Dominic squeezed her hand again but this time she let go of him, running over to where police and security were now pushing back the crowd of onlookers, getting rid of the press and paparazzi who were still trying to bulldoze their way through to grab photos that were going to be worth thousands. But all India wanted to do was prove herself wrong, prove that what she’d thought she’d seen was nothing but her mind playing cruel tricks on her.
Falling to her knees next to Michael, though, only brought home a crashing sense of reality as her eyes fell on the perfectly still body of the only man she trusted with every inch of her being. The only man – bar her beautiful little boy – that she would do absolutely anything for. The man that she loved more than anyone could ever imagine. Her father.
***
Charley had heard the noise, the screeching of tyres audible even from inside the salon, and as she ran out of her office, out of Charley’s, running through the shopping mall to the main body of the hotel, running so fast she felt as though her heart was going to burst out of her chest, she couldn’t help but think the worst.
She wanted to be wrong, of course she did. She didn’t want to think that this had anything to do with Jimmy, but the things he’d said to her, the look in his eyes – he had no regard for anyone’s feelings, people didn’t matter to him. But revenge did, and he’d promised to get that in whatever way he could. And that’s what worried Charley as she finally reached the immense atrium of The Amber Palace lobby, which was now crawling with police and security.
‘I need to get past… I need to be out there… My friends…’
A stoic-faced security guard stuck his arm out in front of her, stopping her in her tracks, preventing her from going any further. ‘I’m sorry, Mrs Maine, but we can’t let you go out there.’
‘Jesus… please, I need to see India…’
She felt frightened tears prick the back of her eyes, her skin crawling with a horrifying realisation because, although she couldn’t move any further, she could still see everything that was happening through the vast expanse of the glass doors.
And, as she took in the scene in front of her, of Reece lying in the road, India cradling his head in her lap, Michael’s arm around her, Dominic by her side as the paramedics arrived to take over, she felt sick to her stomach.
Closing her eyes for a second she was aware of the security guard’s arm being lifted away, to be replaced by strong arms pulling her in against them and she didn’t fight it, she let herself fall against them. Whoever they were.
‘By hurting all the others,’ she whispered, slowly opening her eyes, staring into deep, dark ones that belonged to Kenny Ross. No wonder she’d felt safe the second those arms had held her. ‘That’s what he’d said, Kenny. He could hurt me more by hurting all the others…’
***
Jimmy walked over to the window, peering through the blinds to look outside, blowing cigar smoke up at the ceiling as the black Toyota pulled up outside the Bail Bond office.
He watched as it screeched to a halt, kicking a barrage of dust up into the air, its occupants vacating the car before it had even come to a standstill.
Jimmy smiled, letting the blinds fall back against the stained and dirty window, stubbing out his cigar in a nearby ashtray and shoving his hands in the pockets of his immaculately-cut suit as the car’s occupants swaggered into the office, kicking the door shut behind them.
Jimmy leant back against the window sill, folding his arms as he stared at the two young and slightly over-eager men before him. The kind of men he was now surrounding himself with. Easily mouldable, willing to do anything he told them to do as long as the price was right. And in Jimmy’s eyes their price was cheap, because what these kids wanted more than anything was the status and notoriety that hanging around with Jimmy Cash gained you in certain circles. They came from the kind of backgrounds that garnered the respect hanging around with ex-cons and hard-core porn barons got you, so they were quite happy to take the cash and become the lapdogs and yes-men that Jimmy needed right now.