Any Kind of Life (Hush Liverpool #4)

Chapter 25

Five days later…

Paige jogged towards the lift, catching the door before it closed. She had just been held up at the dock because of some kind of police incident. She couldn’t make out what was going on; she was too busy panicking about Juliet’s lunch, so she chose not to be one of those people who stood around watching, instead sprinting across the city centre to get back here.

She bent at the hip and braced a hand on one knee. God, she needed to work on her fitness. Juliet’s Philly cheesesteak baguette sat safely inside a brown paper bag, freshly pressed orange juice chilled and ready for her. Seemed her fiancée wasn’t overly fond of hospital food. Given what she’d been through recently, the least Paige could do was go out and pick her something up that she would enjoy.

When she arrived on Juliet’s floor, a police constable still standing outside her door, Paige took a breath. She was sure her face was purple.

“Hi,” she said as PC Ramsey smiled back at her. “I’ll just give Juliet her lunch, and then I’ll go and get some coffee for us all.”

He lifted a hand. “That’s great, but we’re on handover in twenty minutes. I’ll grab one on the way out.”

Paige nodded as she lifted the brown paper bag. “Okay. I’d better get this inside before everyone can hear how hungry Juliet is out in the corridor.”

PC Ramsey laughed and stepped aside, allowing Paige into Juliet’s room.

“Hi, babe.”

Juliet placed a hand on her chest. “Thank God. I’m starving.”

“Sorry. I got stuck in the city.” Paige ripped the paper bag open and got to work on sorting Juliet’s lunch out for her. She’d thrown in a blueberry muffin too, knowing Juliet would need to get her strength up. The last thing she wanted was for her to not be eating. Appetite was important in her recovery. “Have the police been in to see you while I was away?” It had been almost a week since Juliet had woken up. Two detectives had been in to question her—Juliet hadn’t really told them anything they didn’t already know—but they hadn’t heard anything new as of yet. “I know they said they’d be in touch when they have something, but it’s been five days.” Paige blew out a frustrated breath. She eyed Juliet, but she didn’t seem to be taking in anything Paige was saying. “Babe?”

Juliet’s gaze shot up from the baguette to Paige. “Sorry, what?”

“Never mind.” The police were the least of Juliet’s concerns right now. “You’re starving, aren’t you?”

“So hungry.” Juliet managed to sit up better, glaring at the baguette again. “All I see is cheese, and I really need to have a bite.”

“Philly cheesesteak,” Paige said as she wheeled Juliet’s hospital table over the bed. “I’m sure you’ll devour it, so I got you a blueberry muffin too.” Paige took the orange juice from the bag and the muffin, checking everything was laid out within reach for Juliet. “I’ll get us coffee soon. Since you’re going to inhale this food, I’d better not leave you alone in case you choke.”

“This is why I’m marrying you, you know,” Juliet spoke between mouthfuls, moaning as she rolled her eyes. “Because you bring me really good food.”

“Well, at least I’m useful for some things.”

Juliet shook her head, offering her baguette to Paige. “Have some.”

“No, I’m good. You just enjoy it.” Paige hadn’t been eating very well lately. She thought her appetite may have improved once Juliet had woken up, but it seemed to be taking longer than expected. “Hey, something major is going on down at the dock. I got caught there because of all the emergency services.”

Juliet’s brows rose. “Really? What?”

“I don’t know exactly. But they had search and rescue along with every other service. Someone has probably gone into the dock, and they haven’t surfaced.” Paige sighed. “I hope whoever it is will be okay. That’s no way to go.”

“I’ve never understood how people ‘fall’ into the dock. It’s fenced off with metal chains. Unless you’re on the wrong side of that fence, I fail to see how it’s possible.”

Paige nodded. Juliet was right about that. It wasn’t possible to just slip and fall in. “I know. Let’s just hope if someone did go in, they can be rescued and seek the help they need.”

Juliet sipped her orange juice and returned to her lunch. “That would be the perfect outcome. It rarely happens that way, unfortunately.”

Wow. This conversation had turned morbid pretty quickly. “Anyway, enough of speculating. We don’t know what’s happened down there. How are you feeling?”

“Better than this morning. My pain is much more manageable.”

Paige perched herself on the edge of Juliet’s bed. It had been hard seeing her looking so drained and sore this morning when she’d arrived. “Good. I’m glad you’re feeling better. The only way is up, babe.”

“I wish I could be at home with you. I don’t see the point in lying in this bed when I could be lying in my own. Which, by the way, is much more comfortable.”

Paige hadn’t imagined Juliet to be the complaining type when it came to hospitals, but here they were. “You’ll be allowed home when they say you can. Until then, you have to do as you’re told. There is no way you’re doing anything to delay your recovery because you couldn’t be arsed lying in this bed.” Paige winked as she stood up and moved towards the window. “Do you think they’re hiding her somewhere?”

