Bang Gang(50)

She leaned in and asked him a question and he dropped his head, smiled  and laughed. I felt jealous and it was absurd. He was probably fucking  other women every night of the week and some random blonde's drunken  flirting was bothering me? Quite absurd.

"Can I go see Dad?" Ruby asked. "I've finished my burger." She showed me her empty polystyrene tray as evidence.

I nodded. "If he's busy with his friends, come back though, right?"

I watched her skip over to him, and the moment she arrived it was as  though the blonde didn't exist. He scooped Ruby up and spun her around,  and the world was only her. The blonde sidled away and he didn't even  notice.

"You're going to have to talk to him," Tonya said.

"Sorry?"

"This thing, whatever it is, it's got to go one way or the other. You'll both end up insane at this rate."

I sighed. "I know, but it's got to be the right time."

"He wants to be with you, Jo, I can see that plain as day, even if you can't."

I wished I had her faith. "He's fucking half the village. He has Stacey's ring still in his bedside cabinet."

She raised her eyebrows. "He does?"

I nodded.

"Shit," she said.

"Tell me about it."

She took a swig of wine. "Doesn't add up, Jo. I didn't think he was all  that bothered about Stacey. He never seemed it out at the pub, not like  he was about you."

"He was engaged to her."

"Yeah, well, maybe she was rebound."

I laughed. "She wasn't rebound, Tonya. We'd been split up ages before he got with her."

"He wasn't over it ages before he got with her though, Jo, I'd put money  on it. He was a mopey sod for a fucking long time before he hooked up  with her."

"I wouldn't know," I said. "I was always home with the girls."

"It's true. I saw it. Back when I was dating Phil Evans and we were down  the Drum every night. He wasn't over you, Jo. I don't think he ever has  been."

The wine made me giggle. "Now you're really pushing it."

"No," she said. "I'm not. I'm just telling it how it is."                       
       
           



       

He was staring again, and not even hiding it. Ruby's hand was clutched  in his, the guys caught up in some rowdy conversation or other, but his  eyes were right on me.

Tonya poked me in the arm. "Go," she said. "Before I drag you over there. I'll powder my nose and I'll join you."

I sighed, finished the rest of my wine. "Alright," I said. "I'll go."

I was so ridiculously nervous as I crossed the field, weaving my way  through groups of people as he watched me. I was smiling, just a few  metres away from him, and he was smiling back, ready to make  conversation when a godawful shriek cut out across the crowd.

"Dadddd! Dadddd! Help me!"

Mia.

My eyes widened and so did his. My heart thumped so hard I felt it right  through me, terror reaching up and grabbing me by the throat.

I scanned the crowd, desperate for sight of her, wondering where the hell she was.

"Darren … " I said, but he was already moving, his direction hidden from me by moving bodies.

"Stay!" he called to Ruby. "Stay right where you are!"

I followed him with my heart in my throat, caring little for the people I  shoved from my path as I fought my way towards our baby.

Buck was alongside me, Jimmy O, too, all of us pounding after Darren as he barged through the crowd.

And then I saw it, in the shadows at the edge of the park  –  the group of  lads around our girl. The guy with his hand on Mia's arm, holding her  tight as she tried to pull away.

"Daddd!" she shrieked, and he was there.

I saw him up ahead, saw him reach her and tug her free, and my stomach  lurched as he pushed her behind him, lurched again as he grabbed Daisy  from the crowd, too.

I didn't stop running, not even when Darren's fist landed on the guy's  jaw. Not even when the other guy reeled and stumbled, not even when the  crowd of lads squared up to Darren and he squared up to them right back.

I didn't stop running until my girl was in my arms, until Daisy was there, too.

"They wouldn't let us go!" Mia cried. "They wouldn't! They wouldn't let us go!"

I looked at Darren and he was wired, red-misting with an anger I'd never  seen before. The kind of anger that sent electric through my spine,  adrenaline coursing right through me.

