The streets, p.22
The Streets, page 22
It was Natalie’s turn to laugh. ‘You don’t need me to tell you, just look in the mirror, mate.’
Ned lunged for Natalie, slamming her against the mirrored column in the middle of the club. He pressed on her throat, squeezing her neck tightly. ‘You’re one mouthy bitch, ain’t you?’
Gasping, Natalie spluttered her words: ‘You’ll have to do much better than that to scare me, Ned.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Oh yeah, believe it.’
He smashed her head against the column. ‘Don’t push me, Natalie, cos the mood I’m in, I will bury you, understand? Now we’re going to have a little chat. Where’s Cookie?’
‘A million miles from here, hopefully.’
He smashed her head again, so hard this time it caused a crack. ‘Let’s try again, shall we? Where’s Cookie?’
Natalie just stared at Ned, the tiniest smile on her face as the small cut on her head from the broken glass began to trickle with blood. ‘I don’t know, but I wouldn’t tell you anyway. So do your worst.’
Ned could feel himself wanting to snap her neck but he resisted. Just. ‘What about Finn? Cos I need to speak to him as well.’ The snarl in his voice matched the hatred he felt. ‘I need to speak to both of them.’
‘Like I say, I don’t know anything.’
Ned smirked then his hand drove between Natalie’s legs, but immediately she screeched and began to fight back, head-butting Ned hard. ‘Don’t you fucking touch me, don’t you ever touch me.’
Holding his nose and taken by surprise, Ned stumbled back. ‘I’m going to kill you.’
‘Leave her alone!’ Tabby, who’d been in the staff kitchen, ran into the main club and leapt to Natalie’s defence. She hit out at Ned, but he pushed her off with ease, throwing her down onto the floor. ‘You crazy bitch.’ He raised his foot, about to stamp down on her head, but Natalie rushed him, kneeing him hard in the groin. Then she grabbed Tabby off the floor, took her hand, and began to run, knowing it wouldn’t be sensible to hang around.
‘You fucking cunt!’ Ned bellowed.
Natalie stopped, coming to an absolute stand still. She let go of Tabby’s hand and turned, walking back over to Ned, who was still bent double coughing.
‘No one calls me a cunt – no one.’ Whereupon she elbowed Ned hard in his face, and then she ran.
‘Hey, Nats.’ Cookie sat on the couch in Cora’s small one-bedroom flat above the betting shop in Wigmore Street. She smiled at Natalie as she hurried into the lounge. ‘Now if you’re wondering why I’m sitting here,’ she continued. ‘I’m avoiding Barney – don’t ask me why, you seriously don’t want to know – but Cora offered to cook me a Sunday roast . . . which I’m still waiting for.’ Cookie grinned at Cora, who, having let Natalie in, was now sitting down finishing off the bottle of red she’d opened earlier.
Looking distracted, Natalie nodded. ‘Oh yeah, sure, whatever, Cora already told me you were coming round.’
‘You OK, babes? What’s going on? You look upset,’ Cookie asked, worried.
‘It’s Ned.’
‘Ned? What about him, what’s happened?’
Natalie glanced at Cora, who gulped down the last of the red, then got to her feet and smiled. ‘Don’t worry, darlin, I’ll leave you to it,’ she said, heading for the kitchen. ‘There’s a chicken in there and it ain’t going to cook itself . . . More’s the fucking pity.’ She laughed and Cookie could hear her singing as she clattered around.
She turned to Natalie. ‘What’s going on? Is this something to do with Pearl?’
‘Pearl?’
Cookie nodded. ‘Yeah, she’s been taken into hospital.’
‘Why? Is she going to be all right?’
‘I dunno. I don’t know much about it.’
‘I was coming to tell you that Ned’s on the warpath, he was looking for you.’
Cookie’s heart began to race. ‘Did he say why?’
‘No, and I was too busy having my head slammed against a mirror to ask.’
Cookie’s face drained. She stood and walked across to Natalie. ‘Oh my God, Nats, are you all right? Look, come and sit down.’
‘Don’t worry, I’m OK. I’ve come across enough men like Ned in me life. He tried to scare me, but I don’t scare that easily. I think it shook up Tabby a bit though.’
