Ava
I hadn’t been to Kirkingham since I was sixteen when Katie and I had stolen a car and driven through the night without a destination or a care in the world. It was the tiniest town in the back and beyond of nowhere, with a population of roughly two hundred down and outs. The best thing it offered was The Three Feathers, a rundown pub down a side street, which served a mean homebrew vodka and the best pie and peas I’d had in my entire life. Even now, nearly thirty years later, I still hadn’t eaten a better pie.
Stunned that Etta had last been spotted in this shit small town, I had checked in to the local hotel and my first night back saw me return to The Three Feathers.
“Vodka and cranberry, and pie and peas, please.”
The barmaid smiled at me, her two front teeth missing, and took my money. “Not from around here, are ya’, chuck?” She glanced at me curiously as she fixed my drink, naturally wondering why the hell a woman in her forties was foolish enough to risk her life in a pub full of offensive men.
Shaking my head, I slipped my backside onto the barstool and took a look around. “I was here some years ago. Fell in love with your pie, so thought I’d do a bit of reminiscing.”
Noticing the pool table at the back of the room, I smiled involuntarily when the memory of drunken me and Katie filtered through my mind. Two men were currently in the middle of a game, a few of their mates stood around watching. By the encouragement they were giving the men playing, it was evident they had a wager on the winner.
It was a busy night, most of the tables full, so I settled on my stool, sipped my drink and waited for my supper while watching the pool game progress. Several times a couple of guys shifted their eyes my way, probably also questioning if I had a death wish. The game became rowdier, the men growing louder the drunker they got, and when I sensed an encroaching fight, I turned my focus back to the bar.
“So, where’s home?” the landlady asked when I signalled for another drink. “Seem to recognise ya’ from somewhere.”
“Me and a friend stayed in town for a few weeks, but that was thirty years ago.”
She nodded, placing my replenished glass on the bar. “Maybe. Never forget a face, me.”
“Ava – fucking – Stone!”
Swivelling around on my stool at the sound of my name, I stared in shock at the woman beaming at me.
“Shit, it is you!”
“Janice!”
“Bloody hell!” She laughed as she pulled me into a tight embrace. “God, it’s been years!” she exclaimed, taking the stool beside me. “How the fuck are you?”
“I’m good. How the hell did you recognise me after thirty years?”
She reached for my hair and tugged on a strand. “Never forget these wild flames, hun.”
“You never got out then?” I asked. Katie, me and Janice had become friends for the few weeks we had stayed in town. Janice lived local and had been determined that she would one day escape ‘Doom Town’ as she had called it.
Clicking her tongue, she rolled her eyes. “Married the village idiot. Although I think that stupid idea earned me the same title.”
“That bad?”
“Worse. He wasn’t just the village idiot, he was the town slut as well!”
“Shit, hun.”
Taking a drink from her bottle, she nodded. “Too late to do much about it, so here I still am.”
Gesturing for the barmaid to get us another round, I rubbed the top of her arm. “Men can be bastards.”
“So, you still see Katie?” she asked, smiling at the barmaid when she brought our drinks.
Sighing, I took a large swallow of vodka before I answered her. “She died. A year after we were here.”
“Fuck! No way!” Blowing out a long breath, she lifted her bottle and tapped it against my glass. “To Katie.”
“Katie,” I echoed.
The men around the pool table had started to argue, their loud voices making it difficult to hear anyone but them, and the two guys who had been playing were pushing each other, evidently not agreeing over the last shot.
“Pipe it down, guys!” Janice shouted across the room to them.
One of the men swung his dark eyes her way, his lip curling into a sneer when he managed to focus on us. “What was that, bitch? You want my pipe down your throat?”
“Christ. Remind me why the hell I didn’t run from this shit stinking place, Ava?” Janice uttered to me before turning back to the guy and shouted, “Go fuck yourself, Petey!”
Straightening my shoulders, I readied myself for a fight when the guy snapped his pool cue in half over his knee and started to meander over to us, followed by a couple of his mates.
“Shit!” Janice huffed. “Never did learn to shut my big mouth.”
Laughing, I tapped her on the knee. “Don’t sweat it, hun. Been a while since my knuckles had a workout anyway.”
“You haven’t changed a bit,” she chuckled as she slid her sleeves up to her elbows and jumped off the stool.
“Look, guys,” I said when the mean looking fucker strode up to us with an expression that told me he wasn’t against hitting women. “Just want a quiet night.”
Petey scoffed and shoved his face into mine. “Keep the fuck outta this, pretty face. Ain’t nowt to do with you. Janice needs to learn some damn respect.”
Placing my hands on his chest, I pressed, pushing him back slightly. “Look, I really don’t want to make a mess of your pretty face, so I’d back off if I were you.”
His eyes widened, shocked at my bravado before he sniggered. “As fucking clueless as my ex-wife!”
Janice groaned, and I turned to her with a stunned expression. “You married this piece of shite?”
The barmaid rolled her eyes and glowered at Petey when he took a step closer to me. “Bout time ya’ went home, Petey. You still owe me from the last time you trashed my pub!”
Petey, ignoring her, grabbed my jaw in a firm hold. I remained still, allowing him his moment. I could feel his rage through the tight grip of his long fingers and see it within the blaze of fire in his eyes. He thought he was big, believed he deserved respect from women; most abusers did.
He’d get my respect alright.
“I told ya’ to keep out of this, bitch.”
