It took a while until she had cried out her anguish and managed to calm herself down. Ruby had to get back to reception. She didn’t want to arouse suspicion. Nobody must know about the terrifying threat that hung over them. And Rose would already be suspicious.
Ruby got up off the bed and went into the adjoining bathroom. She stared into the mirror at the pink puffiness around her eyes and noticed how flushed she was before switching on the cold tap and rinsing her face. When her cheeks had cooled she walked down the stairs, locked the door to her dungeon and prepared herself to face Rose.
‘Are you OK?’ asked Rose, her face still full of concern.
‘Yes, sorry about that,’ said Ruby. ‘I’ve got a dicky tummy.’
‘You sure?’ asked Rose, clearly sceptical.
‘Yeah, I’ll be OK. It’s probably the takeaway I had last night.’
‘You sure it’s not about those guys upsetting you?’
‘What guys? Oh, them? Nah. I told you, they’re just trying it on. It’d take more than a bunch of drips like them to bother me.’
Her act was convincing, especially coming from someone as strong-willed as Ruby, and Rose soon returned to the waiting area, leaving Ruby to run the reception desk. For the rest of the night Ruby tried to carry on as normal, smiling politely at the customers and sharing banter with the girls. But although she managed to convince them all that everything was fine, the reality was just the opposite.
She knew Kyle and what he was capable of and as Ruby chatted, smiled and laughed at the right times she couldn’t belie what she was feeling inside. Kyle’s visit had changed everything. As well as sabotaging her business, it had destroyed her peace of mind, and nothing would ever be the same again.
51
July 2011
It was the second time Kyle had called to collect his money and, as she looked across the reception counter at him, Ruby couldn’t hide the scowl on her face. She hated him! And she begrudged having to pay her hard-earned money to him in order to buy his so-called protection. The look that he gave her in return told Ruby he was well aware of her resentment.
She was tempted to refuse payment, but the sight of him sent a shudder of fear through her and she felt powerless. Kyle had turned up alone, confident that he didn’t even need his goons to elicit fear into her and persuade her to pay up. Ruby reached into the drawer under the reception counter and withdrew an envelope full of cash.
As she reluctantly handed the envelope to him, Kyle grinned smugly. ‘Well, things seem to be working out alright don’t they?’ he asked as he tucked the cash away. ‘I take it you’ve had no trouble?’
‘No,’ said Ruby.
She wondered if it would make any difference if they had. The term protection was clearly a misnomer. Kyle was here for one reason only and that was his own personal gain. But it didn’t stop him going along with the pretence.
‘As we’ve been doing such a good job for you, I think we deserve a little reward for our services,’ he said, still wearing a smug grin.
‘What?’
‘Well, there’s no point looking after a sweet shop if you can’t help yourself to the candy, is there?’
‘No!’ yelled Ruby.
‘Calm the fuck down!’ he hissed, looking around to make sure she hadn’t drawn attention to them as he grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed, digging his nails into the soft flesh. ‘If I say me and my men can have freebies, then we’ll fuckin’ have them. We’ll be back tomorrow night so you’d better fuckin’ line up your best girls because if you don’t, this place will go up like a fuckin’ inferno.’
Before Ruby had a chance to protest any further, he was gone. This latest threat struck terror into Ruby, her heart pounding as her fear intensified. She knew she’d have to go along with it; she was frightened of what might happen if she didn’t. But how could she expect her girls to work for free? They all worked for themselves, charging their own fees and just paying her for the rooms. How could she persuade them not to charge, without raising their suspicions?
In the end she decided on a cover story. She would tell the girls it was an arrangement where the client would pay her as a group booking and she would pay each of the girls their share. It would mean that the free services would actually come out of Ruby’s own profits but it was the only way she knew to keep the truth from the girls and, at the same time, keep Kyle and his gang happy.
*
Ruby had underestimated Rose who had been suspicious of Kyle’s men even before they started taking advantage of the services offered by the girls. But now, as she listened to Rose demanding to have a chat with her in a voice that was even more whiny than usual, and stared across the counter at her stony expression, Ruby knew she had trouble. It had only been a few days since Kyle had started his new arrangement and it was already causing problems.
‘Do you wanna go and make a cuppa?’ Ruby asked Tiffany who was working on reception with her that evening. She could tell as soon as Rose spoke that there was going to be a scene and she preferred it if Tiffany was out of the way. Although Ruby’s partner knew about the threat from the gang, she still didn’t know about Kyle’s involvement or his identity.
‘No, it’s OK. I’ll
