Page 104 of The First Chord

“Yeah, who’s asking?” Jimmy looked around him and saw Ali. “What the fuck’s going on?”

“Mr Fox, we are arresting you under suspicion of causing injury to Mrs Amber Fox on the evening of the…”

We couldn’t hear any more because Jimmy immediately started to yell and scream.

“She’s a fucking liar. I didn’t touch her. Ask her about what the hell she’s been doing whoring herself with the members of Warrior Creek.”

I took a step forward, ready to punch his fucking lights out, but Joey grabbed my arm.

“Don’t,” he growled quietly. “Don’t mess this up.”

Frustrated, I shook free of him but stayed where I was. He was right. I couldn’t jeopardise Jimmy’s arrest.

As they pulled Jimmy out of the room cautioning him, they tied his hands behind his back. I wasn’t sure if it was hand ties or cuffs because there was too much of a scuffle going on.

“I’ll get you a lawyer,” Ali said in a tight voice as she reached into the room to close the door.

“I didn’t fucking do anything. She fell. She fucking tripped and fell.”

As they lead him past us, Jimmy’s dark gaze turned our way. He was practically spitting venom as he struggled against the two men holding his arms.

“You bastards,” he screamed and then actually spat at Elliot’s feet. “You all did this, you and that dirty fucking whore. I’ll sue the lot of you.”

The coppers remained calm as they led him away, Ali following behind tapping on her phone. As they disappeared into the lift a couple of things struck me.

Not one of the other members of Blind Devil had come out of their rooms to see what the fuss was about, and I wasn’t as elated as I’d expected to be.

“You okay?” Beau asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. I just need to get back to Amber.”

As we trooped back to our rooms in silence it struck me that we only had two hours before we had to get on stage and I wasn’t sure that I had the energy.

CHAPTER46

RONNIE

Hatred is a strong word. It’s a word we all say from time to time, but don’t always mean it. As far as Jimmy Fox went, I meant every single letter of it. The man was lower than the underbelly of a rat as far as I was concerned.

He didn’t love Amber, he couldn’t, because if he did he’d never have done what he did to her. The way he’d treated her for years. If I thought I could get away with beating the shit out of him and leaving him in a bloodied pulp I would. Not because I was normally a violent man but because she was scared. Petrified. And I could feel it all, every single ounce of fear she had was pooling in my chest.

“Is Amber okay in her room?” Ali asked, moving my attention from murder.

“Sorry,” I ran a hand down my face, a little ashamed of the things I wanted to do. “Yeah, she wanted to sleep, and she also didn’t want to have to listen to it all.”

Watching me carefully, Ali beckoned me over to the lounge area where the rest of the guys were sitting. She’d been on the phone to Concepta, telling them everything that had happened.

“What did they say?” Elliot asked, as Ali and I took the two armchairs.

Taking a deep breath, she looked directly at me, and I already saw the apology in her eyes. “He’s been released.”

“On bail?” Joey asked.

There was a slight pause, enough to tell me it was not going to be good news. Another reason why the world was fucked up and I had to wonder why any of us would want to bring a kid into it.

“How the fuck did he get off?” I asked, keeping my tone measured, aware of Amber sleeping in the next room.

Ali sighed. “No evidence and an eye witness who places him somewhere else.”

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