Hidden Heart (Love Is The Law 1) Read Online Free Page A

out of the room. She
was buzzing with the excitement of a potential story, and pushed aside the
nagging fears that always accompanied this stage. Embryonic ideas, so potent -
but so full of the chance to fail.
    Again.
     

Chapter Two
     
    "Don't look like that. It's
a sink full of unwashed pots. Get over it."
    Turner raised his hands in a placatory
gesture but he couldn't help wrinkling his nose at his sister's defensive words.
Elaine folded her arms and glared right back at him. The small kitchen was at
the back of the terraced house, and it was shabby.
    "Do you want me to come and
redecorate?"
    Elaine shrugged and her hoop
earrings clattered. She'd had more put in while he'd been away. He was
surprised her lobes weren't sagging. "No, not really," she told him
dismissively. "I'd have to tidy up first, and right now, I don't need the
hassle."
    "I'd help."
    "Nah, you're all right. With
two kids, what's the point of making a place look nice?" Elaine ran a
perfectly manicured hand through her blonde extensions. She had a curling
tattoo on her hand, which she'd also acquired during his prison stay. He
thought it looked as tacky as hell but he kept his mouth shut.
    He dropped his voice, glancing to
the door that led to the long, crowded living room. They could hear the
television - some screaming harpy on a daytime talk show - but he still didn't
want to risk being overheard. "How is mum?"
    "Not too bad. The treatments
still wipe her out but not as much, actually. She's doing better."
    "Good. Look, I was
wondering, do you need me to move back in?"
    Elaine snorted an inelegant laugh
and leaned back against the chipped counter-top. She was dressed in the
tightest faded denim shorts her slim body could fit into. Her fake orange tan
showed stark against the cheap white cropped vest. "Oh maaaan. You drove
us bonkers while you were here. Seriously. I know you mean well and all that,
but fuck. No. Thanks. I've got two boys to look after. I don't need three, you
know?"
    "Charming. Thanks a
bunch."
    "You're welcome."
    They shared a grin for a moment,
but Turner wasn't quite satisfied. "Look, the boys are five, and … look.
About money. Are you getting anything from that turd of an ex?"
    Elaine's smile died instantly and
her face looked much older when she frowned. "Do you want to start me
smoking again? Four days I've not had a ciggie now."
    "That bad?"
    "What?"
    "Mentioning that
arsehole."
    She pushed upright away from the
counter-top and half-turned away. "Whatever. No, I'm not getting anything.
He says he doesn't have any money. I'd go through the courts but I can't be…
can't be arsed, to be honest. He's a liar."
    "So what the hell are you
living on?"
    "Benefits. Mum helps."
    Turner felt a wave of sick anger
in his stomach. There was a cancer inside his family; in his mother's lungs.
And a cancer eating from the outside - Riggers. Fucking odious septic little
Andy Rigby. He was responsible for far more than the fathering of Elaine's two
kids.
    "The only thing stopping me
putting a bullet in that twat's head is the thought of your lads growing up
fatherless. Not that he is any kind of fucking father."
    "Turner-"
    "No, it's okay. Don't worry.
I'm not going to-"
    He stopped as the door opened and
his frail mother peeked in. He cursed as he realised his voice had got louder.
Had she heard any of it? He shot a warning glance towards Elaine, who had
half-heartedly picked up a sponge and was moving dirt around the counters.
    "Turner! What you doing
sneaking in the back door? You should have come on through. Elaine, you got
that kettle on yet? I'm dry as a camel's bum. Parched, I am. Look at you."
Mrs Black advanced on Turner and enfolded him in a warm hug. He could rest his
chin on her head but he would have still quailed to find himself on her wrong
side.
    His hands noted how her ribs
jutted through her pink polyester cardigan and he closed his eyes for a moment.
If he could reach right into her lungs and rip out the tumour, he would