Amber smiled and said ‘thanks’ but she wondered what she had done to deserve this special treatment, and from Kev Pike of all people. Perhaps he did genuinely like her. Amber’s other thought was that it had all been paid for by girls like her anyway so she might as well have what she wanted.
Her musings were addressed when he said, ‘I’ve had my eye on you for a while. You’re not like a lot of the other girls, all cocky and mouthy. You seem alright.’
She smiled again, lost for what to say. But she did recall his concern when Cora and her associate had beaten her up, which made her think that perhaps he did actually care about her.
Looking over towards the gents’, he said, ‘Be back in a minute.’ Then he left her sitting at the bar on her own while he went to the toilet.
He was so enigmatic, and she liked that about him too. Anybody else would have announced that they were going to the toilet but not Kev Pike. He preferred to be vague about where he was going even though it was obvious. Amber had had a fair bit to drink by now and was becoming dreamy. She had failed to notice that while she was sitting on the barstool her short skirt had ridden up till it was nearly revealing her underwear.
Amber snapped out of her reverie when she saw a young, red-haired man at the bar who was peering intently at her. He spoke when she looked up at him.
‘I fuckin’ know you. You’re one of them tarts that hang about at the back of Piccadilly. Me and my mates walked past you earlier tonight.’
With a sinking feeling Amber recognised the man and recalled the unpleasant encounter that had taken place earlier. The man turned to his friend who was standing the other side of him. ‘Hey, Ant, have you seen this? She’s that fuckin’ whore that we walked past before. Do you remember?’
Ant, who was showing the first signs of baldness despite his youth, stepped around him so that he could have a good look at Amber. ‘Fuckin’ hell, yeah,’ he said. ‘What’s a slapper like you doing in this place? Shouldn’t you be lying on your back somewhere, love?’
‘Piss off!’ said Amber, too drunk by now to exercise caution.
‘How much for you to suck my cock?’ Ant asked while his friend laughed raucously.
‘Just fuckin’ do one, will you?’ Amber snapped.
‘Or else?’ said Ant, sidling up to her till she could feel his hot breath on her face.
She pulled her head away but was saved from having to respond as Kev returned just at that moment. Without stopping to ask questions he grabbed Ant from behind and wrenched his arm up his back, pushing him into the bar and applying pressure till he was yelling to his friend for help. The red-haired man looked as though he was about to get involved but he was stopped when Kev released Ant’s arm and switched his attention to him, taking hold of his shirt lapels and ramming his fists up against his windpipe.
‘Don’t even fuckin’ think about it!’ he warned.
The man was clearly terrified; his eyes were wide open, and his bottom lip drawn back at the corners.
Ant struggled to turn around in the narrow space between Kev and the bar. Once he was on eye level with Kev, he seemed to deliberate over what to do. The sight of his petrified friend and his own throbbing arm were making him indecisive.
The red-haired man tried to shake his head to warn him off but only managed to flicker his eyes from left to right.
‘Alright, alright, we don’t want no trouble, mate,’ Ant said to Kev who glared at him but retained his hold of the other man.
‘You alright, Amber?’ Kev asked.
‘Yeah, nothing I’m not used to,’ she said.
By now the other customers had backed away and the barman had noticed the fracas. ‘Calm it down or you’re out on your arse and I’m calling the cops!’ he shouted but his voice had a panicked edge to it.
Kev let go of the man and glared from one to the other of them. ‘You’re lucky we’re in here,’ he said. ‘If we’d have been outside, I’d have kicked the fuck out of the pair of you! Now, piss off, and don’t you dare fuckin’ hassle one of my girls again.’ Then he turned to the barman as the two young men distanced themselves. ‘It’s fine,’ he said. ‘It’s sorted.’
The barman looked at him and, seeming to think better of taking things further, he walked away.
Kev sidled up to Amber and rested his hand on the small of her back. ‘Are they the same guys who were hassling you tonight?’
When she nodded, he asked, ‘You sure you’re alright?’
She giggled, waving her hand with an air of nonchalance. ‘Sure, I’m fine.’
Kev laughed. ‘You’re more than fine, you’re pissed.’
He looked across the bar area to where the two young men had joined their friends a few tables away. They were now deep in conversation and he recognised another of the men from earlier; the short, stocky one. He would have loved to have taught him a lesson but knew he couldn’t handle five at once. ‘Come on, let’s go,’ he said to Amber.
‘But I haven’t finished my drink,’ she protested, her drunkenness making her bold.
‘I’ll get you one another time,’ he said, grabbing her jacket and draping it across her shoulders.
Sensing his determination, Amber jumped down from the bar stool and followed him out of the building.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked when they were outside, expecting him to take her to another bar somewhere in the city centre.
‘Back to mine,’ he said. ‘Get in the car.’
35
November 1999
It was Amy’s twelfth birthday party and she had been allowed to have some friends round, which was unusual in her house. She was currently in her bedroom with her two best friends, Rachel
