Topspin (38 page)

Jack exchanged a surprised glance with Tania and then hunkered down to Dimitri’s level. “No, son,” he said. “I’m one of the good guys.”

Tania whispered something to Dimitri in Russian. He giggled, hesitated for a moment, and then stepped forward, peering curiously into Jack’s eyes.

“I’m Dimitri,” he said. “What’s your name?”

“Jack. Were you brave when those nasty men came?”

“Yes. I looked after Mama. I have to do that all the time because my daddy’s not here—”

“Dimitri, that’s enough!”

“I was just telling Jack about Papa. He’s not here, but he loves me, and he’ll be back one day. I know that because Mama told me. But when he’s not here, I have to look after Mama because that’s what he’d want me to do.”

“He loves you, all right,” Jack said, looking at Tania rather than his son. “You can count on that.”

“Mama was going to hit the bad man on the head with the picture she took from the wall,” he said, sounding almost disappointed that she hadn’t been given the opportunity to put her plan into action. “
Bam!
” He lifted both arms above his head and brought them crashing down on some imaginary target. “And then she was going to grab his gun and shoot him lots of times to make him sorry for what he did.”

Jack couldn’t help it. His heart was bursting with all sorts of emotions he’d never experienced before, and the urge to touch his son was too strong to resist. He swept him off his feet, into his arms, careful to keep him away from his bloody shoulder. He didn’t even feel the pain that shot through it as he bore his son’s weight for the first time, six years too late. He wanted to weep with the relief he felt at helping to keep the boy safe, even in spite of the ultimate price Pete had paid to help him achieve his objective.

He looked into his son’s animated face. He was still full of tales about how single-handedly he would have overcome their assailants, protected his mother, and made them scuttle off with their tails between their legs. The whole ordeal must have terrified him, but to a child’s simplistic way of thinking it had already been redefined as one big adventure. Something to brag about at school.

Jack realized with a start that he didn’t know where his son went to school, what games he liked to play, whether he liked football, what team he supported. Perhaps he was into video games, like most kids nowadays. More fundamentally, though, Jack didn’t even know when his son’s birthday was.

Well, all that was about to change.

Dimitri wriggled in Jack’s arms, not because he wanted to get down but simply to settle himself into a more comfortable position. He had the same intense blue eyes as Jack. The same crooked smile Jack had sported at that age and, apparently, the same gruesome bloodlust. Jack smiled and glanced across at Tania, who looked as though she was struggling to hold back tears.

The door opened and Cyril joined them.

“You all right?” he asked Tania. She nodded but didn’t speak, her gaze still focused on Jack and Dimitri. “And you, champ,” he said, ruffling Dimitri’s hair. “Did you keep your mama safe?”

“Of course!”

Cyril chuckled. “Let’s take them home in your motor, Jack,” he said. “Tyson’ll clear up the mess here. There’s help on the way, but you need to get that shoulder seen to.”

Jack got Cyril’s drift. His authority had been challenged by the kidnapping of Tania from his own club. News of it would soon leak out, and if Cyril hadn’t been seen to take swift and brutal revenge then it would be regarded as weakness on his part. Kevin was dead. Wilf would soon wish that he was too. Jack knew that if he wanted it, he’d be granted the privilege of making that wish come true. But that part of his life—the violence, the revenge attacks, always being the tough man—was behind him now. He’d got another taste of it tonight, and he hadn’t found it palatable.

Tyson and Cyril’s help would deal with everything, including Pete, but Jack didn’t want to think about that right now. He needed to hold it together and be strong for Tania and the kid. The crew would repair the back door, set the house to rights. He doubted the owners would even know anything untoward had happened. But then, that was Cyril all over. He was a man who got things done.

“Sure thing,” Jack said.

Cyril nodded as he ushered them toward the door. “I doubt anyone heard those shots, but there’s no point taking chances.”

Jack looked down at his son, whose eyes were now beginning to droop, and shared a smile with Tania. “You ready?”