Sighing at length, I gave him an exasperated look. “There’s only one man allowed to call me a bitch. And that is my husband. Not you!”
He was so pissed, he failed to see my fist hurtling for his face. My knuckles connected with his cheekbone, the loud snap of bone making Janice wince beside me. Falling on his arse, I jumped off the stool and turned to his mate who had picked up a piece of the cue Petey had dropped when I’d floored him.
Ducking when he swung it for my head, I swept my foot out and brought him to the floor easily as Janice punched a guy that attempted to get me from behind.
Glancing at her and nodding in appreciation, she winked at me and turned back to the guy coming back for more.
Petey, meanwhile, had managed to get to his feet, and the look on his face, coupled with how he held half of the cue like his mate, told me he wasn’t happy a woman had managed to knock him on his arse. Why did they never learn, why did they always think they were better fighters than females? His reluctance to walk away had me sighing, but it had been so long since I’d had a proper fight that my blood tingled with the familiarity of adrenaline that surged through me.
Both men stood before me, a smug smile on their faces as they each took a step towards me. “Caught me off guard. Now let’s see who’s the hard bitch.”
Chuckling, I shook my head in amusement. “Yet it takes the two of you to take on a woman, huh?”
His teeth sank into his lip, anger at my mockery making him grip the cue harder as they both rounded on me.
Grabbing the cue when Petey’s mate made a swing for me on my left, I yanked him close to me and swung my elbow up, catching him under the chin and knocking his head back. Although I had little legs, they were still longer than half of a cue, and I kicked out at Petey, sending a hard blow to his stomach and propelling him back into one of the tables.
Quickly checking on Janice, and finding her in control of her own situation, I turned my attention back to my two and groaned inwardly when I saw them both advancing on me yet again.
Petey’s mate managed to land a fist to the side of my face when I stepped sideways to evade Petey’s strike.
Fuck this, I was bored already.
It took a few more kicks and punches, but eventually, the men remained on the floor, pain and exhaustion conceded for them. My face throbbed from the few hits they’d managed to gain but it didn’t stop me from grinning at Petey who lay on top of one of the broken tables. “Finished?”
Rage stared back at me, but he didn’t speak. Embarrassment made him mute, and I rolled my eyes.
The barmaid gawped at me when I flung her a couple of hundred quid onto the bar. “Sorry about the breakages.”
Stunned, she picked up the money and nodded slowly. “It was worth it. Bout time someone gave Petey a taste of his own medicine.”
Janice shook her hand, easing the ache in her knuckles. One of her eyes was black, but she’d given out as much as she got. “You good?” I asked.
She scoffed but grinned. “Never better. You wanna get out of here? I have a bottle of vodka in the freezer.”
“Sounds good.”
Petey groaned when Janice stepped over him and caught his bruised ribs with the heel of her boot.
“You know he’ll not let this lie,” Janice murmured when we stepped out into the cold night.
“Then he’s a bigger idiot than you made out,” I replied, giving her a sideways glance and a wink. “But let me know if he takes his anger out on you.” Her eyebrows rose in question, and I smirked. “Fighting with my fists isn’t the only way to settle an argument. If Petey doesn’t stop, then I’ll make sure to finish it my way.”
“Jesus, Ava. What the hell happened to you?”
“Had to be tough. Living on the streets, and then being married to the mob taught me a thing or two.”
“You married a gangster?” Her shock was evident, her wide stare at me full of disbelief.
“Not just you who married a bastard, hun. Only my bastard is a good one.”
“Not sure there is such a thing as a good bastard, but I can see the way your eyes shine when you talk about him, so I’ll take your word for it.”
As if on cue, my phone rang, and Mason’s face flashed up on the screen. “Hey, baby.”
“Hey.” My heart soared at the sound of his voice, and my soul shivered in the core of me. “How’s it going?”
“Nothing yet.”
“You ran into any trouble?” he asked.
“Nope,” I fibbed. Mason would go mad if he knew I’d already been fighting. Now, in the aftermath, I realised what a stupid thing it had been. I needed to melt into the background and drawing attention to myself was something I couldn’t risk. “Although, I have run into an old friend.”
I sensed his caution when he hesitated. “Ava, be careful. We’re supposed to be dead. That kind of goes against it if you’re hanging out with old mates.”
“Relax.” I cast a glance at Janice and turned my head slightly, so she couldn’t hear me. “She’s pre-you.”
“How the hell did she realise it was you after thirty years?”
Chuckling, I teased, “Are you saying I look old?”
“What? No!”
He grumbled when I laughed. “She recognised my hair.”
He was quiet for a beat before he stated, “You need to dye your hair. We can’t risk anyone else identifying you.”
“I know,” I agreed. “On it tomorrow.”
“Good girl. My flight is boarding. I have to go. Phone me in the morning.”
“I will. Love you,” I whispered, my heart clenching when a pang of melancholy had me missing my man.
“And me, you,” he replied before the line went dead.
“Everything okay?” Janice asked when she sensed my sadness.
Shaking myself, I gave her a genuine smile and nodded. “Yeah. Come on, I need to get drunk. Otherwise, I won’t sleep.”
She quirked an eyebrow, but the edges of her lips twitched. “Jesus, I thought I had a drinking problem.”
I laughed, nudging her with my elbow. “Only because I can’t usually sleep without Mason beside me.”
Giving me an understanding nod, she rubbed the top of my arm. “You’re pretty tight, huh?”
That was one way of putting it. “You have no idea,” I answered with a smirk.