Page 93 of Parker

She nods once. And in her eyes, I see something dangerous.

A thirst for revenge.

Chapter forty-one

Joel & Nicky's Home, Glasgow

January 2022

Nicky

The buzzer sounds for the entrance gate. Joel isn’t home yet; maybe he forgot his key. I walk over to the intercom to check who it is. No more risks. I’ve learned from my mistakes.

“Hello?”

"It's me," Sophie answers, and I immediately hit the entry button.

Looking out the living room window, I see her walk briskly up the driveway. That’s strange. Where’s her car? Her eyes are locked on the house, but every so often, she quickly looks around, as if she’s scanning for danger. Her movements are twitchy, almost those of a deer being stalked. Maybe the security guards make her uneasy. I step out on the porch to greet her, and she runs into my arms.

“Soph,” I whisper, concerned. “What happened? Come inside, let’s get you warm.” She shakes violently as tears run down her face.

“Where’s Evan?” she demands, her voice vibrating with fear.

“Imelda has him. They’re with Boyd. They wanted to give me a day to myself. Honey, tell me what’s wrong?”

“He came to the shop,” she stammers. “Looking for you and Evan.”

“Who did?” I ask, confused.

“Drayton,” she whispers. “That’s who he said he was. He was huge, Nicky, with the tattoos and broken teeth like you described.” My entire body chills. “He said you and him had an agreement, but you hadn’t kept up your end of the deal.”

“An agreement?” I snap. “What did that bastard say?”

“You were his insider in the Parker family. You were leaking information to him for years. Helping him set up this takeover.” She lowers her voice and looks around the room. “Are there cameras in here?”

“No, of course not. Tell me what he said, Soph. Exactly.” Dread curdles in my gut. My fingers tighten into fists. That bastard is back. She hands me a piece of paper, a surveillance photo of Imelda pushing Evan in his pram this morning. “Where did you get this?”

“He gave me it with a message. This was taken today on their morning walk. He told me she will take him for a walk again at six this evening. That’s what she always does.” Her face twists as if in pain. “When they do, Evan won’t make it home unless you do as he says.”

My heart freefalls, and I reach for my phone.

“No,” she squeals. “Joel can’t know.”

She’s speaking through sobs, barely holding it together.

“What does he want?”

“We need to be at this location by five. Just us.” She passes me a scrap of paper with some coordinates scribbled at the center. “If there is a hint of security, he’ll give the order; the team watching Evan will pounce. He wouldn’t tell me anything else.”

My mind whirs. Images of my baby being dragged from his pram flood my vision. I won't let that happen.

The coordinates lead to a disused shipbuilding warehouse in Govan, located near the river. The company went bust years ago. No one has yet bought the building.

“Did he say anything else?” I prompt Sophie. “Are we to bring anything?”

She shakes her head.

“Just to be there at five. No security. No funny business.” She whimpers again. “What are we going to do?”