Barking Boy Read online

  Sat upon the sofa with his daughter in her arms, was Bethany. The colour drained from Tommy’s face. What the fuck was she doing here? Instantly, he tore his eyes away from her and looked toward his wife expectantly.

  “Tommy, this is my friend, Beth. Do you remember, I told you about her?”

  Dumbstruck, Tommy could only nod his head. Terrified, Jimmy would recognise her from the club. He walked out to the kitchen to compose himself. Placing his hands down on the kitchen sink, he leaned his weight upon them, all the while, taking deep breaths. He would kill her stone dead for this. Who did that bitch Bethany think she was, coming to his house and having the cheek to sit next to his wife, as though nothing had ever happened between them?

  “Tommy, you’re being so bloody rude. What’s with you, you miserable bugger?” Stacey hissed through gritted teeth, as she busied herself refilling the kettle.

  “What’s she doing here?” Tommy demanded.

  Surprised, Stacey looked across to her husband. She’d never seen him behave like this before. He’d always been polite to her friends in the past. “She came to see me. Honestly, Tommy, once you get to know her, you’ll love her.”

  Tommy swallowed down the irritation, before staring out of the kitchen window to the garden beyond. That’s exactly what he was afraid of. “Tell her to go home. I’m taking you out tonight.”

  “Well that’s okay, Beth can come along, too. It’s her day off. I’m sure she would love to come out for the night.”

  Before Tommy could reply, Stacey had left the kitchen. He could hear her asking Bethany if she fancied a night out with them, and he held his breath, as he waited for her to reply. He could only groan in both annoyance and fear, as she told his wife that she would love to. This was turning out to be a nightmare of epic proportions.

  Stood at the bar, Tommy could feel Bethany’s eyes on him. He would need to get her on his own and tell her to fuck off, he decided. There was nothing else he could do. He certainly couldn’t spend the entire night in her company, with Stacey sat between them.

  Awkwardly, he handed the two women their drinks, almost spilling them, as Bethany brushed her fingertips against his hand, as he passed over her wine.

  “This is nice, isn’t it?” Stacey asked, oblivious to the torment going through her husband’s mind.

  “So, what is it you do for a living?” Bethany asked him, leaning across Stacey, a wicked grin across her face.

  Cursing her, Tommy ignored the question. He would definitely need to tell her to fuck off. “I need to go for a piss,” he said, getting up from the table.

  As he walked away from the table, he could hear Stacey excusing his poor behaviour.

  “I don’t know what’s got into him. He isn’t usually this rude.”

  He didn’t need to turn his head to know that Bethany would have that same wicked smile spread across her face.

  As he came out of the lavatories, Bethany was waiting for him. Amazed, Tommy glanced toward where Stacey and Jimmy were sat. Did this woman have no shame? Dragging Bethany back into the toilets, he pushed open each of the cubicles, checking there was no one else there to hear their conversation. He then rounded on her. “What the fuck are you playing at? Why are you here?”

  “I haven’t seen you at the club, so thought I’d best come to you, and see what’s going on. And after our kiss, you can’t deny there is something between us,” she answered, pressing herself up against him.

  Livid, Tommy pushed Bethany roughly away from him. “Let’s get something straight right here and now. There is no us. Now, that’s my wife through there and I love my wife. You’re nothing but some slag from the club.” Seeing his words were having the desired effect and that tears had sprung to her eyes, he continued. “So, go back in there, make your excuses, fuck off back to where you came from, and stay away from me and my family.”

  Crushed, Bethany allowed the tears to slip down her cheeks. “You don’t mean that?” she asked wide-eyed.

  “Yes, I fucking do. Now, fuck off.”

  Tommy watched as she ran from the toilets. He counted to thirty before following behind, and felt nothing but relief to see that she had took heed of his warning and left the pub.

  “Bethany had to leave. She isn’t feeling too well,” Stacey said, as he sat down next to her.

  With a nod of his head, Tommy remained silent. He had a terrible feeling it wouldn’t be the last he heard from her, and his instincts were about to prove him right.

