"Pansy bloody fools. How is a man supposed to make a living, eh? They were fed, they had a life. Nothing wrong with breeding dogs. Your father bred horses and cows."
"Yes, he did, but at no time did he treat his animals with the contempt you have. They were fed well, unlike the pup you brought in here. Mr Stubbs, that dog was so malnourished, it broke my heart. You can't do that to an animal, it's inhumane." Rooney doubted she would get through to him but she had to try, at least until help came.
He laughed bitterly, the spittle running down his chin. "Inhumane. Fuck you. Because of your meddling, I've lost my livelihood. That's going to cost you, lady."
He stepped forward and Rooney backed away as he pointed the knife at her.
"Mr Stubbs, please stop and think about this before you do something you'll regret."
"Already done that. Regret selling you and your nosy brother the dogs. Bet he had something to do with this as well. Bloody upstarts you are."
The sound of sirens in the distance gave Rooney a small glimmer of hope, but she didn't count on the quick reaction of the drunken man in front of her. He grabbed her in his hulking arms and wrapped one arm around her throat, pulling her back to his chest. The smell of grease, sweat and alcohol made her stomach lurch and she swallowed it back, hard.
A car screeched to a halt, followed by another. A door slammed and feet pounded on the stones outside, slowing as they neared the door.
Rooney let the tears come when she saw Stevie standing in the door. "Let her go, Stubbs."
"No. She's ruined me, she has to pay." He lifted the knife and held it at the side of Rooney's throat.
Stevie took the gun from the halter at his hip and lifted it. "I will use this if I have to. Put the knife down, now." He spread his legs and took a quick look at Rooney, then back to Stubbs.
"Back off, cop, or she gets her throat cut." Mr Stubbs walked backward with his arm still around her throat and she gasped for air.
Help me please, Stevie. Don't let him kill me. There is too much for us to discover, a child to raise and maybe more to come. She begged him with her eyes, but he kept his gaze firmly on her captor.
A sound at the back door made her ears prick up. There was someone out there too. Covering all bases, they wouldn't let him take her out of here.
"You may as well throw the knife down and give up. The place is surrounded." Stevie held the gun pointed straight at them, his hand steady, gaze hard.
"If you don't back off, I'll slice her now." To show he meant it, the knife moved closer, the pressure of the sharp blade cutting the skin.
Rooney gasped as the cut stung, her breathing rising as panic set in.
He was careful to keep himself behind her and his back to the wall, not giving the police a clear shot at him. "Tell them to back off and come around front where I can see them or I'll cut her deeper. The next time might be harder." He waited five seconds and ran the knife over the side of her throat.
"Dennis, stand down and come around the front, now!" Stevie held his stance, his glare reserved for Stubbs alone.
Rooney closed her eyes. He was going to get away with it, taking her away and hurting her in return for what she did to him. There was so much more she wanted to do. She wanted to watch Tam grow up into a young woman and fall in love. She wanted to give Stevie a chance to change her mind and sweep her off her feet. Now her future was disappearing in front of her eyes. All she had worked for was going to be swept away with the stroke of a blade at her throat. That was if he didn't make her suffer before he got that far.
She opened her eyes and tried to read something, anything, on Stevie's face, but he was intent on Mr Stubbs. Dennis walked in behind him, holding his hands up to show he had put his weapon down.
"Don't even think of following us or she's dead."
Tears ran down her face as Stubbs dragged her out through the back of the surgery. He held her in front of him and dragged her backwards until they reached his car. Mr Stubbs took his hand off her arm and reached for the handle, pulling the door open. Rooney looked toward the front door and saw Dennis standing inside watching, his hands down at his side.
A crunch of footsteps sounded on stone and the blade dug into Rooney's throat, slicing deeper as a scream rose in her throat. A shot rang out and she fell to the ground, the warmth of blood covering her face and running down her throat.
The last thing she heard was Stevie calling for an ambulance.
Chapter 30
"I guess that was money well spent then," Russ cradled the phone between his shoulder and ear, listening to Tory give the report regarding his soon to be ex-wife Paula. "I can't wait to call and tell her what I know."
"Would you rather I did it through her solicitor, might carry a bit more weight that way."
"Makes me seem a bit weak doesn't it? But I guess you're right."
"I'll send a follow up letter to her and her solicitor as well. I'm sorry about this, Russ. I thought everything would go through without any hassles."
"Wasn't your problem Tory. It was my fault for using someone I
