‘So what you thinking?’ Hayes peered at him and hooked a piece of bread out of his teeth with a fingernail.
‘I don’t know,’ Spencer said quietly. ‘I’ve just got a feeling.’
‘I bet you have.’ Hayes grinned. ‘I got quite a feeling myself when she answered the door dressed like that. Good-looking bird.’
Spencer frowned, irritated by the way the man was talking. But he couldn’t blame him, he supposed. Suzie was pretty hot, and with only a pyjama top on tonight, her slim legs going on for ever, he’d had to force himself not to stare.
‘Fancy a fag?’ Hayes asked.
‘No.’ Spencer shook his head and started the engine. ‘Something’s bugging me. I think we should go back and make sure she’s OK.’
‘Mate, it’s nearly an hour since we were there, so she’ll be sleeping by now,’ Hayes said. ‘And we haven’t had any more complaints from the woman next door, so surely you’re not thinking of knocking her up again?’
‘We’ll just do a slow drive past,’ Spencer said, reversing out of the spot.
‘My man’s got it bad,’ Hayes teased, grinning as he clicked his seat belt into position.
Ignoring him, Spencer pulled out onto the deserted road.
‘Any word from your brothers?’ Carol asked, peering out through the glass in the door.
‘Not yet,’ her son Steve said, checking his phone. ‘Want me to bell him?’
‘No, they’ll ring if they’ve got something to tell us,’ she said. ‘Anyone got fags?’
Steve tossed a cigarette to her and another to his brother before lighting his own.
Squinting as she sucked on it, Carol suddenly froze. ‘It’s her,’ she said.
‘Who?’ Steve asked.
‘The girl I was telling you about,’ Carol said, quickly stubbing the cigarette out and stuffing it into her dressing gown pocket.
‘Ma, what you doing?’ both lads asked when she pushed the door open.
‘Come with me,’ she said, pulling the dressing gown tighter around herself before lurching outside.
Holly had been hiding for what felt like hours in the wardrobe. A man had come into the room and looked around a short time ago, and she’d almost pissed herself in fear when he had slid the wardrobe door open. Her heart had been pounding so hard in her chest she had thought she was going to pass out when he pushed his hand through the clothes on the hangers, but there were so many of them squeezed inside he hadn’t spotted her cowering in the shadows behind.
She’d started breathing again when she heard him go back down the stairs, and when she had heard the kitchen door click shut she’d decided to risk climbing out and taking her phone over to the window to see if she could get a signal. The voices coming up from downstairs had been a lot quieter since the police called round, and she had begun to wonder if she had got it all wrong and they were actually friends of Suzie and Rob, that the screams she’d heard had come from a film they were all watching.
What about that laugh – the one from your nightmare? a voice had piped up inside her head. You didn’t imagine that, did you?
Shuddering again at the memory, she peered out through the window and stared over at the flats. She’d thought her mum must have heard her voicemail when the police came round, but there were no lights on at the flat so she realized someone else must have called them.
A movement below the window caught her eye and a little cry of fear escaped her lips when she looked down and saw two men she’d never seen before staring up at her. Thinking that it must be the men from downstairs, that they had caught her, she was confused when she noticed her nosy neighbour, Carol, standing between them. Was this something to do with her? Had she sent someone round to beat Rob and Suzie up because of the argument she’d had with Suzie?
Carol was gesturing to her, and it took a few seconds before Holly understood that she was telling her to open the window. Terrified that it was a trick and the others were going to come up behind her and push her out, she bit down on her hand and twisted her head to look at the door before glancing back to Carol. The woman gestured again and, at last, Holly moved.
‘Is someone in the house?’ Carol whispered when the window was open. ‘Are you in danger?’
Holly nodded and her eyes darted behind her again.
‘How many?’ Carol asked.
Holly mouthed I don’t know.
‘OK, climb out and drop down,’ Carol hissed. ‘My lads will catch you, I promise.’
Holly shook her head, terror flaring in her eyes at the thought of falling to her death.
‘You can do it,’ Carol cajoled. ‘Come on, love, your mam’s waiting for you and I promised I’d fetch you home to her.’
Holly’s heart lurched in her chest. If her mum was home, why hadn’t she answered her phone? And why were there no lights on?
Down below, one of the lads was showing his phone to Carol, and the woman’s eyes widened when she saw whatever was on the screen. Looking up at Holly again, there was an urgency in her voice when she hissed, ‘You need to jump right now! I’m not messing about love, just do it!’
44
‘What was that?’ Austin hissed, snapping his head round when he heard a noise outside the back door. ‘Someone’s out there.’
‘Go check,’ Dom ordered, still holding the knife to Rob’s throat, his hand on the gun he’d stuffed into his waistband.
Gripping the baseball bat firmly between both hands, Austin edged towards the door. He’d almost reached it when he heard a muted thud, and he cried out in pain when the lock exploded inwards and blood seeped through his jeans.
‘I’ve been shot!’ he yelped, dropping the bat and clutching at his leg. ‘I’ve been fuckin’ shot!’
Three men rushed