Juliet snorted. “Probably.”

“I fucking hate her. And I feel so stupid for befriending her. She deceived us all.”

“People like Cara usually do. They’re good at living a lie. It’s how she managed to be employed by us for so long.”

Paige turned and faced Juliet. “Did you ever have any suspicions about her? About what she was going to do? Because I sure as shit never did.”

“No. Nothing.”

“Does that mean we’re stupid or just too trusting?” Paige couldn’t get her head around the fact that Cara had managed to worm her way into their lives with such ease. “I mean, I know she was a dick when she first joined the bar, but then she was really sweet. Fucking hell, she even covered our shifts so we could have the night off.”

Juliet reached out a hand and pulled Paige back down to the bed. “And that is precisely why she did that. So we wouldn’t have any clue about what she planned to do. Neither of us are to blame, Paige. Even Henry didn’t get any sort of bad vibe from her.”

Paige stroked her thumb across Juliet’s knuckles. “Do you think we should arrange to stay elsewhere when you’re discharged? If she’s still out there?”

“That’s something to consider.” Juliet nodded as she rested her head back on the mass of pillows behind her. “Henry can sort out somewhere for us if we decide that’s the right thing to do.”

“I don’t know what the right thing to do is. Other than punch Cara’s lights out, I don’t know what the hell we should do. I just know I need to keep you safe.”

“I’ll be okay. I dropped my guard, and that won’t happen again. I’ve learnt my lesson.”

Paige’s brows drew together. “I wouldn’t say there was any lesson to learn. She’s just a mad bitch who thinks she’s some sort of gangster.”

“Perhaps, but she almost did what she set out to do.” Juliet turned her head to Paige and smiled. “Rumour has it that I’m only alive because you saved my life.”

Paige had got lucky by getting there when she did. That’s all. “I just did what they told me to do on the call. Poor Henry had to see me in my bra. He’s probably traumatised for life.”

Juliet belly laughed at that, but then she groaned as she held her side. “Fuck. That hurt.”

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry.” Paige climbed onto the bed and lay beside Juliet. One arse cheek hung off the edge of the bed, but she didn’t care. “Come here. You should rest now that you’ve had lunch.”

“All I’m doing is resting. I’ll have bedsores soon if I don’t get out of here.”

Paige lowered her head to Juliet’s shoulder and sighed. “Everything will be okay soon, babe. I promise you.”

Juliet pressed a kiss to the top of Paige’s head. “I know. And that’s because I have you by my side.” She covered Paige with some of the sheet tangled on the bed and turned her body as best as she could. “I’ll nap if you promise to stay here with me.”

“Always, babe. I’m not going anywhere.”

Juliet woke to Paige still sleeping beside her, that gentle breathing reminding her that everything was going to be okay. People always said it—it was a default response when the shit hit the fan—but Juliet believed every word Paige said to her. It was hard not to when those dreamy eyes gazed back at her, holding so much love that it stole her breath. Granted, they had a lot to contend with in the coming weeks and months, but Juliet knew she could do anything she put her mind to. She had always been raised that way; she wasn’t about to change who she was now.

She carefully reached for her phone on the table to the side of her, just about managing to grasp it with her fingertips. Juliet didn’t want to wake Paige yet, she knew she wasn’t sleeping, so she would text Henry and see if he had anything new when it came to Cara. As she opened her phone, scrolling her local news app, her eyes widened.

CRIME LORD RONNIE DELEHEDY DEAD AT 77

Juliet didn’t know what to do. Part of her wanted to wake Paige up and share the news with her, and the rest of her simply wanted to scream and squeal. Ronnie was dead…did that mean Juliet’s threat was now redundant, too? Surely, it had to mean that. Ronnie’s pals wouldn’t be running any business for him if they weren’t getting paid. Sure, they may all claim to be loyal to him, but when the money wasn’t coming in, that loyalty seemed to lie elsewhere pretty quickly. Juliet knew that all too well from her career in law.

She carefully brought the phone to her ear as she called Henry, praying Paige didn’t wake up just yet.

“Hey, Jules. Always a pleasure to see your name pop up on my screen.”

She looked down at Paige, those eyelids fluttering as she slept so peacefully. “What happened, H?”

“I’m sorry?” The line crackled, but Juliet could just about make out what Henry was saying. “Jules?”

“What happened to Ronnie?” She didn’t want to ask too many questions when she was in a room that had an officer stationed outside, but she had to find out how this had happened. It couldn’t be sheer coincidence, no way. “I’ve just seen the news. He’s dead.”

“Fuck. Really?” Henry laughed. “Well, that solves a lot of problems for a lot of people.”