  Chapter Nine

  Dean Johnson was fuming. He’d taken one look at his daughter’s tear-stricken face, and wanted to kill Tommy Carter stone dead. Only Bethany’s hysterical cries had stopped him from taking the gun back out of the safe where he kept it, and driving toward the pub on Thames View Estate.

  “Please Daddy, don’t hurt him.” Even after everything he’d said to her, Bethany still didn’t want any harm coming to Tommy.

  Dean had hugged his daughter close, whispering he wouldn’t hurt the boy, all the while, he plotted out his revenge. Tommy Carter wouldn’t get away with this. If it was the last thing he did, it would be to make the lad pay the price for hurting his little girl.

  Janet Carter frowned, as Stacey told her all about Tommy’s behaviour the previous evening.

  “It was so unlike him,” Stacey stated. “I’ve never seen him behave so rudely before.”

  With a mug of tea in front of her, Janet had to agree it did seem odd. Her Tommy was usually friendly to everyone he met; it was in his nature. She took a sip of the scalding liquid, as she watched her daughter-in-law dress little Karen in a snow suit, ready to be taken outside.

  “Do you think I should go and see Bethany and check if she’s okay? I know she works in a club up Soho. Maybe Tommy could even give me a lift down there.”

  “I don’t think that’d be a good idea, Stace. The girl will be working, and you don’t want to get her in trouble by turning up.” Janet had only met Bethany the one time, but she’d seemed friendly enough, which made Tommy’s behaviour even more odd.

  Thoughtful, Stacey had to agree. Janet was right, and the last thing she wanted to do, was get her new friend in to trouble with her boss.

  After helping Stacey out of the house with the pram, Janet stared after her daughter-in-law, as she made her way down the street toward her own parents’ house. She couldn’t help but feel that there was a lot more to all of this than met the eye.

  Walking back inside the house, she decided she would have it out with her eldest boy. Tommy had never been able to lie to her. She had always sussed him out. In fact, she knew her son, all of her sons for that matter, even better than she knew herself.

  Janet sighed, as she busied herself in the kitchen. These sons of hers would be the death of her, one way or another.

  Tommy gulped down the remainder of his lager. He’d needed a pint after the night he’d had. He still felt guilty for the way he’d spoken to Bethany. He hadn’t meant to sound as harsh as he did, but at the same time, he’d had to make her see he wasn’t playing games, not where Stacey was concerned. If she hadn’t turned up at his house, he would have remained friendly and polite with her. However, seeing her sitting there on the sofa, cradling his daughter, had been like a red rag to a bull. She’d over-stepped the mark, that’s what she’d done.

  “Davey wants us to go and collect money from the Turks restaurant.”

  Looking across at Jimmy, Tommy groaned. Not that Turkish cunt Mehmet Ali again. Did this geezer never learn?

  “He’s failed to make the last two payments,” Jimmy continued.

  Tommy placed his empty glass on the bar. “C’mon then, bruv. Let’s get this sorted out, once and for all.”

  They left The Brewery Tap, and made their way to Tommy’s car, all the while, unaware they were being closely watched by Dean Johnson and his henchmen.

  Mehmet Ali was a proud man, and he resented the fact that Davey Abbott collected protection money from him. He could see no reason why he needed to
pay up the cash. In fact, he was more than capable of taking care of his own business.

  He spotted the two young men climb out of their car and walk toward his restaurant, and he crossed his arms over his chest. They would get no money from him. He’d already decided he didn’t need protection, he’d never even had any trouble in his restaurant to warrant him having to pay up.

  “I’m not paying,” he told Tommy, as he walked through the door, his accent heavy.

  “It’s non-negotiable,” Tommy answered, as he looked around the restaurant.

  “I said, I’m not paying. I don’t need your protection.”

  Tommy began to laugh. “You’re paying for the protection from us, you prick. So yeah, you do need to pay.”

  Confused, Mehmet stared hard at Tommy.

  “Unless you want us to smash up this restaurant of yours, or maybe break your legs, then you need to pay Mr. Abbott the money you owe.”

  Dumbfounded, Mehmet Ali stood open-mouthed. Not once had it occurred to him that he was actually paying for Davey Abbott to not smash up his premises. “You cannot do that.”

