Bad Boys of London(30)

He runs his hand through his hair. ‘Let me talk to him.’

‘No, don’t. Please. Don’t. It’s better if you don’t.’

‘I’m not afraid of Jake, Layla. I’ll fight anybody for what’s mine.’

I stare at him in shock as a flare of pure joy zings through my body. ‘I’m yours?’

‘Yeah, you’re fucking mine. And I don’t take kindly to anyone standing between me and my woman.’

‘He thinks you’re a drug dealer and he wants better for me.’

‘Too fucking bad. I don’t tell him how to live his life. If I want you, I’ll fucking have you.’

‘Maybe if you weren’t dealing in drugs, Jake wouldn’t be so against our relationship?’

He looks at me. ‘I do what I do because this is what I am. This is what I know and this is what I am good at. I won’t change for Jake.’

I sigh. ‘But what you’re doing is dangerous. It’s only a matter of time before you end up behind bars.

He shakes his head. ‘You have to trust me. I deal only in class 3 grass where the sentence is light and I have set it up in such a way that it never passes through my hands.’

I feel suddenly heavy hearted and tearful. Jake is right. What future is there for me with someone like him? He won’t change.

I drop my face. ‘Anyway, what we have might burn out quickly and we would have upset everyone for nothing.’

He grabs my chin. ‘You don’t get it. I don’t give a shit about upsetting everyone else. You’re mine and the sooner everyone knows it the better.’

‘Don’t push me, BJ. I love my family and I don’t want to hurt them. I’ll tell Jake when the time is right. You have to trust me that I know my brother better than you.’

His jaw is set hard. A pulse throbs in it like a heart. ‘Don’t delay it too long, or I’ll have to take it into my own hands.’





EIGHTEEN





Layla


‘Did you sleep last night?’ Dominic asks.

I flush. ‘Why do you ask?’ I question defensively. We are standing outside my flat in the weak morning sunshine.

‘You always have blue shadows under your eyes when you don’t sleep well.’

‘Oh! Yeah, I didn’t sleep too well last night. Just a bit worried about my interview tomorrow, I guess,’ I lie.

‘If that asshole doesn’t give you the job, just let me know and I’ll send a couple of boys around to smash up his offices.’

I give him a dirty look and he grins.

‘That might have been funny if it had come from Shane. From you it’s just downright scary,’ I say, getting into his brand new BMW i8.

He laughs and I join in. I love it when Dominic laughs. It changes his whole face.

The car is filled with the scent of new leather and the strawberry air freshener that hangs from the rearview mirror. The engine roars aggressively to life and I settle back to enjoy a wild ride. My brother drives like a mad man.

He says he wants to try out his new chef, so he takes me to breakfast at a wine bar he has recently acquired. It’s an old railway station that has been converted for commercial purposes. It still has the metal finials and a platform in the middle. He has named it Applegate Station. The décor is a cross between eclectic and sophisticated with a painted piano, French farmhouse style rustic accessories, chintz upholstery with peacocks and bright foliage, and dark wooden floors. The overall effect is effortless chic.

‘What do you want to eat?’

He orders scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and I tell the waiter to double the order.

People are terrified of Dominic because he has such a ready and explosive temper, but I know he is the only one who can stand up to Jake if necessary. So I decide to very gently put out some feelers.

‘I was out with Ria last night,’ I say stirring sugar into my coffee, ‘and I was curious. What was the feud with the Pilkingtons actually about?’

‘I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows. It was centuries ago. These things start for small matters and carry on through the generations. Each generation hating each other without knowing why.’

‘I see. So now our families are friends?’

He takes a sip of orange juice and studies me over his glass. ‘I guess so.’

I have to be careful. Dominic is a hot head but he is very intelligent. Very quick to catch on.

‘Do we do business with the Pilkingtons?’

‘Not really. We have our territories clearly drawn up so there are no misunderstandings. BJ doesn’t mess with us and we don’t mess with him.’

‘So why did Jake and BJ fight then?’

‘It was a misunderstanding.’