Ruby’s anxious thoughts wouldn’t go away. For the rest of the night she remained on edge and by the end of her shift she was glad to lock up and go home. But as she made the journey to her luxury home in Altrincham, Ruby still felt anxious and downhearted. After things had been going so well, she couldn’t believe that in the space of one night, things had taken such a drastic change for the worse.
49
June 2011
Ruby had been churning things over for days, her mind in so much turmoil that she found it difficult to eat and sleep. She refused to let Tiffany run the reception desk alone in case those guys returned, which meant she had now worked five nights in a row, and she was shattered.
Whenever she was inside the massage parlour she couldn’t relax, expecting the thugs to return at any time or even for Gilly to pay a visit. And even when she was at home she wasn’t completely at ease. What was to stop any of them finding out where she lived and harming either her or Tiffany?
The sound of Tiffany speaking broke into Ruby’s troubled thoughts. ‘Rubes, where’s those sausages I bought?’
‘What sausages?’ asked Ruby.
‘Y’know, the ones I bought the other day. You were with me when I bought them.’
‘I don’t know, do I?’ Ruby snapped. I wish my only worry in life was where to find the bloody sausages, she thought, bitterly. ‘Why don’t you try looking in the freezer or summat?’
‘I have done,’ said Tiffany, ‘and they’re not there.’
Ruby could tell by Tiffany’s tone that she was becoming exasperated with her and it wasn’t long until Tiffany came to join her on the sofa. ‘We can’t go on like this y’know, Rubes,’ she said, patting Ruby’s shoulder in her usual affectionate way.
‘What the fuck you talking about?’ asked Ruby.
Tiffany pulled her hand away, sat back and glared at Ruby. ‘That,’ she yelled. ‘That’s what I’m fuckin’ talking about! I know you’ve got your problems, Ruby, but there’s no need to take them out on me and every fucker else.’
Ruby stared back. It was rare for Tiffany to lose her temper and for a moment she was shocked. But her girlfriend’s display had done the trick. It had made her realise how difficult she had been to live with for the past few days, and how unfair she was being to her.
She sighed. ‘You’re right, Tiffany. I shouldn’t take it out on you but, to be honest, girl, I’m fuckin’ worried sick.’
‘I know you are,’ said Tiffany, moving forward but stopping short of touching Ruby’s shoulder again. ‘But we can’t go on like this,’ she repeated.
‘What do you suggest then?’ Ruby bit back sarcastically.
‘I don’t know, Rubes, but something’s got to change.’
Tiffany then got up from the sofa and went through to the kitchen, leaving Ruby to ponder over what she had said.
In the end Ruby decided that Tiffany was right; she couldn’t go on like this. She needed to take control. After all, she had never let men intimidate her in all her adult life, so why should she start now? Sod the protection racket! They couldn’t force her to pay if she didn’t want to. Let them do their worst. She carried her own protection anyway and she was prepared to use it if necessary. And, as for Tiffany, she’d do her best to make sure that she didn’t let her out of her sight.
If Ruby was going to stand up to these men then she would have to start somewhere, and she’d decided to start with Gilly. He was clearly toying with her, waiting for the right time to take his revenge. But she’d had enough of sweating it out waiting for him to make a move; instead she would go to him.
*
Ruby felt that there might be a connection between Gilly and the thugs who had entered the massage parlour demanding protection money. It seemed a bit of a coincidence that the men should visit her just as he was due to be released. And there was a chance Gilly might have known about Victor’s death if Crystal had blabbed her mouth off to him.
While Ruby had never known Gilly to be involved in protection rackets, she knew he had contacts and she wouldn’t put anything past him. He might have sent the men just to scare her as a twisted way to get his revenge. So she intended to end the situation once and for all and have it out with him.
She had timed it so that none of the working girls would be inside the Rose and Crown, arriving after she knew they would be working the streets. It would only complicate matters if Crystal were there. Crystal knew of Gilly’s plan for revenge and she might try to calm things down before Ruby had a chance to deliver her message.
When she walked inside the pub Gilly was standing at the bar chatting to his cronies. But Ruby knew she wouldn’t confront him in the pub. No, this was better taking place outside, away from prying eyes.
She marched up to him and said, boldly, ‘I want a word with you! Outside.’
Ruby strode out of the pub purposefully to the sound of a barrage of questions aimed at Gilly. She also heard Gilly following behind as she had known he would; his ego was too big to stand down a challenge from a woman. Ruby had deliberately chosen
