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“I don’t like this. I don’t like it one fucking bit, Maddox.” Turning back to face us, hands on his hips and head hung in defeat, he says, “I can’t lose her.”
“Ain’t going to happen. You need to trust the woman you raised, Mitch. And you need to trust that we’ll keep her safe.”
“Safe. Nothing about this fucking shit is safe, Maddox.” He shakes his head. “And I didn’t raise her, you know that. Who she is was all you two and her way before I came along. I can’t take the credit for that.”
“That’s bullshit,” comes a voice from behind us.
We all turn as Roxanne steps further into the room, coming to stand in front of Mitch.
“You might not have raised me from a child, but I sure as hell wouldn’t be standing here if it weren’t for you and Simone, Mitch. Of course, there is the small matter of you being a spy, but I think I can overlook it. Just this once though,” she jests before her words turn serious again. “You two were all I had, and I can’t ever repay you enough for taking me in, the screwed up, wayward teen, who probably caused you more sleepless nights than a newborn and turned your hair grey. Thank you.” She steps forward and wraps her arms around him, and he squeezes her back.
“We love you, Roxy, don’t ever forget that. No matter what you do, we’ll always love you,” Mitch whispers into her hair.
She pulls back and levels him with a serious look. “I love you too.” She might not say it, but her eyes plead for him to forgive her for what she’s about to do. He knows it too and simply offers her a nod that satisfies her.
“I have somethingsI need to sort out, but I’ll be at the safe house later,” he tells her, but the first part was definitely aimed at me. “There’s a file on your desk with what we have so far on Lila’s murder. Nothing surprising.” With that he turns and leaves.
Roxanne shakes her head. “Is he ready?” she asks, directing her question to Zak.
“He’s ready. And what a pretty young girl he makes too,” Zak replies, heavy on the sarcasm.
“I bet he is. Okay, let me get Star and we’ll go.”
As soon as she leaves the room, I indicate for Zak to close the door and pull the envelope that Theo left for us from the top drawer of my desk while he does.
“I know we don’t have long, and it’s probably not great timing, but I think we should read this now.” Zak nods and joins me, sitting on the edge of the desk.
I get a chill down my spine as I tear open the envelope, and it’s like I’ve released Theo’s spirit or some shit. I pull free quite a thick wad of papers, and I have no idea what is in here. I just thought it would be a letter from Theo and that would be it.
As I unravel them it becomes clear that these are important documents; this is Theo’s Will. A smaller sheet of paper drops to the table, and I see our names at the top written in Theo’s delicate, fancy handwriting. I don’t know how a guy with next to no education and the head of the biggest crime family since the Krays ended up with such posh fucking handwriting.
Setting the Will aside, I full unfold the letter to Zak and me.
Maddox and Zak, my boys,
I’m sorry it had to be this way, and I wish I’d had more time to explain in person. But as you know, God has his own plans for us. Well, for me at least.
If you’re reading this, then the time has come for Don to pay the price for all that he has done. Again, I’m sorry for keeping you in the dark, but there is a very good reason for that, which I will explain in a minute.
Before Don murdered Tracey and kidnapped Star, I had already been keeping a close eye on him and had suspected for some time that he was involved in something that turned my stomach and made me ashamed to call him my son.
Becoming a father was my greatest and proudest achievement. Realising my only son was a fucking nonce was the most shameful.
I made mistakes as a father, of course, and I always wondered if things would have turned out differently had Ciara been around to care for him. I was lost after she died, and that’s all on me.
I know you’re both probably cursing me for taking away the one thing you loved, Roxy, but it was necessary. And I know you never stopped watching her from the shadows. I wouldn’t have expected anything less from you both. She’s a good woman, and when you find your way back to her, hold on to her with everything you have. Whatever it takes.
I’m waffling and can hear the questions in your minds, as to why I did what I did, and why I never stopped Don before things got this far; I’ve no doubt they are at their worst now.
So, let me explain. I’ve spent the last seven years building a case against my son and the man he is working with. I’m sure this won’t be a surprise to you, but that man is James Whitmore, Roxy’s father, the Lord Chief Justice. It seems Don made himself a very powerful friend.
It is because of this powerful friend that I’ve been unable to deal with Don, in any capacity, or use the evidence I had initially gathered against them. However, it wouldn’t have been enough against James and his power within the justice system. Yes, I could have had Don taken out, but I was warned away.
I was told that if I continued, every charge that had ever been dropped would come back to haunt me, you boys would be taken care of and Roxy would be sold off or killed. Everything that I valued, had built, earned, over the years would have been destroyed in a matter of minutes.
I made the decision to let it go, but only temporarily. After things had settled and James and Don believed I wasn’t going to be a problem anymore, I went back to digging for evidence. And I may have thrown a couple of spanners in their works on occasion. Only this time I had a little help from an unsurprising source. Look after Bowser, he’s loyal to the core.
Then I was able to plant a man on the inside of their operation. Noah Shaw is a good man, and undercover is his thing. He has his reasons for wanting to bring down this operation, however, not for me to tell.