“I ’ave been ready for this for a long time.”

Jack didn’t have a clue what she meant. “Let’s go then,” he said.

Jack and Cyril instinctively shielded Tania from the sight of the bodies in the hall by placing themselves between her and them. Dimitri’s eyes were now fully closed and he saw none of it. If Tania did, then she displayed no emotion. She greeted Tyson with a series of hugs, which appeared to both please and unsettle the big man, making Jack smile. He’d never seen anyone hug Tyson before.

They let themselves out of the ruined kitchen door and retraced their steps around the side of the end house. When they reached Jack’s car, he opened the rear door for Tania. She slid in and he reached down to pass the sleeping Dimitri into her arms. Their hands briefly touched and he felt a familiar electric charge course through his bloodstream. One he’d never thought to experience again. Meeting her gaze, he held it for a moment, wondering, allowing himself to think the previously unthinkable.

No!
He pulled his hand away so fast that he obviously surprised her, shut the door with unnecessary force, and rounded the bonnet to get to the driver’s seat. He called Calvin Peters every name under the sun as he did so, cursing the coincidence that had brought him to Porchfield at this particular moment in time
.
What were the odds of him finishing up there when there were hundreds of other clubs he could just as easily have been drawn to?

If he hadn’t seen him in action again, hadn’t seen first-hand evidence of just what a slime bag he was, how women in general found it impossible to resist his reptilian charm, how he exploited his knowledge of Claire’s misdemeanors to get what he wanted from her, then perhaps time and the existence of his son might have caused memories of him and Tania together to fade.

But fate had intervened, and he knew he’d never be able to get it out of his head that Tania had gone to Calvin and given herself to him voluntarily. Apparently even Claire hadn’t done that. The image would always come between them, and Jack knew the damage was irreparable.

Jack slammed the car into drive so forcefully that his shoulder screamed in protest. Cyril cast him a look, but had the good sense not to comment on Jack’s somber mood, speaking only to give directions through Croydon’s one-way system. Tania sat in the back and said nothing at all. When they reached the club, Jack opened the rear door and held out his arms to take Dimitri from Tania.

“You do not ’ave to stay. We will be quite safe now.”

“I’ll carry him up for you,” he said. “I want to know a whole lot more about him before I go anywhere.”

“If you insist.”

Tania tossed her head, sniffed, and having passed Dimitri into Jack’s arms, walked ahead of him without another word. Cyril disappeared into the club. It was an American-themed speakeasy, aimed at those with a bit of dosh to spare, rather than teenage drug addicts. Jack reckoned Cyril had found a niche in the market because the place seemed to be doing a roaring trade. He chuckled as two attractive hostesses wearing tight dresses slashed to their thighs materialized out of nowhere, each of them taking one of Cyril’s arms. VIP treatment reserved for the boss, obviously.

“His room’s down here.” Tania led the way into her flat and down a narrow corridor, opening a door on the right.

Jack laid his son on the bed. Tania removed his shoes and outer clothing without disturbing him. Jack lifted him again so that she could pull back the covers and place him between them, pulling them up to his chin when he was safely ensconced. They were putting their son to bed together, as naturally as though they’d done it a thousand times before. He glanced at Tania and suspected she too was reflecting upon wasted opportunities. Jack brushed the hair from Dimitri’s brow and dropped a kiss on it.

“He looks just like you,” Tania whispered.

“Yeah.”

Reluctantly, Jack stood up and followed Tania from the room. She left the door slightly ajar and a night light burning.

“He’s afraid of the dark.”

“With good reason, after what he’s just been through.”

They entered the sitting room, which Jack noticed was pristine. He guessed the kitchen would be too. Cyril, the hard gangland boss whom everyone feared, had found the time to phone someone and got them to clear up all signs of Kevin and Wilf’s presence, leaving no unpleasant reminders for Tania and Dimitri. Jack chuckled. It wasn’t often that Cyril revealed his soft underbelly. Tania must mean a lot to him.