The panic Cookie was beginning to feel was echoed in her voice. ‘Don’t mess with him, Nats. No matter how tough you think you are, he ain’t like most men. If you push him, he’ll come after you, and then there’s no telling what he’ll do.’
Natalie gave the smallest of smiles. ‘Thanks for worrying, but you don’t have to; I’ll be OK. It’s you that I’m worried about. I’ve seen him have a pop at anyone who looks at him wrong, and I’ve seen him get handy with his fists, but I’ve never seen him this wound up. The way he looked, Cooks – the look in his eyes, it was different.’
‘Different how?’
Natalie paused to think for a moment. ‘You know that saying, “like a man possessed”? That’s how he was. And he was all beat up. His face was proper battered and bruised.’
Cookie began to pace the room, her arms wrapped around herself. ‘What else did he say? He must have said something else about why he was looking for me.’
Natalie shook her head. ‘He’d taken Jace somewhere without asking his mum, so the minute they got back I had words him about it. That’s when he went for me.’
‘Jace. What was he doing with Jace?’
‘I dunno. When I asked Ned, he got well pissed off. But that’s about it . . . No, wait – he said something about Finn. He wanted to know where Finn was.’
‘But he didn’t say why?’
‘Nope, but it didn’t look like he wanted to have a cosy chat with him.’
Grabbing her jacket and bag from off the table, Cookie began to get ready to leave. ‘I better call Finn, see what’s happening, see if he knows anything. He left me a voicemail yesterday asking to meet up; he wanted to talk about something. Maybe this is to do with why he wanted to see me . . . And I need to find Ned as well – not that I’m looking forward to that part.’
‘You want me to come with you?’
‘No, you better not – but thanks, Nats, thanks for everything. I owe you.’ Cookie kissed her on the cheek and Natalie smiled then leaned forward to kiss Cookie on her lips, wrapping her arms around her. ‘Take care of yourself, Cooks. If you need me, you’ve got my number. Call me, and no matter where you are, I’ll be there . . . Love you, babe.’
Cookie’s tone was full of warmth as Nat released her from the embrace. ‘Love you too, darlin . . . Now wish me luck.’
‘I wouldn’t know what to do if anything happened to you, so please come back safely.’
Cookie didn’t answer, she had every intention of coming back safely, but the question was, would she?
41
It had grown dark and Cookie had been looking for Finn for the past few hours. She’d searched all the obvious haunts. She’d even phoned some of his friends, as well as Zee and the boys when her calls to Finn had gone straight through to voicemail. But no one had seen or heard from him.
Passing Pizza Express, she glanced at her watch. It was gone six and the likelihood of Ned catching up with Finn before she did was growing with each passing hour – if he hadn’t already done so.
The wind was picking up and she shivered, pulling up her collar in an attempt to stop the cold rain dripping down her neck.
‘Hey! Hey! Oi!’
Hearing a voice, she spun round and saw a black Range Rover speeding towards her. The next moment, before she had a chance to move, the car mounted the pavement, screeching to a halt and blocking her in.
She saw Ned’s face – lit up by the car’s interior light – the bruises around his eye and his head standing out against his pale skin, but she didn’t have time to think about what had happened to him, she just needed to run.
Turning, Cookie started to run the other way, but Ned was too quick. He scrambled across the cream seats to open the passenger door, and before she knew it he’d grabbed her by the hair and slammed her against the car.
‘You fucked him, didn’t you? You fucked my cousin.’
‘Get off me, Ned!’
‘Did you really think you’d get away with it, hey? Knocking my mum about to keep her quiet, putting her in hospital, all to stop her spilling your dirty secret.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. Let go of me!’
‘Oh come on, you don’t fool me, babe . . . Whose idea was that then, Cooks? Yours? Finn’s?’
‘I said get off. Stop, Ned, fucking stop!’
He shook her like a rag doll. ‘Well whose ever idea it was, unfortunately you didn’t do a good enough job, Cooks. She spilled the beans all right, couldn’t bleedin’ wait . . . So go on, how many times? How many times did you fuck him?’
‘Ned, please,’ Cookie pleaded.
He twisted her round to face him. ‘So that ain’t a denial?’ His breathing was hard and frantic.
