17 SUSPICIOUS TIMES
‘Now, now tiger, rein it in,’ Maggie laughed as she stood at the worktop making a cup of coffee with her back to Alex. His arms had wrapped around her waist and found their way up into her vest top, while he nuzzled her neck.
‘Why?’ he murmured in between kisses while he massaged her breasts. ‘The kids are at school, it’s still early and no staff are in yet.’
Putting her hand behind her, she could feel the hardness of his manhood against her back and felt her own excitement building, as his hand slipped down her leggings and stroked her gently. Turning around to face him, she kissed him lovingly. ‘I love you, Alex.’
‘I love you too. So does that mean I’m in with a chance?’ Alex asked, kissing her now exposed breasts.
Maggie felt her pulse racing. ‘We don’t have time to go back to bed.’
Slipping down her leggings, Alex steered her towards the dining table and bent her over it, while unzipping his trousers. ‘We don’t need a bed,’ he said and within a moment they were locked in passion as he thrust himself inside her.
‘Jesus Alex, where did that come from?’ Maggie panted as she stood up afterwards and straightened her clothing.
‘You’re a very sexy woman Maggie… what can I say?’
‘Well, whatever it is, keep doing it. You’re like your old self again. Where has this sudden burst of energy come from your randy bugger?’ She laughed and went to freshen up.
Sitting at the kitchen table to catch his breath, Alex thought about what she’d said. It was true that for a long time now he had been in a slump. Possibly even a bit of depression had crept in without him knowing it. But suddenly, since he had met Luke, he had adrenalin racing through his veins. He had money stashed away and felt more like his old self again. Life was dangerous, but it was fun and he had something to get up for in the mornings. Now he had his own things to think about and it had given him a new lease of life. Not only had he saved Luke’s life, he had breathed fresh air back into his own.
True to form, Luke had acquired two mobile phones for them which made life easier. And he’d done a few more jobs for Mark over the last couple of weeks too. Mark had brushed off the woman’s missing car. The woman had confirmed that Mark had picked it up and presumably delivered it and when the police had told her that her car was burnt out, she was happy to claim on her insurance.
It was the end of the month and that meant payday when everyone went out for dinner for with their kids. This meant they were busier than ever. People liked the food, the ambience and the friendliness of the staff. Sighing to himself, he waited for the call from downstairs asking for his help behind the bar.
Today, he really didn’t mind. The day had started off great and so he could afford to be benevolent. Checking himself in the mirror, he admired his pink shirt and sprayed on just a touch more aftershave.
Walking behind the bar and flashing a row of perfect white teeth at everyone, he walked up to one of the regulars who seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders.
‘What’s up, Martin? It’s payday, shouldn’t you be smiling?’ Picking up a glass, he started pouring him a pint of lager. ‘Where are your friends?’ Alex had nicknamed the three middle-aged married men who stood at the bar constantly moaning about their lives but doing nothing to change them, the witches’ coven.
‘They’re on their way. I’m on a taxi shift today, but Mick’s due in any minute now.’ No sooner had he said it than Mick walked in laughing. ‘Has he told you then?’ Mick bellowed.
Puzzled, Alex looked up. ‘Told me what?’ he asked.
‘Martin’s fed up because his wife hasn’t been giving him any since they stopped sleeping in the same bed. He tried his best yesterday and she totally pissed on his parade, didn’t she pal?’ The third member of the coven walked in and waited for his drink. Mick was about to carry on, but Alex held up his hand to stop him. ‘Hang on a minute, lad. Why don’t you sleep with your wife Martin?’ The very thought of not sharing a bed with Maggie was alien to Alex.
‘Snoring.’ Martin rolled his eyes to the ceiling while his friends burst out laughing.
‘What, yours or hers?’ Alex laughed. Blushing at being the brunt of the joke, Martin did his best to stop Mick from carrying on.
‘No way Martin, Alex has got to hear this. He’s been banished to the spare room cos she’s fed up of the noise. Anyway,’ Mick laughed while trying to tell the story, ‘he told his wife he had been cold in bed last night and thought about getting in with her. And what did she do Alex? She went out this morning and bought him an electric blanket!’ Everyone burst out laughing, even the customers who were eavesdropping.
‘Fuck her, she’s crap in bed anyway,’ mumbled Martin, trying to save face.
‘She’s fucked you up big time!’ bellowed Mick. ‘Look at Alex here, with that grin on his face. I’d say he’s getting it regular. Take a tip from him.’
‘You either have it or you don’t.’ Alex winked. And he definitely had it, he thought while casting a glance at Maggie who seemed to have an extra skip in her step today.
After a couple of hours, Alex looked at his watch. It was nearly his allotted time to speak to Luke. They always arranged a specific time to chat, that way Alex could be near his mobile. Spilling beer down his shirt purposely, he made his excuses to Maggie about changing it and headed to the bathroom. There behind an old vent he had stashed the mobile and he saw the mobile already lighting up with Luke’s call. Running the shower to hide his voice, Alex answered the call.
‘Alex mate, can you get out later? I want you to come to my place. You haven’t met my brother Kev yet, have you?’
‘No, why? I’m not sure about tonight, but what’s your brother got to do with anything?’
‘You need to meet him. We’ve had an idea and as I’m supposed to be dead, that’s where you come in. And don’t give me that shit about being tagged Alex. You’ve broken that curfew of yours more than once.’
Cursing himself, Alex realised he had fallen into his own lie, but intrigued, he couldn’t help asking, ‘Go on Luke, give me an idea. You can’t leave me hanging.’
‘Do you remember me telling you about the sideline I used to have with the prescription drugs? People would message me asking if I was working and I used to drop all kinds of stuff off for them. Well, I found an old mobile that still has hundreds of those messages on it. It’s just been shoved in a drawer, but I was thinking we could contact those numbers and ask them if they need anything…’
‘But Luke, people don’t just want cannabis and that’s all you have to offer at the moment.’
‘That’s why you need to meet my brother Kev. He has contacts, good ones who can get their hands on prescription drugs from real prescription pads. We could make money Alex… what do you think?’ Luke paused, waiting for an answer.
‘What do you need me for? It sounds like you have it all worked out. You go for it, Luke.’ Alex wanted to laugh, but didn’t. Luke reminded him of himself in his younger days. Anything to make the next payday come quicker.
‘Fuck Alex, I thought we were partners but you can be a boring bastard at times. I’ll put that down to your age.’ Luke laughed. ‘I’ve also found a good cocaine supplier too.’
‘So where do I come in?’ asked Alex suspiciously. ‘And who is this supplier you’ve found.’
‘Alex… I’m dead. Do I have to spell it out? We need a cover and someone with a disguised van who can park anywhere at any time is the perfect cover story. And the supplier is this woman from Scotland. I don’t know much about her but it’s good stuff; this woman doesn’t sell shit.’
Alex grinned. ‘A woman from Scotland who deals in drugs. Would her name be Diamond by any chance?’ Alex knew of a woman called Diamond who ran a very good syndicate and didn’t get her hands dirty.
‘I don’t know the details. I’ve never spoke to her. She’s a bit far up the ranks for me.’
Frowning, Alex pondered Luke’s words. The last he had heard, the Diamond woman had married a French man, if it was the same person they were talking about.
