The Devil in Love (A John Mulligan Story)

Chapter Seven

 Chapter Seven

John arranged to buy Karena's flat from her, for his property portfolio. He paid her a fair price, but not over market value. John refused to let her pay him back the money he'd lent her, and finally she had no choice but to accept that. She still wouldn't spend money on his credit card, but without rent or bills to pay, she had a fair amount of disposable income now.

Living with John also meant that Karena couldn't avoid his business quite as successfully as she used to. She couldn't help but overhear some conversations on his phone, or meeting Gary, John's second in command, and a few of his other underlings. It didn't trouble her too much, since she had grown up around drugs. At least John never partook, which was good.

She thought that she heard them planning to have non-payers beaten up a time or two, but when you'd grown up with violence, when you'd even seen your mother thrown through the second floor bedroom window of your council house, it ceased to be shocking.

Having grown up in an abusive family, she realised that she should be running for the hills, but John wasn't like her father, he didn't lash out in anger, in fact she couldn't even find much evidence of a temper on him. He was never violent without good cause and even then, it was a last resort.

She knew that she should be morally indignant but instead, she just felt apathy.

Perhaps if the world had been kinder to her, she might have found room in her heart to care for the world in return, but she had fought so hard for herself and her daughter, that she didn't have any energy left for anyone else.

As she approached the kitchen one evening, she could hear the low discussion between John and Gary and she paused outside the door to listen.

“Bill was just a warning,” she heard Gary say. “If we don't give them the Grantham Estate, they'll cripple every one of our guys.”

“You think they're serious?” John asked.

“Deadly. Mahone's rep precedes him. I can't tell if he's mad or bad or both, but he's a scary dude. Whatever you do, you've got to be careful.”

John sighed.

“The lads are behind you,” Gary continued. “They like the set up as it is now, so if you make a move, they'll back you.”

John stayed silent and Karena knew it was because he was considering his reaction.

She had realised that as well as Tess, John now counted as one of her own, but until this moment, as he faced possible danger, she hadn't realised the depth of her feeling, and it surprised her. He was right up there with Tess in terms of his importance to her.

It had been a gradual thing, a slow escalation of her feelings from attraction, to now a deep love.

Looking back, it was easy to see why, because no one but John had ever taken care of her, or had ever put her first. She knew that if she walked into the kitchen now needing John, he would make Gary wait until she was sorted, not the other way around.

She didn't want to intrude on their meeting, but she had to know that John had a plan, so she stayed where she was.

“Right, here's what I want you to do. Take Phil, Kev and Pete, go pay Mahone a visit. Let him know that we aren't kids playing here, we mean business. He gets one chance to turn tail and take his business elsewhere, he won't get a second.”

“Right you are, boss. We'll show him, don't you worry.”

“Hospital, Gary, not mortuary.”

Karena stepped away from the doorway, deciding that her cup of coffee could wait a while. She went back into her study to continue her marking.

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