vary, of course: starting from straight sex and going, well, there’s only one way really, isn’t there?”
“You’re sick, you are.”
“Not me, babe. But my oh my, you should hear what some of my clients want. Make your hair curl it would, Victoria.”
“And you lay it all on?”
“I provide a service, Victoria. With extras.”
“And if they ain’t buyin’ – you blackmail the buggers.” She studied his face. It was as if someone had lit a candle behind his eyes. Telling her all this was turning him on.
“Who’s a clever girl, then?” He patted her head. “And, of course, the higher they are, Victoria, the harder they fall. Judges, teachers, doctors. The odd dishonourable member’s a bit like hitting oil.”
She’d heard enough; too much. Charlie Hawes was a man who kept his business cards so close they were glued to his chest. If he was shooting his mouth off it meant she wouldn’t be opening hers.
“What you gonna do with me, Charlie?”
“Well, Victoria, I had got a nice little job lined up. Round at Marlene’s –”
“Massage Marl?” Her eyes widened.
“That’s right. Dab hand, is Marlene. She runs one of my most successful establishments. She’d have been only too happy to show you the ropes.”
She clutched the sheet so tightly it was like a second skin.
“Shame, really. I thought you’d be ready by now. But I want my girls to be happy in their work.”
She couldn’t hold back the snort. “Like Shell?”
“That should never have happened.”
“Accident was it, Charlie? Tripped over a razor, did she?”
“Shut the f*ck up.” She recoiled, ready for another smacking but he regained control quickly. He clearly had other things on his mind. She watched as his hands moved to his crotch. “Thing is, Victoria: what am I going to do with you now? I thought you’d fit the bill but I don’t think I can trust you out there. Not after tonight.”
Out there? Out there! She saw a life-line, met his gaze. “Course you can, Charlie. I only fibbed cause I didn’t want Dan to get in the shit.”
“I don’t give a monkey’s about Danny boy, but that phone call, Victoria. That was very ill-advised.”
“No harm done, Charlie. Like I say, she wasn’t there.” She hoped she didn’t sound too eager.
He sighed, moved closer; stroking the bulge in his trousers. “I’m just not sure anymore. I’ll have to give it some very serious thought.”
“You do that Charlie. You’ll see. I’ll do anything you want.” She dropped the sheet and opened her thighs.
“There’s never been any doubt about that, Victoria.” Casually he knocked her legs together with his knee. “But I’m not going in there. Not after Dirty Dan and God knows who else has been sniffing round.”
It was as bad as a smack in the mouth. She blinked hard but tears were pricking her eyes.
He ran a finger along her lips. “Still. I’m sure we can come up with an alternative. What do you think, Victoria?”