Page 52 of Parker

Chapter forty-two

Parker Fashion House, Glasgow

Joel

The photo was delivered to my office twenty minutes ago, one hour after I ordered every man onto the streets to look for my lunatic wife and her sidekick. The men from the house called Boyd as Sophie’s heap of junk sped away from them.

The air turned blue as he threatened to dismember them for being fucking useless. Evan sleeps soundly in his bouncer at my feet. My mother brought him straight over when I called her about Nicky’s escape.

Boyd and I sit on the sofa, staring at the image, not speaking.

It’s grainy. Off-center. But unmistakable.

Nicky and Sophie are tied to the roof of a car in the middle of a huge warehouse.

Blindfolded. Gagged. Drayton sits in the driver’s seat, his hand ready to turn the key.

Beside him, there is a slender pair of female legs, one knee crossed over the other.

The photo is taken at an angle from above, as if the photographer was standing on a stepladder.

My chest aches. I tell myself to stay calm, but it’s like my body no longer listens, my jaw clenching so tight it cracks.

“How could she be so stupid?” I growl. “They walked straight into a trap.” Boyd pats my shoulder.

“She was doing what she thought was right,” he responds.

“You don’t know what he threatened her with.

Sophie appeared at the house earlier this afternoon unannounced.

I looked through the shop CCTV footage from this morning.

Someone similar to Drayton was seen heading in its direction late morning. ”

“You think that’s how Drayton got a message to Nicky?

” I ask, and he nods. The walls feel like they're closing in, as my panic rises. “We need to find them, Boyd. We need to kill that bastard once and for all.” I glance over at my son. “My son needs his mum, even if she thinks she’s a Charlie’s Angel . ”

Every computer in Parker Fashion has been handed over to a member of our underground team. We’re all logged onto the Glasgow city CCTV system, scouring the footage for two women dressed in black heading toward an industrial estate between four and five this afternoon.

Sophie’s car was found moments ago, dumped in a local park by one of our teams on the ground.

It’s allowed us to reduce our search parameters to the area of Govan.

Logistically, it makes sense, unless they’ve moved them by vehicle.

But my intuition says no. They’re there.

Waiting for us. And it’s going to be bad.

“Arnot’s Shipbuilders,” Boyd repeats back to whoever called his phone moments ago. “You’re sure?” he pauses, listening. “Send every man there, but wait on the perimeter for me to arrive.” He disconnects the call, then turns to me. “We’ve found them.”

***

A minimal number of men are left in Parker premises across the city. It’s a risk, but if our information is correct, we are going to need every bit of manpower at the warehouse. My gut tells me this is what Drayton wanted―a final showdown. Man-to-man combat.

He’s going to get his wish. If he wants blood, he’ll get mine. But he won’t leave standing.

Evan and my mother are back at the fashion house, surrounded by security. I held my son in my arms and promised I’d bring his mum back. Letting him down wasn’t an option.

My mother placed her lips on my cheek, then moved to Boyd. They stood in front of each other, conversing silently. She took his face in her hands and kissed him.

“I love you,” she whispered. “You’ve always been my hero. Please bring my family home.”

My suspicions have proven to be true. Their relationship was much more than employer and employee. A part of me is glad. Another part feels the weight of what they’re risking.

***

Our team is stationed around the building. The empty yard it sits in makes it impossible to access unseen. There’s nowhere to hide. We are going to have to make our way across the open space. If they have marksmen set up, they could pick us off like ducks.

Since we arrived twenty minutes ago, there’ve been no signs of life.

Not a sound. But earlier, the first of our men on the scene saw dozens of packed cars entering the building.

There could be hundreds of the enemy inside.

The huge metal doors screech as they are opened from the inside, taking us all by surprise.

It’s nearly pitch black, only a few lowly streetlamps lighting up the vast space.

A rough engine springs to life, and the same car pulls forward into the dim light.

The women are still tied to the roof. Drayton hits the gas and races around the yard, turning the car violently from side to side. I move and Boyd puts his hand on my arm.

“He’s goading you,” he warns. “They’re alive. Their bodies are too rigid to be anything else.”

The car screeches to a stop at the entrance of the warehouse under a pool of bleak light. Drayton steps out, holding his hands in the air, turns three hundred and sixty degrees, then takes a bow for his audience, then he retreats to the safety of the building.

The passenger door then opens, and a woman with a long, sleek, dark hair down to her ass appears. She walks to the front of the car and waves.

No. It can’t be.

My pulse roars in my ears.

Ebony.

“The Parker family screwed me for years. This is my revenge. Poor little Ebony gets the last laugh,” she shouts into the darkness. “Joel, your pathetic little wife can rot in hell for all I care.” She turns and follows the same path Drayton did.

I can’t breathe.

I trusted her. Lifted her out of hell.

I supported her through her worst, when no one else would.

Ultimately, I forgave her. And she’s been playing us the entire time.

My heart sinks as my rage boils over. Ebony’s been the mole all along. I feel like a fucking idiot. A man played by a friend I thought I knew.

For the first time, the women on the car roof move, straining against their bindings. One of them wriggles free of the rope holding her arms. In the poor light, I can’t see who, only that her hands are now moving to her mouth. She pulls the gag from her lips, and Nicky’s voice rises into the air.

“Joel!” she screams. “They’re behind you.”

A gun fires, the sound deafening.

Fire sears through my neck, then the whole of hell lets loose.

The shot explodes like thunder in my skull. My legs buckle.

I crouch to the ground, my palm pressing hard against where the bullet hit me. Blood pours through my fingers, my vision blurring. All I can think about is getting her to safety or fucking die trying.

Drayton’s mob descends upon us; my men are in hand-to-hand combat surrounding me. Flashes of metal swirl around me as knives are pulled from waistbands to ward off the enemy. Guns fire in all directions, the noise mind-blowing.

They are prepared.

We are on the back foot.

We’re fighting for our lives.

Looking over to where the car sits, I see Nicky frantically untying Sophie from the roof. The two women jump down, then disappear from view.

Seeing my chance, I run for the warehouse across the open space. As I arrive at the door, Drayton’s huge form steps out in front of me.

How I’m still standing, I don’t know, blood pouring from my neck and running down my chest. I block it from my mind. I need to keep going.

“Joel Parker,” he says with a sneer, “finally, I get you here, on your own. This has been a long time coming.”

I look around the dim building as he speaks, desperate to find my wife, but she’s nowhere to be seen.

“Looking for someone?” He laughs, and my temper breaks.

I lunge at him, knocking us both to the ground.

We roll around, fists flying. I need to kill the bastard.

He flips me onto my back, holding my throat in his grasp, pinning me to the cold ground.

He smiles at me, like a man with nothing to lose.

“You’re paying the debt from your father tonight, boy. It’s a shame really. I always kind of liked you. But debts are due. You pay with your life.”

He pulls a handgun from his boot, raising his hand high and cracking it over my head.

The world blinks out like a snuffed candle.