“Henry,” Juliet warned, her stomach roiling at the idea he could be behind this. “Please tell me you didn’t.”

“Sorry, Jules. The connection isn’t great. I’ll drop in and see you this evening. Get plenty of rest.”

Juliet frowned when the line went dead. Henry had never hung up on her before, and he sure as hell wouldn’t do it again. She rested her head back, lowering her phone to her stomach. Paige stirred beside her, but Juliet would have to share this information eventually. The police would make an appearance here soon if Juliet knew how this was going to go. Still, she had nothing to hide. She was lying in a hospital bed after an attempt on her life. If they believed she could be capable of something like this, they were sorely mistaken.

“Paige, baby,” Juliet whispered, stroking a hand through Paige’s hair. “You need to wake up. I have to tell you something.”

Paige groaned lightly, turning her body into Juliet’s and snuggling into her. “Half an hour more.”

“Oh, I wish I could give that to you.” Juliet wanted nothing more than to be here with Paige like this all day and all night. But they’d already been told off by a nurse because Paige was in bed with Juliet. “If Nurse Pippa sees you in here, she’s going to kill one or both of us. I’m already recovering from that sort of thing, so I don’t know how well I’d do a second time around.”

Paige looked up at Juliet, a lazy grin spread on her mouth. “I’m happy to know you haven’t lost your sense of humour.”

“Oh, I wasn’t trying to be funny. You saw her last time. She was brutal.”

Paige sat up and stretched, groaning as her body came to life again. “You’re right. I can’t be arsed with Nurse Ratched having a go at me again.” Paige climbed from the bed, fixing the sheet to the side of Juliet where she had snuck in earlier. “Wouldn’t want to leave any evidence behind.”

“What you really mean is…you’re scared of her.”

Paige snorted, unzipping her hoodie as she moved towards the window. “No. I could take her any day.”

“Mmhmm.” Juliet watched Paige’s back, shaking her head with astonishment. This woman was going to be her wife one day, and that day couldn’t come soon enough. She kicked those thoughts away for the time being, wanting Paige to be completely aware of what was happening. “While you were sleeping, I had a look at the local news.”

Paige spun around. “They’ve caught her?!”

“Mm, no. But I think the news I’m about to give you is potentially better.”

As Paige perched herself on the edge of Juliet’s bed, she took her hand and searched Juliet’s eyes. “I’m not sure what could possibly be better than the woman who tried to kill you being caught.”

“Well, the man who ordered her to do so being dead surely trumps it, no?”

Paige froze, not even a single blink of the eyes.

“It’s online. I’ve just come across it. I called Henry, but?—”

Paige quickly covered Juliet’s mouth with her hand. “N-no. Don’t say anything else. Not here, and not unless we’re absolutely sure there is nobody around.”

Juliet nodded, frowning when Paige eventually brought her hand away from her mouth. “Okay.”

“Whatever happened, he deserved it. Whoever did it, it’s nothing to do with us.”

It wasn’t directly to do with them, no, but was it likely because of Juliet’s injuries? Without a doubt. Even if Juliet tried to lie to herself, to Paige and their friends, she knew deep down what she felt. This was a direct result of Cara’s actions. It had to be.

“Without it all seeming weird, I want you to go home soon. I’ll make sure Henry meets you there, and he can explain what he knows. If he tells you he knows nothing, he’s lying. He ended our call abruptly, and I want to know the part he played in this. Just…so I can get my story straight about who he is if the police come asking. I won’t let him go down for something he did to protect me. Not in this lifetime.”

Paige smiled as she stroked her fingertips across the back of Juliet’s hand. “Babe, you can’t lie to the police.”

“I won’t lie to them. I’ll tell them the exact same thing I told them when I woke up. Henry and I know one another from school. He works security at the bar. They’ll see I’m…telling the truth if they’ve checked my employee records.” Juliet sat up a little better. “I’m not stupid enough to leave anything looking suspicious. As far as the records at the bar show, everything is above board.” Juliet cleared her throat and lowered her voice further. “Anything extra I give him, it’s always cash.”

“Look,” Paige said as she exhaled a frustrated sigh. “ You have done nothing wrong. No matter what, I need you to remember that. I love Henry as much as you do, but we cannot get tangled up in whatever has gone on outside of this room. I don’t want to be a part of that life, babe. I really don’t.”

“No, I know. I don’t particularly want to be a part of it, either.” Juliet curled her finger and beckoned Paige closer. “Give me a kiss before you leave. I need you to find out what happened.”

Paige dipped her head as she leaned in, smiling into a kiss. “I love you, and no matter what, you’re going to be out of here soon and doing what you do best.”

Juliet drew back with a frown. “Oh. And what is that?”

“Living.”