  Walking behind the bar, Tommy yanked down a string of fairy lights tacked to the wooden beam supporting the structure. “Oh yes we can, mate,” he answered, as he began pushing glass bottles full of alcohol, one by one, to the floor.

  In horror, Mehmet shuddered, as each bottle Tommy pushed over smashed to smithereens. Already, he counted out over one hundred pounds worth of alcohol damaged beyond repair, and he knew without hesitation, the man in front of him, had only just begun destroying his restaurant.

  “Last chance mate, either pay up, or this place will be done for once we’ve finished with it.” Tommy was enjoying himself and saw it as welcome distraction from all of his troubles.

  The truth of the matter, was that Mehmet didn’t have the money. Business had been quite for the last few weeks.

  “Well,” Tommy demanded, as he held the last bottle in his fist. “Are you paying up or not?”

  Mehmet sadly shook his head. He could see there would be no point trying to reason with the man. Defeated, he turned his head away. “Do what you want. I cannot pay.”

  Shrugging his shoulders, Tommy went to town, and began smashing up the restaurant. He took great pleasure in overturning the rickety tables and chairs, and smashing the glasses and plates against the wall.

  Once he was finished, Tommy turned to Mehmet. “You still owe the money to Mr. Abbott. This was just a little reminder of what we’re capable of. We’ll be back next week for the dough.”

  Mehmet Ali was close to tears. The damage caused was enough to put him out of business for good.

  Tommy began to laugh, as he left the restaurant. He felt no remorse for his actions. In his eyes, he was simply doing what he’d been paid to do. “I thought the geezer was gonna burst out crying,” Tommy said, chuckling.

  Jimmy nodded his head. He would never admit it out loud, but he’d felt sorry for the bloke.

  Seeing Jimmy’s expression, Tommy pulled his brother to a halt. “Don’t you go all soft on me, Jimmy. This is what Davey pays us to do.”

  “Yeah, I know, but how is the bloke meant to run a business, if we destroyed everything?”

  Tommy shrugged his shoulders. “Not our problem, bruv. Besides, it’s a shit hole anyway. Who the fuck would want to eat in there? We’ve probably done him a favour in smashing it up.”

  “Yeah but …”

  “Enough, Jimmy,” Tommy chided. “You need to toughen up a bit. Fucking hell, don’t go talking like this in front of Davey, otherwise you’ll be out of a job.”

  “I won’t,” Jimmy mumbled, looking across to Mehmet’s restaurant, before climbing into Tommy’s car. “Won’t Davey be pissed off that we didn’t collect his money?”

  Tommy thought about that for a few moments, before answering. “Nah, he knows the Turk will pay up next week. At least he should, unless he wants his legs broken next time.”

  Despite Tommy’s confidence, Davey wasn’t happy. “I sent you there for the money, lad. Where is it?”

  Tommy sighed. “The Turk didn’t have it, so we smashed up the restaurant instead. He’ll pay up next week.”

  “He better had, lad, otherwise me and you will fall out over this.”

  “He will.”

  Davey glanced across to Mad Dog, who raised his eyebrows in return. It was a well-known tactic for them to plead poverty to get out of paying, all the while, their businesses were booming.

  “I know what I’m doing, Davey.”

  Davey didn’t doubt that for a second, but at the end of the day, Young Tommy hadn’t been in the business for as long as he had, and over the years, Davey had seen every trick in the book used. He decided to give the younger man the benefit of the doubt for now. “Okay, the Turk has got one week, and then I want the cash.”

  Tommy nodded his head. He’d learned his lesson and didn’t need telling twice. “So, where do you want us next?”

  Before Davey could answer, the betting shop doors opened. Stood there with a gun in his hand, was Dean Johnson.

  “Tommy Carter,” Dean stated, as he glared across at Tommy. “Think you can upset my little girl do you?”

  Tommy’s heart was in his mouth. He glanced nervously toward Davey. What was this all about, and who was Dean’s little girl? “I don’t know what you’re talking about, mate,” Tommy stuttered.

  “Think you can use my Bethany for your own gain, then fuck her off, do you?” Dean bellowed.