Tania, without asking, poured Jack a large glass of bourbon, with just the amount of ice he preferred, no water. He took the glass from her, careful to avoid contact with her fingers.

“Thanks. Aren’t you having anything?”

“No. I’m tired.”

“Of course. That was stupid of me. Go to bed, then.”

“In a minute. Take your shirt off first.”

Jack raised a brow and flashed a languid grin. “What, now?”

“I need to clean up that wound because I don’t suppose you’ll go to the hospital.”

“Nope.”

He pulled his shirt over his head, not quite able to suppress a grunt as the pain hit him. Tania had disappeared and returned with a bowl of warm water, salve, and dressings.

“Don’t be such a baby,” she scolded when he winced at her touch. “It’s not a deep wound, and I’m not hurting you.”

Little did she know!
It wasn’t her gentle probing that agitated. It was the searing of his skin beneath her fingertips wherever she touched him that was making him uncomfortable, but probably not for the reasons she supposed.

“You’re a brutal woman.”

“Don’t make so much fuss.” She efficiently applied a dressing to the affected area. “Dimitri wouldn’t be so squeamish, I think. There.” She sat back and nodded with satisfaction. “It’s done. Now, you want to know about your son.”

“Tomorrow will be soon enough. I’ve waited this long,” he said after a significant pause, “so I guess a few more hours can’t hurt.”

“If that was supposed to make me feel guilty, it won’t work.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, Tania?”

“Would you ’ave believed he was your child?”

He should have anticipated that, probably deserved it, and wasn’t sure how to respond. “You still should have told me,” he said lamely.

“Well, you know now.” She stood above him, arms akimbo. “So what are you going to do about it? I won’t have him upset. He has grand ideas about his father coming to be with him one day, and I won’t spoil his dream. Better he never knows who his father is than he’s disappointed.”

“You think I’ll be a disappointment to him?”

“You will be if he never sees you.”

“We’ll work something out. But tomorrow. You look beat.”

“Where will you sleep?”

He patted the settee he was sitting on. “This looks comfortable enough.”

“Go to a hotel, Zac. Nothing will happen to us now.”

“No, this’ll do.” Jack was reluctant to leave and told himself it was because he wanted to stay close to his son. “I won’t get in your way.”

“Well, all right.” She spoke with transparent reluctance. “Just for tonight, then.”

Tania disappeared and returned almost immediately, throwing a pillow and blanket in his direction.

“Thanks.”

“Good night,” she said, turning abruptly on her heel and shutting the door behind her.

Jack waited, sipping at his drink, until he thought he heard the bathroom door open and close and then another door quietly shutting. He waited a few minutes more, wanting to be sure she wouldn’t re-emerge, before going in search of the bathroom himself. She’d made it abundantly clear that she didn’t welcome his presence in her flat, and he didn’t want her to feel threatened by his refusal to leave.

Deeming it safe to move at last, he headed down the corridor. The bathroom was on the left, immediately opposite his son’s bedroom. He pushed the door open, careful not to make any noise, and simply gazed at the child as he slept, flat on his back, limbs thrown in all directions. His child, his future! The fierce pride and unconditional love that swelled inside his chest was almost painful. It was unlike anything he’d ever known before.

Creeping quietly from the room, he knew he wouldn’t be able to walk away without resolving a few issues with Tania first. Whatever objections she might throw in his path, it was desperately important to him that Dimitri should know who he was. The child needed to understand that his father wanted to be a part of his life.

Jack stripped down to his boxers, folded his clothes over a chair, and stretched out on his make-shift bed, knowing sleep would be a long time coming. He stared at the patterns caused by the lights outside the club dancing across the ceiling and listened to the late night revelers noisily leaving the premises two floors below. He hoped they wouldn’t disturb his son. Dimitri badly needed to sleep after all he’d just endured.