‘Get off me!’
‘What was he like, Cookie? Did he make you scream? Did he fuck you until you screamed, did he? Answer me!’ Ned was spitting with rage as he reached his free hand into his pocket and pulled out a gun, jamming it against her temple.
She screamed. Ned gripped her throat then slammed his hand hard over her mouth, but she managed to twist round and bite down on his hand.
Unaccustomed to her fighting back, Ned let go for a second and Cookie seized the opportunity to take off, sprinting towards Soho Square with Ned only a few feet behind her.
‘Cookie, come here now! Do as you’re fucking told. Don’t you run away from me!’
Hoping to cut through to the other side of the square, she rushed for the iron gate of the gardens but it was locked. She rattled it. ‘No, no, no.’ And glancing over her shoulder, she saw Ned, now almost within reach, so without hesitation Cookie jumped up, pulling herself onto the black wrought-iron railings and straddling the top of the bars.
‘Where the fuck are you going?’ Ned pulled on her foot, grappling to bring her down, but she kicked back, catching him in the face.
Ned let go. ‘Bitch!’ He sounded in pain but it only incensed him more. As Cookie landed on the other side of the railings, Ned rushed at them, vaulting up and over easily.
Her heart pounding, Cookie ran across the square, skidding on the muddy, wet grass. She sprinted towards the Tudor hut in the middle of the square, racing to get away from Ned.
‘I’ll catch you, Cooks, so you might as well give it up now.’ In the dark, she heard Ned angrily shouting behind her.
Panting, she dodged behind a tree only for Ned to leap at her, causing her to stumble. She tried to get her balance, but Ned grabbed at her again, and as the rain fell harder, Cookie found herself falling onto the wet earth.
Gripping her by the hair, Ned dragged her off the path and into the bushes by the railings, hidden from view.
Still fighting hard to get away, Cookie felt every cut and graze from the uneven ground, the stones and sticks digging into her as she struggled.
‘We’ll do it here then, shall we? Cos you ain’t going anywhere. You’re going to pay for fucking that cunt.’
Standing, he stepped over her, straddling her body. ‘Now start fucking talking.’
As Ned began to crouch, Cookie kicked out, catching him right on his knee. Unable to move away quick enough, she felt the power of Ned’s fist smash down against her face. She yelled as loud as she could, her mouth filling with blood.
Ned leapt on top of her and, as always when he dished out violence, she felt his erection.
‘Get off me! Get off me!’
Covered in mud and with her face swelling, Cookie grappled her hand to the side and, feeling a stone, she grabbed it, bringing it up to slam it against the side of Ned’s head.
‘Fuck! You bitch!’ Ned fell off her, holding his head. Cookie pushed him away then scrambled to her feet and scuttled off into the dark as fast as she could without looking back.
42
‘Finn? Finn? Oh Jesus, thank God you answered.’ Cookie clutched the phone against her cheek. She was in pain, and her clothes were muddy and soaked through. Blood from her mouth stained the front of her jacket. She didn’t even want to think about what she looked like as she stood in Tottenham Court Road. ‘Where are you? I’ve been trying to get in touch for ages . . . Finn, I can’t hear you . . . Finn?’ Cookie’s phone cut off and she saw that her battery had gone dead. ‘Shit. Shit.’ Her hands shook, partly from cold and partly from fear.
She had to think. Think. She didn’t know Finn’s number off by heart to call him from another phone, yet she needed to speak to him, she had to warn him about Ned.
Her heart pounding, Cookie glanced around the almost empty street, trying to figure out the best thing to do. She was only a ten-minute – seven minutes at a push – jog away from Hanson Street, maybe she could go there? Get his number from one of the kids? Pearl was in hospital, so on that score she was safe. The only problem was Ned: he might be still in the area, looking for Finn. She couldn’t risk him seeing her, not before she’d warned Finn, anyway. She didn’t want blood on her hands.
With only a slight pause, Cookie began to run, oblivious to the pouring rain. Realizing that her heels were slowing her down, she paused in front of the health shop on Rathbone Place to whip off her shoes, then took off again, clutching her Louboutins in her hand as she dashed along, feet burning, until she reached the bottom end of Hanson Street.