  Tommy’s eyes widened. How the fuck was he meant to have known that Bethany was his daughter? She’d never told him that little fact. Holding up his arms, Tommy swallowed before speaking. “Let’s all calm down eh. It wasn’t like that. I told her from the off I was married, and that nothing would happen between us.”

  “You fucking liar,” Dean spat, taking a step forward, the gun in his hand pointing directly toward Tommy’s head. “You used her, then fucked her off. She’s told me everything.”

  Taking a step forward, Davey tried to calm the situation down. “Tommy’s telling the truth. He told me all about what happened, and he wanted no part in any of this.”

  Dean turned on Davey. “Are you calling my daughter a liar?”

  “No, I’m saying there was a misunderstanding between your Bethany and Young Tommy,” Davey stated, as he came to stand in front of Tommy, blocking him from Dean’s view.

  “Get out of the fucking way. This is between me and him.”

  “No.” Davey stood his ground.

  “I said, get out of my fucking way.” Lunging forward, Dean wrestled Davey to the ground. He then shoved the gun into Davey’s chest. “You’ve got one of two choices, Barking Boy,” he said looking up at Tommy. “Either walk out of this shop with me, or this cunt here takes your place.”

  “Don’t do it, Tommy. If you leave this shop, he’ll kill you.”

  Tommy looked across to Mad Dog for help. He didn’t know what to do for the best. He couldn’t allow Dean to kill Davey in his place.

  “I’m gonna count to three, and if you haven’t moved, then this cunt gets it. One…Two…”

  “Okay, okay!” Sweat broke out across Tommy’s forehead. He grabbed hold of Jimmy’s arm, and gave it a squeeze. “Look after Stace and Karen for me.”

  Close to tears, Jimmy pulled on Tommy’s arm. “Don’t do this, please,” he begged, as his brother began to walk away from him.

  “I don’t have a choice.” Moving forward, Tommy resigned himself to dying. He held up his hands in surrender. “Let Davey go then. I’ll come with you.”

  “Stay where you are, Tommy. Dean, get the fuck off of me, and let’s talk this through like sensible men.”

  His face red with anger, Dean snarled. “Get him out of here,” he ordered his men, nodding his head toward Tommy.

  Writhing on the floor, Davey bucked Dean away from him, before staggering to his feet. “Tommy, don’t you dare fucking do this. He’s gonna kill you, lad.”

  Dean
grinned. “That’s right. I am, and I’ll fucking laugh all the while I do it. Now fucking move.”

  Tommy began to move forward. A flurry of different emotions rippled through him. He would never see his Karen take her first steps, hear her first words, start school, have her first boyfriend or get married. He glanced back toward Jimmy. “Don’t forget to look after them.”

  “I said no.” Charging forward, Davey flung his arms around Dean’s waist, knocking the man to the floor.

  The explosion from the gun was loud and harsh in the small confines of Davey’s betting shop. Shocked, Tommy threw himself to the floor, covering his head with his hands. His ears were ringing, and the scent of gun powder was heavy in the air.

  Within seconds, it was clear to see that Davey had been hit in the crossfire. Scrambling to his feet, Tommy came and knelt beside his boss. He watched as Dean and his henchmen fled from the shop, before turning his attention back to Davey. He could see immediately that Davey was in a bad way. Blood oozed from his abdomen, staining his shirt, and pooling on the threadbare carpet beside him.

  Placing his hands down on the wound in a bid to stem the bleeding, Tommy spoke with panic in his voice. “Come on, stay awake,” he pleaded.

  Davey gasped for breath. He felt as weak as a kitten and so cold. He gave a shiver as his body went into shock. “Remember what I told you, lad,” he whispered.

  “No! Don’t you fucking die on me,” Tommy screamed, as Davey’s eyes closed and he took his final breath. Falling backwards, Tommy stared down at the blood covering his hands; the unmissable scent of iron filled his nostrils. He scrambled away, and leaned his back against the wall, his eyes wide, as Mad Dog took over and tried to revive Davey.

  They could all see it was no use. Their boss was gone. In shock, the three men remained silent, each of them staring into space.

  Finally, Mad Dog spoke. “When the Old Bill turn up, we tell them this was an attempted robbery that went wrong.”