Page 90 of Savage Protector

“Well, think of this, then. If the police get involved, that will be inconvenient for us, but we’ll cope. We can pull a few strings, settle everyone down again and make it all go away. But if they have specific names— Zayn, Tony, Rome, Nico—they’ll be brought in for sure. Questioned, quite possibly charged with murder.”

“Yes, but it wasn’t?—”

“Murder means an automatic life sentence, whatever the reasons. Is that what you want?”

“No, obviously not, but there were special circumstances.”

“Fuck the circumstances. I don’t want my men in jail, and I’m not letting it happen. Am I clear?”

“I…I…” Does he mean to keep me a prisoner here?

Jack continues, his tone softer now. “The first time they tried, you were lucky. Lucky that Frankie just happened to be messing with his new telescope at the exact time they were out there on the ocean, and lucky that he saw what happened. Lucky, too, that he raised the alarm, and we had a fast launch ready, and were able to get to you in time.”

“I know that, and I’m grateful, but?—”

“As long as you stayed off the radar you were safe, but they tried again, the first chance they got. And you were lucky again. Zayn had moved you out of the flat earlier that day. And Gregory was late home that night and saw them breaking in. He was on hand to put out the fire or the damage would have been much more extensive, even endangering other tenants.”

“You’re right. That was just good luck. But…”

“But, they would have tried again. And again, and they’d have kept on trying until eventuallytheygot lucky. You were a threat to them, they couldn’t let you live. You do see that, don’t you?”

“I do. I know all that, but we can’t just take the law into our own hands.”

“We can, and we do. It works. You’re still here, aren’t you?”

He waits for my further protests, but I have none.

“Remember this, Leila. You got lucky. Twice. They only had to ever get lucky once. And, they would have. Eventually. And you would have been dead. Zayn wasn’t prepared to stand by and watch that happen. He put a stop to it, and now you have your life, to live as you please. No hiding, no running away all the time. He did what he had to do, and he gave you that chance. Now, it’s up to you how you repay him.”

He turns on his heel and leaves me to ponder on that.

20

Zayn

Four missed calls,and four increasingly desperate voicemails.

I want to explain, I have to. But not like this, not on the phone. I should have explained before I left, been honest with her. I meant to, but we needed to get away in a hurry, and I’ve been caught up in everything going on here.

I still am, but my finger hovers over the redial key.

“Right, let’s get this done.” Tony’s command interrupts my thoughts, and already the others are piling out of the SUV.

I put my phone away and follow them.

We’re in a lay-by, somewhere in the Shropshire hills west of Birmingham. The entire landscape is cloaked in darkness, no lights to be seen in any direction. Perfect for what we have in mind.

“Right, get him out,” Tony barks. “This way.”

He grabs a toolbox from the boot, vaults over a low wall beside the road, and strides away, across the rough moorland. The rest of us wrestle the irate Freddie out of the boot, still rolled up in the tarpaulin. His thrashing and squirming make it difficult to carry him, especially over the rough terrain, but a sharp right hook from Rome subdues him for a while, long enough for us to haul him about half a mile from the road. No danger of being spotted by a passing motorist.

At a signal from Tony, we dump him on the ground. He lies motionless.

“Did you kill him already?” Tony sounds disappointed.

“It was just a punch, boss.” Rome peels away the tarpaulin. “No, he’s okay. Still breathing.”

Beck produces a bottle of tepid water and empties it over Freddie’s head. He comes round with a frantic coughing and spluttering.

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