Limping now and slowing down, Cookie stumbled along until she saw a figure she recognized ahead of her. Immediately she yelled and started to wave. ‘Finn! Finn! Finn!’
He didn’t turn, the rain and wind taking away her words. She started to run again, looking around to make sure Ned wasn’t about. ‘Finn!’ He began to stroll into the building and Cookie yelled even louder, desperate to get his attention. ‘Finn!’
This time he heard.
She saw him frown then begin to rush towards her. He spoke as he ran. ‘Oh my God, what happened? What the fuck happened to your face?’ Finn touched Cookie’s mouth, then he shook his head; she winced at the pain from the split lip. ‘He did this to you?’
Cookie nodded.
He shook his head angrily. ‘Is this because Pearl told him we were having an affair behind his back?’
‘What?’ she gasped, shocked.
‘She knew there was something going on between us and she threatened to tell him. That’s why I wanted to meet you, I didn’t want to leave any message on your phone though, in case Ned listened.’
‘Hold on, hold on.’ Cookie sounded confused. ‘Threatened to tell him what? There wasn’t anything to tell. We haven’t done anything.’
‘I told her that; I also told her if she even thought about telling Ned, I’d have to get someone to deal with her.’
‘Jesus Finn, you threatened her? No wonder she’s got it in for us. Pearl hates anyone telling her what to do.’ She stopped and a thought flitted into her head. ‘Did you follow through? Did you actually get someone to attack her?’
‘Attack her? What you on about?’
‘She’s in hospital.’
Finn couldn’t look any more surprised.
‘She’s saying it was me that put her there. That I knocked her about. That’s what she told Ned, that’s what he thinks.’
‘Fuck, what a mess. Then again, this is Pearl we’re talking about, so nothing would surprise me.’
A car went by and Cookie pulled Finn away from the kerbside, ducking behind the parked cars. ‘We need to get out of here, Finn. Ned’s on the warpath. He won’t stop until he kills both of us.’
‘Where is he now? Tell me where he is so I can go and blow his fucking head off.’ He touched her face again gently.
‘And what if he blows yours off first? He’s carrying a gun on him; I thought he was going to use it on me earlier.’
Finn shook his head. ‘I’ve let him get away with too much. It’s time to put a stop to it once and for all.’
She grabbed his hand. ‘Finn, listen to me. This isn’t about him or me, it’s about you – you need to get out of here.’
Still not looking entirely convinced, he let her lead him into the building and the two of them sprinted up the tiled stone stairs, all the while making sure that Ned wasn’t behind them.
When they made it to Finn’s room, Cookie’s eyes went straight to the suitcase on top of the wardrobe. ‘Throw in everything you’ll need,’ she said, hauling it down. ‘Anything important – you know passport, licence . . .’
He looked at her. ‘Cookie.’
Busy pulling clothes out of the drawer, she gave him a quick glance. ‘What?’
‘I love you.’
Cookie blinked, not saying anything. The atmosphere in the room crackled with silent tension as Finn continued to stare at her. She turned away to grab a couple more items out of the drawers. ‘Come on, let’s go; we don’t want to wait around here longer than we have to.’
‘Did you hear what I said? Cookie, did you hear me? I said I love you.’
Cookie gave the tiniest of nods. ‘I know . . . Look Finn, I—’
He shook his head. ‘You don’t need to say anything. It doesn’t matter.’ The hurt shot through his voice and his eyes. ‘You’re right, let’s go.’
They rushed back out of the building and into the night, checking over their shoulder as they ran through the pouring rain to Finn’s car, which was parked around the corner.
Finn opened the boot of his grey Audi and threw his bag inside, then ran round to the driver’s door. ‘Hurry up, Cooks, we can relax once we’re out of here. The further away, the better.’ He smiled at her encouragingly, the rain running down his handsome face. ‘I’ll look after you, Cooks; we’ll be OK, we’ll sort out all the details later.’
Cookie shook her head. ‘You don’t understand, I can’t come with you.’
Finn stepped away from the car. ‘What are you talking about? Let’s go.’
‘I can’t, I’m sorry.’ She began to back away, fighting the tears, but he grabbed her arm.