His fist landed again, connected with one of the lads facing up to him, and I felt it, I felt all of it.

The scene unfolded in slow motion, him standing strong and fierce even  though he was vastly outnumbered. I saw the way he didn't even care.

I felt it in my stomach, in some strange part of me I never knew existed, something deep and primal and raw.

Buck and Jimmy O appeared at his shoulders, and he barely even noticed.  He didn't care about that, either, didn't care if he had backup or not,  didn't care if he was up against an insurmountable force.

The only thing he cared about was protecting our little girl, whatever the cost.

A couple of shoves and a whole load of expletives, and I told the girls  to cover their ears, that it would be alright and not to worry.

A crack as Darren took another swing, and shunting bodies.

And then silence.

The lads backed away, and the crowd came closer, jostling in around the aftermath.

Darren looked at me and his eyes were so dark, so fierce. He shook out his knuckles, and headed over. My heart was like a train.

I didn't realise I was gripping the girls so tight until he crouched  down and pulled Mia from me. He checked her over, his eyes searching  hers.

"She's ok," I said, and my voice was shaky and weak. "She's ok, Darren. They're both ok."

But I wasn't, I wasn't ok at all. My legs were jelly, my skin crawling, every part of me cranked up to fight or flee.

I've never been so relieved as the moment I felt his arm around my  shoulders, ushering us back through the crowd and back towards our tent.  I held on to the girls and he held on to me, flanked by Jimmy and Buck  right the way back to Tonya and Ruby, who'd taken a seat at her side.

Darren sat himself down by our tent, and pulled our girls down alongside him, Daisy, too.

And that's where he stayed, all evening long, glued to those kids like he'd never let them out of his sight again.                       
       
           



       

And I knew.

I knew he was it. I knew he was everything.

I knew that there was nobody on earth who'd love my girls the way he  did, who'd give everything for my girls the way he did, who'd do  whatever it took to keep them safe, no matter what the cost, no matter  what they needed.



I'd loved Darren Trent for a lifetime.

But never so much as now.





"We need to talk," she said. Her voice was just a whisper. I barely heard her above the chatter around us.

I nodded. "Where?"

She looked around us, at the campers huddled nearby and the thin  tarpaulin between us and the girls. I doubted they were even asleep yet,  I'd heard giggles from Mia and Daisy less than five minutes back.

She shrugged. "Your tent? Tonya's here with the girls. We could nip over there … "

I was still too tightly wound, the thought of leaving my stakeout  hitting me right in the gut. She took my elbow. "They'll be fine,  Darren. Those lads aren't even here anymore."

I didn't mean to glare at her, but I did. I'd known it was trouble. I  knew Mia looked too old, was too made up, was too naive to be out in a  crowd full of drunk lads. I should've fucking stopped it, should've  known better.

"Darren," she prompted. "We'll be right over there."

"Alright," I relented. I drank down the rest of my beer and flashed Buck a look. "You'll stay with the girls?"

"Aye," he said. "Won't be going anywhere."

From the way he was sitting with Tonya I doubted he would've been going anywhere regardless.

I led Jodie through the clusters of tents, her hand on my elbow as I  picked out a route. Mine was in the far corner, in the shadow of the  truck. I dipped down and unzipped the entrance and Jodie crawled inside.  She sat herself down on my sleeping bag, pulled her knees up to her  chest.

I zipped the door back up behind me, then flicked on the battery  operated lamp at my side. The orange glow made her hair look darker, her  eyes too.

I waited for her to speak.

"They told the lads they were older. Daisy apparently. Told them they  were sixteen, and had a bit of beer with them. I really don't think they  knew what they were playing with. They didn't mean any harm … "

"Why the fuck would she do that?"

Jodie shrugged. "I guess she wanted to seem cool. She's a teenage girl,  Darren. I probably would've done the same myself at her age."

"She's twelve," I said. "She's not a fucking teenager, Jo."